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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-24-2025 PR MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 1. Call to Order -- Chairperson Drumheller called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 11. Pledae of Alleoiance was recited by all. Ill. Roll Call: Present: Ms. White Ms. Drumheller Mr. Mauro Not Present: Mr. Renzi -- Excused Mr. Halleran (alternate) Ms. Sheldon (alternate) Ms. Webster (late arrival) IV. Announcements and Aaenda Modifications -- None V. ADoroval of Minutes A. Meeting Minutes from January 27, 2025 All having indicated they had reviewed the Minutes of January 27, 2025, a motion to approve the Minutes of January 27, 2025 was made by Mr. Mauro, seconded by Mr. Halleran, and approved unanimously via voice vote. VI. Public InQut -- None VII. Unfinished Business A. Current Project(s) Updates 1. Riverview Park Planning Mr. Blankenship stated there will be extensive discussion later on as per the agenda. 2. Bryant Court Playground update Mr. Blankenship stated the playground is complete, the ADA pad and walk have been poured. There is just a little bit of finish work to be done around the playground, but It is being used. The playground is quite a bit larger than the old playground was, and it is getting quite a bit of use. PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 2 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 Ms. White addressed the dirt pile in the parking area, and she asked if that Is for something specific. Mr. Blankenship said that Is to stabilize the park. Those are millings, and they will be spread out so as to stabilize the dirt section. Ms. White commented on the good job that the staff is doing in trimming the trees and other vegetation. Ms. White also asked if the turf in the swing area is on cement. Mr. Blankenship said it is not on cement; It is Styrofoam on top of packed shell. She also asked what sort of warranty there is on the turf. Mr. Blankenship stated it is 10 years, and he described what would be done when there was any repairfimprovement done in the future. (Mr. Webster joined the meeting at this point.) 3. Barber Street Backstops Mr. Blankenship stated that the Barber Street backstops are complete. Opening day was this past Saturday. 4. Main St. Boat Ramp Mr. Blankenship stated that Wednesday night City Council will entertain the approval of a contract with the consultant to do the design and permitting for the dredging of the Main Street boat ramp. It appears that that area has not been dredged since it was constructed, so it is in dire need of dredging. 5. Dry Lines Mr. Blankenship stated that there is the working waterfront dry line and the law enforcement dry line. Work on the working waterfront dry line has begun. Demolishing is done, and the new material has begun to be installed. Regarding the law enforcement dry line, staff will be going to City Council in the near future to approve a proposal from the vendor to do the installation of that project at Twin Piers. 6. Swing -and -Bench Park Mr. Blankenship stated that the design for the shoreline stabilization is complete. Staff is just waiting for St. John's to tell us we do not need a permit or that we do need a permit or what type of permit we need if we do need one. The stabilization has to be done before working on the swing -and -bench part of the work. B. Committee Member Park Updates Mr. Mauro stated that his parks are good with the exception of the pickleball courts, which are missing a wind screen on the west end. PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 3 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 Ms. White stated that the water cleared up pretty well, and the park looks good. It is used a lot, and the baby ducks are the "traffic stoppers." Mr. Halloran stated that Bryant Street Park is looking very nice. He noted that the picnic tables got a "facelift." He stated that George Street is looking good. One concern he has with both of his parks, and he suggested that some of the other parks have this problem. The problem is with abutting residents consistently parking on the grass that is opposite their house(s), and that consistently kills the grass. He asked if that is something that Code Enforcement should address. Mr. Blankenship stated that either Code Enforcement or the Police Department could address that. He added that on George Street what Mr. Halloran is noticing are the remnants of the road construction that was going on, and that is where the construction vehicles parked. However, that is a particular issue with the neighbors parking on the park sides of the streets. Ms. Webster stated that she does not have anything to report. She added that Hardee Park always looks good, and there was the opening day last week. Ms. Drumheller said her parks are doing well. She is not seeing any problems at Periwinkle Park. She said there are a lot more people using the walking trail at Filbert Park as well as lots of turtles there. She stated she is at the Garden Park a lot watering the butterfly garden and a couple of trees that were recently put in there. Mr. Blankenship updated the committee on Garden Club Park. The Natural Resources Board has a project there where they will be planting a pollinator garden on the west end of that facility. It will have a trail that goes through it. The pile that is in the parking lot is the millings that will be the trail. The NRB will do the planting the week of March 10t'. He is not certain if there is a sign-up sheet for that event on the website. Ms. Sheldon has nothing to report. She stated that Kildare and Schumann both look great. C. Upcoming events at Riverview Park Mr. Blankenship reported as follows: 1. The Star Gaze event Is March 8t' at 6:30 p.m. at the Twin Piers side of the park. The Treasure Coast Astrological Society will be present with their large, powerful telescopes there so that folks can see the stars. 2. River Days -- March 14-16 at Riverview Park. 3. Sebastian Art Club -- March 22"d beginning at 10:00 a.m. