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Minutes 04-26-04MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2004 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Elizabeth Pierce, Chairperson William Orlove, Vice Chair Lisa Peterfreund Margaret Murphy Betty Thomas Tom Williams Pamela Winters Jack McVey, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director John Wildner, Deputy Recreation & Parks Director I. Call to Order Chairperson Pierce called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Attendance Chairperson Pierce called the roll and declared that a quorum was present III. Approval of Minutes of March 22, 2004 Mr. Majors noted that in the last paragraph on Page 3, the Clubhouse is being built at Intracoastal Park, not Boat Club Park. Chairperson Pierce requested that the minutes be changed accordingly. Motion Vice Chair Orlove moved to approve the minutes, as amended. Motion seconded by Ms. Thomas and unanimously carried. Ms. Murphy inquired what "Monofilament Box Program" referred to on Page 2 of the Parks and Recreation Report meant. Mr. Wildner explained that Monofilament is a fishing line that gets discarded and becomes a hazard to birds and fish. In an attempt to control the discarding of Monofilament lines, a pipe-type apparatus to collect the throwaway lines has been put out where people fish. Mr. Wildner reported that it is used a great deal. There are boxes located at Boat Club Park, Jaycee Park, Pioneer Canal Park and the two fishing piers at Palmetto Greens Park. Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 26, 2004 Ms. Murphy also inquired what INCA Ponds on the same page of the Report referred to. Mr. Wildner reported that this is a Utility project, which is actually a drainage project consisting of three or four ponds that are being built off NE 10th Avenue, east of Federal Highway. The Parks Department is providing the landscaping around the perimeter of the ponds. The purpose of the project is to control the stormwater in the northeast section of the City. Chairperson Pierce announced that Saturday, May 1st is the Palm Beach County Great American Clean-up. She will be located at Intracoastal Park from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon. The County has provided 30 shirts and all necessary clean-up tools and bags. People are welcomed to participate for as long as they would like and all ages are welcomed to help. They will also be doing clean up at Boat Club Park and people are encouraged to clean up their own neighborhoods as well. Chairperson Pierce also noted that Dan DeCarlo, the City's Neighborhood Specialist, was notifying the homeowner associations seeking their participation. Mr. DeCarlo will be cleaning up the area at 10th Avenue and Seacrest and will also have supplies available. Chairperson Pierce announced that on September 18, 2004 the coastal clean-up will take place specifically for waterways. IV. Unfinished Business A. Senior Center Mr. Majors anticipates that the automatic doors will be installed shortly. There was a delay due to permitting issues since the City's Code now requires that hurricane shutters had to be installed. Phase 2 should be done by mid-May. V. New Business A. Commission Workshop Recap Mr. Majors thanked the Board members for their support at the workshop and felt that the Board's input assisted staff. Ms. Murphy was under the impression that there was money left from the construction of the new Intracoastal Park to install the water feature. Mr. Wildner explained that there were change orders that occurred which necessitated using additional funds and as a result there was no money left for the water feature. He pointed out that there was no water feature in the City's original request to the County, but the County said that if there was money left they would be agreeable to having a water feature. Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 26, 2004 Chairperson Pierce inquired if the City ever considered contacting the Palm Beach County Sail Club to assist in paying for a portion of the new Clubhouse in exchange for use of the facility for sailing. Mr. Wildner noted that it was determined not to have docks because of the protected seagrass. Chairperson Pierce thought that it would be a good idea to have small sailboats for the children to use in that area. Mr. Wildner stated that small, non-motorized sailboats are permitted. Ms. Murphy recommended contacting them regarding Jaycee Park. Mr. Wildner reported that non-motorized vessels could be launched at Jaycee Park, but any boat that requires a trailer is not permitted. They do not want to turn the Park into a trailer parking lot. Ms. Thomas inquired if the City still intended to install the two docks at Jaycee Park. Mr. Wildner stated that this is still under discussion and it may end up as one long dock. Part of the dock could be designated for fishing and the other portion for boating. Staff is still waiting to hear from DEP regarding a seagrass study that has to be done. Chairperson Pierce inquired if the walkway could be extended from Tuscany to the Park. Mr. Wildner said that Tuscany's homeowner documents state that upon request, the public is permitted to use the walkway. The City specifically requested that this clause be included in their documents in the event the City wants to create a riverwalk along the southern part of the City. Ms. Thomas asked how a person would get permission from Tuscany to use the walkway and