Parks Advisory Board Minutes – January 20, 2017Page 1

Minutes

Parks and Recreation Advisory BoardMeeting of January 20, 2017

7:30 a.m. – Easterlin Park– Oakland Park

Board Members Present

Christina Clifford / Jack Mathison / Tyson Jones (by phone)
Dana MacDonald (by phone) / Kristen Reineke / William Gilmartin
Daniel Mulieri / Stephanie Munson
Howard Nelson / Terry Danger

Board Members Absent

Arthur McNeil / Patrick Brochu / Sumair Haroon
Howard Garson / Stephen Lawson

County Staff

Cathy Hagen / Gary Remillet / Racquel Henry
Dan West / Gayle Preston / Paul Davidson
Cyndy Baker / Jim Federici
Erik Westberg / Lou Metz

Guests

None

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (Board) meeting was called to order by Jack Mathison, Chair, at 7:35 a.m., after which all present recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll was called; a quorum was not present until later in the meeting with the arrival of several Board members. A quorum was present when matters were discussed and action taken by the Board.

Chair Mathison announced that Tyson Jones’ sister recently passed away and offered condolences.

Public Comment:Chair Mathison inquired if there were any members of the public who wished to speak on any Parks-related topic. There were none.

Park Manager’s Report:Paul Davidson, Parks Manager

Mr. Davidson stated that Easterlin Park has an 18 hole disc golf course that was one of the first to open in South Florida. The park is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. The park has a newly constructed administration building and restrooms. Upcoming capital projects include a new roof for the maintenance shed and a new restroom for the campgrounds, which will include laundry facilities. FY 2016 total park revenues were $469,686 reflecting an 8% increase in comparison to the same period in FY 2015. Mr. Davidson stated that the park is hosting a glow golf tournament tomorrow night.

Vice Chair Nelson asked about the occupancy of the RV campground. Mr. Davidson stated that the RV campground is currently at 100% occupancy, and is usually at 100% for four to five months a year. Campers are offered many amenities including full hook-up and free Wi-Fi. Mr. Davidson stated that campers are allowed to stay for six months.

Mr. Gilmartin asked if entrance fees are collected and if there is a gatehouse at the park entrance. Mr. Davidson replied that $1.50 is collected on weekends and holidays at the administrative office.

Terry Danger joined the meeting at 7:42 a.m. and a quorum was established.

Bond Construction Update:Jim Federici, P.E., Manager, Parks Planning and Design

  • South Fork New River– the project is to install boating navigational markers west of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The project is complete, staff is working on close-out documents.
  • Deerfield Island Park–the consultant has finished the design for the boardwalk renovation. Staff applied for a grant to fund the construction of the boardwalk.
  • Everglades Holiday Park – project includes developing and reconstructing the docks, ramps, parking site lighting and infrastructure. Consultant is working to complete plans for staff to review.
  • Miramar Pineland –staff is in the process of hiring a civil engineer and an architect to start the design work for the project.
  • Quiet Waters Park – the rental cabin construction projectwill be submitted to Purchasing for bid advertisementafter acquiring permits. The dog park project completion date is June 2017.

Mr. Danger asked about the tower at Anne Kolb Nature Center. Mr. Federici stated that the project will submitted for bids.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Howard Nelson to approve the minutes of the December 2, 2016, meeting. The motion was seconded by Daniel Mulieri and was passed unanimously.

Parks Foundation Update:Dan West stated that the Foundation is planning its first event for 2017, a meet and greet at the Carpenter House approximately six months from now. The Foundation would also like to do at least one fund-raising event per year. Mr. West stated that the focus is not on the amount of money raised but the support provided to the community and organizations to make our park system better. The Foundation has served as a conduit for park events and other charitable organizations such as United Way.

Mr. West stated that the friends group at Deerfield Island Park will receive a two-part donation of $90,000 total. Mr. Westberg stated that the park will receive $40,000 this year for the ADA boardwalk; and in 2018 the park will receive the rest of the funds to convert the house at Deerfield Island into an educational center.

