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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-08-09 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD August 9, 1999 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:07 p.m. on Monday, August 9, 1999, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present were: Boyce Byers, Glendora Waldrup and Mike Daniel. Members absent were Carl Miller, Stacey Hollinger, Bruce Ebert and alternate Thomas Jenkins. Staff members present were: Director of Community Services Rick Herold, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Leisure Services Manager Julia Wakeley and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present were: Fred Violette (Euless Athletic Association), Kent Spradlin(Euless Girls Softball Association), Doug McGrady(Bedford Euless Soccer Association), Billy Owens (American Association of Retired Persons) and Council Member Leon Hogg and wife Jan. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Mike Daniel. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the June 7, 1999 regular meeting. There being no changes Mike Daniel made the motion to approve the minutes as written and was seconded by Boyce Byers. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Members' Reports Mr. Daniel stated both Midway and Blessing Branch parks look good and there has been less activity due to the excessive heat. Mrs. Byers said both McCormick and Villages of Bear Creek parks look great despite the busy weekend. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 August 9, 1999 Mrs. Waldrup said the special events which were held were: (1)the Dixie Pre-Majors World Series tournament which had 12 states attending, the games were exciting, excellent organization by staff and the volunteers, lots of involvement and appreciated the staffs extra work during this time. (2) The musical "Bye, Bye Birdie"was very successful and had the highest attendance ever for a musical. (3) The Collegiate Players Tour (CPT) is presently being held and there are 24 states and Mexico being represented during this golf tournament for college golfers. Mrs. Waldrup said she recently drove by Sulphur Branch Park and the xeriscape which had been designed and implemented looks very good and thanked Mr. Green and his staff for all their help with the park and asked that the Board Members drive by and look at the park. Mr. Owens stated his parks are Westpark and Wilshire. He said Wilshire pool closed over the weekend now that school is open and said the renovations at Westpark look good and the park is clean but dry due to the excessive heat. NEW BUSINESS II. Parks Master Plan Reports Director of Community Services Rick Herold said he was glad all the representatives from the necessary associations were present in order that they could update the Board on their athletic needs for the proposed updating of the Parks Master Plan. a. E.A.A. (Euless Athletic Association) Fred Violette with E.A.A. stated this year the association may have close to 1,000 kids registering to play baseball. He said Parks Superintendant Johnnie Green has had all the necessary ball fields ready anytime they were to play. He said this year by fall there may be between 90 and 100 teams playing on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday. He said E.A.A. needs as many playing fields and practice fields that they can get there hands on, even vacant lots for practicing are now at a premium. b. E.G.S.A. (Euless Girls Softball Association) Kent Spradlin with E.G.S.A. said his registration numbers at the present time are down but they also are in need of fields to play on. They will play on Thursday and Friday on three fields at the Parks at Texas Star (70% of their games are at the Parks) and use Westpark ball fields on Monday and Tuesday nights. He said in the past they had a problem with the lights at Westpark Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 August 9, 1999 turning off earlier than the games. Mr. Herold stated there was a short in the lights but they have now been repaired. Mr. Spradlin said Parks Superintendant Johnnie Green had been good about taking care of them and the needed fields. c. B.E.S.A. (Bedford Euless Soccer Association) Doug McGrady with B.E.S.A. was present and stated the soccer assoication has increased every year. In spring of 1999 registration was up to 1896 and the fall registration has just opened with two weeks remaining and the registration is presently at 1474 and they will more than likely surpass the spring registration figures. He said the soccer association is hurting for practice fields and they will play mostly on Saturdays and some Sundays with a small amount of play during the week. At the Villages of Bear Creek where their younger children play, the fields are overused by the public and non-B.E.S.A. teams. Mrs. Waldrup suggested the city consider issuing permits to all users of soccer fields so the police department would be able to enforce and/or police the fields since there has been problems with unauthorized uses of the fields from other neighboring cities. Mr. Herold advised him and the Board the proposed Master Plan calls for three large fields to be built in the next phase. Mr. McGrady said they would use as many fields as they could get especially with the high volume of tournaments that will be played. He also asked for portable bleachers which could be moved around for the smaller kids tournaments instead of permanet seating. Mr. McGrady further stated the association would rather have three or four large soccer fields instead of the smaller fields because the larger fields can be used to accommodate two or three