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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Recreation_07/02/2003 r v � � VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA '�! Post Office Box 3273 • 250 Tequesta Drive, Suite 300 � �� a � Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (561) 575-6200 r,; *. r � . , � Fax:(561)575-6203 i PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES July 2, 2003 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Village of Tequesta Parks & Recreation Advisory Board held its regularly scheduled meeting in the Tequesta Recreation Center, 399 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, Florida, on Wednesday, July 2, 2003. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Recording Secretary, Betty Laur. Boardmembers present were: Chair David Becker, Vice Chair John Bonnell, Elizabeth (Betsy) Evans, and Royce Hood. Vi Laamanen arrived at 7:05 p.m. John Vadala was absent from the meeting. Also in attendance was Greg Corbitt, Director of Parks and Recreation. Also present was Mayor Edward D. Resnik, who indicated he was present to see how the Board operated and did business, and to talk about how good they had done over the past 1-1/2 years. IL APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Corbitt requested addition under Any Other Matters of discussion of thc Board's future. Betsy Evans made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Motion was seconded by Vice Chair Bonnell and unanimously carried by 4 vote. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Upon motion by Royce Hood, seconded by Betsy Evans, and unanimously carried, the minutes of the April 2, 2003 meeting were approved as submitted. Recycled Paper Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 2 ................................... IV. NEW BUSINESS A. End of School Teen Bash Mr. Corbitt provided an update on the End of School Teen Bash and announced that attendance had been approximately 500, including youth, families, and visitors. This event had included the opening of the skate park, and had been very successful. Mr. Hood had provided entertainment with The Buzz disc jockey as MC and had brought in bands to play. A rock climbing wall had been a great success. Boardmember Laamanen arrived at this point, at 7:05 p.m. Mr. Corbitt announced that Tequesta's Fire Department and the Village Manager's staff had cooked and sold hot dogs, along with chips, lemonade, and water, and had made $300 profit. Prizes had been raffled at $1 a ticket and that had resulted in $200 profit. Mr. Corbitt announced that this event had been one of the most successful in his entire parks and recreation career. The attendance had doubled since the prior year, when 250 had attended. The opening of the skate park this year had really helped. This event had been for all ages and for the whole family. Mr. Corbitt announced that Royce Hood was always there to help with entertainment, and that music was a very important part of the events. Mr. Corbitt stated that Royce had done a good job, and he had had to kick a band off at one point. Mr. Hood explained that they had not used the same music as in their audition and the lyrics of one song they started were such that he was worried they might get worse and he did not want to take a chance. Mr. Corbitt reported the disc jockey from The Buzz had done a good job, and there was nothing he would have done differently. Ms. Evans inquired whether port-o-lets had been obtained for the park, to which Mr. Corbitt responded no, that it would cost close to $10,000 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 3 ................................... to have two for a year and to have them cleaned weekly. During this event the Recreation Center had been open, and the Village was considering putting exterior rest rooms in this year's budget. That was one of the requirements for a splash pad, and would be addressed before any other amenities. Mr. Corbitt reported that the Village had , not received the grant although they scored very high, but the state had cut back on funds, so they would try again and were now in process of gathering information for next year. The Village's contact in Tallahassee had pushed for the grant but had been unsuccessful. B. Skate Park Grand Opening Mr. Corbitt announced that close to 100 kids had registered for the skate park. Everyone who wanted to skate had to register and was given an identification card. A Polaroid picture was taken and put on a business card with their name and the date they received their membership. Memberships were good for one year. More residents than non-residents had registered. The number of inemberships would be unlimited. The skate park would be open every day, Monday- Friday 12-7; Saturday 10-7, and Sunday 12-6, and was staffed by a supervisor and an attendant. There had been no vandalism, no fights, and only one accident. No bad language was allowed. The supervisor had come up with a competition for the end of the summer, and skate clinics were planned, which would generate revenue. Mr. Corbitt reported that concessions for the park were going to be considered by the Village Council. The skate park supervisor's family owned a concession cart, and he would pay the Village $200 each month no matter how much he made or did not make—there would be no out-of-pocket money from the Village. Mr. Corbitt commented that the supervisor and attendant were very innovative. This was a part-time job for the supervisor, who was in his late 20's or early 30's and was an assistant manager at a Chinese restaurant, and the attendant was a student at Florida State and this Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 4 ................................... was a summer job for him. Mr. Corbitt noted that the parents liked the park supervised, that there had been no drop-off in attendance, and the kids had more respect for him now. Kids were hanging out at the skate park. The Police Department would present a report to the Village Council on the benefits of the skate park at the end of the summer. There had been no juvenile problems this year as in past years. The supervisor and attendant had direct contact with dispatch and could get fire rescue immediately; they kept the park clean, took out the garbage, and used a blower for trash. C. Summer Camp 2003 Mr. Corbitt announced that as of 7/2/03, there were 75 enrolled in summer camp, that it had been the best summer of his career, the camp staff was awesome and constantly played with the kids—they were not just baby sitting. There were three age groups-5 and 6; 7, 8, 9; and 10,11,12. There were four sessions over the summer. The tennis camp was separate as was the surf camp. The surf camp was slow but would