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Minutes 07-16-92HINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COt414IS$ION HEETIHG HELD IH COI4t4ISSIOH CHANBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1992 AT 7:00 P. #. PRESENT Arline Weiner, Mayor Lynne Matson, Vice Mayor Jose Aguila, Commissioner Edward Harmening, Commissioner Robert Walshak, Commissioner J. Scott Miller, City Manager Sue Kruse, City Clerk r ? CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiner called the meeting to order at 7:02 P. M. to discuss park master plans. Char!les Frederick, Director of Recreation and Parks, announced that the purpose of this meeting is to review four final conceptual master plans which have been prepared by Gee & Jenson, namely the Meadows One, Meadows Two, Boynton Lakes, and Quantum sites. Mr. Frederick asked the City Commission to approve the final conceptual plans or make recommendations for change after the presentations of eachl site. In the future, Mr. Miller and staff could meet to analyze funding, priorities, and possible phasings, after which a workshop can be held to discuss those issues and decide how to proceed. Colored renderings of each site were available for examination. Jim Park of Gee & Jenson advised that a narrative report incorporating drawings will be provided to the City Commission. HEADOWS ONE Mr. !Park said Meadows One is geared to small children at the request of the neighbors. It does not contain restrooms or athletic fields. It contains only five parking spaces, which can be expanded to the west if necessary. With regard to the existing power line in the woods, Mr. Park was informed by Florida Power and Light that there is absolutely no way they can'do without that power line. They would be willing to put in under ground at the City's expense. Mr. iPark felt the power line was not a problem with this phase of the project. However, if the park is expanded, he believed it was going to be necessary to rerOute the power line along the street and then send it down to the canal along the!far west edge of the park. He felt this was a more practical solution than going under ground for the short stretch. The estimated cost is approximately $21Q,ooo to provide a school age playground, a preschool age playground, gazebo, smalll parking area, a pathway system, drinking fountain, and a shield and secqrity light to light the more intensively developed area. This includes a xerqscape demonstration area, landscaping, grading, sodding, and irrigation, whiOh represents about half of the project cost. It is not facility intensive andlis not hard scape intensive. The earth was shifted around. The existing hilli was raised a bit, the mound extended, and another mound was put in to create a saucer in the center which will provide some degree of enclosure and deter children from running out into the street. A fence was incorporated along the canal as requested. There is a natual buffer of trees. - 1- MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 16, 1992 In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Park explained exactly where the park is located and stated that since there is not going to be any real intensive recreation, there will not be any off site impacts. Mo~ton Vice Mayor Matson moved to approve Meadows One Park master plan proposal by Gee & Jenson. Commissioner Harmening seconded the motion which carried 5-0. MEADOWS TWO Mr. Park stated that this park is about 8 acres in size. Trees were provided and ia 4 to 4½ foot berm was incorporated to provide sound buffering and for aestihetic purposes. The walkway within the City right-of-way was pulled in on a diagional so that people could take an alternate route. On the opposite side is a health trail which loops around the park and does not cross any traffic ways and !goes around the tennis court, sand volleyball court, basketball court, and restroom. Two picnic shelters were added at the request of the neighbors. The iplayground, gazebo, fountain, and benches are in the center of the park. The !small playground is surrounded by a decorative fence. There is an open fielld area to the south toward the canal. The landscaping and buffering have been concentrated along the west side with a variety of fairly dense trees and a 4 fOot vinyl clad fence. The fence is intended to define the edge of the park, keep the children from wandering into the canal, and provide some psychological benefits to the property owners who live immediately west of the park. The set- back is about 60 to 70 feet from any of the improved areas. There will be one smalil parking area that will be a loop. The police can make that loop at any tim~ during the day for surveillance purposes. The security light is located at theirestroom area. The courts, restroom, lights, and driveway are situated to provide for adequate surveillance of the site. There are overflow grass parking areas that will be stabilized. It is very unlikely that they will be used very often. Horseshoe pits and an area that could be used for bocchi have been incliuded. Benches were placed under the trees in this area and are scattered along all the health trails and the courts. The estimated price for the im- provements is $560,000. Approximately a third of the cost will be going into landscaping and making the