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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-01-09 Regular Meeting Parks and Leisure Services Board January 9,2006 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, January 9, 2006, in the Council Chambers of the Euless City Hall building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Stacey Hollinger, Mike Daniel, Randy Jones, John Raab and new alternates Boyce Byers, John Elder and Sonja Adams. Members absent: Carroll "Scotty" Scott. 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: Council Member Leon Hogg, Alex Horton, Billy Owens (AARP), Sandi, Madyson and Brian McGarry, Jesse Alfaro and Richard Ross. INVOCATION Stacey Hollinger gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the December 5, 2005 regular meeting. Mike Daniel made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Stacey Hollinger. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Chairman Owens said the Board Members should have received their new park assignments in the packets and he apologized for not having them sent out earlier so they would have time to see where their new park is located. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 January 9,2006 Mike Daniel said his new parks are Bob Eden and Trailwood. He said Bob Eden Park was extremely crowded, the trails have also been crowded as well as the sand volleyball courts. At Trailwood Park he noticed the sign was missing to the bat house and the park was clean and very active with users. Boyce Byers said her new assignment for the year is Special Events. The Special Events for December were: • Heritage Park Christmas on December 10th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with 500 people in attendance. The weather was great and the event was a big success. • Trinity Football State Championship Celebration was also held on December 10th at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity High School. There were about 200 in attendance and the Euless and Bedford fire trucks sprayed water over the buses as they returned from the game. • Trinity High School Football Celebration Parade was held on December 16th at 4:00 p.m. The parade went from the Midway Recreation Center to Trinity High School. • Heritage Park School Tour with about 95 third graders from Bellaire Elementary was held on January 5th They toured the Fuller House, Himes Log House and the McCormick Barn. • Midway Recreation Center open house and registration party was held from 10:00 a.m. to Noon on January 7th with 125 people in attendance to tour the facility. John Raab said his new parks are Reflection and Villages of Bear Creek. Reflection Park is a very small park. The Villages of Bear Creek Park was very crowded with lots of people on the soccer field and said the park was in very good shape. Stacey Hollinger said there was lots of activity at Midway Park and the park was very clean. He had no report for Blessing Branch Park. Randy Jones said he did not have a report on either J. A. Can or Kiddy Can parks. John Elder said he is new to the board and his new park assignment is the Parks at Texas Star (athletic complex). He did not have a report tonight. Sonja Adams said she did not have a report for either West Park or Wilshire Park. Mrs. Adams said she did walk the Preserve today and this is a very beautiful park and the new log seating / bench was a very creative idea. She inquired if this park was part of a grant? Parks and Community Services Director Ray McDonald said the Preserve was funded through a park grant and further mentioned that almost everything in this park is either made from natural or recycled products. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 January 9,2006 Chairman Owens said McCormick Park and the Preserve at McCormick Park are his new parks for 2006. He said McCormick Park looks fine and the gazebo was in good shape. He recently walked the Preserve at McCormick Park and said this is a very impressive new park. He said our trail system now runs from Highway 157 over to Highway 360 for our residents. He was also impressed with the new historic tree grove in the park. He congratulated Johnnie and his staff for doing such a great job with the Preserve. Chairman Owens suggested that a sign be erected by the bridge where the bank drops off in order to warn residents with small children. Sonja Adams inquired if we would be doing any publicity for the Preserve? Ray said he has a meeting with a reporter from the Star-Telegram tomorrow and they will be walking the park so the reporter can do a story on the new park. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented a plaque to Sandi and Brian McGarry for the January Volunteer of the Month. He said both Sandi and Brian have volunteered for numerous special events, individually and collectively, during the last several years. Some of the events include: • In 2001 —Halloween Event and Heritage Park Christmas • In 2002—Heritage Park Christmas • In 2004—Heritage Park Christmas, Arbor Daze and Christmas Parade of Lights • In 2005 —Heritage Park Christmas, Arbor Daze and Christmas Parade of Lights Both Sandi and Brian have played Santa and Mrs. Clause for the last few years at Heritage Park and also during the Christmas Parade of Lights. Brain thanked the Parks and Community Services department for the award. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Mike Daniel reported on the following for December: • Raised, thinned and removed mistletoe at Heritage Park for the Christmas event. • Removed three(3) large Palm trees from City Hall and replanted them at Splash Island. • Removed approximately fifty(50)trees and transplanted them at the Preserve. