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Minutes 06-26-06 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE BOYNTON BEACH SENIOR CENTER ON MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2006 AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Patti Hammer John Allard Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alt. Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Absent: Bill Orlove Tom Williams Pam Winters James McMahon, Alt. I. Call to Order Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. II. Attendance Chair Pierce-Roe took attendance and announced Ms. Hammer would have to leave the meeting to attend another meeting elsewhere. III. Approval of Minutes from May 22, 2006 There was one correction to the May 22, 2006 minutes on page 3, second paragraph as follows: "There were also the Boy Scouts, the Audubon Society, and possible mitigation funds from developers for trees they had to -teaf €Iewft relocate elsewhere in order to build." Motion A motion was made by Ms. Hammer to accept the minutes with the change. Ms. Sloan seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. Unfinished Business A. USA Netball Association Ms. Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent, announced Todd Johnson from the Hester Center met with Carol Hokrein and an associate last Wednesday. Hester Center had been tentatively Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Boynton Beach, Florida June 26, 2006 reserved for July 8, 2006 for a Netball Team Practice. They also discussed setting aside one night each week for at least one hour to open the sport to girls who came into the facility. A flyer would be created and distributed to promote the sport. It was not known if there were specific age ranges associated with the sport. There was a short discussion about the large number of women who were interested in participating in sports. V. New Business A. Accreditation Visit Mr. Wally Majors, Recreation and Parks Director, announced the board had previously discussed the application and report to receive the National Accreditation. He had a copy of the report, which was voluminous, and was the result of two years worth of work. He explained there were 156 standards that needed to be addressed as part of the effort, as well as documented evidence of compliance for each of the standards. Mr. Majors elaborated proof would be either a policy, procedure, plan, or something in the files that illustrated the department was already following the standards. Mr. Majors advised from July 17-19th, the Commission for the Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA), who would oversee the accreditation process, would be conducting a site visit. They would go through the department files to ensure the information was accurate and reflective of how the department operated. Mr. Majors extended an invitation to the board members to a small social for the visitors, as well as members of the City Commission and various department directors. The three representatives of CAPRA would be traveling from California, Virginia and Maryland. Each representative oversaw a department and was selected to verify the information submitted. Mr. Majors expressed, it was his hope that at the end of the visit, some type of indication would be given whether the site visit was successful or not and, come October, when he attends the National Conference in Seattle, they would be formally recognized as being accredited. Mr. Majors urged the members to attend the social as a show of support and involvement with both the board and the community. He indicated the social would last about 30-60 minutes and he emphasized this endeavor would be something they could be very proud of. Mr. Majors felt the department would be successful in its attempt at accreditation and acknowledged, Sherri Claude of his office, and the planning team that was assembled to accomplish the goal. He announced they did a fine job. The task was comprehensive, involving aspects such as planning, administration, risk management, finance, human resources, facilities, and staff management, and he informed the board only 2% of all the recreation and parks departments in the nation were accredited. Mr. Majors also added the department had contacted other agencies that received accreditation and ascertained each site visit from CAPRA varied. Mr. Majors highlighted one member of CAPRA who would be participating in the site visit was a building inspector, a planner and was now an attorney who works for Parks and Recreation for Maryland County. The second member of CAPRA was a Director in California and a big tennis enthusiast, and the third gentleman was from Virginia. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Boynton Beach, Florida June 26, 2006 B. CIP Update Mr. Majors announced there would be a CIP workshop in August. He requested the members attend and thought it was important for them to be involved in the process. He updated the members as follows: · Wilson Park improvements involved rebuilding the pool, recreation center and other park improvements. Building permits had been applied for and were anticipated within the next two to four weeks. Once permits are received, the projects would be put out to bid. · Intracoastal Park Clubhouse is in permitting and would also be put out for bid once the permits are received. Mr. Majors met with the architectural firm designing the facility and discussed how they would stage the project. The portion of the property immediately to the north and east of the pavilion would be sectioned off, allowing for access to the facility. About five feet of dirt would be removed to create the foundation of the building and a lot of heavy equipment would be present. There would be a parking area on the western portion of the park and the fill was needed for Jaycee Park. Part of the bid process would be for contractors to provide some traffic control for pedestrian and play areas. Chair Pierce-Roe asked about the developer involved with Seaview Trailer Park. The board had asked INCA if they would be able to donate or do something towards the parks in the area, such as Boat Club Park in terms of the funds. She elaborated the board had discussed having a small splash park there and the developer had asked what they needed to do. Consequently, the board had discussed different options. Ms. Rivers explained the developer had already paid their impact fees. Chair Pierce-Roe explained Yachtsman Cove was now asking the same thing. She explained the board was not seeing any of the improvements they had discussed. Mr. Majors clarified the issue goes back into the mix of CIP which would be evaluated along with other projects. Chair Pierce-Roe