attractive, irrigated sodded areas because of the investment being made in these active recreation facilities. A high priority is being placed on the trees to provide shade and the landscaping and sodding in all ~of the parks. Vice Mayor Matson asked if any of the benches would be made from recycled material. Mr. Park advised he would consider this. They are being used in one park but it is not known how well they hold up because they have only been in place for six months. Vice Mayor Matson asked if the vinyl clad fencing would be black or green. Mr. JPark advised black is less visible than green. Vice Mayor Matson liked it being recessed from Congress Avenue and the buffering by the Lake Shore family homes. She appreciated Mr. Park taking the concerns of the.residents into consideration. -2- MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTOH BEACH, FLORIDA ~ULY 16, 1992 In response to a question from the audience about this being a day time park, Mr. Frederick advised that the people who requested the tennis courts wanted to have lighted courts so that they could play in the evening after work. The park will be closed no later than 10:00 P. M. In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Frederick advised that the two tennis courts across the street from the park are unlit. He advised that a pro- posal was made for a joint venture with several associations, but they had no interest in working with the City. A lady in the audience hoped full cut off lights would be utilized. A gentleman in the audience asked about the estimated cost for annual upkeep. Mr. Frederick advised that the operation and maintenance costs have not been calculated. He will provide this figure at the workshop meeting. MayOr Weiner thought the proximity of all four parks will make the upkeep more feas!ible. She pointed out that it is mandated to provide a certain number of acres for park use {six acres per 1,000 citizens}. A gentleman in the audience wanted to know if that mandate addresses the degree of sophistication, to which he was advised it does not. Motion commissioner Harmening moved to approve Meadows Two as presented by Gee & JenSon. Vice Mayor Matson seconded the motion. Amended Motion Commissioner Harmening amended his motion to include the proviso that the lights be full cut off. Vice Mayor Matson seconded the motion which carried 5-D. BOYNTON LAKES Mr. ~Park advised that this is a seven acre park with two playgrounds, a gazebo, a water fountain, and a light to light the area to facilitate drive by sur- veiTlance by the Police Department. Extensive landscaping has been incorporated on the berm along the east side near the residences. There is a buffer along the lwest side as well. All the sites, except for the Quantum site, will be graded by scooping out the earth from the center of the sites and pushing it up onto the berms on the perimeter. The center of the site will then be down a little bit which will make it more easier to keep children within the interior of the park. Two connections to the adjacent sidewalks were made so people can walk off the sidewalks into the park. The fences will be terminated with a masonry wall and landscaping, as suggested by Commissioner Aguila, rather than running the chain link fence up to the sidewalk and stopping. The estimated cost for this project is $358,000, about 60% of which is for landscaping. vice Mayor Matson asked 'if the cost included demucking. Mr. Park said he plans to excavate the muck area, which is in the center of the site, and use that muck -3- MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ~ULY 16, 1992 advantageously for the mounds. Furthermore, there are not going to be any structures on the site. Vice Mayor Matson asked about a barrier for the houses on the south side. Mr. Park advised that the berm is continuous and a good depth of shrubs was con- centrated because of the playgrounds. The maintenance gate is also buffered. In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Park advised there is a heart trail with benches and exercise stations along the path. In response to a question from the audience, Mr. Park advised that the fence is 4 feet and will be hidden on both sides by shrubs. A lady asked about the type of play equipment. Mr. Park stated that the budget incorporates a substantial sum of money to buy equipment along the lines of timber and aluminum. Commissioner Aguila recalled the community being in favor of the concept of havilng two separate trails, one to be used for jogging and one used by pede!strians. Mr. Frederick recalled discussion of a wider paved, trail to accommodate both uses. Mr. Park will address this is the narrative. A ge)ntleman in the audience suggested putting a baseball field in the center of the ipark to eliminate some of the load from the other parks. Mayor Weiner pointed out that the Boynton Lakes community was definitely against any active use of this park and was very adamant that this park be a passive park. Vice Mayor Matson asked that a bocchi court be placed on the site, In response to a question from the audience, Mayor Weiner advised that all these parks are City parks and accessible to all citizens. Notl)on Vice Mayor Matson moved to approve Gee & Jenson's master plan for Boynton Lakes Par~ with the addition of a bocchi court and subject to Commissioner