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 DRAFT Minutes November 6, 2013 1. Call to Order Ms. Chandler called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Members present were Kathy Chandler, Charley O’Hara, Lori LaFave, and Leslie Rye. 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 Ms. Chandler asked if there were any petitions from the public or board members. Mr. Bob LaJeunesse attended the meeting and shared comments for the advisory board to include the following. • Mr. LaJeunesse spoke with many citizens during his campaign for City Council. He received overall positive comments and support for the department. • Mr. LaJeunesse stated that the City’s trails need improvement especially at Cavalier Trail Park where the roots are overgrown and exposed. He suggested creating stone dust trails instead of asphalt. Concern was also expressed about the exposed roots at Chery Hill Park by the Library. • Mr. LaJeunesse conveyed the need for turf restoration in many of the parks. • A citizen suggested to him that an entrance from Poplar Avenue to Roberts Park be considered. 3. Minutes Ms. Rye moved to approve the minutes from the October 2nd meeting as amended. Mr. O’Hara seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. 4. Recreation Director’s Report • The Halloween Carnival had high attendance this year. We offer games, haunted house, creep creature show, moon bounce and are looking to add an additional element next year. A citizen suggested we organize a Halloween parade which is something the department will consider. • Farm Day was cancelled this year due to the rainy and wet weather conditions. • The sand volleyball court in Cherry Hill Park is almost complete. We need to level out the slope on one side. This will involve working with the arborist and public works to finish. This project cost approximately $8,500 from the operating budget. • Ashley Green joined the department as the Teen & Camp Supervisor. • Debbie Woodbury and Amy Maltese’s positions were recently reclassified to a Senior Program Supervisor. Both of them have taken on new and additional responsibilities with the department.  • Registration for youth house league basketball has begun and tryouts begin soon. We have 681 participants currently registered and anticipate 700 to 800 total. In addition we have four select teams. • The adult women’s volleyball league that was recently added is going well and we will keep that league running. • The youth flag football program finished this week and we continue to receive positive feedback on the program. • The adult men’s fall basketball league finished playoffs this week and we are accepting applications for the winter league until December 1st. • We were able to accommodate Youth Lacrosse with field space for practices this season. • The Thomas Jefferson soccer field is finished. Soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey will use the field. • Mr. Schlitt attended the food vendor committee meeting. The committee did not have any issues with exempting Recreation & Parks events from the regulations. 5. New Business a. Open Space Report • The Deputy Director of Finance stated that we have approximately $1.150 million in bond capacity for open space. • Mr. O’Hara stated that the idea of money set aside for open space was that it would be readily assessable to use quickly as needed. The money needs to be reinstated. • We need to use some of the funds by the end of this fiscal year. The last open space money we spent was on Sherrow Avenue about 2 ½ years ago. We may have an opportunity in the spring to purchase the property by Roberts Park for a parking area. • If the City is moving in the direction of high density, then there needs to be more open space. Before the economic downturn, the City committed $250,000 a year to the open space fund. Now there is no set contribution. • Future contributions to the open space fund could include voluntary concessions by developers, sales from properties, and CIP funds. • Other ideas for potential use of open space funds before the end of the fiscal year include the following. 1. Make a contribution for an amenity at the Tinner Hill park site. 2. Approach neighbors at Roberts Park to create access trail from Poplar and Spring Street to Roberts Park. 3. Gain easement to West End Park from Falls Avenue. 6. Old Business a. Naming initiative • The resolution is ready and on the City Council’s agenda next Tuesday. • The Planning Commission voted to support renaming the Community Center. The Historical Commission doesn’t meet before the next Council Meeting so we may not have an official vote from them. • We will change the sign in front of the Community Center to reflect the new name in the near future. 2  b. West End Park • Mr. Schlitt will prepare the bid documents in January 2014 and send them out in mid-February. By the end of March the contract will be awarded with construction to take place between May through August. In the fall, landscaping will be completed and the park will officially open by next December. • Mr. O’Hara suggested that we publicize this project to inform the public that is finally moving forward after 12 years. 7. Other Business • The contractor who installed the George Mason High School turf field met with Mr. Schlitt to address the condition of the field. There were five or six areas where the seams were coming apart. The contractor will provide specialized maintenance twice a year to extend the life of the field until the scheduled 2016 replacement. 8. Adjournment Ms. Rye moved to adjourn the meeting; Ms. LaFave seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Ms. Chandler adjourned the meeting at 8:13p.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