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Minutes 02-22-99 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM C, WEST WING CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1998 AT 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Betty Thomas, Chairperson John Wildner, Parks Superintendent Mike Fitzpatrick Melody Green, Recreation Superintendent Ed Harris James R. McMahon Bali Ramnarace Dan Winters ABSENT Tom Williams I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chairperson Thomas called the roll. A quorum was declared present. Also present were Melody Green, Recreation Superintendent and John Wildner, Parks Superintendent. Chairperson Thomas asked Mr. Ramnarace to give the Board an overview of his trip to Mexico City recently. Mr. Ramnarace stated that it was a good trip and that he was awarded the MVP award. Their team won every game and won the tournament. Chairperson Thomas asked how many teams participated and Mr. Ramnarace stated five. Mr. Ramnarace stated that his team represented the United States Cricket Team in the over-40 category. Mr. Ramnarace stated the next tournament is scheduled for New Zealand. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 25, 1998 MEETING Chairperson Thomas inquired if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of the January 25, 1999 meeting. There were none. Chairperson Thomas stated that the minutes be approved as distributed. MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (a) Boat Club/Intracoastal Parks Revised Master Plans (John Wildner) City Club Replacement for Royal Palm Clubhouse (Melody Green) Mr. Wildner and Ms. Green displayed the Revised Master Plans for presentation and viewing by members. Mr. Wildner stated that the completed Master Plan had previously been prepared and put on hold approximately one year ago. Mr. Wildner stated the reason the Plan was put on hold was because there was a great deal of interest expressed in the property immediately adjacent to the north of the Intracoastal Park site. Mr. Wildner stated the interest in the property was from Wahoo’s on the Warf, which is located next to the park site. That property has been up for sale for some time and Wahoo’s would like to include this land in the sale. There was interest expressed in placing a convention center/hotel on the combined sites, which would allow the inclusion of some recreation aspects for public participation. Because of this Board’s desire that the plans continue with the present Master Plan, a lot of the discussion has dissipated and staff is planning to present the Master Plans that are being presented tonight at the next CRA meeting scheduled for March 8th. Mr. Wildner also said that the plans being presented tonight were also presented to the EXCEL Team and basically they endorsed Plan B (Mr. Wildner pointed out this plan to members). Chairperson Thomas asked if there was a time line for the park and Mr. Wildner said there was no time line. It is anticipated that the final Plan will be a combination of Plan A and B. Mr. Wildner stated that Plan B is a more enhanced version and includes additional items at additional costs. Chairperson Thomas asked about the time line for the two new plans. Mr. Wildner said the two new plans have been prepared over the last couple of months and are based on the desire for additional recreation as well as the location of a City Club, which would be a replacement for the Royal Palm Clubhouse. Mr. Wildner stated the architect prepared the plans, together with himself, Ms. Green and Bill DeBeck. Mr. Wildner stated the original Master Plan cost $2.2 million between Boat Club Park and the Intracoastal Park. The funding came from the County for enhanced water access for both County and City residents. The County wanted to place additional docks to allow boating access with additional ramps. However, this was not possible, because of the presence of Johnson grass, which is an environmentally endangered species. Mr. Wildner continued to review the improvements in the Plans, which included a two-story outdoor picnic area with a pavilion roof. There would be a pathway around the perimeter of the recreation area with a lake and numerous picnic shelters and a great deal of buffering for the townhouses to the south of the property. 2 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 There will also be a Veteran’s Memorial Pavilion with a garden aspect included. Generally, the park would remain a passive park and that was the wishes of the community during the master plan process eight or nine years ago. Mr. Wildner stated there was criticism that the park was too passive and tried to improve it with more outdoor recreational aspects. Plan A includes other aspects, which is to include a City Club. Mr. Wildner pointed out the different areas on Plan A to members. The location of a skate board park is being removed, since it has generated a lot of controversy. There also is the possibility of a rock climbing area. Mr. Wildner stated this plan is within the $2.2 million budget. With regard to Plan B, this is a spruced up version with an interactive fountain similar to the fountain located at the Library in West Palm Beach. It is intended to be called the Veteran’s Memorial Fountain and the City Club and two-story picnic pavilion will remain. Also, there would be a concession on the green and the lake has been enhanced. A fountain or two may be introduced. Paddleboats will be available for rental, as well as radio-controlled boats can be used on the lake. Mr. Wildner passed out Plan B to members for their review. This will attract young families from all over the County. Ms. Green stated that the combination of the interactive fountain and the youth water play area, together with the lake, would make the park unique