Aguila's comments. Commissioner Harmening seconded the motion which carried 5-0. QUANTUH PARK Mr. )Park advised that the buffer is very strong on the west side because of the acti)ve sports function and the number of cars coming into the site. The site takes into consideration preservation of the wetlands, incorporates a small playground area, sand volleyball, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard courts, and bocChi court. The pitching and batting practice cages, central core facility, concession building, restrooms, storage, and administrative functions for the athlietic events would be accommodated a good distance from any residences and centrally located for the convenience of the park users. There is a small main- tenance building on the site. The heart health trail loops continuously around the)site. The site contains one soccer field, two little league fields, and a -4- HIHUTE$ - SPECIAL CITY COI~t~IS$ION HEETING BOYNTOH BEACH, FLORIDA ~ULY 16, 1992 baseball field. A substantial portion of this project is in landscaping (25%) because of the necessary investments in the fields. The estimated total cost is $1,008,000, which includes a contingency amount of 10% to cover anything unfor- seen at this time. Commissioner Aguila-suggested dumpster facilities be provided in this park, as well as in the Meadows Two Park. Mr. Park will include this in the narrative. A laidy in the audience assumed the fill is being brought in because of the wetliands. Mr. Park advised that the fill is being brought in because this site is ~lat and not built up like all the other sites. He stated that the one acre of wetlands is primarily off site. A gentleman from the audience suggested dredging the canal for the soil. He mentioned a bench on Miner Road that has been there for two months, along with some tires, and did not know how the parks were going to be maintained when the City cannot clean the streets. He alluded to the maintenance problem of having a soccer field and two baseball fields. Mayor Weiner recognized it was not the ideal situation and said it was the only way to get a soccer field. Commissioner Harmening asked Mr. Miller to take care of the bench on Miner Road. Mr.!Miller pointed out that there are 53 parking spaces near Quantum Boulevard and 120 near Miner Road. The two parking lots are not connected. Once the parking lot near Quantum Boulevard is filled, people are going to attempt to drive through instead of driving all the way around to get to the other parking lot, In addition, there is only one access off of Miner Road and in an emergency situation at that entrance, that parking lot would be shut down entirely and there would be no outlet. He suggested connecting the parking lotS. Commissioner Aguila pointed out this was previously discussed and con- cerns were expressed that if there was a road connecting Quantum Boulevard and Miner Road, people would use it as a short cut. He felt the way to solve this problem was to gate one or the other when the park is not in use. Commissioner Aguila further suggested shifting the field two or three feet to the west. Mr. iPark did not anticipate that the driveway between the two parking lots would be a high priority. He would rather give up that circulation rather than compromise the fields. Mr. Fredericks felt most people will understand the function of this park and recognize the location of the major and smaller parking lots. When schedules are put out and the teams know which field they are playing on, they will go in those directions. He felt it will not be a critical problem once use takes and familiarity with the system takes place. He would hate to cram any closer the already tight facilities. Commissioner WalShak agreed with Mr. Frederick; however, he was concerned with emergency type situations and suggested the possibility of obtaining an easement from Quantum Park. Mr. Frederick stated that both of the paths on each side of the soccer field can be built wide and clear enough for emergency vehicles. Mr. iPark suggested the possibility that a connection for emergency purposes could be made with the Fraternal Order of Police to cut a chain to let a vehicle in er out. -5- MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COHMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JULY 16, 1992 Motion Commissioner Walshak moved to approve the conceptual master plan prepared by Gee & Jenson for Quantum Park. Commissioner Aguila seconded the motion which carried 5-0. Vice Mayor Matson said this master park planning has been a learning experience for her. In the process it is very unfortunate that it has been very volatile. It has been friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, and community against community. She hoped that this is not a carrot being dangled in front of everybody and that when Mr. Park presents the narrative, that some con- sideration be given to this because she would hate for the children and young people that these parks are being planned for to be married with children before any of this comes to fruition. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 7:53 P. M. THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Mayor Vice Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ('/j~} Recording Secretary (TwO Tapes)  oner ~~~~ner JCommissioner -6-