Parks, Recreation & Tourism Advisory Board

CHESAPEAKE PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM ADVISORY BOARD Meeting Minutes August 3, 2023 This meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board was held on August 3, 2023, at the Western Branch Community Center. Chair Leedom called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Leedom welcomed the newest member of the board, Monte Jenkins. Monte is a rising senior at Oscar Smith High School, is a pitcher on the baseball team, and in the IB program. Chair Leedom then recognized representatives from the Crestwood High School Alumni Association. They presented a donation check to the department in the amount of $1,000 to sponsor 20 under-privileged kids to be able to participate in youth programs for a year. ROLL CALL Ms. Fuqua took the roll. Attendance reflected a quorum with 12 voting members present, 5 absent. Members Present: Christine Arrasate, James Brown, Donna Cannatella (non-voting ex- officio/CCC, Jean Carideo (non-voting ex-officio/GBBWHF), Kevin Cole (non-voting ex-officio/CPS), Paula Faivre, Deloras Freeman, Monte Jenkins (non-voting Youth Liaison), Bob Leedom (Chair), Patti McCambridge, Richard Pippin, Casey Shackleford, Susan Starkey, Neta Stephens, Michael Williams, and Jessica Woodyard Members Absent: Catina Bondhill, Bryan Carey, Susan Dixon, Phil Johnson, Annette Kelley (Vice Chair), and Chris Lowie (non-voting ex-officio/GDSNWR) City Staff Present: Mike Barber, Monica Christiansen, Thurman Diamond, Stephanie Miller and Cori Fuqua MINUTES: A motion was made by Mr. Pippin and seconded by Mr. Williams to approve the May 4, 2023, minutes as presented. The minutes were unanimously approved by the board. The notes from the June meeting were also distributed but do not need board approval. HEARING OF CITIZENS: Chair Leedom welcomed the citizens attending the meeting. This meeting serves as the annual hearing for athletic rules so those who signed up to speak regarding that topic will go first. 1. Demond Harris - (Indian River) Chiefs a. Recreation staff at Indian River Community Center interfere with referee calls and at football practices. Also, they are argumentative and combative when speaking to volunteer coaches. 2. Shelley Pulliam – Tackle Football Coach 10/13U a. The tackle football weight limit for 13U is currently 145 lbs. for 11 and 12-year-olds, and 130 lbs. for 13-year-olds. He recommends that the tackle football weight limit for all 11–13-year-olds be 145 lbs. If they turn 14 between the start and end of the season, then drop their limit back to 130 lbs. b. If there are more than 5 teams citywide in 10U and 13U tackle football, he recommends that the playoff structure be changed from 2 teams to 4 teams to have semi-finals and then finals. c. Would like to go back to the city posting billboard signs at main intersections advertising registration signups. Mr. Barber responded that billboards/signs are not permitted to be posted at intersections any longer due to sign ordinances unless it is on private property with the owner’s permission. But we do post signs at all community centers, at our events, and on our marquee at Chesapeake City Park. If signs are posted illegally, they are removed by Sign Sweepers on the weekends. 3. Will Williamson – Soccer Coach a. Recommends three “events” per week for soccer instead of just two. Once the season starts there is only one practice and one game, so would like to have two practices and one game to be able to have more time and opportunity to teach skills and the game. b. Would like to be able to keep teams together and not break them up if players want to stay on the same team. c. Parents should have more of a voice on whose team their child should be on. 4. Marquis Alston – Deep Creek Coach – Basketball, soccer, flag football a. Would like to be able to keep teams together at age transitions instead of them going into the open draft. b. The weight limit for all players in an age class should be the same. c. Playoffs for teams – a semi-final playoff would give teams that wouldn’t usually be in the final playoffs hope and a chance that they might be able to make it. d. Advertising – if private property owners could be contacted to allow signs to be put up, that should be taken advantage of. e. Would like to have the option to have more practices for kids that need it and want to come (during the season). 5. Autumn Bice and Jennifer Heins – Cheerleading Coaches a. We appreciate the department making Cheer Day work for the past couple of years! 2  b. Would like to see more spots open for registration, especially in Western Branch, if there are enough coaches. Looks like there are more spots open in other areas due to more interest? c. Uniforms and Cost of Uniforms – although families are aware of the $85 cap and cost for the uniforms, the uniforms are not able to be ordered until after several practices. The girls must be measured, the coach must find a uniform that works within the pricing guidelines, and then the money collected from the parents. Maybe there could be one “unform night” for all teams or could get sizes during the registration period. Also, maybe the City can find one vendor that teams can order from. That would help with all teams having comparable uniforms. It would also help if the process could be started earlier. By the time uniforms can be ordered in the current timeframe, we are competing with schools ordering their uniforms. Our team ordered shell tops and had them embroidered for around $5 and then bought skirts. Mr. Barber said that we plan to have a discussion with cheer coaches on the subject as well as on other topics. 