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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-06-07 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD June 7, 1999 `Qk CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, June 7, 1999, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Eric Owens. Other Board Members present were: Boyce Byers, Stacey Hollinger, Bruce Ebert, Carl Miller and alternates Thomas Jenkins and Mike Daniel. Members absent were Glendora Waldrup. Staff members present were: Director of Community Services Rick Herold, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Leisure Services Manager Julia Wakeley, Leisure Services Supervisor Suzanne Hendrickson, Recreation Specialist for Youth Kathye McCall and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present were: Council Member Leon Hogg INVOCATION The invocation was given by Bruce Ebert. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Owens asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from theMay 3, 1999 regular meeting. Chairman Owens noticed one change on Page 3, Item IV which should read"12,000 not 12,00 trees". There being no other corrections, Carl Miller made the motion to approve the minutes with the noted change and was seconded by Mike Daniel. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS I. Board Members' Reports Mr. Miller stated his parks are South Euless and Ruth Millican. He said everything looks good at Ruth Millican Park. At South Euless Elementary school is still under construction but the grass has finally taken off and is looking very good, the school has paved the lot and everything is looking good at the park. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 June 7, 1999 Mr. Daniel stated both Midway and Blessing Branch parks looked good. There has been lots of activity at Midway with very little at Blessing Branch. Mr. Hollinger has the Parks at Texas Star Athletic Complex. He has spent many hours this past week at the complex with the Jim Sundberg's Sports Training Academy. He said the camp was well organized and well staffed and said the complex had lots of activity with the academy, picnic lunches and other summer usage. He said there was an excellent write-up in the Hometown section of the Star-Telegram. Mr. Hollinger also mentioned some children were climbing on the statues and suggested maybe signs could be posted or something be done to keep the kids off Mrs. Byers said both McCormick and Villages of Bear Creek parks gooked great and she was very pleased with both. Mr. Ebert mentioned his parks are J. A. Can(Simmons) and Kiddy Carr. He said at Kiddy Can there was lots of dead branches by the compost pile, part of a fence by the apartments had fallen down and trash was collected against the fencing of the apartments. At J. A. Can the rose garden needs composting and weeding, grass is growing up on the volleyball court, there were dead trees in the park and lots of dead branches. He also mentioned the broken light poles need to removed. Mr. Ebert also said Sulphur Branch park needs to be mowed and he suggested that maybe the City Council could budget more money to the parks department for mowing and cleaning of all the city parks, since the parks department has such few staff members. He also asked when the parks staff would finish the planting at Sulphur Branch park, since the Monisdale residents have been calling him for a timetable for finishing the park landscaping. Council Member Hogg said he would relay Mr. Eberts's concerns to the City Council. Mr. Jenkins stated his parks are Bob Eden and Trailwood. He said Bob Eden Park has had lots of baseball activity and he noticed a missing board on the eight-foot fence. Mr. Jenkins stated there has not seen much activity at Trailwood Park but did ask if a fresh load of sand could be placed around the playground area. Mr. Owens stated his parks are Westpark and Wilshire Park. He said Wilshire pool has had lots of activity with swimmers. At Westpark he said the parking lot looks very nice but suggested a curb or temporary fencing be installed where the parking lot drops down. Mr. Green stated a temporary fence or cautionary sign would be put in as soon as possible. He also mentioned the irrigation system and sodding had been installed in the park area Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 June 7, 1999 NEW BUSINESS H. Community Services Staff Presentation Director of Community Services Rick Herold introduced Leisure Services Supervisor Suzanne Hendrickson to the Board. Suzanne was hired in March and was previously with the City of Carrollton and she supervises all the staff at Midway Recreation. Leisure Services Supervisor Suzanne Hendrickson said Midway Rec Center had been very busy with kids since school is now out. The day camp enrollment is full and the teacher for the camp is very organized. There has been lots of activity at the swimming pools and all the summer programs are doing good. Ms. Hendrickson stated she has hired some part-time employees and has promoted part-time employee Kathye McCall to full time and she has replaced Tim O'Connell as the Recreation Specialist for Youth Development. She also introduced Kathye to the Board and audience. Recreation Specialist Kathye McCall said she was hired as part time in February and she had previously worked for the cities of Tyler and Southlake. She has started working this week with the Teen Employee Work Program for the 13 and 14 year olds who are too young to work. This program is an introductory for them to become acquainted with job opportunities so they will have some choices when they do find jobs. Ms. McCall said the day camp program is full with a waiting list, the staff is great, camp coordinators are doing a good job and they have many field trips planned for the children. III. Ruth Millican Site Plan Director of Community Services Rick Herold handed out some copies of an aireal view of the site plan for the Ruth Millican Center. Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green said the area has access to all the necessary utilities and the site would feasiblly house the Himes House (log cabin). He said the Himes House is considerably smaller than the present Fuller House and there should be no problem with it being relocated to the new site. Council Member Hogg stated the maximum size of the log cabin is 20' x 20'. Mr. Miller made the recommendation that if the house was purchased then it should be relocated to the site of the Fuller House area. Mr. Daniel seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 June 7, 1999 IV. Parks Master Plan Projects Director of Community Services Rick Herold distributed a list of parkland classifications which breaks down the city parks into neighborhood, community, major, linear/greenbelt and special purpose parks. Also a handout was distributed for the area standards for acreage in the different classifications. Mr. Herold stated more information would be mailed to them after the July 4th holiday for discussion at the August 2nd meeting. V. Business of the Tree Board Tree Board Chairman Ebert mentioned the horticulture crew had planted some trees at the Library. One of the trees planted was a memorial to the Daughters of the War of 1812.. A small ceremony was held on May 8th and Arborist Ralph Klein gave some closing comments about the War of 1812. Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green briefed the Board on the update of hazardous trees in the City and said the list was about 43% completed. He said some of the trees had scraped the tops of the fire trucks knocking the top bubbles off as well as breaking the windshield on one truck. He also said with the new fire trucks being built the clearance now needed to be at least 18' high. Mr. Green also mentioned with the recent high winds the City lost some trees at Midway, Simmons Center and Villages of Bear Creek parks. Tree Board Chairman Ebert suggested since this is a hazardous condition and ranks as a top priority requiring parks to handle as soon as possible, then maybe City Council should fund additional monies for handling. Mr. Herold also updated the Board on the status of the Tree Ordinance. He said the ordinance went to the Planning and Zoning worksession and some of the staff mentioned the ordinance is too restrictive and felt that any potential developers wanting to build in the City might think twice before doing so. Council Member Hogg said some of the Council as well as some staff members felt the proposed draft Tree Ordinance was very restrictive and they felt the ordinance should be redone with only minor adjustments. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 June 7, 1999 VI. Leisure Services Report Leisure Services Manager Julia Wakeley distributed Dixie Pre-Majors World Series T-shirts to each member of the Board. She mentioned the dates of July 30 through August 4 for the World Series and stated volunteers would be needed to help with the function. We will have teams from about twelve states attending the tournaments. Mrs. Wakeley also mentioned"The Star" brochure had been mailed out and summer registration is up, as well as attendance to the swimming pools which is averaging about 239 visitors per day. The summer musical`Bye Bye Birdie" opens with shows on July 30th and 31st and again on August 6th and 7th at the Villages of Bear Creek Park Amphitheater. The musical competition was held June 4th and 5th and all competitors were cast in the summer musical. Mrs. Wakeley also mentioned the dates for the Collegiate Players Tournament will be held from August 9th through August 12th and said volunteers would be needed for this tournament. Community Services Director Rick Herold said the Dixie teams will be staying at the Holiday Inn in Bedford since Euless does not have enough rooms for all the teams. The Holiday Inn will be buying breakfast for all the team players and coaches while they are here attending the tournament. He said the Dixie officials will be arriving on Thursday, July 29th and will have dinner at the Raven's Grille to meet City Council, Park Board and other city officials. VII. Parks Report Johnnie Green, Parks Superintendent, asked the Board if they had any questions regarding the Tree Report. He said the Boy Scouts would be at the Villages of Bear Creek all day long for the next two weeks. The Police Department has started their summer camp at Bob Eden Park. The girls kickball tournament is scheduled for the July 4th weekend at Softball World. Mr. Green said all the parks are being utlilized now that summer is here. Mr. Herold said they hope to contract out all mowing for city complexes which would relieve staff and they would have more time to improve facilities, pruning and trimming trees. He also said the repair of all lights in the parks was in the new budget request. VIII. Community Services Report Rick Herold, Director of Community Services, stated he had no further reports this evening. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 6 June 7, 1999 IX. Other New Business Mr. Ebert stated about four months ago he went before the Morrisdale Homeowners Association regarding the landscaping of Sulphur Branch Park and said he is now receiving calls regarding the status of the proposed landscaping. Mr. Herold advised Mr. Ebert the seasonal landscaping is not feasible due to not having access to any water lines but they can do xeriscaping on the property. Mr. Ebert asked for a timetable on doing the project and Mr. Herold stated it would be better to complete the project in the fall months since there is so much activity during the summer months. Mr. Hollinger said there is a problem with smoking on the ballfields and asks that signs be put up around the fields. Mr. Herold said they would check with other cities on their ordinances regarding smoking on ballfields. Mr. Daniel mentioned while at the batting cages there were some kids not wearing helmets and also the concession stand was closing early before the games ended. Mr. Herold said he would check into the matter for him. Mrs. Byers made the motion to have Chairman Owens write a letter to the City Council asking for consideration of funding for the mowing contract and for its approval. Mr. Daniel seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. X. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Hogg stated he and City Council felt the proposed Tree Ordinance was too extreme and would hurt future developers. He said Council was concerned with trees which were 24" and larger. Council Member Hogg also said budget retreat is coming up in early August and the Council will be looking at the proposed budget which will be tight this year. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Owens gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. C airma Attest Zde,,,o,„/