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Minutes 03-26-07 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING ON MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2007, AT 5:30 P.M. Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair John Allard David Barie Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alternate Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent Absent: William Orlove, Vice Chair I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll and declared a quorum was present. Robert and Angel Mealey, Paintball Supply Store Owners, joined the board for the parks tour. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM: February 26,2007 Motion Ms. Hammer moved to approve the minutes from February 26, 2007. Ms. Sloan seconded the motion that passed unanimously. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. CIP Update Mr. Majors announced the Intracoastal Clubhouse construction was ahead of schedule and could be done by September, 2007. Ms. Hammer inquired if the building had been named yet, and it had not. Wilson Center Park was on schedule and should be done by November, 2007. 1 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL March 26, 2007 The Southeast Neighborhood Park was 98% done. Mr. Orlove had submitted a nomination to name the park in honor of Betty Thomas, who was a Principal at Boynton Beach Elementary School and served on the board for 27 years. The nomination would be forwarded to the City Manager's office. It was not known whether there was a sitting committee or review group yet. The board had requested qualifications to rebuild the boardwalk at the beach and the bathrooms and pavilions at Boat Club Park. The existing building at Boat Club Park was small but nice inside. Chair Pierce-Roe inquired if the City had considered placing a two- story building there. Mr. Majors responded it was worth considering but would depend upon the funding available, pending the outcome of the property tax amendment. All CIP Projects could be at risk, but were currently moving well. (David Barie joined the meeting.) b. Public Art - Veterans Park Mr. Majors recalled the September, 2006, meeting with a gentleman from the Veteran's Board who had presented the conceptual plan for redevelopment of Veteran's Park, including a veteran's memorial. An artist had recently been chosen to create the memorial and the board had endorsed the development. Now, Bicentennial Park was being considered for placement of the Veteran's Memorial. The Community Redevelopment Agency was offering $200K for the redevelopment, and Mr. Majors suggested moving forward rapidly to secure a decision and funding for the memorial at the original site, Veteran's Park. It was more secluded with parking availability and would be better suited for commemorative events. V. NEW BUSINESS a. Parks Tour - Little League, Pence, FP&L, Rolling Green School Little League Park was toured first. It opened in the 1970s and covered just less than ten acres of land. The park was originally located over at Galaxy with one ball field, and was moved to its current location as Little League use increased. The current location was originally intended to be a temporary site, since it was believed the cemetery would eventually expand over into the park. The cemetery expansion never happened, and the park was recently upgraded. Heavily used seven days a week, it would always be a Little League park. The portion along Woolbright Road, behind the ball field, was being considered for use as a paintball park. There would be no impact to residential. The paintball barricades, 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL March 26, 2007 used for cover and strategy, were inflatable and could easily be moved around the open field area. The paintball poles would be stationary. The new Southeast Neighborhood Park was almost finished. Sod was being laid on the two to three-acre site and the playground equipment and swings were in place. Neighborhood children were already playing in the park. In accordance with the neighborhood's requirement, there were no bathrooms in this park (which had required a waiver). The neighbors did not want park bathrooms to become places for children to get into trouble. FP&L Park was a ten-acre area west of 1-95, east of the E4 canal and south of the FP&L substation. The large site was heavily vegetated and created opportunity for the proposed greenway bikeway, which would be run adjacent to the canal. Along the railroad tracks, it hooked up with Girl Scout Park and Lake Ida Park. Chair Pierce-Roe asked if there was a boat ramp in the neighboring community of Golfview Harbour. Mr. Majors responded that Pioneer Canal was currently the only fresh water boat ramp in Boynton Beach. It was discussed that a boat ramp here could be used and appreciated by the community, which might encourage support for development of the area. Mr. Majors added that the Winchester site, also on the E4 canal, could be another potential location for a boat ramp. The Lake Worth Drainage District had recently cleaned out the area. Some of the residents had been opposed, and buffering was left between the property and 1-95. The Lake Worth Drainage District was not interested in development of the area. Mr. Orlove expressed interest to consider this site for the paintball park. b. Monthly Report (This item was taken out of order.) The monthly report was referenced. Ms. Sloan wanted to know about the circus that had been held next to the Bethesda Service Center. Mr. Majors responded the Shriner's were raising money for burn victims, and that site was the only location large enough to accommodate the circus. The event had not been well promoted or attended. The location was not good for that application. c. Items for the City Manager's Attention (This item was taken out of order.) Ms. Hammer inquired about the status of naming things. Mr. Majors stated there was a policy and procedure that had to be followed and all recommendations were processed through the City Manager's office. A review board needed to be appointed. Mr. Majors would bring the applicable information to the next meeting on April 23rd. 