Mr. Wildner suggested speaking with the gatekeeper when entering the development. If the gatekeeper were not aware of this, he would probably check with management. Mr. Williams questioned why fences were not placed around Intracoastal Park for safety sake. He has been to the Park many times and observed children playing unsupervised, trying to push one another into the water. Mr. Williams felt that this could result in a lawsuit against the City if anyone was hurt. Mr. Wildner explained that the edge of the water is very shallow and if someone fell in, they would be in shallow water for several feet. Mr. Williams inquired if there was an attendant on duty at the Park. Mr. Wildner stated that there was no staff present. Chairperson Pierce felt that once the Clubhouse was built, more people would be present. Mr. Wildner also noted that staff would be present once the Clubhouse is built. Mr. Orlove inquired if there was a sign posted and was informed that there was. Wilson Complex Mr. Majors reported that this project is moving forward and the surveying has been completed and staff is now addressing some land acquisition issues. Staff is trying to Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton B=-.ch, Florida April 26, 2004 keep as much greenspace as possible considering the increase in the size of the facilities that now requires more parking. Vice Chair Orlove asked staff if there were any issues they would like the Board to be aware of or knew of projects that needed more support. Mr. Majors was not aware of anything, but informed the Board that the City is in the process of updating the Comprehensive Plan that would include the greenway plan. This is a significant project that staff will be discussing with the Board regularly. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if there was a deadline on this and Mr. Majors thought that it was due in November of 2005, but he will check on this. Mr. Wildner added that staff has met with the Commissioners regarding the greenway plans and received some very favorable comments. These comments will be brought to the Board and then a citywide workshop would be scheduled, after which everything will go to the City Commission for approval. Mr. Majors noted that staff continues to work on the accreditation of the Department and the Board will be consulted on this as well. Chairperson Pierce reported that discussion about the Old High School took place at the Commission Workshop and she noted that there will be a report on that at the May 16th City Commission Meeting. B. Tennis Center/Congress Community Park Mr. Majors explained that members of the Tennis Center are either not willing or unable to pay an additional fee to help maintain the facility. At the workshop staff brought up the suggestion that the Tennis Center be downsized and that a playground serving children with limited abilities could be built on the vacant land adjacent to the Tennis Center. The State is providing incentives to municipalities to build boundless playgrounds. Currently, the County has built one of these playgrounds at John Prince Park. The playground is accessible to all children, and could also accommodate children, as well as parents, with limited ability. Staff felt that this would be a great location for such a park and at the same time the Tennis Center could be downsized. Mr. Majors pointed out that the General Fund subsidizes the Tennis Center, otherwise it would not be able to operate. He noted that there are hard surface tennis courts throughout the City that are available with lights that require little maintenance; whereas the surface at the Tennis Center, which has the hard true surface, requires a great deal of work. Chairperson Pierce felt it would be a good idea to have some type of building placed at the park. Mr. Majors did not think that the grant for the playground would cover this type of facility. Chairperson Pierce envisioned offering a summer camp for children with limited abilities, similar to the one at Boat Club Park, if a building were available. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 26, 2004 Ms. Thomas inquired if the Tennis Center lost a lot of members due to the increase in fees. Mr. Majors did not think that many players left and that currently there are approximately 300 permit holders. He pointed out that the courts are heavily used on a daily basis. Mr. McVey inquired what the fees were and Mr. Majors pointed out that the City's fees are the lowest in the County. Staff had requested that the fees be raised by 40%, since the fees had not been raised in many years, but the Commission would not agree to this. Mr. Wildner reported that the annual fees are $240 for a single resident membership; $25 for a junior resident; $360 for resident families; $430 for single, non- residents; and $600 for family non-resident. Mr. Majors pointed out that the fees were ultimately raised 20%. Mr. Majors noted that there is another option of leaving the Tennis Center as is and putting the playground next to it; or downsize the Tennis Center in order to utilize existing staff to manage it. He pointed out that the four hard courts are seldom used and people prefer to play on the hard true courts. Also, Mr. Majors would like to look at the feasibility of sharing the building and the restrooms and staff will keep the Board informed. He anticipates making a request to the Commission to raise the fees somewhat this summer and to present to the Commission what