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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Parks And Recreation Advisory Committee - 01/13/2010 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECEIVED Regular Meeting January 13, 2010, 5:00 p.m. MAR 1 2 2010 Sixth Floor Conference Room, City Hall 1201 Leopard Street, Corpus Christi, TX 7840SECRETARY'S SE Members Present Members Absent Staff Present Rene Gutierrez Lisa Torres Stacie Talbert Carlos Haney Sylvia Samaniego Reba George Jinsun Kim K Chute Art Norman Rita Padron Carrie Robertson Huxley Smith Ron Woods Call to Order Chair, Rene Gutierrez called the meeting to order at 5:09 pm. II. Roll Call of Members The recording secretary called roll and announced a quorum was present. III. Adoption of Minutes Regular meeting, December 9, 2009 Huxley Smith made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted. Art Norman seconded. Carlos Haney abstained. Motion passed. Rita Padron made a motion to limit agenda items to five minutes. Motion had no second. IV. Public Comment- none V. Business A. Presentations 1. Request to name State School Park Property the Manuel Q. Salinas Park. Danny Noyola of 4410 Acushnet noted addressing the committee on behalf of Manuel Salinas, Jr, along with other friends and family members. Mr. Noyola also said he is nephew to Manuel Q. Salinas and that their families had lived in close proximity for most of their younger lives. Mr. Noyola provided the committee with a handout illustrating general play and past league(s) activity in the park. He stated Mr. Salinas played semi-pro baseball and was a driving force in organizing youth soccer and baseball activities for local and area youth. In 1990 Mr. Salinas formed the Corpus Christi Latin Soccer League and was instrumental in getting field improvements. Mr. Noyola offered to answer questions and thanked the committee for © receiving the request. L! Chair, Rene Gutierrez requested staff complete the due diligence research and provide a report to the committee at the March meeting. 2. Parks & Recreation Department Recycling Project *CC Reba George noted third floor staff of City Hall is participating in a pilot recycling program. Each work area has one receptacle for recyclables. When convenient, staff sorts their items into large recycle bins centrally located. This process allows building maintenance staff more time to devote to other maintenance issues. Additional recycling projects are being conducted at some recreation centers, aquatic facilities, and Central Kitchen as the program expands to all areas. Stacie Talbert noted efforts with Solid Waste for the park system to have recycling. (Jinsun Kim arrived at 5:35 pm) 3. Report of Community Enrichment Funds and Grant Funding Sources Reba George provided a handout showing Community Enrichment Funds with the coordinating park or sub-division location. She also noted funds could be used for projects within a one and a half mile radius of the assigned location. Ms. George gave examples of combined funds for larger improvement projects. Reba George provided a handout showing current grant participation, coordinating the funds with the programs or services provided. (Carrie Robertson arrived at 5:37 pm) C. New Business for Discussion and Possible Action 2. Request for PRAC Liaison to Transportation Advisory Committee, Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee. Charlie Cardenas of Traffic Engineering explained, the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) advises the Council. TAC has a Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee (BPS) to advise them on matters concerning safety between vehicles and others using the City's streets and sidewalks. Mr. Cardenas requested a PRAC liaison or representative to be a member of the BPS. This is an advisory position with interactive participation, but without voting privileges. Their meetings are held on the third Monday monthly, in the Sixth Floor Conference Room of City Hall, beginning at 2:30 pm, with posted agenda and following the Open Meetings Act. Following discussion, Ron Woods made a motion to support the BPS with a liaison from the PRAC Committee. Carlos Haney seconded. Motion passed. C. Old Business for Discussion and Possible Action 1. Confirmation of Sub-Committees Rene Gutierrez reviewed the following sub-committees: Finance & Marketing — Lisa Torres, Chair, and Reba George, staff liaison Rene Gutierrez, Huxley Smith Planning & Development-Art Norman, Chair, and Joshua Wentworth, staff liaison Rita Padron, Jinsun Kim Program Development- Ron Woods, Chair, and Becky Perrin, staff liaison Sylvia Samaniego, Jinsun Kim Volunteers Program — Rita Padron, Chair, and Becky Perrin, Staff liaison Lisa Torres Greens— Ron Woods, committee liaison, and Leon Upshaw, staff liaison Watershore and Beach Advisory Committee—Carrie Robertson, committee liaison, and Michele Thomas, staff liaison Added: Transportation Advisory Committee, Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee— Huxley Smith, committee liaison. (Huxley Smith volunteered. Carrie Robertson agreed.) 2. Adopt A Park Ordinance and Process Stacie Talbert reviewed the cover letter and application handout. Staff, Becky Perrin will coordinate the program that will include collaboration with the area's superintendent, and tracking of work performed and hours volunteered. Members were encouraged to promote the program. Rene Gutierrez suggested the committee adopt a park. Members agreed. 3. Tree Ordinance Update Stacie Talbert noted there are questions from the City Manager to be answered before the item is allowed for Council consideration. Ms. Talbert will be in contact with Sylvia Samaniego to poll other cities already using a similar ordinance. Updates will be provided to the committee as this item progresses. • C. New Business for Discussion and Possible Action 1. Leeza's Place presentation by Elsa Munoz, superintendent, Senior Community Services Division, Ms. Munoz provided handouts and information about a national program addressing the needs of care givers for patients with Alzheimer's Disease, other memory disorders, or other chronic illnesses. Leeza's Place offers education, empowerment, and energy. WellMed pays for all costs incurred for Lezza's Place except the actual building space and utilities. WellMed is looking at Corpus Christi and Austin for an expansion site. As Corpus Christi already has a good existing care givers network and facility space available, possibly Lindale Senior Center, Ms. Munoz feels this program would be a good fit. After discussion Ron Woods made a motion to support the efforts of the City's Senior Community Services Division to bring Leeza's Place to Corpus Christi. Huxley Smith seconded. Motion passed. 