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 January 9,2006 • Planted nineteen (19) holly trees as a buffer between the Preserve and adjoining neighborhood on the north. • Jimmy Beck and the Boy Scouts planted eighty-five (85) Red Oak saplings in various locations at the Preserve. • Jimmy Beck completed the Tree City USA renewal application for 2005. • The crew removed a hazardous tree in Trailwood Park. • Pruned the Harwood Road median from Main Street to Highway 360. • Started trimming along the median on Westpark Way from Highway 10 to Highway 183. • The parks department is getting ready for the Christmas Tree Recycling event at Midway Park scheduled for January 14th. Chairman Owens mentioned to the new Board Members that the Park Board and Tree Board are two separate boards. Parks Manager Johnnie Green reminded everyone of the Tree Recycling event scheduled for this Saturday, January 14th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Midway Park. Everyone that attends the event will be able to take home a bag of mulch—but they will need to bring a bag from home. IV. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Report—Suzanne Hendrickson Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson commented on the following: Special Events January • January 14th — Christmas Tree Recycling Program at Midway Park from 9:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. with hot dogs and sodas being served to all that attend the event. February • February 10th — Valentine's Day Family Disco Dance at Midway Recreation Center from 6:30 p.m. till 9:30 p.m. The cost will be $5.00 per person. Midway Recreation Center • 183 new memberships have been sold since January 2nd • Class registration is going very well at this time. Simmons Senior Center • There have been four(4)trips during December. • There have been 920 visits to the center. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 January 9,2006 Parks at Texas Star—Athletics Winter Leagues • 4 x 4 Flag Football • 8 x 8 Flag Football • Adult Basketball League • Dodge Ball Tournament • Dodge Ball League • Ultimate Frisbee `Pick-Up' League • Co-Ed Kickball League at Softball World • A new Church Softball League will also be starting soon at Softball World Parks at Texas Star • The park is closed for maintenance • Private school rentals will begin in February • February 17th-- 19th there will be a Super Series "National" Qualifier(for ages 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14). We will also be hosting a World Series tournament in July. b. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald welcomed the three (3) new Board Members and said he is looking forward to another great year. He mentioned our Volunteer Coordinator Jerry Poteet was selected as the 2005 Employee of the Year and congratulated Jerry on all his dedication and hard work in our department. Ray said our department wrapped up three (3) major projects this past year: (1) Parks at Texas Star — Phase III, (2) Splash Island and (3) the Preserve at McCormick Park. He then distributed an update of departmental projects and objectives for 2006 to the Board Members. Completed Projects for 2006 • New fitness center equipment at Midway Recreation Center • New lockers in both rest rooms at Midway Recreation Center • Remote lighting package at West Park (and we also hope to do a package at Midway next year) • Issued a Purchase Order for contract flower bed maintenance • Re-painted the fence at Heritage Park • Re-surfaced the gym and racquetball floors at Midway Recreation Center Approved Projects for 2006 • South Euless playground improvements • New playground equipment at the Villages of Bear Creek Park Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 January 9,2006 • Park entrance marquee improvements • Park amenities upgrade at various parks • Mid-Cities median landscaping • Purchase reel mower for the Parks at Texas Star • Bob Eden Park irrigation • Chairs and benches for the pools • Purchase a mobile concession trailer for the Parks at Texas Star • Install a POS (Point-of-Sale) system for Softball World • Re-paint(select areas) of the Parks at Texas Star • Install new security cameras at Midway Recreation Center In-House Projects for 2006 • Removal of the outside tiles on the walls at Midway Recreation Center • Plan/coordinate a community wellness program • Re-paint Ruth Millican Center • Upgrade fence security at all three(3)pools • Bob Eden landscaping along the trail • Port-o-Potty enclosure at the Preserve at McCormick Park • Connect trail at the Preserve to sidewalk in Fountain Park • Sod/irrigation around the pavilion at the Preserve • Install security lights under the bridge at Fuller-Wiser Road • Install shade structures for umpires (soccer) and bleachers on the t-ball field at the Parks at Texas Star • Work on a dog park design for the Villages of Bear Creek Park • Work on a plan for reducing vandalism in the parks • Installing trail map signs at the following parks: Trailwood, Bob Eden, Villages of Bear Creek, McCormick and the Preserve at McCormick Park • Plan Arbor Day activities for 2007 • Look for new trail opportunities throughout the city • Construct/install scoreboards on the new fields at the Parks at Texas Star Chairman Owens thanked Ray for his project updates for the Board Members. V. Election of Officers Chairman Owens mentioned that new officers are elected in January for the Parks and Leisure Services Board as well as for the Tree Board. The current officers are: Chairman- Eric Owens, Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 7 January 9,2006 Vice-Chairman — vacant (Glendora Waldrup) and Secretary — Stacey Hollinger. The current Tree Board officers are: Chairman—Mike Daniel and Vice-Chairman— Carroll Scott. The voting is to be done by secret ballots and then given to Linda Lux to announce who the new officers are. The new officers for 2006 are: Chairman — Eric Owens, Vice-Chairman — Stacey Hollinger and Secretary—Mike Daniel. The new Tree Board officers for 2006 are: Chairman — John Raab and Vice-Chairman — Carroll Scott. VI. Other New Business Chairman Owens said there was no new business for discussion. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Leon Hogg commented that 2005 was a great year for the city and 2006 will be even better. He asks everyone to please keep Paula McKamie in their prayers. Chairman Owens mentioned that Carroll Scott's sister passed away and to also keep them in your prayers. Alex Horton mentioned he really supports Ray McDonald and his efforts with the problem of vandalism and said he will help in any way he can. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. i airman Attest