Recreation & Parks Advisory Board

Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks Meeting September 13th, 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 7:09 p.m. Members present were Leslie Rye, Brendan Kelly, Kathleen Tysse (School Board), and City Council Liaison, Caroline Lian. Fellows Property project manager, Alvaro (Al) Astorga, and student representatives, Caroline Carmody and Anand Colby, were also in attendance. Staff members present were Amy Youngs, Deputy Director Recreation & Parks (R&P), and Katharine Wakeley, Senior Administrative Assistant R&P. 3. New Business: Annual Election of Officers A) Chair: Leslie Rye nominated Charley O’Hara for Chair, seconded by Brendan Kelly. Motion approved by Leslie Rye, Kathleen Tysse, and Brendan Kelly. Charley O’Hara abstained. B) Vice Chair: Jenna Schroeder nominated by Charlie O’Hara, seconded by Leslie Rye. Motion approved by Charley O’Hara, Kathleen Tysse, Leslie Rye, and Brendan Kelly. 4. Receipt of Public Petitions and Board Member Petitions A) Mark Kawar, 307 Fellows Court, submitted public comment regarding the dogs that owners let off-leash in Fellows Property. Suggests better signs, or more of them. i. Charley O’Hara will discuss signage issue with Danny Schlitt. Will also ask for more frequent patrols near the property. Opportunity for potential letter to the editor in the Falls Church News Press, reminding residents to please observe leash laws. 5. Minutes for Approval: A) May 10, 2023 draft minutes will be reviewed at next ABRP meeting in October. 6. Recreation & Parks Director’s Report A) Amy Youngs spoke about the following: i. Farmers Market: voted best market in Northern VA by Norther Virginia Magazine, and Best City Event by Falls Church News Press. Final Fun at the Farmers Market day for the season last Saturday. Final Fit at the Farmers Market will be in October and will provide a mini wellness fair with spin art bicycles, fitness demos, laughter yoga, free flu shots, and more. New volunteer to help run info booth and manage Howie the Honeybee scavenger hunt. ii. Hobby Classes: Over 1700 registrations for fall classes. New classes include nerf fencing and tumbling for babies and tots. Winter/Spring registration will take place in early December so classes can start in early January. iii. Events: Falls Church Festival coming up on September 23rd with City’s 75th anniversary kick off. 14 restaurants, 50+ vendors, 14 sponsors, along with entertainment. 20th annual Sunset Cinemas begin September 29th, and continue on Fridays through October 13th. Wednesday Early Release program starts back up at Oak Street and Mount Daniel on September 13th.  iv. Farmhouse: started its fall programming schedule, including craft workshops, formal dinner, the Friends Holiday Teas, the Victorian Society’s Halloween Literary Evening, and a Very Victorian Christmas. v. Teen Activities: Teen Council cleanup is in the pipeline for some time in October. Midnight Madness starts up once more for this school year, starting on September 29th. vi. Sports: 1,020 kids enrolled in fall soccer this season. 133 kids enrolled in flag football this season. Winter basketball registration will open on September 26th. Big change from last year is that 2nd/3rd and 4th/5th grade leagues have now been split into separate grade levels because of the increased number of teams we had last year. vii. Senior Center: 2023 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics has begun again. We hosted the Scrabble event at the Falls Church Senior Center with 36 participants. Youngest was 51, oldest was 94. Events coming up include a special music program, AARP smart driving program, guest speaker on financial fraud, new pickleball club has 86 members. viii. Quinn/Homestretch Project comments due October 13th, 2023. Review the September 6th Planning Commission summarizing the project here. Brendan Kelly and Jenna Schroeder sat in on the Planning Commission meeting and will summarize at next meeting. ix. Staffing: R&P day-time staff is fully staffed. Part-time staff is not fully staffed, we have about half as many evening and weekend Recreation Leaders as we typically need. R&P leadership will have discussion with Human Resources about raising hourly rate for the Recreation Leader position. 7. Old Business A) Fellows Property Presentation. Al Astorga presented final draft master plan of the Fellows Property Park. Final park concept presentation recapped the essential items of the plan, as well as desired amenities. The presentation ended on the projected budget, which is estimated to be approximately $1 million over the initial estimated budget. Bill Ackerman, 149 S. Spring St, asked question regarding sidewalk requirements. Further questions regarding dead-end sidewalks, potential for easements, and potential for multiple entrances to the park were discussed. i. Next steps: final plan needs to go to Planning Commission and any interested boards and commissions, then to a public meeting; hire an architect/engineering firm; find additional funding; settle on official park name and begin naming process. Going to Planning Commission, bringing to other boards and commissions, and planning a public meeting would happen simultaneously. ii. Kathleen Tysse mentioned incorporating student voices in the final plan of the park, i.e., through student artwork in park. iii. Motion to move forward with Al Astorga’s park design was brought forth by Leslie Rye, and seconded by Brendan Kelly. The motion was unanimously approved. B) Leslie Rye asked ABRP if indoor pickleball for seniors would be offered this fall. Amy Youngs said she would ask Senior Center Coordinator, Tracy Browand, to trial indoor pickleball this season. 8. Adjournment Charley O’Hara let ABRP know that Liz Weatherly will not be reapplying, therefore there are two vacant spots. Leslie Rye moved to adjourn; Kathleen Tysse seconded the motion. All approved, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 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.