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Minutes 07-24-06 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER,BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, JULY 24, 2006, AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Bill Orlove, Vice Chair Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan John Allard Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Absent: Tom Williams Pamela Winters John McVey, Alt. I. Call to Order Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. II. Attendance Chair Pierce-Roe took attendance and declared a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes from June 26, 2006 Motion A motion was made Ms. Hammer to approve the minutes of June 26, 2006. Mr. Orlove seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. Unfinished Business A. CIP Update Ms. Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent, reported the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) workshop scheduled for August was cancelled. She explained the City Commission approved a healthy CIP budget that contained mostly parks projects. She announced property values in Boynton Beach have risen so that the millage rate could be rolled back to 7.2 mills, still giving taxpayers 1 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL July 24, 2006 a break while maintaining a balanced budget. She explained some of the Commissioners would like to cut the millage back to 7.0 mills if possible. She announced if 7.0 mills were used, the budget would be cut, which would likely result in programming cuts and/or lay offs. Ms. Rivers provided an update as follows: . Intracoastal Park was put out for bid. There was a pre-bid meeting last week and bids are due by August 22. They hoped to start the project by October 1st. . Wilson Park received permit approval and was being prepared to be put out for bid. . Jaycee Park construction drawings were expected this week from Engineering. This project was six months behind schedule and should be put out for bid in November. Ms. Rivers will be closely following this project. . Southeast Neighborhood Park received its permits. Recreation and Parks would be acting as general contractor for the project and would be putting together a plan with five contractors to act as sub-contractors for the following areas: main, fencing, site amenities, utilities and electric. A schedule would be created and it was hoped the project would be started within the next few months. Mr. Orlove requested an update on Boundless Park. Ms. Rivers advised the master plan for the project would go before the City Commission on August 1, 2006. This project would be a totally fundraised project, and only included in the CIP budget if funding could be found. She clarified this to mean the project would be in the budget, showing on both the funding and expenditure sides. Funds could only be spent if they were raised. It was acknowledged the City was trying to obtain funding through grants and, to date, had not been successful. Ms. Rivers announced on August 1, 2006, they would be asking the City Commission for permission to enter into a contract with Waters Pelton Organization, Inc. This organization was a national organization based in West Palm Beach that had recently completed a very successful $20M campaign for the Palm Beach Zoo. Waters Pelton enlisted a lead contributor, and as a result, was able to successfully shop the project to other philanthropists. Ms. Rivers explained the first thing the organization would do would be to conduct a feasibility study and develop an informational packet to shop to individuals who may be interested in this particular type of project. They could then determine whether the project was a viable project for fundraising. The fee for this portion of their services would be $16,000, including the feasibility study, which would have a 30-45 day turn around. Ms. Rivers explained the companion piece to this effort was the City had previously discussed forming a 501C(3) non- profit foundation to act as a fundraiser for City projects. A short discussion ensued about division of responsibilities if the contract for the fundraiser were approved. The board did not want any aspects of the parks development to be missed. It was noted this had occurred with a different fundraising company on another project, not associated with the City. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL July 24, 2006 Ms. Hammer spoke about the name "Boundless Park". She indicated it was a total park for everyone. Renaming it to Congress Avenue Park was discussed, especially if it would assist in the development efforts. The park was planned to have a complex, Chinese pagodas, tennis courts, etc. It was a playground and a park, and the public needed to be educated about it. It was suggested this be part of the fundraising campaign. B. Accreditation Visit Ms. Rivers thanked all the members who came to the reception for their support. She expressed the Commission for the Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA), was very impressed with the number of board members who came to support the effort. She explained the visit lasted three days and was intense. One member of CAPRA was the Accreditation Manager for two Maryland Park Counties who was also an attorney, and urban planner. The second member was a Park Director in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the third member was a Director from