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Minutes 06-27-11 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE SENIOR CENTER, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2011 AT 6:30 P.M. PRESENT Elizabeth Pierce-Roe, Chair Wally Majors, Recreation & Parks Director John McVey, Vice Chair Charles Kanter Robert Lapin Catherine Scantlan Janelle Sloan ABSENT Corey Cook Brian Hopper, Alternate I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll. A quorum was present. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion Vice Chair McVey moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Kanter seconded the motion which passed unanimously. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Renaming of Parks (Veterans, Veterans Bicentennial, Boat Club) - Update Mr. Majors stated at the last meeting there was discussion about appointing some members of the Board to take part in the process by which the City renames facilities. At the last Commission meeting, the Commission took into consideration the recommendation from the Review Committee which recommended that Boat Club Park be named in honor of Harvey Oyer. The Commission voted to approve the recommendation. They, however, decided to postpone renaming Veterans and Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL June 27, 2011 Veterans Bicentennial Park. The Mayor had asked staff and the CRA to meet and develop ideas that would alleviate the redundancy of the two Parks and make Veterans Park more attractive. Mr. Majors also stated that the Commission was not able to move forward on the Head Start building in honor of Lena Rahming due to some legal issues with the family. There was discussion about the confusion when someone searches for Boynton Beach parks and it points to Veterans Park rather than Veterans Bicentennial Park. Mr. Majors advised the recommendation for staff to initiate the process of renaming, would originate from the Commission or the City Manager. The initial request would come from a citizen or the Board. Mr. Majors stated in his initial discussion with the CRA, the intent was to look at the activities at the Marina and perhaps the Ocean Avenue corridor could blend with the Marina enabling Veterans Park to have a more marine or fishing- based name. A request would be made to the Commission to change Veterans Park to Veterans Memorial Park. Mr. Lapin commented that adding the word memorial troubled him and there was discussion whether that could suggest discrimination against veterans who were still alive. There were comments made that there were memorial monuments already in place and the memorial name would fit. Chair Pierce-Roe advised earlier the Veterans were approached and they indicated they wanted Veterans Park but perhaps the Veterans Advisory Committee should be approached to obtain their input again. Mr. Lapin inquired why there were two Veterans Parks. Mr. Majors advised the one on Ocean Avenue, which was the original Veterans Park, now had a public art piece in it and a small memento in reference to the veterans that had passed away during the wars. Veterans Bicentennial Park on Federal Highway had become the major park. He also stated the property owners in the area had expressed to the City that it would be appreciated if the park could become more attractive and more visible. When parks become too passive, they could become a nuisance and the best way to keep that from happening was to keep people walking through and keep it positive. There was already a request made to rename Veterans Bicentennial Park, so that would get the process rolling. B. Accreditation – Update Mr. Majors advised out of 144 standards, the Department received 140. Ms. Claude deserved the bulk of the credit. She put a lot of effort and hard work to get to this level and she would get formal recognition in front of the Commission after the ceremony in Atlanta in November. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Parks Tour Scheduling 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL June 27, 2011 Mr. Majors advised one of the objectives of the Board was to give the Commission feedback on the undeveloped park sites. On an annual basis, the sites are visited to get an idea of what was out there and put forth recommendations to the Commission as to what should be done. The Commission requested the Board have a discussion regarding feedback from the residents in the Quantum Park Area. Mr. Kanter, the newest member of the Board, was the representative for the Quantum Park Homeowners Association. He had asked whether consideration for Quantum Park could move forward with the development of it and how that could be accomplished. Chair Pierce-Roe advised a walk thru was accomplished earlier with someone who gave ideas on meeting with the School Board to discuss the possibility of including classes in the park. Possibly, a structure could be built there that the County and City would be involved in. The Greenways are going there, the Blueways going there and some sort of eco-natural trail. The issue was securing the funds and lighting, among other things. The property was ten acres, plus the 50 acre preserve next to it. B. Quantum “Eco” Park Discussion Mr. Majors stated that Mr. Kanter made reference to the fact that there was the Winchester site and some interest still existed. Mr. Kanter stated his area was full of young people with children and young teens that would benefit from a recreational area. Mr. Majors felt there would be many grants available for eco-green projects. Mr. Kanter felt Winchester was the perfect place for the dog park. It was five acres and runs parallel to Old Boynton Beach Boulevard. Mr. Lapin commented that no one should focus on pipe dreams and to focus on reality. He stated Congress Park was in the works and that was a lot of effort for the City to absorb. Without getting some idea of costs, recommendations cannot be made. Mr. Majors suggested getting a map of Boynton Beach, mark out where all the parks were and the Board could determine if there were any gaps and holes in the system inventory. If there were none, there would be more flexibility. Mr. Lapin stated the Quantum area was the second best part of Boynton Beach. Renaissance Plaza was an asset so the next park should be Quantum. To attract people to Boynton Beach, the City must put their best foot forward. After more discussion, the Board agreed to tour Quantum as there would be no understanding of what would be needed and what would be reasonable, unless it was walked. Mr. Kanter commented he suggested incorporating the FOP property on Miner Road as it solved access issues, utilities and other things. Mr. Majors commented that property did not belong to the City; it belonged to the Police Benevolent Association. Mr. Lapin inquired if the Master Plan included costs and Mr. Majors answered he did not believe it included an opinion of cost. Based on experience and what was at the 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL June 27, 2011 Congress Park, he would estimate $2-3 million. If there were grant money from the County and possibly bring in an educational perk for the schools, it would be helpful. Mr. Majors commented about the nomenclature of parks. A neighborhood park served an area of approximately one-half mile and people should be able to walk there. A regional park was intended for people to drive to. Those things must be considered when reviewing the park system. He added there was a conceptual plan that allowed creation of linear corridors to the next point of interest so people would not have to get in their cars and drive to different parks. There would be bike paths that could also be made golf cart friendly. Chair Pierce-Roe commented that years ago there was a needs assessment study. That should be done, to some degree, every year. There were communities that had their own pool, basketball court, recreation areas and tennis courts, and also wanted a park next to their community. The needs assessment was important as it identified the areas that would best benefit. It was brought up that the City had a license to use citizen surveys and possibly an online survey could be done for feedback from citizens. Mr. Majors commented that in the accreditation process, one of the four standards that were not met was that someone in the department have that in their job description, to conduct evaluations and surveys, among other things. It was the thought to assign Ms. Claude with that role as she had the experience. There was consensus to take a tour of Quantum Park and start at 6:00 p.m. on the next meeting date. There was a suggestion made to possibly have a few smaller parks than one large one. Mr. Majors advised the problem with that was there was no money to maintain them. He also advised there was the park impact fee, but a good deal of that would be put towards the beach to renovate the buildings at Oceanfront Park. Part of the discussion on the table was whether the buildings should be developed or create some type of automated parking. Staff would recommend the development of the buildings before charging people for parking. The City’s original plan was to renovate the buildings with the park impact fee. VI. ITEMS FOR THE CITY MANAGER’S ATTENTION None. VII. NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be July 25, 2011, beginning at 6:00 p.m. for the walking tour. 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, FL June 27, 2011 VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was properly adjourned at 7:39 p.m. (; . /, c {{v CC-z/L (A./U- Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 5