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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-06 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board March 6,2006 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:01 p.m. on Monday, March 6, 2006, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carroll "Scotty" Scott, Mike Daniel, Randy Jones, John Raab, Stacey Hollinger and alternates Boyce Byers and John Elder. Members absent: 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, Athletic Supervisor Mark Long, Athletic Coordinator John Douthit, Director of Planning and Development Mike Collins and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Billy Owens (AARP), Bill Byers, Kim and Cherlynn Townsend (Circle T Girl Scouts), David and Amy Powell and Brittini Montalvo. INVOCATION Randy Jones gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the February 6, 2006 regular meeting. Mike Daniel made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Randy Jones. The vote was unanimous. I. Board Member's Reports Mike Daniel said both parks were clean and busy. At Bob Eden Park there were lots of soccer players and the volleyball courts were very busy. At Trailwood Park he noticed lots of dogs being walked in the park. Carroll Scott said both South Euless and Heritage parks were in good condition. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 March 6, 2006 John Raab said Reflection Park was nice and clean as usual. At the Villages of Bear Creek Park he said the bat house had fallen down and there were some fallen trees in the creek. There was also some erosion showing by the new bridge and the playground was getting lots of usage when he made his inspection. Stacey Hollinger said Midway Park was in good condition and was getting lots of usage by players. Blessing Branch Park also looked good but there was some brush which had been piled up from recent cleaning of the park. Randy Jones said the water meter cover had been replaced at J. A. Carr Park, the water fountain was not working and the park was clean. Parks Superintendent Terry Boaz said the water fountains had been turned off for the winter months. Randy said Kiddy Can Park was also clean. Boyce Byers said the Special Event held in February was the Valentine's Day Dance at Midway Recreation Center with about 300 people attending the dance. She said the St. Patrick's Day event is scheduled for Friday, March l r at the Texas Star Golf Course featuring Brave Combo and she invited all the Board Members to come out and hear this band perform. Boyce also mentioned that Jerry Poteet can always use volunteers and she would like to see the Board Members get involved with some of the upcoming events. John Elder mentioned he has been by the Parks at Texas Star Athletic Complex twice in the last three weeks and said this park is a beautiful facility and is always clean. He said there were lots of families out using the playgrounds as well as lots of ball players on the fields. Chairman Owens said there were lots of walkers, bicycles, strollers and people fishing off the pier at the Preserve at McCormick Park. He said there has been lots of activity at this park and this park is a great attraction to our parks system. He thanked the parks department for installing a split rail fence over by the area that drops off close to the bridge. He said there was not much activity at McCormick Park but as usual the park was clean. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented a plaque to Brittini Montalvo for the March Volunteer of the Month. Some of the events she has worked include: • In 2005 — Bicycle Rodeo, Brave Combo Concert, Texas Junior Anglers Fishing event and Heritage Park Christmas Celebration. • For 2006 — she has signed up to help with the Texas Trash Off, Easter Egg Scramble and the Junior Anglers Fishing event- all scheduled for April. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 March 6,2006 Brittini thanked the Parks and Community Services department for the award and said she has lots of fun doing this type of work and has fun at all our events that she has volunteered to work. III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman John Raab reported on the following for February: • Completed trimming for fire truck obstructions in all our city parks • Pruned Harwood median from FM 157 to Euless Main Street • Raised and pruned the Sulpher Branch area on Pipeline Road by Morrisdale Estates • Removed three (3)hazard trees in McCormick Park • Removed hazard trees at Heritage Park • Removed hazard trees and pruned around the new playgrounds at the Villages of Bear Creek Park • Removed hazard tree at South Euless Park • Raised and cleaned Midway creek • Began raising and pruning Blessing Branch Park • Tree Specialist Troy Cain - attended eight (8) hours of training presented by the Texas Cooperative Extension(Texas A&M) IV. Adopt-A-Park Program—Application for Heritage Park Ray McDonald said he received an application from Girl Scout Troop #1721 the end of February and they are requesting approval to adopt Heritage Park as one of their community projects. On their application they noted the following, "The responsibilities and results expected through the Adopt-A-Park program are a direct fit with the qualities that Girl Scouts possess." Chairman Owens asked the Board Members to vote on the Adopt-A-Park application received. Randy Jones made the motion to approve the Adopt-A-Park application for Girl Scout Troop #1721 and the motion was seconded by Carroll Scott. The vote was unanimous. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Athletic Report—Mark Long Athletic Supervisor Mark Long introduced the new Athletic Coordinator John Douthit to the Board Members and said John will be a great asset to our department. