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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-02-03 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD FEBRUARY 3, 2003 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2003, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present were: Boyce Byers, Glendora Waldrup, Stacey Hollinger, Carl Miller and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott, Dan Clark and Jeff Sawlan. Board Member Mike Daniel was absent. Staff members present: Assistant Director Ray McDonald, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Recreation Manager Suzanne Hendrickson, Athletic/Aquatics Supervisor Chris Thames and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Donald Horton. INVOCATION Boyce Byers gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the January 6, 2003 regular meeting. There being no changes Stacey Hollinger made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Carroll Scott. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Scott said both Bob Eden and Trailwood parks were in good shape. He said that cars were parking on the grassy area at the entrance to Bob Eden Park. Also some of the walking trail signs need to be repaired, dead tree limbs scattered about and a new bulb and globe are needed in one of the light fixtures. Mr. McDonald said the existing parking lot at Bob Eden Park would be expanded and re-done. Mr. Miller said the only Special Event held in January was Movies at the Rec. The movie shown was Monsters Inc. Mr. Miller said J. A. Carr and Kiddy Carr parks were well maintained and looked good. • Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 February 3, 2003 Mrs. Waldrup said both South Euless and Heritage Park were in good shape. She said South Euless Park looked clean and the tennis court looked good. At Heritage Park she said everything was in great shape and well manicured. Mrs. Waldrup also stated she has been going to the Rec Center and using the weight room and was very complimentary of the center and staff, but she did suggest that maybe a staff member could show new members how to properly use the equipment. Mr. Hollinger said everything looked good and clean at Westpark and thanked Johnnie Green and his staff for cleaning up the graffiti that his son recently found in the pavilion at Bob Eden Park. He also mentioned that Wilshire Park was in good shape. Mrs. Byers said Midway Park looked good and had lots of people at the park. She said Blessing Branch Park is a nice little park that compares to McCormick Park and there is not a playground facility for the children. Mrs. Byers inquired as to what would replace the old parks building which was recently demolished at Midway Park. Mr. Green informed the Board Members that the area would be used as additional parking. Mr. Clark said he visited McCormick Park and the playground equipment looks good but noticed the beaver is still working on some trees in the creek area. He also said some of the pickets on the metal fencing should be replaced and that maybe the homeowners association would replace and/or repairs the fencing. Mr. Clark said at the Villages of Bear Creek Park there was some graffiti on the pipe which runs across the creek and lots of people out enjoying the park. Mr. Sawlan said he walked The Parks at Texas Star and the park looks great. He said the building next to the driving range had a broken window and the locks on the door had been damaged. There was also a pile of concrete debris over by the driving range. Some of the batting cage doors were locked with cable locks and you could still slightly open the cage doors and at the sand volleyball court the net had been duck taped. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens introduced Donald Horton as the February 2003 Volunteer of the Month and presented him with a plaque for his volunteer service. Mr. Horton has helped with the Halloween Event in 2001 and 2002, Dr Pepper IceFest 2001 and 2002, Super Series Baseball Tournament 2002, Dixie Boys World Series 2002, Christmas Parade of Lights 2002 and the Heritage Park Christmas Celebration 2002. Mr. Horton said he feels it is an honor to serve the city and appreciates everything the city does for its residents. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 February 3, 2003 NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Boyce Byers said there were 23 trees planted this past month. She also mentioned there are only three trees in the in-ground tree farm located at the Villages of Bear Creek Park. The Parks Department has started 13,600 tree seeds at the new greenhouse and these will be used for the free tree giveaways. Mrs. Byers said the attendance for the Christmas Tree Recycle Day on January 4th was good. Johnnie Green said that staff is hoping to have enough of the tree seedlings to be used in the Arborist area as well as in the kids activities area at Arbor Daze. IV. Parks at Texas Star Development Committee Update Chairman Owens stated as of today there have been no committee meetings and that Ray McDonald and City Manager Joe Hennig are still meeting with Dr Pepper regarding the funding of the proposed new ball field. Chairman Owens suggested that a committee meeting be scheduled this month. