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 5, 2014 1. Call to Order Mr. Selby called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Members present were Kathy Chandler, Leslie Rye, Lori Lafave, Charlie O’Hara, and Steve Selby. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director of Recreation & Parks, and Ashley Williams. 2. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions Mr. Selby asked if there were any petitions. There were none. 3. Minutes Ms. Lafave moved to approve the minutes from the October 1st meeting. Mrs. Chandler seconded the motion. Upon unanimous voice vote, the motion passed. 4. Recreation Director’s Report a) Sports Leagues: The fall leagues are coming to an end. This season there were more opportunities for children to join. The growth rate is expected to match those of the schools. b) Special Events  Farm Day: Although the weather was dreary, Farm Day was still able to take place. Since the weather forecast was not ideal, it is likely that many people planned not to attend well before the day of the event. Due to this, revenue was a quarter of what it has been in the past.  Halloween: The Halloween carnival was very successful. The school’s Halloween event took place the following Sunday. Contrary to our event, which attracts younger children, the school’s event focused more on 5th graders and beyond. Mr. Schlitt mentioned that the schools seem to aspire to hold an event scalable to that in Vienna, with a goal of using it to generate revenue.  Veterans Day: We look forward to our annual Veteran’s Day ceremony next week. The keynote speaker is Brian O’Connor.  c) Construction and Renovations  School Building: The recent urban development meeting clarified how the proposed $100 million school development budget would be spent. It is the responsibility of the city to build the school with future goals of attracting developers to complete the surrounding acres. The GMSH steering committee’s next meeting is to revise the development plan now that there will not be access to the 100 million developer dollars as originally thought.  West End Park: Final contracts will be signed within the next 24-48 hours, and Public Works will be involved in the construction to make sure everything is done appropriately for the space. d) Maintenance  VPIS and Scout Projects: VPIS and Recreation & Parks are in support of the scout projects taking place in the parks. If maintenance becomes a problem in the future, we will continue to support, but ask the scouts to scale back. VPIS will be having a Fall membership meeting on Sunday and Mr. Selby has been invited.  Madison and TJ Fields: The fields held up well this season and will be prepared for off season by the end of the week.  All Parks: There are a number of park maintenance and improvement projects underway. The board needs to figure out how to properly support R&P and make sure the necessary funds are available for maintenance to avoid costly long-term problems. 6. New Business a) City Hall Public Renovations Committee  A member from each of the city’s boards has been requested to sit on the renovations committee. Mr. Schlitt plans to attend meetings and report back regularly, but any board member is welcome. The meetings take place mid-day.  Recreation & Parks is involved because the renovations could initially have a major effect on the Farmer’s Market and possibly special events as well. b) The Miller House  Ms. Lafave has been contacted by two city council members as to what R&P will be doing with the property. She expressed favor for it being a part of an open space plan, possibly as an extension as Madison Park.  Mr. O’Hara and Selby questioned where the group home could go if they were excluded from the plan, but agreed that the plan should include some kind of green space.  Ms. Lafave suggested that the Advisory Board plan a “field trip” to brief city council on the history and purpose of our parks, highlighting council’s participation in each.  Mrs. Chandler noted that the current goal is to protect the space for future use, especially if the original plan was to use it as a pocket park. Motion: Ms. Lafave motioned the following: “The board passed a resolution that the Miller House property be preserved for future use as a pocket park. This decision is consistent with the initial open space task report of 2006 and the Washington Street small area plan.” Mrs. Chandler, Ms. Lafave and Mrs. Rye voted in favor of the motion. None opposed. Mr. O’Hara and Mr. Selby abstained. The motion passed. 7. Old Business a) Proffers  The Planning Commission supported the proffers proposal and it will be distributed to City Council and Economic Development Authority soon. b) Student Representatives  The Board did not get a commitment from a student because the initial invitation was not firm (the students were to attend a meeting as a part of the application). The Board will be sure to express interest. If not this year, the Board hopes to gain students in the future. c) Comprehensive Plan Chapter Priorities  Mr. Stoddard would like the Board to make the creation of a comprehensive plan a priority. There are four top priorities: (1) maintenance of the parks and master park implementation, (2) proffers and open space funds, (3) MOU communications with schools, and (4) acquiring a new full-time employee within the department d) Falls Church vs. Fairfax City Special Events  The city needs an overall philosophical change to improve our special events.  The difference between our programming and Fairfax’s is the funding and the support provided by council and the schools. The Board should inquire about their special event budget to explore ideas of how we can improve our events. 8. Adjournment Mr. O’Hara motioned to adjourn the meeting; Mrs. Rye seconded the motion. Following a unanimous voice vote, Mr. Selby adjourned the meeting at 8:40 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).