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Minutes 07-23-07 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE HESTER CENTER ON JULY 23, 2007 AT 6:30 P.M. BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair John Allard David Barie Patti Hammer Janelle Sloan John McVey, Alt. (arrived 6:41 p.m.) Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent ABSENT: Kurt Godfrey Bill Orlove I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll. A quorum was present. Mr. Majors announced Betty Beckles, a 28 year Parks employee as a Crew Leader, was also present. Ms. Beckles was participating in a special parks program where they attend a series of meetings and gain hours toward professional development. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM: JUNE 26, 2007 Motion Ms. Hammer moved to approve the minutes as presented. Ms. Sloane seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. CIP Update Wally Majors, Recreation and Parks Director, announced the Sims Center was nearly 50% complete and was quite impressive. 1 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 23, 2007 Intracoastal Park was progressing well and if no delays were experienced, the park should be completed by August. Mr. Majors anticipated they would need another 2 to 4 weeks for the punch list and hoped to start working out of the building by October 1, 2007. Because of the decreased revenues from the State, recreation registration and other department functions would be moved from City Hall in the Mall to Intracoastal Park Clubhouse. Mr. Majors reported on the progress of Jaycee Park and announced they were negotiating construction documents with a firm and hoped to finalize that process by the end of week. He anticipated that matter going before the City Commission the last week in August or the first week in September. Ms. Hammer asked about the arrangement the City had with Boynton Beach Mall. It was explained the mall provided the City with office space, in return for waivers for special events. Mall Management would obtain a permit, but the City 'NiJvcd waived the fee. There was a short discussion on the department budget. Ms. Rivers explained the department could not hire anyone; there was a freeze on. The one position they abSOlutely needed was an Aquatic Supervisor, and the department would use existing staff for the rest. Mr. Majors explained not only did they have a decrease in the budget, but also had to accommodate three new buildings. He announced that would be the challenge for the next year or two and come January, the department may need to make more adjustments. Ms. Rivers explained when they planned for these facilities, they had no idea there would be budget cuts. Mr. Majors commented in reference to the City Hall in the Mall location, the Congress Avenue corridor had become very congested and people were trying to avoid the mall. Although the Intracoastal Park office was not centrally located, it provided easier access. He explained adjustments would need to be made and the services will have to be reduced. He hoped the impact to the public would be kept at a minimum. This was a beautiful facility on the waterfront. There was a Boundless Playground meeting with the consulting engineer and the department learned it could accomplish quite a bit with the funds currently allocated. The playground infrastructure and landscaping could be installed. The park would be useable after Phase I with the sod, trails and paths put in. This should be done in about three months and then the park would go to permitting for 3-6 months, then out to bid 2 months later. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 23, 2007 Mr. Majors was negotiating with a firm for installation of a boardwalk at the beach. They had related activities with the trellises and a contractor was on board for the lights. Additionally they entered negotiations to do public restrooms at Boat Club Park, all with county money. Mr. Majors hoped to do the pavilions and if they could stretch the money out further, they would upgrade the landscaping and fishing. Mr. Majors explained it would take a full time individual to manage just the construction projects. Mr. Majors announced the tennis pro at the center was gone as of October 1 and the City was also losing a senior manager. He advised the board existing staff would have to cover and absorb those losses. The department was considering whether the City wanted to contract out services such as lessons, organizations and activities, such as the tennis programs, and was evaluating all options associated with the center. All Youth could be served through a contractual agreement similar to the ones used by Wellington, West Palm and Delray Beach, who contract their services out. Boca Raton had a salaried tennis professional, but it was thought the City would have to make €k:fe do with what they presently have. Chair Pierce-Roe noted in the past the City had problems trying to staff the pool. She asked if the Aquatic Director was going to need certifications. Mr. Majors responded they could direct someone to become certified and use beach staff and other resources to pull from. Mr. Majors noted the department could not guarantee people jobs and Chair Pierce-Roe explained in the past it was stipulated that the department would train employees to work in their facility, so they don't have to pay fees for the certification. There was in-service training for six months to a year. He anticipated having lifeguards who have experience, and they would see how it goes from there. An Aquatic Supervisor was needed to recruit staff who could devote time to just the pool. Mr. Majors reported David Katz was present to discuss a park site in the Meadows. He further informed the board they had funding in the Capital Improvement Budget to develop those park sites for design, planning and in the next fiscal year, then the construction and development of the park the following year after that. He noted with any of the parks, the board would be engaged and they would hold community meetings. David Katz, 67 Midwood Lane, had a letter for the board, but first prefaced his comments by indicating he was the liaison and the community was interested in having a paSSive park adjacent to the WindemerefMeadows. He read the letter into the record as follows: 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 23, 2007 "Dear David, At the June 5th Board of Directors meeting, it was agreed by the all board members to appoint you as liaison of the 300 