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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-01 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD DECEMBER 1,2003 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 1, 2003, in the Large Conference Room at the Parks Facility Building located at 1997-C South Pipeline Road by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Boyce Byers, Mike Daniel, Glendora Waldrup, Stacey Hollinger and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott, Dan Clark and Jeff Sawlan. Board Member Carl Miller was absent. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Special Events Coordinator Michael Davenport, Planning and Development Manager Eric Wilhite and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Elaine Green, Jerry Waldrup, Bill Byers, Billy Owens, Luz Scott and Danee' Owens. INVOCATION Stacey Hollinger gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the November 3, 2003 regular meeting. Chairman Owens mentioned on Page 3, Item IV (a)that "EAA does have scholarships" and this should be included in the minutes. Carroll Scott made the motion to approve the minutes as corrected and was seconded by Glendora Waldrup. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Daniel said both J. A. Carr and Kiddy Carr parks are in good shape. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 December 1, 2003 Mr. Scott said that Trailwood Park is in good shape. He said he walked the new trail at Bob Eden Park on Saturday and the work being done at the park is really coming along. Mrs. Waldrup did not have a report for South Euless or Heritage parks tonight. Mr. Hollinger said both Westpark and Wilshire parks looked good and well maintained. He did mention at Bob Eden Park that some really large rocks/boulders would be added to this park. Mrs. Byers said both Midway and Blessing Branch parks looked good. Mr. Sawlan said he walked the Parks at Texas Star complex and it was in excellent condition and well maintained. All the ball fields are in great shape, the soccer field turf is also in good condition and the picnic area was clean. He also stated the restroom adjacent to the Batting Cages needed soap and paper towels. Mr. Clark said McCormick Park is in good shape and said he noticed some rusted areas of fencing and said the fencing would need to be addressed in the near future. Everything looked good at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and there were lots of people in the park. The new port-o-let enclosure looked very nice and said the restrooms need servicing. He said the entire park looks great and feels this is one of the best parks in the community. Eric Wilhite, Planning and Development Manager, said he would need to check with the McCormick Park Homeowners Association to see if they are responsible for repairing and/or replacing the fence at McCormick Park. Chairman Owens commented on how nice the new restroom enclosure is at Wilshire Park. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens said Richard and Ginger Moore are the 2003 December Volunteers of the Month but they were not here tonight to receive their plaque. He said they have given a tremendous amount of time to the city by participating in the following events: Arbor Daze, Arbor Daze Auction, Dixie Boys World Series Baseball Tournaments, Super Series National Baseball Tournaments, Halloween Thing, Heritage Park Christmas Celebration, Christmas Parade of Lights and the New Year's Eve Celebrations. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 December 1, 2003 NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairperson Boyce Byers said the parks staff has pruned and cleared trees at Bob Eden Park. She also mentioned that 4,600 Red Oak acorns and Chinese Pistache seeds were gathered for growing trees for Arbor Daze. The parks staff has also been landscaping the remodeled City Hall facility for the re-grand opening. IV. Tree Inventory Update Planning and Development Manager Eric Wilhite distributed a handout depicting a survey of trees located in city parks and medians throughout the city. He further mentioned the project was part of the Urban Forestry Partnership Grant Program which was completed this summer. He said an intern worked with him to survey and log the different species and types of trees located in various city parks by using the GIS system borrowed from David Allen. Eric said the city was divided into quadrants and assigned district numbers and then within each district the trees were coded as to diameter, species and the overall health and condition of the trees. They inventoried 4,064 trees with 361 trees per square mile and said a total of 97% of the trees were in good condition. Eric also said this update will be very useful should it ever be needed for any future grant information. He further mentioned the contractor in charge of the North Main Street project has tried to save as many trees as possible and said any new trees planted will be smaller canopy trees and use less water. They will also be adding additional landscaping along the walking trail area on Main Street. Chairman Owens thanked Eric for his presentation and said these numbers will be useful in the future since we are designated as a Tree City. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Report— Suzanne Hendrickson Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson introduced Michael Davenport as the new Special Events Coordinator. Michael said he has lived in Euless for thirteen years, received his degree in Marketing in 2002 and is married with a new daughter. He briefly mentioned some of the entries for the Parade of Lights and said the awards ceremony will be held at Midway Recreation Center after the parade. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 December 1, 2003 Suzanne reminded the Board Members of the City Hall open house from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and said Board Member riding in the parade will be picked up at city hall and returned to their cars after the parade. She said the only Special Event held in November was the Seniors Luncheon at North Main Barbecue and there were about 250 attendees and the city appreciates everything North Main does for our seniors. Suzanne said the events in December are: • December 7th—Parade of Lights at 6:30 p.m. • December 13th— IceFest at the Dr Pepper StarCenter from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. • December 13th — Heritage Park Celebration from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (with tours, arts/crafts, black smith, train and a birthday cake celebrating a 150 years for the Himes House) • December 26th—Christmas Tree Recycling at Midway Park (through January 3rd) • December 31st — Children's New Year's Eve Concert at Midway Recreation Center at 1:00 p.m. Suzanne said the staff recently attended the TRAPS (Texas Recreation and Park Society) Conference and Euless won an award for"Excellence in Programming" for Arbor Daze. The Parks at Texas Star is now closed for the winter season and will reopen in February and during the closure the staff will be doing some needed repairs and other projects at the facility. Chairman Owens thanked Suzanne and Michael for their presentation this evening. b. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald thanked Eric Wilhite for his presentation. He also thanked the Board Members for attending the recent City Council meeting to support the Parks at Texas Star-Phase III construction bid award. Ray said the Softball World Irrigation bid award will be presented at the next City Council meeting and mentioned Softball World will close in December and re-open in February and during that time the irrigation system will be installed. He also said the Parks and Community Services department will have an item on the City Council agenda next week regarding a variance to the sign ordinance for the new marquee sign for Midway Recreation Center on the corner of Midway and North Main Street. Ray said Parks Department employee Chris Hurst is the December Employee of the Month. Chris maintains all the ball fields and works most weekends prepping fields. The trails at Bob Eden Park are close to being finished but there have been some small changes regarding ADA requirements. The Loop Trail was started last week and the concrete is being poured today. The port-o-let enclosure was completed at the Villages of Bear Creek Park. The wooden light poles at Midway Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 December 1, 2003 Park will be replaced with metal light poles and the West Park irrigation project will be bid soon. He also mentioned that Euless was selected as a "Champion City" by the Pat Summerall Foundation and they will be shooting footage in the city December 18m and 19th and it will air on national TV in early 2004. The designation is awarded to well-managed small cities that excel in community involvement, cooperative endeavors and the availability of parks, recreation activities and community events as well as the Arbor Daze celebration. This is the first year awards were given. c. Other Staff Reports Ray McDonald thanked the Board Members for all their support this last year and in coming years. VI. Other New Business Boyce Byers said she is proud of the Parks and Recreation staff and is also proud to work with all the staff members. Chairman Owens said it is a pleasure to work on a Board with such talented staff. He also said the Parks Department staff works very hard and they do a great job. Glendora Waldrup thanked the staff for a great dinner tonight. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Billy Owens mentioned the Simmons Center will be undergoing some remodeling in the near future and said the seniors really appreciate everything being done to improve the facility. Ray McDonald also said the facility will get a new parking lot. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. Being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m. -f Chairman Attest //