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 4 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 4. Concert in the Park -- March 28t' beginning at 5:30 p.m. 5. Sebastian Art Club -- April 5t'. Vill. New Business Ms. Drumheller stated it is time to elect a new Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. She called for nominations for the chair. Mr. Mauro nominated Ms. Drumheller for Chairperson. Ms. White and Ms. Ware both seconded that nomination. There were no further nominations. Roll Call Mr. Mauro -- Yes Ms. Drumheller -- Yes Ms. White -- Yes Mr. Halloran -- Yes Ms. Webster -- Yes Vote was unanimous, electing Ms. Webster as the Chairperson. Ms. Drumheller called for nominations for Vice Chairperson. Mr. Mauro nominated Ms. Webster for the Vice Chairperson. Ms. Drumheller seconded this nomination. There were no further nominations. Roll Call Mr. Mauro -- Yes Mr. Halloran -- Yes Ms. Drumheller -- Yes Ms. Webster -- Yes Ms. White --Yes Vote was unanimous, electing Ms. Webster as the Vice Chairperson B. Riverview Park Plan Review Mr. Blankenship presented photos on the screen, and he reviewed the plans for the park. He described that there were two public meetings here in Chambers to receive public input for suggestions on how Riverview Park could be improved, and the photos that are shown are the result of those suggestions. He described that the Veterans Memorial will be moved from its present location to the west side of the park. Staff has spoken with the leadership of the veterans' organizations, and they are in favor of this move. He described that the playground will be moved from its present location to being next to the splash pad. He also described that the east half of Harrison Street will be closed. The volleyball PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 5 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 courts will be moved from the northeast comer of Riverview over to the south end of Twin Piers. There will also be a permanent band shell constructed. There is formalization of the overflow parking. Right now it Is dirt, but the City will pave It so there will be additional parking. There will also be a bit of on -street parking along Indian River Drive. There will also be some additional sidewalks within the park. There will be additional entryways to the park from US1 and from the side streets. The area round the kayak launch will be greatly updated. He asked for questions/comments. There was extended discussion among staff and committee members after which Ms. Drumheller called for any public input. Darlene Furman -- Sebastian. She asked about what is happening at Hardee Park. She called attention to the cutting of the lower limbs of some of the deep shade, which she is strongly opposed to. She also asked why the Veterans Memorial is being moved, as she opined that it is In a nice location as it is. She suggested planting trees with deep shade along Indian River Drive. She also asked why Is the volleyball area being moved. She suggested putting some ping pong tables there as well as some other activities such as hopscotch, horseshoes, and bocce ball. She added that there is an area at Hardee Park where plantings are missing. She stated that Hardee Park Is supposed to have a splash pad, like some of the other parks that are supposed to have certain facilities and do not have those facilities. Ms. Drumheller asked Mr. Blankenship to get together with Ms. Furman to address some of her concerns. Dale Moore, Sebastian. (ZOOM) He identified himself and stated he is a board member of the Historical Society. He stated that he met with Mr. Benton and some of the designers last spring to throw out some ideas. He is a designer and is experienced in this field. He opined that the changes that were shown on the screen seem to be going in the right direction. He feels that there should be some continuity In the story of the whole park so that there is a cohesiveness within the park, and he made some suggestions. Ms. Drumheller stated that since this is just the conceptual area being discussed tonight, he will have an opportunity for input at future meetings. She stated that Mr. Moore should contact Mr. Blankenship if he wants to discuss some of his ideas with City staff. Roshan Desai, Sebastian. (ZOOM) He owns the dry cleaners along Harrison Street and is concerned about the traffic that will be headed south off of Harrison Street onto US1 once that street is closed off. Mr. Benton explained that the plan is to stabilize the driveway from the existing Harrison Street back down to Indian River Drive so your customers would still be able to access from Indian River Drive and also from Harrison Street to Indian River Drive via a new road that will run through the overflow parking lot that will be an actual road connecting those two points. Mr. Desai asked if the customers will be able to go south on Indian River Drive. Mr. Benton said yes. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAGE 6 MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 24, 2025 There being no further discussion or public input, Ms. Drumheller called for a motion. A motion making a positive recommendation to City Council to approve the conceptual plan for Riverview Park was made by Ms. Webster, seconded by Ms. White, and approved unanimously via voice vote. C. Recreation Program Calendar 1. Star Gaze March 8, 2025 -- 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Riverview Park 2. Shark Fitness Challenge -- May 10, 2025 at Riverview Park Mr. Blankenship said that will be an overall fitness event that will be held at Twin Piers which Treasure Coast Fitness will put on. 3. Junior Clay Court Tennis Tour -- May 16 to 19, 2025 This is a tournament that will be for ages 12 and under. That will be held at Friendship Park and will involve tennis players from all over the southeast. IX. Items for the Next Aaenda and Date: March 24, 2026 X. There being nothing further, Ms. Drumheller adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m. By: Date: ri[-- c 5 t Vicki Drumheller, Chairp rson E