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL March 26, 2007 Girl Scout Park was visited next. The eight to ten-acre site was located on both sides of the water and was covered by a beautiful, dense hammock canopy. Eventually, a foot- bridge would be constructed to connect the proposed parking area on one side to the rest of the park across the water. The site had previously been used for Girl Scout Jamborees, and was now encroached upon by the adjacent residential area. It was a lovely place to fish and neighborhood children had constructed rope swings into the water. Historically, the Chapel Hill neighbors did not want the park behind their homes, and the area would have to be buffered. Twenty years ago, children used to hang out in the area and bother residents, but that was no longer a problem. Mr. Majors indicated this might be a suitable time to consider moving toward development of the site. Pence Park, the oldest park in Boynton Beach, had been a gift from the Pence family in the 1950s. In the past, it had been used for intramural softball, but was not currently used as a ball field except for occasional Little League practice. The main use now was basketball played by neighborhood migrant youth. The park was heavily used. The Utilities Department would be building a pump booster station in the corner of the park and, in exchange, replanting and beautifying that area. The bathrooms had been redone recently and were in good shape. New water pipes and medians were going to be installed to slow traffic. This park was also the staging area for parades, so the medians would present a challenge. Local, young adults often jumped the Pence Park fence to play soccer. Although this negatively impacted softball and baseball, Mr. Majors was working with them. There were few multipurpose fields in the area and the residents probably did not have transportation to play elsewhere. Driving north on Federal Highway from Boynton Beach Boulevard, Bicentennial Park was observed on the left and Mangrove Park on the right. The long, winding aluminum boardwalk at Mangrove Park was amazing and built to last forever. Currently, Bicentennial Park was being considered for placement of the Veteran's Memorial. Boat Club Park originally housed an actual fishing boat club. The County had given the City $380K to replace the pavilions, add holding docks and upgrade the bathrooms. This heavily used park was open and used twenty-four hours a day by fisherman. In the past, overflow parking was evident on Federal Highway, especially on the weekends. The City had recently added 75 parking spaces, which successfully minimized the dangerous Federal Highway parking. The County had recently upgraded Inlet Park, directly across the water from Boat Club Park, and the channel needed to be cleaned out. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL March 26, 2007 The new pavilions would be identified as "quiet zones", and a surveillance system was going to be installed to prevent drug activities in the area. The bathroom area lighting would be upgraded. Residents paid a fee of ten dollars per day or $50 per year to launch boats on weekends or holidays. These ramps were known to be the closest location to the gulfstream. Intracoastal Park, the newest park, was next on the tour. The Veterans had received permission to place little plaques in the median, and all the armed services were memorialized, including one plaque that was a memorial to submariners (people on submarines). The plaques would eventually be relocated to Veteran's Park. Intracoastal Park was heavily used, and the grass reflected significant soccer use. Permanent electrical drops were available for events. The Intracoastal Clubhouse was being built to replace the Royal Palm Clubhouse and included 7,600 square feet on two floors with a balcony. The bottom floor would be dedicated to recreation, art classes, summer day-camp and after school activities. The top floor housed the catering kitchen and would be used for commemorative events and training. This gorgeous facility, located on the water, would not be an inexpensive rental. Completion of the clubhouse was anticipated in August, 2007. The new Rolling Green School, still under construction, had originally entered into a cooperative agreement with the City in the 1980s. The City had installed basketball courts, a playground, tennis courts, bathrooms, and a walking trail. Through the years, the school had grown and many of those amenities had been lost, with the exception of the multipurpose area, a small ball field, a pavilion and basketball area. The multipurpose field would be available for use when the school was finished. Public access was allowed and many children used the facilities when school was not in session. Construction was expected to be finished in about six months. A bad gang area hub was located just north of the school, so the Police kept an eye on the area. At the end of the tour, Hester Park was briefly viewed. It contained 23 acres, nine of which were maintained as native scrubland. The park offered a weight room and computer lab. Originally, there was also a sand volleyball court, which never took hold. A traffic light had been installed on Seacrest Boulevard to slow traffic in front of the park. In The Heart of Boynton, the C16 canal had been designated as an official greenway. The Community Redevelopment Agency had purchased much of the area. Regarding Mike Fitzpatrick's inquiry from the last meeting on the lake front land the County was selling at the southern end of Lake Ida, Mr. Majors indicated the property contained three to four acres and was advertised for $1.5M. Residential had been planned in front of the property, which would make access difficult. The County Planning Department would not budge. 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation & Parks Board Boynton Beach, FL March 26, 2007 Mr. Majors announced that the National Council of Aging had awarded Accreditation to the Boynton Beach Senior Center. Only 17 senior centers are accredited in the State of Florida. VI. NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be on April 23, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. for a parks tour beginning in the City Hall parking lot. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:20 p.m. n I . 4=~'-l-:J.~ Jt u." .;:-' W {UV Robin Hem~gway I Recording Secretary 03-26-07 6