Recreation Commission

FREDERICKSBURG RECREATION COMMISSION Minutes of June 15, 2017 The June meeting of the Fredericksburg Recreation Commission was held on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at the Dorothy Hart Community Center. The meeting was called to order at 6:40pm. Commissioners Present: Mrs. Sharon Null, Mr. David Dorsey, Dr. Tim Duffy, Dr. Marcus Tepaske, Mr. Ken Kroko, Mr. Brandon McVade, Mrs. Susan Tyler Absent: Mr. James Bailey Also in attendance: Director Jane Shelhorse, Mrs. Patty Sparks, Mrs. Janice Lasker, Mrs. Linda Bailey I. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of May 18, 2017 were approved with one revision. Under Commission Vacancies, it had been noted that Commissioner Kroko will be vacating his position. Revision: Commissioner Kroko will be completing his term. II. Public Comment – none III. Introduction of Department Staff – Linda Bailey, Nature Education Coordinator, has been with the Department for 23 years. Linda has one part time staff member, Nature Educator Mimi Dempsey, and otherwise relies on many volunteers to meet all of the needs of her programs and responsibilities. Linda and Mimi offer programs for school kids, such as studying owl pellets, and for older youths and adults, such as orienteering and fossil hunting. With the help of her volunteers, they operate a nature center and have started a butterfly garden at Motts Reservoir. Linda and Mimi develop and teach nature camps in the summer, offer at least one out of town trip per year, and handle special events like Earth Day and the Annual Kids Fishing Derby. Their goal is to help people experience new things, gain skills, and become better earth stewards. Linda’s passion for her job shows in her endless energy and excitement about all of the activities her department offers. IV. Communication from the Director:  A. Financial Report – May 2017 – Director Shelhorse stated we need to breakdown what Leisure, Sports, Recreation, etc. encompass so that we get a better clarification of our revenue reports. B. Leisure Report – This year we will offer a “dive in” movie program at the pool. We did a water safety program with social services for 36 kids on June 9. We would like to offer that type of program in the schools if we can get the funding. C. Special Events and Marketing – The Soapbox Derby is Saturday, June 17, and will have 80 racers. Both “Touch a Truck “ and a Storybook theme day will be added to Picnic in the Park in the fall. The Urban Trail Ride will happen again this year and will be renamed in honor of James Shelhorse. D. Sports and Parks –We are pleased with the results of the environmentally friendly soy based graffiti remover. All of the graffiti has been removed from the rocks in the river to date. The Annual Wellness Fair was a success for City employees. V. Noteworthy Dates- July 3 is a city holiday. Thank you Council! Midnight Madness begins June 23 and goes until August 11. It is held on Fridays from 8pm to 11pm, usually at Walker-Grant School, with 2 nights at the pool. VI. Old Business: A. Hurkamp Park and Memorial Park Restrooms –We are still trying to redo specs that will reduce the cost. We are focusing on Hurkamp Park initially. We will then move on to the Memorial Park restroom and are hoping that there will be money left over from the resurfacing of the tennis and pickleball courts to add funds to the restroom project. B. Rental Fees – Commissioner Tyler feels we are not charging enough for renting the Dixon Park fields. Director Shelhorse will look into those rates. Director Shelhorse presented the new rental rates for the DHCC. Rates have increased, and there is no distinction between city and non- city residents in the new rates. We will be updating the qualifications for fee waivers and will probably have a much more limited list of non- profits who qualify for fee waivers. Now that the department handles events, we also handle equipment for street closures. The department  has new barricades that are much sturdier than the previous ones, and offer better protection against vehicle traffic when a street is closed. C. Snowden Park – The Martin Luther King Jr. bridge dedication did take place on Saturday, June 3. The park itself still looks horrible. For safety reasons, we are not able to put a climbable fence between the playground and the basketball courts. Instead, we are going to reconfigure the courts so that we have one full size court, and two half courts. One of the half courts will be for kids, and it will be at the playground end of the court. Commissioner Dorsey stated that we are waiting to see what happens with the trees as there is plenty of water in the ground, but