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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRB 2023-08-07 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 AUGUST 7, 2023 A. CALL TO ORDER Chair Copeland called the meeting to order August 7, 2023 at 6:01 p.m. Present: Vanessa Copeland, Chair, Place 4 Tracye Lewis, Vice-Chair, Place 1 Kate Beck, Board Member, Place 2 Russ Mitchell, Board Member, Place 3 Jack McCarty, Board Member, Place 5 Brad Evans, Board Member, Place 6 Ricky Rodriguez, Board Member, Place 7 Sammy Robison, Alternate Staff Members: Adrien Pekurney, Director Tanner Arwine, Assistant Director Antonio Evangelista, Assistant Director Michael Wilson, Park Planning Manager Frank Perez, NRH2O General Manger Cindy Dobbs, Office Coordinator A.2 INTRODUCTION OF NEW PARKS & RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS Ms. Adrien Pekurney, Director of Parks and Recreation introduced new Board Members, Jack McCarty and Ricky Rodriguez. Mr. McCarty will serve in Place 5 and Mr. Rodriguez will serve in Place 7. A.1 PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no requests to speak from the public. B. ACTION ITEMS B.1 APPROVE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 5, 2023 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING APPROVED August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 8 A MOTION WAS MADE BY BOARD MEMBER MITCHELL AND SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER EVANS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 5, 2023 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 7-0. B.2 ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR APPROVED A MOTION WAS MADE BY BOARD MEMBER MITCHELL, SECONDED BY VICE-CHAIR LEWIS TO NOMINATE VANESSA COPELAND TO REMAIN IN THE POSITION OF CHAIR. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 7-0 A MOTION WAS MADE BY BOARD MEMBER MITCHELL, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER BECK TO NOMINATE TRACYE LEWIS TO REMAIN IN THE POSITION OF VICE-CHAIR. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 7-0 C. PRESENTATION / DISCUSSION ITEMS C.1 PARK AND RECREATION FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PROPOSED FY2024 OPERATING BUDGET Ms. Adrien Pekurney presented the Revised FY2022/23 and Proposed FY2023/24 Park and Recreation Facilities Development Corporation (PRFDC) Operating Budget. -Board Member Beck asked about returning to full operation at the NRH Centre. Ms. Pekurney said that she was referring to the aquatics area that had a slower return based on staffing after the return from COVID. -Chair Copeland asked how many people make up that full staff. Ms. Pekurney stated 50-60 on the aquatics side. This number has been consistent over the last year. -Board Member Rodriguez asked if the salary increases are to make it more competitive to get people. Ms. Pekurney explained that it is retention and competitive. Mr. Rodriguez asked if wages ever went down during COVID. Ms. Pekurney did not recall any reductions. However, part time wages halted due to non-operation during that time. She August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 8 also stated that the salary increase is based on merit which is determined from annual evaluations. -Board Member Robison asked where the revenue numbers stand for the NRH Centre compared to pre-COVID numbers. Mr. Evangelista responded that they have exceeded the pre-COVID numbers from a revenue standpoint. Membership numbers have also increased. Mr. Robison asked if we are getting close to capacity. Mr. Evangelista stated that regarding classes and children's programs, yes. Those sell out very quickly. As far as membership, they are not at capacity. Mr. Robison asked if there are plans to increase the size of the facility or to add locations. Ms. Pekurney stated that in FY2025 Park System Open Space Master Plan update as part of the long-range plan where they would review the outlook on the next ten years. This process includes Parks and Recreation Board input as well as citizen input. C.2 PARK AND RECREATION FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PROPOSED FY2024 CAPITAL BUDGET Ms Adrien Pekurney presented the Park and Recreation Facilities Development Corporation Proposed FY2024 Capital Budget. Proposed projects include: -Annual Tree Planting -Cross Timbers Park Disc Golf -NRH Centre Fitness Equipment Replacement -NRH Centre Infrastructure Maintenance -Park Infrastructure Maintenance -Pond Bathymetry Study -Tipps Canine Hollow Dog Park Improvements -Tommy & Sue Brown Park Playground and Shade -Trail Infrastructure Maintenance -Board Member Mitchell asked which ponds would be included in the bathymetry study and Ms. Pekurney said that all of them would be included. -Chair Copeland asked what the $60,000 covers regarding the disc golf project. Ms. Pekurney explained the details that this includes, such as the concrete the tee boxes and baskets for nine holes. Once completely set up, this is a low maintenance area of activity. -Board Member Robison asked if there are any disc golf programs or tournaments through the NRH Centre. Ms. Pekurney said there is nothing in place at this time but this does allow for potential programming. -Board Member Rodriguez asked what is done with the used equipment that gets replaced at the recreation center. Ms. Pekurney explained that we are able to get a small August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8 credit from the manufacturer on a majority of the equipment, if it is still viable, towards the purchase of new equipment. This is not a high dollar amount due to the age of the product. City auction is another way that the pieces are discarded. -Board Member Robison asked what the Gaga Ball Pits are made of. Mr. Arwine explained that there are different kits, some made of recycled plastic which is what they are looking at to keep the maintenance low. Artificial turf would probably be installed for low maintenance as well. Mr. Robison asked if this was a permanent structure or panels. Mr. Arwine said that they are panels that will be concreted into the ground. -Board Member Robison asked about resurfacing the park furniture. Mr. Arwine explained that some have already been replaced at Adventure World and they are continuing to replace other pieces. Some picnic table tops have been removed and coated with truck bed lining material to extend the life of the product. -Board Member McCarty asked what the value is of having ponds, such as Green Valley. Ms. Pekurney responded that there are fishing areas as well as it serves as storm water detention. Storm water detention is a benefit with most of the ponds in the city. Mr. Arwine added that this area is also mitigated by the Army Corp of Engineers and also Texas Parks and Wildlife which helped fund the park. -Board Member Rodriguez asked who is doing the survey (of the ponds). Ms. Pekurney said that there will be a request for proposals which will be put out for bids. Mr. Arwine added that this will be an extensive study. -Vice-Chair Lewis inquired about the artificial turf at the dog park. She wanted to know which side of the park it would be installed on. Ms. Pekurney explained that there will be areas installed on both the large and small dog sides. Ms. Lewis asked about the fence and gate replacement. Mr. Arwine said that the posts will remain but most of the fabric will be replaced on the fences. Some of the vinyl coating is coming off as well, which is another area that will be addressed. Ms. Lewis suggested the opening of another dog park. Ms. Pekurney stated that is something that would have to be part of a future Master Plan discussion. -Vice Chair Lewis asked when was the last time that a park was opened. Ms. Pekurney stated that it has been quite a while. However, Northfield Park's renovation several years ago was a drastic change from what was there before. Linda Spurlock was also a large renovation done within the last five years. Several neighborhood parks were opened in 2015. Ms. Pekurney went on to explain that the result of several parks opening at the same time is that they also age at the same time which impacts maintenance issues. -Chair Copeland mentioned that she has a friend whose children play at Tommy & Sue August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 8 Brown Park. She stated that there is a part of the playground equipment that is coming apart and her friend feels that it is dangerous. Ms. Copeland asked what is done to maintain the equipment until it is replaced. Mr. Arwine said that staff has started cutting off some of the area that is an issue. They are trying other solutions to repair the problem areas in the meantime. -Board Member Robison asked about the concrete replacement on the trails that is not in North Richland Hills. He asked if a certain standard has to be followed to match up with other cities that the trails cross into. Mr. Arwine said that the process is standard between cities. -Board Member Robison asked if the weather stations were part of a grant. Ms. Pekurney confirmed that this was paid for with ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding. She went on to show where the Perry Weather Stations are located and how they operate. -Board Member Mitchell asked if there was a schedule for testing the new weather stations. Ms. Pekurney said that it will be done similar to the monthly siren testing that the city already has in place. C.3 REVIEW ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR MEMBERS OF THE NORTH RICHLAND HILLS PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Ms Adrien Pekurney reviewed the Parks and Recreation Board Attendance Policy with the members of the board. D. DEPARTMENT UPDATES D.1 NRH2O FAMILY WATER PARK UPDATE Mr. Frank Perez, NRH2O General Manager provided an update on activities at NRH2O Family Waterpark. -Weather has been a factor in attendance this year. Early part of the season was rainy and unseasonably cool. Weather improved for the water park the end of June and has continued to bring in a high number of guests even with the excessive heat. -NRH2O is still facing some staffing issues and they are slowing adding back events, as possible. They featured a Taylor Swift drone show on July 22 with a record number in attendance. They hope to add more special events next season as staffing numbers improve. -A