games for the smaller kids on one large playing field. d. A.A.R.P. (American Association of Retired Persons) Billy Owens was present representing the President of A.A.R.P. He passed out A.A.R.P.'s rules to the Board Members and said the present facilities at Carr Park are great and the seniors use the facilities every day. He said A.A.R.P. uses the facilities every Thursday night and they are very appreciatitive of the recent remodel to the building but did ask that the building not be cut up any more on the inside. He said the associations requests are: (1)that the building be preserved as a historic building, (2) that the creek./drainage area could be utilized more as a pastorial park with a dam/pond of water, (3)the jogging trail be enhanced and the volleyball court be removed and (4) that the parking lot could be enlarged and improved so cars can park on the site instead of in the street. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 August 9, 1999 III. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Ebert was absent so Chairman Owens gave the highlights of the Tree Report. IV. Leisure Services Report Leisure Services Manager Julia Wakeley stated the summer musical had record crowds this year and a again a success. The swimming pools at South Euless and Wilshire have closed over the past weekend but Midway is still open after 3:00 p.m. until Labor Day. The fall brochure The Star is on schedule and should be mailed out the end of the month. The Dixie Pre-Majors World Series opening ceremony was very successful and many compliments were received. Mrs. Byers said there were no injuries during the tournament and all the attending states were very complimentary of the Parks at Texas Star and the great hospitality everyone received during the event. V. Parks Report Johnnie Green, Parks Superintendent, asked the Board if they had any questions regarding the Tree Report. He gave the Board an update on the recent egret issues and said the egrets have been nesting on property that is owned by the school district . The property is located at the intersection of Midway and International Drive passed the soccer practice fields and the school district will need to obtain a permit to clean up the sight in September or October when the egrets are through nesting. Many of the local surrounding residents have complained about the messy egrets but they cannot be distrubed during the nesting season and any cleanup will have to wait until they have left the area. Mr. Green also mentioned the recent hazardous tree list has almost been completed. He said the last two months has been very busy for the Parks staff and he also thanked the H-E-B school district for all there help with the Dixie Pre-Majors World Series tournament during the last couple of weeks. He also said there were 59 teams for the state playoffs at Softball World during the same weekend as the Dixie tournament. Billy Owens complimented the Parks Department crew with keeping the creek cleaned down in Can Park. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 August 9, 1999 VI. Community Services Report Rick Herold, Director of Community Services, apologized to City Council Member Hogg for his conduct at the Dixie Pre-Majors World Series and thanked him for his long standing support of the department. He also stated he was proud of the sense of volunteerism in the city and expressed his thanks for all the volunteers who helped with the Dixie Pre-Majors World Series. He thanked all the associations for coming tonight and expressing their needs for the future master plan and stated he wants all the associations to reap the rewards for the neccessary facilities for all the kids in the community. He also advised the audience of the many events which were held recently which included the Dixie Pre-Majors World Series, the summer musical "Bye, Bye Birdie" and the college golfers Collegiate Players Tour(CPT)which was presently being held at the golf course. He also mentioned the coach for the Georgia team said this was the best facility ever and was very impressed with all the nice people who were involved to make it a great success for them and all the teams attending. Chairman Owens also thanked all the associations for their attendance and input and hopes in the near future to have all the association facilities in one central location. VII. Other New Business Mr. Daniels asked what the policy is on attendance for Board Members? Mrs. Waldrup suggested that maybe the Chairman should contact members who have been asbsent and see if there are any problems as to why they cannot attend meetings. Mrs. Byers asked if at the September meeting the Board might consider changing the name of the area for Ruth Millican to another park name since we now have the Fuller House and may in the future have the Himes House also moved to this area. Mrs. Waldrup asked the status of the Himes House project. Council Member Hogg said the property owners want the City to buy both the house and land but the City is only interested in the house. Mrs. Wadrup also inquired as to the status of the Tree Ordinance. Chairman Owens said he wants the revised changes brought back to the Board before the ordinance goes to City Council. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 August 9, 1999 VIII. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Hogg stated City Council went to the budget retreat over the weekend and they approved the bus for the seniors and also the wooden floor for the gym at the Rec Center. He also commented on the great job with the Dixie World Series and the Collegiate Players tournaments. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Chairman Attest