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Minutes 02-26-07 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2007, AT 6:30 P.M. AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FL Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Bill Grlove, Vice Chair John Allard David Barie Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Absent: John McVey 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. Chair Pierce-Roe introduced guests Robert and Angel Mealey, proprietors of a paintball supply store located at 1313 W. Boynton Beach Blvd. III. Approval of Minutes From January 22, 2007 Motion Chair Pierce-Roe moved to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was duly seconded and passed unanimously. IV. Unfinished Business a. CIP Update Wally Majors, Recreation and Parks Director, was pleased to announce work at the Carolyn Sims Center was currently ahead of schedule. The Intracoastal Park Clubhouse was also ahead of schedule. He indicated the building was quite impressive, providing a unique venue for City organized and sponsored activities as well as community use. Research done to determine a fee structure had not found comparables. 1 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL February 26, 2007 Ms. Rivers, Parks Superintendent, reported the Southeast Neighborhood Park should be completed by the end of March. The parking lot, tennis court and landscaping were being finished. Mr. Majors suggested touring the facility. Knollwood Park was 95% complete and only the sign needed to be installed. It was confirmed the sign was going to be an interpretive sign, speaking to the history of the location, previously Knollwood Groves. Boat Club Park was briefly updated. It was noted the cleaning stations would be addressed at a future meeting. Mr. Rivers advised that the plans for Jaycee Park were still in permitting. Regarding Pioneer Park, fencing would be installed the first week of March. The bathrooms had already been renovated and the basketball and tennis courts would be resurfaced in March. For the Congress Avenue Park project, interviews had been held with some of the Commissioners and the fundraising feasibility study was under way. Ms. Rivers added that once the results of the feasibility study were known, fundraising could begin. Currently, there was a Request For Qualifications (RFP), due by March 22, 2007, for a consulting design team to provide the contractual language on the construction drawings and final details of the park. Two solid proposals had already been received. Chair Pierce-Roe asked for an update on the lighting at Little League Park. Ms. Rivers indicated the electric would be installed this week and lights would be ready for the grand opening and 50th anniversary on March 3, 2007. Chair Pierce-Roe asked for an update regarding the criteria for the Call to Artists for the American Legion Eternal Flame Memorial. Looking at the information on the Internet, she had noted the park completion date of March, 2007, with a dedication targeted for Memorial Day, May, 2007, hosted by the City of Boynton Beach and the Arts Commission. Ms. Rivers reported artists had responded and art had been submitted. Unfortunately, no site had been selected, so the call to artists may have been premature. The development proposals were not that far along and art really could not be designed until the placement location had been determined. b. Veteran's Memorial Discussion The Veterans Memorial discussion was on hold. Mr. Majors indicated the board had not been given direction regarding where the memorial should be placed. It was not in the board's best interest to devote time to this issue until parameters were received. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL February 26, 2007 c. Pence Park Mr. Majors brought up the possibility of reconfiguring this site to accommodate paint ball activities and distributed a picture of the park. Pence Park was one of the oldest parks and was currently used for softball by the local residents and Little League as an auxiliary practice site. A small, lighted basketball court located on the southwest corner of the site was often utilized by youth and young adults. On the east side of the basketball court was a small playground and behind center field was a nice wooded area. The park was lit and a storage/restroom building was located along the first base line. The community was residential on the north and south sides, with railroad tracks and commercial establishments east of the 4th street corridor. Robert Mealey, proprietor of a paintball supply store, had solicited feedback from some rental residents on the north side. Mr. Majors confirmed that community feedback and impact were significant factors in determining the use of any of the sites. Ms. Sloan stated she had driven by Pence Park at about 6:30 p.m. and noted a neighborhood softball game in progress. Police were observed patrolling the area. Patti elaborated that all the parks would likely be hosting neighborhood activities, and the permanent installations required for paintball would negate some of the local neighborhood use. Mr. Mealy indicated each paintball park would be grass and measure 150 by 100 feet. There would be approximately 12-fifteen foot, permanent metal posts visible on each paintball field. Baseball would not be played in the paintball area. Mr. Orlove pointed out the metal posts could be a hazard if a pickup game of softball or baseball was played. Mr. Mealy confirmed that the paintball nets could be lowered and