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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-09-10 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD SEPTEMBER 10, 2001 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Monday, September 10, 2001, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present were: Glendora Waldrup, Stacey Hollinger, Carl Miller and alternates Carroll "Scotty" Scott and Mike Daniel. Members absent were: Boyce Byers and Bruce Ebert. 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, Athletic/Aquatic Supervisor Chris Thames and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present were: John Moore, Anita Young, Bryan Klein, Tim Rolen and Council Member Leon Hogg. INVOCATION Stacey Hollinger gave the invocation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the August 6, 2001 regular meeting. It was mentioned that in Item No. 4 on Page 3 it should have read "Presentation by Euless Resident Mr. Mike Utzman." Glendora Waldrup made the motion to approve the minutes with the noted correction and was seconded by Carroll Scott. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Member's Reports Mr. Scott said at J. A. Carr Park the grass is high due to all the rain and the roses need pruning. Also he feels the gazebo should be washed down more than once or twice each month. At Kiddy Carr Park there was again trash and debris in the creek area from the recent rains. He also noticed a makeshift shack where someone has possibly been living. Mr. Scott asked if there was a way to link the walking trail into this park from J. A. Carr Park? Mr. Herold and Chairman Owens said this would be a security issue due to there being no lights for the walkers. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 September 10, 2001 Mr. Hollinger said both McCormick and Villages of Bear Creek parks were in good shape but also needs mowing due to the recent rains. Mrs. Waldrup said both Midway and Blessing Branch parks had high grass from the recent rains. She also said the new playground equipment looks good at Midway Park. Mr. Miller said The Parks at Texas Star complex looks great as always. Chairman Owens said Heritage Park looks good and has a new irrigation system. At South Euless Park there was dirt on the tennis courts and the creek has some washed out areas from the rain. Mr. Green said with school now being in session they are having a problem with the new irrigation system and trying to hydro-mulch because the school is using the park for recess. Mr. Miller said that at the present time South Euless Elementary is using the park as a playground area since they have no playground due to school expansion. Mr. Daniel said Westpark is very clean but also needs mowing and he had no report tonight for Wilshire Park. II. Volunteer of the Month Chairman Owens presented the September Volunteer of the Month to John Moore. Mr. Moore has spent many hours helping at Arbor Daze at the main stage ticket booth. He also teaches water aerobics and line dancing to the seniors as well as teaching classes to the children. Chairman Owens thanked Mr. Moore for all his work in the community. NEW BUSINESS III. Business of the Tree Board—Bruce Ebert Tree Board Vice-Chairman Carl Miller said there were only two trees planted and they were expensive trees. Mrs. Waldrup inquired as to why the Tree Ordinance was not in the packets. She said the Board spent many hours working on the draft ordinance and feels this should be pursued. Mr. Herold said he was notified late Thursday evening that Development was still making some changes and he felt that when Development had made all the necessary changes then the ordinance would again be brought back to the Board. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 September 10, 2001 IV. Parks Master Plan Update—Bryan Klein Mr. Bryan Klein with The Hoover/Klein Group, Inc. was present in order to update the Board on the status of the Parks Master Plan. He stated the draft was sent to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPW) in Austin and comments were returned. He said some of the suggestions/comments expressed from TPW which would be necessary in proceeding with formal implementation for a grant would be: (1) Resolution; (2) Demographic Information; (3) Plan Development Process which includes a public hearing, and (4) an Implementation Plan and Prioritization of Needs Listing. Mr. Klein stated TPW requests that projects be broken down into smaller elements and then listed in rank order of priority/need. He also mentioned that a work session would be needed in order to break down the projects and prioritize them before submittal. V. Parks and Community Services Reports a. Fiscal Affairs—Gary Yakesch Community Services Finance Manager Gary Yakesch distributed a handout to the Board Members. He gave a quick overview of the community services finances for FY 2001. He also updated the Board on the FY 2002 budget requests that were recently approved by the City Council. b. Year-end Review of The Parks at Texas Star—Chris Thames Athletic/Aquatic Supervisor Chris Thames distributed a handout showing the 2001 usage report for The Parks at Texas Star. He said The Parks had been very busy all spring and summer with 15 tournaments and 513 teams as well as 760 league games. There were also a couple of sports/training camps that were held this summer. c. Recreation Classes and Midway Rec Center Report—Suzanne Hendrickson Recreation Superintendent Suzanne Hendrickson distributed a Relocation Fact Sheet where residents can go while Midway Recreation Center is being remodeled. She said walkers will be able to use the Dr Pepper StarCenter and basketball players can use South Euless Elementary. Users of the weight room/fitness center may go to Stroud's Fitness Center in Hurst. All fall classes have been relocated to various centers in the community services department. Ms. Hendrickson said the planned upgrade work for FY Budget 2002 will take place now due to the closing of Midway Recreation Center. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 September 10, 2001 Mr. Herold congratulated Suzanne and her staff for the wonderful job with rescheduling everything from classes to fitness users. He also thanked Carl Miller and Principal Mancino at South Euless Elementary for their effort on opening the basketball court for resident users. Ms. Hendrickson mentioned the Halloween event on October 31st has been moved to the City Hall courtyard but in the event of rain then would be moved to the Library. d. Wilshire Park Status Report—Johnnie Green Superintendent of Parks Johnnie Green distributed recent pictures of the Wilshire Park project. He said even with the rains there has been lots of grade work and the project is progressing. He also stated new rail fencing is presently being installed at Heritage Park. Mr. Herold said we should do some kind of kick-off after Wilshire Park is completed. e. Community Services Report—Rick Herold Mr. Herold said he appreciated all the staffs' hard work and reports this evening. Chairman Owens said the pictures are a real addition to the packets and everyone enjoys them. VI. Other New Business Chairman Owens stated he would be out-of-town for the October 1st meeting. VII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Leon Hogg reminded the Board of the new Police Department building opening on October 27th and stated this would be a citywide open house. He further stated there is also going to be a bus for touring other city facilities. Council Member Hogg advised the Board that he had requested a simpler Tree Ordinance and that it not intrude on property owners rights. He said Development is still making some changes to the ordinance before it comes to the Board. Mrs. Waldrup said we need a Tree Ordinance that is manageable. Council Member Hogg mentioned City Council would be voting on the North Main Street utilities at the Tuesday meeting. He said Council would decide whether to push the utilities back or if they should be put underground which would be very costly. He also stated all the houses on the west side of North Main Street from Midway Drive to Harwood would be demolished for the widening. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 September 10, 2001 ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct,the meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Chairman Attest