Recreation & Parks Advisory Board

Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Meeting January 11th, 2023 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE ADVISORY BOARD OF RECREATION AND PARKS FALLS CHURCH COMMUNITY CENTER, KENNETH R. BURNETT BUILDING, 223 LITTLE FALLS STREET, FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22046 1 & 2. Call to Order & Roll Call Charley O’Hara called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Members present were Charley O’Hara, Jenna Schroeder, Leslie Rye, Liz Weatherly, Melissa Teates (Planning Commission), and City Council Liaison, Caroline Lian. Student representatives Caroline Carmody and Anand Colby, along with prospective member Brendan Kelly, were also in attendance. Staff members present were Danny Schlitt, Director Recreation & Parks (R&P), Holly Irwin, Cherry Hill Recreation Specialist R&P, and Katharine Wakeley, Senior Administrative Assistant R&P. 3. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions None. 4. Minutes for Approval Charley O’Hara brought forth draft minutes from December 14th, 2023. Liz Weatherly moved to approve minutes, seconded by Leslie Rye. Minutes were unanimously approved. 5. Recreation & Parks Director’s Report A) Staffing i. Jimmy Ruby switched roles to fill the recently vacant Youth and Adult Sports Supervisor position, leaving the Camp Supervisor position open. R&P will advertise and post its Camp Supervisor position shortly. 1. Jenna Schroeder and the entire Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks (ABRP) officially recognizes Jimmy Ruby’s flexibility and willingness to take over the Camp Supervisor position this past year, and his seamless return to Youth and Adult Sports. His efforts have been invaluable to the department. B) Early Release Program i. Despite widespread search for additional staff, R&P will be unable to offer the Oak Street Elementary School section of the Early Release program for the remainder of the school year, due to staffing shortages. ii. R&P will offer the Mount Daniel Elementary School section of the Early Release program for the remainder of the school year. iii. Combining programs was deemed inappropriate due to the wide age range and lack of staff, but R&P aims to reopen both programs for the full year, next school year. C) Summer Staffing i. Still some concern about staffing summer camps, in light of recent part-time staffing trends; however, R&P Director has already had some preliminary inquiries into summer camp jobs. ii. The ABRP may ask its student representatives to help spread the word for potential summer camp staff employees who are at least eighteen years of age.  iii. Various options to increase the number of part-time summer camp staff have been explored, including raising hourly wages or working with a third party contractor. That said, third party contractors are also experiencing the same decrease in interest in entry-level, part-time positions. D) Winter/Spring Brochure i. First day of resident registration yielded nearly $90k in registration receipts, which is approximately a $50k increase as compared to the same time last year, and higher than the last pre-pandemic year as well. First day of non-resident registration brought in about $60k in registration receipts, which is also an increase from pre-pandemic years. ii. The general increase in registration this year has been a good sign that people are returning to the program of activities that R&P continues to offer to the community. E) Special Events i. Watch Night took place this New Year. Discussions are being held on how to improve the event for the future, along with which organizations will be involved in the planning. Most likely, R&P will take Watch Night on as one of its own special events in future. ii. Talks have started about the potential for bringing back Independence Day celebrations. Most likely will not include fireworks in the future. F) Senior Center Programming i. Recently instated Senior Center Membership Program has yielded 267 registrants in the few months that it has been in effect. Prior to membership, senior center activities were open to all senior walk- ins, however membership program has allowed R&P to send out mass communication to its members as changes in scheduling occur. ii. Pickle ball, in particular, has been very popular among senior citizens. There will be talks about a city-wide pickle ball tournament in future. 6. New Business A) New Staff Member: Holly Irwin, Cherry Hill Coordinator i. Holly Irwin will be handling matters pertaining to the historic Cherry Hill Farmhouse, as well as to the Arts and Humanities Council. ii. Holly Irwin has seven years’ experience in the historic site museum field. She has worked at Gunston Hall, Mount Vernon, the Mary Washington House, and most recently, Dumbarton House. She attained her master’s degree in museum studies from George Washington University, and her undergraduate degree in historic preservation from the University of Mary Washington. She is excited to begin planning enriching programs in her new position. 7. Old Business- Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Draft Budget A) R&P Director spoke about acquisition of open space, synthetic turf replacement, Fellows Property, and master park implementation. Further elaboration on each of the draft budget items will be provided in future ABRP meetings and items will be tied into the overall budget and City planning during future ABRP meetings. 8. Adjournment Jenna Schroeder moved to adjourn; Liz Weatherly seconded the motion. All approved, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:24 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.