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Minutes 12-20-21 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH RECREATION&PARKS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING 100 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach December 20, 2021, 6:30 p.m. PRESENT: STAFF: Julie Mondello, Chair Kacy Young, Recreation & Parks Director Elizabeth Pierce-Roe, Vice Chair Franky Lazo, Asst. Recreation & Parks Director Charles Kanter Gary Dunmeyer, City Engineer Eugene Fagan Commissioner Ty Penserga James Jenkins Jennifer Oh, Prototype, Inc. Fernando Patterson Sean Conklin Dan Winters, Sr., Alternate Geoffrey Campbell, Alternate I. Call to Order Chair Mondello called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 11. Pledge of Allegiance 111. Roll Call Roll was called and a quorum was present. IV. Agenda Approval — December 20, 2021 Chair Mondello recognized Commissioner Ty Penserga. Motion duly made and seconded, for the December 20, 2021, agenda approval. In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously (9-0). V. Approval of Minutes — November 22, 2021 Chair Mondello mentioned corrections on Page 4 at the bottom paragraph, which should read as, "Vice Chair Betty Pierce-Roe indicated...". There were a few other changes on Page 4 and 5 that should have been Vice Chair Betty Pierce-Roe. Motion duly made and seconded, to approve Minutes for the November 22, 2021 meeting as amended. In a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously (9-0). Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 VI. Unfinished Business — None. VII. New Business a. New Member Introduction: Dan Winters, Sr. Mr. Winters provided his brief work history and noted he is still working three days a week. He has been in Boynton since 1970. b. New Member Introduction: Geoffrey Campbell Mr. Campbell has been in the City for about seven years and is a practicing landscape architect by trade. c. Franky Lazo, Assistant Director Introduction Mr. Lazo stated this is his second week on the job. Prior to this position, he was the Park Superintendent for Boynton Beach, and prior to that he worked for the City of Hollywood. d. Slash Pine Tree Seedling Planting Project Kacy Young, Recreation and Parks Director, indicated the Board has been talking about this project for a while in anticipation of receiving the seedlings. He asked if the seedlings have been received. Mr. Fagan advised the seedlings would be here on Saturday, January 15, 2022. Mr. Young indicated some park space has been identified around the City where they can potentially plant the trees, but he questioned the size of the seedlings and how many there are. He also asked if all the seedlings needed to be taken immediately for storage. Mr. Fagan replied there are 1,200 seedlings and they are about 18 inches. He stated the seedlings only last one or two days. Mr. Young mentioned a project at Laurel Hills, where they are going to plant some Slash Pines. The Board has expressed they want the Slash Pines planted at Eco Park, but the concern is that they are still in the planning phases of Eco Park, and they would hate to plant them and then have to move them once they get into planning. Some space has been identified along the lake or canal where some trees can be planted, but he did not know if there was enough space to plant 1,200. There are a couple other parks where the trees can be planted; they are trying to find safe places for them. If the seedlings come in on Saturday, he did not know if they would be prepared to plant them on Monday, but they will take them and plant them the best way possible. Another idea presented is that Community Greening is starting a nursery. 2 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 Mr. Young advised there was a conversation about adding trees to Galaxy, but it was not a good idea. Chair Mondello mentioned having a discussion with Community Greening about taking all the seedlings, planting them, and taking care of them until places to plant them could be found. The other idea was to do a tree give-a-way to residents to plant. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe spoke with someone in the Sierra Club, and she did not know if they ever contacted anyone because they said they have places they could probably use the Slash Pines in Boynton. Mr. Young advised no one from the Sierra Club has reached out to him. Mr. Fagan spoke to Community Greening and offered to pay them to help plant trees if that would help. Mr. Young stated there are tentative spots at Bard Memorial Park, Boynton Lakes, Barrier Free Park, Forest Hills Park, Laurel Hills Park, Pine Air Canal, Sara Sims, and certain areas at Eco Park. Chair Mondello suggested coming up with the number of seedlings, taking what is left, and coming up with some for a give away and giving some to Community Greening. Vice Chair Pierce- commented she would also like to find out with the Sierra Club since they expressed interest. Mr. Young indicated there would be a different number of trees at different parks. There is a lot of open space at Laurel Hills, at Forest Hills, and Bard Memorial, and there are certain pockets at other parks where the Slash Pines could be planted. Chair Mondello questioned how many trees were given away at the give-away. Mr. Young did not know but stated he could find out; he thought it was over 200. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe asked if Galaxy was there. