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Home My WebLink About2002-05-06 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD MAY 6, 2002 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Monday, May 6, 2002, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present: Carl Miller, Stacey Hollinger, Boyce Byers, and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott and Mike Daniel. Board Members Bruce Ebert and Glendora Waldrup were absent. Staff members present: Director of Community Services Rick Herold and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present: Bryan Klein with Hoover/Klein Group, Helen and Jimmy Payton and Alex Horton. INVOCATION Stacey Hollinger gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the April 8, 2002 regular meeting. There being no changes Boyce Byers 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 the Special Event of the month was Arbor Daze and it was very crowded, good weather and wonderful entertainment. He said he also visited the Celebrity Chef Cooking Theatre tent and there were many people in attendance during the scheduled shows. Mr. Scott also praised Johnnie Green and his staff on how nice Bob Eden Park is now looking since the recent road widening. Mrs. Byers said Heritage Park looks great as always and said there will soon be a garden with corn and cabbage that was recently planted. She said that South Euless Park was nice and very clean. She also noticed some type of vehicle had bent the railing on the bridge. Mrs. Byers said she also went by the new Parks Department building and it will be a very nice facility when completed. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 May 6, 2002 Mr. Hollinger said both J. A. Carr and Kiddy Carr parks were in great shape and looked good. Mr. Miller said Westpark looks extremely nice and Wilshire Park also looks good. He said a citizen expressed a concern regarding the possibility of children falling into the fishing pond. Mr. Daniel said everything looked good at McCormick Park but noticed a tree by the sidewalk that needs trimming. At Villages of Bear Creek Park there had been more erosion from the recent rains and said this is a very busy park with lots of apartment residents. Chairman Owens said both Midway and Blessing Branch parks looked good but he noticed that the water fountain on one of the ball fields was not working. He said he recently went to Nebraska City, Nebraska to attend the National Arbor Day Celebration. Chairman Owens said Euless received the National Arbor Day Celebration Award for 2001 for the second time and we previously received the award in 1994. He said this was a very nice trip with a great weekend at the old lodge, a tour of the Arbor Day Apple Farm and a parade for all the award winners as well as an awards banquet. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens stated there was not a Volunteer of the Month for May due to the busy schedule in April preparing for Arbor Daze. Mr. Herold stated there would be two for the June meeting. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board Chairman Owens stated that Tree Board Chairman Ebert was absent tonight but Vice-Chairman Carl Miller would give the report. Vice-Chairman Miller said there were 10,000 trees given away during Arbor Daze plus an additional 2,600 trees given away at the Arbor Daze children's tree game. The free trees given away this year at Arbor Daze included Chinese Pistache, Water Oak, Shumard Red Oak, Bald Cypress and Thornless Honey Locust. The children played a game and won a tree and then planted the tree in a pot to take home. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 May 6, 2002 IV. Beautification Award of the Month Chairman Owens advised the Board and audience that tonight was the first awards for the new Beautification Award of the Month program. The Sub-Committee consists of Boyce Byers, Carroll Scott, Johnnie Green, Jimmy Beck and Tim Rolen. He said the first Residential Award goes to Helen and Jimmy Payton, 302 Oak Lane, and he presented them with a framed letter of recognition. Chairman Owens said the first Business/Civic/Governmental Award goes to the First Baptist Church of Euless. Mr. Herold said that when you have citizens making improvements to their property, then it makes others in the city also take pride in their own yards. V. Parks at Texas Star Development Committee Update Chairman Owens advised the Board Members that the committee did not meet in April but one will be scheduled for the end of this month. The next meeting will involve a site visit of new athletic complexes and new park designs. VI. Parks Master Plan Adoption—Hoover/Klein Group Mr. Herold wanted to express thanks to the Hoover/Klein Group for all their hard work on the Parks Master Plan and their help with the grant process. Bryan Klein with the Hoover/Klein Group mentioned that we have been working on the Master Plan for the last two years. He said there were some minor changes made to the plan to coincide with our pending parks grant. He said a public hearing has been scheduled for the City Council meeting of May 14 and after the hearing, he would send the Parks Master Plan to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in Austin for any additional comments before applying for the grant. Mr. Klein said this time frame would allow for any changes we receive to the plan from the TPWD be made in order to bring back to the City Council for adoption in June and then to meet the grant deadline of July 31, 2002. Chairman Owens asked if the Board would like to make a recommendation to City Council. Carl Miller made the motion to recommend and accept the Parks Master Plan with the noted changes for submission to City Council. Mike Daniel seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Herold said he would appreciate it if any of the Board Members could attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 14m. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 May 6, 2002 VII. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Community Services Report—Rick Herold Mr. Herold said Suzanne Hendrickson told him that all 6-summer camps are already full and all lifeguards have been hired for the pools this summer. He said there will be a going away party for Head Golf Pro Duff Cunningham on May 22nd at 7:00 p.m. at the Texas Star. He said Duff would be going to Glen Rose to oversee two golf courses, which are owned by the county. Mr. Herold said the punch list is being done presently on the new Parks Department facility and the staff will be moving into the facility within the next thirty days. He said Arbor Daze was again a great success with Saturday being the second biggest day ever and Sunday the largest ever. Mr. Herold said there was a problem with the coupons and all 900,000 coupons sold had to be hand counted, which took four and a half days. He said the new addition of the Celebrity Chefs was a great success and there were many that attended the free demonstrations. He said Euless received lots of Arbor Daze promotions/advertisements from the three radio stations prior to Arbor Daze. He said staff is working on an appreciation day for everyone involved with Arbor Daze this year. Mr. Herold also thanked Carl Miller for Euless not having to pay for the usage of the South Euless Elementary gym while the recreation center was closed for remodeling. VIII. Other New Business There was no new business for discussion. IX. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Alex Horton distributed a thank you letter to the Board Members regarding the first Arbor Daze Celebrity Chefs Theatre thanking all the staff for making everything a great success. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Chairman Attest //