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Minutes 11-27-06 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2006, AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Bill Orlove, Vice Chair Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Absent: John Allard I. Call to Order Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Attendance Chair Pierce-Roe determined attendance and declared a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes from October 23, 2006 Motion Vice Chair Orlove moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Mr. McVey seconded the motion that passed 5-0. IV. Unfinished Business A. Uodate on CIP Proiects - Wallv Maiors Intracoastal Park Mr. Majors reported they were making faster than expected progress at Intracoastal Park. Some residents had expressed concern about losing their view of the water, but that was a normal consequence of this activity and staff had explained the situation. Chair Pierce-Roe asked if they had any problems with people using the park for sleeping and Ms. Rivers noted the construction activities had tended to eliminate that issue. S.E. Neighborhood Park Ms. Rivers reported this park project had begun. The trees had been removed, the stumps were being pulled out, and fill was being placed on the site. Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 27, 2006 Wilson Park/Carolyn Sims Center Mr. Majors reported there would be a groundbreaking ceremony at the site on November 30, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. It was primarily a promotional, photo opportunity, although the board was welcome to attend if they desired. It was anticipated the project would start moving quickly in December. Mr. Majors directed the board members to a Web site called htto:llmvhometownheloer.com, a Web site of the makers of the food product known as Hamburger Helper. This was focused towards getting additional monies for the playground part of this project and the award could be $5K. From the home page, the tab "Find a Project," led to a city/state search. This led to a form where supporters could enter comments. Viewing other projects and comments could provide ideas for input. Mr. Majors indicated the City would continue to use this site for other projects, if it worked out well. Congress A venue/Boundless Park Mr. Majors reported the buffer restoration was moving forward nicely. They were working on getting a Request for Qualifications prepared to solicit qualified consulting engineering and landscaping firms to prepare the construction documents. In approximately four weeks, a panel comprised of Mr. Majors, Ms. Rivers, and Wilfred Hawkins would choose the best qualified firm and begin negotiations for a contract. There was $2.5M in the budget. Ms. Rivers noted the case for support for the feasibility study was almost finished and the results had been quite impressive. The project had been characterized as a $15M project. Part of that was the $4M it would have cost to purchase the land if it had been necessary and $2.5M from the City, leaving a goal of $8.5M to be raised. This showed a significant commitment on the part of the City and that was expected to help the fundraising efforts considerably. The feasibility study was expected to begin in mid December or early January. Jaycee Park Ms. Rivers indicated they had received minor comments back from Permitting and the consultant was amending his plans to incorporate the comments. Hopefully, they could go out for bid in early January of 2007. Ms. Sloan asked that staff send the members a link to the site via email. Lifeguard Towers Ms. Rivers noted the construction of the towers was underway. Mr. Majors remarked they would be working towards hiring a consultant to do the design for the replacement of the boardwalk and related activities. That would probably take place this fiscal year, with the actual replacement commencing, hopefully, in the next fiscal year. The new landscaping Ms. Rivers arranged to have done on the western end of the parking lot was in. The roofs had been repaired. New barbecue grills had been installed. Ms. Rivers added lights were on the way and the Sand Sifters would be doing more landscaping in the upper lot as a volunteer project. Little League Field The lighting for Field 1 at Little League Park was approved at the last City Commission meeting. This lighting was extensively damaged during Hurricane Wilma. