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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-24-2020 PR Minutes w/AttachementsPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2020 1. Call to Order — Acting Chairperson White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Pledoe of Alleaiance was recited by all. 3. Roll Call Present Mr. Renzi Mr. Danise Ms. White Ms. Webster (late arrival) Not Present Mr. Agudelo -- Excused Mr. Sims -- Excused Also Present Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Janet Graham, Technical Writer Ms. White opened the meeting. Ms. Webster was a late arrival; she then took her place as Chairperson. 4. Meetina Chair Makes Announcements Ms. Webster stated Mr. Sims and Mr. Agudelo are excused from this evening's meeting. 5. Aaenda Modifications — None 6. ADDroval of Minutes Ms. Webster asked if everyone had had a chance to look at the Minutes from the last meeting. All stated they had. Ms. Webster then called for a motion. A motion to approve the December 16, 2019 Minutes as presented was made by Mr. Danise, seconded by Mr. Renzi, and passed unanimously via voice vote. 7. Unfinished Business A. Batting Cage Update PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Mr. Benton updated the Committee on the batting cage project. There were a few delays with the contractor. In order to not interfere with the little league season, this project was pushed back to the summertime. Staff did not feel comfortable taking the fencing down on the cage, having the netting installed, and not having the fence line connected from the third base dugout on field 4 and the first base dugout on field 3 to the fence pole. That was left as is for now, and it will be a summertime project along with the rest of the baseball/softball field projects. There were no questions or comments from the Committee. 8. Public Input — None 9. New Business A. Integrated Pest Management Plan for Parks Discussion Mr. Benton reviewed that City Council had imposed a 120-day moratorium, banning the use of herbicides and pesticides within City parks and properties. Based on information received from the Integrated Pest Management workshops, a sub -committee was formed to develop an Integrated Pest Management Plan (IPM) for the City's parks. This committee is composed of Kim Haigler, the Environmental Technician with the City; Thomas Carrano, who is a Natural Resources Board member; Kathy Brothers, who is a Natural Resources Board member; Brian O'Neill, who is a Natural Resources Board member; Dr. Graham Cox, who is a scientific consultant; Christine Kelly-Begazo, who is the Indian River County Extension Director for the University of Florida IFAS; and Mr. Benton. This sub -committee has been tasked with developing the IPM for the City's parks. This sub -committee met beginning February 12 and will meet each Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. until the end of March to develop this plan. Included in tonight's agenda packet are a few of the slides that were shown on the kick- off presentation to City Council on February 12 (SEE ATTACHED). Mr. Benton described the first slide and explained the various elements in the Community IPM Cycle. The second slide defined what a pest is. He further described which pests are treated at the different parks in the City. He named the pests that have been identified in the parks system. They are fire ants, sod webworms, mole crickets, grubs, moles, cutworms, mice, Japanese beetle grubs, broadleaf weeds, signal grass, torpedo grass, goose grass, dollar weed, sedge grass, crabgrass, and pennywort. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2020 The third slide shows how the dfferent parks have been separated into different classifications so that specific pests can be identified for each park classification in order to better identify which methods should be used. The fourth slide displays the schedule and deadlines for the IPM sub -committee. The committee meets every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. upstairs in the conference room at City Hall. These meetings are open to the public. Mr. Benton reviewed that the sub -committee did visit Barber Street Athletic Complex and Friendship Park last week to identify the pests and hear from the certified applicators on exactly their process to maintain the fields. He reviewed the City's process for applying the products at the parks and that the City strictly follows the directions on the products' labels. He explained that each member of the sub -committee is assigned pests individually. Those committee members will submit their input from the biological, cultural, mechanical, and chemical control aspects. It was discussed at the last meeting that the goal is to have every single person on the sub -committee agree 100 percent with the plan that will be presented to Council. Discussion among Mr. Benton and the committee members was had regarding whether fire ants are being treated during the moratorium. Mr. Benton stated that Friendship Park was shut down because of the large population of fire ants there. City Council did give staff permission to treat Friendship Park. It was treated with Advion fire ant bait. Mr. Renzi inquired if the City will be using any pesticides or herbicides in the future. Mr. Benton stated that even organic products are listed as pesticides. Pesticides will be used in some form going forward, but at this point he cannot state what the sub -committee is going to come up with as their solutions. No pesticides or herbicides whatsoever have been used by the City since the moratorium except for treating the fire ants at Friendship Park. A test was done before the moratorium on a non -selective herbicide, which was when the use of glyphosate was attempting to be eliminated. A product called Eco-Mite W.O.W. was used in that test right beside Roundup (glyphosate). The Eco-Mite W.O.W. product worked just as well, if not better, than Roundup. He cannot speak to whether it can be used in the waterways, as it has not been tested for those areas. That product, being non -selective, will kill the weeds and the grass, so it would not be used in the turf fields, but only along the fences, sidewalks, etc. where there should be nothing growing. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Ms. White asked when the 120-day moratorium will expire. Mr. Benton stated it is the end of March some time. The plan is to present the Integrative IPM Plan at the April 8th City Council meeting. Ms. White also asked why the Easy Street Park is a passive park when so many children and adults use that park. Mr. Benton explained how those designations were made, but his staff can look at reevaluating that park. Ms. White stated the fire ants are active all along the edges of the sidewalks. 