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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRB 2003-10-06 Minutes - MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS HELD AT THE PRE COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOCATED AT 7301 NORTHEAST LOOP 820 October 6, 2003 ATTENDANCE Present: Board: Mark Haynes Chairman Brad Greene Vice-Chairman Janie McGuigan Board Member Marlin Miller Board Member Marty Kusmierski Board Member Fred Durko Board Member Absent: Virginia Stencel Board Member Kim Kirby Alternate Present: Staff: Jim Browne Director of Parks and Recreation Vickie Loftice Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Christina Lopez Administrative Secretary Bill Thornton Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER Mark Haynes, Chairman, called the meeting to order October 6, 2003 at 6:00 p.m. ITEM 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES APPROVED MOTION: Mr. Miller made a motion, seconded by Mr. Greene, to approve the minutes of the August 4, 2003 meeting. Motion to approve carried 5-0 ITEM 3. PR 03-32 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN & VICE CHAIRMAN MOTION: Mr. Miller made a motion, seconded by Ms. McGuigan, to re-elect Mark Haynes as Chairman. Motion to approve carried 5-0 MOTION: Mr. Miller made a motion, seconded by Ms. Kusmierski, to re-elect Brad Greene as Vice Chairman. Motion to approved carried 5-0 ITEM 4. PR 03-33 RECREATION, ATHLETICS, SENIOR ADULTS, TEENS, TENNIS CENTER AND CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM REPORTS Ms. Loftice updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: The 9th Annual Recreation Celebration was held on August 9th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Recreation Center. Despite the rainy day, the event attracted over 800 participants and registered $4,500 in class and membership fees. Staff has been working with Building Services on renovation projects at the Recreation Center. Contractors have updated the restroom facilities and are in the process of installing new flooring on the first floor. Mr. Miller wanted to know how much money we are spending on this project. Mr. Browne said the funding is coming from the Building Services Budget, and as such we didn't have that information readily available. Due to a tight budget this year, city staff had to make some difficult decisions to reduce expenditures. The "Time Of Your Life" brochure has been reduced from three issues to two issues annually. Staff will study the impacts of printing one less brochure. Also the Youth Outreach Coordinator position was cut resulting in the elimination of "the edge" after school program. The decision to cut the program was based on the cost/benefit ratio. The Youth Advisory Committee which was managed by the Youth Outreach Coordinator has been reassigned under the leadership of Paulette Hartman, Assistant to the City Manager. BooBash will be held on October 25t" from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at North Hills Mall. A Night of Holiday Magic will be held on December 6th from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Mid- Cities Municipal Complex. Fifty-five teams have been registered for the Fall Softball league. The reduction in numbers was expected due to Hurst reopening their softball facility. North Richland Hills has been awarded the 2004 Men's Church C Softball Tournament. Park and Recreation Board Minutes October 6, 2003 2 North Richland Hills received the Gold Member City Award, presented by the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation in recognition of our involvement and registration numbers for the past year. Bursey Road Senior Center held a waffle breakfast for 34 participants to honor National Waffle Week. Some of the seniors traveled by chartered bus to Branson, Missouri for five days in September. They had a great time and enjoyed seven shows while they were there. Paul Puckett, a teacher from TCC, held a one day flower arranging class at the Bursey Center. Thirty participants learned how to take backyard flowers and make an arrangement. The Dan Echols Senior Center held a"Beach Party" Dance with 64 seniors in attendance. Lakewood Village Retirement Center donated refreshments. Twenty seniors from Dan Echols attended the theater production of "You Can't Take It With You" at the new North Hills Mall Theater on September 11tn The Dan Echols Senior Center is a participant in the Tarrant County Food Bank which provides free food items to our seniors. For the month of September 663 pounds of food was donated to the center with a market value of $1,113.61. Approximately 30 people at Dan Echols enjoyed the first Cookie Cabaret mini-concert. Carol Brandon presented the life and music of Judy Garland. The Cultural Arts Division has been awarded a$1,500 grant to supplement costs of the Missoula Children's Theatre Residency. The grant was given by the Arts Council of NE Tarrant County. Twenty-five teams are calling Richland Tennis Center `home". There are 2 NETT teams, 4 TCD teams and 19 USTA teams. Richland Tennis Center was very busy in the month of September. They hosted three tournaments that included Mid Cities Circuit Tournament, Junior Tennis Team Tournament and the Fort Worth Area Combo Tournament. Richland High School hosted varsity matches on September, 16tn, 23~d and 30th. The junior varsity hosted matches on September 4th and 11th. The middle school held a match on September 18tn Mr. Miller commented that he would like to see more coverage on the tennis center activities on NRH Citicable. He also wanted to know what happened to the RHS baseball games that used to be shown on Citicable. Mr. Browne responded that Citicable has given very good support on the Games of Texas and other events and that the school district took over the coverage of