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Minutes 04-26-99 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD IN PARKS AND RECREATION OFFICES CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1999 AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Betty Thomas, Chairperson John Wildner, Parks Superintendent Mike Fitzpatrick (arrived late) Ed Harris (arrived late) James R. McMahon Bali Ramnarace Tom Williams ABSENT Dan Winters I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Thomas called the meeting to order. II. ATTENDANCE Chairperson Thomas called the roll. A quorum was declared present. Also present was John Wildner, Parks Superintendent. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MARCH 22, 1999 MEETING Chairperson Thomas inquired if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the February 22, 1999 meeting. There were none. Motion Mr. Tom Williams moved that the minutes be accepted as distributed. Motion seconded by Mr. Ramnarace. Motion unanimously carried. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (a) Greenways Network (Mike Fitzpatrick) Chairperson Thomas requested that the item be addressed when Mr. Fitzpatrick joins the meeting. MEETING MINUTES RECREATION & PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 26, 1999 (b) Boat Club/Intracoastal Parks Revised Master Plans City Club Replacement for Royal Palm Clubhouse (John Wildner) Mr. Wildner stated they are close to having a bid package for the renovations to Boat Club Park and that includes additional parking in the park. The overflow grass area will become a paved parking lot and renovated boat ramps will be installed, as well as holding docks. Mr. Wildner said some of the picnic facilities would be relocated to the Intracoastal Park site. With regard to the Intracoastal Park site, Mr. Wildner said they are continuing with the plans and there have been some further questions on the size of the City Club and staff is preparing a justification for the size of the building. Chairperson Thomas asked what some of the reasons are for justifying the size of the City Club. Mr. Wildner stated that questions were being asked because business people in Boynton Beach are fearful that the City would be competing with restaurants, etc., since there has been talk about the Club could accommodate catered parties. Mr. Wildner said they are not competing with businesses in the City. Chairperson Thomas requested that the minutes reflect that Mr. Mike Fitzpatrick is also present. Mr. Wildner had nothing else to report and there were no questions. (a) Greenways Network (Mike Fitzpatrick) Mr. Fitzpatrick stated they had a very good Greenways meeting and it was an educational process. The meeting was lengthy since there was a lot to cover, but after that, the meeting broke down into groups. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that three Commissioners attended and a fourth one donated money to pay for the lunch. Mr. Fitzpatrick felt this was a good indication of City Commission support. Mr. Fitzpatrick said there were two parts to the Greenways, the hubs and the Greenways. Right now they are concentrating on getting the hubs, such as Caloosa Park, land near Miner Road, the Mangrove Park, or Seacrest Scrub as examples and also determine if vacant land can be acquired and designated as Greenways. The third part would be to do a model Greenways section, which has already been started along the C-16 Canal. Mr. Wildner stated that the C-16 Canal received a great deal of support from the Florida Water Management District. Mr. Wildner said that when he met with the Water 2 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION & PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 26, 1999 Management District, he was only contacting the District about adding a western section to the Palmetto Greens Park (which is another name for the C-16 Canal Park). After discussion about adding from Seacrest Boulevard to I-95 on the south side, the District said it could also be done on the north side and the idea expanded even further, as they were impressed with the small section that has already been completed. Mr. Wildner said this was a very encouraging sign. Mr. Wildner said that they have not received the same encouragement from the Lake Worth Drainage District. Mr. Wildner said he received a letter from the Lake Worth Drainage District that they don’t support the Greenways concept in any way, shape or form. Mr. Fitzpatrick said he received the same letter. Chairperson Thomas asked why the Drainage District objected and Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that they objected to people encroaching on their right of way. Mr. Wildner said he thought this was a reaction to a newspaper article that stated the Greenways would be extended all the way to the Loxahatchee Refuse. Chairperson Thomas said she was present at half the meeting and commended the staff from Parks and Recreation and Mr. Fitzpatrick for doing a good job with the organization of the meeting. Chairperson Thomas asked what the next step would be and Mr. Fitzpatrick said that a specific program needs to be located to bring to the City Commission. Chairperson Thomas requested that the record reflect that Mr. Ed Harris arrived. c. SE Neighborhood Park Mr. Wildner said that they have received appraisals on the Zill property, which is basically five acres. However, Mr. Zill has indicated he is not interested in selling five acres. He has indicated he would be willing to lease or sell the City one-half acre which would be sufficient for what the neighborhood would like, which is a small playground, basketball court and picnic area. The appraisal was for the entire site, as well as for the half-acre and a lease price. Mr. Zill’s original interest in leasing, rather than selling, was due to his concern about losing his agricultural exemption. Mr. Wildner said that the appraiser checked with the County tax office and there is no requirement that five acres have to be maintained for an agricultural exemption. Mr. Wildner thinks there is a good possibility that the City would be able to purchase the half-acre. Chairperson Thomas asked for the exact location of the half-acre. Mr. Wildner said it would be in the center of the Zill property. Mr. Wildner said there is a small utility department lift station in the center and the park would go about halfway into the Zill property, but not all the way back to the fence, because Mr. Zill wants to maintain access to all his property. Chairperson Thomas noted there is a great deal of 3 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION & PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 26, 1999 children in this area and asked what type of fence would be placed around the property. Mr. Wildner stated that a six-foot fence would be placed around the perimeter of the park. Mr. Fitzpatrick inquired about the price for the property. Mr. Wildner said he has not spoken with Mr. Zill and would prefer to wait until he speaks with him. V. NEW BUSINESS (a) Rolling Green School Park Soccer Field Mr. Wildner said Ms. Green informed him that the Board brought this up at the last meeting. Mr. Wildner said that the problem with Rolling Green is there is a large clay infield. Mr. Wildner said the school controls the irrigation system and they have not been running the system, which accounts for the dryness. If the irrigation system could be put in working condition again, the City could remove the clay and place grass in its down and cut out a small area for the bases, then it could be used for both soccer and baseball. Mr. Wildner said he would like to contact the school to work out an agreement to remove the clay and replant all the grass. Mr. Wildner said he would obtain an estimate of the costs and would attempt to put funding in his department’s budget for this year. Mr. Ramnarace said that the school did not want people playing soccer in the field. Mr. Wildner said he would check on this because the City helped build those fields years ago and there is an Interlocal Agreement in place. There was discussion about securing a playing field for cricket. Mr. Wildner noted that a cricket field is very large and it is difficult to locate a field of that size. Mr. Wildner said that the Rolling Green field is the right size and all that is needed is the right grass. (b) Meadows Park Drainage Improvement Project Boynton Lakes Park, not Meadows Park. Mr. Wildner noted that it was Mr. Wildner stated the park gets completely soaked during the rainy season. Mr. Wildner has been working with the engineers from Jan Jensen who are on staff with the City to come up with a method for a drain pipe to run the length of the field of the playground area. Mr. Wildner said there is a lake behind Boynton Lakes Park, which is controlled by the Lake Worth Drainage District. The original design of the park utilized drainage calculations based on the permitted height of the water. They maintain it at a much higher height; therefore water cannot drain into it and backs up. Mr. Wildner said that the two playgrounds are completely under water when it rains. The City has come up with a plan to redesign the drainage system to alleviate the problem. 4 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION & PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 26, 1999 c) Other ( Mr. Fitzpatrick asked if there was anything new to report on Kid’s Kingdom. Mr. Wildner said they have been in contact with the insurance companies and so far they have indicated they would cover the loss. Staff is still trying to determine if there would be any deductible. The insurance companies are having estimates prepared. As soon as staff knows how much the insurance companies would pay, plans can be made to rebuild the park. Mr. Wildner thinks most of the rebuilding can be done through the insurance funds. Mr. Wildner said that a great many calls have been received from agencies, as well as individuals, offering their support. Mr. Wildner said the City’s goal is to have the park ready for the busy summer months. Mr. Fitzpatrick thought the City was self-insured. Mr. Wildner said the City is in a self- insured pool with other municipalities through the League of Cities. Each of the municipalities puts in a certain amount of money into the pool. Mr. Fitzpatrick said people have expressed concerns that the building won’t be rebuild the same way. Mr. Wildner said the City would more than likely look at ways to enhance the building, if possible. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked if surveillance cameras could be placed in the park. Mr. Wildner said this has been discussed in regard to the 1913 Schoolhouse where already damage is taking place around the perimeter of the school and this is being considered. Also, Mr. Fitzpatrick inquired if there was a liability issue with the designers. Mr. Fitzpatrick was under the impression that if the park was built to their specifications and if someone breaks a leg or gets injured, they would receive some type of remuneration. Mr. Fitzpatrick inquired if the designers would have to sign off in order to keep the policy intact. Mr. Wildner said the point Mr. Fitzpatrick has brought up is well taken and there is a certain liability that the designers inherited and staff wants to follow that design so that liability issues remain with them. Mr. Wildner said he would follow through on this. Mr. Fitzpatrick also suggested that big knocker sprinklers could be placed on the outside flower beds and that the mulch was burning because it was so dry. Mr. Wilder said that in the past, any time they have wet down the wood, it would rot. Also, Chairperson Thomas noted that the agenda did not include review of the monthly report and Mr. Wildner apologized for inadvertently omitting this. Chairperson Thomas asked if anyone had any comments on the monthly report. 5 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION & PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA APRIL 26, 1999 Mr. Williams asked when the scoreboard would be put up for the football team. Mr. Wildner said he has spoken to Mr. DeBeck about this. Mr. Wildner said there is funding available to put up the scoreboard by contract and $11,000 has been budgeted to install the scoreboard. Mr. Wildner said the Commission asked him if it was possible that staff could put up the scoreboard and Mr. Wildner said that staff could partially put up the scoreboard. Therefore, it has to be determined what staff can do and what the contractor would do. Mr. Williams noted that there has been very little vandalism at the Hester Center recently and it has really improved. Mr. Wildner informed the Board that he received a memorandum from Interim City Manager Hawkins regarding the removal of Melaluca trees from rights-of-way. Mr. Wildner said that in past years he had been placing money in the budget for removal of Melaluca trees from rights-of-way and every year it has been taken out. However, this year Interim City Manager Hawkins is suggesting if the property owner would pay for half of the removal, the City would pay for the other half and Mr. Hawkins indicated he would recommend such program. Mr. Williams questioned why the City couldn’t take the trees down since the City has a chipper and a truck to place it on. All it would require are man-hours. Mr. Wildner said there is not enough staff to do this and that there are literally thousands of trees that need to be removed. Mr. Williams suggested that the City should purchase another truck to perform this work. The City is growing and the City needs to be prepared. Chairperson Thomas asked Mr. Ramnarace to speak to the Board about his trip to Trinidad. Mr. Ramnarace said he did not play, but went to see the World Series played between Australia and the West Indies. VI. NEXT MEETING: May 24, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in Conference Room C. VII. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting properly adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (transcribed from one tape) 6