Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-05 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board November 5,2007 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, November 5, 2007, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll Scott, Randy Jones, Boyce Byers, John Raab and alternates John Elder and Sonja Adams. Members absent: Stacey Hollinger and alternate Everett Hartzler. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Recreation Superintendent Randy Smith, Athletic Supervisor John Douthit and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Bill Byers, Alex Horton, David Brown, James and Betty Fuller, Jeremy Tompkins, Brayden Tompkins, Pat May, Danny Renteria(EGSA) and Julie Laverty (BESA). 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 1, 2007 regular meeting. John Raab made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Sonja Adams. The vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports Sonja Adams said Bob Eden Park was very clean and she noticed the water fountain does not shut off after using. At Trailwood Park there was a tree down in the creek and she also mentioned the new log benches that were installed are greatly appreciated at Trailwood. She also inquired if any benches will be installed at the gazebo at the Preserve at McCormick Park? Ray said they plan on putting some benches in the gazebo in the very near future. John Elder said both South Euless and Heritage parks were very clean and in good shape. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 November 5,2007 Randy Jones said everything looked good at West Park. Wilshire Park was clean and there were lots of people using the park on his recent inspection. John Raab mentioned that J.A. Carr Park was in really good shape. Kiddie Carr Park was also very clean and there were lots of people out running their dogs. Carroll Scott said the lakes at the Preserve at McCormick Park had lots of trash from the rain last week and the fountain lights were still not working. There were lots of people fishing in the park and the park was very clean. The new paint on the gazebo looked very nice. The gabion wall looks good at McCormick Park. Chairman Owens said Everett Hartzler is out of town tonight but he sent his report to him to read. "Everett walked the trails a couple of times last month at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and everything looked good. He noticed the park benches had been turned over by the amphitheater and had probably been used by skateboarders. He had no report for Reflection Park". Chairman Owens said everything looked great at Midway Park and the medians along Main Street look very nice. He had no report for Blessing Branch Park. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented a plaque to Betty Fuller as the November 2007 Volunteer of the Month and said Mrs. Fuller has contributed a great deal to our city and has been very influential to our community. She has done the following: • Served on the Library Board from 1984 to present day • Been a part of Euless' Historical Preservation Committee from its 1993 beginning and has chaired this committee since 2005 • Has represented the City of Euless by serving on the North Texas Library System from 1994 to 1999 and 2001 • Received the City of Euless Lifetime Contribution Award in 2006 Mrs. Fuller thanked the Board Members for the award and said she has worked with many supportive groups and her work is fun. She also thanked the staff for all their work and help with the Historical Preservation Committee. Mrs. Fuller also thanked Boyce and Bill Byers for everything they do for the city as well as all the artifacts at Heritage Park. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 November 5,2007 III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman John Raab reported on the following for September 22w' through October 22nd. • Removed a fallen tree in McCormick Park • Prepared greenhouses for winter propagation • Trimmed the east side of the Dr Pepper StarCenter • Stepped up 48 trees to larger containers at the greenhouse on Pauline • Trimmed and pruned around the greenhouse on Pauline • Trimmed right-of-way tree on Baze Road • Made and installed three (3) log benches in Trailwood Park • Troy Cain attended the Texas Tree Conference in Waco • Pruned the historic trees in the Preserve at McCormick Park • Trimmed around Building C at city hall • Trimmed the entrance to McCormick Park IV. Athletic Associations a. BESA (Bedford Euless Soccer Association)—7:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Julie Laverty, President of BESA, was present to update the Board Members of the upcoming 2008 soccer season. She said they have two (2) seasons — spring and fall. They currently have had no changes in their structure. Ms. Laverty complimented Ray and the staff for taking such great care of the fields and the association receives lots of good compliments from visitors and parents. She said they have only one request and they would like to have some type of referee shade structure. Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald informed Ms. Laverty that we had requested this in our budget and had planned to do a shade structure between the soccer fields and baseball fields east of Veterans Field. b. EGSA(Euless Girls Softball Association)—7:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Danny Renteria, Commissioner of EGSA, came before the Board Members and stated that this was a good year for them but their numbers have been down. EGSA interlocked with Hurst and North Richland Hills in order to have enough players. Danny said he recently approached Ray and staff about taking over the association since they have only two officers. He said they have asked for the parents to help but they don't get any response. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 November 5,2007 Ray McDonald said Danny came in and discussed this about a month ago and Ray said the city would provide for EGSA and with Danny's help and guidance we hope that girl's softball will again grow strong. Chairman Owens said he appreciates Danny and all the years of hard work that he has done for the organization. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Midway Recreation Center Report—Randy Smith Recreation Superintendent Randy Smith gave the following report: Midway Recreation Center • Memberships sold— 196 • Current memberships—3,996 • Class hours- 312 Facility Reservations • Total reservations—243 Midway Recreation Center—2008 Project Dates • Floor Replacement—December 14th—January 3`d • FRP Wall Board in classroom hallway—December 17th—December 21st • Recoat Gym and Racquetball Courts—December 22nd—December 28th • Repair Racquetball Court Walls—December 10th—December 21St The building will remain open during all the work. The facility will be closed for the holidays on December 23"1—25th. Special Events • Holiday KidZone — Saturday, December 1St— 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. — Midway Recreation Center • Parade of Lights "A Cartoon Christmas" — Saturday, December 1St — 6:30 p.m. — Midway Recreation Center • Heritage Park Christmas—Saturday, December 8th— 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.—Heritage Park Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 November 5,2007 b. Parks and Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald commented on the following: • He said we have such a great commitment form BESA and EGSA and they both do an excellent job and the city will see that the softball girl's are taken care of. • The Halloween event was a great success. There were anywhere from 300 to 400 kids in attendance and said this event is always very special for the citizens. • He thanked Mrs. Fuller and Mr. and Mrs. Byers for everything they do at Heritage Park. • Our City Arborist Troy Cain wants to plant at least 80 trees from the tree grove throughout the city. We have a small tree crew and they do what they can when requests come in on downed trees. • Take a look at the new winter plantings that have been added at the city complex. • Our horticulture crew hopes to start growing our own plants in the greenhouse in the near future. • He said that Randy is very committed to Midway Recreation Center and he plans to be here during the holidays for the construction and plans to keep the facility open during all the construction projects. • He said JD and Ryan have put in many hours at the Parks at Texas Star overseeing all the baseball games and this is a great success story because they give the kids an opportunity to participate in youth sports. • He said the parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 1st and he wants to know how many Board Members want to participate in the parade. Please let him or Linda know soon. • The Park Board Christmas dinner is scheduled for the next meeting and we will meet at Johnnie's facility. VI. Other New Business Chairman Owens reminded the Board Members of the annual December holiday dinner on December 3rd at 6:00 p.m. at the Parks Facility building. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors There were no Council Members in attendance and no comments from the visitors. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 November 5,2007 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m. 1 T Chairman Attest` '