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Minutes 09-27-04MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 AT 6:30 P.M. Present Betty Pierce, Chair William Orlove, Vice Chair Betty Thomas Tom Williams John McVey, Alternate John Spannuth, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director .lohn Wildner, Deputy Recreation & Parks Director Absent Margaret IVlurphy Lisa Peterfreund Pamela Winters I. Call to Order Vice Chair Orlove called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Attendance The Vice Chair took attendance and declared that a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes of August 23, 2004 Mr. Orlove made corrections to the minutes. On page 2, in the last paragraph, second sentence, he asked that the sentence be revised to say" The County Parks have really large rapids" instead of "The County Parks are very large with rapids". Motion Ms. Thomas moved to approve the minutes of August 23, 2004 as submitted with corrections. Mr. McVey seconded the motion that passed 6-0. Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 IV. Unfinished Business A. Senior Center IVlr. Majors provided an update on the Senior Center. He wanted to keep Board members abreast of the recent renovations and different activities, since they have been challenged with the storms. B. Congress Avenue Community Park - Boundless Playground IVlr. Wildner presented a drawing and an overview of concepts and plans for the Community Park. He noted that at the Board's previous meeting, the concept of the Boundless Playground was endorsed so that staff could look into funding. The Board moved that it supported the Boundless Playground as one aspect of the total development of the Park, along with other recreational opportunities for that Park. Mr. McVey asked about maintenance and storage. Mr. Wildner responded that they would be included in the plan. Hr. Wildner also announced that he would bring someone with experience to the next meeting who would be qualified to answer the Board members' questions and concerns about the construction plans. Mr. Spannuth commented that extensive time was spent getting ideas from people in various communities. He thought that the Board should give serious consideration to all the ideas that staff has for the Boundless Park. Chair Pierce commented that this was discussed at various meetings and that this is a great concept and idea. She praised Vice Chair Orlove for all the hard work that he did, making sure he contacted all the homeowner associations in the District in which the Park would be located, to find out each community thoughts and how important it is to have this park. Mr. Spannuth commented that the building requires a lot of thought process and physical work which will require a key person being there at all times. Therefore, he urged Board Members to think about all this and what has been discussed. Mr. Wildner explained that this concept was not an endorsement of this particular concept; it was an idea from one individual and one Commissioner's view of what could go forward. Chair Pierce said they were moving in a great direction. She feels this is one step and what Mr. Wildner has presented is another. Maybe the Board could get with that community and show the other communities what somebody has come up Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 with to get more suggestions, since this is a piece of land that will be with the City for a very long time. Mr. Majors explained that during the month of October, they would conduct a survey of the area. Barbara Meacham the City Parks and Landscape Architect could start doing some focus design work. Virginia Shea will be creating a internal core of staff who would start using the Boundless Playground template. He further explained that they would start moving forward with establishing a committee to deal with the design phase and the funding raising. Mr. Majors said this was not a C:[P project, but the City would contribute some funding. He announced that they currently have $15,000 in the CIP budget for next fiscal year, to cover a portion of the survey and some of the initial design work and if necessary, some professional engineering advice. As part of that Recreation and Parks would need to engage some Board Members, in order to get general ideas of what the needs are. Mr. Wildner said at this time he would like to get feed back from the Board and the general public. He also suggested that the Board nominate a member as the main spokesperson to be part of one of those committees. That person would report back to the Board to allow them to keep pace with what is going on and also act as a liaison between the community and the Board. Mr. Majors pointed out that in terms of fundraising Ms. Majors would play a great role in seeking grants. There are at least two local foundations that are expressing interest in participating in this project. Mr. IVlajors said this would be something that they have to look into. Mr. IVlajors recommended that the Board nominate a Board Member that can be part of the committee who could report back to the Board. He did not anticipate the project being a million dollar project; it could be a regional attraction that would attract a lot of children. IVlr. IvlcVey commented that the drawing appeal would be to one special age group and that was not majority of the community. Since this is a very small percentage suggested consideration should be given for other age groups. Nomination: Vice Chair Orlove was nominated as Liaison for the Board and a member of the Boundless Committee. There were discussions amongst Board Members that Mr. Orlove should be a member for the entire park and not just the Boundless Committee. Mr. Majors noted that he was following the Boundless template, which does not mean Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 they cannot venture outside the playground and into other elements of the park. He pointed out that members could rephrase the nomination accordingly. There was a general consensus from Board Members to nominate Mr. Orlove for the entire park. Discussion ensued regarding the language being changed to "for the Park and Recreation Board and to the committee that has been set to design the Congress Avenue Park". IVlr. Williams questioned whether the Park would require staffing. Mr. Majors responded that it would depend on the design if the facility has an office and serves as a multi function, then they would need a staff person. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if they would have a Summer Camp and would the park be equipped for different groups of children. He pointed out that there would have to be a place where the children have access to a bathroom and could use the park when there is inclimate weather. Mr. Williams noted that there should be a phone for scheduling. Vice Chair Orlove said he met with two associations who said it would be great to have senior dances and other recreation activities. As a result there would be a need for someone to be in charge of the calendar like the Civic Center. V. New Business A. Recreation & Open Space Element of Comprehensive Master Plan Mr. Majors stated that this was a very significant project and as a Board they would focus on the Open Space and Recreation Element of the Comprehensive Plan. As part of this project they would take public input at that current meeting and at the October 25, 2004 meeting. He announced that at the meeting in October they would be joined by David Barth. Mr. Barth is one of the consultants with Glatting-.