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 September 4, 2013 1. Call to Order Mr. Schlitt called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Mr. Schlitt asked if there were any nominations for chairman. Mr. Rye nominated Ms. Chandler. Mr. Selby seconded the nomination. Upon voice vote, Ms. Chandler was elected to serve as chairman. Ms. Chandler asked if there were any nominations for vice-chairman. Mr. O’Hara nominated Mr. Selby. Ms. LaFave seconded the nomination. Upon voice vote, Mr. Selby was elected to serve as vice-chairman. Members present were Kathy Chandler, Charley O’Hara, Lori LaFave, Rob Meeks, Greg Rasnake, Leslie Rye, and Steve Selby. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director of Recreation & Parks, and Amy Maltese, Recreation Program Supervisor. 2. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions Ms. Chandler asked if there were any petitions from the public or board members. There were none. 3. Minutes Mr. O’Hara moved to approve the minutes from the June 5th meeting as amended. Ms. Rye seconded the motion. Mr. Meeks abstained from the vote. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. 4. Recreation Director’s Report • Mr. Schlitt congratulated Ms. Amy Maltese on becoming the new Special Events Program Supervisor. Ms. Jenny Paxton left the City to work at Metro in July. The Recreation & Parks Dept. is in the process of interviewing and hiring for the Teen & Camp Program Supervisor to replace Ms. Maltese. • This summer our camps had 5,432 enrollments overall and1,681 participants. We offered 274 programs and collected approximately $700,000 in revenue. The Counselor In Training (CIT) program for Summer Fun grew taking 18 participants. Our new technology camps such as game design, filmmaking, and Lego robotics programs were popular.  • The July 4th event drew a large crowd that gathered earlier on in the day than usual. Mr. Schlitt commented that the fireworks shoot felt slow and lacking compared to previous years. Mr. Schlitt stated that he anticipates going out to bid again next year even though we could extend the contract for 3 years. • The Concerts in the Park and Sunset Cinema programs successfully took place this summer. The Community Center closed for its annual clean week. The gym floor was sanded thoroughly and resurfaced this year instead of partially as in prior years. • This summer we installed new signs with flower beds in 6 different parks. A few of the flower beds are raised. Some of the plants died and Mr. Schlitt will ask the contractor to replace them. Mr. Schlitt intends to begin replacing the other park signs that were not included in this first installment. In addition, annuals and perennials will be planted by our crew thorough the year to maintain color in the parks. • Mr. Schlitt was asked by the City schools to join a committee that will review architectural processes related to the former Child Development Center site. • Mr. Schlitt is moving forward with resurfacing the tennis courts at Cavalier Trail Park and Cherry Street. The City has the ability to work with a ride-able contract and does not have to undergo the RFP process. Mr. Schlitt is looking into installing a hitting back board at one of the tennis courts. • The George Mason tennis courts are completed and have a new gray and red paint scheme. During construction the lighting system was changed to a computer operated system instead of a button by the courts. As of now the lights are set from 7pm-10pm every night. We will re-install the button by the courts for users to access the lights on an as needed basis. • Ms. Debbie Woodbury, Class Program Supervisor, was selected by the City to participate in the Council of Government Regional Excellence (COG) program. • The department is now PCI compliant with our credit card process. Credit card numbers are no longer stored in our system on site. • The overall participation in fall sports has grown this year. Adult volleyball has five co- ed and four women’s teams. We had four co-ed teams last year and did not have a women’s league. The fall youth flag football enrollment is at its maximum of 360 with 26 kids on the waitlist. The fall soccer program has 54 teams which is nine more teams than last year. The soccer program currently has 599 participants which is 50 more than last year. Field space will continue to be a challenge and priority for our sports programs. 5. New Business a. None to report. 6. Old Business a. Future Development • Voluntary concessions to the Recreation & Parks Department should be considered by future developers. This expectation should be communicated early in the process to developers. • The Advisory Board submitted a letter to the City Council regarding future voluntary concessions and specifically with regard to the Rushmark project near Big Chimneys. 2  • The Rushmark properties project spent a year being reviewed by the EDC (Economic Development Council) before being presented to the public. The request to include contributions toward Big Chimneys Park came after this review and too late in the process to ask for amount of funding required for the Big Chimneys project. • Mr. O’Hara motioned that the Recreation & Parks Advisory Board forward the letter regarding contributions to recreation and parks for future development previously sent to Council to the Planning Commission. Mr. Selby seconded the motion. Mr. Rasnake abstained from the vote. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. b. Naming of Community Center • This agenda item was discussed and information will be available upon request. 7. Other Business a. City/School Funds Transfer • Mr. Schlitt spoke with Mr. Kimball from the school system and they agreed that a process needs to be developed for transferring these funds. Mr. Schlitt will arrange another meeting with Mr. Kimball as well as Ms. Ryman (the Deputy Director of Finance) to develop those details. • Mr. O’Hara suggested that the department should be billed quarterly. b. Lynn Place Right of First Refusal • We have not heard from the Garvey family recently regarding the property. c. Larry Graves Field • The Falls Church Little League received official permission from Fairfax County to use the Larry Graves softball field this year. • The Child Development Center project next to the Larry Graves field is moving forward. The center will have a gate opening directly into Larry Graves and will use some of the parking spaces on a daily basis. Mr. Schlitt requested access for park patrons to their playground. He has not received an official response. 8. Adjournment Ms. Rye moved to adjourn the meeting; Mr. O’Hara seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Ms.Chandler adjourned the meeting at 8:13 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 703-248-5027 (TTY 711). 3