their own games. Mr. Durko suggested that Citicable could possibly put together a sports feature once a month. Park and Recrearion Board Minutes October 6, 2003 3 Mr. Durko commented about the number of softball teams registered. Ms. Loftice responded that we typically have about 70 teams that register for the fall, and that it is down abut 20 teams but that was expected since Hurst reopened their softball facility. Mr. Durko asked if the Men's Church C Softball Tournament generated any revenue for the City. Ms. Loftice responded that it typically is a break even tournament as far as direct costs and revenues but that the benefit to the City is in the economic impact of spending by the participants for hotels, restaurants, etc... ITEM 5. PR 03- 34 PARK OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM STATUS REPORT Mr. Thornton updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: The Maintenance Man-Hour Summary for the month of September showed a 101 man- hour shortfall, which was compensated by overtime. Mr. Miller asked about the new park playgrounds and who will inspect them. Mr. Thornton responded that we have three park staff certified to perform playground inspections and that they make regular, frequent inspections. Mr. Miller also asked about the impact the five new neighborhood parks would have on existing staff. He said the more parks you have, the more manpower you need. Mr. Browne responded that his observation was correct. Staff asked for five new staff members to help maintain the parks and offset the existing man-hour shortage, but we were only approved for two staff. This will affect the service levels, which may have to be narrowed down to essential services. Mr. Miller commented about the number of hours spent in vandalism repairs (131) and feels we need a park patrol. Mr. Browne responded that we have scheduled staff to work at night from time to time, tried to use fake surveillance cameras and even spoken with the Police Chief. Citizens are encouraged to call in if they see any unusual activity. Most of the vandalism activity is to concession buildings and is committed by school age kids. Mr. Thornton commented that the City has spent approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in vandalism repair. One person drove a pickup truck into a building so they could steal weed eaters and equipment. Mr. Greene asked if we could close down the parks after a certain hour. Staff responded that the parks do have a curfew and that we used to lock Northfield Park, but there was more vandalism because we locked the police out. Chairman Haynes wanted to know if we could quantify what we could not accomplish due to the man-hour shortfall. Mr. Browne also commented that we may be able to readdress the shortage in man- hours when the economy improves and that our "Maintenance Standards Workbook" tracks our available manpower and the tasks accomplished or not accomplished. Park and Recreation Board Minutes October 6, 2003 4 Green Scaping is nearing completion in three of the five neighborhood parks under construction. Founders Park (Brandonwood), Clyde Zellers Park (Snow Heights) and Legacy Park (Foster Village). The contractor is close to achieving substantial completion at Kay Granger Park (Mullendore) with the exception of the irrigation run- through and the work associated with the failed playground inspection. The contractor is installing the pavilion at Dick Faram Park (Amundson/Main) and is completing installation of the playgrounds. J.C. Commercial has been awarded the bid for the construction of the new attraction at NRH2O Family Water Park. They have mobilized on the site and are verifying the status of the irrigation system prior to beginning. Alexander's Landscape and Irrigation has been awarded the bid for the Annual Tree Planting Project. Trees will be planted at the five new neighborhood parks as well as replacement of dead trees at various locations. Over 3,000 linear feet have been poured for the Cottonbelt Trail. The contractor is moving along at a good pace. ITEM 6. OTHER INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mr. Greene asked if the Escom system at the Recreation Center will alert staff that a membership card is expired and if it has the capability to generate invoices for renewal. Mr. Browne commented that if Escom allows us to do that, it would be a good idea. Ms. Kusmierski asked if NRH2O makes a profit and how their budget relates to the Parks & Recreation Budget. Mr. Browne responded that yes NRH2O does make a profit and does reinvest its revenue into the park. They have about $3 million dollars in reserves. Also, the City transferred $100,000 from NRH2O to the City's self insurance fund to help cover shortages. Staff will bring the NRH2O End of Season report to a future meeting. Mr. Browne passed out the final report for the Games of Texas and reviewed some of the highlights. Jim will be taking over as Chairman for the 2004 Games of Texas. Ms. Kusmierski asked about the status of the doggie park. Staff responded that they have been doing research and will bring the information back to the Board when we move into budget preparation to see if we can work that into the budget. There is a lot of interest for this type of park. Mr. Browne announced that a section of NRH2O's new attraction will be featured at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Convention and Trade Show. This is the largest convention for the water park industry. Park and Recreation Board Minutes October 6, 2003 5 ITEM 7. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Mr. Greene made a motion, seconded by Ms. McGuigan to adjourn the meeting at 7:32 p.m. Motion to approve carried 5-0 ' h,; Mark Haynes' hairman ATTEST: ~ ~ 7 Christina Lopez, Adm' i ive Secretary Park and Recreation Board Minutes October 6, 2003 6