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Minutes 08-25-03MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2003 AT 7:00 P.M. Present Elizabeth Pierce, Chair James McMahon, Vice Chair Margaret Murphy Lisa Peterfreund Bali Ramnarace Betty Thomas Tom Williams William Orlove, Alternate A sen Pamela Winters, Alternate I. Call to Order Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director John Wildner, Deputy Recreation & Parks Director Chair Pierce called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. Attendance Chair Pierce called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes of July 28, 2003 Ms. Peterfreund commented that on page 2, first paragraph, the statement that "Mr. Black nominated two individuals who he believed to be deserving of having the Intracoastal Park named after them was incorrect. Actually, Mr. Black nominated Mr. Charlie Frederick for Intracoastal Park and Mr. Tom Williams for the Hester Center. Motion Mr. Orlove moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Ramnarace seconded the motion that carried unanimously. IV. Unfinished Business A. Senior Center Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 Mr. Majors reported that the sprinkler installation was nearly finished and that when it was completed, the rest of the improvements would commence. He encouraged everyone to vote for the final phase of Senior Center in the election on November 4. The big challenge for the facility will be parking since the final phase will use up at least 15 spaces that are now being used. The comment was made that many people come to the Center via public transportation and privately in groups of two or more, which helps. It will probably be necessary to purchase land for more parking, and staff will be looking to the Board for recommendations on the parking issue. Mr. Majors then reported that the "gatekeepers" of the State grant for the lunch program, Mae Volen, had cut the number of meals that could be served at the Center from 150 meals a day to 65, which will severely impact the Senior Center clientele. Last year, staff visited Mae Volen to register concern about last year's cuts, but wants to have the Board play a role this year by letting Mae Volen know what a negative impact this will have on the Center. Ms. Murphy reported that Camp Wrinkle Ranch had been a huge success. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time on the trips and activities. There will be a three-day, two night trip to Naples in October as well. Mr. Majors noted that almost every trip they offer is completely sold out, which was indicative of the great job being done by staff. B. Old High School Mr. Bill Orlove reported that the consultants have made a quick visit to the school this month but would probably be back next month to do environmental and structural assessments. C. Naming of Parks Procedures/Community Support 1) Bruce Black Nomination Mr. Majors stated that Chair Pierce had written a letter to Mr. Bressner and he had written a letter to Mr. Black. He was unable to make copies of the letters before this meeting but will do so and transmit to the members. Chair Pierce's letter to Mr. Bressner quoted the history of the Board's actions pertaining to the naming of the Football Field and Pressbox at Hester Center after Tom Williams, acknowledging that this recommendation might not be in accordance with the recently adopted policy; however, the Board voted recently to ratify its July 2001 recommendation to the City Commission and wishes to have Mr. Bressner forward the recommendation to the City Commission. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 In regard to the naming of Intracoastal Park after the former Recreation and Parks Director, Charlie Frederick, as suggested by Mr. Bruce Black, Chair Pierce stated that the Board was not comfortable with making a recommendation based on the recommendation of one person, but wanted evidence of broader community support. Mr. Black has been asked to provide this and has agreed to do so. D. Items for the City Manager's Attention Chair Pierce will call Mr. Bressner to inquire about when the recommendation to name the Hester Center Pressbox and Ball Field after Mr. Tom Williams will be on the agenda. The Board conducted an extensive discussion of the potential expansion of the Cemetery into Little League Park and determined that the Park should remain as recreation land. Motion Ms. Peterfreund moved that the Recreation and Parks Board recommend that the Little League Park be maintained in its current status and that other alternatives be explored for the cemetery expansion. Ms. Thomas seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Mr. Majors advised that the Cemetery Expansion issue was scheduled to be on the City Commission Agenda in October. E. Pam Winters — Park Adoption Chair Pierce stated that Ms. Winters expressed an interest in being a focal point for matters related to Oceanfront Park. She also wants to work with the lifeguard program. Mr. Orlove will continue to work in this area. Chair Pierce suggested that Mr. Orlove might want to call some people and see if they wanted to get involved in the coastal cleanup, which was probably in mid-September. Names and Addresses of Organizations in Boynton Beach (added to agenda) Chair Pierce has names and addresses of the various homeowners and other associations in the area. The Board was pleased to see that it now had a resource when it wanted to ask for volunteers or notify people of coming events. General Discussion (added to agenda) Mr. Majors stated that the Comprehensive Plan update and Strategic Plan would be on the City Commission agenda in October and staff plans to present the number of parks in the City, the number of people in the City, and the number of acres of developed 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 parkland deemed necessary to serve the needs of those residents. Using five acres of parkland per person based on the current population of 60,000, there should be about 300 acres of developed parkland. The City now has approximately 200 acres of developed parkland. Vice Chair McMahon mentioned Mr. Hutchinson's request that this Board work closely with them on new developments in the City. Intracoastal Park (added m agenda) Mr. Wildner reported that the Intracoastal Park should be completed by September 