Recreation & Parks Advisory Board

Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Meeting Wednesday, October 6, 2021  7:00 P.M. DRAFT MINUTES Virtual Meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup- join/19%3ameeting_YTBiOWMyMTctYWRiYi00MDczLTgzMmYtOTdhZTk5NTg0YTM4%40thread.v2/0 ?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2273ba5b04-4ace-4ae3-a6b2- 65cbc403418b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2288dcaad5-f9e7-4ed3-b8c9-1d3cd1ec8369%22%7d NOTICE: This virtual meeting of the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. All participating members of the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks were present at this meeting through electronic means. All members of the public may view this video of this meeting on the City’s website at Recreation and Parks Advisory Board Meeting (Virtual Meeting) (granicus.com) PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be conducted using Microsoft Teams. Don't have the Teams app? You can still join a Teams meeting. See the instructions attached to this meeting agenda. Please email jhilgendorf@fallschurchva.gov if you need assistance with installation. During the meeting, staff will likely not be available to assist with installation. 1. Call to Order Charley O’Hara called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Members present Charley O’Hara, Chair, Leslie Rye, Vice Chair, School Board member Laura Downs, Jenna Schroeder and Liz Weatherly. Student Representatives Nate Kusic and Thomas Downs were also present. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director Recreation & Parks, and Jessica Hilgendorf, Senior Administrative Assistant Recreation & Parks. 2. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions  No Public Petitions or Board Member Petitions 3. Minutes for Approval  Correction to minutes submitted via email.  Motion to approve with submitted corrections by Leslie Rye, seconded by Jenna Schroeder o September 8, 2021 o Approved 5-0 3. Recreation Directors Report  Senior Center o Transition from virtual to in-person is going well. o Beginning to plan a fall foliage trip to Shenandoah. o Senior Olympics were held from September 18 through September 30; close to 700 participants registered for events. Some events were modified due to the pandemic. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703-248-5027 (TTY711).  Youth and Adult Sports o Flag Football began on Saturday, September 18 and the first games were held on Saturday, September 25. o Enrollment numbers are down from the 2019 season but players are excited and season is off to a good start. o Registration for youth basketball (grades 2-12) opened on September 27 and will run through October 31 for grades 2-8 and November 27 for grades 9-12. o Assessments begin the second week of November with practices to begin in late-November. o Covid protocols are in place. The main protocols are:  Masks to be worn by all players, coaches, and spectators, regardless of vaccination status at all times (except by players actively participating on the court).  Limited spectators at game sites (based on size of venue and additional time between games to minimize capacity and provide adequate social distancing at game sites). o Registration for basketball clinics (ages 2-4 and kindergarten-1st grade) opened on September 27; registration will remain open until full. Clinics are set to begin in January and are offered in partnership with Baroody camps as the provider.  Special Events o Falls Church Festival on September 11, 2021 brought in around 9,000 attendees. o Featured 8 sponsors, 42 civic, artist/crafter, merchant vendors, 3 beer garden vendors and 9 restaurants. o Hot N Juicy Crawfish won Best Menu, Preservation Biscuit Company won People’s Choice and Thompson Italian and Rare Bird Coffee Roaster tied for Overall Taste. o Planning is underway for the Halloween Carnival on Saturday, October 30 in Cherry Hill Park from 1pm-5:30pm. o Wristbands for inflatables, games, candy, cider, apples and popcorn are $1 o Two, two hour time slots are planned from 1pm-3pm and 3:30pm-5:30pm o Mount Daniel’s music teacher is inviting all 2nd grade students for a small performance during the 1pm time slot. o Fairfax County Health Department offered two vaccine clinics on August 21 during the Tinner Hill Music Festival and on September 11 during Falls Church Festival. On August 21, 58 people were vaccinated and on September 11, 63 people were vaccinated.  Early Release Wednesday and School Break Camps o Early release Wednesday Programs at Mount Daniel and Oak Street began September 1 and run through December 15. o Both programs are a capacity with 20 students and carry a waitlist. o Mount Daniel has 3 staff members to accommodate student needs while Oak Street has 2. o Program is anticipated to run again January through June 2022. o Three school professional day camps have been held so far this fall. o Two camps were enrolled to capacity and the other was close to capacity. o There are four remaining professional day camps remaining on the schedule this fall along with five winter break camps. o Registration is open and enrollment is going well for all programs. o These programs will continue to be advertised online and through the schools.   Comment that with the changing school calendar, asynchronous days and increased number of holidays throughout the school year the need for child care on these days is pressing and extends beyond the needs met by the Early Release Program alone.  Comment that overall cost of living has increased and there are individuals that may need assistance as the cost of the one day camps may present challenges for individuals/families.  Comment that there may be individuals that do not qualify for the Fee Reduction Program but could still be in need of financial assistance when it comes to school break camp and activities in general.  