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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-19-2022 PR MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 19, 2022 Call to Order — Chairperson Webster called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all III. Roll Call: Present Mr. Mauro Ms. White (Zoom) Ms. Webster Mr. Danise Not Present Ms. Drumheller -- Excused Mr. Renzi — Excused Mr. Agudelo -- Unexcused IV. Announcements and Aaenda Modifications -- None V. ADDroval of Minutes — Meeting Minutes from October 17, 2022. Ms. Webster called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes from October 17, 2022 as presented was made by Mr. Mauro, seconded by Mr. Danise, and approved via voice vote. VI. Public Input — None VII. Unfinished Business Mr. Benton provided updates on active projects as follows: A. Current Project(s) Updates Vandalism In some parks and restroom facilities -- He stated that there was one incident at the skate park a few days ago that is being actively looked at by the Police Department. One of the light poles was knocked over. Other than that, things have settled down for right now. He wanted to make sure that as these things are happening the Committee members are kept apprised of the things that are happening across the playgrounds and the City's other facilities. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2022 Playgrounds for Easy Street and Filbert -- After the first of the year he is going to direct staff to go ahead and remove the Filbert Street playground. It is currently closed. That playground has been budgeted for replacement. Once he gets the cost estimates after the first of the year, he will bring them back to the Committee for the Committee members to select a playground that will replace what has been there and ensure that it is within budget. Ms. White asked, if that playground is taken down, will there will not be anything there until there is a new playground to construct. Mr. Benton stated that it is presently shut down, but the fencing keeps getting removed, so staff are going to move forward right after the first of the year with removing the playground. The replacement will come before this Committee in January or February with playground designs, and the Committee members can make their recommendations at that time. Regarding Easy Street, there is a section of that playground that the City has been unable to get parts for, so staff have shut that section down. That one will be replaced at the same time as Filbert depending on what company is selected and what playground design is chosen. Swing -and -Bench Park -- From a staff level, some preliminary drawings have begun for that park. The tanks below the Harbor Lights Motel property have been removed. He has received water sampling and soil sampling. He is just waiting for final approval from Brevard County — they are the ones who handle the tank -removal permit. Once that approval is received, the temporary well that has been placed can be removed. Other than that, the property is cleared and has been seeded with rye grass. A rope fence along the front border has also been installed to prevent people from parking on that property. Field Goal Posts at Barber Street Football Fields — That project has been budgeted, so he is going to order the replacements for the existing goal posts. Those will be replaced during the summer. Also, the backstops for the baseball fields were over budget last year. He is hoping to see those prices fall, and he will send that project out for bid sometime in the next couple months. Mr. Benton asked for questions/comments from the Committee members. Ms. Webster questioned why Brevard County has to approve something on one of the projects here in Indian River County. Mr. Benton explained that the tank -removal project for some reason has to go through Brevard County, handled through their Department of Health. He suggested that Brevard covers multiple counties, and that is the agency that was selected to oversee that project. Ms. White asked regarding the property that is cleared now, once the water testing is completed, etc., is that property then going to be up for sale. Mr. Benton said that will be up to City Council as to what direction they want to go with that PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2022 property. All options will be on the table for Council, and they will have a chance to see what all the options are for that property. There was no public input on this matter. Hurricane Damage -- Mr. Benton said there was quite a bit of hurricane damage along the waterfront areas. Regarding the Riverview Park Twin Piers, the south pier sustained damage to three or four of the finger docks, which will have to be replaced. He has just gotten clearance from FEMA that the City is eligible for funds. Price estimates are being asked for presently. There was also some substantial erosion along Riverview Park. The water level did come up across the entire grass field at the Twin Piers area, which damaged the irrigation system, the electrical system, as well as shoreline erosion. There is some temporary work that is going to be done. However, staff have talked about looking to FEMA for some mitigation measures to try to prevent in the future the amount of erosion that we had this time. Also, repairing the irrigation and electrical systems that were damaged by being under water. At the north dock on the ramp at the Yacht Club, the entire dock pilings were lifted up. He is also working on cost estimates for this work. Staff met with FEMA and the Department of Emergency Management in the County, reviewing all of the City's damage. They directed staff to wait until we get clearance so that we can be sure that the work is eligible. There was also a section of the sidewalk on Indian River Drive thatwas eroded underneath, and that entire section has to be removed. Continuing north, the area of the Main Street boat ramp across from Harbor Lights had significant erosion. Those are all projects that staff will be working towards. Ms. White asked about the volleyball sand area and the playground after the storm. Mr. Benton said the water did not make it across the road, so there was no damage to those areas. Ms. Webster opened the floor for public comment. Richard Barnes, 155 Filbert Street — Regarding the playground structure for the kids, he asked if there is a design within the budget that is being looked at. Ms. Webster explained the process. Mr. Barnes suggested that, since the new one will last for a long time, the City might as well