~ackson who is the Consulting Firm they hired. Mr. Barth is scheduled to provide the Board with an overview of what they would be responsible for, which would lead them to the November 17, 2004 Workshop. The Workshop is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hester Center. This would give the public an opportunity to provide input and to offer suggestions and recommendations that this Board could bring forward. Mr. Majors noted that this was a key time in the history of the department since Mr. Wildner was retiring and they were in the process of bringing in a new employee for the first time in twenty years. As part of this project he was doing strategic a plan for the department which the Board will not be involved with because it is an administrative function. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 Mr. Majors said in regard to the Recreation and Space Element they solicit public input because they would like to get opinions from the public in terms of a park system and their vision of what parks should look like in the future. The first step will be to perform an audit of the existing facilities in the City. They will be going out to gather an inventory of all private facilities in residential developments. Examples of what they are auditing would be pools, tennis courts, community centers, clubhouses, children's playgrounds and racket ball courts. Mr. Majors they would like to create an additional layer to the GTS program. Part of the Comprehensive Plan would also be area and level of service standard. For example, currently the City's level of service is one pool for every 40,000 people. As part of this project they analyze that, and then decide if that is appropriate, or would there be a need for more or less. Ultimately that is why the public and the board is critical because that way it would reflect the needs of the community. The State requires that the Comprehensive Plan be updated every five years. Ms. Thomas questioned when was the last Comprehensive Plan performed. Mr. Majors responded that in 1988 the last one was completed after several years in the making. Ms. Thomas also asked if there was a questionnaire already made up or was there a national one that the board would follow. Mr. Majors responded that staff would take care of the survey. He also explained that there was the SCORP, which is the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. They have some standard, which they could follow. He said ultimately they found that one plan does not fit all, so in essence they allow for more discretion within each community to determine what is appropriate. Discussion continued regarding that the Board having an opportunity to do something that would have an impact on the future of this community. This would also provide leverage of how the City would develop in the future. IVlr. Majors said currently the standard from neighbor to Community Park is 5 acres for 1000 residents. Mr. Majors pointed out that at the October 25, 2004 meeting David Barth would be the only item on the agenda. Mr. Majors would then meet with GIS to create a clipboard and a checklist format that could be used to drive into an area to determine that someone lives on a certain street. This would be necessary because not all residential developments have a Homeowner Association with predetermined boundaries. Mr. Majors emphasized that this information was time sensitive for the GIS department so that they could create the layer for said project. Mr. Major's thought that the City would be divided into quadrants. That way they can base it on what each quadrant looked like demographically and geographically. Mr. Barth will explain how the process move to the State level. Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 Mr. Lindsay a resident from Colonial Village stated that they received a letter stating the City was having a meeting on September 27, 2004 on .laycee Park and they assumed the Recreation and Parks Board meeting would be about .laycee Park. Mr. Wildner explained to the residents that he was not aware of the letter, but he was happy they were able to attend. He further explained that the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board wanted as many people in the community as possible to think about the parks and what they want to see in the parks; not only in their section or their quadrants but also in the entire City. He would like them to express what facilities they would use as an individual, what facilities their community would use as group, and what facilities are needed throughout the City. They should also think in terms of what the future is going to bring. For example, 50 years down the line if their community does not exist it might be replaced by a different group. :If that were the case, what would they need? Mr. Lindsay pointed out that as a former president for his development, in talking to other people they realized they would like to see .laycee Park as a multipurpose Park so that it would appeal to the mothers who would like to come in with children and play or have a picnic. IVlr. Lindsay said all these discussions were in the informative stage. A resident from Leisureville commented that Theresa Zabik, Special Events Coordinator, distributed flyers to them and she set meeting/events up, but needed the support of the residents of Boynton Beach to get her ideas across. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if they knew what was going on with .laycee Park. They answered yes and said they have seen diagrams and have attended some meetings. IVlr. Majors asked people in the audience if there was a show or concert at the Park on Congress Avenue would they be interested in attending. One couple said they would be interested. Mr. Majors pointed out that Iris. Zabik was not in his department but he would convey that thought to her and let her know they came and spoke in support of .laycee Park. Mr. Majors also thanked them for coming and providing feedback and invited them to the October 25, 2004 meeting. Chair Pierce invited the residents to the Coastal cleanup. phone number in case they have questions or concerns. November 6, 2004 from 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. She provided them with a The event is scheduled for B. Monthly Report Mr. Spunnuth was glad to see on page 2, under Oceanfront Park, all the details regarding what people are doing, but he was surprised there were no water rescues during that month. Mr. Majors said the staff is very diligent at the Park and they do a Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida September 27, 2004 great job and .lohn Bebensee runs an outstanding marine safety operation. If Mr. Spunnuth needed more elaboration, we can invite Mr. Bebensee to the next meeting. Chair Pierce noted that each season was different. Everyone should look at what the month was like, for example in September the weather was bad and the Park was closed for awhile; therefore, that would be a good explanation for no water rescue. C. Items for the City Manager's Attention Chair Pierce commented that she did not get the letter out to the City Manager in regard to items for his attention; therefore, she would get together with Vice Chair Orlove and proceed on that. Mr. Wildner announced that September 27, 2004 was his last meeting as a City employee with the Board; however, he would still be working on the Comprehensive Plan and other project he started over the years. He would also attend most of the meeting as a volunteer. Next Meeting: October 25, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center. VII. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Deputy City Clerk (092704) 7