Inquiry into finding lower-cost camps to provide opportunities for families that do not qualify for the Fee Reduction Program but would benefit from more affordable options.  Explanation of camp pricing structure; the contractor sets price and they are informed of the percentage the City will take.  Suggestion to make sure that Communications distributes information regarding the Fee Reduction Program and ensure schools are aware of the program.  Comment that the school extended day program no longer offers an option to only attend on Wednesdays due to staffing issues.  Comment that the Early Release Wednesday program is needed by the community and we should continue to work on how we can meet this community need.  Comment that working parents have struggled to find childcare options for the four hour window created by early release Wednesdays and the end of the standard business day.  Comment on possibly exploring funding from Council or collaboration with schools to expand this program. 5. New Business A. Discussion Regarding Moving Back to In-Person Meetings  Comment that guidelines are in place for City meetings and will be upheld. The Board will need to decide if and when they would like to return in-person. In the coming months a meeting needs to be scheduled to bring the community in to review the Fellows Property Master Plan Draft.  Comment that it would be appreciated if we had the ability to hold the meeting in-person with the option of virtual participation.  Recommendation to discuss with IT if we have the technology to support this.  Comment on the laws surrounding hybrid meetings, virtual meetings and the percentage of meetings that members can attended virtually.  Recommendation to follow up with City Clerk’s Office to look into the regulations surrounding hybrid and virtual meetings.  Comment that in-person meetings would be more comfortably held after children age 2-12 have the option to be vaccinated.  Suggestion to stay virtual through November and make a determination as to steps forward after the November meeting of the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks. B. Ideas of Engagement with Student Representatives  Student representatives have been asked to come up with some ideas to engage their peers   Suggestion to have upper class men create and distribute a form through Schoology to poll middle school and high school students’ interest in activities and programs that may not currently be offered or not offered to certain age groups  Recommendation to connect with Amy Youngs to develop neutral questions for any poll created.  Suggestion to use student representatives to help connect students in need of CAS hours for the IB diploma with volunteer opportunities within the City including through Recreation and Parks.  Recommendation to have students contact Amy Crumpton and/or Melissa Teates. C. Resolution for Naming of City Property Yard  Explanation that a mandate exists that allows the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks to comment on any suggested naming of parks, etc. Any comments can be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office for consideration.  Explanation that Robert L. Goff was a long-time City employee  Presented the document (TR21-30) Resolution to name the City Property Yard at 7100 Gordon Road as “The Robert L. Goff Operations Yard  Comment that this is a wonderful tribute to Robert and his family.  Comment that after the challenges the school board had faced last year during the renaming of two City schools and purposely not naming them after people, we should ensure that this has been thought through and is something the City is comfortable with.  Comment that the naming of things after people can be problematic.  Comment that Robert L. Goff was known by many in the community while those suggested for the naming of City schools were deceased for some time and therefore difficult to evaluate for appropriateness through proper vetting.  Leslie Rye made a motion to support, no second; the motion does not have support and no vote was held.  Suggestion that the item should be tabled and revisited at a future meeting.  Comment that this item will be going before Council on November 8; this item can be revisited during the November 3, 2021 Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks meeting.  Comment that the City Manager will be informed of the outcome of this discussion. D. Current Plans for Potential ARPA Funds  Explanation of ARPA Funds - the City is receiving $18 million to recover from the pandemic, and make investments in infrastructure that has been neglected or disproportionally impacted due to the pandemic. There are strict rules from the Federal Treasury as to how this money can be used. The funds come in two tranches, the first tranche we must encumber by the end of the year but have serval more years to spend the funds.  Further explanation that City Council has discussed guiding principles as to how the money should be spent. Determination made that the money should be used on investments that lead to transformational change.  Comment that Recreation and Parks staff brainstormed ideas and the City is very early in the process of deciding how this money will be spent.  Comment that all items have been submitted to the City Finance department to evaluate and at some point items will be brought to Committee and City Council to begin the decision making process on how this money will be spent.  Comment that CIP projects may be an avenue to explore and free up future City funds.   Overview of City of Falls Church ARPA CSLFRF Funding Applications  Arts & Culture Grant Support  Possibility to include a new and separate grant program that is short term.  Fellows Park Development  Outdoor Programing Space  Suggested covered, dual use space.  Playground Replacement  Comment that this need is on the current CIP.  Comment that using ARPA Funds allows Berman Park, Cavalier Trail Park, and Crossman Park playground equipment updates to happen at the same time. This combines multiple CIP projects and completes them at one time.  