The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1997-04-07 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND LEISURE SERVICES BOARD April 7, 1997 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Leisure Services Board was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 1997, in the Council Chambers of the Euless Municipal Building by Chairman Richard McNeese. Other Board Members present were: Eric Owens, Jerry Robinson, Stacey Hollinger, Bruce Ebert, alternates Boyce Byers and Carl Miller. Glendora Waldrup was absent. Staff members present were: Community Services Director Rick Herold, Parks and Leisure Services Manager Julia Wakeley, Parks Superintendent Johnnie Green, Athletic Coordinator Andy Cedillo, Program Coordinator Heidi Hulin, Youth Development Coordinator Tim O'Connell and Administrative Secretary Linda Lux. Visitors present were: Council Member Leon Hogg INVOCATION The invocation was given by Eric Owens. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman McNeese asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes from the March 3, 1997 regular meeting. Chairman McNeese advised the Board there was a correction to Page 1, Call To Order, which should have read"....Monday, March 3, 1997....". Jerry Robinson made the motion to approve the minutes as corrected and was seconded by Carl Miller. The vote was unanimous. AWARDS PRESENTATION There were no awards presented this month. Rick Herold introduced the new Community Services staff members: Andy Cedillo, Athletic Coordinator, is a graduate of Texas Tech and from San Angelo, Texas. He previously worked for the City of Lubbock, City of Dallas and was a Special Events Supervisor for the City of Grand Prairie prior to joining the City of Euless. Tim O'Connell, Youth Development Coordinator, is a graduate of Indiana University and from Chicago, Illinois. He previously chaired the Special Olympics in Illinois and worked with inter city youths. He was previously the Program Coordinator for the Metropolitan Dade County Parks and Recreation Department in Miami, Florida, prior to joining the City of Euless. • Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 2 April 7, 1997 Heidi Hulin, Program Coordinator, is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. She previously worked for the City of Hurst for two years and was a Recreation Specialist II for the City of Plano for three years prior to joining the City of Euless staff. OLD BUSINESS L Board Members Reports Mr. Miller stated he had not had the opportunity to visit McCormick Park but was very impressed with the Villages of Bear Creek. He mentioned that one of the drinking fountains was not working but the park overall was very clean and had high usage recently. Mrs. Waldrup stated J.A. Can Park was in good shape and has been frequented by many senior citizens out walking. She mentioned the gazebo looked good and the roses had been pruned in the park. Mrs. Waldrup stated she did not go to Kiddie Can Park. Mr. Ebert stated Midway has had very high usage and lots of ball players on the fields. He mentioned the playground equipment needs some touchup painting and the plastic has faded. He further stated the recreation center(on the ends of the building)has calcium buildup on the exterior walls. Mr. Ebert stated Blessing Branch Park looked nice and is beneficial to the surrounding apartments and tenants. Mr. Owens stated that both Westpark and Wilshire parks were looking very good and there had been much activity and usage at Westpark compared to Wilshire Park. Mr. Robinson reported much progress had been made at the athletic complex. He said it was coming along fine, the roofs are on, lots of work activity and is looking very good. Mrs. Byers stated Bob Eden Park looked good, but the hole was still there and the crew has been doing a very good job of maintaining the park. She mentioned Trailwood Park was also in good condition. Mr. Hollinger stated both South Euless and Ruth Millican parks were both in good shape. Mr. McNeese reported the Easter Egg Hunt was recently held and there was a very good turnout of children. He also mentioned he has a schedule for the Tree Booth during Arbor Daze and asked the Board to please sign-up to work during the festival. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 3 April 7, 1997 NEW BUSINESS Parks Report Rick Herold, Director of Community Services, advised the Board that he is very excited about the new staff members and stated they have been doing a great job since coming on board. Mr. Herold gave a brief summary of the construction projects now in progress. A. Texas Star Athletics Complex- sand volleyball courts are now in, lights are up on the soccer area, chain link fencing in, concession area is in, concrete pathways have been poured, pavilion has been completed, split rail fencing on the exterior and hopes to sod all the ball fields before long. B. Golf Course - opens on May 22nd, staff is presently working out of a trailer, pavilion should be completed soon, May 7th is Media Day,the rain has taken a tremendous toll on the course, there will be two opening days invitation for tournaments(May 19th and 20th) and the Park Board members will be invited to play. C. Trails - our engineering staff is handling this project and should be completed after the first of the new year. D. Pool contracts have been let. E. User Fees-tough issue for discussion, cities need to recover their costs of expenses for nonresident users. Mr. Herold stated these issues need to be discussed and will be presented to the City Council at the meeting on April 8th. F. Recreation Center- the recreation center will be closed for two weeks after school starts in order to make improvements and they will also be surveying all users of the facility. G. Trail System- Blessing Branch will someday be a city wide trail system, the signage (and color) at the parks has been approved by the engineering department. Bob Eden Park will be paved in the near future. H. Parks at Texas Star- Johnnie Green and his staff has been working at the Parks but there is some concern with the additional twenty (20) in-house projects that his staff will be needed elsewhere. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 4 April 7, 1997 Mr.Herold mentioned he has met with two professors and some graduate students from the University of North Texas and the students plan to do a demographic study during Arbor Daze as well as doing an evaluation of the Parks Department. II. Leisure Services Report Julia Wakeley, Parks and Leisure Services Manager, stated the H-E-B Showcase was held on Saturday, April 5th with an Arbor Daze booth being sponsored. The Lions Club sponsored the Easter Egg Hunt this year. Baseball season has now kicked-off The Arbor Daze Gala Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, April 17th, 7:00 p.m. with a Cajun catfish dinner being held at the Midway Recreation Center. Heidi Hulin is putting together a Special Edition called "The Star" which will replace the Leisure Times with the new brochure being sent out quarterly. III. Business of the Tree Board Chairman McNeese stated that to date 42,167 trees have been planted. He mentioned the Tree Board should meet their goal of 50,000 trees during Arbor Daze (April 18th - 20th). Some of the trees being given away at Arbor Daze are Chinese pistachio, red oaks and live oaks. He further stated he has the Arbor Daze Tree schedule for the tree booth and would like for each of the members to please sign-up to work during the festival. IV. Other New Business Chairman McNeese stated there was not any new business for discussion. V. Input from City Council Members and Visitors Council Member Leon Hogg stated he added another tree to the previous count when he gave his son an apple tree to be planted in their yard in Hurst. He also mentioned there would be three (3) police towers at Arbor Daze sponsored by Western American National Bank, Dr. Stephen O'Brien and the Euless Lions Club. Councilman Hogg mentioned contracts have been let on utilities movement. Construction should start in the near future for Westpark Way, Highway 157 from S.H. 121 to Airport Freeway and also the utilities will be moved on North Main Street no widening of street but a turning lane will be added. Parks and Leisure Services Board Page 5 April 7, 1997 ADJOURNMENT Chairman McNeese gave the benediction. There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m. 3./-• _;;;;;`) C irman Attest