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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-07 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board March 7, 2011 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Monday, March 7, 2011, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll Scott, Randy Jones, John Raab, Alex Horton, Darrel Knobloch and alternates Travis Riffle and Tiffany Smith. Members absent: none. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Parks Manager Randy Smith, Recreation Superintendent Michael Davenport, Senior Center Program Coordinator Blake Cloud and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Adam Moyer, Becky Moyer, Bill and DiAnn Golden and Council Member Leon Hogg. INVOCATION Randy Jones gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the January 3, 2011 regular meeting. Darrel Knobloch made the motion to approve the minutes with a correction to Page 1 — Approval of Minutes. His first name was misspelled and asked that it be corrected. Carroll Scott seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports Carroll Scott said he last walked both Reflection and the Villages of Bear Creek parks on Sunday. He said there is still debris in the creek area at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and the dog park was getting lots of usage on his visit. He said both parks were in good shape. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 March 7, 2011 Alex Horton said Blessing Branch Park looked good. He noticed at Midway Park the swing set and playground surfaces needed more mulch, a dug out cover was missing at the T-Ball field and the dumpster had not been emptied by ball field 3. Otherwise this park was in good condition. John Raab said both Heritage Park and South Euless Park were clean and in good shape. Randy Jones said both Bob Eden and Trailwood parks were clean and looked good. Darrel Knobloch said the greenhouse and park were in good condition at Kiddie Carr Park. J. A. Carr (Simmons) Park looked nice with new landscaping and he noticed work was being done on the inside of the facility. Travis Riffle said both West Park and Wilshire Park were in good shape. He noticed lots of people on the ball fields at West Park and he also stated both water fountains were working at Wilshire Park. Tiffany Smith said she walked both the Preserve at McCormick Park and McCormick Park yesterday and they both looked good. Chairman Owens said the Parks at Texas Star athletic complex looks good. Chairman Owens commented on the following recent Special Events held in January and February: • Saturday, January 8th was the Christmas Tree Recycling event at Midway Park and there were about 75 people in attendance. Hot dogs and drinks were served to all that attended. • Saturday, January 29th was the Grand Opening of the Senior Center. All Park Board Members and Council were in attendance. There were many citizens that toured the new facility. • Friday, February 11th was the Valentine's Dance for grandparents and grandkids • February 21st—27th was the R & R Program to Greet the Soldiers at DFW Airport. As usual this was a great success. Chairman Owens thanked everyone for their reports tonight. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 March 7, 2011 II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented Adam Moyer with the February 2011 Volunteer of the Month plaque. He said Adam has been a part of the volunteer family for a few years and has made a positive impact on our city and community as well as doing a great job and always having a positive attitude. He has worked the following events: 2008 Arbor Daze Festival and Heritage Park Christmas Celebration; 2009 Texas Junior Angler Fishing event, Halloween Festival and Heritage Park Christmas Celebration; and 2010 Texas Junior Angler Fishing event and Heritage Park Christmas Celebration. Adam thanked everyone for the award and said he is honored. Chairman Owens presented Bill Golden with the March 2011 Volunteer of the Month plaque. He said Mr. Golden's volunteer service includes: helping with garden and display work at Heritage Park; fulfilling research needs and commitments for the Historical Committee; has been instrumental in taking census for Calloway Cemetery including mapping of the cemetery and has located several "lost graves"; has also served as a tour guide for the Heritage Park Open House and is currently serving as Chairman for the Historical Preservation Committee. Mr. Golden thanked the Board Members and said it is an honor and privilege to serve Euless and he enjoys volunteering in the community. III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Carroll Scott reported on the following for January 1st—31St: • Total man hours-579.00 o 153.00 Horticulture o 132.00 Forestry o 119.00 Greenhouse o 172.00 Special Projects o 3.00 Training • There were no trees planted or tree related purchases Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 March 7, 2011 Tree Board Chairman Carroll Scott reported on the following for February 1st—28th: • Total man hours—560.00 o 231.00 Horticulture o 70.00 Forestry o 206.00 Greenhouse o 0 Special Projects o 53.00 Training • There was 1 tree planted and 3 tree related purchases IV. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Senior Programs—Blake Cloud Senior Center Program Coordinator Blake Cloud commented on the following: • Active Lifestyles— programs include Sit and Stretch, Advanced AM Yoga, Tai Chi and many more classes. • Arts and Crafts — crocheting, recycling, quilting, card making, oil painting, jewelry bead making class and a kaleidoscope making class. • Games — Texas Hold Em', duplicate bridge, mahjong, 42, 84, Mexican train, pool and shuffle board. • Seminars — Identity Theft, AARP Tax Aide, Blood Pressure checks (twice a month), Hearing Screenings, Chiropractor Screenings and AARP Defensive Driving class. • Trips — Dallas Arboretum, Fort Worth Zoo, Texas Ranger Baseball games, State Fair of Texas, Texas Motor Speedway, Federal Mint in Fort Worth and Dallas Cowboy Stadium. • Fun Day Fridays—First and third Fridays- hamburger and hotdog luncheons; Second Friday is white elephant bingo, pot luck luncheon and afternoon movies. There is also free ping pong and pool. b. Parks Report—Randy Smith Parks Manager Randy Smith reported on the following: Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 March 7, 2011 • Staff installed the tot playground at the Family Life Center outside the drop off day care area and the pad will be poured this week with placed rubber. • Crews will be redesigning the medians along Ector Drive. All medians will have a drip irrigation and drought tolerant plants will be planted. They will complete one median at a time and then move to the next until all are redesigned. c. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald commented on the following: • Ray commended both Diane and Blake for the exceptional service and great job they are doing at the senior center. Blake is doing a great job with helping Diane and the seniors. • We will have another successful year at the Parks at Texas Star baseball league. 111 teams registered to play this spring and this is the most ever. The first tournament started last weekend. • We have contracted with an engineer on the retaining wall at Bob Eden Park and the project should be going to bid shortly. • Helga Ausman who authored Kilimanjaro "Why Climb the Mountain" will be present at the Senior Center on Monday April 11th at Noon in Ballroom #1. Ms. Ausman was 78 years old when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, making her the 2"d oldest to do this. She will tell of her historical adventure and the daily struggles and victories of the hike to the top. • Ray and his staff are currently going through and updating the list of priorities in the current Parks Master Plan before presenting to the Board Members in order to streamline the process. He also mentioned we would probably have at least one work session to discuss the Master Plan. • Ray also mentioned he has scheduled a meeting with Mr. McKamie to discuss funding of the trail project from the Mid-Cities area west under S.H. 121. • Randy is working with a vendor for lights in the dog park and this will be presented to council as a possible budget item for the next fiscal year. • Ray said the DFW Writers Club will be moving from the Ruth Millican Center to Simmons next week and mentioned that Simmons will not be used as a rental facility until further notice. • The Ruth Millican Center will now be used as an extended part of the Fuller House and Museum to house all their current displays and this facility will no longer be used for rentals. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 March 7, 2011 • The Annual Texas Trash Off is scheduled for Saturday, April 2nd at the Villages of Bear Creek Park from 9:00 a.m. till noon. There was also discussion regarding additional marketing ideas for the department which also included maybe setting up a Face Book page on the website. Chairman Owens thanked everyone for their reports. V. Other New Business Chairman Owens asked if there is any new business this evening. Mr. Knobloch said he has recently attended Park Board meetings at other local cities to get ideas on what they are doing in surrounding cities. He also inquired if maybe we could get a high school student on the Park Board. He further suggested advertising our events on-line like other cities are doing. VI. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Leon Hogg mentioned the council will be voting on the 360 project at the council meeting tomorrow night. He said the pavilion at the Texas Star golf course is coming down and a new pavilion will be built. Also as of today there is no opposition in the upcoming election for Mayor, Place 4 (Council Member Donna Micken) or for his Place 2 position. The last day for filing for council is next Monday, March 14th at 5:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m. Chairman Attest