Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services Advisory Board Meeting Tuesday, MayFebruary 27, 2023 | 5:00 p.m. | 5th floor City Hall, Canty Conference Room Members: Steven L. Raudman, Chair Michelle Griffin, Vice Chair Jennifer R. Parker Katherine G. Dermanis Dr. June G. Javier [Four Vacancies] Opening Business  Welcome, Introduction and Call to Order Attendees: Katherine Dermanis, Michelle Griffin, Dr. June Javier, