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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-22-2023 PR MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2023 I. Call to Order -- Chairperson Webster called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. Pledqe of Alleqiance was recited by all. III. Roll Call Present Mr. Mauro Ms. Drumheller Ms. Webster Not Present Mr. Agudelo -- Unexcused Mr. Renzi Mr. Danise Ms. White (Zoom) Also Present Mr. Brian Benton, Leisure Services Director Mr. Antoine Van Meir, Parks Supervisor Mr. Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Ms. Janet Graham, Technical Writer IV. Announcements and Agenda Modifications -- None V. Approval of Minutes -- Meeting Minutes from March 27, 2023 Everyone indicating they had reviewed the Minutes, Ms. White called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes from March 27, 2023 as presented was made by Mr. Danise, seconded by Mr. Renzi, and approved unanimously via voice vote. VI. Public Input -- None VII. Unfinished Business A. Current Project(s) Update Mr. Benton presented an update on current projects that have been either completed within the previous month or an update on what is going to be happening in future months. Filbert Street Park -- There was discussion on this park at previous meetings. One of the items that was discussed was to install a fence around the parking area. Staff was PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2023 able to complete that fence on approximately April 19t". None of the park improvement funds were used. He recalled that it was approximately $2,000.00, and it was taken from the R & M funds. No park improvement money was taken from the allocation that this Committee had approved for staff. He added that Ms. Kathleen Simpson, 120 Landover Drive, had volunteered to stain the existing fence and the parking lot fence. Mr. and Ms. Simpson reached out to City staff who were involved with the Simpsons in purchasing the products, and the front fence along the park was stained. When they get back in town in a few weeks they are going to go back out and finish staining the parking lot fence. The fencing now looks much better. He thanked the Simpsons for volunteering to do this project for the City. Ms. Webster suggested that they are the types of residents who might get the volunteer award. Mr. Benton agreed. Schuman Drive Park -- Staff recently installed a new touchless water fountain at that park. It was installed sometime in late April. That park did not have a water fountain for many years, and now there is one installed. Hardee Park -- Park staff also installed a wooden fence to close off park access to the parking area at Hardee Park in late April. That was a project that it was decided was a need, as people were parking in the far western portion of the park under the trees. There was a need to preserve those areas around those trees, so a fence was installed on the northern end of the parking lot to prevent that from happening. George Street Park -- An ADA sidewalk was installed on May 8"', so that completes that playground project. Regarding a parking spot, staff was able to extend the sidewalk and run the sidewalk all the way up to the playground and install an area for a bench and a trash can. The Roads Department helped with the concrete work for that project. Football Goal Posts -- This was an item for replacement on the game.field that is used at Barber Street Sports Complex. It was in the Capital Improvements Budget for this year. The goal posts have been ordered and have shipped. They should arrive here sometime within the next week or two. Staff will then make it a priority to have those installed before the tackle football season starts in early July. Easy Street Playground -- This project is still on track for a mid -July installation. Filbert Street Playground -- This project is currently on track for some time around mid August. Yacht Club/Riverfront Area -- Mr. Benton met today and did a site inspection with FEMA along the riverfront area. That is one of the steps that has to be taken through this PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2023 process of getting some shoreline stabilization replaced, specifically at Main Street where the proposed bench/swing park area will be. The City cannot go forward with that project until the shoreline is stabilized there, and some sod is reinstalled so that the bench/swing park area can be installed closer to the shoreline. He and the FEMA representatives also went down to Riverview Park at the twin piers area. They looked at the finger docks that are damaged. Hopefully, we will be moving forward on that. The electrical system that was damaged due to being under water was looked at. There are a couple of areas, one pavilion specifically and a couple sidewalk areas at the twin piers that were undermined due to the erosion. Those areas were looked at. The City received approval from FEMA to move forward with the irrigation repairs. Mr. Van Meir and staff were out there today installing the new irrigation pump cover and starting to install some new irrigation valves, etc. that are needed there for that project. That is all covered under FEMA. Also, regarding the Yacht Club north dock repair, Mr. Benton was in contact with the contractor late last week. They will be trying to get there sometime this week to get started on that repair work so that the north dock at the Yacht Club can be reopened to the public as soon as possible. Working with the MIS and Public Facilities Departments -- Staff has been able to install six new cameras within parks. One of the cameras that was installed was at the Yacht Club. It has a view of the boat ramp. One priority going forward is to look at getting that camera online on the City website so that people can look at it and see what the conditions are at the boat ramp. That project will be addressed during the next few months. Ms. White -- As to Filbert Street Park, she asked if fencing was put up on the other side of the park where the trees are. Mr. Benton said the fence line was extended to the north where there was some vehicular access on the north side. On the south side, it is someone's house and yard, and there is no concern there with vehicles coming in there. Once someone is inside the park, a perimeter was developed so that vehicles cannot get past the parking lot area. Regarding the football goalposts, they are being replaced, and she asked if those funds are coming out of Parks and Recreation, and what is the estimated cost. Mr. Benton said there was $8,5,000.00 budgeted for that project. He estimated the total cost was approximately $8,000.00 including the concrete, so that project was under budget. He could not recall where the funding for that project came from, whether it was Recreation Impact Fund, or if it came out of the General Fund. He will get that answer. Regarding the FEMA involvement, she asked where the irrigation project is going to be installed. Mr. Benton said there was already irrigation at the twin piers area. When the PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2023 surge came up it inundated the pump and the valve boxes and caused some issues there. Also, the pump house cover. So