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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-05 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board May 5,2008 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2008, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll Scott, Everett Hartzler, Randy Jones, John Elder and alternates Jeremy Tompkins and Alex Horton. Members absent: John Raab. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Recreation Superintendent Randy Smith, Recreation Program Specialist Heidi Taylor, City Arborist Troy Cain and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Billy Owens INVOCATION John Elder gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the April 7, 2008 regular meeting. Randy Jones made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Carroll Scott. The vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports John Elder said he visits both Bob Eden and Trailwood parks each week. Trailwood Park looks great and at Bob Eden Park he saw some tree limbs which need to be picked up. Both parks were clean and in good shape. Everett Hartzler said the gazebo at J. A. Carr Park looks great. He also said Kiddie Carr Park looked good. He did inquire about the foot trail between J. A. Carr and Kiddie Carr parks. Ray McDonald said that this has been brought up before and that he will address the problem with the Public Works/Engineering Department to see if anything can be done about the erosion along the path. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 May 5,2008 Carroll Scott said Midway Park looks great. Blessing Branch Park also looks good but it could use a couple more trash cans in the park. He also said there is some graffiti at the Main Street Bridge. Randy Jones said Heritage Park looks great. South Euless Park looked fine but the bottom rail had fallen from the fence and also a couple of the metal rails were bowed on the bridge. Jeremy Tompkins mentioned the dirt had washed out from under the bleachers and there were also some downed branches at West Park. There were lots of people fishing at the pond at Wilshire Park and he noticed some new baby ducks at the park. Alex Horton said Reflection Park appeared clean. At the Villages of Bear Creek Park all the restrooms had recently been cleaned and clean liners had been put in all trash cans and dog-i-pots. He said the dog park is almost completed and you must see the polka dot fire hydrant. There is still much work to be done in the parks due to the recent storm. Alex complimented the parks department on their quick cleanup on the trails after the recent storm as well as taking care of the damage to the dog park fence from a fallen tree. He mentioned the display case at the amphitheater pavilion had been vandalized. Chairman Owens said his park is the Parks at Texas Star athletic complex and the park has been very busy with leagues but they are getting close to ending the season. He did inquire what could be done to remedy the problem with the non-working clocks atop the concession area. Chairman Owens mentioned the Special Event for April was Arbor Daze and as usual it was a great success and the attendance was up from last year. He congratulated the staff for all their hard work with Arbor Daze. The Fort Worth Cat's game had over 300 in attendance and everyone had a great time. Chairman Owens said John Raab sent his report to him but left it at the office. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens said the May 2008 Volunteer of the Month is Wendy Pierce and Incredible Pizza Company. Under her direction they hosted and sponsored the 2008 Texas Trash Off event and they provided each volunteer a coupon for a free buffet lunch. They also sponsored the 2008 Youth Baseball "A" League and were also sponsors of the baseball game between the Fort Worth Cat's and the Grand Prairie AirHogs. They have been a delight to work with and we look forward to working with them on future events including the 2009 Texas Trash Off. Chairman Owens said since they are not here tonight their award will be delivered to them. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 May 5, 2008 III. Beautification Award of the Month Chairman Owens mentioned that each year from May through October we do a residential and business/civic/governmental Yard of the Month award. Chairman Owens said the May 2008 residential Beautification Award of the Month goes to Ron Kisena at 507 Wilshire. This yard is beautifully landscaped with a great selection and use of shrubs and bedding plants. The lawn is lush and green and well manicured and catches your attention as you drive by. One look and you know the owner takes pride in their work. Mr. Kisena was not present tonight so his award will be delivered to him. Chairman Owens said the May 2008 business/civic/governmental Beautification Award of the Month goes to Precision Orthodontics at 700 South Main Street. This property is a great business landscape with lots of color and a well maintained lawn. It is efforts like yours that make our city a great place to work and live. Thank you for contributing to the beautification of our city. Chairman Owens said they also were not here tonight and the award will also be delivered to them. Chairman Owens said if any of the Board Members are out and see a yard that should be considered then e-mail it to Linda and she will get the information to the parks department for review. IV. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Carroll Scott reported on the following for March 22nd—April 22nd: • There were 884.5 man hours o 571.5—Horticulture o 160.0—Forestry o 153.0— Storm Damage o 237.0 - Greenhouse • No trees were planted and there were no tree related purchases • Staff planted flowers at the following locations: o Euless Main Street o Ector Drive o Mack Drive o Holly Drive o Raider Drive o Softball World o Reflection Park Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 May 5,2008 o West Parkway marquee sign o Villages of Bear Creek park o Midway Recreation Center o Fire Station No. 1 • Weeded landscape beds throughout the city • Storm damage hours spent clearing and removing debris from the storm • Forestry hours were spent working on Arbor Daze preparation • Greenhouse hours were spent propagating plants for city landscapes V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Report/Summer Activities—Heidi Taylor Recreation Program Specialist Heidi Taylor briefed the Board Members on some of the programs for summer: • Texas All-Star Baseball Camp • Junior Golf • Soccer Camp • Summer Camp • Basketball Camp • Walking Fit—adult outside aerobics classes at Bob Eden Park • PACS Partners — offers pre-teens an opportunity to gain valuable life experiences needed for future employment by actively participating in various projects related to Parks and Recreation(i.e. work in the city greenhouse, conduct playground safety checks and working special events). Alex Horton complimented Heidi and the staff on all the great programs that are offered at Midway. Chairman Owens commented on the excellent report Heidi presented and said lots of hard work goes into preparing these programs. b. Storm Damage Report—Troy Cain City Arborist Troy Cain reported on the extensive damage from the recent storm and mentioned that the parks crew worked 153 hours and an additional 28.5 hours overtime cleaning up debris. He said all the staff did a great job in the clean up. They cleared off sidewalks and streets and hopefully they will get into all the parks next week for any tree damage. Packs and Leisure Services Board Page 5 May 5,2008 Chairman Owens thanked Troy and the staff for all their hard work and the city received lots of damage from the storm Alex Horton mentioned that all the bedding plants look great. c. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald commented on the following: • He thanked Troy, Terry and all the parks guys for all the hard work with the storm damage and then they had to turn around and set-up for Arbor Daze and the Forestry Village. • Thanked Heidi and Randy for all the great programs scheduled for summer and Randy is currently trying to get all the pools ready to open for summer. He said they do a really good job and they bring lots of joy to our citizens. • He mentioned Incredible Pizza is a great partner and also a sponsor of the baseball leagues at the Parks at Texas Star. He appreciates all their great work with the city. • After the storm destroyed the Hurst Athletic Complex, Tri-Cities approached Euless to use some of our fields for their games. Euless is accommodating all their needs and they will also be using some of the fields at Midway Park as well as the Parks at Texas Star. • He thanked Chris Thames, John Douthit and Ryan Alexander for all their work in preparing for the Fort Worth Cats game at the Parks at Texas Star. Their staff worked all week in getting the field in great shape for the game. The game was great with over 500 people in attendance and the stands were packed. The Cats said they would like to possibly make this an annual event. • The Parks Master Plan was approved by council on April 22nd. Also a Trails Grant was mailed to Austin just before Arbor Daze. • Ray thanked all the Board Members for volunteering at Arbor Daze. • He plans to have the dog park gates open on Friday morning, May 16th. There are no plans for any grand opening ceremony. The parks guys have done an outstanding job on the dog park and the citizens will be proud of our accomplishments. • Johnnie Green retires the end of this month and he stated he does not want a retirement party — just a small get together in the parks department. We will notify the Board Members when we get a date. VI. Other New Business Chairman Owens said there was no new business tonight. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 May 5,2008 VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Billy Owens mentioned that the volunteer program went very smoothly this year at Arbor Daze and Jerry did an excellent job with all the volunteers. Jeremy Tompkins said they sold lots of the older shirts this year at Arbor Daze. Chairman Owens said he appreciates Jeremy and his family's hard work with overseeing the Souvenir Booth this year. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m. = - Aind I L Chapman Attest