Sport Court Lighting Replacement  Explanation of the intent to replace tennis court and basketball court lights at both Cavalier Trail and the Community Center.  Comment both sets of lights at City Hall/Cherry Hill Campus are around 40 years old and are at the end stages of their life.  Comment that newer lights will also save money in the long-term.  Cherry Hill Barn Permanent Stage  Explanation that a stage is built for every event and is sometimes not the best suited for those using it.  Comment that there may be interest in building a permanent, free standing stage in front of the barn.  Comment that this would have to go through multiple different Boards and Commissions as this is a historical barn.  Question raised as to how the City will determine priority among the submitted applications.  Comment that we are not there in the planning process but the expectation is that we will move toward that phase in the future.  Explanation that there are categories that the projects proposed must fall under. Some items fit nicely into these categories/criteria while others do not.  Explanation that storm water is not only a need in flood prone areas but storm water, sewer and water treatment are one of the four categories and makes the project more eligible. Other categories are harder to fulfill as you must show revenue loss in your jurisdiction before you can apply, grants count as revenue and harms us in this case as it is harder to show revenue loss.  Request for Recreation and Parks staff and the Board to help prioritize how the funds are spent. 6. Old Business A. Park Projects Updates 1. Fellows Property  Fellows Property Daft Presented - this draft includes a legend to highlight items that were suggested for removal, had a strong positive response and comments submitted. o Comment that ideally this draft would be edited and tightened up in order to move forward with the draft process. o Section B – Desired Future Visitor Experience (#1-3)  Question regarding the blank space at the end of the sentence and if it was purposely left blank to solicit comments/recommendations.   Comment that is designed to allow items to be added, specifically active recreation activities, as the Fellow Property Master Plan is developed.  Comment that passive recreation is mentioned frequently throughout the document.  Comment that due to the size of the property it would be difficult to have both active recreation and passive recreation in the same area. Request for clarification on or further discussion regarding what passive and active recreation in the park would look like.  Comment to consider listing possible options to set boundaries on the possible types of active recreation to prevent public input that references playing soccer or football. o II – Description of the Conceptual Development Plan  B: New Elements: Bike Path  Comment on the need for clarification on items listed as the two bullet points of possible items contradict each other.  Request for clarification whether or not this is an item we would like input on as it leaves the idea open for public input when the comment states that the paved bike path would “damage the main forest area on the north side of the property, and contradicts the idea of protecting natural habitat and wildlife.”  Comment that community input is what we would like and would like to allow the community respond to comments and suggestions received.  Request for clarification on the content of the submitted comment and if the validity of the statement has been assessed.  Comment that the use of the word “recommendation” is misleading and would not want to present the public with options that are damaging to the natural features of the park. Request to use a neutral word or phrase, such as “possibility of…” when presenting information.  Request to clearly note all submitted comments as such to inform the public that the comment is not necessarily a recommendation from the Board.  Comment to consider using phrases such as: “After public survey there were suggestions to…” or “Suggestions following public questionnaire…”  Recommendation on formatting change going forward.  Recommendation to create a matrix that provides the comment, assessment of the comment and the final recommendation. o Comment that this could be a way to ensure the public is informed as to how we arrived at the current document they will review.  B: New Elements: Performance Area  Question – Was the idea of a performance area struck? o II – Description of the Conceptual Development Plan  B. Enhancements: Invasive and Problematic Plant Removal  Comment that Mrs. Pollack, a science teacher at Meridian High school, has coursework with connections to agriculture and may be open to  collaborating with Recreation and Parks for longer term planning to help with plant removal. There may be an interest in exploring opportunities for her students to participate in volunteer efforts with Recreation and Parks.  Comment that it may be best to connect the City Arborist with groups that regularly do these projects. o II – Description of the Conceptual Development Plan  C. Open Space  Comment that Open Space item C under II – Description of the Conceptual Development Plan comes from the City’s Comprehensive Plan.  Comment that Open Space listed under II – Description of the Conceptual Development Plan, A) New Park Elements may not needed.  Suggestion to hold a regular meeting in November and determine if we are ready for a public session regarding Fellows Property in December.  Alicia Carmody attended the meeting as a requirement for submitting an application to serve on the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks.  Charley O’Hara left the meeting at 8:05pm 7. Adjournment  Liz Weatherly motioned to adjourn, Jenna Schroeder seconded. All approved Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Staff liaison: Jessica Hilgendorf, 703-248-5027 (TTY711), jhilgendorf@fallschurchva.gov