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Minutes 11-23-09 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009, AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE BOYNTON BEACH SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: William Orlove, Vice Chair Tom Gresh John McVey Janelle Sloan Corey Cook Wally Majors, Recreation and Parks Director Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent ABSENT: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Robert Lapin I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. Vice Chair Orlove chaired the meeting. II. ATTENDANCE Attendance was taken. It was announced Jay Allard resigned from the Board. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 AND OCTOBER 17, 2009 MEETING MINUTES Motion Mr. Cook moved to approve the October and September minutes. Mr. Gresh seconded the motion that unanimously passed. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. CIP Update Jody Rivers, Parks Superintendent reported the following: The Jaycee Park Boardwalk was completed and the ribbon cutting ceremony was being scheduled. 1 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL November 10, 2009 Jaycee Park had a new CIP Project The Recreation and Parks staff received grant funding from the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) for the Interpretative Art Markers. The markers would be placed at various stations throughout the park and would lead patrons through the history of Boynton Beach and its growth and economics. Ms. Rivers reported the markers were unlike anything she had ever seen and that they would be outstanding. The markers were designed and needed to be fabricated and installed over the next 9 to12 months. They would have a maritime theme and would be made of coquina rock with piling materials and interpretative panels. Replacement of the restrooms and shelters was scheduled to take place at Boat Club Park as well as replacement of a few other cosmetic amenities. A tile mural on the wall by the round-about may also be installed. The improvements were funded through a grant from Palm Beach County. The Greenway Bikeways were bogged down between the Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County's comments. The parties were not in agreement regarding access issues and a meeting may be called in an effort to address them. Oceanfront Park previously had issues regarding construction plans. These matters were now addressed and staff would open bids for the project on December 8, 2009. It was hoped work would commence in early January. The project was anticipated to last 12 months and would be done in phases so the beach restrooms and concessionaire would remain open. The Recreation and Parks Department applied for a grant to install Musco lights at Hester Park, and make other energy saving retrofits in the building. Installing the lights was anticipated to save $150,000 over 10 years. Staff would pull records to track the savings as the lights last about 25 years. The lights were computer monitored and automated, similar to the way an alarm system works. If a light needed replacement, the system alerted the company and they replaced the light. The baseball and football fields, and racquetball and tennis courts would have the lights. The system also timed the lights. V. New Business A. Pence Park (Host public meeting in January) Due to a recent incident at the park where someone was killed on the basketball court, some residents had a perception that the basketball court was part of the problem in that area, in that it attracts a fairly large crowd of people. As such, there could be times when some of the activity could be questionable. To what degree the basketball court played into it remained to be seen. Staff desired to have the Board host a meeting as part of its regular meeting in January and invite residents that use the park to hold discussions and receive feedback. The Board could put forward their recommendations about what they would do in the future. 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL November 10,2009 Staff also recently completed remodeling the softball field into a multi-purpose field which could increase its use. Mr. Majors also received calls from some of the area residents after the incident indicating sports could be a deterrent. Now that the park was converted, staff was investigating what should be done regarding scheduling the lights. Historically the basketball court lights were timed to go off at 10:00 p.m. Since the incident; however, they have kept the lights on. When the Board received feedback from the residents at the meeting, they could decide how to move forward. The meeting would be held at the Senior Center. It was noted the park patrons usually walk to the park, but some residents drove there. Whenever there is a public space there is the potential for some type of misuse; however, staff believed that positive use of the space was a deterrent. The matter was discussed with the Police, who would be at the meeting and who concurred with staff. The park was where the incident occurred; however it was not the cause. A policy decision needed to be made. The Board would need to consider the community's wishes, whether to remove the basketball courts, and put forth a recommendation. Staff reviewed the number of times the police have had to respond to the park and found it to be no more significant than any other park. It was suggested a negative perception of the park needed to be addressed. It was noted the park was the oldest park in the City, being built in the 1950s. B. Jaycee Park Boardwalk Ribbon Cutting C. Department Vision Statement Ms. Rivers distributed the report compiled by Ms. York, the facilitator of the workshop. Ms. York met with this group and individually with the City Commissioners and City Manager to discuss the use of recreation and parks. She compiled the comments and staff worked with Ms. York to develop the Vision Statement. A Vision Statement lets others know what they think they want in the near future. Staff recognized economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social well being were important. Those components were included in the statement which, hopefully, would be completed by the end of the month. The Board would review the document and submit any comments via email. Ms. Rivers noted staff was taking a completely different approach regarding their strategic plan. The plan was updated annually, but over the last few years it was watered down, partly because of the economy and partly due to other issues. Staff would use the environmental, economic and social components when developing it. Staff was considering an "Adopt a Park" program and there was discussion of using volunteers for it. Many high school students needed to fulfill volunteer hours to graduate or to receive college scholarships. Boynton Beach Community High School sends volunteers to the Little League Program. The Children's Schoolhouse Museum 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL November 10, 2009 also received volunteers. Generally, the volunteers used came from the Youth Volunteer Bank or the Senior Center. Staff reached out to the high school on many occasions with little success; however, volunteers were not really used at the parks and there was no further discussion of the issue. D. Items for the City Manager's Attention Mr. Gresh advised he met with an individual who holds workshops that could generate revenue for the City and many municipalities on the west coast were interested in the concept. Ms. Rivers announced they were going to hire a company to rent beach chairs and cabanas at the beach, which would yield about $20,000 per year and would be contributed to the General Fund. The rentals were available hourly, half day and whole day. With the new boardwalk being installed at Jaycee Park, it would be a nice enhancement to the beach. The operator presently offers the service in Delray Beach. There was discussion about the price of park passes and Boynton Beach moving to an electronic parking system. The members would be receiving an invitation to the Holiday Parade with information regarding the number of guests they could bring. The date was December 5,2009. It was announced the mural at Sara Sims Park was completed and was outstanding. Staff would include the feature as part of their parks tour. V. Next Meeting: January 25,2009 The December meeting was cancelled. VI. Adjournment The members were wished a happy holiday. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:12 p.m. dllilvLLl)(L GJwUf Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 121009 4