6. Peter Widas – Soccer a. Field size – it seems to have gone down from a full-size field to a half size field and roster size has gone down. It would be better to have a larger field which forces the kids to play together and have to pass to move the ball down the field. b. Can we have lines on the field as soon as possible by when practice begins, please? It’s difficult to teach kids the game when there aren’t any lines, goals, etc. c. Also agree with having the option to have two practices per week in addition to a game. Next was the general hearing of citizens with two citizens speaking: 7. Richard Fisher – Great Bridge Waterways & Battlefield History Foundation a. The Foundation has three priorities as far as the volunteer docents: 1) Hosts that can welcome guests to the museum, 2) Docents that can lead tours, primarily for school tours, and 3) Providing docents for special fundraising events at the museum and around the community. b. The Foundation is having a special program on September 10th at the Museum for those that might be interested in volunteering as docents to learn about the program. Starting at 1:00 p.m. is the Meet & Greet, and at 1:30 p.m. will be the Program Outline and Museum Tour followed by Q&A. Call 757-482-4480 to register. c. It was suggested by Mr. Barber that Mr. Fisher attend the next Historic Preservation Commission meeting on Thursday, August 10, at 5:00 p.m. at the PRT office. 8. Carol Warren – a. Ms. Warren lives in the Indian River area and requested an additional trash can last year for one of the community parks and was surprised to see it was an open barrel rather than one with a lid. She then noticed that there were a lot of open barrel trash cans at other parks as well. She would like to know if the City could provide closed 3  trash cans. Mr. Barber said the main reasons for the open barrel trash cans are that they are much more reasonably priced, more efficient to empty and easily replaceable. For the last few years, we have been able to use Litter Grant funds to begin replacing some of the open barrels with lidded trash cans at some of our major parks and at larger parks first. The cost is quite a bit more, the lids are not very durable, and they are difficult to empty quickly. The difference in cost is approximately $50 for open barrels vs. $1,200 for the ones with lids. Supply chain is also slow as we ordered some in January and they just came in recently. Ms. Warren asked if they were fireproof, and Mr. Barber said that nothing is fully fireproof but they are fire resistant. b. Ms. Warren then asked if there was a special contact to get in touch with to report issues? Mr. Barber said you can always call the Customer Contact Center, or you can call us directly at the main Visitor Center/Administrative phone number. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: None. REPORTS: a. Ex-Officio Reports: • Chesapeake Public Schools – Mr. Cole reported that the ‘23-‘24 school year fall sports have officially begun. Mr. Barber added that we have been working with schools for scheduling fields. There are some growing pains with using the new scheduling system as well as the addition of middle school sports competing with community teams for use of fields. Schools get first dibs on their fields, and we can normally can use them when they’re not using them. We must make sure that everyone, especially organizations, understand that there will be some adjustment to past practices going forward and we will cover this subject at coaches’ meetings. • Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Museum – Ms. Carideo echoed Mr. Fisher’s sentiments regarding the excellent docent volunteer program. • Chesapeake Conference Center – Ms. Cannatella said that the HVAC work is moving along very quickly, and they are now finishing up painting and caulking and other final touches. The entire exterior and interior will be repainted, wallpaper will be removed from the bathrooms, and things will really look brand new and beautiful. The scheduled re-opening is in early November, but it is anticipated that they may be able to open earlier than that. • Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge – Mr. Lowie sent a report to Mr. Barber with some updates. The refuge interns provided four Dismal Swamp education programs this summer in Chesapeake libraries and community centers for approximately 48 people, mostly youth. The interns did a great job telling the story of the swamp. b. Tourism Report 4  • Ms. Christiansen said that there was a Moth Night event last Saturday night at the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail. We received reports the next morning with incredible pictures and there were over 100 people that came to the event. Then on Monday, Tourism Manager Kim Murden sent us the stats for the website for last month. The highest activity of anything in the City for the month was Moth Night! It was amazing. c. Parks and Recreation Reports • Events – Ms. Christiansen reported that this weekend’s event is the Criterium at the Municipal Center on Saturday. This year there will be a BikeFest-type event in the Judge Eileen Olds Park and there will be food trucks, giveaways including bike helmets, and other activities. • Recreation – Mr. Diamond said that Summer Blast Camp is doing quite well, and all of the camps will get to go to the Splash Park at some point this summer. On September 1, we will be hosting a new event at the Splash Park called Glo Night from 7-9pm so that should be a lot of fun. d. Director Updates: Mr. Barber gave the following updates: • Parks and Community Centers o Chair Leedom saw an announcement in the paper today about the closing of the Dismal Swamp Canal Ballahack boat ramp and parking lot from August 14 until February for construction. Mr. Barber said that the project is funded by a federal grant which also involves VDOT and is