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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-04 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD AUGUST 4, 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, August 4, 2003, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Glendora Waldrup, Boyce Byers, Mike Daniel, Carl Miller and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott, Jeff Sawlan and Dan Clark. Board Member Stacey Hollinger was absent. Staff members present: Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald, Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Recreation Center Supervisor Randy Smith and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Alex Horton, Bill Ridgway, Billy Owens, Council Member Leon Hogg, Bill Edgcomb (Krispy Kreme), Margaret Frayen, Beth Smart, George Grubbs III (Grubbs Infiniti) and Bryan and Kelley Morris. INVOCATION Boyce Byers gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the June 2, 2003 regular meeting. There being none, Boyce Byers made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Mike Daniel. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Sawlan said he did an extensive walk-through of The Parks at Texas Star Athletic Complex and everything looked good. The nets had recently been replaced and he noticed that the clock tower is still showing the incorrect times. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 August 4, 2003 Mr. Clark mentioned that both McCormick and Villages of Bear Creek parks looked great. The fence had been replaced and the gazebo had been recently repaired at McCormick Park. The Villages of Bear Creek Park looked nice and clean and he noticed there were not many residents in the park due to the hot weather. Mrs. Byers said everything looked good at Midway Park. Again Blessing Branch Park looked good and had no residents in this small quiet park. Mr. Scott said Trailwood Park looked good. He said there has been lots of work at Bob Eden Park with all the repairs and remodeling of the facility. He did notice that some of the lights in the park are staying on during the day. Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green said the restrooms at Bob Eden Park had been remodeled to ADA standards and additional lighting will also be installed around the restroom building. He also mentioned that a new grill has been ordered for the park. Mr. Scott said both parks look good and he really liked the addition of the large boulders at Bob Eden Park. Mrs. Waldrup concurred with Mr. Scott on the condition of Trailwood Park. She also mentioned how nice The Parks at Texas Star looked. Mr. Daniel said J. A. Carr Park was very clean and has received lots of usage with residents using the walking trail as well as playing volleyball. He said at Kiddie Carr Park there is a pine tree which we may lose from the eroded creek. Mr. Miller asked staff to comment on the special events during the summer due to his being out of town. He said South Euless Park looks good and had recently been mowed and there has been many kids using the pool this summer. Chairman Owens said everything looked good at both Westpark and Wilshire parks. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens introduced Beth Smart as the July Volunteer of the Month and presented her with a plaque. He said she has given many hours to the city volunteering for Arbor Daze 2002, Dixie Boys World Series 2002 Tournament, Halloween Thing, the Children's New Year's Eve Celebration and also Arbor Daze 2003. Ms. Smart said she was honored for the award and said that volunteering has made her life much richer and she has met many nice people at these events. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 August 4,2003 Chairman Owens also introduced Bill Ridgway as the August Volunteer of the Month and presented him with a plaque. He said Bill has given many hours of volunteer time to the following events: 2001 and 2002 Super Series National Baseball Tournaments; 2001 summer musical "South Pacific" as well as the 2002 summer musical "You're a Grand Old Flag"; the 2002 Dixie Boys World Series Tournament; and numerous hours at the 2002 and 2003 Arbor Daze Festival. Mr. Ridgway was very appreciative of the award but said the staff does a great job with all the volunteers and the leadership with all the volunteers is exceptional. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairperson Boyce Byers said during the month of June the forestry crew did routine pruning, dead tree removal, storm damage clean-up as well as renovating the sun dial area with new landscaping at city hall. During the month of July the staff planted twelve trees at the Police and Municipal Courts facility and also planted a large Crape Myrtle tree to replace an Elm Tree that had previously been damaged during construction of the parking lot at the Dr Pepper StarCenter. The horticulture crew also dug five clumps from an historic fig tree that was growing on Denton Drive and they will be added to Euless' Historic Tree collection. IV. Beautification Award of the Month Chairman Owens presented Kelley and Bryan Morris of 2706 Amberton Place, with a framed letter of recognition for the July Residential Award. Kelley and Bryan said they love living in Euless and are very honored to receive this award. Chairman Owens also presented a framed letter of recognition to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at 1350 Westpark Way for the July Business/Civic/Government Award. Mr. Bill Edgcomb thanked the Board for the award and said they opened in Euless two years ago and have enjoyed working with the city and appreciates everything the city does for the community. Chairman Owens presented Mrs. Margaret Frayen of 4109 Linkwood Drive, with a framed letter of recognition for the August Residential Award. Mrs. Frayen expressed her gratitude and said she was very surprised and pleased to receive this award. He also presented a framed letter of recognition to Grubbs Infiniti at 1661 Airport Freeway. Mr. George Grubbs III said he appreciates the award and everything Euless does for the community. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 August 4,2003 V. Parks at Texas Star Development Update Chairman Owens gave a tentative timeline for Phase III of the Parks at Texas Star. City Council will discuss this item at the last meeting in August and then at the first meeting in September they should approve the project for the bidding process. The project should be bid sometime in mid- September and hopefully award the bid to the contractor at the first council meeting in October. He said hopefully the development of Phase III could start sometime in late fall. VI. