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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-23-2023 PR MinutesIV. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 23, 2023 Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. Roll Call Present Ms. White Ms. Webster Mr. Mauro Not Present Mr. Allen -- Unexcused Mr. Danise Ms. Drumheller Mr. Renzi Also Present Mr. Antoine Vanmeir, Parks Superintendent Mr. Joseph Perez, AV Technical Assistant Ms. Janet Graham, Technical Writer Announcements and Agenda Modifications Mr. Vanmeir made the following announcements: He wanted to make note that the North County Master Plan Meeting is November 9t' at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. He hopes everyone will be in attendance. He suggested that we cancel November's meeting and move it to December 1801. The scheduled November meeting is two weeks away, and he does not think there will be a lot to talk about in two weeks. He stated that, if there is strong opinion in favor of having the November meeting, he said we will have it. It was decided to cancel the November meeting, and the next meeting will be on December 181'. A motion canceling November's meeting, and having the next meeting on December 1801, 2023 was made by Ms. Webster, seconded by Ms. White, and approved unanimously via voice vote. V. Approval of Minutes -- Meeting of October 2, 2023 Everyone indicating that they have reviewed the Minutes of October 2, 2023, Ms. Drumheller called for a motion. A motion approving the Minutes of October 2, 2023 as presented was made by Ms. Webster, seconded by Mr. Renzi, and approved unanimously via voice vote. VI. Public Input -- None PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2023 VII. Unfinished Business: A. Current Project(s) Update Mr. Vanmeir spoke on the current projects as follows: War Memorial: Mr. Vanmeir said that project is about 90% completed. All the plants were removed, irrigation was added, and the plants were replaced with fresh red, white, and blue plants. Easy Street: The ladder that goes to the top of the playground was installed. He is still waiting for the arm on the right side of the swings to be replaced, but it is functional, and the public is permitted to use it, as it is structurally sound. Filbert Street: This project is expected to begin on or about the 141 of November. That is the best commitment he could get in speaking with the installers. B. Committee Member Park Updates Mr. Mauro stated that his three areas of responsibility are the Yacht Club, Pickleball Courts, and the Main Street Boat Ramp. They are all in good shape. He asked Mr. Vanmeir if he is aware of the large alligator at Stormwater. Mr. Vanmeir said staff is aware of what he estimated to be three alligators over six feet. One he estimates to be over ten feet. Staff has notified FWC, and they are currently out there monitoring it. Ms. Webster stated Hardee Park looks good, and she has not been to the ball fields. Ms. White stated that at the Easy Street Park the kids are loving the new playground. That park has been a lot busier than she has seen it in several years. There are a lot of families there. She addressed the number of ducks in the park, but the park looks really good. She did mention that a positive effect of having the ducks is that they slow the traffic down. She asked if there is any way a permanent flashing speed sign can be gotten for traffic in that area. Ms. White said she will talk to the neighbors in order to see if they think the sign should be for traffic coming from CR- 512 or if it should be coming towards the park from Main Street. She also asked Mr. Vanmeir if he can ask the Police Department if they would come and park in that parking lot off and on during the day whenever they can. That really does make a difference. Ms. Drumheller said Filbert Street Park is not seeing as much action there right now. However, she stated Periwinkle Park is really picking up. There is also an alligator in that pond. She said the Garden Park is in good shape. Mr. Renzi said Riverview Park is in great shape, as always. That is a beautiful place. Friendship Park is fine with no problems there. Stormwater Park has alligators. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2023 Mr. Danise said all the parks look very good. At the tennis courts there is some concern about losing some of their courts to pickleball. He told them that has not come up. Ms. Drumheller said that the folks who are nervous about tennis need to know that one of the ways that they keep all the courts is to make sure that they voice their opinions and that the courts are utilized well. C. Upcoming Events at Riverview Park Mr. Vanmeir covered the events up through December: 1. Friday, October 27th, is the Halloween event and Movie Night. He asked how many of the Committee members will be there for judging. He added that registration begins about 6:00 p.m. He said the members can meet by the stage, and there will be a place for the judges to sit. There were several Committee members who volunteered. Mr. Vanmeir described how the judging will be handled. He added that this year there is a Jeep group who are bringing 20-25 Jeeps that will park on the street, and they will do a Trunk or Treat. They will get there about 5:00 p.m., and they are very eager to help. They have raised about $1,500.00 for candy. The road will be closed from Harrison Street. 