run through our Public Works department. It is a renovation and formalization of the parking lot as well as some improvements of amenities including some small, covered shelters and an enclosure where the portable restrooms are. Unfortunately, there isn’t any money for permanent restrooms there. The bike trail will remain open during the construction time period. o Blue Heron Landing Park – We have issued a purchase order to start construction. The park amenities will include a boardwalk and a public canoe/kayak launch. We’re really excited that the park will become a reality in about a year! o Historic Village – The Cornland school, part of the parking lot, and the storm water pond are out for bid. It has been a long and difficult process with all the requirements but we’re finally there. Second, we have all approvals in line and are waiting for the final DEQ comments for the rest of the village design and hope to get that part out for bid later this year. We are still on course for the Cornland School opening for spring of 2024 but will have to wait and see as bids come in whether that will have to change. o NWRP Ranger Station – All comments have been received so we hope to have that out for bid within the next 30 days. o Arboretum – Still working with the architect to try and tweak the scope and get a little bit closer to what we can afford. o Pool at Cuffee Center – Today at the Cuffee Center, we were fortunate enough to receive another federal earmark program check donation for $3M headed by Congressman Bobby Scott. The state has put in around $9M so there were several 5  state representatives attending the ceremony today as well. The total pool budget is currently $20M. We had another meeting today with the architects and there are a few things that they need to go back and add to the conceptual plans. We will have a couple of options that will go out to the community for comments within about a month, and then it will go to a City Council work session – hopefully with some estimated numbers to see where we are at. • Emergency Operations – The City is doing a massive drill on Saturday, August 19, at the City Hall complex. It will be an active shooter exercise. There will be real-life acting during the event and then afterwards will be reaction, recovery, and resource center setups, etc. • For more information, refer to the Department Report and Park Project Updates. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: • Bylaws and SOPs – Ms. Fuqua reported that the City Council approved the Bylaws and SOPs with no changes. She will bring the documents to the next meeting for Chair Leedom to sign. • Athletic Rules – Mr. Leedom asked the board who would be interested in being on the Athletic Rules Committee. After some brief discussion, the committee will consist of Ms. Faivre, Chair Leedom, Ms. Starkey and Ms. Arrasate. Although there were no specific rule changes proposed tonight, the committee should still review the requests and make any administrative recommendations they feel would be appropriate. Ms. Fuqua will put together a document with all the coaches’ comments. There are also a few that were emailed to us which will be consolidated into the document. NEW BUSINESS: • None. HEARING OF BOARD MEMBERS: • Ms. Faivre asked about the Indian River Community Center – has everything been resolved? Mr. Diamond said yes, the center damage has been repaired and is open again. The injured employee is home and doing better. Two bollards have been installed outside the front entrance to help keep this kind of accident from occurring again. • Ms. McCambridge – We received good news with a notification from the Department of Historic Resources that the Cornland School has retained the national historic registry designation. When we moved the building, we had to have it reviewed and it has taken a year and a half. • Chair Leedom was looking at the Department Report and it showed that for this year through June, a total of 22 skate park passes were sold. Is selling those the best business practice? Mr. Barber said that it doesn’t cost us any more to do so. Occasionally it is staffed with City employees that are on light duty assignment. The City Attorney’s Office and Risk Managers feel it is still a best practice. 6  • Mr. Pippin said that there is still a need on the east side of City Park for 220V service, and it would be helpful for it to be done or put into the budget. Mr. Barber asked if the Jubilee committee could send him a letter detailing the request and Mr. Pippin will do so. • Mr. Williams said that Tidewater Winds wrapped up their summer concert series at City Park and it was a major success. He was very pleased with the turnout overall even though the second performance was rained out. Their next project is in the fall partnering with Chesapeake Public Schools for a reading through a music education program for Pinocchio. It will be for all 3rd grade students (approximately 2,600) from Title I schools in Chesapeake. The Harrison Opera House is the only location available during the time frame the schools would be able to attend. The problem is that the Sandler Center, which is the usual location and is not available, costs $3,000 and the Harrison Opera House costs $9,000. Businesses and the Chesapeake community are stepping up so hopefully the money will be raised, and everything will work out with the numbers. They would like to see if an outdoor performance could be scheduled on a Saturday at City Park in the fall. Mr. Barber said absolutely. Mr. Cole added that Mr. Williams should give him a call on Monday to talk about school facilities. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at South Norfolk Community Center, 1217 Godwin Avenue. Minutes submitted by Cori Fuqua, Secretary 7