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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRB 2002-05-06 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 May 6, 2002 ATTENDANCE Present: Board: Dwayne Leslie Chairman Mark Haynes Vice-Chairman Robin Eddins Board Member Brad Greene Board Member John Lewis Board Member Brenda Cole Board Member Absent: Janie McGuigan Alternate Present: Staff: Jim Browne Director of Parks and Recreation Vickie Loftice Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Christina Lopez Administrative Secretary Chris Swartz Aquatic Park Manager Bill Thornton Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Absent: Greg Vick Assistant City Manager ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Leslie called the meeting to order May 6, 2002 at 6:02 p.m. ITEM 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES APPROVED MOTION: Ms. Cole made a motion, seconded by Mr. Lewis, to approve the minutes of the April 1, 2002 meeting. Motion to approve carried 5-0. ITEM 3. . PUBLIC MEETING - COTTONBELT MULTI-USE TRAIL A Public Meeting was held to present the concept plans for the Cottonbelt Multi-Use Trail and allow residents, who live adjacent to the trail, the opportunity to provide comments. Present at the meeting were the Consultant Mike Konold, MESA Design Group and the Civil Engineer, Mack McWilliams, Carson, Salchado, McWilliams. Mr. Bill Thornton gave an overview of the Cottonbelt Multi-Use Trail Project. Mr. Mack McWilliams showed the development plan for the multi-use trail. Mr. Owen D. Long was present and requested to speak. He owns property on a small section of the trail, located at Mid Cities and Holiday, and had questions regarding the location and operation of the trail on his property. Mr. Thornton will meet with Mr. Long to address his concerns. The public meeting was closed. ITEM 4. TAAF GAMES OF TEXAS PROMOTIONAL VIDEO Mr. Browne explained that the TAAF Games of Texas is an amateur athletic event to establish state champions. The promotional video shown is sent to potential sponsors for the event, which is in the planning phase. North Richland Hills is co-sponsoring the event in 2003 and 2004 with five other cities; Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Colleyville and Grapevine. ITEM 5. RECREATION, ATHLETICS, SENIOR ADULTS, TEENS, TENNIS CENTER AND CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM REPORTS Ms. Vickie Loftice updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: The gym walls are getting a new look with new carpeting being placed on the walls. The Recreation Center is wrapping up the last 6-week sessions of the Winter/Spring Session. More than 104 classes were offered. Brochures for the next session will be out soon. Spring Break Camp was held April 1-5 with 25 campers attending. The Rock-Climbing Class to Mineral Wells State Park was held on April 13 and continues to be a popular outdoor recreation class. Hiring is complete for the 2002 Summer Camp NRH. Staff hired a Camp Director and 10 counselors who will be involved in the day-to-day activities and operations of Park and Recreation Board Minutes May 6, 2002 2 Summer Camp NRH. On May 13 an orientation will be held for parents of the campers to learn about the program. A new program this summer is Camp Quest. Camp Quest will be held at Fossil Creek Park and Richfield Park for two weeks each. The program is for children who are not financially able to attend any other summer camp programs. The program will cost $10 per week. Staff is working with Kroger to provide free lunches and possibly Sonic on Friday's. On May 23 twenty-eight students will graduate from the NRH Recreation Preschool program. This is the first graduation ceremony for the preschool program. North Hills Corporate Challenge concluded on April 27 with Tarrant County College taking the Division A trophy and Bates Container taking the Division B trophy. Fifteen companies competed in the finro-week event sponsored by North Hills Hospital and Bates Container. TCC has a portion of their web site dedicated to the Corporate Challenge and it provided lots of great information for their competitors and staff. Summer adult softball registration begins in May with the league beginning June 17. Registration is expected to increase due to the renovation of the Hurst Adult Athletic Complex. The men's basketball league has 11 teams registered. To accommodate the extra teams, games will be played at the North Richland Hills and the Haltom City Recreation Centers. Renovation at the Dan Echols Senior Center will begin on May 20 and last approximately two weeks. The facility will be painted, new flooring installed and the bay area will be renovated to add additional space for programs and classes. During the renovations, the seniors will attend Bursey Senior Center. Renovations at the Bursey Senior Center are scheduled for June 3- June 21. The Center will be closed during the renovations and participants will attend the Dan Echols Center. Dan Echols sponsored their annual volunteer appreciation luncheon at Ryan's Steak House. A total of 10,093 volunteer hours were logged for the year. The next Friday Night Out will be "Teen Dance on Ice" and be held at Blue Line Ice on May 10th. The teens can ice skate, play video games, purchase food from the concession area and spend time with their friends. Blue Line Ice is also working with Summer Camp NRH, Teen After School Program and the Recreation Center. "the edge" end of school party will be held on May 23 at the Recreation Center from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Activities include a"teen bounce house" dunking booth, music, food, drinks and games. Park and Recreation Board Minutes May 6, 2002 3 Two Youth Advisory Committee members helped pass out surveys for the Great American Clean-up on April 6. They also helped chaperone the Teen Dance on Ice on May 10. Plans are underway for the YAC Spring Social/Senior Graduation lunch on May 24. YAC members will take a train to Dallas and enjoy lunch in the West End. The Lotta Night Music Concert Series is in full swing. The Light Crust Doughboys proved to be a great success with 500 people in attendance. The Havana Boys performed despite the unusually cold weather with