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 27, 2006 Chair Pierce-Roe inquired whether the complex behind the old shopping center on the corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Federal Highway had any plans to help with the maintenance of the park behind it. Mr. Majors responded they had paid an impact fee, but he had not heard of any offers of maintenance. Vice Chair Orlove inquired about parking in the Marina/Promenade area, and Ms. Rivers responded there were a certain numbers of spaces allocated to the City for public parking in all the garages being developed downtown. V. New Business A. Discussion of southwest corner of Woolbriaht Road and Federal Hiahwav as a Potential Park and Place for Public Art Mr. Majors circulated a picture of the site to the board members, saying it appeared there might be an opportunity for the City to acquire this one-quarter acre site. The City Manager wanted feedback from the Recreation & Parks and Arts Commission Boards about this site's potential use as a park and place for public art. The site now had an Exxon station on the corner of the larger parcel containing the Sunshine Square complex. Ms. Rivers commented the developers had approached the owners of the Exxon station, but it did not appear the owners wanted to sell. Mr. Majors responded that in spite of that, the feedback from the boards had been requested. The site was not in the Recreation & Parks Strategic Plan, but it was thought it could be a venue for public art. A discussion ensued and Ms. Rivers declared there would be a combination of retail and residential development in the Sunshine Square complex adjacent to the potential site. She added the developer would have to allocate a certain portion of the property as public space. There was some thought that a lack of specific knowledge of the layout and details of the planned development hampered the consideration of the site as a potential park. The consensus of the board was that the site was not desirable as a park, partly because it was located at an intersection with a great deal of traffic. There was general consensus, however, that it was potentially useful as a venue for public art, since it was a prominent spot that could be seen from Federal Highway, Woolbright Road, and by those going to and from the beaches. There could also be special signage calling attention to Little League Park or the beaches at this intersection. In terms of the desirability of the site for public art in general, the board deferred to the Arts Commission. Chair Pierce-Roe spoke of earlier board discussions about having a great sculpture either coming in from the Boynton Inlet, which would be Welcome to Boynton Beach, or coming off Gateway coming into Boynton. Vice Or love asked that an update giving the comments of the Arts Commission be put on the January agenda. B. Senior Center Recommendation for Accreditation Mr. Majors announced they had a site visit from the accreditation team to review the material prepared by the Senior Center. The accreditation reviewers were expected to make a recommendation to the National Council on Agency that the Senior Center had met all the 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 27,2006 requirements necessary to become a nationally accredited facility. This announcement was the cause of many expressions of congratulation. Ms. Hammer gave credit to Mr. Majors and Ms. Rivers for being the cause of much change for the good since they had taken charge, with this being just one more example. For years nothing had happened, and now good things were happening. Chair Pierce-Roe felt the board had a lot to do with this also. Mr. Majors noted the Senior Center was now serving lunches for 75-125 people each day. When asked, he stated Boynton Beach seniors were able to belong to the Center at no charge, but seniors living outside Boynton Beach had to pay an annual membership fee. Eighty-five percent of the participants were residents of the City of Boynton Beach. C. Groundbreakina for Wilson ParklCarolvn Sims Center This item was covered earlier in the meeting. D. Veteran's Memorial Ms. Rivers reported this was up in the air. Mr. Majors related staff had been asked to look at the feasibility of taking the veteran-related elements at Intracoastal Park and relocating them to a new site, which could either be the existing Veterans Park or the Bicentennial Park site. The developer of the Bicentennial Park site project was considering how to best fit the footprint of his project on the site and include the Veterans Park as well. The recommendation for Bicentennial Park was for more of an open plaza that could be a place for a greenmarket, a performing arts venue, and a gathering spot. The board's feedback was sought about: 1) Where should the Eternal Flame memorial be located? (Veterans Park, Intracoastal Park, or Bicentennial Park?) 2) Should the veteran-related memorials from Intracoastal Park be left in place or moved to one of the parks mentioned above? A factor to consider was that Bicentennial Park was twice as large as the existing Veterans Park. Some board members were unfamiliar with the Bicentennial Park site and Ms. Rivers offered to take them over there during the day if they so desired. Ms. Sloan thought it would be a good idea to tour all three sites in order to come up with a recommendation. Mr. Orlove offered to drive by the sites on the weekend. Chair Pierce-Roe believed there would be more exposure and use of Bicentennial Park than Veterans Park. The other park was located downtown with heavy shrubbery and trees and that did not lend itself to feeling safe at night, for example. Ms. Rivers referred to the master plan for Veterans Park the members had seen at an earlier meeting, where there was a lot of hardscape, a lot of water features, and several areas for solitude and contemplation. Even though it was small, it appeared to work and be a very personal space. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 27, 2006 If the veteran-related memorials were removed from Intracoastal Park, Chair Pierce-Roe inquired what would be put in their place. Ms. Rivers said they could put some public art there, for example. The board thought the wishes of the Veterans Commission should be taken into account in any decision about this. Mr. Majors agreed, but said this board had a say in it also, since parks were invoived. Ms. Hammer felt something should be decided and done quickly, since the veterans were getting up in years. Mr. Majors said the Eternal Flame was going to move forward definitely, but the City was looking for feedback about where to put this "centerpiece" of the memorial, considering the three locations mentioned earlier. Mr. Majors thought the Bicentennial Park was attractive, since it was much larger. Mr. Orlove did not believe there was much room at the existing Veterans Park for special gatherings. He did not believe anyone would mind changing the name. Ms. Hammer thought the City would want to retain that name. Mr. Orlove stated it could be called Bicentennial Veterans Park. The board wanted to defer to the Veterans Commission in regard to the location of the various veterans memorials. At the board's request, Mr. Majors would invite the Chair of the Veterans Commission to speak to the board. If he was unable to attend another meeting, Chair Pierce- Roe asked Mr. Majors to try to obtain his verbal feedback and relay it to the board. D. Monthly Report No discussion. E. Items for the City Manager's Attention Mr. Or love inquired if there had been any resolution of the "No Smoking" on the beach issue. Ms. Rivers stated the Boynton Beach City Commission was not taking a stand for no smoking on the beach. Delray Beach was considering limiting smoking to certain areas on the beach. Ocean Ridge was not going to take a stand. The underlying current was that the coastal cities and counties had to consider what the effect would be on tourism if a no smoking on the beach ban were to be enacted. Tourism was the largest business in the area. Ms. Rivers had been in contact with Palm Beach County Beautiful and Palm Beach County and they were going to try to do a joint effort on an anti-littering campaign. They had ordered the butt bag systems and some information. The Sand Sifters would be doing an educational table every month about anti-littering and the Recreation & Parks Board would put forth a similar effort during its annual clean up effort. 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Park Board Boynton Beach, Florida November 27, 2006 Vice Chair Orlove noted the Governor Elect was not in favor of such a ban. He thought this would come under the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act and an ordinance without any backing would be empty. Ms. Rivers stated that was the challenge Delray Beach would face if they tried to enact such a ban. According to the State Attorney General, a no smoking ban could not be enforced on the beaches. Mr. Majors stated the moment the ashes hit the ground, there was littering, so that was where they could apply pressure. The members agreed the anti-littering idea was a good one and they would keep a watchful eye over the program. Ms. Hammer inquired why there was so little advertising about the Holiday Parade in Boynton Beach. She read about Delray Beach's parade, which is the same day as Boynton Beach, but nothing about Boynton's parade. Mr. McVey stated there was something in the Neighborhood Post. Ms. Hammer thought there should be a great deal more advertising about Boynton's events, and staff agreed to pass that comment along. As a point of interest for the board members, the Sand Sifters were said to have a clean up on the first Saturday of every month. Ms. Rivers announced the head of the Sand Sifters was on the American Pie Council Board and January was American Pie Month. The Sand Sifters were going to replant all the beds in the upper lot of Oceanfront Park and call it "Beautify - Get a Pie." The City would purchase the landscape materials and the Sand Sifters would put it in and give their volunteers pies for participating. The planned date was the third weekend in January, and staff would bring the information to the board via email. VI. Next Meeting The next meeting of the board would be on January 22, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center. There would be no meeting in December of 2006. Mr. Majors stated the board was invited to the Holiday Parade on December 10. Crystal Gale and the Gatlin Brothers would be performing. VII. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~.~// Susan Collins Recording Secretary (113006) 6