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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03142005 RECRecreation Committee Meeting Minutes City of Sebastian Recreation Advisory Committee March 14, 2005 Called to order by the Chairman: Roll Call: The following members were present William Ingui, Jayne Barczyk, Jessica Keaton, and Michelle Merlin, Jeanne Jessup, Elizabeth Gray were absent excused — It was stated by the secretary that Mrs. Gray had resigned. Staff members present were Linda Kinchen, Recording Secretary, Chris McCarthy, Parks and Recreation Superintendent, Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of January 24, 2005 and January 29, 2005 was made by Mrs. Barczyk second by Mr. Ingui passed unanimously. Old Business: Mr. Ingui reads his letter to Council and asks for comments. Mrs. Barczyk feels he covered it all based on her notes. Mrs. Merlin asks if Parks need to be ADA compliant — Chris states some of our parks can be done but others cannot because they would require parking and walkways. It was suggested to Chairman that he add that all future playground plans should include hard safety surfaces as well as bringing up the rest to ADA. Chris stated that the Public Works Department had been advised to put funding in the 2005 and 2006 budget. Chris advises chairman that the council meeting had been changed to the 30'hof March so he had time to get the paperwork together. A motion to approve the edited recommendations to City Council for special needs facilities was made by Mrs. Keaton second Mrs. Barczyk passed unanimously. New Business: The committee discussed the proposed sign for the Department of Agriculture request. Chairman stated maybe 1/3 the size and it should go at Riverview Park tied in to the development of the Snowshoe house Mrs. Keaton suggests near the new piers. By consensus this item was put on the back burner until the parks plans are determined and will be discussed again at the April 25, 2005 meeting under Old Business. The sign needs to be the same size as the shoreline sign or smaller. No Public Input. Member Comments: Mrs. Keaton has a safety concern at Hardee park where the sidewalk meets the canal near Salem says it needs a guardrail or fence there. Also she stated someone asked her at Hardee Park why a bike path cannot be installed in the middle of the park or along the walking trail for kids or others who might not want to walk but ride around the park. Chris says he will look into it but feels something like that would not pass. There was discussion regarding what is really needed is a new Community Center with a gymnasium etc. Discussion for this will be under new business at the next meeting also the commission will revisit under old business the recommendations for more recreation classes and their wish list for anything else. Staff Comments: Chris states Friendship Park coming along and the tennis courts will be done next week but can't be used until the whole park is done. Meeting was adjourned at 6:00 PM Approved April 25, 2005 , Chairman Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee City of Sebastian, Florida DATE: March 16, 2005 TO: Sebastian City Council RE: Parks Committee Recommendations (page 3) "Park Facilities and Children with Disabilities" Background: Having received approval to learn more about park facilities from interested citizens and professionals in the field of children with disabilities, at the meeting of the City Council on December 8, 2004, the Parks Committee has completed the following in order to prepare the recommendations made to City Council this evening: ■ January 3-24 — Letter of invitation to parents and professionals requesting their attendance at our meetings to provide input. ■ January 24, 2005 — Regular Parks Meeting — 5 pm, at which time park facilities and pre - workshop public input was made to the Parks & Recreation Committee ■ January 29, 2005 — Parks & Recreation Workshop — 9 am to 11 am, with an agenda: "Children with Disabilities." Public input was received from a professional in the field and a parent. ■ March 14, 2005 — Regular Parks Meeting — 5 pm, at which time the Committee completed the report to the City Council being presented at this time ■ March 30, 2005 — Council Meeting — 7 pm — Presentation of this report, reviewed by the Parks Committee on March 14th — Answer questions posed by the City Council. ■ April 25, 2005 — Regular Parks Meeting — 5 pm, at which time the Committee will address any "new" directives made by the City Council after the presentation and Q&A has been completed on March 30, 2005 before the City Council. Workshop Summary / Basis for Recommendations January 29, 2005 Information Learned About Children With Disabilities Input -from Professional: Dr. Jackie Stanley Dr. Stanley has her doctoral degree in Recreation and Leisure Administration from Temple University. She is a former City Recreation Department Administrator and was the Director of the Office on Community Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities for thirteen years, in the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. She was the recipient of four grants from the U.S. Department of Education (Special Education Division) to develop "A Systematic Approach to Developing and Implementing Integrated Community Recreation Services for the Disabled." She was appointed to six Governor's Task Forces serving the disabled and served on seven state advisory boards and commissions that dealt with disabled issues. Dr. Stanley is the author of thirteen publications that relate to training, public awareness, interpretation of the law and accessibility to serve this special group. Before retiring to Florida in 1992, she had served on the National Accessibility Commission and drafted the first "Barrier Free Regulations for Parks, Playgrounds and Indoor Recreation Facilities" in the State of New Jersey. Dr. Stanley participated in our workshop of January 29, 2005. The following is a summary of what she tried to convey to the committee: ■ Build parks for all children. She explained that children, like adults, work and play together in our society and although some with disabilities perform at a different pace, they learn to integrate in whatever they do. ■ Equipment for all parks should be spread throughout a park, not located in a focal point to be used for a specific group of children. An "integrated" park, with equipment that serves to offer an education moment for children to learn tolerate each other, as well as perhaps help each other, was a primary theme of what Dr. Stanley tried to convey. She referred to the "integrated" concept as a "boundless playground" environment for children and adults. ■ She suggested that when making requests for government funding, we should emphasize ALL children benefiting in this integrated setting. ■ A park near a school or on school grounds is good, so