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Home My WebLink About2008-02-04 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board February 4,2008 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:04 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2008, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll Scott, Randy Jones, John Elder, Everett Hartzler and alternates Jeremy Tompkins and Alex Horton. Members absent: John Raab. (NOTE: Boyce Byers resigned and Everett Hartzler was moved to Place 5 to replace her.) Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Manager Johnnie Green, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Nursery Specialist Kenneth Benware, Recreation Superintendent Randy Smith and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Mayor Pro Tern Leon Hogg, Billy Owens, Victoria Heuer and Economic Development Director Bill Ridgway. 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 7, 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 Everett Hartzler stated he walked both J. A. Carr and Kiddy Carr parks on January 12t. J. A. Carr Park was in good shape, looked good and said there was not much activity on his inspection. Kiddy Carr Park was also in good shape. Carroll Scott said Blessing Branch Park needs lots of work done at this park and there was lots of trash along the creek. Midway Park is always clean and being used by citizens and the Recreation Center was very crowded on his visit. He noticed graffiti on one of the port-o-lets as well as under the bridge. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 February 4,2008 Jeremy Tompkins said he visited West Park several times and the park was in good shape, clean and flag football was in play. He said Wilshire Park was trimmed and in good shape and he noticed some kids had built a fort on the west side of the creek. John Elder stated he walked Bob Eden Park today and there was lots of activity and the park looked great. At Trailwood Park there was some cut limbs that need to be picked up near the creek bed. Randy Jones said Heritage Park was very clean and South Euless Park looked good but he was concerned with the grills due to the rust and paint chipping off. Alex Horton stated Reflection Park was clean and the sidewalk had started cracking. At the Villages of Bear Creek Park he mentioned there were some broken lights again, slats on the bridge need to be replaced and the park looked great. He also mentioned the dog park is starting to look great. Chairman Owens said the Special Events for January were: • Christmas Tree Recycling Event • Midway Recreation Center Open House Chairman Owens said he had no report for the Parks at Texas Star but activity will be starting soon. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens said the February 2008 Volunteer of the Month is Victoria(Tori) Heuer. She has helped with the following events: • 2006&2007 Heritage Park Christmas Celebration • 2007 Easter Egg Hunt • 2007 Arbor Daze Festival She has also already volunteered for this year's Arbor Daze Festival. She thanked the Board Members for the plaque. III. New Collection Days for Recycling and Trash Director of Economic Development Bill Ridgway congratulated Victoria Heuer on being selected as the February Volunteer of the Month and said the single greatest asset to our city is volunteering your time for your community. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 February 4,2008 Mr. Ridgway mentioned the collection days for trash as well as recycling have changed in some areas of the city. The new collection service dates will change beginning on March 1st. He also distributed a flyer that has been mailed to all residents notifying them of the new service dates. IV. Billion Tree Campaign GIS Manager David Allen was not able to make the meeting. V. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Carroll Scott reported on the following for December 22nd through January 22nd: • There were 460.5 man hours • There were no trees purchased • The Christmas Tree Recycling event was held at Midway Park and they had a great turnout • Completed trimming the Crepe Myrtles throughout the city • Planted five (5) Live Oak trees in Blessing Branch Park • Replaced two (2)trees at the Parks at Texas Star • Planted one (1) Live Oak at the Parks and Community Services building • Planted three(3)Pine trees at Softball World • Planted twelve (12)trees at the Villages of Bear Creek Park for the newly started dog park • Raised and pruned the trees along the creek at the Villages of Bear Creek Park for the new dog park • Moved and planted Crepe Myrtles around the wildflower area at the Villages of Bear Creek Park Ray McDonald distributed the Tree City USA Standards information and said if awarded, this year will be our 22nd year as a Tree City. He said he thought this information would be beneficial for the current as well as new Board Members to review and see the process for becoming a Tree City. VI. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Propagation Program and Landscaping Projects for 2008—Kenneth Benware Nursery Specialist Kenneth Benware went through the process of planting acorns for the tree giveaway at Arbor Daze and presented a power point presentation to show what plants are being Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 February 4, 2008 grown from cuttings in the greenhouse. Some of these cuttings were taken from plants that had been planted throughout the city and then by repotting them in the greenhouse in hopes of providing our own plants instead of buying from outside vendors. Kenneth also said that he and Troy and other members of the parks staff will be doing educational seminars at Arbor Daze this year. Kenneth also said that volunteers are very important to our department and we hope to have some volunteers help with upcoming projects in the parks department. b. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald thanked Kenneth on his great presentation tonight. Ray also commented on the following: • He met with Recreation Program Specialist Heidi Taylor on plans to offer a Teen Life Camp this summer. This camp would be for teens that are not yet old enough to work but they would be able to obtain experience and learn from mentors in the PACS department (on the many different aspects of a parks and recreation system) so that we might develop young advocates for parks and recreation. • Parks Master Plan —he has received all the maps for the plan from Hershel Lindly and we hope to present the plan to the Board Members in March. • Please make sure you report any vandalism in our parks to our office. • This is the 20th year for Arbor Daze and our staff will be meeting this week to discuss the upcoming event. • The parks staff will be doing educational seminars and will have handouts for everyone. • Plant Sale—we will not have a plant sale because the greenhouses are being utilized for our propagation program. We will focus our efforts on more of a "community outreach" of landscaping and home horticulture educational sessions. VII. Other New Business Chairman Owens read a certificate that was presented from the Mayor and City Council to Carroll Scott for his 90th birthday. He was also presented with a birthday card from the Board Members and said that cake would be served after the meeting. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 February 4,2008 VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Mayor Pro Tern Hogg said he was really impressed with Kenneth's presentation and the use of the greenhouse. He also said many neighborhoods are starting to ban together to get a better asking price for oil and gas leases in the area. He mentioned the Community Garage Sale is this month and inquired if there were any booths available. Randy said there are a few booths left. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m. Chairman Attes