Stockton, California and a tennis enthusiast. She noted the team had conducted accreditation visits before and knew exactly what they were looking for. There was a day reception, and the next night another reception was held at Banana Boat for the team. Recreation and Parks had invited their staff to attend, and 55 of the 60 employees attended. The visitors had a great time, and again, were very impressed with the show of support. They took a tour of different parks facilities the next day and then created their executive summaries. Out of the 156 standards needed, the department met 150 of them. It was also noted the department met all of the mandatory standards. CAPRA sent in their reports and the next step would be for the department to attend the National Conference in Seattle to testify before another panel. At that point, it was expected they would be formally recognized. Eleven other Parks Departments in the State have received the accreditation. The accreditation was a noteworthy accomplishment, and in October, Ms. Rivers indicated the issue would be publicized. Ms. Rivers also explained the department would need to be re-certified every five years, and that provided a good opportunity to continue to evaluate all their processes. Areas of strengths and weaknesses were identified and would be further reviewed moving forward into the future. Ms. Rivers explained the accreditation would not result in receiving additional State funds, however, she expressed her belief that Federal monies may eventually be tied to it. On another matter, Ms. Hammer asked if all the parks in the district were WI-FI parks and Ms. Rivers responded they were. Ms. Rivers also announced there would be a new park between Two Georges Restaurant and the Promenade Marina. She explained the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) purchased the property. There would be no fishing at this park and hopefully, individuals would use the new Jaycee Park. Boat Club Park could accommodate 8-10 people fishing at one time. Chair Pierce-Roe explained fishing was a popular family activity. She indicated she hoped the City could put a boardwalk at Intracoastal Park for this. Ms. Rivers also indicated the gang graffiti that was reported at the last meeting had been removed. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL July 24, 2006 C. Naming of Facilities Ms. Rivers explained the City Commission decided they did not like the criteria used to name facilities and formed a committee to study how other Cities handle the issue. The results were scheduled to go before the City Commission on August 15, 2006. Mr. Orlove also requested an update on the Greenways. Ms. Rivers replied the agreement with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was signed three weeks ago. FDOT would not let the City use engineers already under contract. Instead they would have to go out for bid. The area being discussed was described as being on the west side of Seacrest, between the railroad tracks and 1-95. Next year, the Greenway would be extended south to Barton Scrub. This portion of the Greenway was part of a larger Greenway Plan. Presently, there is land that still needs to be acquired. Ms. Rivers also explained some of the connecting points associated with the project were the streets, which would have to be re-striped with bicycle lanes, however, this could be done all at once. The second component of the project involved the Compson property, which the City would be asking the developer to include a portion of that property for the Greenway. At a later date, the City would then be able to connect all the sections. v. New Business A. Monthly Report There was no discussion on this item. B. Items for the City Managers Attention The board discussed inviting City Manager Bressner to the meeting. It was noted he had attended meetings in the past for open discussions. Ms. Rivers reported she participated in Leadership Boynton Beach, where Mr. Bressner was a speaker at the event, and he gave an outstanding presentation on the history of Boynton Beach. The board also discussed development in the downtown area. Inviting Lisa Bright, the CRA Director, to the meeting was also of interest, especially in light of the CRA obtaining the park between Two Georges Restaurant and the Promenade Marina. The board agreed inviting Ms. Bright would be quite informative. Ms. Bright could discuss trolley services, which would now be linked to service in Delray Beach. The mangroves by the marina were discussed and noted to be an enhancement to the area. Ms. Rivers explained mangroves were a native habitat and heavily regulated and protected in Florida. On a different matter, Chair Pierce Roe inquired about a former lifeguard, Phil Remray, that had recently been killed in an accident. Ms. Rivers confirmed the information as correct. It was thought the Chief's Association may hold some type of service for him. Ms. Sloan reported the Welcome to Boynton Beach sign on Congress Avenue, on the Delray Beach side, near Hunters Run was down. Ms. Rivers will notify Public Works to fix the sign. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL VI. Next Meeting: August 28 ~, 2006, 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center July 24,2006 VII. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned by consensus at 7: 11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, C Catherine erry- uberman Recording Secretary 072806 5