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 October 1, 2014 1. Call to Order Ms. Chandler called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Members present were Kathy Chandler, Leslie Rye, Lori Lafave, Steve Selby and Lawrence Webb. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director of Recreation & Parks, and Ashley Williams. Note: Also present were four Virginia Tech students of Shelley Mastran’s Land Use Planning graduate course: 2. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions Mrs. Chandler asked if there were any petitions from the public or board members. There were none. 3. Minutes Mrs. Rye moved to approve the minutes from the June 4th meeting. Mr. Selby seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. Mrs. Rye moved to approve the minutes from the September 3rd meeting under the condition of two minor changes – removing a board member response to a public comment and adding a present member as seconding that the meeting be adjourned. Mr. Selby seconded the motion. Upon voice vote, the motion passed. 4. Election of Officers  Mr. Selby was unanimously voted as chair.  Mr. O’Hara was unanimously elected as Vice Chair.  All new roles will begin immediately and serve through to September 2015. 5. Recreation Director’s Report a) Community Events  Fall Festival took place last month. There were 19 sponsors this year. Due to rain, it was not as successful as hoped. Revenues for the day were about ⅓ - ½ of past years.  Farm Day will take place October 11th. Last year it was cancelled due to rain, but a large turnout is expected this year if weather permits.  The annual Halloween carnival is October 25th. Via collaboration with the Thomas Jefferson Elementary PTA president, a larger community event would like to be  planned with proceeds being given to the schools. There will be two different events this year with efforts to combine and grow them in the future. b) Youth and Adult Sports  The youth soccer program is underway. Revenue is comparable to the year before with an increase in the number of teams. The goal is to have all teams participate in- house as opposed to with Arlington Soccer as the numbers continue to grow. Youth basketball will begin soon; the adult leagues are doing very well. c) Class Registration and Summer Camps  Class registration has decreased over recent years; however, we are expecting improvement as technology courses, school enrichment programs, etc. increase. Our summer camp program has successfully compensated for class registration losses. 6. New Business a) High School Representatives  Ms. Chandler was contacted by CBC to include student representatives in city Advisory Boards. The School Board began this initiative. Mr. Webb has some experience with s tudents participating in such initiatives and finds their participation valuable.  Ms. Lafave motioned that the R&P board is interested in having student representatives. Ms. Rye seconded the motion. Upon unanimous voice vote, the motion passed. b) Naming of West End Park  The plan for West End Park was approved. The contractor has been chosen and official contracts will be signed as soon as some minor details are sorted out. There is a hope that construction will begin before the end of the month, and should be completed by the end of next spring.  Although there are a few people from the community that have been proponents towards naming the park after Harry English, Mrs. Chandler received remarks noting how in cases where other establishments of the city were named after people of the community, the honor was due to their involvement within the community and influence upon the entire city.  Mr. Schlitt suggested that a neighbor had the idea to name a grandiose garden aspect after him. Approval is not needed by City Council to name the garden as opposed to the actual park. There is a need to address this quickly before construction begins.  Ms. Rye motioned that Mr. Harry English be recognized by a placard in the garden. Mr. Selby seconded the motion. Upon unanimous voice vote, the motion passed. 7. Old Business a) West End Park  Due to the new irrigation system necessary for the landscape, there is now a danger of overspending. A discussion has been initiated with Finance to transfer last year’s unspent operations budget to the West End Park budget. This would also allow for the additional amenities suggested by the public (i.e., swing set, chess board). b) Open Space Report  Though the Lynn Place property was recommended to be purchased years ago, because there is such a small chance of expanding open space this report should not be overlooked. The acting City Attorney has reviewed a receipt of sale highlighting that if City Council approves the transformation of this land, R&P has first rights to it.  The current goal is to simply acquire the land and decide the purpose of it at a future date. c) Proffers  Mrs. Chandler was prompted by a City Council member to create a standard proffer to present to developers as soon as possible. The instruction was to be generous as the number can decrease as needed. Mr. Schlitt and Mr. Selby researched potential proposals. Mr. Schlitt recommended that separate proffers be created for living units verses commercial buildings. Mrs. Rye suggested including inflation in the proffers as well for future projections.  Mrs. Rye motioned that staff put together a recommendation based on what was discussed tonight to be presented by the board to counsel. Mr. Webb seconded that motion. Upon unanimous voice vote, the motion passed. d) City Hall expansion  City Hall (Cindy Mester) would like one person to sit in on the planning to begin now and end June 2015. A name should be given by the end of tonight’s meeting. e) New School Building  There has been no official invite for an Advisory Board member to participate in the planning of a new school building for GMHS but there may be a request in the future. 8. Adjournment Mrs. Rye moved to adjourn the meeting; Ms. Lafave seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Mr. Selby adjourned the meeting at 8:35 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).