put a nice one in there. Mr. Benton stated that the budget for that playground is $50,000.00. The plans for that playground will come before this Committee, and the public is welcome to come to those meetings and provide input. This Committee will then make the decision the same way that was done for all of the other new playgrounds that have been replaced. B. Committee Member Park Updates Mr. Mauro: PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2022 He stated he was just down at the Yacht Club recently, and it looks really good. It looks like there was some damage on the south side, but overall it looks great. At the Main Street boat ramp, he only saw the erosion that Mr. Benton had mentioned. At the pickleball courts, he stated that the net on court 2 still needs to be replaced. Mr. Benton said there were some nets on order, and some of them were on backorder. He will check on this. Mr. Mauro said some of the players made some paddle racks, and they attached them to the fencing, and that is working out pretty well. Other than that, everything is looking good. Ms. White: She said the Easy Street park looks good. She did mention the pressure washing on the tables and benches and the debris from the ducks. She suggested that the pressure washing be done more often than a quarterly basis. C. Continue Discussion on Disc/Frisbee Golf Mr. Benton reviewed that at the last meeting there was a discussion begun regarding disc/frisbee golf. There was some discussion at that meeting regarding this subject and how it had been addressed in the past. This Committee asked for some additional research in order to look into the possibility of using Filbert Park. He reviewed the discussion that was held at that prior meeting. Mr. Todd Clifton had attended and presented information on behalf of the disc/fdsbee golf players at the October meeting. Mr. Benton and Mr. Clifton met at the park to study the acreage and other things that would need to be addressed. Mr. Benton stated it was his opinion that the wooded area of the park that is used as a pathway for walkers might have to be eliminated due to the possibility of walkers and discs converging and possibly accidents occurring. Mr. Clifton said that he thought It would work. Mr. Benton asked Mr. Clifton to come up with some sketches to look at. There was extended discussion among the Committee members and Mr. Benton regarding this subject. Ms. Webster opened the floor for public comment. Kathleen Simpson, 120 Landover Drive, Sebastian, stated her yard backs up to the Filbert Street Park. She stated that people do use the walking path. She walks through that park every day. She asked how much of the acreage of the park disc/frisbee golf would take up. Richard Barnes, Sebastian, stated the people here tonight are all people who live on Filbert. They are concerned about traffic, noise, etc. The park was one of the amenities that people considered when they purchased homes in that neighborhood. He suggested a video of exactly what disc/frisbee golf would look like, where the cars would be parked, PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2022 and where the restrooms would be, etc. He does not think the neighborhood can handle everything that would be a part of the disc/frisbee golf. Polly McKinney, Sebastian. She stated that she lives at the corner of Joy Haven and Filbert. The wooded walking section of the park comes back to the back of her home. She uses that walking path as well as the open section of the park all the time. The wooded area is full of wildlife of different species. She is concerned about the idea of restricting use of the park during certain hours of the day. She is also concerned about the quiet neighborhood that is there now turning into something with more traffic, more people coming in from other areas, etc. She suggested that there is lots of land out in the County that she would think would be amenable to this type of activity vs. bringing it into an area where people are living and their homes literally back up to this park. Wayne Cornwell, 185 Filbert Street. He stated this is a residential area completely surrounding this park, and the people in the neighborhood would like to keep it that way. Ms. Webster closed public input and called for Committee members to voice their comments/questions. There was extended discussion and comments by the Committee members which addressed the comments of the public as well as their own feelings on the matter. Mr. Benton expressed his main concern as being the acreage that would be needed for the disc/frisbee golf. It was suggested that members of the community who are in favor of disc/fdsbee golf come to the meetings where the subject is on the agenda. It was also suggested that the members of the Committee try to visit the local areas where the game is played in order to familiarize themselves with the game. Mr. Benton suggested that the gentleman who suggested this idea come to a future Committee meeting and discuss further what would be needed for a disc/frisbee area. After discussion, it was the consensus that this item be brought back at a future meeting based on whether Mr. Clifton is available to attend a future meeting. Vill. New Business A. Discussion on Splash Pad Winter Hours and Operation Mr. Benton reviewed the activity to keep the splash pad in good operating condition. He said that every year the pumps need to be replaced. He described how the pumps are used and activated. As the splash pad is aging, there is more and more need for repairs. He stated that staff is looking at closing the facility for the winter months. For the most part, usage of the splash pad is drastically reduced during December, January and PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 19, 2022 February. Staff is asking for this Committee to discuss it. He stated there are a lot of splash pads here and further south that do close down for the winter. There are some projects that are needed to be done, and it is thought that would give staff the time to do the needed work and thus hopefully reduce the down time during the busier months. There was general discussion with questions/comments among the Committee members and Mr. Benton. It was the general consensus that the splash pad should be shut down during the winter months, and maintenance work can be done during that time. IX. Items for the Next Aaenda and Date: January 23. 2023 X. Adjourn There being no further business, Chairperson Webster adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m. %%yy By: ri Date: / JoAnn W star, bhairper jg