Recreation & Parks Advisory Board

Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Meeting October 12, 2022 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE ADVISORY BOARD OF RECREATION AND PARKS FALLS CHURCH COMMUNITY CENTER, KENNETH R. BURNETT BUILDING, 223 TTLE FALLS STREET, FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22046 1 & 2. Call To Order & Roll Call Charley O’Hara called the meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. Members present were Charley O’Hara, Liz Weatherly, Jenna Schroeder, Leslie Rye, Kathleen Tysse and City Council Liaison Caroline Lian. Student Representatives Caroline Carmody and Anand Colby were also present. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director Recreation & Parks and Kate Walker, Administrative Assistant Recreation & Parks. Erika Schlager, a member of the public, attended online via the Teams meeting link. 3. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions None. 4. Minutes for Approval No minutes of previous meetings were available for review. 5. Recreation & Parks Director’s Report A) Staffing Administrative Assistant Kate Walker was introduced and welcomed to the group. Staffing has become more challenging recently. The Senior Adminstrative Assistant, and the Recreation Specialist who managed Cherry Hill Farmhouse (CHF) programs and worked with the Arts and Humanities Council (AHC), both left in September; we are short of evening and weekend staff for the front desk, and Deputy Director Amy Youngs is on maternity leave earlier than anticipated. Fortunately we do have good and committed staff who are stepping up to keep events and programs running, and have been able to add some assistance from Library staff. The position of Senior Administrative Assistant has already been advertised, and the recruitment announcement for the Recreation Specialist for CHF and AHC should be posted in the next ten days. B) Events Falls Church Festival went very well, and had good attendance. Farm Day had its biggest crowd ever. The Board may wish to review attendance goals for City events at a future meeting. C) Schedule The next brochure will be published in the second week of December. Budget season is approaching. D) Fellows Park Master Plan The final draft of the Fellows Park Master Plan will be reviewed this evening. Danny will meet with City Manager Wyatt Shields tomorrow to set a date for presentation to City Council.  E) East End Small Area Plan The Planning Department is developing a Small Area Plan for the East End of the City, and soliciting input from Boards and Commissions. The most recent presentation and recording will be sent to RPAB members for review. Questions and comments should be send to Danny and Kate for compilation into a formal RPAB comment letter before November 12. F) November Meeting If no new business arises, we may not need to meet in November, and would likely not have a quorum if we do meet. Danny will check with the City Clerk what action we need to take to cancel the meeting. G) Student Representatives Danny met with student representatives before the meeting to talk about the importance of their participation and their unique ability to contribute to the Advisory Board. 6. New Business A) Electronic Participation Resolution Charley summarized key points of the electronic participation resolution. After clarifying voting membership present and the requirement for a quorum, Leslie Rye moved to approve the resolution, Liz seconded, and the motion was passed 5-0. Charley asked the student representatives to consider writing a letter to the Falls Church News Press indicating why they are volunteering for RPAB and encouraging others to do the same to fill our two current vacancies. Members discussed other ways to recruit new participants. 7. Old Business A) Fellows Park Master Plan preparation for presentation to City Council Charley presented his final draft of the Fellows Park Master Plan, which incorporates comments received that address master planning issues. It is not greatly changed since the version reviewed in April 2022. Some formatting and typographical amendments were noted, and Danny undertook to check the acreage. Play structures and the fate of the well will be addressed in site planning and park design after the Master Plan has been approved. Danny suggested that it would be best if the Board were to present the Plan to Council, and encouraged all to attend the City Council meeting (probably November 28th, 2022, to be confirmed). A motion to approve the Plan with the noted changes was proposed by Jenna, seconded by Liz and approved 5-0. 8. Adjournment Kathleen Tysse moved to adjourn; Leslie Rye seconded the motion. All approved, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:52 p.m. 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.