those parts all had to be replaced in order to get the irrigation back functioning for the twin piers grass area. Regarding most of those projects that were listed, the City was waiting for FEMA to come through and give the okay —is that why it has been taking a while? Mr. Benton said that is correct. The City has to follow FEMA's protocol. Staff has been meeting with FEMA, and the representative from FEMA has changed. Staff is dealing with the second FEMA representative. This representative requested that we have a site inspection before moving forward on some of these projects. The irrigation system and the Yacht Club dock staff had already moved forward. For those two we did not need site inspections. However, the projects where we had not moved forward, we had to get a site inspection. That was completed today. Once we get their report back, we will be able to move forward on those. She asked if there was anything that FEMA did not approve. Mr. Benton said it is hard to say with FEMA. We do not get a formal yes or no. It is just general direction that this could qualify for funding. Once that happens, the City staff goes forward to complete the project, and then we submit it to FEMA for reimbursement of our cost. We are never formally given the okay to go forward and they will pay 100%. Typically, as long as we meet their metrics and meet their standards, we will get the full funding that the City is eligible for. Most of these are 100%, and the City has gone after a few mitigation efforts that will hopefully give us some extra funding. Mr. Mauro -- He asked about the cameras that Mr. Benton had mentioned. Mr. Benton stated he does not want to give too many details on where the cameras will be placed. He gave some details on the camera at the Yacht Club just because it is an open camera. A. Committee Member Park Updates Mr. Renzi -- He commended Mr. Benton for putting all the benches in Riverview Park. He thought it was a great idea, and they are being used. Mr. Danise -- He thanked the Chamber of Commerce for participating in activities at Riverview Park. He is proud to live in this City where that park gets so much use. He mentioned the free gifts that are given away at events. Ms. White -- She added to what Mr. Danise said. She called attention to the businesses in Sebastian who donate all those things that are given away. It is good to support those businesses that are part of the Chamber because they do support the Chamber, which makes it nice for the community. Regarding Easy Street Park, she suggested that with the new playground being installed, there will be more traffic in that area. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2023 Ms. Drumheller -- She stated her parks are fine. Periwinkle is actually getting a lot more use. There are more people there, and they are using the benches as they walk around the lake there. Mr. Mauro -- He stated the Main Street boat ramp is fine. The Yacht Club is fine except for the boat ramp there that is being worked on. Regarding the pickleball courts, he would like to see adding more pickleball courts to be put on the agenda for next month's meeting to have a discussion about moving forward to add four or eight more courts to the existing complex. He understands that it is going to take time and money, and there will need to be a study done on how many people are actually using the courts now. He stated that the complex is in great shape, and that is a testament to Mr. Benton and his vision. If the Committee sees fit to discuss this as an agenda item, he would like to see it added to the agenda. Ms. Webster asked if it can be added. Mr. Benton said if it is the will of this Committee, it can be added to the agenda. There was general discussion among the Committee members and Mr. Benton on this subject, and it was the general consensus of the Committee that it be put on the next agenda. Mr. Benton explained that the budgeting for this year is already pretty much set. This would be a Capital Improvement Projects funding, and those items are due sometime in April, and we are already past that. This would be something that we would have to be planning for in a future fiscal year. Mr. Benton emphasized that it might be two meetings from now for it to be on the agenda. This is going to involve some time to get the information together, etc. After discussion, Ms. Webster suggested planning on having the item on the agenda at the July meeting. The Committee members agreed. Ms. Webster -- She talked about the lack of the public attending these meetings. She sees on Facebook people whom she knows complaining about the playground at Easy Street Park, etc. Yet, they never show up at these meetings. If anyone wants to get a question answered, just come to a meeting and you can have your questions answered. C. Upcoming Events at Riverview Park Mr. Benton reviewed that there are two events coming up: Barb Snow's Springtime Garden special event and the Craft Club event that takes place at the park. This will be on May 27 and 28. Saturday will be from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday is 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On Monday, May 29, at the Veterans Memorial there will be the Memorial Day veterans' service. It starts at 11:00 a.m. Vill. New Business PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2023 A. Staff Update Mr. Benton announced that he has been selected by City Council to serve as Interim City Manager beginning June 9t" at 5:00 p.m. While he serves in the interim capacity, he will have staff take on additional responsibilities to ensure the departments that he oversees continue to maintain the level of service that is expected. With that, he introduced Mr. Antoine Van Meir. He is the current Park Supervisor for the City. He took on this position in 2022, and he has been a great asset to the City. He was very instrumental in having the improvements made to the Barber Street Sports Complex. He performs work on the electrical systems, plumbing, irrigation, etc. Recently, Mr. Van Meir has been working on rehabilitating the Friendship baseball fields behind the tennis courts similar to what was done at Barber Street for the little league, because they need additional fields. That project will take some time to complete, but he has been willing and able to do everything that has been asked of him. He will now serve as the staff liaison for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Mr. Van Meir said he is happy to be here. He invited the Committee to ask him for anything they need, and he will be happy to comply. The Committee members welcomed him, and Mr. Benton said he will see that the Committee members are provided with Mr. Van Meir's contact information. The Committee members also congratulated Mr. Benton on his new position and thanked him for the great work he has done with the City's parks. IX. Items for the Next Aqenda and Date: June 26t", 2023 Mr. Benton asked that, if the Committee members have anything they want put on the next agenda, please send those things to either Mr. Van Meir or Mr. Benton, and they will make sure those things are put on the next agenda. X. Adioum There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Webster at 6:33 p.m. By: Date