wedding was recently held at the water park, the fourth wedding that has taken place in NRH2O's history. It was held at the top of the Green Extreme. The annual Doggie August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 8 Beach Bash will be held on Saturday, September 23. -Green Extreme will be retired at the end of this season after 26 years. Life expectancy is right at 20 years. New ride will be revealed at the next City Council meeting and again at the next Parks and Recreation Board meeting on October 2. -Board Member Mitchell asked how many more days are left of the 2023 season. Mr. Perez stated that there are 18 days left. D.2 PARKS CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE Mr. Michael Wilson, Park Planning Manager, provided an update on Parks Capital Projects. -Green Valley Historical Area site work began on June 12. It will feature a trail head, outdoor museum, artwork, site furniture with information and photographs of this bygone era. -Green Valley Park Safety Fence and Drainage Improvements: Robison Fence was selected as the lowest qualified bidder. This project should only take a couple of weeks. -NRH2O Green Extreme Replacement Project: Aquatic Design Group will handle the design and ProSlide Technology will be taking care of the construction of the new ride. The new ride is expected to be open at the start of the 2024 season. -NRH Active Transportation Project is substantially complete and final close out is in process. -City Point Trail Project: Plans have been received and will need to be sent to Oncor. -Dr. Pillow Playground Replacement: Material has been purchased from WeBuildFun, Inc. It is anticipated that construction will begin at the end of September and should take around 2-4 weeks. D.3 PARKS MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS UPDATE Mr, Tanner Arwine, Assistant Director, provided an update on parks maintenance and operations. -Irrigation maintenance was the main issue that staff addressed this summer. There are three staff member on the irrigation crew. They maintain 51 controllers and 1,868 valves across the entire city. Water fountain maintenance has been a priority for staff as well. August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 8 -Adventure World Park recently had a new rubberized surface installed in April. The work that the vendor did was not acceptable and had to be redone. Staff felt that the job was acceptable once it was corrected. -Athletic field maintenance is in full swing again. Routine maintenance is year-round but they are gearing up for fall games. -Perry Weather information has been given to the youth sports associations so teams and parents are aware of how the system works. -Upcoming maintenance items include drainage on the Cottonbelt Trail; fall installation of turf, shrubs and trees; restroom fixture replacement which was funded as part of the Park Infrastructure Maintenance for FY2023. D.4 NRH CENTRE, GRAND HALL, ATHLETICS, SENIOR CENTER, RICHLAND TENNIS CENTER, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES UPDATE Mr. Antonio Evangelista, Assistant Director, provided an update on activities at the NRH Centre, Grand Hall, Senior Center, Richland Tennis Center, as well as programs and services. -NRH Centre is having a record year regarding memberships. Total attendance has significantly increased over this last year. Senior Center has also seen record attendance. Grand Hall is on track to finish with their second or third highest year. -Youth programming has increased over 32% in revenue from last year with an increase in the variety of offerings to choose from. -Grand Hall has recently undergone some renovations including new carpet and paint. The Grand Hall hosted numerous Library Summer Reading Program Events due to facility issues at the library. -Athletics programs are going well overall. Additional leagues in various sports are coming soon. -Senior Center Gives Back is a great program where they choose an entity quarterly to collect donations for, such as food and supplies for the NRH Animal Shelter, water and other items for the Fire Department etc. Currently, they are collecting for the Birdville and Richland High School Counselor's Closet. This will allow school staff to have items on hand that students may be in need of and unable to obtain at home. -Richland Tennis Center had a good year for junior camps including tennis and golf, in partnership with Iron Horse Golf Course. Tournaments continue at the facility as well. August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 8 -NRH Poetry Trail at Linda Spurlock features local artists courtesy of our Cultural Arts Program. Live music returns in October with one rescheduled concert from Sounds of Spring and the other concert will feature a laser light show. E. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS E.1 COMMUNITY SERVICE MONTHLY REPORTS (MAY & JUNE) PARK AND RECREATION BOARD UPDATES (JUNE & JULY) There are no other informational items. F. ADJOURNMENT Chair Copeland adjourned the meeting at 7:49 p.m. Vanessa Cope and, Chair ATTEST: Cindy D s, Office Coordinator August 07, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 8