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2018_09.05 Parks Board MinutesKENNEDALE Parks and Recreation Board www.cityofkennedale.com PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Minutes REGULAR MEETING September 5, 2018 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 405 MUNICIPAL DRIVE I. CALL TO ORDER Chairman David Deaver called the meeting to order at 7:OOpm II. ROLL CALL Present Josh Hdyes, Gary S an , Jeff Nevarez, David Deaver, Michael Chandler Absent: : PhiWallace III. MINUTES APPROVAL�45f Consider approval of minutes from August 1, 2018 regular meeting. Motion to: Approve Jan , 2018 minutes Action: Approve. Moved By: J. Nevarez, Seconded: M. Chandler Motion Passed Unanimously IV. VISITOR/CITIZENS FORUM 1. Clay Yeary gave an update on his Eagle Scout project, it has been completed and he will be awarded Eagle badge. He spent an estimated 300 hours and $168 on the project. He was able to get a discount from Lowes that saved roughly $45. Everyone was pleased with the project and congratulated Clay on his accomplishment. V. REGULAR ITEMS A. Discuss and consider the Splash Pad at Sonora Park. a. J. Nevarez stated that he had brought it up because he had noticed this last summer when he had visited that there were not very many people at the Splash Pad even though it was a hot dry summer. He stated that he had been there maybe 5 or 6 times over the summer. b. There was a general discussion about what could be done to increase interest in the Spash Pad. G. Swan brought up the idea that a cover to provide shade might help. L. Hoover showed a book of features to D. Deaver who suggested that purchasing a little squirts fish feature and/or a fire hydrant to replace some of the less popular features might be a good idea. L. Hoover stated that the activation sequence that the features go through and how many go off at one time is highly programmable and could be adjusted. c. The board discussed the water gun features that had been removed and placed in storage. M. Chandler asked if the guns could be sold to another city and purchase other features with that money. L. Hoover stated that most cities in the area went with the competing company that provides Splash pads and the chances that the old water guns would be compatible may be slim. D. Deaver stated we could even donate them so that at least someone would be getting benefit from them. d. D. Deaver asked L. Hoover if he would check into getting at least one new feature either a fish or a fire hydrant that could be controlled and used to shoot water. The other board members were in agreement. L. Hoover stated that he would research it and come back with a recommendation. e. All of the board members agreed that purchasing a cover in the future was also a very good idea. B. Discussed and consider Park budget for next fiscal year 2018/2019. a. J. Nevarez and M..Chandler attended the previous council meeting and spoke to the council during the visitor/citizen's forum section of the meeting. They requested that the council invite members of the Park board back the next month to discuss the idea of setting aside a budget just for the Park board separate from the regular park budget that could be used for park improvement projects that the Park board wanted to do. They were requesting a budget of $20,000 to be used and if it was not used it would roll over to the next year and could be combined with another $20,000 and possibly do even bigger improvement projects. b. G. Swan asked L. Hoover how exactly the Park budget is currently funded. L. Hoover stated that the Park budget is mainly funded via the Street budget franchise fees. L. Hoover stated that funding sources will be less as time goes by due to wireless technology and reduced impact fees as the city becomes built out. c. L. Hoover stated that the city council was inquiring about why the KYA does not pay rental fees for the ball fields and how the current pay structure for the KYA was developed. The current charge for KYA does not cover the cost of the electricity that they use. The city council will be discussing further if the KYA setup needs to be modified and also discussing rental fees in general. d. J. Nevarez stated that he didn't see how the city could justify charging more for the ball field rentals given the condition of the fields. He stated that it was a great idea to rent them out to get revenue to sustain them but felt that a lot of work would need to be done to them first. e. D. Deaver stated that it had been talked about for 20 years to try to get grants to improve the fields but that normally grants have to be matched 50/50. It was estimated that upgrading the lighting setup at the ballfields would cost at least $100,000. This would include upgrading to LED lighting, separating the ballfields electrical source from the concession stands and removing all the copper wiring which is what the vandals are after when they have repeatedly broken into the concession stand. f. G. Swan asked about about changing the fields from three down to one or two. D. Deaver stated that a lot of dirt work would have to be done and fencing changes. He said that the field sizes are different for different age groups. J. Nevarez stated that one of the fields is setup for Tball and it is hardly ever used. There has been some discussion that it should be changed into a dog park. J. Nevarez stated that he liked the idea of reducing down to two fields. J. Nevarez suggested that a City KISD partnership in regards to the maintenance of the fields could be a future possibility. g. J. Nevarez suggested that a PowerPoint could be made and presented to council at the next council meeting. h. D. Deaver stated that the ball fields were originally put in with a grant and therefore there are limitations as to what can be done to them. J. Nevarez requested that L. Hoover send him a copy of grant from the 70's if possible so that he could see what the restrictions may be. L. Hoover said he can try to look for it. i. Gary S. stated that he thought that the whole board should attend