and would be like no other park in the southern area of the State or in the entire State, making it a signature park. Mr. Wildner asked if there were any questions and Mr. Fitzpatrick noted that rock climbing is being considered. Mr. Wildner stated that Plan B would cost an additional $800,000, therefore the project would be a $3 million project, versus a $2.2 million project. Mr. Wildner stated if the additional funding cannot be located at this time, the building of the interactive water park would be postponed. Mr. Winters inquired how many cars could be parked and will there be adequate restroom facilities. Mr. Wildner did not have the exact figures, but stated it was within code. Mr. Winters stated that the fountain in West Palm Beach cost $863,000 and was well worth it. He did not want to see the City put in a fountain like in Delray Beach, which was not effective. Mr. Winters inquired if a concessionaire would be sought. Mr. Wildner said this was being looked at as a possibility and that an RFP must be solicited before construction begins. Mr. Fitzpatrick inquired if the two-story picnic pavilion would be rented out. Mr. Wildner said that a number of groups could utilize the picnic pavilion at one time, up to at least 3 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 six separate groups. There also could be interaction between the picnic pavilion and the City Club. Mr. Wildner distributed to members the plan for the interior of the City Club, which will be reviewed by Ms. Green. Ms. Green stated that she and John Wildner, as well as the EXCEL Team prefer Plan B and it would be built almost in the original area designed for the 1991 Master Plan. Ms. Green stated Royal Palm Club House would be replaced. Royal Palm Club House only has 1,800 square feet and the new City Club will have approximately 6,000 square feet. Several groups will be able to meet at the same time. There will be three separate rooms, a small, medium and large room with dividers. The dividers could be taken down to utilize one large room. Ms. Green reviewed the plans for the City Club with members. The City Club also represents significant revenue to the City. The children’s activities and play area would be kept free. Chairperson Thomas asked how many square feet comprised the Civic Center. Ms. Green was not certain, but said it was three times the size of the Royal Palm Club House. Chairperson Thomas also asked where the parking would be located and Ms. Green pointed out this area on the Plan. Chairperson Thomas asked about the overflow of parking from Boat Club Park and Ms. Green said that the possibility of double parking cars is being looked at. Mr. Winters inquired if the City was considering purchasing Wahoo’s property. Mr. Wildner said that the City would love to have this property, but the price is too high. John Wildner presented an update on Boat Club Park, which is basically the same configuration, and members were referred to the Plan. Mr. Wildner said the goal is to increase the usage of the ramps and the major problem at the ramps is that people load and unload while launching the boat and that creates a tremendous traffic backup and congestion. Mr. Wildner said that holding docks would be installed to the south of the existing ramps for unloading purposes. The existing ramps will be enhanced and another holding dock will be placed in front of the Coast Guard station and will be reserved for the Coast Guard. Mr. Wildner pointed out where the parking area would be located and said the bait shop will remain. Mr. Wildner pointed out the other anticipated changes that would be made to the Park. Chairperson Thomas inquired if the walkway over the water would remain and Mr. Wildner stated it would. Mr. Ramnarace inquired when construction would begin. Mr. Wildner stated that once the City gives approval and the funding is in place, the park construction could start shortly after approval. Mr. Wildner pointed out that the matter would first be heard by th the CRA on March 8 and then it would have to be formally approved by the next 4 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 Commission. Mr. Wildner stated they would be working with the architect Ryce Stallings. Mr. Winters said it would be a good idea to have a 3-D model made and Mr. Wildner stated this is a possibility. B. Senior Center Project Team Update (Melody Green) Ms. Green stated that the City Commission has approved approximately $360,000 for Phase 1 renovations and construction is expected to begin the first week in March. Ms. Green said the construction time should be 60 days, but extra time has been allowed because of the age of the building. Opening date has been projected for sometime in June. Mr. Winters inquired if staff has visited other senior centers for ideas and suggestions. Ms. Green said staff has visited Mae Volen in Boca Raton and a great deal of research has been done. The Senior Advisory Board has also been involved in the planning. Ms. Green stated that they have received all kinds of ideas. In addition to recreation services being offered, social services will also be available. Ms. Green stated that staff at Bethesda Hospital has contacted her and they would like to offer some free programs at the Senior Center. Mr. Winters suggested that staff visit the Coral Gables Senior Center, which he feels is the best facility. Mr. Wildner noted that Coral Gables is a very affluent community. Ms. Green said they would be welcome to entertain any ideas for the Senior Center. Ms. Carolyn Sims and Mr. Steve Lulkin will be the supervisors working at the facility. Chairperson Thomas asked when the second phase is anticipated. Ms. Green stated that the second phase couldn’t begin until the funding is in place, and currently there is no funding. Phase 2 