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Minutes 06-22-20 Minutes of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Meeting Held on Monday, June 22, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom Online Meeting in Boynton Beach, Florida Present: Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair Wally Majors, Director, Recreation and Parks Eugene Fagan Kacy Young, Assistant Director, Recreation and Parks Marsha Bionta (arrived 6:39 p.m.) Gary Dunmyer, City Engineer Charles Kanter (arrived at 6:41 p.m.) Julie Mondello, Alternate Brian Bonnell, Alternate Absent: Charles Frederick Joshua Van Leuven I. Call to Order Kacy Young, Assistant Director, Recreation and Parks, started the Zoom recording at 6:34 p.m. and explained how the meeting would proceed. Betty Pierce-Roe, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance Ms. Mondello led the members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. Attendance Chair Pierce-Roe called the roll. A quorum was present. IV. Approval of Minutes — February Meeting Mr. Majors explained he received feedback from the City Attorney that previously did not allow for excused absences, and noted there was an Ordinance change they were able to make. He was unsure whether to announce it under Unfinished Business. Motion Ms. Mondello moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Fagan seconded the motion. The motion unanimously passed. Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 V. Unfinished Business None. VI. New Business A. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Chair Pierce-Roe explained the Board had previously deferred Election of the Board Chair and Vice Chair. Ms. Mondello nominated Ms. Pierce-Roe as Chair. Chair Pierce- Roe nominated Ms. Mondello as Chair. Mr. Majors explained the Board has been fairly informal about the elections, but noted Ms. Mondello was an alternate. There was a regular position vacated by former Board Member Eric Ammon that Ms. Mondello could apply for. He suggested deferring the matter to allow staff to check with Legal and the City Clerk about the matter. It was noted board appointments are made by the City Commission. The matter was tabled to the next meeting. B. Department Update Mr. Young advised COVID-19 has affected and changed a lot of their operations. Many of their facilities were closed, but now with the Executive Order issued, some facilities were opening. To-date, Oceanfront Park is open and operating on its regular schedule, as were the food and beach chair rental vendors. They are still following all CDC Guidelines and social distancing. The lifeguards are monitoring the beach, but assistance from the Ocean Ridge Police was available for social distancing and any other issues that occur at the beach. The Densen Pool is open to the public for Open Swim. Programming has not yet begun as they are erring on the side of caution as to what they will allow the public to do at the pool. They are operating at 25% capacity, which is about 24 swimmers at a time. Swimming is still Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are still some restrictions. The water fountains are not available and there is restricted seating on the deck. Staff is sanitizing the area and there are split swimming sessions occurring so cleaning can occur. The locker rooms and the water slide are not available at this time, but the restrooms are as was the bottle filling water fountain. The Tennis Center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and staff is moving to offer evening programs with lighted facilities. Right now, the public can play doubles in accordance with CDC guidelines. They are limiting the number of people going into the pro shop and court reservations are needed. Harvey Oyer Boat Ramp is at full capacity and normal operations. Mr. Fagan asked if staff sanitizes the playground equipment. Mr. Young explained all playgrounds are closed and some have limited access. Staff is in the field monitoring the parks to ensure the public adheres to the rules and regulations. There is caution 2 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 tape and signage around the playground equipment, but any amenity that is available, is disinfected using Clorox wipes. Chair Pierce-Roe mentioned the lights at Oyer Park are not working and recalled there were some issues last year. She requested staff drive by at night. She noted some lights function differently from sunrise to sunset, but some in the parking lot may be out. Mr. Young explained the dog park is able to open, but is undergoing renovations. All recreation centers are closed and staff is onsite, reviewing operations and preparing for when activities can resume in accordance with CDC Guidelines. One summer program that will open on June 29th is summer camp, but only at the Carolyn Sims Center and only for six weeks. The Hester Center was also undergoing renovations, but would not be ready for summer programming. Most summer camp programs have a maximum of 74 participants, but with the guidelines, enrollment was limited to 32 youth. Staff had previously surveyed parents about recreational activities, but they were not interested at that time. He noted there were a lot of restrictions in place then that would have made camp challenging. The multi-purpose field is open, but the water fountains and pavilions are closed. Mr. Young reiterated they have to work around the guidelines. They will offer the program and see how many are interested in it. Mr. Fagan noted there was a mangrove area south of two apartment towers under construction on Woolbright Road, which was supposed to be given as a park and recreation retention area. He asked if the land was gifted to the City. Mr. Young was unaware of the land being given to the City or Recreation and Parks and he agreed to give an update at the next meeting. Needs Assessment— Recreation & Parks Department Mr. Young recalled in February the Board was in the process of hiring a vendor to conduct the Needs Assessment. He reported