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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-2023 PR MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2023 Call to Order — Vice Chair White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledae of Allegiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present Ms. White Mr. Denise Ms. Drumheller Mr. Mauro Not Present Ms. Webster — Excused Mr. Renzi -- Excused Mr. Agudelo — Unexcused Also Present Mr. Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Mr. Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Ms. Janet Graham, Recording Secretary IV. Announcements and Aaenda Modifications -- None V. ADDroval of Minutes — Meeting Minutes from January 23, 2023 Ms. White called for a motion. Ms. Drumheller had one correction to those Minutes. In the section describing "Not Present" she would like her name added. Noting the correction above to the Minutes of January 23, 2023, Ms. Drumheller made a motion to accept the Minutes. Mr. Mauro seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously via voice vote. VI. Public Input — Mr. Benton clarified that Public Input is for items not on the agenda. He reviewed the items that are on this agenda, so Public Input will be for any items not listed on this agenda. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 2023 Kathleen Simpson, 120 Landover Drive. She indicated that there are a few neighbors present here because they are concerned about disc golf and how it will impact the neighborhood. She stated that at the meeting she was at in December, it was stated that Filbert Park was not used much. She said at that meeting that the park is used. She has witnessed many groups using the park. She suggested that the children of the neighborhood will be glad to have the playground equipment back. Her concerns are that there are no restroom facilities, adequate parking, there are no sidewalks, and there is concern that disc golf will bring in more traffic to the neighborhood. She offered to paint the fencing at no charge to the City. She stated she has experienced headlights in her bedroom during the night. She said it is a little frightening sometimes. She stated she has heard that Sebastian has annexed property. If people really want disc golf, why could not disc golf be installed in some of that area. She also asked how many acres are needed for disc golf. Joe DeBartolo,116 Landover Drive. He thanked the Board and staff for their hard work. He reviewed the number of neighboring homes surrounding the park. Disc golf is going to bring in more traffic. When he bought his property, he bought what is there today. He does not want to change it. He asked for the Committee's help in this regard. Polly McKinney, 90 Joy Haven Drive. She stated that she also spoke in December regarding this park and the usage of it and how many people use the park. Her biggest concern is that, this being a passive park, it needs to stay a passive park. Another of her concerns is the traffic driving into the back of the park where the foliage is that blocks the view from the road. This happens on a fairly frequent basis in the evening when the park is supposed to be closed. She has also seen cars go back there during the day —not City cars or County cars. She has taken some pictures of the trash that is scattered around in that area. She stated that if it is a passive park, there are no motorized vehicles allowed in the park. She suggested some signage be placed regarding this subject. She opined that this particular park is not suited for anything but passive activity. She asked what the situation is with regard to the gentleman who brought this subject up. There being no one else from the public who wanted to speak, Ms. White closed public input. Ms. White asked Mr. Benton if the City has gotten calls about cars on this property. Mr. Benton said he has not personally received any calls. He stated that years ago there was an issue with cars coming into the park at night, and they started locking the front entrance with a chain and lock to prevent that. Staff is already looking into —regardless of what happens with the park —installing a split -rail wooden fence to designate a parking area. There will be an ADA parking space installed as well as a sidewalk to the playground. L PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 2023 That area will be fenced in order to prevent vehicles from being able to access further into the park. Ms. Drumheller asked Mr. Benton what the situation is with lighting at that park. She is not there at night, so she does not know. Mr. Benton stated there are no lights at the park. Ms. Drumheller asked if Mr. Benton could see what the police have to say with reports of cars that they have checked up on. She also suggested a camera being installed. Mr. Benton said he has to Investigate what the electrical capabilities are at the site. It would be an additional cost to run the electric there and put a meter, etc. there for a camera. He will check with the Police Department to see what reports they have had. He suggested that a fenced parking area might solve those problems with the exception of vandalism or damage caused by someone who accessed further. But that would be a damage/vandalism-type situation. Mr. Mauro said he has been out to Filbert, and he couldn't walk more than 25 or 30 feet without coming across a turtle. They are everywhere. Also, he stated that he had gone on record once before at a meeting and said there are no public facilities there, there is no parking. He did find out that there is disc golf available at 77' Street and 581, Avenue. It Is armhole course. He suggested that this item needs to go on the agenda for next month to bring it up for a Committee vote for yay or nay that the Committee and staff want to continue on looking for disc golf in Sebastian, or should we just leave it to places where it is now available. That park is right across the fairgrounds on 58' and 77" avenue. Mr. Denise stated he brought up the Issue of frisbee golf. He stated his thought was at that time for a bigger piece of property. He suggested it would need a large area to create a disc golf course in Sebastian. He asked if a motion should be made. Mr. Benton stated that at the November or December meeting staff was given direction from the Committee to look into these options. Staff did some research and met with Mr. Clifton on site. Staff has not expended any additional hours in researching this. Staff is waiting on further clarification. His suggestion is to put it on the next agenda to have a discussion among the Committee members. In that way, it is noticed and put out to the public so anyone for or against can attend the next meeting and be heard. At that time, staff will go forward with a decision from the Committee to direct staff however the Committee members please. VII. Unfinished Business A. Current Project(s) Update PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 2023 Mr. Benton reviewed the project updates as follows: Swing Park Project — That project is currently delayed due to investigation of the beach erosion in that park property from hurricanes. In order for the City to rehabilitate that area, it needs to have a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection. Staff has submitted the application for the permit. Staff does not have an answer on a timeline from them. Before the City can move forward with a design and a finalization of the conceptual design the City needs to be able to stabilize the shoreline and know exactly where the mean high water line Is on the east side so that we know how far out we can go. Also, staff is looking into some mitigation efforts that would prevent that erosion in the future. He said staff does not want to move forward until we have this information so that when the next storm comes through and undermines the design that was used, we do not lose that park. Yacht Club -- There is kind of the same situation at the Yacht Club. The north dock is still closed. He met with a contractor on site. Staff has received cost estimates to do the repairs; however, FEMA will not approve us to go forward with the repairs until we have our DEP permit. The contractor offered to assist the City with getting that permit, since that Is a pretty high need area coming into the boating season. When the City gets DEP approval, the City can move forward with getting that project started. FEMA has weekly meetings with the City, and they have assured us that, once we get the permit, they are ready to support the City in moving forward with that project. The contractor has estimated 2-3 days to reset that dock and have it fully functional. He explained that the City will go ahead and cover the cost, and then FEMA will reimburse the City. Parks in General -- Staff is continuing to trim trees and clean up the parks. This a slower season, and staff is doing a lot of catchup projects from the winter. As of March 13'h there is a new employee starting, and that will provide full staffing levels in parks for the first time in 2-3 years. Mr. Benton called for questions/comments from the Committee. Mr. Denise said that the parks took very good, and he is impressed with how the staff is doing. Ms. White asked if the cemetery is now part of Parks & Recreation. Mr. Benton said the cemetery does fall under his responsibilities; it does not technically fall under Parks. B. Committee Member Park Updates PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27. 2023 Mr. Mauro asked regarding the sprinklers at the pickleball courts on the parking lot side. It seems that on at least one of the courts there is some overspray. Mr. Benton said he would check on that. C. Upcoming Events at Riverview Park Mr. Benton reviewed the upcoming events as follows: Friday, March Td, the Chamber of Commerce Concert in the Park. It starts at 5:30 and goes to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 111' and 12t^ is the Sebastian Craft Club event which will be held starting at 10:00 a.m. River Days and Craft Brew Hullabaloo, which is formerly Shrimp Fast (now known as River Days) will be Friday, March 1711 from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday, March 18d' from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, March 19d' from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Craft Brew Hullabaloo will be on Saturday in the twin piers grass lot. There will be bands throughout the whole event Inside the park with vendors and food. On Sunday they will be a classic car show on Indian River Drive as well. There will be a trolley going from Jackson Street to the park and back and forth on Indian River Drive to aid in parking. Sebastian Boulevard from US1 to Indian River Drive will be shut down. Indian River Drive will be shut down from Coolidge Street to the Sportsmen's" Lodge and Harris Street is shut down at the splash pad entrance to Indian River Drive. On Friday, March 24� , is the second monthly Chamber of Commerce Concert in the Park starting at 5:30. Ms. Drumheller addressed the dog situation at Riverview Park as getting somewhat out of control. There are signs, but people ignore them. She wonders how something can be done about this. Mr. Benton said staff is installing additional signage for every event. Staff is asking all the event organizers to promote that there are no dogs allowed in the park other than service animals. There are only so many questions staff are allowed to ask people with animals. The Police Department Is also increasing their presence to assist with that as well. A lot of that falls back on the event organizers, and if they alert staff is there is a problem, staff can increase staffing levels. Mr. Benton described that the signs are at every entrance to the Park. Although this event is not at the park, he wanted to mention that the Sebastian River Little League has their opening day at Barber Street Sports Complex on Saturday, March 4' . Opening ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m., and then beginning at 11:00 a.m. they will start with T-ball games and go through the different age divisions, ending at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Benton said staff is updated with the park projects until further in the year. He emphasized that the Fine Arts Festival is on a public roadway, and there is a gray area regarding dogs there when the activity Is in the roadway and not within the park PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 2023 boundaries. Mr. Denise described his experience with dog owners when he walks in that area. Ms. White invited the public to go out to the Sports Complex and look at the baseball area. It is very nice, and it is a plus for the Community. She thanked Mr. Benton for his work on this project and then moved to the next item on the agenda. Vill. A. Committee member discussion and recommendation to City Council on playground designs for Filbert Street Park and Easy Street Park. Mr. Benton reviewed what he and staff have done so far in soliciting bids for those two playgrounds. He stated there was some difference in the quotes. He offered them to apply as many designs as they wanted to for the parks, and the quotes he received were from Game Time and Playmore. He also requested an "add alternate" for swings. He also asked them to do an option for a single bay and an ADA accessible swing and an expression swing, and then an option with a double bay which had an ADA swing and an expression swing and then two regular swings as an option. He described how all the different swings are operated. There was extended discussion among the Committee members and Mr. Benton regarding the different playground designs. Mr. Benton stated that he can interchange the playgrounds with the same manufacturer at either site. After discussion, it was decided on the Playmore playground for the Easy Street Park, and a motion was made by Ms. Drumheller, seconded by Mr. Mauro, and passed unanimously via voice vote. Discussion then moved to the Filbert Street Park. After discussion, it was the consensus to obtain the Game Time playground for the Filbert Street Park. Ms. White called for public input on this agenda item. Wayne Cornwell, 185 Filbert Street — He asked if the present swings at Filbert Street Park are going to be replaced by new swings. Mr. Benton said yes. A motion to obtain the option 1 from Game Time with the ADA seat as well as two regular swing sets that are not attached to the ADA swing for the Filbert Street Park was made by Ms. Drumheller, seconded by Mr. Danise, and passed unanimously via voice vote. IX. Items for the next agenda and date: March 27, 2023 Mr. Benton will have an open discussion at that meeting. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 7 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 27, 2023 X. Adioum There being no further business, Ms. White adjourned the meeting at 7:05 p.m. B / Date: / �` 7/' j9