when the PowerPoint is presented. J. Nevarez stated (hat he agreed. L. Hoover recommended a complete park board with a complete city council discussion. D. Deaver stated that the board should work on this issue for the next couple of months as this is a really big issue and the board needs to know what kind of budget they have to work with. He instructed that this item be included in the next several months' agendas. J. D. Deaver suggested meeting with the City Manager first, then he could possibly be an ally in presenting the idea to the city council. L. Hoover stated that it is probably too late to get something for this year. k. L. Hoover suggested that D. Deaver meet with the City Manager, outline for him what the board's agenda is and then invite him to attend the next Park board meeting. D. Deaver agreed that he would do this. C. Discuss and Consider Facility Rental Policies and Fees. a. Amanda King requested that this item be added to the agenda so that she could discuss issues that the library has been having associated with facility rentals. b. A. King stated that she had four issues that she wanted to get the board's recommendations on. A. King stated that what the goal is as far as revenue accumulation needs to be addressed. Rental revenues were recently changed from going to Parks fund to going to Streets fund. D. Deaver stated that they would talk to the City Council about where the funds need to be going. 1. There is currently nothing in the policy that addresses rates for nonprofit organizations and any policy exemptions. Need to add something to policy addressing these issues. Have currently been addressing it on a case by case basis which requires staff approval each time. L. Hoover stated during the ensuing discussion that a distinction needs to be made between one time rentals vs reoccurring rentals. A. King stated that the current policy states that reoccurring reservations will not be allowed unless approved by the city manager. Board Recommendation is to make rentals free for City sponsored organizations, 50% off the going rate for City of Kennedale non -profits but security deposits still apply. 2. Noticing more of an issue not with highly desirable dates like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year's. Customers are becoming kind of pushy about trying to get into the library first in order to get the day that they want. Sometimes people are lining up outside of the library waiting to get in to get the date first. There has been a suggestion that the popular days be put in a raffle/drawing of sorts to see who gets it. Community Center and Senior Center are the main ones that people are fighting for. A. King stated that it could set up the fee structure so that it cost more to rent the facility on the most popular dates. J. Nevarez agreed that this should be done. 3. The fee structure needs to be revisited. A. King stated that the community center and the senior center have different structure and different fee rates. L. Hoover stated that he thought that fees and structures were last addressed in 2012. 4. L. Hoover stated that the city council will have to pass a new ordinance for any fee changes. He stated that all fees for the whole city would need to be addressed at once. 5. The Park board only recommends rates for the Parks and Ball fields. A, King stated that there had been some jockeying for position of renting out the ballfields on a couple of occasions. The board felt that since the ball fields need some work and they are not lighted that the current rates are still fair and should not be changed. The board recommends increasing the rates for the park pavilions 50%, leaving the ball field rates as they are but adding a $50 deposit fee. VI. REPORTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. J. Nevarez gave an update on Concert in the Park since it was inadvertently left off of the agenda. Everything going well and on schedule except for the logo which should be completed soon. Rotary Club will be selling water, cokes and popcorn this year. 2. M. Chandler presented information about the KKB Bring It Event September 15, 2018. J. Nevarez stated that he had been giving an announcement about the event every month at the Rotary meeting. L. Hoover stated that the banners went up today to advertise the event. M. Chandler stated that he and Kenneth had also built the arbor for the KKB and that everyone should check it out. Kenneth designed it and M. Chandler helped him build it. 3. L. Hoover presented information about the 9/11 Memorial Ride this Saturday. The Mayor and others will speak at the Town Center at around 1 pm. The group that is sponsoring the ride donated $1,000 last year to the City for the Town Center fountain. 4. G. Swan asked about the walkway between the senior center and Sonora park. He was wondering when this project was going to be done. L. Hoover stated that the walkway was going to be difficult, that the senior center was going to have to meet the city walk at the parking lot. They currently do not have a sidewalk that the city can connect to. The city will have to coordinate with them to get it to work. L. Hoover stated that the city cannot legally use public money to build a sidewalk on private property. D. Deaver suggested that we go ahead and build our part of the sidewalk. L. Hoover stated that the sidewalk on the city side can be done. The board all agreed that this would be a good idea. 5. L. Hoover mentioned that it is that time of year when the ponds have algae blooms. There is a smell and murky look at the pond but there has not been any fish kill. The Texas Parks and Wildlife experts have been consulted and they recommend letting it take its natural course. Anything that is added to the water to combat the algae will also kill the fish and other wildlife living in the pond. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion to: Adjourn Action: Adjourn. Moved By: Jeff Nevarez The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm David Deaver, Chairman Attest: Mary oza, Park C yard Secretary