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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRB 2022-02-07 Minutes MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS HELD IN THE CITY HALL 4301 CITY POINT DRIVE FEBRUARY 7, 2022 REGULAR MEETING A. CALL TO ORDER Chair Copeland called the meeting to order February 7, 2022 at 6:01 p.m. Present: Vanessa Copeland, Chair, Place 4 Tracye Lewis, Vice-Chair, Place 1 Kate Beck, Place 2 Russ Mitchell, Place 3 Casey Daniel, Place 5 Brad Evans, Place 6 Jennifer Childs, Place 7 Russ Murdock, Alternate Staff Members: Adrien Pekurney, Director Antonio Evangelista, Recreations Operations Manager Frank Perez, NRH2O General Manager Joe Pack, Senior Park Planner Gary Bechthold, Park Superintendant Christina Lopez, Office Coordinator Cindy Dobbs, Secretary A.1 INTRODUCTION OF NEW PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBER Ms. Adrien Pekurney introduced new Board Member Russ Murdock who will be serving as an Alternate. A.2 CITIZEN PRESENTATION There were no requests to speak from the public. A.3 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no requests to speak from the public. February 07, 2022 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 B. ACTION ITEMS B.1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2021 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING. APPROVED A MOTION WAS MADE BY BOARD MEMBER BECK, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER MITCHELL TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 6, 2021 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 7-0. C. PRESENTATION / DISCUSSION ITEMS D. DEPARTMENT UPDATES D.1 NRH2O FAMILY WATER PARK UPDATE Mr. Frank Perez, NRH2O General Manager, provided an update on activities at NRH2O Family Water Park. -Staff is preparing to interview and hire the 400 plus seasonal team members who join the staff each year. Their annual rehire party is scheduled for Thursday, February 10. There will be 80-100 team members that will partake in leadership training. -Beginning with the 2022 season, NRH2O will be raising its seasonal salary rates. These salary increases will be paid for by increases in ticket prices. These increases will still allow the water park to be competitive in the DFW area with the competition. -The annual Polar Plunge has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 12, 2022 after the event had to be postponed from a week prior due to inclement weather. This event benefits the Special Olympics of Texas - Greater Fort Worth area. -Park full-time maintenance team members continue to work on their training during the off-season. Park Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Parsons recently achieved the certification level of Associate Ride Inspector at the AIMS International Conference in Galveston, Texas. Senior Park Maintenance Technician Christopher Wood also renewed his Maintenance Technician Level 1 certification at the same conference. D.2 PARKS CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE Mr. Joe Pack, Senior Park Planner, presented an update on capital projects. February 07, 2022 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 -NRH Active Transportation Projects for Trails/On-Road: Select Maintenance, LLC is currently working at the intersection of Mid Cities Blvd and Iron Horse Blvd. Improvements include a pedestrian sidewalk on the west side of Iron Horse Blvd from Mid Cities Blvd to the Cotton Belt Trail. Additional improvements include a new cross walk and pedestrian signals across Mid Cities Blvd and a sidewalk extension north of Mid Cities from the new crosswalk east to Buckingham Trail. Mr. Pack also explained that there will be new 'bike boulevards'with markings on the street that will extend to Richfield Park. Supply chain issues and weather conditions have delayed the project to some extent. -Richfield Park Tennis/Pickleball Court Replacement: Sealed proposals have been received and are being reviewed at this time. -Board Member Kate Beck inquired about the description of a 'bike boulevard'. Mr. Pack explained that these are connections on the road which are actually full streets, that are typically residential streets, where traffic is calmer, therefore safer for families to ride their bikes. Mr. Pack brought up some examples from the internet to give the Board a visual example. Board Member Russ Mitchell asked how cars will park on these streets. Mr. Pack stated that cars do not usually park on these types of streets, but if they do, there would be no conflict. Ms. Adrien Pekurney pointed out that bicyclists use the entire street now, however this improvement would give motorists and cyclists more of a visual awareness. D.3 PARKS MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS UPDATE Mr, Gary Bechthold, Parks Superintendent, provided an update on parks maintenance and operations activities. -Christmas decorations have been taken down and stored. Staff identified any worn, damaged or non-working decorations and lights to make necessary repairs. -Staff continues to prepare athletic fields for the upcoming youth sports and adult league play during the winter months when there is not much activity. -A large sinkhole has developed near Adventure World Playground. This