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Games of Texas Report— Suzanne Hendrickson Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson said we had a great weekend with the Games of Texas and surpassed all participation numbers. She does not have a final report yet but said the organizing committee is very happy with the event. The committee will meet again for the evaluation process and they will try and make the Games of Texas even better for next year. Suzanne also reminded the Board of the summer musical "Wizard of Oz" at the Villages of Bear Creek Park amphitheater on August 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23`d and said there will be a live Toto (dog) and some technical effects during the show. She also thanked Johnnie Green and his staff for all their hard work on building the set for the musical. b. End of Summer Report—Randy Smith Recreation Center Supervisor Randy Smith said Midway Recreation Center is still going strong with lots of kids and activities. From May through July there were over 11,000 people who visited the fitness center. There are many new classes and new programs that will be offered in the fall. This is the last week of summer camp with an enrollment of seventy kids participating. The camp kids went to the Ballpark, Six Flags, toured the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, visited the Mayor and many other places during the summer. Randy said the swimming classes for summer have been good and they hope to start a swim team for next year. He also mentioned how proud he is of his part-time staff and said they are doing an outstanding job handling all the patrons that visit the facility. Randy also reminded everyone that the Community Garage Sale will be Saturday, September 20th at 9:00 a.m. at Midway Recreation Center and they only have six booths remaining before they are sold out. Chairman Owens commented on how professional the staff is at Midway Recreation Center. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 August 4,2003 c. Community Services Report—Ray McDonald Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald mentioned the Euless Summer Track Program was the largest ever with 96 kids participating and 24 qualified for the Games of Texas. He updated the Board Members on a few items. • He said the trailer is now on-site for the proposed trail project and once the work starts then completion should take about 112 working days. The parking lot at Bob Eden Park will be doubled in size and will have many large boulders placed around the entrance area. There will also be new lighting installed around the newly remodeled restrooms that will now be ADA accessible. • Ray also mentioned that Brian Klein would be submitting the service agreement for the Preserve at McCormick Park towards the end of this week. Once school begins staff will meet with the school district to coordinate a kids committee to decide on what needs the school kids would like to incorporate into the design of the preserve. • He said the Wilshire tennis court is being readied for demolition by the park department staff and they will be removing all the lights and other parts, which can be used for other projects. After the contractor removes the tennis court then staff will do a make-ready with dirt and grass and the area will be turned back to the school district and used as a playground. • Ray wanted to give recognition to John Ledbetter, Chris Thames and Suzanne Hendrickson for the great condition of the ball fields at the Parks at Texas Star. • He also wanted to extend a big thanks to Suzanne for all her hard work with TAAF (Texas Amateur Athletic Federation) and all her work on the Organizing Committee for the Games of Texas. Her leadership and teamwork was instrumental in leading Euless through the successful event. • Ray expressed his appreciation and thanks to Johnnie Green and John Ledbetter for recently receiving their twenty-year service pins. • The Volunteer Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, September 13th at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and he hopes all the Board Members will attend an evening of dinner and fun. • He thanked Randy Smith and his staff for their hard work in keeping Midway Recreation Center clean for visiting patrons. Lastly, Ray mentioned Euless has received four Arbor Daze awards from TFEA (Texas Festivals and Events Association). The awards are Best Event Brochure, Best Poster, Best New Event and Best Environmental Program. He congratulated Jeff Towne for all his hard work on designing the poster and brochure; the Parks Department for the free tree give-away; and Mindy Herring and Randy Smith for the new Dazzling Kidz Zone at Arbor Daze. The mentioned staff will receive the awards at the City Council meeting on August 12t. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 August 4,2003 Ray also said Johnnie Green received a visit from a young man who attends Trinity High School and wants to do an Eagle Project at Carr Park. Sixteen-year old Robert Tevi proposes building a cement slab and installing basketball rims at each end of the slab for a small basketball court. He feels this will give the older kids something to do while the smaller children play on the playground equipment while families are having picnics. Johnnie Green suggested that if the Board Members approve this project that maybe Robert should use the existing concrete slab in the adjoining Kiddie Carr Park. Johnnie said that Robert's dad is a contractor and he would be helping his son with his project. Carl Miller said this is a very good idea but his only concern is the isolation of Kiddie Carr Park and he feels the park would need some type of security in the proposed area. VII. Other New Business Chairman Owens reminded the Board Members that the next meeting is scheduled for September 8th since Labor Day is Monday, September 1st. Mrs. Byers said the Beautification Committee would be making the Yard of the Month selection from the northern area of Euless. Mr. Scott made inquiry to the article referring to an observation wheel that is proposed for Euless along Highway 360. VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors City Council Member Leon Hogg said the observation wheel is a tall ferris wheel that would be built on the Bennett property as well as other businesses and shops but said there is nothing definite as of yet. He said City Council attended the Budget Work Session this past weekend and the city is in pretty good shape and there will be no tax increases for citizens. He also mentioned city employees would receive a small raise this year. Ray McDonald said the Parks and Community Services departments are very appreciative and thankful to the City Council Members for approving our department budget requests for numerous projects scheduled for next year. Alex Horton said he and many of the local citizens are excited about the new trail system project and he also suggested that maybe someday Euless would have a dog park that could be built and possibly give naming rights to area businesses for the park. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 7 August 4,2003 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. Being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. #,or• Chairman Attest —