10. Staff Matters A. Current Projed(s) Updates • Park Signage Project — Mr. Benton stated he is currently awaiting new samples from the manufacturer that will show the final design that was chosen. The project manager for this company whom the City was working with has decided to leave. That slowed the timeline down a bit. At the last meeting, staff did ask this company to develop an epoxy rope that could be added to the poles for the signs, as had been discussed at this committee's December meeting. He expects them to come back to the City with that product in the next two to three weeks. They have also been asked to produce a mini version of a full-scale sign so that staff will have an entire sample put together as opposed to just a drawing. That should be available for this committee at the next meeting. • Baseball and Softball Field Projects -- All of these items have been moved to the summer because of an issue with the fence contractor. • Pickleball Courts — Staff is working to finalize a grand opening date. As soon as it is finalized, which he expects to be within the next couple weeks, he will send an email and/or a phone call to all committee members announcing the date and the time. Ms. White asked about lighting. Mr. Benton stated the plan is still to go forward with the token -operated lighting system as was described at this committee's last meeting. He expects that within the next four to six months the lighting will be completed. The contract with the airport is currently being reviewed by the new City Attorney, and Mr. Benton will send a copy of that contract to each committee member. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Mr. Danise asked if there was no other place to put the pickleball courts except at the airport. Mr. Benton stated Friendship Park was looked at as a place to put the pickleball courts. There were concerns over parking and concerns over the number of courts that could be fit back there. With the large amount of space needed forthe number of courts planned, it was decided to use the airport property. Mr. Danise is concerned with the amount of rent to be paid to the airport. He also asked if there will be a professional available to give lessons. Mr. Benton stated he understands the amount for rent is going to be changing somewhat — not going up but coming down. He described the management of the courts initially and how that will change somewhat as time goes on and there is more information available to the City regarding the hours with most usage, etc. Going forward, there will be times for people to rent the courts, but it is the City's desire that some of the courts are open to the general public all the time. Ms. Webster asked if, once the courts at the airport are open, there is still going to be pickleball available at the Schuman Drive location. Mr. Benton stated the Schuman Drive facility will remain the same as it has been. • Lightning Detector -- There is a new city attorney. Mr. Benton stated he is really busy right now. Mr. Benton will get with him and have a discussion about the lightning detector. He anticipates having an update at the March meeting. • Mulch Replacement — Ms. White asked if the much replacement is still being planned at George Street and Filbert. Mr. Benton stated Filbert has been converted from a sand playground to a mulch playground. That project is done. George Street is getting a new playground this year, so the RFP is going out sometime the middle of March. When that is received, it will come to this committee for approval for the playground before the City moves forward with purchasing. That will have a special needs portion to it. Ms. Webster brought up the subject of shade shelters at the playgrounds. Mr. Benton stated that is something that can be looked at in the future. B. Board Opening Mr. Benton said there is still one alternate board member position available. 11. Board or Committee Member Matters PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 24, 2020 Ms. White stated the Easy Street Park is doing well. She is hoping that the Garden Park can be looked at again in the future. Mr. Denise brought up the rubber pallets.. They present a tripping hazard. He also stated about half the lights at the tennis courts are not working. He inquired if there are new lights being installed. Mr. Benton stated yes. The LED lights have been ordered and received. The problem now is access. The gates are too small to gel the City's lift in, so portions of the fence must be removed in order to get access. He estimates this will be completed in the next two to three weeks. Mr. Renzi asked about the timeframe on work in Riverview Park. Mr. Benton stated the sidewalks in Riverview Park is the first phase of that plan. It is in the budget to redo some sidewalks. The discussion is currently about whether to go back to concrete sidewalks or to do asphalt sidewalks. Ms. Webster asked if there will be an Easter Egg Hunt this year. Mr. Benton said the Easter Egg Hunt will be April 11. The plan is for the event to start at 9:00 a.m. The egg hunt will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. She stated that Shrimp Fast is March 20, 21, and 22. Mr. Benton also stated the Pelican Island Festival will be March 7th. 12. Items for the Next Aaenda and Date: March 23, 2020 13. Adiourn There being nothing further, Ms. Webster called for a motion. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Ms. Webster, seconded by Mr. Renzi, and passed unanimously via voice vote. Bv: 4 k / Webster, Chairperson P rk and Recreation Committee jg Date: 1O,a ) ` 00) d L IMPLEMENT IPM STRATEGY 1 2 3 4 B ONTRIOAL CO NT OL MCO NTRO AL ED CAMM�UAUITY CYCLE An s ecie V V t7Poun 1 J"Un ffifirafe y • y p s t a is to • A pest in one area, may not be in another • Often these species have been introduced to the area (directly, or indirectly) • Species causing disease, die -off, or displacing the more desired species for the area • Native species can become pests crabgrass dollarspot fungus grubworm Barber Street Complex Friendship Park Athletic Field Riverview Park Schumann Park Hardee Park Friendship Park Bark Park Pickleball Complex Barber Street Common Areas ON Easy Street Kildaire Filbert Park Historical Bryant Park George St. Periwinkle Park Blossom Cownie/Cheltenham Garden Club Yacht Club Main St. Boat Ramp Community Center Stormwater Park `2-12 Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 4PM 19 Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 413M Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 4PM 3-4 Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 4PM 11 Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 413M Sub -Committee Meeting, Upstairs Conference Room, 3- 413M 1 Completed plan submission deadline for City Council agenda packets City Council Meeting, 6PM, Presentation of IPM Plan to City Council