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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-10-01 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD OCTOBER 1,2001 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 1, 2001, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Vice- Chairman Glendora Waldrup. Other Board Members present were: Stacey Hollinger, Boyce Byers, Bruce Ebert and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott and Mike Daniel. Members absent were: Carl Miller and Chairman Eric Owens. Staff members present were: Director of Community Services Rick Herold, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Superintendent of Recreation Suzanne Hendrickson, Community Services Finance Manager Gary Yakesch, Recreation Manager Ray McDonald, Volunteer Coordinator Jerry Poteet and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present were: Andy and Debi Chesney, Council Member Leon Hogg and Tim Rolen. INVOCATION Mike Daniel gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice-Chairman Waldrup asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the September 10, 2001 regular meeting. There being no changes Carroll Scott made the motion to approve the minutes as presented and was seconded by Boyce Byers. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Ebert said both Bob Eden and Trailwood parks look beautiful and well groomed. He did notice a large broken tree limb on the trail area and said the water fountains at both parks were stopped up. Mr. Hollinger said there had been lots of activity at Villages of Bear Creek Park and was in good shape. He had no report for McCormick Park. Mr. Scott said he was still concerned about the bird droppings in the gazebo area at J. A. Carr Park. He further said the roses are not looking good and the portable restroom needs emptying. At Kiddy Carr Park there was trash and beer cans back along the fence. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 October 1, 2001 Mr. Daniel mentioned that Westpark is in great condition and the playground equipment looks good. Wilshire Park also looks good. Mrs. Waldrup stated Midway Park looks good and there were many people in the park today. She also mentioned both the tennis courts and ball fields look good. She had no report for Blessing Branch Park. Mrs. Byers said the only special event was the American Heart Walk this past weekend with about 400 people attending. Mr. Hollinger said The Parks at Texas Star complex is in great shape with the exception of the women's restroom being dirty(per his wife). II. Spirit of Life Award (Andy & Debi Chesney)—Rick Herold Mr. Herold presented Andy and Debi Chesney with the Spirit of Life Award for all their work with the city. He said both Andy and Debi have been helping our department for the past fifteen or twenty years. They both go above and beyond to help in the community and have never asked anything in return. Mr. Herold said they recently helped our department by taking one of their large flatbed trucks and hauling the wood flooring from Reunion Arena(which was to be placed on top of the ice rink) to the Dr Pepper StarCenter for the `Taste of Northeast'. Andy and his staff also returned the flooring back to Reunion Arena as soon as the event ended. Mr. Herold said both Debi and Andy are very much appreciated by our department as well as by the community. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board—Bruce Ebert Tree Board Chairman Ebert said there were thirty trees recently purchased. Mr. Green said the trees were purchased for different landscaping projects as well as some median areas where previous trees had been lost. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 October 1, 2001 IV. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Midway Recreation Update—Ray McDonald Recreation Manager Ray McDonald advised the Board that City Manager Joe Hennig received a second opinion on the Midway Recreation Center mold issue. The second opinion stated the mold is not as bad as originally thought and most equipment and/or items in the center can be cleaned using Clorox and water. Mr. McDonald said while the recreation center is presently closed they will go ahead and do all the upgrades and remodeling which had already been approved by City Council. Some of the major repairs include new air conditioning units and roof repairs. b. Class/Program Update—Suzanne Hendrickson Superintendent of Recreation Suzanne Hendrickson distributed a handout with: (1) comparative membership sales for the last couple of years; (2) monthly membership figures for the last year; (3) recreation center visits for 2000-2001; (4) summer class enrollments; and (5) facility usage for 2000-2001. Ms. Hendrickson also distributed a handout showing all the outside locations for members to use while the recreation center is being remodeled. She said she recently attended the TAAF Conference and the city received two awards. The first was the Silver Member City Award and the second award went to her for her five years service with TAAF. c. Volunteer Program Update, `What to Expect in `02' —Jerry Poteet Volunteer Coordinator Jerry Poteet advised the Board on the mission statement and goals and objectives of the volunteer program. He said his goal is to see how many citizens and businesses he can get involved in the program as well as forming good relationships with everyone involved. He mentioned he has also surveyed surrounding cities in order to obtain new ideas and see how they use volunteers in their respective communities. Mr. Poteet said he is trying to implement an incentive program for all volunteers involved. He said he also sends flyers out in the water billings as well as attending monthly apartment managers meetings, which is also a great way to inform residents living in apartments. He said the next event is the Halloween Thing on October 31st from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the City Hall location. d. Community Services Report—Rick Herold Mr. Herold said the city manager had a meeting with all directors and asked them to watch their budgets very closely for the first quarter due to the drop in the rental car facility. He said some projects for the new budget year would be temporarily frozen until further announced. Mr. Herold said the work on the Wilshire pond is really progressing. He mentioned to Mr. Scott that the Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 October 1, 2001 gazebo issue is a problem and he and staff is trying to correct the problem. He further mentioned the City Manager's office and the Development department is still reviewing the Tree Ordinance. He also commended staff for a wonderful job with re-scheduling all the fall recreation classes. Mr. Herold said John Johnson, the official Texas Star photographer, will be a guest on October 18th for the October Texas Star Member's function and said the Board would be receiving an invitation soon. He also informed the Board that Euless had won the "Governmental Award" for Arbor Daze from the Texas Forest Service, which will be held in Waco the end of this month. He said any Board Members wishing to attend should contact him for further information. He also reminded the Board of all the events in December, starting with: (1) the Christmas Parade — December 1st; (2) Christmas in Heritage Park — December 8th; (3) IceFest 2001 at the Dr Pepper StarCenter — December 15th; and(4)New Year's Eve party—December 30 Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green advised the Board that concrete would be poured this week at the new Parks Department facility now that everything underground had been completed. V. Other New Business Recreation Manager Ray McDonald mentioned the Heart Walk was this past weekend and the city received an award from the American Heart Association for being proactive in getting defibrillators installed at various city locations. Mrs. Byers also commented that Andy and Debi Chesney are long time residents of the community and she feels they have been overlooked as participants for volunteering. She said they have always been ready to help in any way possible. VI. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Leon Hogg said the tour for the new Police Department building has been moved to a later date and the Board would be notified as soon as the building is closer to completion. Mr. Herold mentioned that Director of Public Works Randy Byers recently received his thirty-year service pin at the City Council meeting. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 October 1, 2001 ADJOURNMENT Vice-Chairman Waldrup gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. hairman Attest