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Home My WebLink About2008-11-03 • Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board November 3,2008 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Monday, November 3, 2008, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll Scott, John Elder, Randy Jones, John Raab and alternates Alex Horton and Jeremy Tompkins. Members absent: Everett Hutzler. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Parks Manager Randy Smith, General Manager of Softball World/Parks at Texas Star Chris Thames and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Adil and Altaz Kassam, Munira and Karim Shiyi, Julie Laverty (BESA) and Johnson Obamehinti. INVOCATION Randy Jones gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the October 6, 2008 regular meeting. Carroll Scott made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Jeremy Tompkins. The vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports Carroll Scott said Blessing Branch Park was very clean. Midway Park was also clean and in good shape. John Elder said both Trailwood and Bob Eden parks were clean. He said this is a great time to walk in the parks due to the color changes in the trees. John Raab said the water fountain was broken at McCormick Park. The Preserve at McCormick Park was very clean and in great shape. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 November 3,2008 Randy Jones said the new sign looked good at South Euless Park. The picnic table had graffiti at Heritage Park. Jeremy Tompkins said there is a broken rail on the back side of West Park by the picnic tables. He mentioned this is an awesome time to walk the parks because of the color changes this time of year. He also thanked the parks staff for everything they do to make the parks attractive for our citizens. Alex Horton said Reflection Park appeared clean with empty liners in the trash cans. The Villages of Bear Creek Park looked good as well as the dog park and further commented on the new dog leash rack that had recently been installed. Chairman Owens said the Parks at Texas Star Athletic Complex is in excellent condition. Chairman Owens said the Special Events recently held were: • Fruits and Veggies Aren't Scary Fest—was held on Halloween from 5:30— 8:00 at Midway Recreation Center. There were about 700 kids and parents in attendance. There were games, bounce houses, crafts, karaoke and children got to decorate their own apples to take home. Children had their pictures taken with Sprinkles the Clown and a police car. Everyone had a great time. Chairman Owens also mentioned the next upcoming event: • Euless History in Photos Exhibition—Saturday,November 8th— 1:00— 5:00 p.m. —Heritage Park II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens said the November 2008 Volunteers of the Month are brothers Adil and Altaz Kassam. They recently joined our volunteer team and both have become an important asset to our department and to our team. They have helped in the following areas: • Heritage Park Christmas Celebration—2007 • Easter Egg Stuffing Party—2008 • Easter Egg Scramble—2008 • Arbor Daze—2008 • Terri Hendrix concert—2008 • Treasure in You concert—2008 • Stars Over Euless—2008 Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 November 3,2008 They have also verbally committed to work the Fruits and Veggies Aren't Scary Fest, Holidaze KidZone and the Heritage Park Christmas Celebration. Chairman Owens presented both with the November 2008 Volunteer of the Month award. Adil and Altaz each thanked everyone for the award. III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Carroll Scott reported on the following for September 22°d—October 22°d: • there were 813.50 man hours o 487.50—Horticulture o 192.00—Forestry o 0 —Storm Damage o 132.00 - Greenhouse o 2.00 - Special Project o 0 - Water Truck • Horticulture hours were spent planting the fall color change, doing maintenance on city facilities and pulling weeds throughout the city. • Forestry hours were spent pruning the west side of McCormick Park, cleaning up debris from high winds and trimming for the trail extension at Bob Eden Park. • Troy attended the Texas Tree Conference at Texas A&M University in College Station. • Greenhouse hours were spent watering plants; propagating plants and general clean up of the greenhouses. • We also spent approximately two hours at North Euless Elementary dedicating a tree for Drug Awareness Week. This tree will be located in the tree preserve next to the parking lot at the Preserve at McCormick Park. IV. Athletic Association a. BESA (Bedford Euless Soccer Association) BESA President Julie Laverty distributed a handout with their current team structure, 2009 opening season schedule, registration cost per player, 2008-2009 budget information and their 2008-2009 Board of Directors. She said the season is going very well and thanked the parks staff for doing such a great job in maintaining the fields at the Parks at Texas Star. Ms. Laverty also thanked the staff and Board Members for the recently built shelter at the soccer fields and said the soccer patrons really appreciate it. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 November 3,2008 BESA does not currently have opening or closing ceremonies as our teams play at three (3) different complexes. They currently have 697 registered recreational players for the 2008 fall soccer season. The season started September 6th and will end the weekend of November 22nd Approximately 47% of all our players registered reside in Euless and 50% reside in Bedford with the remaining 3% living outside of Euless and Bedford. The spring season will begin play on February 28, 2009 and end in mid May. Our current registration cost is $75.00 per player which includes a full uniform (shirt, shorts and socks). They did increase their fees but did not pass it on to the players this year. Ms. Laverty again thanked Euless and the staff for being so helpful with their organization. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Update on Girl's Softball—Chris Thames General Manager of Softball World and the Parks at Texas Star Chris Thames said Euless had low registration this past year so we decided to interlock with Hurst Girl's Softball Association in order to form leagues. He has a meeting tomorrow and we will discuss bringing in other city associations to form what will be called the Mid-Cities Girl's Softball Association. Currently all games are played in Euless and Chisholm Park in Hurst. b. Recreation Update—Michael Davenport Ray McDonald said he would give the report tonight since Michael's father passed away over the weekend and he is taking care of arrangements. The update consisted of the following: Rentals • Facility—66 Attendance— 1,751 • Pavilions—30 Attendance—2,827 Midway Recreation Center • Visits—6,983 • Memberships sold—224 • Fitness center visits—3,115 • Total class registrations— 1,392 Athletics • Flag football 4 on 4 league— 10 • Flag football 8 on 8 league—6 Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 November 3, 2008 Seniors • Attendance— 1,735 • Trips—2 • Lunch Program—297 • Program attendance— 1,438 Special Events • Halloween—700 • Stars Over Euless—200 • Volunteers for the Month—73 • Volunteer Hours— 176 • Volunteer Banquet—200 Upcoming Events • Euless History in Photos—Saturday,November 8th— 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.—Heritage Park • Christmas Parade—Saturday, December 6th—6:30 p.m. —Midway Recreation Center c. Parks Update—Randy Smith Parks Manager Randy Smith updated the Board Members on the following: • Troy and his crew completed all the color changes and are now in the process of tree plantings. They will be transplanting small 1" — 3" diameter trees and moving them to the greenhouse to grow for the next couple of years. The crew has started tagging the trees that will be transplanted. • John and his crew will be redoing all four of the ball fields so they will be ready for spring. • Dan and his staff will be installing a new concrete border around the sand volleyball court at Simmons and they should be finished within the next two to three weeks. • Randy also said they will be making some changes at the parks shop. d. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Ray said they held a planning committee meeting a few weeks ago regarding the proposed new Family Life Center. The architect firm was also present and everyone discussed needs, ideas and did lots of brainstorming on the project. The architect firm will come back with some conceptual ideas for this project and hopefully we will have something to bring to the Board Members at the January meeting. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 November 3,2008 He also mentioned the following capital projects for Parks and Community Services: • Batting cages—all new batting cages were installed at the Parks at Texas Star. • Retaining wall at Wilshire Park—the wall is being installed and the trail is now open. • Trail connection at Bob Eden Park—the area has been cleared and now engineering will get in and start surveying for the proposed trail. We hope to advertise for bid soon. • Rye seeding—crews have seeded various parks and ball fields. • Painting project— painting is scheduled to be done at the Parks at Texas Star pavilion next week. VI. Other New Business Chairman Owens reminded the Board Members of the Holiday Dinner at the December meeting and said the December meeting will be at the Parks Facility. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. and spouses are invited. VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Mr. Johnson Obamehinti introduced himself and said he will be a new member in January. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. L. l A t Chairman