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe thought that might have been one of the areas the Sierra Club was talking about. Perhaps they should have a conversation with to see if there is anything they can help us with or if there is anything we can help them with. Chair Mondello commented that perhaps they can give away 200 or 300 trees. Mr. Young indicated if that is the direction of the Board, they can have a conversation with Community Greening and see if they will schedule an additional tree give-away. There is space at Hester Park where it could be done again, or at another park. 3 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 Chair Mondello stated if they are willing, whatever is left could be put in their nursery. Mr. Young advised he would ask if Community Greening is interested in taking some of the seedlings. Chair Mondello stated they have plenty and spreading it around is probably the right thing to do. She thought everyone agreed and noted they would get with the Sierra Club to find out if they need any seedlings, and then they can make sure they are included as well. e. Quantum Park Overlay Presentation by Charles Kanter Mr. Kanter gave a brief history of the property. The site goes back to Motorola; about 330 acres was taken over by the City in a Special Development and the Quantum Park Overlay Development District was created. It was supposed to be only a commercial endeavor and some of that still lingers. They could not fulfill that, so some of the land was sold to a developer who developed Parkside Square and Parkside Village. Mr. Kanter provided a presentation as follows: • An aerial showed the road on top, which is Miner Road, and a golf course to the north. To the south, there is a large piece of land not in the park, it is on the other side of Lake Eight, dividing the park. • A piece of available land owned by an investor in West Palm Beach was shown. • A cutaway of the park owned by the Police Benevolent Association was shown. • The park has two groups of people, the original commercial group, which are no longer in existence along with Quantum Park Overlay Dependent District (QPPOD), and the residential group. In both cases, neither one wanted the park traffic to come up Quantum Boulevard, but last year, the City decided to put another parking lot on top of a hill. • The park was divided into two pieces, the original 17 acres the City was deeded by the County in 1980 for a park and the western edge is on the Lake Worth Drainage Ditch Canal. That canal is valuable because it connects all the other parks. They had a deal set up where there would be a purely water access park, which is probably still doable. • Lake Eight is depicted and the bottom is visible from the parking lot off Quantum Boulevard, which can be accessed from Gateway. • Lake Seven is down below and connected. • The Police Benevolent Association can be seen with a large piece of conservation land. The piece along Miner Road was not only good for the park and solving problems between the commercial and residential groups, because it took traffic out of the question it is also good for Boynton Beach safety. • The City of Boynton Beach was shown and all the parks, which are on the eastern side of the City. • Some things used at parks in Marathon were shown; the Florida Community Trust 4 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 Program was used to build different things. • A list of things that have been discussed for this park was shown; Park image theme, birdhouses, osprey towers, bat house, red jays, parking lot, restrooms, entranceway, entrance signage, seating, beach, trails, observation tower, and paving options. • The Federal Government has a free program for the Federal Parks, which lets RV's spend the summer, but they have a job, which is to take care of the park. In Marathon, they built a home for a Sheriff's Deputy; he got a new home with free rent on park property and his job was taking care of the park. These options need to be discussed because they exist. • He hopes to generate enthusiasm for getting this park done. Those in Parkside and some others have been paying an annual ad valorum tax for the park and they see nothing except for things they did not want done. An unidentified male asked if the FRDAP funds are still available. Mr. Young replied yes, FRDAP funds are still available as far as grant options. He provided an update as to where they are on Eco Park development. He noted Gary Dunmeyer, City Engineer, has been instrumental in the planning and designing of Eco Park. One of the grants they applied for last year is the Rec Trails Grant through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Unfortunately, they were supposed to make the announcement for the project, which would be awarded in October, but due to political issues, the announcement was delayed. Funds for the grant have not yet been replaced, but they did release the ranking order for the project, and we were ranked #1 as far as a non-motorized project; however, they do not know how the funds will be awarded. If awarded they will receive $400,000, which the City will match, so it would be $800,000 going towards the development of Eco Park. In response to an unidentified male, Mr. Young did not know if they were providing funding for the children's service calendar and stated that is something they could consider. Regarding full design of the park, Mr. Young stated in 2020 a Special Workshop meeting was held with the Parks Advisory Board at which time community input was received. As far as the design, the park is not fully designed, and they are still going through the plans. With regard to having a small park for primitive camping for families and other things are some things that have been discussed. They are in the planning phase and are working with the Consultant, Calvin Giordano & Associates. Calvin Giordano &Associates had a kick-off meeting and budgeted that project this year. A tentative schedule was set up about how to move forward. They have a concept plan and have given it to the site planner to develop, so they can turn it into a plan to share with the community. They want to have a community input meeting before they push it too far along and that meeting will be scheduled sometime in March. They are trying to find a good venue and start advertising. He thought they were going to try to do it in conjunction with this meeting as well. 5 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 Chair Mondello thought the last time they looked at the plan they were at Intracoastal Park. Mr. Young indicated that was a 2015 plan. There was a plan for the park and since it was brought back during the Special Workshop ideas were received from community input. The parking lot was not part of the plan, but the parking lot is currently there with some trails and pavilions. All those ideas were taken from the Special Workshop, and they are now compiling the park design. Mr. Kanter mentioned there is a list of people who want to participate. They have talked about having pigmy goats for the kids, using ponds for manatee rescue, model boat sailing, an Agricultural program in conjunction with the schools, etc.; everything is possible. Mr. Young advised there is a lot of space that can be developed, and they will keep the community involved with the development as they move along. In response to an unidentified male, Mr. Young advised there are not still impact fees in Boynton. