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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-08-14 Regular Meeting Park and Recreation Board August 14, 1978 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Park and Recreation Board was called to order at 7:45 p.m. , in the Council Chambers of Euless City Hall by Chairman Don Calhoun. Other members present were Messrs. Billy Owens, Winn Porter and Matt Cushing. (Absent were Mesdms. Jolly Rawlings and Zella Stierwalt.) Also present were Parks and Recreation Coordinator Larry Morgan, Bob Phillips, Julia Wakeley, and City Secretary Della Houy. VISITORS Visitor in attendance was Mrs. Willie Mae McCormick. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Mr. Don Calhoun. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Porter moved that the minutes of the meeting of July 10, 1978, be approved as written. Mr. Cwens seconded the motion and the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Porter, Owens, Calhoun, and Cushing Nays: None Chairman Calhoun declared the motion carried. PARK AND RECREATION COORDINATOR'S REPORT PARK PROGRAM Mr. Morgan stated that the summer program is drawing to a close and he would like for Mr. Phillips to report on the summer work that was done in the parks. Mr. Phillips stated they have been working at Carr Park installing a rail fence next to Simmons Drive to protect the joggers and to give them a little more privacy. They have cleaned out all the (Page Two, Regular Meeting, Park and Recreation Board, August 14, 1978) debris from the creek, cleaned around the trees and made it look real nice and clean down there. He stated they have started resurfacing the jogging trail , making it a little wider. Mr. Philips stated they are to begin reseed- ing the baseball fields at Westpark, getting them ready for the soccer season. He stated they are going to seed rye grass on these fields. Mr. Phillips stated they are going to reseed the baseball fields in Midway Park, if there are enough funds. He stated they are getting these fields in shape for the softball leagues that are beginning. Mr. Phillips stated they are mowing, edging and watering. They have stopped watering except for the baseball fields and around city hall . Mr. Porter inquired what they are resurfacing the jogging trail with? Mr. Phillips stated they are resurfacing it with sawdust shavings. Mr. Owens stated the fence makes the park look a lot nicer. Mr. Morgan stated they have built a shelter at this trail with in-house labor. Mr. Morgan stated they have not lost any trees this summer, due to Mr. Phillips and his crew. He stated they planted twenty-two trees at City Hall and so far the only tree that was lost was a red oak and that was due to vandalism. Mr. Morgan stated the park crew took up the north portion of the median strip on Ector Drive for a turn into the new police building. He stated they have removed the plants and the irrigation system that was there. Mr. Phillips stated they did not loose any of the plants and these plants and the irrigation system will be put in stock and installed at another location. Mr. Cushing inquired if the park crew installed the one soccer goal at the airport soccer field. Mr. Phillips stated his crew did not install that goal , that he believes someone else installed that goal for a ribbon cutting. Mr. Owens inquired if anyone has found out anything about the sewer line to Westpark for next year? (Page Three, Regular Meeting, Park and Recreation Board, August 14, 1978) Mr. Phillips stated it appears a developer is installing some sewer out there at this time. Mrs. McCormick stated when the developer installs it, the City will do all they can to get the sewer to the park. RECREATION PROGRAM Mrs. Wakeley stated they have closed out the day camp program for the year, and is happy to report that it was an accident free program. She stated they had an attendance of 100 to 120 per encampment, with four encampments this summer, which is a 15% increase over last year. She stated the Special Ed unit worked out real good, which is a big contribution for our City to have since these youngsters do not have a chance to participate in some of the programs. Mrs. Wakeley stated the gymnastic class is continuing this month with a mini-class of four weeks, but this fall they will start another class that will last eight weeks. Mrs. Wakeley stated the Senior Citizen program is increasing, that there was a slight decrease because of the heat. Mrs. Wakeley stated they have the new programs prepared and they will be going to the printers within the next few days, and hope to have them in the mail by the first part of September. Mrs. Wakeley stated this summer the kids in the day camp made bubble gum through a concern in Arlington that she read about in the Fort Worth Star Telegram. She stated that she received a call from Studio C in South Carolina and they want to do a documentary with teenagers and they will be filming the program on Friday and it will be aired sometime in November. Mr. Morgan stated they are all excited about this as it will give Euless a chance to "show-off" our park, jogging trail and community center. He stated we are the only recreation department in this area that made bubble gum this summer. He stated they also made root beer and ginger ale. Mr. Morgan stated Mrs. Wakeley is always on the look- out for something new for the kids to do and she has done a super job this summer. Mr. Morgan stated he hopes as many of the board members as possible can come to the filming this Friday. Mrs. Wakeley stated they are to begin the filming at 2:00 p.m. Mr. Morgan stated the recreation programs had a drop in attendance and they are trying to see what happened and why and they