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Minutes 04-24-00MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD IN WEST WING, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2000, AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Betty Thomas, Chairperson James R. McMahon, Vice Chair Ed Harris Mike Fitzpatrick Bali P, amnarace Tom Williams Dan Winters Charles Jackson, Alternate CALLTO ORDER John Wildner, Parks Director Wally Majors, Acting Recreation Director Chairperson Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:02 P.M. II. ATTENDANCE Chairperson Thomas called the roll and a quorum was declared to be present. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 27, 2000 MEETING Chairperson Thomas asked if there were any changes to the minutes of the March 27, 2000 meeting. Hearing none, Chairperson Thomas stated that the minutes were approved as submitted. III. INTRODUCTION OF ACTING RECREATION DIRECTOR Chairperson Thomas welcomed the newly appointed Acting Recreation Director, Wally Majors, and asked him to share some of his background and interests with the Board. Mr. Majors stated that he had been in the employ of the City for 14 years and that he was comfortable with the people and excited about the challenging opportunity. He said he had worked successfully with Mr. Wildner before and expected that to continue in the future. After graduating from Slippery Rock State College in Pennsylvania he worked with a Boys Club in Indiana for four and a half years. He stated he was humbled by the responsibility but not intimidated by it and hoped that his performance would bring credit to the City. MEETING MINUTES - PARTS & RECREATION BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA April 24, 2000 The Board expressed a unanimous desire to have the Acting position converted into a permanent situation and offered their support to Mr. Majors. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Senior Center Update, Wally Majors Mr. Majors reported that the request for grant money from the Department of Elder Affairs was not approved. He said he would apply again next year and submit it for Phase III as a capital improvement project but that without the grant funding it would be difficult. Mr. Winters asked Mr. Majors if he had ever tried to get some of the discretionary funds from the County Commissioner for this type of project and that they had $200,000 each year and it might be worth pursuing. Mr. Majors agreed. Mr. Winters asked if there was a lobbyist for the City of Boynton Beach and Mr. Wildner did not believe the City had a lobbyist at the present time. B. Hester Center Breezeway Enclosure, Wally Majors Mr. Majors stated that the breezeway project was scheduled to begin in August. He just received comments from the City Attorney regarding the County agreement and he was to get back to the County to resolve these items and then, hopefully, the project could get underway soon with an anticipated completion of February 2001. C. Boat Club/Intracoastal Park Mr. Wildner stated that last week the City Commission, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, talked about some more options for the intracoastal park site and, basically, came to no conclusion. The result of the meeting was that Vice Mayor Weiland and Mr. Wildner were asked to visit with Commissioner McCarty to find out the status of the remaining $1.7M in grant funds. They are proceeding with the previously granted $900,000 for Boat Club Park improvements and an interlocal agreement is in place. There has been some confusion as to the deadline for submitting proposals to the County. Through copies of letters sent to other agencies, we discovered that May 31 was the deadline. At this point City Manager Bressner, Development Manager Quintus Greene and Mr. Wildner went up to see Commissioner McCarty to discuss the options. We learned that she was to make up her mind on the remaining funds on June 15 so any proposal for these funds would have to be submitted before that date. The criterion for the proposals is that they be for water-based recreational use. The other communities that are applying for the money are not going for the entire amount of money but for certain amounts for their particular projects. 2 MEETING MINUTES ' PARTS & RECREATION BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA April 24, 2000 There is some thought that because we have a large chunk of property to work with, that if we are able to come up with a firm proposal as to what we would like to do then we might get some preference. However, up until now we haven't had a proposal or consensus on the Commission as to which way we want to go and that is working against us. Hopefully, on May 1 the CRA will meet again and anything that they decide at that meeting can be voted on as part of the regular City Commission agenda on May 2 and Staff can get direction on what kind of proposal to put together for the County Commission. The Board discussed various projects that other communities were submitting for this money and hoped that consensus of the Commission could be reached in a time and manner which would allow Boynton Beach to get its share of the money. The idea of purchasing the Paradise Bay property was discussed at a recent CRA meeting according to Mr. Wildner. This idea was discussed at length with general agreement on the desirability of such a purchase. It was also generally agreed that to introduce this project at this time would confuse the issue of gaining park money from the County. Mr. Williams asked if there were anything the Board members could do to assist besides watching and waiting. Mr. Wildner suggested that the members could attend the upcoming CRA meeting on May 1, 6:30 P.M. in Chambers and provide input. Mr. Winters said there were many ways to finance projects that Boynton Beach may not have explored. As an example he indicated that Roya Palm Beach had borrowed on future taxation to build their wonderful recreation center and theater. Mr. Wildner said there were also revenue bond issues that had not been explored because they believed the funding was in hand. Now that the County has opened it up to other communities it may be necessary to explore other funding possibilities. Chairperson Thomas said that several years ago there was a utility tax. Mr. Wildner said that this was how Hester Park was built originally. The center itself was purchased with utility tax revenues as was City Hall. Mr. Winters mentioned that another way would be the formulation of a taxing district and Chairperson Thomas agreed that it sounded like a good idea. D. GALA Report Mr. Majors said that all things considered the GALA was successful. It was certainly more manageable in terms of the layout because there was less impact to the residents. The weather was a problem and so the revenues won't be nearly as high as they were two years ago. Many people would like to see the GALA expanded further down Federal Highway and that is something the City will approach cautiously. A commitment for next year's GALA is the establishment of a newsletter to