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 March 6,2006 Mark reported on the following for the Parks at Texas Star: • Texas Star Select League o have 27 teams and the league starts today, March 6th • Tournaments o February— • Super Series National Qualifier- (rained out) • USSSA World Series Qualifier- (rained out) o March— • Triple Crown Qualifier- March 3-5 • Trinity High School - March 3-5 • Super Series Qualifier- March 10-12 • USSSA Qualifier-March 17-19 • Kick-Off Classic—March 24-26 • Private School Rentals o 54 total games • Bear Creek Baseball o Waiting to schedule for field usage • NABA o Fridays and Sundays • Euless LoneStars o Opening day—June 6 • BESA (Bedford Euless Soccer Association) o 922 total players registered o 85 teams o under 5, 6, 7, 8 and 16 and up will play their games at the Parks at Texas Star • EGSA (Euless Girls Softball Association) o T-Ball— 1 team (interlocking with EAA) o 8 under—3 teams o 10 under—2 teams o 12 under—3 teams o 14 under—3 teams o Danny Renteria is also working with Hurst and North Richland Hills so we can interlock with them as well • EAA(Euless Athletic Association) o Tots—4 teams—with 29 individuals o T-ball—7 teams(including EGSA)—with 81 individuals o Coach-pitch—6 teams—with 62 individuals o 10 under—6 teams—with 69 individuals o 12 under—4 teams—with 43 individuals Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 March 6, 2006 o 14 under — 2 teams — with 20 individuals (working with Tri-Cities to get games for 14 under) o 18 under—no teams—with 4 individuals Ray said that Mark was recently promoted to Athletic Supervisor and he has done a great job and will continue to do a great job as the new supervisor. Ray thanked Mark for all his hard work and also for his report tonight. He also welcomed the new Athletic Coordinator John Douthit and said John had even been putting in hours before officially starting on February 20th and said John is very excited about working at the Parks at Texas Star. Ray also mentioned he received a call from BESA and they would like to play the games they currently play at Stormie Jones in Bedford at the Villages of Bear Creek Park. The staff plans to stand by the commitment we made to move soccer out of the Villages of Bear Creek Park. Chairman Owens welcomed John to the city and also thanked Mark for his report tonight. VI. Parks at Texas Star Park Land Conversion Discussion Mike Collins, Director of Planning and Development, was present tonight to discuss the conversion of park land at the Texas Star Sports Complex for the purpose of subsurface drilling and the extraction of natural gas from an off-site location. He said the Barnett Shale natural gas field encompasses Tarrant, Parker, Hood, Johnson, Erath, Somervell, Bosque and Hill counties. The actual gas drilling rig would be located off-site on private property and the process will consist of vertically drilling down about 7,000 feet and then turning horizontally to extract the gas. After about twenty (20) days of drilling, a technique called hydraulic fracturing (or fracing) is utilized in which as much as two (2) to three (3) million gallons of water and sand are pulsed into the bore hole. The water pressure cracks the shale, breaking free the absorbed natural gas. The porous sand keeps channels open to allow the gas to escape to the bore hole. Coupled with increase in the market price and demand for natural gas, drilling in the Barnett Shale has become cost effective and profitable. The gas drilling will be done under the 318 acres of property that consists of the Texas Star Sports Centre. Mr. Collins said there would be no surface rights granted for drilling or any other related activities, therefore, there will be no property damage or drilling activity nuisance. Mr. Collins said the city has studied this issue for the last eighteen months and prior to 2005 the City Council drafted a Gas Drilling Ordinance for granting gas drilling permits and Council has also hired JP Morgan Chase as the city's mineral asset consultant. The city is now prepared to seek competitive bid proposals to lease the approximate 300+ acres Texas Star Sports Centre for subsurface gas drilling activities. The Park Board will be involved in this issue because significant Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 March 6, 2006 portions of the athletic complex are public park land. Therefore, the city must follow what is referred to as a "parkland conversion", a process established in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code for the protection of public parks and recreation lands. The conversion allows the city to access natural gas under municipally owned parkland without changing the land's intended purpose. Mr. Collins said this item would be posted on the Parks and Leisure Services Board agenda in April with a request being made that the Park Board "endorse" staff's recommendation to the City Council to allow the parkland conversion. The public would be allowed to comment on the item at the meeting. After the Park Board meeting, the city would then advertise three (3) notices of a public hearing before the City Council at least thirty (30) days in advance of the hearing. The hearing will take place at a regularly scheduled Council meeting with citizens having the opportunity to comment on the proposed parkland conversion. Mr. Collins said once the public hearing has been held and if the City Council agrees then it would be approved by a resolution. The next process would be to seek competitive bid proposals for the subsurface gas drilling activities. Chairman Owens thanked Mike Collins for his presentation and said the Board Members appreciate the information they received tonight. VII. Other New Business Chairman Owens said the Park Board Appreciation Dinner has been scheduled for Thursday, March 23rd at 6:30 p.m. at North Main Barbeque for all parks and recreation department employees and their families. He said the Board Members always look forward to seeing all the employees with their families each year. Please make sure you contact Linda and let her know if you will be attending the dinner. Chairman Owens mentioned the Beautification Award program will start in May and we will need a couple of volunteers for this committee. We will form this committee next month at the April meeting. VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Billy Owens mentioned that the drainage problem at Simmons has now been handled and all the seniors are very appreciative of the help they received from Ray. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 7 March 6,2006 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Io Chairman Attest