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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-25-2021 PR MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 25, 2021 I. Call to Order — Chairperson Webster called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledae of Alleatance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present Ms. Webster Ms. Drumheller (a) Mr. Danise Ms. White Mr. Renzi Not Present: Mr. Agudelo — Excused Mr. Mauro (a) — Excused Also Present Mr. Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Ms. Gary Vicars, MIS Technical Analyst Ms. Janet Graham, Technical Writer (Zoom) IV. Meetina Chair Makes Announcements Ms. Webster announced that Mr. Agudelo and Mr. Mauro are excused from tonight's meeting. V. Aaenda Modifications -- None VI. ADDroval of Minutes Ms. Webster asked if there were any changes or additions to the Minutes of August 23. 2021 as presented. Hearing none, she called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes of August 23, 2021 as presented was made by Mr. Renzi, seconded by Ms. Drumheller, and approved unanimously via voice vote. VII. Unfinished Business A. Community Recognition Program PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2021 Mr. Benton stated he has reached out to national organizations as well as organizations throughout Florida to get input from them regarding this process. The process seems to require an application that allows people to provide input on what the community member has done by way of volunteering, whether it is athletics, gardening, volunteering at special events, volunteering for cleanups, etc. People seem to be nominated for volunteer of the year from groups/clubs in the cities. Those nominees are then presented to city/community recreation boards. He suggests using that information for instituting the program in Sebastian beginning now and letting the process continue through the holidays into next year. At that point, this Committee can review the nominees. If it is decided to create a sub -committee to take on this project, it will still have to be done under the Sunshine Laws. He is in favor of this project, and he suggests starting small such as yearly. If there is a lot of interest in the project, then the Committee can discuss doing it more often. Ms. Webster suggested showcasing it during the Fourth of July activities. Mr. Benton suggested that the volunteer could be part of the parade. The volunteer could also be recognized during a Parks and Recreation meeting as well as a City Council meeting. Ms. Drumheller suggested instituting a sub -committee made up of different clubs/groups that are in the City, and they could actually work with nominations. That would take it out of the need to adhere to the Sunshine Laws. That also would prompt these groups to promote it so that there is more involvement in the community. Mr. Benton stated that one of the Parks and Recreation Committee members could also be on that committee, and he also can be on that committee. Ms. Webster asked if more than one of the Parks and Recreation Committee members can attend the sub -committee meetings. Mr. Benton staled that more than one of this Committee's members can attend those meetings, but they cannot discuss among themselves any business that is going to come up before this Committee. Ms. While asked if it would be held yearly. Mr. Denise would like to see it held more than yearly in an attempt to get more of the public involved. Ms. Drumheller suggested starting in 2022 with a semi-annual award, having the first award during the Fourth of July celebration, and the Christmas parade could potentially be when the second award is announced. That would give time for the different groups to be contacted so that word can be gotten out to members of the community. Mr. Benton said he will send an email out to the members of this Committee with the information he has gotten so far. He further explained how the Sunshine Laws apply. Ms. Webster suggested soliciting a prize such as a gift card from the businesses in town to present to the winner. Mr. Benton agreed. Ms. Drumheller suggested presenting a PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25. 2021 certificatelplaque at a City Council meeting. All members agreed. Mr. Denise would like to see a presentation made at a Parks and Recreation meeting in order to get more people to attend the meeting. It was the consensus of the Committee members that the program should start initially having the award semi-annually. B. Discussion on Current Status of Garden Club Park Mr. Benton reviewed what has been happening with this project. Staff is continuing to work on a design. There are a few different options regarding how far to go into the back of the park, how close to keep it to the pond, and how much fill is going to be needed to fill in a portion of the pond. Also, preliminary discussions have been had with the Stonnwater and Roads Departments regarding getting their equipment in there, etc. He has heard from a few members of the community who could not attend this meeting. Since we are entering the holiday season, he desires to solicit as much public input as possible from the community in that immediate area. His recommendation is to wait until after the first of the year to have the next discussion on this project. That will provide time to do a mailing to the residents who reside in the area around the park. That mailing will have a notice of the meeting so that anyone from the public who wants to have input will have a month's notice of when that meeting is going to be held. Mr. Renzi reviewed that he had made a suggestion at a previous meeting about changing the name of the park. He inquired if anyone had given any more thought regarding changing the name of the park or leaving the name the same. Ms. White stated that during looking at the history of this park, it was started by the Garden Club. Ms. Drumheller suggested waiting until a decision is made as to what is going to be done at the park before addressing changing the name or not. Mr. Benton agreed. He also reviewed what staff has been doing around the park and how the signage will be handled. Presently, nothing has been done with the property at the rear of the park, and it will be maintained that way until a definite plan has been completed. Ms. Drumheller stated that there is a Sebastian Garden Club Facebook page. They have scheduled a meeting for a plant exchange at the park. That club is getting more active, and she plans to attend that event so that she can meet those folks. Vill. Public Input — None IX. New Business — None PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2021 X. Staff Matters A. Current Projects Update . Yacht Club Seawall: Mr. Benton stated