homeowners in the impacted areas to keep them abreast of the City's plans. The goal of the MEETING MINUTES PARTS & RECREATION BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA April 24, 2000 Recreation Department is to have zero impact on anyone as a result of this event. It seems that most people want the event increased in size. E. Greenways, Mike Fitzpatrick Mr. Fitzpatrick reported that he and Mr. Wildner had been discussing getting this budgeted through the CIP (Capital Improvement Program). Mr. Wildner stated there was a limited amount of CIP money but that it might be possible to at least get Greenways started. The intention is to get this item in the plan even if the money is not available immediately. A discussion ensued as to ways of promoting the Greenways project at the legislative level. A slide show presentation to community leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, COWBRA, and the individual legislators was one idea. Also, each of the involved cities could be encouraged to pass a Proclamation or Resolution supporting Greenways. A letter-writing campaign sponsored by the Sierra Club to the appropriate legislators showing support for the program would also be beneficial. Mr. Fitzpatrick spoke to the Nature Conservancy about the program and they indicated willingness to spearhead part of the lobbying effort in Tallahassee. The Sierra Club lobbyist is also interested and it's likely that the Audubon Society could also become part of the effort. All of this support would enhance the chances of the Greenways project becoming a reality. F. Cemetery Expansion, John Wildner Basically the Cemetery Board has not discussed expansion lately but they are gathering information on possible expansion to Little League Park. One of the things they have found out so far is the water well situation over there will limit the location of grave sites and that will affect the number of sites that would be possible. That may prove to be a detriment to the funding proposal being considered at this time. Alternatives would be to find another location outside of Little League Park for a secondary site. The other option is not to expand at all. The City needs to ask itself if it has to have a City Cemetery and whether it wants its recreation assets used for a City Cemetery. If the current cemetery fills up then it may be up to the private sector to provide another cemetery. Right now Royal Palm Memorial Gardens is underutilized but it is much more expensive than the City cemetery. Mr. Wildner said he would continue to update the Board as the Cemetery Board continues its investigation. G. Monthly Report Chairperson Thomas asked if there were any questions in the monthly report. There were none. H. Cricket Field, Bali Ramnarace Mr. Ramnarace reported that he had started the cricket program at the beginning of April and that he was coaching seven youth at the present time. He was able to get a roller 4 MEETING MINUTES ' · PARTS & RECREATION BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA April 24, 2000 to improve the field's playing surface from the crew doing the road improvements on Gateway Boulevard. Mr. Wildner reported that the City was reviewing a proposal from a contractor and that specifications and competitive bidding lay ahead. The plan is to: laser grade the entire field work with the school to upgrade the irrigation system seed it with an improved type of Bermuda grass. Mr. Ramnarace said that everything he was doing regarding cricket was free at the present time. During the next two to three months he would like to have the youth pay to learn the game and he was asking for advice as to how to have the money go to the City and not to him personally. Mr. Majors stated that if it were set up as a donation or sponsorship it could be put into an account and earmarked for the cricket program. Others said that it could just be kept by Mr. Ramnarace and used for a party at the end of the year for the players. Mr. Wildner said that he may want to operate it the way the Little League does. They buy their own equipment and the City provides the facilities. In many towns there are sports programs that are completely self-supporting from the parent's money and the city or county provides the playing field. Mr. Ramnarace asked Mr. Majors to put a notice on the Board asking for youth interested in cricket to sign up with Mr. Ramnarace. Mr. Majors asked Mr. Ramnarace to call him to go over the details of the notice and he agreed. VI. NEW BUSINESS 1. Teen Center, Wally Majors Mr. Majors stated that Commissioner Fisher recommended that the Recreation & Park Board consider joining with the Youth and Advisory Board in determining what the needs were for a Teen Center. Dan Winters and Bali Ramnarace expressed interest in working on this project. The Youth & Advisory Board meeting is on Thursday evening, April 27, at7 P.M. 2. Directorship of Parks & Recreation There was a lengthy discussion pertaining to the desirability re-instituting the position of overall Director of Parks & Recreation. It was noted that such a position had existed in the City for 28 years and that it had worked well. The size and growth of the activities encompassed by the two departments was mentioned and the Board was in general agreement on the need for an overall director. The issue was to be discussed with the City Manager, understanding that the Board will be guided by the decision of the City Manager. 5 MEETING MINUTES PARTS & RECREATION BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA April 24, 2000 3. Golf Carts for Ezell Hester Center Mr. Williams asked Mr. Majors about a golf cart for Ezell Hester Center and Mr. Majors responded that one was budgeted. Also, he said, it would be stored inside and would be used primarily for Hester Center with an occasional use by other City groups. 4. Concrete Bumpers or Poles at Ezell Hester Center Mr. Williams commented on the recent accident where someone in a vehicle had driven through the fence. This type of incident is a frequent occurrence and constitutes a potential safety hazard to the children who play on the fields there. To protect life and avoid lawsuits the Board agreed that some type of barrier needed to be erected at the site to prevent a vehicle from crashing through the fence and onto the courts. Mr. Wildner mentioned that a series of medians could also be installed on Seacrest to have a "calming" effect on traffic. It was suggested that Risk Management needed to be made aware of this situation as well. Mr. Majors asked Mr. Williams to contact him and they would make a site visit to assess the situation. 5. EGGStravaganza, Chairperson Thomas Chairperson Thomas lauded the excellent organization of the Easter Egg Hunt, remarking on how well done everything was. Mr. Majors said that next year the event would move to Ezell Hester Park. VII. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for May 22, 2000 at 7:00 P.M. in the Chambers. VIII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was properly adjourned at 8:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (Two Tapes) 6