explained prior minutes reflected the developer asking what they needed to provide in order to construct their projects. Mr. Majors clarified some improvements have taken place. He also expressed his recommendation to see how the development impacts the park and whether the park could accommodate the additional activity. He reported, although it had not altered the direction of the project, they have had some negative feedback from concerned residents in terms of what volume of activity would take place. He explained, at least after a year or two, they could obtain a sense of what was occurring at the park. Mr. Majors explained the CIP workshop would address these concerns. He elaborated Ms. Rivers would speak about Jaycee Park, Southeast Park and other issues that would alleviate some of Ms. Roes concerns. He anticipated people would have an opportunity to choose a park that was more convenient for them. Ms. Rivers indicated they were trying to find construction drawings and then go through permitting. She elaborated one of the components was very large play apparatus which would help draw individuals from Intracoastal Park to Jaycee Park. For Southeast Neighborhood Park, Recreation and Parks would act as general contractor, and 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Boynton Beach, Florida June 26, 2006 should be able to start that park within the next few weeks. This park would have a very nice play area for the neighborhood, and then the third play area would be located at Hester, which would also help relieve pressure. Evaluation would then take place. Chair Pierce-Roe commented the board had always discussed the water park at Intracoastal Park, but there was no access to the water and they could not even have a boardwalk. She explained she attended a tournament and comments she heard were it was a great place to picnic, but boaters could not pull their boats up or weigh their fish. She indicated in the past, the board talked about having some type of park with a water feature, even if it were just a fountain. Ms. Rivers suggested constructing the other facilities to see what impact the Clubhouse had on it, and they could evaluate the matter. Mr. Majors added they master planned the park, and they would not stop developing it. The concerns he heard about parks were music, the planned activities and adjusting the park hours. Chair Pierce-Roe explained people purchased homes next to the park and when development occurred they become upset. Ms. Rivers explained the City Commission has supported the Recreation and Parks Department in those instances. Mr. Majors recommended the board attend the workshop. Southeast, Jaycee, Wilson, Hester, and Intracoastal Parks all have new playgrounds. Ms. Rivers announced new playgrounds have been installed at Laurel Hills, Forest Hills, and the Civic Center, which attracts a lot of children to the center. C. Naming of Facilities Mr. Majors reported the City Commission wanted to re-evaluate the process of naming facilities. They were not happy with the existing process and decided they wanted to have a separate board to develop a policy to name facilities and govern that policy. Assistant City Manager, Wilfred Hawkins, and Assistant to the Manager, Carisse LeJeune were examining how other municipalities handled the naming of their facilities. The namings were on hold. Mr. Majors also commented the facilities were in the Strategic Plan for 2009/2010 and the CIP goes through 2008/2009. Then there would be no more funding and this would need to be addressed. Ms. Rivers commented there was more pressure to develop Quantum Park then Girl Scout Park, and it was believed Winchester Park would be needed when individuals moved into the town homes. Winchester Park would be located behind the Super Target store. The park is on Old Boynton Beach Road on the east side of the property adjacent to the canal. Palm trees and other trees were being relocated. Mr. Majors explained as issues unfold and begin to develop they could be addressed. Ms. Rivers reported foxes are being displaced and there have been many fox sightings. D. Monthly Report There were no questions on the monthly report. Chair Pierce-Roe spoke about passports and reported effective January 1st, passports would be required for travel. She also indicated this could be a good source of income. Ms. Rivers explained the employee who was trained and previously handled this issue, left the position. A new manager and a new staff for the City Hall in the Mall location had recently been hired. There was discussion about the bids for the well at Little League Park. Ms. Rivers announced she mailed out five more bids, totaling 10 companies. She advised the next step would be to 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks BoyntDn Beach, Florida June 26, 2006 use one of the general contractors on a big job to get the job done. Ms. Rivers will check on the rigging, netting and shades at the park. E. Items for the City Managers Attention Mr. McVey spoke about an article involving Little League Park that may be in the media. The park was broken into again. Mr. McVey did not call the press. Ms. Rivers hoped to learn more about the security issue at the park the next day. Chair Pierce-Roe advised there was graffiti at Intracoastal Park. She reported gang graffiti originating from a Lantanna gang, the South Side Chicos (SSC), wrote on the walls. She requested it be cleaned and painted over. There were a few other places on Gateway also affected, and she commented the activity was moving up the road. The SSC has a rival gang from Lake Worth, the Make Life Krazy (MLK). The Lantanna Police should be contacted for further information. Mr. McVey reported the City Manager would like to thank the missionaries from Latter Day Saints. Ms. Rivers was aware of their volunteer work for the City. She reported Kids Kingdom was a playground with a slatted fence. The slats had names carved in them. They painted the slats with the names on them, which was an arduous task. The volunteers needed to do service projects for one year and they have been doing an outstanding job. There were about 14 volunteers. VI. DisaJssion Ms. Sloan spoke about a citizen wanting to make a donation for the Boundless Playground. She requested a letter be sent to her, on City stationery, detailing how to make the donation and who to send it to. Ms. Sloan will forward the information to the interested party. A. Accreditation Social, July 18, 2006, 5 p.m.-6 p.m., Recreation and Parks/HR Conference Room VII. Next Meeting The next meeting will be held July 24, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. in the Senior Center. VIII. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 5