he is still waiting on the DEP permit. It has been over three months since the paperwork was submitted to them. As soon as that is received, the building permit will be finalized, and construction will begin on the seawall. Mr. Renzi asked if there are any plans to upgrade the restrooms there. Mr. Benton said there are no plans currently. The floor is scheduled to be resurfaced this year, but there is nothing else budgeted for work outside the main building. Mr. Denise said that there have been complaints about the ladies' room. He asked his wife to go in and see what she thought. She thought there was nothing wrong with it other than some black around the toilet. Later when he was down there, the local cleaning service was there, and Mr. Danise asked them if they would clean that black off. He just wanted to be sure he didn't do anything wrong by asking the cleaning service to take care of the black area around the toilet. Mr. Benton said there has been a new cleaning service hired, and staff has seen an improvement. He also stated they come every day or every other day. There was general discussion about how to handle complaints, and Mr. Benton said there is a non -emergency line for the Police Department with the number to call displayed. Park Signage: The two electronic marquee signs were installed at Riverview Park and City Hall a few weeks ago. Staff is still working on the background and color of the letters, etc. At City Hall, the sign is managed by the City Clerk's office. Riverview Park sign is handled by Mr. Benton and his department. Ms. White opined that there is too much color in the sign at City Hall to be able to read the wording in it. Mr. Benton said that is one of the things staff Is working on -- the contrast between the background and the lettering. This will be the final year of the park signage project. The Historical School, the Art and Senior Centers, and the Community Center are the only designated signs left to do. There are also the two gateway signs on US 1 that are ready to be Installed. They are wailing for permitting from FDOT at this time. . Splash Pad: It was reopened today. It was shut down for a longer period than staff had anticipated due to a delay having the concrete delivered. The entire drainage system was re -piped during this time. . Playgrounds at George Street and Blossom Street: Currently are scheduled for delivery and installation sometime in December. Installation is based on when they are delivered. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2021 • Barber Street Complex: The last two dugouts are planned to be started after Thanksgiving. The plan is to have them completely finished and ready by the start of the little league season this coming year. That will complete the dugout project. Mr. Benton reviewed and clarified how the budget for this Committee is used. It has to be a park improvement in order to come out of the Recreation Impact Fund budget, which is $20,000.00 for items that are not budgeted in the fiscal year. This Committee has to vole on and approve those items. B. Halloween Event and Movie Night — October 29rh, 2021 Mr. Benton staled that the City will host the annual Halloween special event. There will be a costume contest in conjunction with the Police Department's Halloween Movie Night this coming Friday. Last year, Parks and Recreation joined with the Police Department to have those two events together, and it seemed to work out well. So the event will start at 5:30. There will be a DJ, candy, and some arts and crafts. There will be no pumpkins this year, as he could not obtain them. The costume contest will start at 6:15, and the movie will start after the contest is over. Mr. Renzi will judge the costume contest. Mr. Benton mentioned that this Saturday there will be the Junior Blue Water Open, a fishing clinic that takes place at Riverview Park in the morning. It is put on by the Exchange Club. November 5'h, 6'", and 71h will be Clam Bake weekend. The Veterans Day memorial ceremony is November 111h at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial at Riverview Park. He opined that the music at Riverview Park will begin on the first Friday in January. The Christmas parade will be December 101h. That will be on Friday night. XI. Board or Committee Member Matters Ms. White noted when driving by Hardee Park that some of the palms need to be trimmed. Mr. Benton stated that Hardee is on the list to be done within the next few weeks. She also noted at Easy Street Park there were several areas where dog waste PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2021 had not been picked up. She noted that there are bags throughout that area for dog waste, and she reminded the public that dog waste should be picked up. Mr. Danise inquired about the date for the next meeting. Mr. Benton slated November 15s' is next month's meeting. Mr. Denise questioned why the dates for these meetings are sometimes changed. Mr. Benton reviewed that this Committee approves the yearly schedule each year. Typically around the holidays the November meeting would be the Monday after Thanksgiving, and many people travel over that weekend. The same goes for Christmas — this Committee meets early in December because of the holidays In December and January. As far as canceling meetings, Mr. Benton staled if there is nothing to discuss or no new business, the meeting will be canceled. He estimated there were two meetings canceled this year. That was because there was nothing on the agenda. Mr. Danise inquired whether staff knows how many people attend these meetings via Zoom. Mr. Vicars said these meetings are covered on YouTube. When you go to YouTube, it always tells you how many people viewed the meeting. Facebook is much the same. He slated that these meetings are also broadcast on Channel 25 on Comcast. Ms. White said it has always been a problem getting people to come to the committee meetings unless there is something that members of the public want to speak to or unless there is a big action item. Mr. Benton stated that the problem is not only with this Committee; it is every committee meeting, including City Council meetings. Ms. White added that she thinks people are watching from home. Ms. Webster reminded everyone that election day is coming up, so gel out and vote. She also asked if there is early voting. Mr. Benton slated there is no early voting, and there is no voting at City Hall. Ms. Webster also stated that the Rotary Club is having a brew fast on December 4s . It is going to be a fundraiser. XII. Items for the Next Aaenda and Date: November 15.2021 XIII. Adioumment There being no further business, Ms. Webster adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m. B : ,I / Date: I d oXnn Webster, Chairperson