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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-06 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD JANUARY 6, 2003 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 6, 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, Mike Daniel(arrived at 7:10 p.m.) and alternate Carroll "Scotty" Scott and new alternate members Dan Clark and Jeff Sawlan. Board Member Carl Miller was absent. Staff members present: Assistant Director Ray McDonald, Community Relations/Special Events Supervisor Deitre Burns and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Monica Fridge 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 2, 2002 regular meeting. There being no changes Boyce Byers made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Glendora Waldrup. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Scott said he rode in the Christmas Parade of Lights, the weather was nice and everything went well. He said his new assigned parks are Bob Eden and Trailwood. He noticed graffiti on the back of the sign and lots of dead tree limbs. Mr. McDonald informed Mr. Scott that Johnnie Green is still working with Oncor to get the lights repaired at Bob Eden Park. Mr. Daniel said his new parks are J. A. Carr and Kiddy Carr and he had no report this evening. Mrs. Waldrup said her parks are now South Euless and Heritage Park. She visited Heritage Park on December 14th for the Heritage Park Celebration and everything was fine for all the events. She had no report for South Euless Park. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 January 6, 2003 Mr. Hollinger mentioned his two new parks are Westpark and Wilshire and he did not have a report for either tonight. Mrs. Byers said she now has Midway and Blessing Branch parks and both are in good condition. She said she noticed the old park department building had been demolished. Mr. Clark said he visited McCormick Park and this park is very nice and well maintained. He said he noticed a lamp fixture that needs repairing. He said his other park is Villages of Bear Creek and this is a great park with a natural environment. He said there were many people using the park recently. He also stated he noticed a broken fence, the water fountains were off, lots of trash in the creek and suggested that a barrier or fence be erected where the creek has eroded away. Mr. Sawlan said he had no report this evening for The Parks at Texas Star. Chairman Owens said he would cover Special Events since Mr. Miller was absent tonight. The Special Events for December included the Parade of Lights, Heritage Park Celebration, Children's New Year's Eve Concert and the annual Tree Recycling event this past weekend. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens introduced Monica Fridge as the January 2003 Volunteer of the Month and presented her with a plaque for her volunteer service. Monica has helped with the Christmas Parade, Arbor Daze Auction, Arbor Daze, Easter Egg Hunt, Dixie Boys World Series Baseball Tournament and the Halloween event. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Chairman Owens said there were 33 trees planted at the Villages of Bear Creek Park and three trees will be planted at Wilshire Pond. The parks department staff has been landscaping at Building "D" and also at the new Parks Department Maintenance Facility. He also mentioned that all the kids love to watch the tree chipper at the annual Christmas Tree Recycling Event that was held this past weekend. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 January 6, 2003 IV. Parks at Texas Star Development Committee Update Chairman Owens stated due to the recent busy holidays there was no committee meeting but there would be one during January. Mr. McDonald said he and City Manager Joe Hennig had met recently with Dr Pepper and they are waiting to hear from Mr. Spicer regarding the possible funding of the new proposed ball field at The Parks at Texas Star before scheduling the next committee meeting. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Recreation Update—Suzanne Hendrickson Mr. McDonald said Suzanne has been out ill with pneumonia last week and will be out this week due to her father passing away this past weekend. He said the service will be tomorrow evening in Carrollton and a plant has been sent from the Parks and Leisure Services Board. Mr. McDonald said there were over 9,000 visitors during 2002 and there were also 263 new and renewed memberships during this same time period. All three athletic associations (BESA, EAA and EGSA) have started their spring registrations. Also starting this month will be Movies at Midway for $1.00 per person and they will also show a movie in February and March as well. The new spring classes and programs are also starting this week. b. Community Services Reports—Ray McDonald Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services Ray McDonald mentioned that all the acts for Arbor Daze have been confirmed. He said Martha Reeves and The Vandellas will open for The Beach Boys on Friday, April 25th; Little River Band and Starship will open for Rick Springfield on Saturday, April 26th and he is still waiting on a confirmation to the opener for Boney James on Sunday, April 27th. Staff is presently working on the Dazzling Kids Zone for Arbor Daze and Home Depot will also be involved by helping the kids build a birdhouse when they visit this area. He mentioned that staff is also trying to get a sponsor for T-shirts to be given to each child during the festival. Mr. McDonald also mentioned that Director of Public Works Ron Young has been working with TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) to remove the dirt on Highway 360. The dirt will be taken to the Arbor Daze site to use as fill dirt for potholes and to also build-up the area under the VIP tent. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 January 6, 2003 Mr. McDonald said a replacement has been hired to replace Glenda Hartsell for the position of Community Relations/Special Events Supervisor. Ray also mentioned he tried calling Brian Klein today to check on the status of the grant application but Brian was not in the office. Mr. Paul Katoa is repainting the outfield fences at The Parks at Texas Star. He mentioned the Parks Department staff is cleaning out the storage room at the North Main Street well tower in order to store the new Christmas Tree and all holiday decorations. Ray also distributed a report from Superintendent of Parks Johnnie Green showing the man hours each month for 2002. Mrs. Byers inquired as to if surveys are done with other surrounding cities regarding salaries for the parks department. She feels the park department staff has inherited more parks and new city facilities and the staff should be paid accordingly. Mr. McDonald agreed that the parks department has inherited more parks, medians, right-of-ways and new city facilities. He said our Human Resources Department does do yearly wage surveys to make sure our salaries are in line with local area communities. Ray said he and Johnnie Green would recommend that our mowing contract be updated to include all the new areas for lawn maintenance, provide more funding and that the contract also be revised to coincide with our fiscal budget year. Chairman Owens said he also feels this information should be communicated to the City Manager and City Council regarding the issues of the mowing contract and parks department employee salaries. VI. Election of Officers Chairman Owens mentioned it was time to elect new officers for the Parks and Leisure Services Board. The newly elected officers are Chairman- Eric Owens, Vice-Chairman- Glendora Waldrup and Secretary- Stacey Hollinger. Chairman Owens also stated it was time to elect new officers for the Tree Board. The new officers elected are Chairman—Boyce Byers and Vice-Chairman—Carl Miller. Mrs. Byers inquired as to when the Yard of the Month program should start again. It was suggested that the Yard of the Month would start again at the first meeting in April. Mrs. Byers said she would like to see letters go out to all the yards that were nominated and she also said the winners have stated they are very appreciative of the award. Chairman Owens said he thinks new alternates Dan Clark and Jeff Sawlan would be good on this committee with Boyce Byers and Carroll Scott. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 January 6, 2003 VII. Other New Business Chairman Owens mentioned that Mike Daniel moved from the alternate position to replace Bruce Ebert. Ray McDonald introduced Community Relations/Special Events Supervisor Deitre Burns to the Board Members and said she is a graduate of the University of North Texas. Deitre said she has worked for the cities of Denton and Carrollton. She said she is looking forward to working on special events and programs here and has already started preparing for the Valentine Dance and annual Easter Egg Hunt. She is presently trying to locate sponsors for the upcoming planned events. Ray also reminded everyone of the Arbor Daze Auction scheduled for March 1st at the Texas Star Conference Centre. VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors There was no input from the audience. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. Chairman Attest