raised, but the metal posts would be permanent. Mr. Orlove opined that the future Florida Power & Light (FP&L) Park would be better suited for paintball because it was currently not being used. The land in front of the FP&L substation, the only structure on the field, could be used as long as it was determined the electrical fields were not a problem. Some development would be required to use this site as there was currently no infrastructure, and that could be costly. Mr. Mealy indicated generators could be used for paintball played at night. Chair Pierce-Roe spoke of the Rolling Green school area. The School Board had indicated it would be fencing off the entire area, but the public access area would be segregated from the rest of the school. Mr. Majors indicated the Congress Middle School was a transitional site right now, but the area already had parking and the fields were large enough to accommodate three football size fields side-by-side. A multipurpose area had been proposed and a restroom building with storage space was already there. The residential impact and buffering, such as the foliage at the FP&L park, would need to be assessed. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL February 26, 2007 Ms. Hammer voiced this was a wonderful opportunity to get children, teens and young adults, off the street. Chair Pierce-Roe showed a Georgia newspaper's Radio Shack "paintball supply sale" advertisement supporting the fact that this sport was growing nationwide. Ms. Sloan suggested touring the parks suited for paintball to identify all the variables. Mr. Mealy indicated he would prefer a long-term (five year) lease at a permanent site, not a temporary site that would require a move. Mike Fitzpatrick, past board member and Boynton Beach resident, expressed concern about the liability associated with possible injuries. Ms. Rivers responded it would be the same liability associated with other sports and would be part of the contractual agreement with the vendor. It was agreed there would be folks that opposed paintball, but it was now recognized as a legitimate sport, played in areas properly zoned for recreation. Chair Pierce-Roe reiterated she would like to find a location where the land was currently unused. Mr. Barie inquired what the agreement would be. Mr. Majors indicated the City would expect reimbursement. Potentially, the paintball application could generate revenue for the City and maximize land use. The City would not be expected to subsidize the application. Mr. Mealy reiterated he would install everything, pay to maintain it and restore the field as necessary after paintball use is terminated. Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Barie discussed the land behind Wendy's on Woolbright Road. They noted there was available space where the two existing Little League fields ended. A concession stand was already there for Little League use and parking would not be an issue, so not much else would be needed. The Little League participants could "grow into" the paintball application, and noise levels should not be a problem next to 1-95. This possible paintballlocation was enthusiastically accepted. Mr. Allard asked about the netting and size of the existing paintball park he had viewed on Southern Blvd. Mr. Mealy indicated the netting was foolproof and anyone moving past the netting had to have a mask on. The netting would protect Little Leaguers and the baseball fields. Mr. Allard agreed to email pictures of the paintball park currently located near Southern Boulevard to other members. Mr. Mealy asked if anyone on the board could contact Bethesda Hospital regarding vacant land next to the hospital that had been approved for use by a circus. It was suggested he contact the hospital. V. New Business a. Parks Tour It was agreed the board would tour the parks over the next couple of months, in place of the regular meetings, to get a better sense of community impact, site infrastructure 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL February 26, 2007 and possible financial impact. The first tour would start at 5:30 p.m. on March 26th, 2007, at Little League Park and would also include the future FP&L Park, Pence and Rolling Green Parks. The March, April and May meetings would be park tours. b. Monthly Report There was no discussion on the monthly report. c. Items for the City Manager's Attention Mr. Orlove suggested initiating a dialogue with the Commissioners and City Manager to determine the level of acceptance and involvement prior to spending more time on the paintball application. With the current focus on combating gangs, the City was seeking more safe play locations for children over ten years old. Ms. Rivers suggested taking the parks tour first and then formalizing a plan. Mr. Fitzpatrick talked about three acres of lake front land the County was selling at the southern end of Lake Ida, about a quarter of a mile from Hunters Run. He wanted to know why the City of Boynton Beach was not involved with the sale. The sale sign had been on 1-95 for six or seven months, and he believed the land belonged to Boynton Beach. Access to the land was through another property currently on the market for sale. Mr. Majors agreed to join with Mr. Fitzpatrick to investigate the site and sale. VI. Next Meeting: March 26, 5:30 p.m., at Little League Park for a parks tour. VII. Adjournment There being no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:45 p.m. f) ~J . '-...4':lku.-,' C/n~J 'Q-;tl(j Robin Hemin way i Recording Secretary , 2/26/07 5