improve. This summer there were four other surf camps so the market was saturated, and these camps were expensive. The Village was giving t-shirts to make their camp a little different. Boards were furnished by the instructor, who got them at cost from the manufacturer. Mr. Corbitt reported that the other camps had been in existence for 2-3 years, and the Village's camp would grow. Mr. Corbitt explained that schools required a certain number of community service hours, so he was using volunteer help this summer and the volunteer program could be expanded. His job was to keep them busy. Mr. Corbitt reported that the Village Council had established a volunteer program to recognize volunteers for their work at the end of the year. Mrs. Laamanen recommended to be sure to have supervisors train the volunteers properly, that they did not need to have fun but needed to learn that life is not fun all the time. D. Fall Program Ideas Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 5 ................................... Mr. Corbitt asked the Board for suggestions for programs. Vice Chair Bonnell suggested teaching card games which were not taught any more. Suggestions were bridge, gin rummy, cribbage, hearts, solitaire, etc. Card games for kids. Teenagers could play bridge at college. Everything today was on the tube, which was not good. Mr. Corbitt noted that the video game in this room, a donation from a mother of one of the summer campers, and TV were used as treats and that time for their use was limited, and the kids played other kinds of games and did crafts. Mr. Corbitt agreed that a program of card games could be tried. Mayor Resnik commented that a friend of his and their family loved to play hearts, and he had always loved to play cribbage, which was a great tournament type game. If a few individuals got interested it might spread. The Mayor recommended that this program be sold as a competition. Chess was also suggested for a tournament, and Mr. Hood suggested holding an all games tournament. Mayor Resnik commented he had lived in the Village 24 years and his kids had gone to school in this area, but he had never come to the Recreation Center during that time. Now in the past 1-1/2 to 2 years it had blossomed in a good way. The community had set guidelines and had hired Mr. Corbitt. The Mayor reported he had come 4-5 different times to different events—concerts in the park, the Easter Egg Hunt, the Teen Bash/Skate Park opening—and had been amazed at the rock climbing wall, and the blown-up slide. As demographics changed in the Village, there would be more young people to whom these things would mean a lot, and the whole parks and recreation effort was doing a tremendous job for the Village. Mayor Resnik thanked the Board and Mr. Corbitt for their work, commented that with so much already planned and programmed it was hard to envision what else might be added, and the Village would include exterior rest rooms in the budget. Mayor Resnik commented that Tequesta Park was beautiful with resodded ball fields and tennis courts, and the Village was blessed with nice recreation facilities. Mrs. Laamanen commented so much had been accomplished in a short period. Mayor Resnik Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 6 ................................... thanked the board for their support and participation and stated a judgment needed to be made where to go from here. Ms. Evans asked if Tequesta Fest was still planned for this fall. Mr. Corbitt confirmed that the Jupiter Tequesta Women's Club would handle the event, which would be held at Gallery Square North. There would be entertainment, and merchants would provide foot. The Women's club would provide staff for parking, promotion, and marketing and would run the whole event. Mr. Corbitt would be the liaison for the Village. There would be a shuttle, probably a trolley, to bring people from parking areas. Roads would not be closed because of fire/rescue concerns. The event would terminate in the Village Green park where artists would be set up. People would walk from the park to the shopping center, in front of the public safety building. Gallery Square South would be used for parking for the artists. Other parking areas would be the Bank of America lot, Main Street if permission was received, churches, and the U.S. One shopping center. The event would be the first Sunday in November. V. Any Other Matters Mr. Corbitt announced discussion of the Board's future—whether it should be continued, or discontinued and instead to have an open house twice or four times a year to have everyone discuss ideas in a more informal setting. This issue had been raised because it had been hard to get a quorum for meetings and there had been little response from the public. Mr. Corbitt commented that programs were now established and those would be built upon. Larger communities with more people needed advisory boards, to acquire more land and build recreational facilities, but Tequesta was almost built out. Chair Becker commented he did not think this board was necessary. Mr. Hood agreed, and commented as long as Mr. Corbitt was here things went smoothly. Vice Chair Bonnell commented there were key people Mr. Corbitt could contact to get things, and he agreed with the others. Mr. Corbitt reported a new resident had expressed interest in the board but when he had explained what the board did, she explained that the board in Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page ? ................................... her former town had been a volunteer base for helping with events. Mr. Hood suggested restructuring so that in order to be on the board one must assist at events. Mr. Corbitt commented that it could be more informal if there were open houses and chats could be held the way this board had functioned in the beginning. Vice Chair Bonnell commented that would provide a larger cross section of ideas. Mr. Corbitt suggested changing from a formal board to a group holding a Recreation Open House, to come, have a drink and food, and give input and see how things were going. Mayor Resnik reported the public did not attend the board's meetings, and at the previous night's Budget Planning Workshop not one resident had attended, which he felt meant people were satisfied and had nothing to complain about. Mrs. Laamanen commented people had different reasons for not coming to meetings—some felt there was no use to protest. Mayor Resnik commented until a couple of years ago people came to the meetings and complained, were not satisfied or wanted to influence what was going on, and when people had a complaint they came. Mrs. Laamanen commented some people were uncomfortable at meetings because they were unfamiliar with the procedure. Mayor Resnik recalled