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Minutes 01-22-07 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2007, AT 6:30 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Bill Orlove, Vice Chair John Allard David Barie Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director I. Call to Order Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Attendance Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll and declared a quorum was present. She introduced and welcomed the new board member, David Barie. Mr. Barie related he lived in Sky Lake and had been in the mortgage business for 30+ years. He had also worked for the State of Florida as a fraud investigator. He recently started his own business in the field of regulatory compliance consulting for the lending industry. He had been involved with the Boynton Beach Little League organization for some 25 years and that was how he knew Mr. Majors. Mr. Majors stated Mr. Barie had been Little League President and really understood government and had been a great conduit in the City's work with the Little League. Mr. Majors distributed the newest copy of the advisory board member roster. He commented that while Mr. Barie had a short-term appointment, if he reapplied, chances were good he would be reappointed for a regular term. Chair Pierce-Roe stressed the importance of reapplying for board seats. III. Approval of Minutes of November 27,2006 Motion Vice Chair Orlove moved to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was duly seconded and passed 6-0. IV. Unfinished Business A. Updated discussion of southwest corner of Woolbright Road and Federal Highway - Potential park and place for public art Mr. Majors stated Vice Chair Orlove had asked staff to obtain feedback from the Arts Commission about this potential park/art site. The Arts Commission agreed with the Recreation & Parks Board that this site was not suitable for a park or for public art. Chair Pierce-Roe commented the busy intersection and uncertainty about what would ultimately be placed in this site made it unattractive. The City Manager reported those findings to the City Commission at its last meeting. Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 22, 2007 Potential Paintball Site Mr. Majors introduced Bob and Angel Mealey, proprietors of a paintball supply store located at 1313 W. Boynton Beach Boulevard in Boynton Beach. Members of local paintball teams and supporters of the sport accompanied the Mealeys. They had been working with Mr. Majors for the past year in hopes the City could find a spot where they could have a park dedicated to the sport of paintball. Mr. Majors explained paintball was a legitimate activity and very common on many campuses as an intramural sport. Chair Pierce-Roe ascertained the board was amenable to consideration of the topic. Mr. Mealey described his vision of establishing a paintball park in the City of Boynton Beach. It would have to be at least two acres in size and games would be held on the weekends and holidays. Mr. Mealey distributed booklets describing the sport and Mr. Majors added the television station ESPN also had information about the sport. Mr. Mealey described the poles and netting and bunkers that would surround the playing field, stating they would supply them and maintain the site. They would also supply any labor involved in setting up or maintaining the site. No electricity was required, as they had generators and compressors. The games would take place during the day primarily. Chair Pierce-Roe asked if there were other cities in south Florida with paintball parks. Mr. Mealey responded the closest was Hotshots on Southern Boulevard west of Rt. 441. Mr. Majors and Mr. Mealey had recently considered all potential park sites in Boynton Beach and determined the best place for this activity would be in Pence Park. There was a softball field at Pence Park, but Mr. Majors stated the play was seasonal and the primary user was the Little League. Mr. McVey stated Little League was not using Pence Park at all any more. Mr. Majors mentioned the challenge was in taking an existing field and dedicating it for paintball for a fairly long period of time. Some aspects of the sport could be removed when play was not in progress, but it would not be feasible to remove and reset the poles for the netting, so the poles would have to remain in place. Mr. Majors compared this project to the Dog Beach in Jupiter, which had received kudos for the way its supporters policed it and kept it up. A group of dedicated volunteers was ready and willing to do whatever it took to have a place to play paintball and have tournaments. Mr. Majors mentioned they had been using the area along the FEC railroad tracks for parking since the 1980s, and that use had never been questioned. The idea of parking right on the field was mentioned. Mr. Majors believed the major users of Pence Park now were the residents from S.E. 4th Street, who played soccer and used the basketball courts there extensively. Since the ball field use appeared to be minimal, Mr. Majors thought Pence Park warranted exploration by the City. If they were able to pursue this more formally, the City would engage the neighborhood residents to determine the potential impact of a paintball park. Mr. Majors noted paintball generated cynicism on the part of some who saw it as a militant type of activity. However, he believed as long as the impact of the activity could be contained, it would be an exciting addition to the recreational possibilities in Boynton Beach. It would certainly generate a lot of interest in the community. