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Minutes 07-25-05 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, JULY 25,2005 AT 6:00 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair William Orlove, Vice Chair Betty Thomas Tom Williams Patti Hammer, Voting Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation Director Jody Rivers, Recreation Superintendent Absent: Ralph Diaz Pam Winters Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alternate Also Present: John Wildner, former Deputy Recreation & Parks Director for City of Boynton Beach I. Call to Order While Chairperson Pierce-Roe was en route to the meeting, Vice Chair Orlove called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. II. Attendance Vice Chair Orlove called the roll and declared a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes of June 27,2005 Mr. Majors noted in the second from the last paragraph on page 4, in the first sentence, the words "0 line" should be changed to "on line." Ms. Rivers noted on Page 2, fourth paragraph, last sentence, the word "detrimental" should be changed to "essential." On page 8, in the second paragraph, the sentence should be changed to read, "Ms. Rivers reported the parks at Boynton Lakes and the Meadows will be refurbished." On page 6, in the next to the last paragraph, last line, Mr. Majors pointed out that Ms. Sims was employed by the City for over 40 years, not 25. Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25, 2005 Vice Chair Orlove requested that the five priorities mentioned in the motion on page 8 be stated. Ms. Rivers announced that those priorities were: (1) Greenways, (2) Oceanfront Park, (3) Winchester site, (4) Girl Scout Park and (5) upgrade and maintenance of parks in general. Motion Ms. Hammer moved to accept the minutes, as amended. Motion seconded by Ms. Thomas and unanimously carried. IV. Tour of Southeast Area Parks It was determined to address some agenda items, while waiting for Chairperson Pierce- Roe. V. Unfinished Business (Addressed out of Order) A. Senior Center Mr. Majors reported construction of phase 3 is ongoing. It is anticipated that the Senior Center will be connected in the near future to the fiber optic line that will allow the automated identification card process to be utilized. They will be entering into an agreement with Adelphia to use their fiber to connect to the City's server. (Chairperson Pierce-Roe arrived at 6:15 p.rn.) B. CIP Workshop Mr. Majors announced that the CIP Workshop was scheduled for August 30th at 2:00 p.m. in the Library Program Room. Even though the workshop will be devoted primarily to Utilities, there may be some time allotted for other CIP projects. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if the public would be able to speak first. Mr. Majors was not certain on this. Vice Chair Orlove recommended adding this is an item to the August 22nd meeting so it could be determined whether Board members should attend. Chairperson Pierce-Roe had intended to attend the first CIP workshop, but when she learned she would not be able to provide input, she decided not to attend. Vice Chair Orlove indicated he would be available to attend the August 30th workshop and Chairperson Pierce-Roe also said she could attend. Mr. Majors will check to see if Board members would be permitted to speak. Mr. Majors noted Vice Chair Orlove had inquired when the City's next election would take place. Mr. Majors reported the next election would take place in November 2006. At that time, elections would be held for Mayor and Commissioners for District 1 and 3. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25, 2005 Vice Chair Orlove would like to discuss a bond issue for certain projects dealing with parks and recreation at the August meeting. He would like to have a bond issue similar to what Delray Beach did that would be solely for recreation and parks projects. C. ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) At the last meeting, Mr. Majors distributed information about ASH that City Manager Bressner had forwarded to him. This is a group that is advocating banning smoking at beaches. The Board had asked Mr. Majors to determine if there are any other cities that have adopted this. Mr. Majors reported there are beaches in California, Hawaii, U.K. and Australia that have adopted no smoking polices on beaches. The organization is located in Washington, D.C. and offered to assist Boynton Beach if it wanted to try to take this issue on. Vice Chair Orlove inquired how a smoking ban could be enforced. Mr. Majors responded an ordinance would have to be passed and could possibly be enforced by hiring a park ranger or the police. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if the lifeguards could be responsible for this. Mr. Majors explained the lifeguards' responsibility is safety and this would take them away from that responsibility. Ms. Hammer questioned whether they should get involved in this. Vice Chair Orlove felt that this was more of a trash problem and perhaps the City could consider providing more trashcans for smokers to put out their cigarettes. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if the City Manager was expecting a response from the Board on the issue. Mr. Majors did not think this was necessary, unless the Board wanted to bring a recommendation forward. IV. Tour of Southeast Area Parks . Southeast Neighborhood Park This was the first park toured. Ms. Rivers explained how the park would be developed. Mr. Wildner pointed out the park is comprised of 2.3 acres. The City would have preferred to have purchased the entire five acres, but was unsuccessful doing so. The 2.7 acres remaining will be developed with single-family homes. An 8" black chainlink fence will be erected around the park. Ms. Thomas inquired about the mango trees and was informed many of the trees would remain. Members felt a mango theme might be appropriate for the park and this might be something the Arts Commission could become involved in. While on route to Jaycee Park, the next order of business on the agenda was discussed. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25, 2005 VI. New Business A. Recommendation to name new Wilson Center after Carolyn Sims Mr. Majors distributed a letter from Ms. Lena Rahming, who is requesting that the new Wilson Center building be named after Ms. Carolyn Sims to be called the Carolyn Sims Center. Mr. Majors noted Ms. Sims worked for the City 401/2 years. She started her career at the Wilson Center and was on the original staff at the Wilson Pool. Ms. Sims also worked at the Hester Center and devoted her life to the children in the City. Mr. Majors reported he has spoken with community leaders who were all in favor of Ms. Rahming's recommendation. Vice Chair Orlove inquired about the original Mr. Wilson, for whom the facility was named, and questioned if any of his ancestors may be opposed to this. Mr. Williams explained who Mr. Wilson was and he passed away many years ago. Mr. Williams did not think the original Mr. Wilson had many relatives left. Chairperson Pierce thought it would be beneficial if they could get a petition signed and presented to the Commission indicating the community was in favor of naming the Wilson Center building after Ms. Sims. Mr. Williams spoke about the devotion and all the years Ms. Sims spent with the children of the City. Mr. Majors pointed out that Ms. Rahming is also a community leader and is greatly respected in the City. Motion Vice Chair Orlove moved that this Board forward to the City Commission a favorable recommendation naming the Center at Wilson Park the "Carolyn Sims Center" based on the recommendation of Mr. Majors, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Rahming. Motion seconded by Ms. Thomas. Ms. Thomas pointed out that she was greatly in favor of naming the Wilson Center building after Ms. Sims and requested her name be included in the motion. Vice Chair Orlove amended his motion to include Ms. Thomas. The amended motion was duly seconded and unanimously carried. . Jaycee Park The next park visited was Jaycee Park. Mr. Wildner pointed out the park is comprised of seven acres and was purchased by the City from the Florida Inland Navigation District. The County also assisted by giving the City $1 million towards the purchase of the property. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25,2005 Because the Community Redevelopment Agency had some mitigation problems with some projects in the downtown area, an agreement was worked out with CRA that part of the park would be a mangrove mitigation site. The park will be used as a boating destination site and will include a day dock, restrooms, boardwalk and a pavilion with an informational kiosk. While viewing the site, Mr. Timothy Lee Bearson, 701 S. Seacrest Avenue, Boynton Beach, approached the members and staff and announced he was totally against the development of the park and requested his comments be placed into the records of the meeting. . FP&L Site Vice Chair Orlove had concerns about the possibility of radiation emanating from electrical sub-station on the site. Mr. Majors stated a buffer could be added that would provide a degree of comfort for people who have this concern. Mr. Majors pointed out that the site is quite large and the area where the substation was located did not have to be part of the park site. Two to three acres could be used as a buffer. Mr. Majors pointed out this is the only site the City has that provides freshwater access and could provide more boat ramps. The canal could be linked to Pioneer Canal Park and then to the Winchester Park once that site was developed. Vice Chair Orlove questioned if they should approach the City Manager and request that the City hire someone not connected with FP&L to do a study to determine if the site could be developed for a park. Ms. Thomas felt if the park were only used as a boat ramp, a study would not be necessary. Mr. Wildner recommended a passive park with boat ramps. Mr. Wildner pointed out the E-4 Canal had great recreational potential if it were developed. Even if the property were never developed, it was still a benefit to the City. If the exotics were removed from the site, the native trees would be able to flourish that would encourage more wildlife. On the way to Forest Hills Park, Mr. Majors read a memorandum from City Clerk Janet Prainito prepared to all Board Liaisons dated July 11, 2005 regarding the role of the Recording Secretaries at Board Meetings. B. Monthly Report (addressed out of order) Vice Chair Orlove noted in the report it stated the consultant for the Boundless Playground will be developing a conceptual plan to facilitate the public and focus groups meetings. He inquired when this would start. Ms. Rivers responded they received notification from the City Commission last week that they could begin to negotiate with four firms and the negotiations should begin next week. She anticipated the process 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25, 2005 would start in October. Vice Chair Orlove asked if this meant they could begin focus group meetings with the community and Ms. Rivers stated this was the intent. . Forest Hills Park Mr. Wildner gave a brief background of how the park was acquired from the DOT after 1- 95 was built. Previously it was a DOT right-of-way. They worked closely with the community to build the park. The park was built in the 1970's and has a small ball field, basketball court, and a shelter. Vice Chair Orlove inquired if this was one of the parks that was in need of general maintenance and repair. Ms. Rivers stated the equipment was sufficient for now, but they will be replacing some of the play equipment and upgrading the park furniture. C. Items for the City Manager's Attention Vice Chair Orlove referred to their previous discussions regarding ASH and asked if the Board wanted to submit comments to the City Manager. Mr. Majors felt if the Board decided not to take any action, it would be necessary to respond to the City Manager. . Girl Scout Park Mr. Wildner pointed out the various properties that make up Girl Scout Park. There have been discussions about building a pedestrian bridge that would connect two of the properties. This would allow development of a park that would consist of 12 acres. Mr. Wildner pointed out behind the wooded area there already is a bridge that goes over the railroad tracks. However, this bridge cannot be traversed. There also has been talk about building a bridge from the FP&L Park to the northern corner of Girl Scout Park. If the area were developed, it would be necessary to install a buffer between the homes and the recreational facilities. Ms. Thomas noted years ago the park was actually a camp for Girl Scouts; thus the name "Girl Scout Park." VII. Discussion Members decided to continue the tour of the City parks that were not visited tonight to the August meeting. Mr. Majors recommended visiting Congress Park, Quantum Park, Meadows 1/Nautica Sound, and any other parks that time would allow. Vice Chair Orlove requested that the FP&L site be added to the agenda for the August meeting so the issue of the sub-station could be further addressed. 6 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 25, 2005 VIII Next Meeting: August 22, 2005--6:00 p.m. meet at the Senior Center IX. Adjournment There being no further business, the tour and meeting concluded at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~(,L jt.,. !K-~~~~ Barbara M Madden Recording Secretary (July 27,2005) 7