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe commented that with the pandemic they closed their line of closing Oyer Park and she asked if there would be an update as to when that park would be closed. An unidentified male stated that park is grant dependent. The contract was recently signed, and they are ready to issue the Purchase Order, but one problem is with supply and demand; it is taking up to 12 weeks to get all the parts they need. They should be able to define that schedule by the first of the year and they think the park will be closed for the month of September 2022. Mr. Young mentioned the only thing definitive about the boat ramp project is that once it closes it will be closed for two months. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe noticed the dredger and asked if they are going to go ahead with dredging or if they are waiting until after the project. Gary Dunmeyer, City Engineer, stated Palm Beach County is doing the dredging project. They just received paperwork from the State letting them know this project is going to happen. He has been in contact with Tracy Lowe, the Project Manager for Palm Beach County, and she was out of the office due to the holiday. He should be able to provide that scheduled in January. Commissioner Ty Penserga thanked the Board members for their time and service. He also thanked Mr. Kanter for his presentation. He mentioned funding and stated that Mr. Young commented on funds from FRDAP, which is about $400,000, but there is about a 6 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 half a million dollars already to go from the Quantum Park Overlay Dependent District. People living in this area have been contributing to a fund, a Special Assessment, and two years ago, the City Commission took over that Quantum Park Overlay Dependent District Board. One of their highest priorities is to make sure all the money is devoted into the park. The second point of information is early next month is what they call "Palm Beach County Days", which is when all the City Representatives, State Senators, and Legislatures, will be in Tallahassee lobbying for issues that are important to our City. He asked for the Board's help and requested they send emails to their State Senator Lori Berman, State Representative Joe Casello, because one of the#1 things he will be doing is asking for their support in lobbying. It comes from the Department of Environmental Protection and those funds come from the Department of Transportation, but if they can get them to speak on their behalf, that will carry a lot. The message needs to be that this is not a Boynton Beach only gem, this is a regional gem; the whole area will benefit from this. Chair Mondello stated they are doing a lot of development and need to make sure there are places for people to go. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe commented that this is the time to try to preserve some of their park land because before they know it there will be buildings everywhere. VIII. Public Audience Ernest Mignoli, 710 NE 7t" Street, Boynton Beach, Florida, thought some people were referring to the Gulf and the ocean, but it is the intracoastal and the ocean. Most of the events around town are what this Board has suggested to the City. Everyone seems to think the goal for Boynton Beach is to become some hot spot for young professionals when there are already a lot of professionals there; he did not think it was appropriate to refer to people's age as a target for what they are trying to do. He asked why City Commissioners are allowed to interrupt the meetings when they are not on the schedule; he did not appreciate it. Mr. Young advised that Commissioner Penserga was in the public audience and spoke on Quantum Park Overlay Dependent District. Mr. Mignoli questioned if any City Commissioner can walk into these meetings, take over and try to get the Board to do things, say things, and write emails for what they want. All you are doing is catering to his Mayoral campaign. Chair Mondello commented that Mr. Mignoli sounded very aggressive, and she called Security. She questioned if it is legal for the public to film this meeting because Mr. Mignoli was filming on his phone. Mr. Young indicated this is a public meeting and he did not know if there was anything against the public filming on their personal phone, but he will find out. 7 Meeting Minutes - Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida October 25, 2021 IX. Items for the City Manager's Attention — None. X. Future Agenda Items • Update on the seedlings. • Update any meetings held at Quantum Park • Update the closure at Oyer Park and how the project affects the fishing pier. Mr. Young advised that the new Fun Fairs are out, which is a Department magazine that lists all the recreation programs and special events that take place during the spring season. A copy was distributed to everyone, and it is available at City Hall in the lobby and at all their recreation centers throughout the City. He thanked Board members for their service and for assisting as they go through certain projects. Vice Chair Pierce-Roe commented that in the past, Board members were on the magazine as volunteers. XI. Next Meeting — January 24, 2022 VII. Adjournment With no further business to discuss, upon motion duly made and seconded, Chair Mondello adjourned the meeting at 7:34 p.m. [Minutes transcribed by C. Guifarro, Prototype, Inc.] 8