Mr. Danger stated that Gayle Butler would be a great resource for parks as she is more connected to the community than members of the Board.

Parks and Recreation Division Update: Mr. West wished the Board a Happy New Year. He stated that 2016 was a busy year with the technological changes and implementation of Kronos, PeopleSoft and the Job Classification Study, whichcreated some challenges for staff. A list of projects including RFIs, RLIs, and negotiations has been compiled by staff and will be updated regularly.A typical procurement process takes around 14 months and the related project takes about two years to complete. The Division is working on a high ropes adventure course at Markham and Tradewinds Parks. At the next meeting, staff will share with the Board the list of projects for park improvements including capital projects. The Division is working on the Capital Budget, due February 23rd, and after that will start working on the operating budget for 2018.

The parking at Hollywood North Beach Park will be converted to an electronic parking system. A new restaurant will also be constructed.Staff is currently in negotiations with ToulaAmanna of Flashback Diner to manage the Blue Wave Cafe.

There was a proposal from Worldwide Sports Management Group to promote and manage cricket at Central Broward Regional Park and Stadium (CBRP). Staff conducted two negotiation meetings and will be putting an agenda item before the Commission to get clarification on some issues in order to continue with negotiations.

Mr. West stated that the tennis facility at CB Smith Park was built back in 1982, it has 10 asphalt courts that need resurfacing, and the two-story proshopneeds major work. The Division is considering removing the pro shop and rest room facility and constructing a smaller facility.Fourtennis courts will remain for public usage and four or six courts will be replaced with Pickle ball courts.Renovating the current tennis structures would cost approximately $2,000,000. Mr. West stated that staff looked at trends, cost of rebuilding, economic benefits or loss, and impact on patrons.

Memorial Regional Hospital is donating an outdoor fitness zone, which will be placed near the CB Smith tennis courts and will connect to the park trails.

The old wooden skateboard structure at Brian Piccolo Sports Park and Velodrome will be demolished and replaced with metal ramps taken from Quiet Waters Park.A proposal will be made in the capital budget for $1,200,000 to build a new skate park with metal or concrete ramps. Soccer Five may take the existing facility and convert it into mini soccer fields. Vice Chair Nelson asked about the velodrome and if there is room for more adaptive velodrome bikes. Mr. West stated that it may need top rails but the concrete is sturdy. Parks is working with the South Florida Velodrome Association that provided the original bikes.

Dana MacDonald left the meeting at 8:25 a.m. This did not affect quorum.

Parks annual all-employee meeting will be on February 16, 2017, at CBRP.Members of the Board are invited to attend.

Old Business

Vice Chair Nelson made a motion to modify Goal 2 Objective 2 to provide that the Advisory Board holds one workshop portion of a meeting per year where the substantive objective is to review the existing volunteer program and offers specific recommendations. The motion was seconded by Daniel Mulieri and was passed unanimously.

Chair Mathison asked the Board to submit their secret shopper reports. Vice Chair Nelson asked that the secret shopper survey form be sent via email to the Board. Vice Chair Nelson proposed a 2017 goal of 12 secret shopper surveys for Goal 1 Objective 2. Vice Chair Nelson made a motion to modify Goal 1 Objective 3 changing the reference “the visitor’s impressions” to “each visitor’s impressions.” The motion was seconded by Terry Danger and was passed unanimously.A motion was made by Vice Chair Nelson to adopt the changes to the 2017 Goals and Objectives. The motion was seconded by Mr. Danger and was passed unanimously.

New Business

Cathy Hagen stated that a few districts have new commissioners. Nan Rich is the new commissioner for District 1, Mark Bogen for District 3 and Steve Geller for District 5. Unless the commissioner appoints a new Board member to replace the current one, those that represent Districts 1, 3 and 5 remain on the Board for six months and will be automatically removed if not reappointed by the new commissioners. There are currently three vacancies on the Board.

Adjournment:A motion was made to adjourn the meeting.

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held at Plantation Heritage Parkat 6 p.m., followed by a Public Forumat 7 p.m.,on Thursday, March 2, 2017.