Property Owners Association regarding the resurrection of the City Plans for creating a passive park site on the lot adjacent to Windemere in the Meadows, This letter will serve as your appointment authorizing you to obtain information regarding this matter, which must be provided to the board for review and discussion, Thank you in advance for your help," The letter was signed by Sue Daniels (Property Manager) 300 Property Owners Association, Mr, Katz explained the 300 Property Owners Association was the master association for the Meadows, Mr, Katz had a second letter from Nautica Sound Homeowners Association requesting a park be constructed, which he read, A copy of the letter is attached to the meeting backup, This letter was similar in nature to the letter from the 300 Property Owners Association, Mr. Katz thought the more parks the better. He announced the m~mgrovcs meadows coalesced the communities, He advised the Meadows had been in existence since 1992 with the dedicated park site, Now people are aware of budget cuts and rollbacks, but they felt it was unacceptable to not have the parks because the money was coming in for the park all these years, yet nothing was done, People were currently using it for ATV's, Soon they would be going into 2009 and the property would still be vacant after 17 years, He explained the Meadows paid a fair share of taxes, The property owners felt it was time the land would be developed, hopefully faster than two years, There were no questions from the board, Mr. Katz requested Mr, Majors or Ms, Rivers keep him informed, Mr, Majors explained the workshop in August was coming up, and that was the first step to take, He invited Mr, Katz to attend the workshop, Mr. Majors explained towards the end of the fiscal year, they would be engaging a consulting engineer and an RFQ, Once on board, they would go from there, Mr. Katz explained they were not looking for a fancy park, just a simple easy and natural park, Mr. Katz had a sketch at his home of something they were looking for and he would deliver that to Mr, Majors, He explained there was a natural dividing line consisting of Shrubbery on the park lands, He thought the shrubs could remain and perhaps a walking bridge be added, Ms, Rivers explained the department liked to start with a blank slate and that was the purpose of the community meetings, The department tried to design parks, but determined they needed an engineering firm, Subsequently, they build teams to develop parks and the teams are thorough, Mr, Majors cautioned that parking for the parks was a land development issue and in the past, if parks did not follow the Code requirements, there were appeals and other issues that needed to be addressed because the land development regulations require certain facilities and infrastructure to be in place, The park could not negatively impact the surrounding community, and parking, restrooms and lighting were three things included in park designs, Mr, Majors 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 23, 2007 also explained once the facilities were in place, the City would be the entity who maintained them. B. Public Art Update Ms. Rivers distributed a handout and explained the City was creating an Art Walk. Ms. Rivers noted this project was coordinated by Debby Coles-Do bay, Public Art Administrator. Another item discussed was the art piece for the Veterans. The Veterans received permission to put the new Veterans Memorial at Bicentennial Park and the Eternal Flame was no longer the selected piece. The Veterans had decided they wanted their own art piece and approached the City with their selection as opposed to a public art piece to be commissioned for them. This would be a multi-pronged effort that would involve the Arts Commission and the Recreation and Parks Board. They would also be asking to have the plaques currently located at Intracoastal moved to Bicentennial Park. Mr. Majors noted Bicentennial was a more active park and Veterans Park was more reflective. Ms. Rivers explained the Sims Center received very good press coverage about the Carolyn Sims Memorial. v. NEW BUSINESS A. Ezell Hester, Jr. Community Center and Park Mr. Majors explained they would like to tour the center and would move this item to the end of the agenda. B. Monthly Report There were no questions or comments on the monthly report. C Items for the City Managers Attention Mr. Majors informed the board the City Commission considered a paintball activity in the City. The consensus of the City Commission was it would not send the type of message they would like because it requests a player to eliminate their opponents with an object that resembles a gun. He advised the board is receptive to citizen suggestions and the board gave the activity its due consideration, but the final decision rested with the City Commission. Additionally, it was discovered there was paintball at Quantum Park. 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 23, 2007 V. NEW BUSINESS Ezell Hester, Jr. Community Center and Park Mr. Majors announced the Ezell Hester, Jr. Community Center and Park was built in 1992 in 3 phases. It is a 19,000 square feet facility, with 23 acres of property, 9 of which are protected scrublands. The first phase was the building and the playground. The ball fields (football, and baseball) were added and then the tennis courts and racquetball courts. The last phase enclosed the breezeway, which had been problematic when the Bulldogs team had their practices, at which time the center became more and more busy. He advised the Center was one of the most active centers in the City. There was an arts and crafts room, computer room, weight room, football, baseball field, two lit tennis and two lit racquet ball courts, and a playground, which used to be sand volleyball courts but were converted. Mr. Majors explained it was a vibrant facility. There was a strong summer camp program there with after school programs. He estimated there were about 2,000 youths in the center each day. VI. NEXT MEETING: 6:30 P.M., AUGUST 27, 2007 AT THE SENIOR CENTER Chair Pierce-Roe requested the next meeting be held in another center. There was agreement to hold the next meeting in the Civic Center. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion Motion was made by Mr. McVey to adjourn. Ms. Slo~n Sloan seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Meeting adjourned at 7:14 p.m. /1 . fy ~ 0 !I }~ _ Qj "Q !) 'II l U~'L/ Yiilu Jv1f YIQ;. Catherine Cher -Guberman 11 Recording Secretary 6