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Minutes 06-25-12 MINUTES OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS BOARD MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012, AT 6:30 P.M., IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Elizabeth Pierce-Roe, Chair John McVey, Vice Chair Charles Kanter Robert Lapin Thomas Mandler Catherine Scantlan Glenda Hall, Manager Forestry and Grounds I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Pierce-Roe called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. II. ATTENDANCE Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll. A quorum was present. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Consensus Mr. Kanter moved to accept the minutes. Ms. Scantlan seconded the motion. The minutes were accepted by consensus. Chair Pierce-Roe welcomed new member Thomas Mandler. Mr. Mandler explained he has been a full-time Florida resident since 2004, and he has resided in Hunter's Run for seven years. His background was in the financial arena, dealing with equities, commodities, futures and others. He is retired, but consults on the side. When he lived in New Jersey, he served as a member of the Parks and Recreation Board for eight years, and saw the city's parks and recreation grow commensurate with the city's growth. He was always interested in providing those types of amenities to residents. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Parks System map; images of Quantum, Girl Scout and the Meadows/Nautica Sites A map depicting the actual parks and proposed or undeveloped parks was distributed to the members. Chair Pierce-Roe inquired if there were any comments about the parks Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 25, 2012 or about priority parks. Mr. Lapin expressed the City had to develop some type of idea of the cost to develop a park so the Board could create a list of priorities. Motion Mr. Kanter moved to ask the City Engineer to provide a ballpark estimate of the cost to develop the undeveloped parks. He noted the parks were detailed in the Parks manual which would provide a starting point. Vice Chair McVey seconded the motion for discussion. Vice Chair McVey was aware staff put together theoretical plans of what they wanted to do and years ago, they worked on Quantum Park. Development of Meadows/Nautica Park did not occur because the residents could not decide what they wanted. He believed Mr. Majors and staff had some type of figures they could bring back to the Board, and the estimates were a function of staff as opposed to the engineers. Discussion ensued Mr. Majors had discussed that issue at the last meeting, but felt the figures were obsolete as a considerable amount of time had elapsed. Vice Chair McVey suggested staff develop an estimate and narrow it down to some parks as opposed to all 22. Ms. Scantlan pointed out an RFP was issued for the development of Meadows Park and a requirement was added to include input from the community about what they wanted. If Meadows Park was the model to follow regarding how a park would be developed, each park would be different. At the last meeting, five priority parks were identified but a suggestion was made to place any park that received assistance from an outside source on the priority list because it was anticipated it would be some time before any funds for improvements would be budgeted. Mr. Kanter recalled there was a 44-acre parcel contiguous to Quantum Park that became the Sand Pine Preserve. The Preserve had received awards from the Sierra Club. The developers of Quantum Park wanted to incorporate those 44 acres, along with the City's 16 acres, to create an eco park in conjunction with the Sierra Club. The park would have trails installed, and the Sierra Club indicated as soon as they finished the Interlocal agreement with the City, they would contribute $50,000 each year to maintain it. As far as citizen input, Parkside community residents volunteered to maintain the park last year, but the City Commission declined the offer because the Park was not yet developed. There were over 400 children, mostly toddlers in the community that would benefit from the Park. The developers were aware there was funding available through the County for a boat launch. There was a Rails-to-Trails bicycle path and it was for this reason Quantum was 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 25, 2012 put on the priority list. The developers had created a sketch of what they wanted and it was hoped Mr. Majors could obtain it for the members. Development of the park could be accomplished in phases and the sketch could help determine what items were needed or could be donated. Chair Pierce-Roe noted there had been prior discussions of schools which participated in City events. Great donations were received, but she was unsure how to market these activities. Glenda Hall, Manager, Forestry and Grounds, explained they have worked with St. Mark, St. Josephs, Rolling Green, and Poinciana Elementary Schools. Staff tried to solicit Forest Park but was unsuccessful in coordinating a time to participate in one of the planting events. Additionally, transportation was a problem. As a result, staff sought to partner with schools that were adjacent to a park. Galaxy Elementary School was near a conservation area so it was hoped they would assist with programs there. There was discussion that Quantum Park was not far from Boynton Beach Community High School as was Chancellor Charter School and Lake Worth Christian School. Vice Chair McVey knew the principal at Chancellor Charter School and offered to speak with her about the effort. Student participation from St. Mark came about from a research project with mangroves. Rolling Green's participation resulted from a science club. Discussion turned to having presentation materials and submitting them to Mr. Majors for approval as it was important to have the footwork done first. Members could then approach the schools to invite them to collaborate with the City. Chair Pierce-Roe thought the members should focus on which parks to assist. If there were enough individuals interested in an area to help with a park, the Board could then direct their focus to a park in another area. The members acknowledged there were many possibilities for the parks to be used by scouts as they needed to earn badges and students needed to accrue community service hours to graduate. A suggestion was made to develop a well constructed letter that could be sent to the Boy and Girl Scout Councils. If Mr. Majors had any connections at the School Board, he could contact them and make them aware of the opportunity. Members could also speak about the opportunity at the schools and Ms. Scantlan