is expected to cost approximately $700,000. Ms. Green said that grant funding would be considered, as well as seeking legislative support. Ms. Green said that the City received a call last week from Steve Thomas, the aide at Senator Klein’s office who expressed an interest in supporting the Senior Center. Mr. Ramnarace inquired as to the cost of purchasing the building and Ms. Green stated it was approximately $500,000. Mr. Ramnarace thought this was poor planning since the City paid $500,000 for the building and is going to spend $350,000 and an additional $700,000 in renovation costs, it might have been better to build a new building. Mr. Winters said that the cost would have been much higher and Ms. Green concurred that the costs would have been over $2 million for an entirely new facility. Ms. Green felt the location was very good for a Senior Center. Mr. Ramnarace inquired why the Women’s Club across the street could not have been utilized for a Senior Center, since he felt the building is being underutilized. 5 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 Mr. Winters stated that the City should issue a bond and prepare a major plan to complete the City’s recreational program over the next 10 to 15 years. This would include community centers, civic centers, etc. and said other cities and towns have done this. Ms. Green said when the new Commission comes onboard, staff will be able to determine what direction they have in mind for the City and there are a number of capital improvement projects that have been identified as part of the Visions 20/20 program that are not funded yet. Ms. Green said there is a variety of ways for funding these projects. Ms. Green acknowledged that a new Civic Center is necessary, but staff is still looking for a location. Chairperson Thomas stated that several years ago there were plans for a new civic center, but they never came to fruition. C. All America City 2001 Update (Melody Green) Ms. Green stated that on Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m. Lula Butler from the City of Delray Beach would be making a presentation on what Delray did to win the All America City award. This will be a good opportunity for the City to try to plan our initial strategies. After that meeting, it is anticipated that the planning team would be expanded to have a series of subsequent meetings for strategy planning. Ms. Green said that the City is making great strides. Chairperson Thomas stated that there was a meeting of all the Advisory Boards recently and inquired if anyone on the board attended. Ms. Green stated she was present and there was no one from this Board in attendance. Chairperson Thomas asked Ms. Green to give a brief update on what took place at that meeting. Ms. Green said that all the Boards discussed the types of projects that they were working on and asked for interaction and assistance among the Boards. The Children and Youth Advisory Board asked the other Boards to provide assistance with another Butterfly Garden they are planning. These Boards are referred to as the “people boards” and use the open forum meeting to share what they are doing and to help each other. Chairperson Thomas felt that this Board is very important to the City as well. Ms. Green said that the City has created a marketing team, which is comprised of members of the Department Heads throughout the City, and Ms. Green and Ms. Virginia Farace chair the team. Chairperson Thomas stated that most people in Boynton Beach do not realize how much is offered to the residents in terms of facilities and activities. Ms. 6 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 Green said the Board should consider sending a representative to the next meeting and the meetings are held every three months. Chairperson Thomas requested that Ms. Green add this item to the Board’s agenda in March. D. Architecture for Excellence Implementation (Melody Green) Ms. Green stated that the leadership teams of both recreation and parks have been through the architecture and have completed their training. Ms. Green presented to members the Department’s revised Organization Chart, which is based on the leadership team and the business area teams. Ms. Green reviewed the Chart with the members. Ms. Green said the business area teams have all been scheduled for training over the next three months. The architecture has been initiated throughout the Recreation Division, but not all the training has been completed. Ms. Green said that Mr. Wildner is getting his business area teams’ training completed as well. Chairperson Thomas inquired if this was training being recommended by the National Recreation Association. Ms. Green said the City has instituted the program and entire City is participating in the Architecture for Excellence and all departments are going through the program. It is a team-orientation philosophy. Ms. Green explained how this philosophy works. Ms. Green said the program is exciting and there have been some great breakthroughs and many good and creative ideas have emerged from the training. Mr. Winters inquired who was Interim City Manager and Ms. Green stated it was Mr. Wilfred Hawkins. Mr. Winters inquired if a search for a new City Manager has been instituted. Ms. Green did not know. Ms. Green said that at the last City Commission meeting it was discussed that the new Commission should take over this responsibility. E. Greenways Network (Mike Fitzpatrick) Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that the monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month. Mr. Fitzpatrick said that the County map has been printed out, but the scale is too large for the City’s use. It was anticipated that the City would have been able to put the City information on the map, but now this does not seem practical. It has been decided that the City will come up with its own map, which would show not only the publicly owned land, but also the privately owned land of open spaces. th A charrette will be held on April 17 and it will be held in the Library Program Room from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A master map will be available and each table will have their own maps in order to give the Committee some direction. A database on the privately owned land also has to be prepared. 