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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Parks And Recreation Advisory Committee - 01/13/2021    PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Regular Meeting * Wednesday, January 13, 2021 5:30 p.m. Webex MINUTES I. Call to Order by Chairperson Alissa Mejia at 5:35 p.m. II. Roll Call of Members  Present: Alissa Mejia, Twila Stevens, Lawrence Heatley, Florence East, Casandra Lorentson, Howard Schauer, Jacob Dryden, Hannah Husby, Amy McCoy, Mandy Cox, Diego Solis  Absent: None  Quorum was met. III. Public Comment  Claude D’Unger – Provided public comment regarding proposed name change for the Bayfront Park fountain to Mary Fisher fountain. Mary Fisher was an individual in the history of Corpus Christi with a complex and interesting story who overcame racial and gender discrimination, was a prominent member of her church, and made significant donations to her church. IV. Adoption of Minutes  Regular Meeting – Adoption of Minutes from December 9, 2020: Minutes from December 9, 2020 were passed unanimously. V. Police Department Report  Police Department Report – Captain Weldon Weber: None VI. Old Business and Possible Action  None VII. New Business for Discussion and Possible Action  Annual Report – Discussed motions made and other activity throughout 2020. Primarily focused on fulfilling committee member roles and providing feedback and recommendations for Council items. Set new goals for 2021 including improving effectiveness of committee member roles, providing informed feedback and diverse perspectives, and communicating relevant information with the public. Motion to pass annual report as written was approved unanimously.  Bayfront Park fountain name change request – Details regarding the name change request were discussed. Concerns were raised over naming the Bayfront Park fountain due to the controversial nature of Mary Fisher’s career. Ideas were brought forth to possibly name a fountain in a different park or to memorialize Mary Fisher via a museum exhibit. Ultimately, the item was tabled for further discussion and possible action for the February 10, 2021 PRAC meeting. In the meantime, committee members will seek input from the public along with performing additional research. VIII. Committee, Liaison/Staff Reports –  Island Strategic Action Committee (ISAC) – Liaison Twila Stevens: The Gulf Beach Rescue Report indicated an increase from 5,000 contacts in 2018 to 11,000 contacts in 2020. Beach Operations is still moving sand due to summer storms and have not reached the Zahn Road area yet. Showers at Zahn Road haven’t been installed yet. The Chairperson of ISAC requested to have the showers installed by Spring Break.  Watershore & Beach Advisory Committee – Liaison Howard Schauer: None  Flour Bluff Advisory Committee – Liaison Florence East: Still taking input from the public to reevaluate in March and present to Council in April. IX. Director Reports – Tracey Cantu, Interim Director  None Lisa Oliver, Interim Assistant Director      Ben Garza Gym floor renovation has been completed. Hoping to begin programming in the next couple of weeks. Seniors are grateful for the curbside and lunch programs. Community Centers are still providing curbside services to families by issuing fun kits. Had a Santa appearance at Salinas Park. Upcoming family events include distributing packets in preparation for the CCISD intersession and the Trunk or Treat Valentine’s Edition curbside event. Kevin Johnson, Assistant Director  Currently planting 230 trees in various parks including Lions Park, Mike Zepeda Park, Los Encinos Park, Lincoln Park, Labonte Park, and West Guth Park. All trees are in UDC (Unified Development Code) compliance. Various other projects are currently in progress. Concerns were raised about separation of ground padding in Cole Park and throughout other parks. Repairs to the ground padding are currently being performed but will take time as the material being used needs to set long enough to solidify. Children typically peel up the material before it has set up long enough, so repairs are being performed late at night. ETA of two weeks provided for Cole Park ground padding repairs. X. Committee Member Comments/Announcements/Agenda Requests  Discussion held over why shade structures at Lamar Park and Los Encinos were removed and whether new shade structures were going to be installed or not. Some parks have structures in such bad shape that they needed to be removed hastily. However, those structures will definitely be replaced as soon as possible.  No suggestions for new agenda items. XI. Adjournment at 6:45 p.m.