volunteered to make scheduled presentations. Existing parks could have cleanups, small plantings and be adopted. Chair Pierce-Roe suggested splitting the parks into two categories: one for existing parks and the other for new parks. Existing parks would be further broken down into different categories. A suggestion was made to invite principals to the meeting to discuss the issue and the City could present what they needed. Mr. Lapin inquired if Quantum Park could be used for camping. Ms. Hall explained her understanding was no camping was allowed in the City. She noted WalMart was prohibited from allowing campers to remain in the parking lot overnight. She was also 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 25,2012 aware the Blueway system wanted to include an area for kayakers to stop and camp. It was believed that at one time, Girl Scout Park allowed camping and a suggestion was made to approach Mr. Majors to find out why camping was no longer allowed and see if it could be permitted. Ms. Scantlan spoke about the upcoming budget workshops and inquired if there was a forum to speak. She noted there was some discussion at the Financial Advisory Committee about disposing of parks. It was hoped that by the next meeting, they would have information from the various principals and the scouting councils. Vice Chair McVey explained if the Board felt they needed to be heard during the budget process, Mr. Majors would provide them with an opportunity to speak. After further brief comment, the members decided to ask Mr. Majors to forward the budget meeting dates and times. V. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion regarding working with local schools to help students learn about growing fruits and/or vegetables This item was discussed earlier in the meeting. B. Review of current department activities with local schools (St. Mark, St. Josephs, Rolling Green) This item was discussed earlier in the meeting. B. December meeting - Christmas Eve Chair Pierce-Roe explained in the past, the Board had cancelled the December meeting and if an issue arose that required a vote, then they would convene a meeting. There were times the members attended the holiday parade, and got together at that time to discuss an item. The November meeting would also be reviewed. VI. ITEMS FOR THE CITY MANAGER'S ATTENTION The letter drafted by Mr. Majors enlisting schools to assist with park maintenance would be submitted to the City Manager. VII. NEXT MEETING: June 25, 2012 Mr. Mandler noted last months minutes had an item about the Adopt-a-Park program and conveyed his experience from his prior Board. Over an eight-year period and since inception, they worked to have each park adopted primarily by industry, businesses, and students, and twice a year, they had a tremendous outflow of participants. He 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 25, 2012 noted it was a fun time. Everyone got together, cleaned, had barbeques and a lot of funds were raised to help offset costs to maintain the park. It brought the city and community closer together and it allowed more parks to be built. Chair Pierce-Roe commented she was interested in this program 10 years ago. She had contacted Palm Beach County a few years ago because her Homeowners Association held a cleanup and for the Great American cleanup. She commented the County provided them with supplies and names of contacts in the area. St. Mark always participated. She explained the County Adopt-a-Park program was handled through the County Recreation and Parks Department, not the City. Mr. Mandler inquired if he could contact the appropriate individuals to reactivate the program, to which there were no objections. It was noted the three adopted parks were adopted by schools. Mr. Mandler also volunteered to head or be part of a committee to see how the program could be expanded from three parks to more. Mr. Lapin inquired about Congress Avenue Park which was being constructed in phases by the Greater Boynton Beach Foundation. He noted Mr. Majors indicated the Foundation had only raised about $8,000 for the Park. The Foundation was separate from the Board and he believed there should be some interaction between the Board and Foundation. The park was beautiful and successful and he would like to see the next phase constructed. He suggested the Chair of the Foundation be invited to meet with the Board and there was agreement to do so Mr. Mandler inquired if there was a goal for new parks next year. Chair Pierce-Roe explained at the last meeting, the Board tried to focus on five parks but there were no funds available to enhance them. Ms. Hall also pointed out there was no funding set aside for future parks during the next five years. The Department applies for grants and if received, the monies were used. Some grants required a cash or in-kind match, and projects that had received grant funding in the past did not receive another grant. Unless the application contained an educational component or would be used in a low- income area, it was unlikely any funding would be obtained. Grant funding had decreased dramatically in the past three years. The members discussed some parcels of land that could be used for a park were up for sale. Ms. Hall explained there were very few parcels large enough for more than a pocket park. As to additions to existing parks, when developers built a project, they had the option to donate land or give money. Donations from industries for parks were not received. It was a function of the Foundation which was a non-profit 501(C) (3) Corporation. It was noted the Interim City Manager sits on the Board. Mr. Kanter commented Commissioner Holzman wanted a dog park and there was a suitable location to create one behind Target. They approached the developers and pet stores in the shopping plaza to sponsor one, but the concept did not move forward. Chair Pierce-Roe explained circumstances changed on a daily basis and the Board 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 25, 2012 could request Mr. Majors investigate the possibility of creating one, the funding sources, what foundations to approach, and what grants were available. It was pointed out the City has a Grants Coordinator who works closely with the Recreation and Parks Department. Mr. Lapin inquired if the Board had anything to do with the Grand Marshall for the Holiday Parade. Chair Pierce-Roe responded they did and historically, the title was bestowed on individuals with much community service. There was brief discussion about putting a park name up for sale and it was decided that was a concept that would be conveyed to Mr. Majors. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Catherine Cherry Recording Secretary 062612 6