between the 3 week delay in planting and the horrible soil, they look pretty bad. Commissioner Dorsey also mentioned the drainage issue on the basketball court. Corman Construction has left the site, but we are pursuing these issues with them. D. Foundation for Parks – Director Shelhorse is meeting with some attorneys next week for guidance on a park foundation. Commissioner Dorsey asked about the possibility of the City setting up a foundation with funds designated to parks. Having the City manage the foundation would allow for a long term “champion” for the parks. Commissioner McVade reiterated that we do need an Executive Director in order to establish a foundation for parks. The Small Business Foundation offers a site where you can search for an individual to manage a foundation; however, these individuals are probably looking to be paid. E. Strategic Plan for Parks and Recreation – We have talked about creating a strategic plan that goes beyond the previous Future Parks Plan from 2012. Director Shelhorse feels the goal for staff should be to figure out where the Department fits in to the Council’s newly developed vision. For example, possibly take the Guth property and turn it into a multi- purpose recreation facility. Or, when the city plans to build a new school, consider adding a community center to that rather than building a separate facility. Commissioner Duffy suggested that we perform a needs assessment of our parks and develop a specific visionary plan for parks that ties in with the Council’s plan. The Department staff met Tuesday, the 13th and came up with the following plans: increase recycling in parks, update our existing parks versus developing new parks, do a needs assessment so that we can see what the community wants, and look at our programming to increase our offerings so that we  can offer essential services. Chairman Null mentioned the possibility of selling some of our property, such as one in Stafford that we will probably never develop, to provide money for some of our future projects. Commissioner Dorsey mentioned that in formulating our plan, Fredericksburg may not be large enough to support a rec center when we have a reasonably priced YMCA in such close proximity. Commissioner Tepaske asked about the next step for tying the plans together. Can our staff develop a plan? F. Commission Vacancies – Council voted to reappoint James Bailey. Sue Sargeant will fill the spot created by Commissioner Kroko leaving. G. Riverfront Park –Commissioner Kroko presented a timeline for the park. 82% of the proposed park will happen initially. The parking lot portion on the right side of the park will be phased in later when the City comes up with an alternative for more downtown parking. The footprint of the park will be reduced to complete the park in its entirety on 82% of the space. The water feature of the park has been revised and utilities will be moved to the other side of the street to allow for potential street vendors on the edge of the park. The park is scheduled for completion in May of 2019 and will accommodate 1500 people. H. John DeBaptiste Pocket Park – Commissioner Duffy stated that the Board would like to tell the story of the African American role in Fredericksburg’s history. Commissioner Dorsey will compose a letter to Blanton Massey letting him know we are in support of his idea for a pocket park. VII. New Business: A. Election of Officers for Commission – Commissioner McVade was approved as Chairman and Commissioner Dorsey as Vice Chairman of the Commission beginning in July, 2017. B. Summer Meeting Dates –The Commission will meet on July 20 and will not meet in August. VIII. Director/Commission Concerns: Commissioner Kroko thanked Chairman Null for her efficient meetings. He urged everyone to really study the parks report and to “get the shovels moving”. Highlights for him as a commissioner were breaking ground for the trails and Director Shelhorse returning to the Department. Commissioner Dorsey stated that after attending the City Vision meeting in Mayfield, he realized the impact and importance of the Food Truck program. He feels we can make some very small improvements at a very low cost that would greatly improve the visual landscape of our city. ie. removing a few trees so that there is a view of Dixon Park from the Blue Grey parkway. Commissioner Duffy stated that John Russ, Chief Administrative Officer for City Schools will be replacing Dr. Gordon on the Commission. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm. ______________________________________ Jane C. Shelhorse Date Director Next Regular Meeting July 20, 2017 6:30pm at the Dorothy Hart Community Center