25. The landscaping has yet to be done and the Veterans monument will be placed this week. The water playground will be started during the second phase of the project. A ribbon cutting is tentatively scheduled for October 17, in conjunction with a concert, and the Board members will have seating in a VIP area. The Veterans will have a separate installation and ceremony for the monument and some plaques they want to install, the following week. Winchester Property (added to agenda) Ms. Peterfreund commented on the Board's goal of acquiring more parkland. She asked about the Winchester property and what could be done to preserve some of that land for recreation and park purposes. When the developer comes forward with a master plan for the City's approval, there will be opportunities for the Board to make comments and recommendations and when Mr. Wildner has seen the plan, he will bring the matter to the Board's attention. Ms. Peterfreund is very desirous of seeing something like a natural/preservation/passive use of the land next to the canal on the Winchester property and has made this a personal priority. There was much support for this sentiment among the Board members. Ms. Peterfreund was quite concerned about what happened on the Motorola property when they were allowed to reduce the requested 40 -foot green space to 25 feet. Quantum Park (added to agenda) Ms. Thomas asked whether all the land that was in Quantum Park had disappeared. Mr. Wildner responded that the City still had 15 acres in Quantum Park and it is still designated as Active Recreation. The City projects a $4M development at this location involving two softball fields, a full-size baseball field, and a soccer field, as well as some outdoor basketball courts. At some time in the future, he hoped the City could develop this. F. Monthly Report There were no questions or comments about the report. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 V. New Business A. Updating Park Assignments Item already discussed elsewhere. C. Jaycee Park (switched agenda order) Mr. Wildner reported that the Florida Inland Navigation District (F.I.N.D.) had placed this property on the "Available Lands" list at the request of Boynton Beach. The City offered to purchase the property for $2.2M, but F.I.N.D. had higher appraisals and declined the offer. F.I.N.D. wants to see the land in public hands and the City is trying to get more money for the project. The County might be willing to give the City $1M towards the purchase if the City would turn Jaycee Park into a boat ramp facility, which the neighboring community residents do not want. Chair Pierce had spoken to County Commissioner Mary McCarty and told her that the neighbors were not in favor of a boat ramp facility but suggested fishing piers or non -motorized jet skis as alternatives. The dialogue with the County continues. Mr. Wildner noted that as a department, they were also pursuing grants to assist in the purchase. The Florida Community Trust Fund has a 50% match option and while this year's deadline has passed, the City will definitely pursue it during the summer of 2004. B. Grants Overview Mr. Wildner reported that the Recreation and Parks Department had received $3,777,568 in grant funds since June of 2000. The Board members were given a special report that outlines all the grant awards and projects involved. The grants were used to acquire land, renovate parks and recreation facilities, and provide new recreational programs for youth and adults. Mr. Wildner stated that the City was lucky to have Ms. Debbie Majors serving as the full-time grant coordinator for the City. D. Parks Impact Fee A lengthy discussion took place about the loss of the option for the developer to dedicate land to the City in lieu of the impact fee. Mr. Wildner explained that the City had acquiesced to the developer's request to come up with a more moderate fee structure that did not involve land. There was unanimous agreement that with the increased population, the City was falling behind in parkland and needed more land for parks and recreation in order to adequately serve the needs of the population. This Board would like to be included in the review of new projects that have the potential of providing usable recreational/park land for the City, rather than having the decisions made with no opportunity to have a "say" in the end result. The bottom line is that the F Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (082703) Meeting Minutes Recreation and Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida August 25, 2003 City needs park and recreation land as much as it needs money and sometimes, having the land is preferable to having the money, especially as the green space opportunities become fewer and fewer. There was some feeling that the situation had changed since the City had gone from having to "court" the developers to having more developers now than it had space to accommodate, putting the City in a position to reinstitute a land dedication policy, if it so desired. Ms. Peterfreund expressed the belief that there might have been more bargaining power in the recent Motorola development issue if the land dedication had still been in effect. The Board members agreed on the importance of speaking out at City Commission meetings on this subject. Staff committed to keep the Board members informed of new developments where there were opportunities for green space and parkland. Motion Ms. Peterfreund moved that the Recreation and Parks Board believes that it is imperative that it be involved with the review of impacts on new development to guarantee that as Boynton Beach grows in population, the recreational and outdoor space needs of the community are met. Vice Chair McMahon seconded the motion that carried 5-2, Mr. Orlove and Mr. Ramnarace dissenting. Aotute the land dedieat*en featuFe ef the park impaet fee." in spite ef this Fni disageerient-, The Board was united in its recognition of the pressing need for more recreation and park space in Boynton Beach and the vanishing opportunities for it, and wants to do whatever it can to advocate this. VI. Next Meeting The next meeting will be at the Senior Center on September 22, 2003. Ms. Peterfreund and Ms. Murphy announced that they would be unable to attend this meeting. VII. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 8:30 p.m. C -I