this Board envisions for the facility. Mr. Wildner recommended that Board members visit the boundless playground at John Prince Park, which is located on the north side of the park. He was very impressed when he visited the playground. Chairperson Pierce recommended that the Board plan a field trip to visit the park. Vice Chair Orlove recalled that Board members previously visited Congress Community Park and at that time some members felt it would be a good place for a variety of recreational uses, one of which was a recreational building that did not get funded. Also, there was discussion that this land could be used for a playground and nothing else, except a walking path for adults. Board members had also discussed having an amphitheater or arts center. He noted that there was an article in the Sun Sentinel today regarding a private group that wants to build a friendship park on this property. This group would pay for the park, but the City would pay them back. A copy of the article was distributed to the members. Vice Chair Orlove felt it was important to hear what the residents in that area would like to have in this spot. He did not think it would be worthwhile to build something that the residents would not use and questioned whether it would have any benefit to the City. Mr. Wildner reported that a design for the friendship park was presented to the County to be built in Caloosa Park. The County's Parks and Recreation Director brought the Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 26, 2004 plans to the County Commission and they did not show much support for it. Based upon the information he garnered from the County Commission, he sent a letter to the Sister City Committee stating that they did not think the friendship park was appropriate for a county facility. Mr. Wildner pointed out that Caloosa Park is the largest facility for girls' softball in southern Palm Beach County and the County plans on increasing the use of the park. Chairperson Pierce did not think that putting in a passive park would be best for Congress Community Park. Vice Chair Orlove pointed out that this did not make the priority CIP list. Members felt that spending $10 million for a park was too much money. Even if the sister city built the park without any cost to the City, the City would have to spend a great deal of money to maintain it. Ms. Peterfreund pointed out that demographically, she did not think that the friendship park would meet the needs of the entire community. She felt that the Board members should make their concerns known that they do not feel that this would serve the community at large, while pointing out the amount of money it would cost the City to maintain it. Vice Chair Orlove recommended that this be added to the Items for the City Manager's Attention. Mr. Wildner noted that the article stated they would provide facilities that would include a recreation building, playgrounds, etc. Members pointed out that even though they offered to build it, the City would have to pay it back. C. Monthly Report Chairperson Pierce pointed out that the City was awarded Tree City USA. Mr. Wildner noted that the City also received a growth award. Chairperson Pierce referred to a municipality in South Florida that gave out plants, and she thought it might be a good idea if the City gave out tree samplings on Earth Day. Mr. Wildner reminded members that the City still has the Adopt-A-Tree Program, which is now under the auspices of the Public Works Department. Once each year the City gives out small trees. D. Items for the City Manager's Attention Mr. McVey would like the City to put some money into Little League Park. He pointed out that the Little League spent over $12,000 in painting the buildings. The irrigation system is antiquated and the field needs to be totally redone. Chairperson Pierce suggested informing the City Manager that the Board, as a group, does not support the friendship park, but does support a facility for handicapped children. Vice Chair Orlove reiterated that he felt they needed to do some research before making a recommendation and to meet with the neighborhoods. Ms. Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 26, 2004 Peterfreund also brought up the cost of friendship park that was a specialty park and that the Board would like to investigate looking at other uses for the park that would benefit the entire community Ms. Murphy recommended visiting both parks the next time the Board meets. Vice Chair Orlove suggested meeting at Congress Community Park. Mr. Wildner stated that if anyone wanted to meet at the Senior Center they could meet at 6:00 p.m. and then the van would go to Congress Community Park to pick up the remainder of the members at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Wildner recommended calling the members prior to the meeting to confirm where members would be picked up. Ms. Murphy inquired where the fireworks would take place on July 4th. Mr. Majors stated they would take place at Intracoastal Park. Mr. Wildner noted that the City would be providing a shuttle, since there is a shortage of parking. Mr. Wildner announced that the Veteran's Council would be hosting the dedication of a second monument for WWII Submariners at Intracoastal Park on Saturday, May 8th at 2 o'clock. VI. Next Meeting: May 24, 2004 -- Meet at Senior Center @ 6:00 p.m. or Congress Community Park at 6:30 p.m. VII. Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (May 3, 2004) 7