people had been upset about Nichols Sanitation, about the sewers in the Country Club area, and that very few came to meetings to say the Village was doing a good job. Chair Becker asked how the Village Council felt about this board. Mr. Corbitt responded that the Village Council wanted him to ask the board their opinion; they saw the board had not met for two months and were wondering why we had this board. Mr. Corbitt commented that because the Village was so small, everyone knew where to find the recreation department. Mr. Corbitt noted some people might find meetings intimidating, but there were other ways of getting things done, and there was so much power in the pen—he had spoken about a splash pad, and the Mayor and every council member had received letters from parents about a splash pad. Mrs. Laamanen expressed her opinion people should not be intimidated, that this Village council never talked down to residents as she had seen done in other communities. Mayor Resnik commented everyone was treated fine; that if you had people interested in starting new recreation activities you would not talk down to them, although that had happened in the past. Mr. Bonnell commented as long as Greg was here the people could write him letters since he was open Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 8 ................................... to new ideas. Ms. Evans commented there needed to be a volunteer base, which was what she had expected when this board was formed. Mr. Corbitt commented that was why there should not be an advisory board that must have meetings recorded and minutes taken and ran in a certain manner, and suggested doing away with the board and coming up with volunteers for different events. Mr. Corbitt commented all the board members had done a good job at the event where they had helped him. Ms. Evans suggested pulling in the lady who wanted to volunteer. Mayor Resnik noted this advisory board was set up by the Village Council and they would need to dissolve it, and the new group might be called the Parks and Recreation Volunteer Group. They could meet when volunteers were needed and could make recommendations to Mr. Corbitt. Mrs. Laamanen suggested just scheduling board meetings as needed. Mr. Corbitt suggested meeting seasonally four times a year. Mayor Resnik commented if the board wanted to entertain the idea of recommending to the Village Council that the board be disestablished in favor of an informal volunteer group, it would be a matter of going from a formal to an informal group. Mr. Hood left the meeting at 8:05 p.m. suffering from an asthma attack. Discussion continued. Mr. Corbitt commented he liked the open house volunteer idea and thought all the board members would prefer that. Mayor Resnik commented that any disestablishment of this group should be done _ gracefully with the idea that the group had been established to set up and get activities going, that ideas had been taken from the group to present to the director, and to get a recreation program going. Once going, then it was up to whoever was running the recreation department to keep the programs going. The board got it established and came up with ideas that had come to fruition, the director was carrying on and expanding the programs; therefore, the need for the board in an official capacity to make recommendations to the Village Council was no longer necessary. The board had accomplished what it was established to do. Now people were needed in a volunteer role to assist with helping with established activities and events. The opinion of the other members of the board was discussed. Kevin Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 9 ................................... Pittman had not wanted to continue serving when his term expired, so was no longer a member. John Vadala had not been present for several meetings, and he knew where to find Mr. Corbitt. Vice Chair Bonnell suggested the board put down on paper their idea of restructuring, so that Mr. Corbitt could present it to the Village Council. Mr. Corbitt commented it was nice to present ideas to the Council in writing. Mayor Resnik commented the board had done a good job getting the recreation programs off the ground, and that 3-4 years ago the Village had nothing and now had something great and something for all ages., which he believed had been the purpose of appointing the committee. Mayor Resnik thanked the board for their work, and stated that when the time came if they would like to state in writing that they would like to transition from a formal group to assisting in volunteer action as necessary to support the activities, and the Council honored that, then the Council would thank them. Mrs. Laamanen stated that was what she would like. Ms. Evans commented the board should vote on that. MOTION: Ms. Evans made a motion that the board recommend to the Village Council that the board transition from a formal group to assisting in volunteer action as necessary to support recreation activities, and that the board dissolve and change their complexion to one that was volunteer and still participatory but not in an official capacity, serving at the discretion of Mr. Greg Corbitt. Mr. Becker seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Resnik stated he was here because he thought the recreation program was great. Mr. Corbitt commented he had been told he had done a great job, but without the supporting cast and the belief of the Village Council in the program and their providing the resources—money—so that he could do that job, it would be impossible; and it was great to have a Village Council that believed in the importance of a parks and recreation program to the community. Mrs. Laamanen stated that Mr. Corbitt's assistant, Patti Schumacher, was a great asset to the Village. Mr. Bonnell asked what had happened to the idea of a bike trail at Tequesta Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 2, 2003 Page 10 ................................... Park. Mr. Corbitt responded it was still there but was currently on a back burner because the gentleman he had been working with had been out of commission, and it would take time. Mrs. Laamanen questioned where information on such a project might be found. Mr. Corbitt commented he looked on the internet to see what types of programs other municipalities were offering and he networked with other Parks and Recreation professionals. VI. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC No members of the public were present. VII. ADJOURNMENT Upon motion by Boardmember Evans, seconded by Vice Chair Bonnell, and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m. Respectfully submitted, . ,� , \ ' r�,� � .r` _�c �) , , � �_ � �. - � z,�, , _— , Betty Laur Recording Secretary