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2007-08-16 PEARLAND PARKS, RECREATION AND BEAUTIFICATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTESMINUTES — REGULAR MEETING OF THE PEARLAND PARKS, RECREATION AND BEAUTIFICATION BOARD, OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, HELD ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2007, AT 8:00 A.M., IN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE ROOM, AT 2947 BROADWAY STREET, PEARLAND, TEXAS I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 8:10 a.m. II. BOARD MEMBER ROLL CALL Tom Gibbs Chairperson Marjorie Wilcoxson Board Member Joe Miller Board Member Ed Miller Board Member Jon Branson Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Smith Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ed Grossenheider Parks and Building Superintendent Randi Wyatt Parks and Recreation Office Coordinator III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — July 19, 2007 Mr. Joe Miller made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Ed Miller seconded the motion and the motion carried 4 to 0. IV. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING PARK MAINTENANCE STANDARDS FOR THE CITY OF PEARLAND Mr. Grossenheider presented the Board with a list of Maintenance Standards for Parks and Facilities at the meeting last month for review. Now that the Board was given the opportunity to review the Standards Mr. Grossenheider would like to know of any suggestions or changes that need to be considered. A discussion ensued regarding several areas of inspection. The main topic discussed was the lighting standards for athletic fields and parks in general. Mr. Ed Miller asked why the goal for lighting was only set at 90%, instead of 98% operation. Mr. Grossenheider answered by stating that the 90% goal is taking safety factors into consideration. We want a minimum of 90% to insure the safety of the ball payers in the fields; any less than this percentage becomes a hazard. Example: if you have sixteen lights on the field then 90% of those lights must be operational. Generally, this amount is considered to be safe. If 98 — 100% goals are required and one bulb is out in the field, the game would have to be cancelled due to the lights not meeting the standards. 90% allows a little bit of flexibility from a timing standpoint on getting the Ilights replaced. Mr. Grossenheider explained there is a survey that the Parks Supervisors will be conducting on a quarterly basis to ensure that the department is following the Standards. The general consensus of the Board was that the Standards look great and this is a good addition to the department. Once the board and City Council have adopted the Standards, a survey of the current status will be conducted immediately. Mr. Branson asked Mr. Grossenheider at what level did he feel the City was currently at by looking at these Standards. Mr. Grossenheider, advised that he feels the City is only meeting overall 60% of these goals. His intention is to bring this back to the board at this time next year and meet the goal of around 80-85% completion, with the ultimate goal of 100%. Mr. Grossenheider explained that this is a lengthy process and it will take time and money to bring everything up to par. The plan is that once the Board has approved these Standards, Mr. Branson is going to submit the Standards for the City Council's approval. Mr. Joe Miller made a motion to approve the Maintenance Standards as presented. Ms. Wilcoxson seconded the motion and the motion carried 4 to 0. V. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR THE PARKS, RECREATION AND BEAUTIFICATION BOARD Mr. Branson started out by stating that he has not been able to locate a set of Bi -Laws for the Parks, Recreation and Beautification Board. Per the City Secretary there is not an approved policy for attendance for various advisory boards and committees. On the Parks Board particularly, a member has not been present since October 2006. However, this situation has solved itself, this member has submitted a letter this morning stating that he is not going to be able to continue serving on this board due to other commitments. Mr. Branson advised that he feels it would be appropriate to create a policy regarding board attendance and perhaps in addition create Bi -Laws. Mr. Branson has a recommended policy in the binder for review to create discussion. He recommends that any member that has three consecutive un -excused absences be removed from the board; an un -excused absence being defined as a "no show", not calling in prior to the meeting. Joe Miller added that the absences should not be greater than five in one calendar year. 2 Mr. Branson advised that he expects to present the Maintenance Standards, updated rental policies, attendance policy as well as some additional policies and procedures that the Parks Department has been working to the City Council at a later date. The next time the board meets Mr. Branson would like to discuss Bi -Laws in general. Currently, Pearland does not have an ordinance in place for stating general park rules. He would like to propose an ordinance that would basically outline our general rules of the parks and facilities. For the record, the proposed attendance policy for the Pearland Parks, Recreation and Beautification Board would be that no member can remain on the board who has had more than three consecutive un -excused absences nor more than five absences in a calendar year. Motion to accept the policy as stated made by Mr. Joe Miller. Mr. Ed Miller seconded the motion and the motion carried 4 to 0. VI. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING A GLARE ORDINANCE FOR CITY OF PEARLAND ATHLETIC FIELDS Mr. Branson provided a list with several of the surrounding Cities stating whether or not they have an ordinance that dictates the amount of glare or light spillage on to the adjacent property. The list shows there are a small amount of communities that have adopted this type of policy or ordinance. A discussion ensued regarding the amount of lumens allowed to spill into the adjacent properties. As the communities grow, Mr. Branson feels that most municipalities will eventually be adopting these types of ordinances due to residents being concerned about light spillage. Pearland does not have a glare ordinance however; as we move forward with new park amenities we may want to consider adding this policy. Ultimately, what would occur is that if the board felt this policy is granted Mr. Branson would pass this on to the Planning and Zoning Commission because they update our Unified Development Code. Mr. Branson does not necessary recommend approval of this policy at this time but felt that it was something that needs to be discussed as we look forward to new construction in our future facilities. Mr. Branson stated that eventually a glare ordinance will become necessary in our area and the Parks Department could be the leader in establishing such policies. Mr. Gibbs suggested that the board take the list home to review and continue with the discussion next month. On a side note, Mr. Ed Miller would like to take a tour of the Pearland parks and facilities. Mr. Branson agreed that a tour would be a great idea after the new member comes on the board. 