about 200 people enjoying the concert. The next concert is scheduled for May 10 featuring Tish Hinojosa. Mr. Haynes spoke with Councilman Trevino who suggested adding a Fall Concert Series. Staff has put together a decision package to submit to add 4 or 5 concerts next Fall with approval. The second annual Chalk It Up! Event was held on May 4 with several neighborhoods participating. This year's theme was "America the Beautiful". Several neighborhoods participated with the champion neighborhood receiving a$100 gift certificate to Sam's. The Cultural Arts division is involved in the first Public Art Committee. The division is currently researching foundations in Texas for additional monetary support. In addition, the Public Art Committee is excited about the partnership with "Sculpture Works", a non-profit organization that provides art on loan to municipalities at no cost. Thus far, pieces have been placed at the library and tennis center. Coming soon will be a beautiful 12 foot bronze piece entitled, "Gale Winds and Mallards" by sculptor Ronnie Wells. The piece will be placed in the City Hall lobby. Richland Tennis Center revenues for October through April are $157,668 an increase of $33,197 compared to same time last year. ITEM 6. PARK OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM STATUS REPORT Mr. Bill Thornton updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: Newman Jackson Bieberstein, Inc. was selected as the consultant for the Neighborhood Park Projects. The contract was awarded at the April 22, City Council meeting. The consultant is beginning design work. A public meeting will be held at the next Park and Recreation Board meeting to allow citizens the opportunity to comment about the project. Invitations will be sent to all the homeowners that live adjacent to one of the proposed neighborhood parks sites. Staff may have to adjust some future Park Board meeting dates to accommodate the public meetings for this project. The Tree Planting project is complete. The installation of the irrigation system at Fossil Creek Park is substantially complete. Staff is still working on the TUCOR conversion. Park and Recreation Board Minutes May 6, 2002 4, The NRH2O Enhancements Project is substantially complete with a few punch list items remaining on the interior work and miscellaneous drainage related issues to be finished. Bids have been received on the Park Furniture and staff is awaiting approval of the requisition by the City Manager's Office. City Council awarded the contract to JDC Construction for the resurfacing of the tennis courts at Richland Tennis Center. The resurfacing will begin May 2ptn City Council will consider the Supplemental Agreement for the hydraulic study for the Calloway Branch Trail and Little Bear Creek Trail at their May 13 meeting. Staff is waiting for TxDOT's approval prior to proceeding with the acquisition of easements already identified for the Little Bear Creek Trail Projects. Staff has reached an agreement with TxDOT on the signs for the Phase I Bike Route Signage. NJB is focusing on 4 on-road routes and developing plans for the locations of each sign along the route. Staff anticipates getting authorization to bid some time this summer. A public meeting was held earlier during this meeting for the Cottonbelt Multi-Use Trail. Letters were mailed to everyone who lives adjacent to the proposed trail. Staff is waiting for final approval from TxDOT to bid the project in approximately June. Teague Nall and Perkins were awarded the professional services contract for the Walker's Creek Trail and Bike Transit Station at City Council's April 8 meeting. They are beginning survey work. Mr. Lewis said he has received lots of good comments about the tree planting and creek bed at J.B. Sandlin Park. He also inquired about the grills for the park and the city trucks that drive across the bridge. Staff said the grills have been ordered and the bridge was designed so the trucks could drive across for maintenance purposes. Mr. Haynes inquired about the large mound of dirt at Green Valley Park. Staff responded that they have been working with a citizen in redirecting water flow from her backyard, which accumulates during heavy storms. The water is coming from an adjacent subdivision and not the park, but staff is installing a berm to help redirect the water. ITEM 7. NRHZO FAMILY WATER PARK UPDATE Mr. Chris Swartz updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: Hiring of seasonal positions for NRH2O is almost complete and training has begun. Currently there are only open positions in Aquatics, Park Services and Maintenance. Park and Recreation Board Minutes May 6, 2002 5 NRH2O is trying something new this year in their Guest Service Booth. They are staffing it with Lead level team members who have had at leased one season of NRH2O experience. They have a better understanding of the workings of the park and it provides them with valuable experience and prepares them for the net level of leadership Construction on the expansion of the season pass office and concession area is substantially complete. Staff is in the process of moving back into the office area. The Group Sales area is already set up and the Season Pass office is partially open today and will open completely tomorrow. NRH2O will have their Season Pass Holder Night on May 17 from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. with the park opening to the public on Saturday, May 18. Staff is ta4cing a Cover Sheet to the next City Council meeting to begin the design work of a Multi Level {nteractive Complex for NRH2O which is part of the approved expansion plan. Staff is testing the RFID wristbands before releasing them to be sold to their guests. Eventua{{y guests will be able to purchase a wristband with any dollar value stored on it. The wristband can be used in the concession stands and gift shop. ITEM 8. OTHER INFORMATIONAL ITEMS No other additiona{ items. ITEM 9. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Haynes made a motion, seconded by Mr. Greene to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m. Motion to approve carried 5-0. , , Dwayne eslie, Chairman ATTEST: - , Christina Lopez, Administrative Secretary Park and Recreation Board Minutes May 6, 2002 6