was due to an underground drain pipe collapsing. Staff has replaced the pipe and made the repairs. -On a bi-weekly park inspection tour, staff discovered a small wood train engine at Faram Park that needed to be removed. This has been done as a safety precaution and an undecided playground piece will be installed in its place. -Very little vandalism was reported over the winter holiday break. Covid cases affected park operations staff over the last couple of months, with one to two staff members out each week. Fortunately, no cases were serious. -Maintenance staff has met with contractors and are awaiting bids for the replacement of the east side fence at Tipps Canine Dog Park. -The construction of the two dumpster enclosures at Walker's Creek Park and Green February 07, 2022 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page3of5 Valley Park are completed. Richfield Park is the next one to be done once funds are available. -Maintenance staff will be meeting with contractors regarding the replacement of the broken concrete panels along the Cotton,Belt Trail (west of Rufe Snow) that are cracking. There are approximately ninety panels that need to be replaced. Chair Vanessa Copeland asked how long it will take to replace the concrete panels. Mr. Bechthold explained that it will be done in two to three panel sections so they are not all removed at once. Staff will do their best to shorten the time frame that the public would be impacted by this repair. Chair Copeland also asked how many people make up the Park Maintenance Staff. Mr. Bechthold responded that there are 21 full-time employees. He stated that about 20% of the work is contracted out, such as mowing and landscaping. Ms. Adrien Pekurney added that the panels that will be replaced covers about 30 miles of trail and each panel is approximately 8-10 feet wide. D.4 NRH CENTRE, GRAND HALL, ATHLETICS, SENIOR CENTER, RICHLAND TENNIS CENTER, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES UPDATE Mr. Antonio Evangelista, Recreation Operations Manager, provided an update on activities at the NRH Centre, Grand Hall, Senior Center, Richland Tennis Center as well as programs and services. -NRH Centre continues their membership promotions through the end of February and has already shown good results. Plans are underway for spring break and summer Camp NRH. Early registration went well with some weeks already on a wait list. Swim lessons continue to do well. There are currently 193 participants registered out of the 195 total spots available. -The Grand Hall finished their first quarter at over 30% of the total budget. Compass Christian Church continues to be a great partner for the Grand Hall with an average monthly revenue of$11 K. They are contracted through 2023. -The Mayor's Monthly Bike Ride returns on April 5 at the NRH Centre. Adult Softball will return mid-February at Northfield Park. Adult Men's Basketball League and Coed Volleyball Leagues at the NRH Centre have been very successful as well. Both have been sold out the last two seasons. -NRH Senior Center has collected 687 paid/renewed facility fees as of January 27, 2022. The senior center relies heavily on our Community Partnerships in order to offer many of their programs, such as the upcoming "Pal-entine" event with pizza, fellowship February 07, 2022 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 and games. -Richland Tennis Center will host 11 tournaments in February. UTR was a success with 172 participants in the January 22-23 tournament. -The NRH Art Walk Project at the Adventure World Playground Boardwalk will be installed in March. This outdoor exhibit is part of the new"Art Lives in Our City"which will include metal posts that will be placed at regular intervals along the tree-lined boardwalk. The individual sign plaques will feature the artwork of area artists who exhibited at the November 2021 NRH Pop Up Art Gallery. -The NRH Fossil Creek Park Mountain Bike Trails has continued to see interest and growth since its opening in April 2021. An "Open Trail Ride" event, hosted by the Fort Worth Mountain Bike Association is planned for March 26, 2022 that will include food trucks, raffle items and more. -Sounds of Spring Concerts are set with five bands performing on consecutive Fridays in April and May. The Daddy/Daughter Dance is returning in 2022 to celebrate its 30th year of this longstanding tradition. The Pop Up Easter Egg Hunts will take place at six different parks over three days in mid-April. Exact locations will be announced the day of the event on social media and the city's website. E. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS E.1 COMMUNITY SERVICE MONTHLY REPORTS (NOVEMBER - DECEMBER) PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD UPDATES (DECEMBER-JANUARY) Ms. Adrien Pekurney extended an invitation to newest board member Russ Murdock, as well as any other board member who would like to attend, to go out on a park tour in early spring. This is a good opportunity to get a first-hand look at what is happening within the city's park system. F. ADJOURNMENT Chair Copeland adjourned the meeting at 6:39 p. u Van ssa Copeland, Chair ATTEST: j/ ... Cindy Dobbs, cretary February 07, 2022 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5