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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-01 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board May 1,2006 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:04 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2006, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: John Raab, Carroll Scott, Mike Daniel, Randy Jones and alternate Boyce Byers. Members absent: Stacey Hollinger, alternates John Elder and Sonja Adams. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz, Parks Manager Johnnie Green, Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Billy Owens (AARP), Alex Horton, Thomas and Gail Gassert and Ann's Red Hat Mamma's (Ann Garretson, Kellie Hill, Rebecca Mullinax, Katherine Enlow and Billie Mullinax). INVOCATION John Raab gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the April 3, 2006 regular meeting. Mike Daniel made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Carroll Scott. The vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports Mike Daniel said Trailwood Park was very clean. At Bob Eden Park there was lots of activity in the park especially with the sand volleyball courts. Carroll Scott mentioned Heritage Park was clean as usual and the playground looked good. He said South Euless Park was also in very good shape but did ask if additional mulch could be added under the swings. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 May 1,2006 John Raab said Reflection Park is clean as usual and there were a few people sitting in the park. There were lots of people at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and this park was also very clean. Randy Jones stated the new playground equipment being installed at J. A. Carr Park looks good and the water fountain is now working. He said there were lots of basketball users on the court at Kiddy Carr Park. Boyce Byers said the Special Events held in April were: • April 8th—the Easter Egg Scramble was held at the Parks at Texas Star with 1,000 people in attendance. The Starlight Performing Arts group sang songs from their past performances. • April 24th — 30th — the Steppin' Out Walking Program was held with about 500 people walking during the week. • April 24th—27th—the Arbor Day Poe-TREE contest was held with each of the six HEB-ISD elementary schools 4th grade classes participating in a contest for the best poem. The contest was won by Mrs. McCrief s class from Lakewood Elementary. The class received a proclamation from Mayor Saleh and the poem will be engraved on a plaque and will be placed at the Preserve at McCormick Park. • April 29th —the Texas Junior Anglers fishing event was held with about 200 in attendance. She said Wilshire pond had recently been stocked with five-hundred pounds of fish and a young boy caught a fish that was 22" long. Everyone at the event had fun. Chairman Owens received an e-mail message from Sonja Adams regarding her parks: • She said the white lettering looks really good on the rock entrance to Wilshire Park. It is now very easy to read and find the park. The park has been very busy the times she has been by for her inspections. • At West Park things were very clean and many moms were out having picnics with their little ones and enjoying the playground equipment. • She also said every time she passes by Bob Eden Park that the sand volleyball courts are in full use. She said this was money well spent! • On her recent walks through the Preserve at McCormick Park there were at least six people fishing at the big pond. • Also tell the planting crew that the plants look great along Mid-Cities Blvd. Thanks for a job well done! Chairman Owens said both McCormick Park and the Preserve at McCormick Park were in great shape. He said there have been lots of school field trips through the Preserve and this park is getting lots of visitors. Chairman Owens said there was a great article in the paper regarding the poetry contest and said this was great publicity. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 May 1,2006 II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented a plaque for May 2006 to Ann Garretson and her group of ladies called `Ann's Red Hat Mamma's'. They have just recently joined our Family of Volunteers and have worked the following events: • 2006 Valentine's Dance • 2006 Easter Egg stuffing party • 2006 Easter Egg Scramble • they also participated in the 2005 Christmas Parade of Lights Ms. Garretson thanked the Board Members for the award and said they plan on helping with many more events. 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. He said the May 2006 residential Beautification Award goes to Thomas and Gail Gassert at 402 Fountain Park Drive. Their yard has a nice landscape incorporating pattern concrete edging. The use of shrubs and bedding plants is outstanding and the lawn is well manicured. One look and you know the owners take pride in their work. Chairman Owens presented Mr. and Mrs. Gassert with their award. Mrs. Gassert said they moved here from up north and they love living in Euless and said they are very appreciative of the award tonight. Chairman Owens said the May 2006 business/civic/governmental Beautification Award goes to Witt Chiropractic at 503 West Euless Blvd. He said this is a great example of how a business landscape should look, is attractive and well maintained and catches your attention as you drive by. Due to another prior commitment Dr. Witt was not able to attend tonight's meeting. IV. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman John Raab reported on the following for March 22nd through April 24th: • 19 additional trees were planted in the Mid-Cities Boulevard median • trimmed around the sun dial at City Hall • trimmed and pruned the Pine trees at the Parks at Texas Star Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 May 1,2006 • trimmed and cleaned-up the side median at the old Mid-Cities Road • removed a fallen tree at McCormick Park • removed a hazard tree over the trail at Trailwood Park • removed a fallen tree at 402 Harrington Drive • currently pruning the median along Highway 10 • removing cat tails at Wilshire Park for the Kid Fish program scheduled for April 29th • Troy Cain also attached a report on drought trees that have been removed and trees still needing to be removed V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Report—Suzanne Hendrickson Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson reported on the following: Special Events • Historical Preservation Committee will host two educational programs— 1. May 4th at 6:30 p.m. at the Euless Public Library. The topic is `Incorporation of the City of Euless' —presented by Troy Fuller 2. June 1st at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The topic is `History of the Euless Post Office — presented by Robert Nail • May Day Pre Mother's Day Plant Sale & Tree Giveaway will be Saturday, May 6th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Parks at Texas Star pavilion. There will be lots of plants as well as Arbor Daze t-shirts for sale. • Family Fun Bike Ride and Picnic will be Saturday, May 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Bob Eden Park • Out of School Bash featuring Vocal Trash will be on Thursday, May 25th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Midway Park. There will be inflatables, both the fire and police departments will have booths, the Fort Worth Zoo will be in attendance and the pool will be open for the kids. Midway Recreation Center • Summer Camp registration started on Saturday and we are currently at 50% capacity • Summer Lunch program will start on May 30th and go through August 4th and hot lunches will be served at 11:30 a.m. • 300 memberships were sold in April Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 May 1,2006 Simmons Senior Center • New Lunch program will start June 1st at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hot lunches will be provided through the Senior Citizens Services of Greater Tarrant County, Inc. and will supply one-third RDA. For anyone under 60 years of age, the cost of the meal is $5.00. For those 60+ and their spouse, the meal is available for a suggested contribution of$2.00. Reservations are required by noon the previous day and forms are required to be filled out in advance of participation in the program. Aquatics • All pool staff has been hired for the summer • Lifeguard class starts today at Midway pool • Splash Island at South Euless Park opened today for the season • All pools open May 27th for the season Summer Athletics • Summer Track program has started registration. They will be working out at the Trinity track this year instead of Central Junior High. • Registration has started for Adult Men's & Women's Basketball and Co-ed Sand Volleyball leagues Parks at Texas Star • BESA, EAA and EGSA are finishing their regular seasons this month • May 26th—29th is the Triple Crown Qualifier for 11's, 12's, 13's, 14's and 16's • June 2' —5th is the USSSA World Series Qualifier AAA for 8's, 10's, 12's and 14's b. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald reported on the following: Arbor Day PoeTREE Contest • The 4th grade classes from the six schools in Euless (a total of 24 classes) each wrote a poem about trees. Ray said all the classes were very excited about doing the poems and there were lots of great poems submitted. The poems were all turned in to Suzanne; each one was read and judged by a panel of judges. The winner of the contest was Mrs. McCrief's 4th grade class from Lakewood Elementary. He said all the 4th grade classes from Lakewood Elementary will be going to the Preserve on Friday to plant a tree in the park. Ray thanked Suzanne and Jimmy Beck for all their hard work with putting this contest together. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 Mayl,2006 Dog Park Update • Ray said after doing much research and visiting other dog parks that he has been informed that FEMA will not allow any permanent structure to be erected in a floodplain area. We need at least three to five acres of land to build a dog park and we were looking at the Villages of Bear Creek Park, which was the only piece of land large enough to accommodate a dog park. He said we would continue to look for places that might accommodate a dog park. Playground at J.A. Carr Park • We are adding a new playground and swing area to this park South Euless Park Improvements • We are also installing a new swing set as well as replacing some of the missing wooden planks on the old iron bridge Cameras at Midway Recreation Center • Security cameras are being installed in various locations both in and around the facility Mid-Cities Landscaping • This project is ongoing and staff is working on the landscaping as time permits. Ray thanked Johnnie and Terry and their staff for all the hard work on this project. c. Other Staff Reports There were no other staff reports tonight. VI. Other New Business Boyce Byers mentioned she has some handouts for upcoming events if anyone is interested. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Alex Horton said he is very impressed with all the activities and events that have been scheduled. Chairman Owens said the staff does a great job with the events. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 7 May 1,2006 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. jL Chairman Attest