thought it may be the appearance and the format of the programs. (Page Four, Regular Meeting, Park and Recreation Board, August 14, 1978) He stated they need something that will catch the citizen' s eye so they do not automatically throw it away. He stated the program will include athletics, as well as recreation classes. Mr. Owens stated they need to include a post card in the mail-outs that a person can mail in if they are unable to call and register. Mr. Owens stated he has heard some good remarks about the TOPS program. ATHLETIC PROGRAM Mr. Morgan stated Mr. Oler is on vacation so he will report on the athletic program. Mr. Morgan stated the men' s fall softball program started August 7, 1978, and they have twenty-eight teams involved. He stated the fields are in good shape for the amount of play they had on them this summer. He stated the women' s softball program will begin August 21 , 1978, and there are thirty-two teams involved in this program. He stated the City is in a joint program with the City of Hurst and it has worked out real well . Mr. Morgan stated the fall soccer sign-up will be August 26, September 7, and September 9. Mr. Morgan stated the summer youth program is complete and we sent sixteen youth to the state track meet in Mesquite and fifteen youth to the tennis tournament in Grand Prairie. He stated the six foot and under basketball program will begin in September and is an "off-shoot" of the summer basketball program. Mr. Owens inquired about the lights at Westpark? Mr. Morgan stated they haven' t had any trouble with the lights at Westpark, and very few in the other parks. He stated they are having additional patrols from the police department which has been a big help. Mr. Porter moved that a resolution be presented to the Council by the Chairman, commending Larry Morgan, Julia Wakeley, Bob Phillips and Ken Oler for the work they did this summer. Mr. Owens seconded the motion and the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Porter, Owens, Cushing, and Calhoun Nays: None (Page Five, Regular Meeting, Park and Recreation Board, August 14, 1978) Chairman Calhoun declared the motion carried. II . SUBMITS RESIGNATION FROM PARK AND RECREATION BOARD Mr. Matt Cushing stated he has moved to Lewisville and submitted his letter of resignation for the Council . Mr. Calhoun stated the board appreciates Mr. Cushing' s participation in the meetings. Mr. Owens moved that Mr. Cushing be sent a letter of commendation for his work on the Park and Recreation Board. Mr. Porter seconded the motion and the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Owens, Porter, and Calhoun Nays: None Abstain: Mr. Cushing Chairman Calhoun declared the motion carried. III . DISCUSSION Chairman Calhoun stated the board needs to acquaint the new members with the parks, what was done in the past and what we are doing now. He stated when he was first on the board, they were taken on a tour of the parks and he wonders if the board would like to do this again. Mr. Morgan stated he would be happy to take the board on a tour of the parks anytime they are ready. Mr. Owens stated that in looking back through the minutes he noticed that the committee has not been functioning properly because most of the time there is not a quorum. He inquired if there was something in the by-laws that if a member misses a certain number of meet- ings, he can be replaced by the Council , because we need a working committee. He stated it is real discouraging for someone to work up a program and then not have enough members present for a discussion. Chairman Calhoun stated that the City has purchased all the property for Bear Creek Park and the engineers are reviewing the final draft and when they are complete the board can review them and see if they approve of them. Mr. Calhoun stated Midway Park is in need (Page Six, Regular Meeting, Park and Recreation Board, August 14, 1978) of several repairs and the board requested that the Council have an engineer see what needs to be done and the cost of improving it and try and obtain matching funds for these improvements. Mr. Owens inquired if there is a copy of the working budget for the members? Mr. Porter requested the chairman send each member a copy of the present budget. Chairman Calhoun stated that a decision should be made at the next meeting on a date to tour the parks. Chairman Calhoun stated he would like to recommend that each member volunteer to take a different area of the City park land and report on it each month. This will keep the members advised because one person can' t organize all the facts. He stated that before the next meeting he would like for each member to decide which area he would like to head. Mr. Porter inquired if this wouldn' t be getting into the staff ' s duties? Chairman Calhoun stated no, that this would only be keeping the board informed of where we stand on the different projects. Mr. Owens stated he would like to in- corporate something in the minutes to advise the members that are not attend- ing that the board is serious about replacing members that are not attending regularly and participating in the meetings. He stated if the chairman appears before the Council they need to know that the board is behind him. Chairman Calhoun appointed Mr. Owens to meet with Mr. Sustaire and find out what can be done if members miss several meetings and what the limits of the board are. Mr. Owens stated he knows it is difficult for the Council to make the committees function, but they can remove someone from the committee. Mrs. McCormick stated the Council always receives an excess number of people who apply for the Park and Recreation Board. IV. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. APPROVED: R -1A4C1 Chairman