Recreation & Parks Advisory Board

Regular Meeting of the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Held at the Falls Church Community Center 223 Little Falls Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 Minutes March 7, 2012 1. Call to Order Mr. O’Hara called the meeting to order at 7:21 p.m. Members present were Charley O’Hara, Kathy Chandler, Lori LaFave, Leslie Rye, Steve Selby, and Lawrence Webb. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director of Recreation & Parks, and Krissy Loerch, Senior Administrative Assistant. 2. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions Mr. O’Hara asked if there were any petitions from the public or board members. There were none. 3. Minutes Ms. Rye moved to approve the minutes from the January 11th meeting. Ms. LaFave seconded the motion. Ms. Chandler abstained from the vote. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. Ms. Chandler moved to approve the minutes from the February 1st meeting. Ms. Rye seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. 4. Recreation Director’s Report • Enrollment for Winter/Spring classes remains steady. Overall, the department has transitioned to contractors offering activities under our supervision rather than the instructor based system we used to have. Only a small number of programs remain that are taught by instructors. The instructor taught programs include Summer Fun Playground camp, karate, body toning, and a few others. • Youth basketball tournaments are scheduled this week. Mr. O’Hara suggested the department submit pictures and names of kids involved in these tournaments for recognition in the local media. The department is holding a ceremony to thank Coach Terri Modglin who has volunteered for 25 years in the basketball program. The reception will be held Saturday at approximately 3 p.m. in the MEH cafeteria. • Summer Camp Registration is steadily rising and is $60,000 ahead of last year at this time. This year department has taken over $400,000 in summer camp registrations. Our overall revenue in FY 12 is $1,286,204.20. We have $333,795.80 yet to generate meet the projected revenue by the end of the fiscal year. • The Preschool Program continues to be successful with the new teacher. We have filled several spots that became available with a change in the lead teacher. • The Memorial Day applications were distributed and we are receiving them back steadily. This year the department is only asking the top six Bolivian dance groups back to the parade. The top six were determined by last years’ judges using the criteria on the parade scoring sheets. Mr. Schlitt would like to see a local marching band and more floats in the parade. He reached out to the GMHS marching band and didn’t receive a positive response.  Major Gavin from the FC police department volunteered to ask the O’Connell marching band. • The lights at Madison Park are all in working condition. A significant number of light poles in Cavalier Trail Park are out. Also, the lights at the Cavalier Tennis Courts are partially out. • The Civil War traveling museum will be stored overnight at the Property Yard on May 18th. • The additional funds ($3,379.15) from the Howard Herman retirement event will be used toward the archway signage at HEHSVP. • The revenue generated by the rental of the turf fields at GMHS is approximately $20,000 per year. This year it is currently at $19,125 with 3 months left in the fiscal year. The school has used this revenue to replace lights and perform a thorough professional cleaning of the field. If the schools placed that yearly revenue in a reserve fund it would equate to half of the cost to replace the entire field. The overall cost to replace the field is approximately $400,000. • The City & School MOU was updated since the turf field was installed. The 2007 updated copy will be reviewed by Mr. Schlitt and Tom Horn. A revised copy will have to be signed by the new superintendent. 5. New Business a. Operating budget • Mr. Schlitt attended a retreat with other City leaders to discuss the department needs other than what was included in the proposed budget. Mr. Schlitt asked for increased funds in our overtime budget to assist with large events to are not run by the department but are asked to supply staff (such as the Tinner Hill Blues Festival). Mr. Schlitt also asked for the funds to purchase a new passenger van for the department to replace the current van that is not usable. • Mr. Schlitt expects to present the budget to the City Council on March 22. • Mr. O’Hara expressed concern over the lack of maintenance in our parks and the need for an increase in our operating funds to address these issues. A few examples are the lack of grass at Big Chimneys Park, thick mud on the trails at Berman Park, and general erosion issues. • Mr. Schlitt has addressed the parks maintenance issue in the budget narrative and the top 10 list of department needs. Mr. Schlitt will continue work towards clarity on if CIP funds can be used for maintenance. If not, then there needs to be adequate funding for maintenance in the operating budget. • The director of Arlington County Parks & Recreation contacted neighboring jurisdictions to conduct an analysis of each department’s overall cost recovery. The City of Falls Church ranks amongst the top with recovering 68% of our entire operating budget on an annual basis. The lowest percentage reported was 13% and the average was 40%. b. Open Space Discussion • There is property on Railroad Avenue for sale that encompasses 1.3 acres of land. This could be a potential space for a practice field if we can create parking. Mr. Schlitt has explored the property with the City Arborist and City Manager. The arborist said he would take down some trees and replant along the sides as a buffer. • The Zoning administrator believes the property owners are trying to separate the property into multiple parcels in order to develop it. However, due to water pipes and narrow pieces of the land, the owners will obtain two parcels at best. 2  • Railroad Avenue belongs to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. The houses that use Railroad Ave. for access have obtained special permission. Railroad Avenue is not a road. Mr. Schlitt is scheduled to meet with the Director of NVRP on site to discuss the potential of the property. 6. Old Business a. CIP • The current $200,000 in CIP funds are available now to use for smaller projects that address basic and overall park needs. Mr. Schlitt assembled a list of possible projects and included quotes from contractors. Projects include replacement of the playground equipment at Cherry Hill Park, reconstruction of natural turf at Madison field, the repair of basketball and tennis court surfaces, and pathways. Another possible project is building a permanent stage at Cherry Hill Barn. Mr. O’Hara suggested that any construction in Cherry Hill Park may present an issue for obtaining approval, constructing the stage and moving the playground equipment. • Mr. O’Hara recommended we review the cost of the design drawings for West End Park to give the board perspective on what to expect for the new field at Madison Park. • Mr. Schlitt recommended that the board wait to make decisions on how to spend the current $200,000 until we know if we will receive another $200,000 in FY13. Decisions from the board should be made in May regarding how we will use the funds. • Ms. Chandler stated that the board may need to make a decision on the reconstruction of natural turf before May. The best time to plant the Bermuda grass on the field would be in mid-June. The field would be playable by September. Mr. Schlitt will not have to go through the bid process but would obtain multiple quotes. 7. Other Business • Mr. O’Hara stated that a field hockey league will be approaching the department about practice field space. Mr. Schlitt stated that the department accommodated the group this past fall. We assisted them with taking registration and the group held games on GHMS turf field. • Mr. O’Hara stated that he’s noticed a group holding soccer practice on the Cavalier Trail Park tennis courts approximately four nights a week. Mr. Schlitt is allowing a roller hockey group to use the tennis courts on Tuesday nights but not a soccer group. • Ms. Chandler encouraged the board to identify a policy of priority for the usage of City playing field space. This includes defining how we prioritize space and who we will charge. 8. Adjournment Ms. Chandler moved to adjourn the meeting; Ms. LaFave seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Mr. O’Hara adjourned the meeting at 8:36 p.m. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in alternate format upon request. Call 703-248-5077 (TTY 711). 3