the City hired a prior vendor, Management Learning Laboratories, (MLL), who conducted the assessment for the City in the past. Dr. Mitra conducted interviews with city staff, other departments, Commissioners, advisory board members, and members of the community to obtain input. As or right now, there is a draft questionnaire and they have a meeting this week to finalize the survey. Once finalized, it will be mailed to randomly selected Boynton Beach and unincorporated Boynton Beach residents. Dr. Mitra will compile the results into a report regarding programming, operations, and operation of the parks department. It was noted the survey will be mailed in the next two weeks. Chair Pierce-Roe asked if they will allow the public to take the survey online in addition to the mail-in responses. Mr. Young explained it will be a two-phased approach. Post cards will be sent first, providing the information to allow the recipients to answer online. If Dr. Mitra does not receive enough responses, then they will mail the survey. Mr. Young understood 2,500 mailers would be sent. Chair Pierce-Roe asked if the Board could review the survey before it is distributed to see if they adjusted any of the 3 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 questions. She noted many things have changed in the last few months and she was wondering how advanced they are on a scale of not being able to use the parks or recreational areas. She noted some things are being done virtually. Mr. Young agreed COVID-19 has changed many things and explained they conducted interviews, took the information and put it together. They already reviewed it once. Mr. Young explained they understand operations will be different when reopening. They were able to add questions about virtual programming and safety protocols. There are also questions on the survey about COVID-19 related issues and that information will be added to the questionnaire. Hibiscus Park Gary Dunmyer, City Engineer, explained staff was responding to concerns by local residents about items and youth running out into traffic at Hibiscus Park and there seemed to be a demand for a fence around the park. Mr. Dunmyer met with his team and created a layout for a fence along the basketball court and play area that would be continuous. The fence will be taller by the basketball court so when youth play or the ball hits the rim, the ball will be contained. The remainder of the fence will be lower. The fence by the basketball courts will be a chain-link type and the remainder of the fence will be a picket fence. It would be similar to the fence at Sara Sims Park, which is aluminum with black vertical rungs and no finials on top. The fence would have openings, but no gates. There will be an opening in the main parking area. The fence will go all the way around the sitting and play area which would prevent anyone from making a direct run into the road. The City is also proposing a sidewalk on the north and south side of the basketball court to provide access to the field. The members viewed the site plan. There is a swale on the south side of SW 1 st Avenue they want to preserve, to handle the surface water run- off and there would be a sidewalk that would move around the fence. The sidewalk would not be a linear walkway and it would connect to W. Ocean at some point. Mr. Dunmyer wanted to address traffic and advised some asphalt would be removed. He would improve the turns, add pedestrian crosswalks with reflective paint and freshen up the striping. He noted a crosswalk for pedestrians to cross SW 1 st to the park was needed. Andrew Kollar, City resident, 218 SW 7th Street, noted traffic coming off Ocean on the south side, backs up from 8th Avenue. He stated they must slow traffic down coming past the parks. His letter requested speed bumps or at least stop signs coming south on 7th Avenue. Regularly traffic travels 60 mph and he advised it is a raceway from Ocean Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard. He also noted there are certain mechanical features that are above ground. He has watched youth crash into the sprinkler pipes and there are no real bollards. Mr. Kollar also noted there are electrical panels and drug dealers do their deals behind the panels and the hedges. He asked why the park is lighted if the park closes at dusk. In the past, Mr. Kollar explained he was told to call the police, but if he is the only one calling them. he will be the one to 4 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 have a problem. Mr. Young thanked him for his comments and explained they can check street lights. The street lights should have faced the roadway, but at some point, the light was installed facing the park instead. Mr. Majors agreed calling the police was important so the police could create enough of a record for them to allocate the resources to monitor. Mr. Kollar advised things have improved, but the issues have still not been alleviated. Mr. Young requested issues be reported to the Police and Recreation and Parks. Mr. Dunmyer agreed to call FPL to have them put the light on the correct side of the pole. Mr. Fagan asked if they could install a camera at the park to communicate real time to the Police Department. Mr. Young suggested contacting them. A camera would help solve the issue because the park would be monitored. Chair Roe agreed calling the police and letting as many people know there is a habitual situation would help; if issues are not documented, change will be delayed. Mr. Fagan thought if cameras were installed, there may not be any issues. Mr. Kollar explained at the height of problem in the past, he was informed by the Police Department there were camera there. Ms. Mondello asked when the work would commence. Mr. Dunmyer explained he would install the fence first, but it could be six to eight weeks until completion and then they would address the sidewalks. There would be two different contractors. He thought the sidewalks would be installed quickly. Mr. Bonnell saw a lot of people working