2. Saturday and Sunday, October 281 and 291h Hiram's Haul at Riverview Park and the Twin Piers area. The Junior Bluewater Open is renting the Park pavilion on the 28th. 3. Friday, November 31d through Sunday the 501 the Clambake will be held. 4. The Craft Club event will be held on November 11th. The Veterans Day event will be held in the park as well. 5. On November 12th, the Craft Club will be in Riverview Park. 6. The Sebastian Art Club will be in Riverview Park on the 18th of November. 7. Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 231d. On that day, the AA Alc-a-Thon will be held in the Community Center from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 8. Kris Kringle Market will be held on November 24th, 25th, and 26th at Riverview Park. That will be like a Christmas market. 9. On Friday, December 1 st, there will be Light -Up Night for the US1 businesses. 10.On Saturday, December 2"d, there is the Rotary Brewfest at Riverview Park and the Christmas Parade from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It will begin at the Main Street Boat Ramp and continue to Riverview Park. 11. December 7th will be the Pearl Harbor Day event at the Veterans Memorial. 12.On December 7th there will be the Craft Club event at Riverview Park. 13.On Friday through Sunday, December 15th to the 17th there will be Barb Snow's Winter Wonderland. 14. Sebastian Police Department will have Christmas Movies in the Park on December 15th also, at the twin Piers area, the same place as the Movie Night for Halloween. 15.On Saturday, December 16th there will be the Wreaths Across America event. The City of Sebastian's award ceremony is also on the 16th. He is not sure where this event will be held. He will get that information for the next meeting. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2023 16. On December 24th there will be the AA AIc-A-Thon from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Coastal Community Church will also be there. 17. On Christmas Day, December 25th, the AIc-A-Thon will be once again 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 18.On Sunday, December 31 st, AIc-A-Thon will once again have an event. There was discussion regarding where the Clambake will be set up this year. Mr. Vanmeir said there is only one change, which being where they will keep the large food truck. That will be moved from the No Name area side of the street to Sebastian Boulevard and set it up right along the road. D. Staff Update on Pickleball Mr. Vanmeir suggested that this item will be better addressed at the November 9t" meeting. There will be a complete discussion, and the committee members can see where the County stands, and they will be able to ask a lot of questions. At that meeting, the committee members will be able to see what the County plan is. It is a 10-year plan, and it will take approximately 10 months for them to begin that plan. Ms. White said she plans to attend that meeting. She asked, if she wants to speak on pickleball courts, does she introduce herself as a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee. Mr. Vanmeir said yes, definitely. She added that her point of discussion relates to the fact that Sebastian's pickleball courts are not just City residents playing there. There are people coming from other places. She is going to emphasize that the pickleball courts are a community -type amenity. She said she is also going to talk about the bike trail, extending that out to Fellsmere. The third subject she is going to discuss is that the bike trail on Indian River Boulevard should go all the way to US1. She hopes the people who are in favor of more pickleball courts show up at that meeting. Ms. Drumheller asked if the Intergenerational Center in South County is a County project. Mr. Vanmeir said yes, it is. Ms. Drumheller stated she thinks we ought to talk about that for Sebastian also. The one in South County is a community center, but it has a lot of services under one roof, and it really supports activities for kids' teams. They have seminars, classes, and supports groups there. Here in Sebastian, there is really not a place where people can just go in and meet and support each other or start a conversation, etc. She asked if that is something to bring up at the meeting. Mr. Vanmeir suggested to keep bringing everything up. That is something Mr. Benton expressed quite a bit about -- our need for not only a gymnasium, but a gymnasium with meeting rooms and a facility to host gatherings where people could go and meet and have different clubs. Ms. Drumheller said there is a website for the Intergenerational Center. If anyone is planning on going to the meeting, take a look at the website, and you can see how active that has become. Ms. White said that when she lived up north the schools provided rooms for people to have meetings, take various classes, etc., and she thought that was a good idea. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2023 Ms. Drumheller said that one of the things that this committee needs to drive home is, when you look at the Center and you look at the population density of North County, there is nothing like this type of facility in our area, and our area has a higher density and demographics. She suggested we need to keep pushing that our population needs to have the same consideration as Vero Beach and South County have received. Mr. Renzi suggested one of the builders who does business in Sebastian might be talked into building a large building like that. Ms. White said that, if something like that is built, it will not be in the City, and if there is land outside the City, it should be a County project. Vi l 1. New Business A. Discussion on Resolution R-23-33 Adopting Updated Fees and Procedures for Park and Facility Rental Permits Mr. Vanmeir explained that the resolution addresses how much the cost of each facility will be. There was general discussion addressing this subject. Mr. Vanmeir explained that staff did a survey of the County and the cities around Sebastian, and they took that information and brought it to City Council, and Council approved the rate adjustment based on the surrounding cities and counties and what they were getting for what they were providing. Mr. Benton (via Zoom) clarified that the resolution is going to Council this coming Wednesday. So, he would like a recommendation from the committee in support of this resolution going forward to Council for this Wednesday night. He stated that staff received direction from Council to look into the fees that we were charging for rental of Riverview Park, Community Center, Yacht Club, and our park pavilion(s). They wanted it to come back to them quickly, and it is already on their agenda for this Wednesday. In regard to the question on fees prior to this, for the park events, which are less than 300 people, our current rate is rental not including tax and is only $100.00 a day, and a special event is only $200.00 a day. So, you will see the prices have increased pretty dramatically compared to that. However, when you think of a large event coming in and they are able to rent the park for $200.00 for a Saturday and they fill the park with vendors who they are charging, then $200.00 is a very nominal charge. Instead of addressing every single event that is included in the park, staff just decided to charge one fee for the rental of the park, and that is where the special event was increased to $800.00 from $200.00, and the park event got increased from $100.00. The same thing at the Yacht Club and the Community Center -- those rates went up $100.00 to $150.00 for rental as well. He also described what Vero Beach charges for their venues. There was more general discussion regarding this item. Mr. Renzi stated that he does not think the increase for Riverview Park is high enough. He suggested that it should be about a $1,200.00 fee for the park. Ms. Webster stated that several events that are held at the park are nonprofits. Mr. Benton explained that the City does have contract agreements with the Clambake, River Days, Fourth of July, Fine Arts and Music Festival, and they do not pay the City a rental fee for PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 23, 2023 those City -sponsored events. The reason for that is the great benefits those events are to the community, and he reviewed how those events donate funds to various organizations. Ms. White asked regarding when the Chamber of Commerce has its music nights, do they pay a fee. Mr. Benton said the City also has an agreement with the Chamber, and they do not pay a fee as well. Ms. White suggested that the fees charged for the various venues in Sebastian should be reviewed every few years instead of waiting such a long time to address the fees. She also asked who would pay a fee for the use of the park. Mr. Benton said an example would be Barb Snow's event. She runs several events in the park now, and the City also does have other rentals. He added that the City gets approached by several outside entities who want to rent the park. One of the things that staff looked at is the wear and tear on the park. If you go down there and look at the condition of the park, and then you see it once we get through the season where there is something almost every single weekend, that park gets beat up. Even with the work of the City's park staff trying to maintain it, it is a lot of wear and tear on the park. He feels it is important to protect what the City has and either charge higher fees so we then have more money to assist with the upkeep, or it may prevent a couple of events from happening at the park. Ms. Drumheller called for a motion. A motion accepting the rate changes for using the venues as listed in Resolution R-23-33, and recommending to City Council that they adopt this resolution was made by Ms. Webster and seconded by Ms. White. The motion was passed via voice vote with four ayes and two abstentions, those abstentions being Mr. Renzi and Mr. Danise. B. Leisure Services Department Name Change Mr. Vanmeir stated that the City Manager, as part of his City-wide evaluation process, made the decision to change the name from Leisure Services Department to the Parks and Recreation Department. This change is based on employee/resident feedback and the difficulties residents face in finding the contact information for the department staff, and staff will work in the coming weeks to get all the verbiage changed to accurately reflect the change. IX. Items for the Next Agenda and Date: December 18, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. X. Adiourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. By: Date: Vicki Drumheller, Chairperson 19