Parks & Recreation Board

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Parks & Recreation Board Jan Ross, Chair Donna Simmons, Vice Chair Chrissy Kaminski, Secretary Scott Lofton Kevin McGinn Eric Miller Ken Shepherd Amy Moneypenny, Clerk Wednesday, October 13, 2021 7:00 PM Gahanna Senior Center 480 Rocky Fork Blvd. A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Ross called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. B. SWEARING IN Per Chapter 153.01(b) Any member of the Parks and Recreation Board that has been absent from three (3) regular meetings during any calendar year, whether excused or not, is removed from office, but may be reappointed at the will of any appointing authority. Scott Lofton has missed three (3) meetings in 2021 and was appointed and sworn in as a Board Member on October 13, 2021. C. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Eric Miller, Jan Ross, Scott Lofton, Kevin McGinn, Ken Shepherd and Chrissy Kaminski Absent: 1 - Donna Simmons Staff in attendance: Stephania Bernard Ferrell, Director, Amy Moneypenny, Administrative Coordinator, Brian Gill-Huston, Recreation Superintendent, and Sarah Mill, Recreation Supervisor City of Gahanna Page 1 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 13, 2021 D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2021-0214 PB Meeting Minutes 09.08.21 Ross pointed out a correction to the minutes- the director’s report should have stated “August”, not “July” . A motion was made by McGinn, seconded by Shepherd, that the Minutes be Approved.The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Miller, Ross, Lofton, McGinn, Shepherd and Kaminski Absent: 1- Simmons E. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA F. HEARING OF VISITORS-NONE G. OLD BUSINESS-NONE H. NEW BUSINESS i. Summer Camp Review Director Ferrell introduced Recreation Superintendent Brian Gill-Huston to speak about the 2021 Summer Camp review. Gill-Huston explained that they are starting the process to recruit and hire camp staff, as camp registration will begin in Mid-February of 2022. After brief discussion, Gill-Huston introduced Recreation Supervisor Sarah Mill to present her 2021 Summer Camp statistics, document attached. Due to COVID restrictions, the City was forced to significantly reduce the number of campers they could allow to attend their sessions, but they were able to run programs at both Friendship Park and Hannah Park. The maximum number of campers they allowed total at Friendship Park was 24 and the maximum at Hannah Park was 32. Mill explained that while they hit full capacity several weeks this summer, there were many factors that contributed to the weeks they didn’t, one of them being that they did not have enough staff to support the maximum capacity ratio. Miller asked how many children were added to the wait list and Mill explained that it depended on the week, but the wait list varied from three (3) to 22 children. Mill advised that during a typical year, they could accept around City of Gahanna Page 2 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 13, 2021 110 kids at Hannah Park Camp and around 56 kids at Friendship Park Camp but were unable to offer that capacity in 2021. Gill-Huston discussed the City’s efforts to recruit more camp staff throughout the season and the challenges the Parks and Recreation department faced. 2021-0226 2021 Summer Program Participation I. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS-NONE J. DIRECTOR'S REPORT 2021-0215 Director's Report 09.21 Ferrell supplied the Board with the Director’s Report from September, document is attached. Construction on the new playground at Headley Park has begun and should be completed in five (5) to six (6) weeks. The Price Rd. renovation project is on track and 3D models of the plan will be available soon. The Gahanna Great Goblin Trail will take place on Thursday, October 21st and Friday, October 22nd. The Senior Center Fall Fireside Feast will take place on Thursday, October 14th, and over 80 seniors are signed up to attend. Ross asked if the seniors were feeling comfortable coming back to the Senior Center to attend classes and events and Ferrell advised that they have been active since the reopening in August and classes have been well attended. Ferrell acknowledged that the sign for the Senior Center is broken, and they are currently working on getting temporary signage to replace the broken sign until a new one can be constructed. Horticulturist Tim Fleischer has been working to redo the front flower bed design near the sign. Ross asked about the recent vandalism done to some of the parks in Gahanna. Ferrell explained that there is currently a trend on TikTok that encourages youth to vandalize public property while recording it, and this is contributing to the rise of damage to the parks within the city. Police have been notified and are working to help patrol the areas that are affected. Ross asked if there were security cameras at the parks and Ferrell answered that there are. Shepherd asked about the status of the Pickleball court transitions at Friendship Park and Ferrell advised that at this time, there is not an updated timeline but the project is still in progress. City of Gahanna Page 3 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 13, 2021 K. COMMITTEE REPORTS i. Bicycle & Trail Advisory Committee (BTAC) The next meeting will be held on November 10, 2021 at 6:00pm. ii. Gahanna Active Senior Advisory Committee (GASAC) Ferrell stated that because there was only one (1) active member, there is no consensus as to when they will be meeting again. All members will all need to be reappointed once the meetings resume. iii. Natural Resources Advisory Committee (NRAC)- NONE L. POLL MEMBERS FOR COMMENT i. Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation Miller advised that they are still working on getting a digital storage solution for their documents so that they City will no longer house them, and they are also working on a retention policy to go along with it. Pam Ripley has been hired by the Foundation to record the minutes of each meeting. The Hops and Vines event was a success as they sold around 800 tickets and made close to $30,000. ii. School District Update Lofton announced that they will begin construction on Blacklick and Highpoint Elementary schools in early November. Old Lincoln will start being torn down in January and the fire department will be given access to the construction site for training purposes. On Wednesday, October 20th there will be a community meeting to discuss the school district’s phase two (2) projects. iii. Veteran's Advisory Committee Shepherd advised that Becky Kneeland is working on getting speakers and an itinerary made for November’s ceremony. M. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business of the Board, the meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. City of Gahanna Page 4 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 13, 2021 Amy Moneypenny Clerk APPROVED by the Parks & Recreation Board, this day of 2021. Jan Ross City of Gahanna Page 5