at different parks and other projects and he appreciated the work done by the City. Mr. Kollar reiterated there was an issue with speed. Chair Pierce-Roe asked who was responsible for the roadway to determine if speed bumps were needed. Mr. Dunmyer responded the roads are city roads and he was in the process of conducting traffic studies in Mr. Kollar's neighborhood. He advised they need at least 500 vehicle trips and cars must be travelling at least five miles over the posted speed limit to be eligible for traffic calming measures. Mr. Dunmyer will conduct a traffic study and share it with the Police Department. Mr. Bonnell asked Mr. Dunmyer if sidewalk improvements fall under Parks' purview and learned they generally do not, only to get pedestrians to the parks. Mr. Dunmyer works with Public Works, Grounds Maintenance and Facilities Management. When something needs to be repaired or approved, he is brought in and they usually find a resolution. Joseph Crowder Dog Park Mr. Young explained under the Executive Order, dog parks are allowed to open, but the City closed the park for renovations. Mr. Dunmyer explained the Boynton Town Center Master Association was to maintain the park, but did not live up to the agreement. The City met with them about how to maintain the park to a higher standard and they have a new agreement which the City Commission approved. The dog park will receive a new one acre, plus or minus run, run installed in the center lawn area with fencing, a sidewalk and ADA access. They are making repairs to the gazebo. The removal of 5 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 mulch is completed and more sod will be added. They are replacing dead and dying trees with new trees and the park should officially reopen in mid-July. It was noted the park will rotate the dog play areas to allow grass in sections of the park to rest and recover. It will be a great improvement and the park is a popular park. Suicide Awareness Benches Ms. Young explained at the last meeting, some Suicide benches were already installed, and additional ones were added. The yellow suicide benches at are installed at Jaycee Park, Intracoastal Park, Oyer Park, Meadows and Sara Sims Parks and at Ocean Front Park. They have a plan in place and eventually there will awareness benches in all City parks to raise awareness. The benches are named after victims of suicide and provide resources to people to help prevent suicide. Staff will provide updates as more benches installed. VII. Items for the City Manager's Attention None. VIII. Future Agenda Items The Election of Chair and Vice Chair was deferred to the next meeting Mr. Young explained there are few projects that are taking place and Mr. Dunmyer will likely be at many future meetings. Meadows Park Renovations Mr. Dunmyer explained starting on Wednesday, Meadows Park will be closed for two weeks to replace the asphalt path at the perimeter. The contractor promised to start on July 2nd, to safen the park to make the park so it would be open for the long weekend, but it will close because there will be lots of trucks and it would not be safe. The asphalt path is in bad shape and has degraded. It does not meet the proper slopes, does not meet ADA requirements and there are tree roots The City had intended to do an overall park renovation, but the path they are installing will be permanent and the work will be done in phases. Mr. Young announced the park will be closed June 24th to the 26tH closed June 29th to July 2nd, open for the 4th of July weekend and closed again on July 6th to the 10th. There will be new paved areas, ADA access to the pavilions, to the playground, a new fitness zone and many other upgrades. Chair Pierce-Roe asked about the Fourth of July Celebration and learned they were cancelled this year out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19. She noted they were supposed to be writing postcards at the Fourth of July event and she asked how to get them. Mr. Young explained he would arrange to obtain the postcards and distribute 6 Meeting Minutes Recreation and Parks Board Boynton Beach, Florida June 22, 2020 the information. Some scheduled events were cancelled. The free day of golf for the first 100 golfers to celebrate the opening of the renovated Links Golf Course event went forward, but the Father's Day Golf Clinic this past weekend was cancelled due to the rain. Chair Pierce-Roe noted she was asked about Centennial information. Mr. Young commented he would distribute the information. The Funfare Magazine was printed, is online and was distributed. He noted a lot of things have changed because of COVID-19 and some establishments are not accepting them at this point. He requested the members get a copy of the magazine. There is a great article about Wally Majors, Recreation and Parks Director, the history of his career with Boynton and his contributions to the parks department. Ms. Mondello had read the article. Chair Pierce-Roe thanked Mr. Majors for his service. Mr. Young also noted the magazine also highlighted the Cultural Center. He, too, recognized Mr. Majors and thanked him for his leadership. Mr. Majors advised he was happy and Mr. Young did a wonderful job. He thought there would be a very smooth transition. He received permission from the City Manager that will allow him to come to City Hall on a regular basis to help Mr. Young and the team and continue with the Department's accreditation. Even though he is leaving, he will still be around. He reiterated he was thrilled and could not be happier or more satisfied with Mr. Young. Mr. Majors advised the Commission has been wonderful and he was very satisfied with the advisory board. Mr. Young has a great team to work with. Mr. Majors advised it was a pleasure working with the Board. IX. Next Meeting —July 27, 2020 Chair Pierce-Roe announced the July meeting. X. Adjournment There being no further business before the Board, Chair Pierce-Roe adjourned the meeting at 7:44 p.m. � r Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 7