7 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 Mr. Fitzgerald informed members that the Town Council of Hypoluxo wrote a letter to the County asking the County for a count at the Overlook Scrub. Mr. Fitzpatrick will follow through on this. F. Monthly Report Members reviewed the monthly report and commented on how nice the new format was. Ms. Green stated this was the same format that is given to the City Manager’s Office. Mr. Winters inquired if meters were going to be installed at the Beach. Ms. Green stated that an initial analysis was done which indicated that meters should not be placed at the Beach. Ms. Green said for the next 60 days, every hour, vehicles will be tracked in the parking lot that have decals and how many people leave because they do not want to pay the $10 fee and how many vacant parking spaces exist. Ms. Green said this will reveal peak demand and will reveal a lot of information that could be used for further analysis. Ms. Green stated the initial analysis showed it would cost more to put in meters than the income received. Ms. Green stated that currently the Beach generates $50,000 in daily fees and $90,000 in decal fees. If you shift to parking meters, it must be shown that meters would generate more income, taking in mind that the meters must be monitored and emptied. Ms. Green said a recommendation would be made for the new budget year. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Jazzercise Use of Civic Center (Mike Fitzpatrick) Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that his wife has taken Jazzercise for several years at the Civic Center and has been upset for the last few months. Mr. Fitzpatrick read his wife’s letter into the record (a copy of which is attached to the original minutes), which in effect states that not as many classes were being offered at the Civic Center as in the past. Also, Mrs. Fitzpatrick has indicated that the floor has been very slippery on occasions, causing people to slip and fall. Ms. Green said that this kind of letter should have been forwarded to her personally and requested in the future that these types of letters be sent directly to her as Recreation Superintendent and not brought to the Board. Ms. Green said she would follow through on the letter and see how her Department can assist. Ms. Green stated with regard to holidays, the City couldn’t require people to work on holidays for facilities that are allowed to be used. Ms. Green said when facilities are open on holidays, there is an additional charge. Ms. Green said the City is not receiving any additional money from 8 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 the jazzercise for holiday openings. Also, Ms. Green stated the City does not charge for the babysitting services that are available during jazzercise, which would be a considerable amount of money. Ms. Green said she would prepare a written response to Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s letter and furnish a copy of her reply to the members of the Board. Ms. Green said this is the first time she has heard there has been a problem with the jazzercise classes and it is her responsibility to address these concerns. B. Other Mr. Harris informed members that Mr. Williams was not present this evening since he is attending the funeral of his grandson in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Harris announced that the Palm Beach County Hall of Fame celebration is th scheduled for March 14 and Mr. Harris has tickets if anyone wished to attend. Cocktails are at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Winters announced that Mr. Harris was going to be conducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame. Mr. Harris said he was being inducted, along with Bobby Butler. Mr. Harris said the event would be held at the Marriott Palm Beach Gardens and tickets are $30.00 each. Mr. Harris noted that Mr. Ramnarace would be a good candidate for membership since he is involved in sports on a national level. thth Mr. Fitzpatrick announced that on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25 Kid’s Kingdom will be sanded and sealed and new mulch will be spread. Volunteers are being sought to help. Mr. Harris inquired if the City would be entering into an Interlocal Agreement with the new High School, as the City has done in the past. Mr. Harris said that a great many athletic events should be held at the new school and thought the process should begin as soon as possible. Ms. Green said there already is an agreement in place now with the Palm Beach County School District for any of their facilities. However, the City would still have to go to the School once it is built to complete the necessary forms that the Principal may require. Mr. Winters said that people have suggested that Mr. Harris should be appointed Principal of the new High School. Ms. Green informed members if they lobbied for Mr. Harris to be appointed as Principal, it must be done as individuals and not as members of the Recreation and Park Board. 9 MEETING MINUTES RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 22, 1999 VI. NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1999 VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting properly adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 10