3 Mr. Gibbs mentioned that at least one board member usually attends the TRAPS conferences each year. Mr. Branson advised he would look at the conference's agenda and also see what the department could afford. Mr. Branson mentioned that the Regional TRAPS conference that is usually held in Texas City and possibly the entire board could attend because it is a day trip. Mr. Branson advised that the department could possibly send one member to the State conference and then wait until the conference came back around to Houston. In this case, the entire board would be able to attend the conference the year it is hosted in Houston. No action was taken at this time. VIL DIRECTORS REPORT Mr. Branson stated that there are several projects going on at this time and would like each person in attendance to give a brief status report. Ms. Smith is in charge of the Knapp Senior Center renovations. The back of the current building has been torn out and should have the new parking lot poured this week. The majority of the parking lot at the front of the building has now been dug up. The Staff has to be out of the building by September 1 so that the contractor can begin working. At that time, the contractor will be taking the building down to the studs so staff has to vacate the building for safety reasons. Ms. Smith advised that she has been researching alternative locations to host the Senior Programs, however these alternatives are very costly. The programs will be out of the center for approximately three months to be 100% complete in May 2008. Mr. Grossenheider mentioned that a Tree Survey was completed and the first phase of Woody Street Park has begun. Five acres of the park have been cleared and the parks crews are in the process of cleaning up the debris. The outline of the trail system is being cut out by the Parks Crews. Mr. Grossenheider advised that Southdown playground and splash pad are almost complete. The delays are due to severally wet weather. The parks crew put in additional drainage in the playground at the contractors request, the concrete should be poured within a few days and the pour -in- place material has been put on order. The concrete will have to cure at least four to five days before the pour -in-place material can be installed. Gl Mr. Grossenheider has changed the wiring and controls for the tennis courts at Independence Park. He also made an additional barrier on the outer layer of the board slates on the bridge that leads to the Rotary Playground so that a small child or pet can not slip through the slates. The wood enclosure at the front of Independence Park is going to be cleaned out and turned into a storage unit for Maintenance. This area will have a storage container in the wooden enclosure with lights. A storage container will also be put at Centennial Park to cut down the travel time for the crews. Mr. Grossenheider has replaced some existing amenities at Hyde Park including two new picnic tables under the pavilion, adding lighting, replacing three old wooden park benches with plastic coated benches and replaced the water fountain out of this year's budget. Ms. Wilcoxson added that she would like to see trees of color that bloom in the parks as well as wildflowers. Mr. Grossenheider added that one of the environmental goals of the department is to increase tree coverage utilizing the tree farm as well as signage explaining the tree growth and the maturity of the tree. Ms. Smith updated the board about the newly implemented program, Character Counts. Training was done with the majority of the instructors and part-time staff in early July. Julie Diaz and Ms. Smith will be conducting an additional training seminar soon for the remainder of the instructors and staff. Ms. Smith would like to have a video photographer come in a make a short video of the program for new instructors and employees to view. The training was very well received by all that attended and the pre-school teachers are eager to incorporate it in their classes. The instructors are required to turn in lesson plans so that they can be held accountable and evaluated on introducing this program to their students. TRAPS holds mini workshops throughout the region; these seminars are typically one day, one topic workshops. Julie Diaz and Ms. Smith have volunteered to host one of these workshops. This would give Pearland the opportunity to teach other professional about the Character Counts program and show how the Parks and Recreation Department is incorporating it's classes. This workshop may possibly take place in January 2008. Mr. Branson mentioned the development of Orange Street Park. As of right now there is, two hundred thousand dollars, appropriated in next years budget for this project. Mr. Branson has asked the consultant that did the design work for this project to begin working on the plans and specifications. He plans to go to council in September for their approval of the plans and specifications. 5 If approved, it will take about two and a half or three months to complete the plans for this project. He anticipates the first phase will start around the first of the year 2008. Mr. Branson stated that the consultant is at 100% completion for the plans and specification for the addition to Centennial Park. This project should be bid out next month with the anticipation of beginning construction in October 2007. Mr. Branson briefly discussed the proposed Interlocal Agreement he has been working along with the Pearland Independent School District and the City Council. Hopefully soon both parties will settle on a final agreement, which then can be put back on City Council's agenda as well as the school boards agenda some time in September 2007 for adoption. After the agreement has been signed the work on the plans and specifications can begin. VIIL ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:23 a.m. These minutes respectfully submitted by: cov► �)i Randi Wyatt Parks Office Coordinator Minutes approved as submitted and/or corrected this 20 day of 2007. Thomas Gibbs, Chairperson SCANNED 6 MAR 0 5 2008 CITY SECRETARY OFFICE