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 June 6, 2012 1. Call to Order Mr. O’Hara called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Members present were Charley O’Hara, Kathy Chandler, Lori Lafave, Greg Rasnake, and Steve Selby. 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 Mr. Selby moved to approve the minutes from the May 5th meeting. Ms. Lafave seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. 4. Recreation Director’s Report • The replacement Memorial Day parade announcer, John Rodock, had a medical situation and couldn’t announce on the day of the event. Mr. O’Hara agreed last minute to announce in his place. Mr. Schlitt thanked Mr. O’Hara for his assistance. This year’s entire Memorial Day event was successful. Ms. Jenny Paxton ran a well organized event and the staff were impressive. Mr. Schlitt received feedback that we should make an effort to have active military personnel in the parade. • The department has several upcoming events that we are either involved with or directly organizing. The Tinner Hill Blues Festival will take place this weekend. We will provide maintenance support in Cherry Hill Park and Ms. Paxton is assisting the group with organizing the overall event. Mad Fox is serving beer and Red White & Blue is serving wine at the event. The next major event is the Fourth of July Fireworks. Also, Summer Camps are beginning on Monday, June 18. • The spring youth soccer season is scheduled to end this Saturday weather permitting. • Replacement of the grass at Madison Park will begin soon after the soccer season ends. This CIP project will cost approximately $25,000 and require additional costs in ongoing maintenance. This fiscal year the department received an increase in maintenance funds from Council. • Mr. Schlitt is exploring the possibility of replacing the soccer field at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School as soon as their construction is finished.  • Mr. Schlitt will look into the details of resurfacing the tennis courts at Cavalier Trail Park and Community Center. A roller hockey team is consistently using the Cavalier courts on Sunday evenings with our permission. Mr. O’Hara suggested we explore the possibility of using a more durable coating at Cavalier to encourage continual hockey usage. • At Cavalier Trail Park a recent Eagle Scout project worked on stabilizing the bank next to the basketball court by installing a tiered area. The group worked with the City Engineers and Mr. Schlitt to design something that would prevent the current deterioration under the court surface. • Summer Camps begin on June 18 and our registration is currently high. The all day camps that have the day care aspect tend to receive the most registration. • The men’s summer adult basketball league had 34 participants this year. The Co-ed summer softball league has five teams. Participation in the girls’ high school Varsity and JV summer leagues is at 27 teams. 5. New Business • There is no new business to report. 6. Old Business a. CIP • The next CIP project Mr. Schlitt will focus on is the repair and replacement of the tennis courts. • Mr. Schlitt was informed about a possible surplus of City funds this year and asked to comment on what projects he would focus on if given an opportunity to use some of it. He stated that the department would like to move forward with one of the large park projects such as West End Park. • Mr. Webb suggested that the surplus funds may be split between CIP projects with the schools and city government. Mr. Schlitt also suggested that redoing the GMHS tennis courts could be a potential project. Mr. Schlitt stated that the approximate cost could be about $110,000 to build on top of the current sub- surface. Mr. O’Hara shared his continual concerns on the replacement of the GMHS courts without identifying the cause of the structural failure in either the design or installation. Core samples of the court will need to be taken before moving forward with replacement. • At this point neither the schools nor government has budgeted for the replacement of the GMHS tennis courts. The Recreation and Parks Depart. does not have designated funds to replace these courts because they are not at a park and therefore can not be a part of the Master Park Implementation. Ideally the funds would stem from a CIP project dedicated to the GMHS courts that included committed funds from schools and government. • Mr. Rasnake is supportive of moving forward with beneficial joint projects including the GMHS tennis court project during upcoming discussions with the schools. Mr. Schlitt suggested that the synthetic turf at GMHS is another possible joint project. However, it is not due for replacement for another fiscal year. The approximate cost of the turf field is $400,000. 2  • Lighting the softball and baseball fields at GMHS is another beneficial project for the schools and recreation. However, there is an existing committee in place supported by the athletic boosters working on this issue. The group is working on securing private funding, zoning and other related issues. The City has already committed approximately $110,000 to this project. b. Operating Budget • Mr. Schlitt is closely watching the budget expenditures and revenues this fiscal year. The department will utilize almost all of the funding it has been given. There is a transfer currently taking place that will increase funds to the instructor line item to facilitate appropriate funds in that account. c. Rain Garden Update • The project is nearing completion but has been delayed by the recent heavy rain. The major work yet to be completed includes installing the curb inlet at Crossman Park as well as finishing the boardwalk and asphalt at Berman Park. • They are also working on stabilizing the gardens at Berman Park as two sets of plantings have been damaged by the heavy rain. Lincoln Park currently does not have any plants. The public event at Lincoln Park scheduled for this past Saturday was canceled due to the rain and will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Crossman Park is ready for planting. The picnic table and grill at Crossman Park still need to be relocated. • The additional work Mr. Schlitt requested to take place at Lincoln Park around the oak tree to address better drainage is postponed. This is so the parks can open in a timely manor. He will review the need for this additional work after seeing if the current filtering systems adequately address the standing water. • Overall, the most impressive feature will be the boardwalk at Berman Park. We will use part of the CIP money to replace portions of the asphalt walkway adjoining the boardwalk. d. Independence Day • The music will begin at 7 p.m. and the fireworks at approximately 9 p.m. • Volunteers from the board and staff members will sit at the donation boxes at multiple entrances. These donation boxes have raised a significant amount for the fireworks in the past years. • Mr. O’Hara suggested that the board request to have the funds put back in the budget for the fireworks show. This money was taken out of the budget 3 years ago. 7. Other Business • Mr. O’Hara reported that the Bike/Pedestrian Planning Committee was reactivated and includes three new members. The new members are residents from Lincoln Ave., Hillwood Ave. and a staff member from the Economic Development Authority. Mr. O’Hara is the new chair of this committee. The plan is being revised and will omit recommendations for types of streets and street names. It will be a vision plan instead of an implementation plan. 3  • The board thanked Mr. Webb for his lengthy years of service on this board and his strong support of the Recreation & Parks Department in the City Council. 8. Adjournment Mr. Selby moved to adjourn the meeting; Ms. Lafave seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Mr. O’Hara adjourned the meeting at 8:08 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). 4