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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRB 2002-03-04 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 March 4, 2002 ATTENDANCE Present: Board: Dwayne Leslie Chairman Mark Haynes Vice-Chairman Robin Eddins Board Member Brad Greene Board Member Brenda Cole Board Member Janie McGuigan Alternate Absent: John Ramsey Board Member John Lewis Board Member Present: Staff: Jim Browne Director of Parks and Recreation Vickie Loftice Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Kelly Preston Secretary Dalan Walker Parks Capital Improvement Superintendent Greg Vick Managing Director of Community Services and Facilities ' ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Leslie called the meeting to order March 4, 2002 at 6:07 p.m. ITEM 2. INTRODUCTION OF NEW PARK AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBER JANIE MCGUIGAN Chairman Leslie introduced Ms. Janie McGuigan as the new Board Member filling the Alternate position. ITEM 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES APPROVED MOTION: Mr. Haynes made a motion, seconded by Mr. Greene, to approve the minutes of the January 7, 2002 meeting. Motion to approve carried 5-0. ITEM 4. REQUEST TO USE CROSS TIMBERS COLT FIELD FOR ADULT BASEBALL The National Adult Baseball Association is requesting use of the Colt field at Cross Timbers Park for league games. They would like to use the field on Sunday and Wednesday evenings for senior leagues. The NABA has very strict guidelines concerning player behavior and are required to sign a contract. Staff suggested permitting the NABA to rent the Colt field following the same guidelines as the general public. The Parks Department would not provide maintenance during their league play. Mr. Browne commented that allowing the NABA to rent the fields for this season would give the staff the opportunity to evaluate their program and how they take care of the facility and interact with the Youth Associations. A recommendation can be made and forwarded to City Council at a later date if the NABA requests long-term use of the Colt field. Ms. Eddins asked if the NABA is based in North Richland Hills. Mr. Browne said the organization is based in Denver, Colorado nationally, but a large number of their players are from the North Richland Hills area and want to play on fields that are close to them. Chairman Leslie asked if they could use Northfield Park. Ms. Loftice said the dimensions would not work for adult baseball because the fence distance and base path distances are different. Chairman Leslie asked if we currently have any Sunday leagues. Ms. Loftice responded that there are not any Sunday leagues. Chairman Leslie asked about the wear and tear on the fields. Ms. Loftice said we would be able to determine the kind of impact it is going to have on the fields after the first season. Chairman Leslie also asked if there would be any staff brought in to take care of the fields for Sunday play. Ms. Loftice said there would be no staff brought in, and the NABA would be required to line the fields themselves. It was the consensus of the Board, and staff, to allow the NABA to rent the Colt field for league play on Sundays and Wednesdays and for staff to evaluate the agreement after the first season. 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: Park and Recreation Board Minutes March 4, 2002 2 The 11th annual Daddy Daughter Dance was held in February. The City has chosen First Choice as our electrical provider beginning in January. Savings are expected to be over $100,00 in electrical costs. Although the City is saving over all, some of the parks will be hit a little harder, particularly those facilities built before 1994. The Youth Associations pay 100% of the electrical cost that they use. Under the new First Choice contract, we will no longer have the discounted price to TXU. Some of the electrical bills at Richfield and Fossil Creek Park will go up significantly. The Youth Associations have expressed concern over this. Discussion was held. The Bursey Senior Center had a delayed New Year's party. They took a couple of trips and had a Valentine Tea Party. $3,000 worth of Valentine candy and $300 worth of baked goods were donated to Bursey Senior Center. A Fashion Show is planned for March 21 St. It is the first time Bursey has done this. The seniors at Dan Echols are participating in a new program called "Grandparent Buddies", where the seniors interact with children who do not have grandparents. They visit the sixth grade class at Mullendore Elementary every Tuesday. The Dan Echols expansion is underway. The old fire station bay area is being renovated and expanded. The target completion date is mid-summer. The "Friday Night Out" middle school dance was held on January 25th. Approximately 370 students attended. Ms. McGuigan served as the Director of Northeast United Way in 1994. She was one of the individuals who helped put together a teen task force. Don Sharp from Animal Services and Toni Blevins from Environmental Services spoke to the Youth Advisory Committee members about their department's function in the City. A student from TCU spoke at the February YAC meeting. He did an activity called "True Colors" that showed the members' their personality type and leadership style. Three members of YAC accompanied Davina Barnett, Youth Outreach Coordinator, to the 2"d annual Texas Youth Advisory Commission Summit in February, where they got to meet with other Youth Advisory Committees' across the state. "A Lotta Night Music Free Spring Concert Series" begins on March 29~'. The "ActUp!" theatre program, a partnership between Youth Outreach and Cultural Arts Divisions, began in January. Park and Recreation Board Minutes March 4, 2002 3 Richland Tennis Center was well represented at the state playoffs in Houston. Three teams from RTC made the playoffs. The Tennis Center has a new shade structure on the north side of the complex. Richland Tennis Center hosted the President's Cup Tournament for area high schools on F~ebruary 15t". Twelve schools participated. Northeast Tarrant Tennis Association held a tournament on February 20th. Fifty women participated. The Kid's Swap Meet was cancelled due to the weather and was rescheduled for Saturday, May 4tn ITEM 6. PARK OPERATIONS AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM STATUS REPORT Mr. Dalan Walker updated the Park and Recreation Board on the following: The timeline for the Brandonwood Neighborhood Park project has been changed to January 2004. The Town Center Recreation Center timeline changed and is contingent upon the TIF. The Irrigation Project at Fossil Creek Park will be done in-house and is almost complete. This will save approximately $15,000. The contractor is moving quickly on the NRH2O Enhancements project. There is a $10,000 bonus clause. The professional services contract for the Bleacher Shade Structure Project at Cross Timbers and Walker's Creek Parks is being negotiated with MESA Design Group. The Richland Tennis Center Court Resurfacing project is currently out for bid and will be completed in May 2002. TxDOT has given approval for the Cottonbelt Trail Project. We are waiting for Explorer Pipeline to change their wording in their agreement. Teague, Nall and Perkins was selected for the Walker's Creek Trail project and staff is currently negotiating a contract. Mr. Haynes asked why seven of the neighborhood park projects have the same timeline. Mr. Walker said that they were originally scheduled to complete two parks per year over several years. City Management decided that we needed to address the deficiency in neighborhood parks. We grouped them all together, and all seven will be designed at the same time by the same consultant, and constructed at the same time by Park and Recreation Board Minutes March 4, 2002 4 the same contractor. There are significant cost savings when doing it this way. Mr. Browne said the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan update in 2000 showed that neighborhood park amenities were the most desired needs and priorities by the citizens. 1n following up with the next budget cycle, projects and money were moved around to respond to what the citizens requested. The timeline for all seven neighborhood parks is January 2004. Mr. Leslie asked if the construction on the Bleacher Shade Project would be completed by this summer. Mr. Walker said it would take three months to design and four months for installation. The Youth Associations were promised that the project would be completed this year. ITEM 7. OTHER INFORMATIONAL iTEMS Ms. Cole asked about the PVC pipe sticking out on the North Tarrant Parkway City Entryway sign. Mr. Walker said the sign is currently being repaired. i ITEM 8. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Co{e made a motion, seconded by Mr. Haynes to adjourn the meeting at 6:44 p.m. Motion to approve carried 5-0. ~ Dwayne es ie, Chairman ATTEST: Kelly Pres on, Secretary Park and Recreation Board Minutes March 4, 2002 5