her remarks also made reference to the fact that a cooperative relationship should exist between the City of Sebastian and the Indian River Board of Education to pursue park facilities that address the needs of all children. ■ Decisions need to be guided by civil rights legislation and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, with any addendum changes that have been made since. She framed this thought in reference to the fact that government agencies are responsible to all of the residents and this includes children with many different abilities or disabilities. Input from Parent, Mr. Charles Stadelman: Mr. Stadelman has a daughter, Abigail, now six years old, who has cerebral palsy, and a son, Andrew, now three years old, who is autistic. He and his wife Lisa, also have two other children, Charles, who is nine years old, and William, who is four years old. His children attend programs at Pelican Island Elementary School and he related to us that there are approximately nine other parents who have children with similar issues. His daughter cannot walk or speak, but skillfully uses a wheelchair. His son Andrew is autistic which is a term describing a developmental disturbance characterized by an abnormal or impaired development in social communication and interaction skills and a significantly restricted range of activities and interests. Autistic children exhibit communication disorders, short attention spans, and the inability to treat others as people. Mr. Charles Stadelman is a Sebastian resident who spoke before the Parks and Recreation Committee Workshop on January 29, 2005. The following is a summary of what he tried to convey to the committee: He expressed his support for the City to include play equipment for children with disabilities in the parks. He suggested that a rubberized surface instead of sand would improve accessibility for these children and for some elderly who use canes, walkers, and have difficulty walking on sand. His experience with Pelican Island Elementary School has helped him know a little more than the average person about what makes a good park environment for these children. He believes that the sand made it almost impossible for Abby to play with other kids since she uses a walker. He felt that that the playground needed pieces of equipment designed for special needs children, but integrated with the rest. Because of his intervention, the playground at Pelican Island will be getting a rubberized surface, making it accessible for Abbey and other children. 2 Parks & Recreation Committee Recommendations: 1. Equipment: ■ All parks in the city should have at least one piece of playground equipment that can be considered appropriate for developmentally impaired children and accessible to all children. ■ Swings especially should have wheelchair access and/or molded seats that are larger than those on normally built swings. 2. Access to equipment - Surfaces: ■ Accessibility should involve the use of a surface easily traversed with a walker or wheelchair, such as the use of rubberized surfaces in all parks. This surface material replaces sand or mulch with a poured rubber mixture. ■ All future playground plans should include hard safety surfaces and make adjustments to existing parks wherever feasible. These surfaces should meet ADA Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. ■ Please note that the former City Manager and the Finance Director have instructed the Public Works Department to include funds in the 2005-06 Budget to accommodate park facilities for special needs individuals. 3. Integrated equipment: ■ "All parks should be socially inviting, developmentally beneficial, fully integrated and barrier -free." (1) 4. Access to equipment — Ramps and Other Features: ■ The parks should include equipment with ramps or berms that eliminate the need to climb a stair or ladder. ■ The ramps need to be wide enough to permit wheelchair access. 5. Cooperative Planning with IR Board of Education: ■ The City Council should seek a cooperative planning relationship with the Indian River Board of Education to pursue park facilities that address the needs of all children. This would mean that while City parks are addressing children's needs, so too should all schools that fall within the boundaries of the City of Sebastian, if not providing the impetus for the Board of Education to do the same throughout the county. We could literally double the parks useful for children with disabilities and their grandparents (many who volunteer on school grounds) who join them during the afternoon or on weekends. 6. Old Parks / Planned Parks: ■ Some parks that were previously not considered for use as a place where integrated play equipment would be placed have been reconsidered under our new guideline recommendations. While the Committee thought only new parks might be better suited for adaptation to meet the recommendations already stated, it became clear that older parks are already used by parents and children with disabilities, such as the greatly praised Barber Street complex, where some adaptation and adjustments are necessary to bring it to a level that would meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Bill Ingui, Chai erson and Zone A Representative, for Committee Members: Elizabeth Gray -Zone B Representative Jessica Keaton - Regular at -Large Member Jeanne Jessup - Zone C Representative Michele Merlin - Alternate Member Jayne Barczyk - Zone D Representative City Liaison / Parks Superintendent - Chris McCarthy (1) aCity Pushes for Spe acTl Ffeeds Park,' Florida Today, quoted from Eve Owens, Palm Bay grant coordinator in developing a special needs park City of Sebastian 1225 MAIN STREET 0 SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 32958 TELEPHONE (561) 589-5490 D FAX (561) 589-6209 AGENDA CITY OF SEBASTIAN RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE March 14, 2005 5:00 PM 1) Call Meeting to Order 2) Pledge of Allegiance 3) Roll Call 4) Approval of Minutes — January 24, 2005 and January 29, 2005 5) Old Business: 1) Special meeting Recommendations 6) New Business 1) Discuss Department of Agriculture Sign Requests 7) Input from Public 8) Member comments 9) Staff Comments 10) Set next meeting date and agenda 11) Adjourn ANY PERSON WHO DECIDES TO APPEAL ANY DECISION MADE WITH RESPECT TO ANY MATTER CONSIDERED AT THIS MEETING (OR HEARING) WILL NEED A RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND MAY NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE, WHICH RECORD INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL IS TO BE HEARD. (286.0105 F.S.) IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA), ANYONE WHO NEEDS A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION FOR THIS MEETING SHOULD CONTACT THE CITY'S ADA COORDINATOR AT 589-5330 AT LEAST 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THIS MEETING.