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Update—Suzanne Hendrickson Suzanne stated the proposed fee changes were approved by City Council last week and went into effect the next day. She mentioned the summer activities from May through August at Midway Recreation Center have been finalized and many activities have been planned. The Valentine's Dance scheduled for February 13th has been cancelled due to lack of ticket sales. The next movie night is scheduled for February 14th at Midway Rec Center and they will be showing Harry Potter. The cost of attending is $1.00 and concessions will be sold during the movie. She also mentioned the Community Garage Sale scheduled for Saturday, March 22nd is all sold out. The pool at South Euless Park will have the diving board replaced with a slide. The baseball fields at Bob Eden Park will be closed during the months of April and May for field repairs and maintenance. BESA (Bedford-Euless Soccer Association) starts on February 21st and the Trinity lacrosse team have rented Westpark for their games. Suzanne said the Games of Texas brochures will be mailed out in the near future for the upcoming summer games and there will be a press conference on May 8th at 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn regarding the Games of Texas. She also said that EAA is replacing two new portable pitching mounds and staff will be doing extra maintenance work on all the ball fields. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 February 3,2003 b. Parks at Texas Star Pre-Season Update—Chris Thames Athletic/Aquatic Supervisor Chris Thames distributed the 2003 Tournament Schedule and also a 2002 usage report for the Parks at Texas Star. He said he is in the process of hiring part time staff for his facility. c. Grant Update—The Preserve at McCormick Park—Ray McDonald Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald advised the Board Members that Euless has been awarded the $500,000 grant for The Preserve at McCormick Park. He said there were a total of 136 applicants and only the top 14 were awarded grants with Euless being number three. Ray and Johnnie walked the property with Terry Sandlin recently and the development is really looking good. He said the park would have a wetland preserve area, a trail linkage from Bob Eden Park to the Villages of Bear Creek Park and outdoor educational areas. Ray said they hope to get with the school district in order to reach out to the kids in the community and get their feedback for any needed educational opportunities for benefiting all school children. Ray has a breakfast meeting scheduled with Bryan Klein on Thursday and he will try to get more details. He also said any city help with the project would be considered as in-kind labor towards the project. d. Community Services Reports—Ray McDonald Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald mentioned that lots of good things would be happening in the next few months. He reminded the Board Members of the Arbor Daze Auction scheduled for March 1st at the Texas Star Conference Centre. Also on April 5th is the annual Texas Trash-Off with the kick-off at Showplace Lanes and there will be T-shirts, donuts, pizza and bowling for all volunteers helping. Also the annual Easter Egg Hunt will be on Saturday, April 12th at the Parks at Texas Star. As Arbor Daze approaches, we have again scheduled the annual Arbor Daze Community Work Day for Saturday, April 19th. We will have lots of food and soft drinks for our volunteers and this day is for helping our Parks and Community Services staff with many of the last minute festival set-ups. Ray also mentioned that on Thursday, April 24th we will have the Carnival Pre-View (from 5:00 to 10 p.m.) and also that night a Tribute to Euless' 50th Anniversary Night at the Main Stage area. VI. Other New Business Mr. Miller expressed his appreciation to Johnnie Green and Jimmy Beck for all their help with the South Euless Nature Center and said both are always so very helpful and are great to work with. He mentioned he has received some inquiries as to if the Park Board minutes are posted on the web Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 February 3, 2003 site. Mr. McDonald said staff would contact the appropriate individual and see what information is included on the web site. Mr. Miller expressed his support for the great job Ray is doing as the "interim" Director and would like to see Ray permanently in the position of Director of Parks and Community Services. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors There was no input from the audience. Mr. McDonald mentioned that Softball World Manager Rick Lyle was selected Softball Complex Operator of the Year by USSSA at the conference Rick attended in January. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. � Adaf7-,e. -__ Chairman Attest /