3. Committee's New Member Process Rene Gutierrez reviewed the draft of a handout about a new guideline being developed by the committee to assist with the new member process. After discussion and selection of appropriate applicant questions, the committee requested staff confer with the City Secretary's office for additional guidance. Rita Padron made a motion to table the item until further information is obtained. Carrie Robertson seconded. Motion passed. 4. Antonio E. Garcia Parkland Dedication Stacie Talbert informed the committee of an item to be addressed by Council on January 19, 2010. The Garcia Learning Center is located on City property that is leased to the South Texas Institute for the Arts. The City has Community Block Grant (CDBG) money available for improvements of the adjoining park site. The Junior League wants to use that park area to build a walking trail and improved play ground area to help fight obesity in our community. Because of insurance issues the land to be used for this project needs to be dedicated park land. Maintenance of the park will be provided by a student group from TX A&M, Corpus Christi. Rita Padron made a motion to approve the Antonio E. Garcia Parkland dedication as presented. Carlos Haney seconded. Motion passed. Additional conversation yielded the suggestion to use reclaimed brick from the Coliseum for park improvements. Staff will pursue this suggestion. VI. Committee, Liaison/Staff Reports Finance/Marketing — Rene Gutierrez noted there was no quorum but he and Huxley Smith met. Planning Development—The group met and reviewed some previous plats. No action was required, and a summary report was included in the meeting packet. Future meetings will include the review of goals, and discussion on being proactive in the plat process and focusing on the design phase of projects. Program Development— Ron Woods met with Becky Perrin and discussed current programs under her department and ideas for future programs. 1) Volunteer Programs involving Senior Companion Program (SCP), Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Youth Advisory Committee, Adopt-a-Park, Adopt-a-Spot, Recreation Center Programs, and Latchkey Programs. 2) Earth Day/Bay Day is scheduled for April 18`" probably to be held at Cole Park, and the possibility of using the Tree City Program was discussed. The Education Tree Program focusing on the problem of trash in our community was also reviewed. Possible summer tennis instruction was also suggested. However, since there was no quorum, the exchange of information cannot constitute a recorded meeting. Special Projects—A report was included in the meeting packet. Greens Committee— Ron Woods said there was no Greens Committee meeting in December. However, there is much concern about the OSO Golf Course problem with raw sewage overflowing onto#18 fairway after a hard rain. They request staff work to correct the problem. Watershore & Beach Advisory Committee —Carrie Robertson noted there was no meeting. Interim Director 1. As committee members have previously requested advocacy updates, Stacie Talbert distributed the article, How Cities Use Parks for Economic Development. Stacie Talbert offered a Budget Workshop so members could understand more about the funding of the department in consideration of the upcoming budget cuts. Members agreed, and are to submit their date suggestions to the secretary. Additional discussion will be held next month. Regarding questions about the City's budget shortfall, Ms. Talbert reviewed the major causes as lower collection of property and sales tax. In answer to specific questions, Ms. Talbert stated she could not discuss details yet as the information has not been received by Council. However, she did state the mowing cycles will be longer, irrigation work will be affected along with services at the recreation and senior centers. When asked about the committee members being advocates, she suggested all comments be positive. 2. Park Memorials Ms. Talbert reported staff is talking with Friends of the Parks about their memorial bench project. Also, cement benches with inscriptions, benches with cement sides and recycled slats, along with other configurations are being investigated. Updates will come to the committee with project developments. 3. Routing of Requests and Ideas Stacie Talbert requested all suggestions for improvement or change come through the Director's Office for appropriate coordination. This will allow staff to collaborate on the suggestion with future plans and appropriate funding. 4. Discussion of previous Committee comments: a. Department organization chart was sent via email message. Staff was requested to print copies for the February meeting. b. Division Informational Reports are being collected and will be brought to the February meeting. Scheduling of the division reports has not been completed. The Beach (and other sites) Tour is re-scheduled on Saturday, March 6th following the previously planned itinerary. c. Status of Tree City USA project. Ms. Talbert noted the pending questions must be answered before the item can go to Council. d. City's Working Restrooms Ms. Talbert reported working restrooms at Heritage Park in the Courtyard are cleaned daily. Gulf Beach has 24 rented Skid 0 Cans that staff power-washes twice weekly during the winter season and three times weekly during the summer. Cole Park, CC Beach, North and Central Pavilions, HJ Williams, West Guth Park, Molina Park, JFK Causeway by Billings and Clems, Oak Park, South Bluff Park, Al Kruse Tennis Center and HEB Tennis Center are cleaned daily by staff. Comments were exchanged about vandalism and daily efforts of staff to clean graffiti. Making the public restrooms coin operated was suggested. Remembrance of the airport coin operated toilets was also noted. Huxley Smith requested a copy of the Omni contract. Staff will scan and email to a committee members. (Rita Padron left at 7:35 pm) e. Breakwater Repair is in the planning stage and will be performed through the Engineering Department f. Vendor Permit Process was sent via email message. Ms. Talbert reported there are no current plans to change the process. She also noted staff is currently speaking with potential vendors. g. Reschedule Tour for March 6'". VII. Identify items to be placed on next agenda Adopt A Park selection for the PRAC Committee Omni Contract discussion regarding public restroom at McGee Beach PRAC New Member Process Review Bond 2008, Bayfront Phase Ill, regarding re-direction of traffic on Shoreline TAC, Bicycle and Pedestrian liaison or representative responsibility VIII. Adjournment As there was no further business Rene Gutierrez motioned to adjourn the meeting. Art Norman seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 7:41 pm. Ataa,- Cc. Stacie Talbert, Interim Director, Parks & Recreation Department