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 22,2007 Chair Pierce-Roe inquired about liability, and Mr. Mealey responded they would insure the property and anything that happened on it as a result of the activity. Mr. Majors added this was how the Little League functioned at Pence Park as well. The board also discussed the FP&L Park as a potential venue. In terms of residential impact, it was thought this would be an even better choice, although there was no infrastructure and the site would require extensive land clearing and preparation. Mr. Majors thought it would cost approximately $250K and probably not come to fruition for several years. The City would be obligated to put in bathrooms, for example. Pence Park already had bathrooms and paintball could, theoretically, begin in about six months if approved. At the board's direction, Mr. Majors would show the Mealeys the FP&L site. It might be possible to start the activity at Pence Park and eventually shift it to this site. Mr. Majors would also show the Mealeys the Quantum Park site as another potential venue. There was some talk of being able to use FP&L Park for paintball sooner if some of the woods were cleared out, removing the exotics with a grant from the County. They could leave a substantial buffer around the perimeter, which would be desirable. Mr. Mealey noted they had discussed the project with the residents adjacent to Pence Park, who had not expressed any objections. He also displayed signed petitions in favor of the park. During paintball tournaments, the other business owners in the City would also benefit. It was suggested they prepare an impact study showing the various benefits of the activity to the City. Mr. Mealey advised there would be a paintball tournament in the vicinity of Southern Boulevard and 441 on February 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If any board members were interested, seeing this would give them a better idea of what the sport actually entailed. Mr. Majors would report on this at the board's next meeting. v. New Business A. Senior Center Mr. Majors proudly announced the Senior Center had achieved formal accreditation from the National Council on Aging, having met all the applicable standards. B. Veteran's Memorial Discussion The issue of where this would ultimately be placed, Veterans Park or Bicentennial Park, and whether the memorials at Intracoastal Park would be moved, was still up in the air. Mr. Majors would discuss it with the Veterans Commission to get a sense of their wishes in the matter and report back to the board. C. Ordinance 06-085jVoting by Board Members Mr. Majors distributed this ordinance for the information of the board members. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 22, 2007 D. Email Addresses for Board Members Mr. Majors announced the City Clerk's Office had initiated a survey to determine whether the board members would like to receive minutes and meeting announcements via email in the future. All members were amenable to that and placed their email addresses on a list circulated for the purpose. E. Monthly Report Ms. Hammer declared the Christmas Parade was the best ever and extended thanks to Mr. Majors and Ms. Rivers for all they had done to bring this about. Vice Chair Orlove inquired about the status of Southeast Neighborhood Park. Mr. Majors responded the ground had been cleared and the project should be completed by April 2007. Ms. Janelle Sloan left the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Majors announced they had received an unexpected $380K from the County and were going to use it to replace the public restroom, landscape, and generally clean up the grounds at Boat Club Park. The County was amenable to this since Boat Club Park was more of a regional facility, being used by residents of many other municipalities in addition to Boynton Beach. The new publiC restroom would be more modern and would comply with the latest standards for safety. If they had enough money, they could re-do the children's playground. Chair Pierce Roe asked if recycling bins could be placed closer to the boat docks. Also, she asked if fish cleaning "stations" could be placed along each side of the fishing pier, to minimize damage to the railings on which fish were now being cleaned. In regard to the children's playground, Chair Pierce-Roe indicated children were not using the playground at Boat Club Park since the one at Intracoastal was so much better. F. Items for the City Manager's Attention 1) Naming of the Boundless Park and Playground Ms. Hammer initiated a discussion on naming the Boundless Park and Playground, the "Robert L. Ensler Boundless Park and Playground." Mr. Majors remarked the City Commission had passed an ordinance pertaining to the naming of City facilities, but to his knowledge, had not assembled the board called for in the ordinance. He would inquire about this. Vice Chair Orlove mentioned he had brought up at a City Commission meeting the need for a Recreation & Parks representative on any board tasked with naming City facilities. He believed there was agreement on the Commission that this would be the case. Mr. Majors asked the board to consider dedicating the Boundless Park and Playground to Mr. Ensler instead of naming the park after him. The naming opportunity could be brought into play for a $3M donor, for example. In addition to dedicating the park to Mr. Ensler, there could be other ways in which to honor him while leaving the naming option open during the fundraising effort. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation &. Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 22,2007 Vice Chair Orlove had also asked the Commission to consider naming facilities after individuals who were still living, for which he also perceived agreement on the Commission. Ms. Hammer mentioned the board had a desire to name the Intracoastal Park Clubhouse after Chair Pierce-Roe. Mr. Majors would bring the ordinance to the next board meeting. He would also try to determine whether the naming board had been convened yet and if so, the identity of the members. VI. Next meeting: February 26, 2007, 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center VII. Adjournment There being no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ,~{aa, r Susan Collins Recording Secretary (012307) 5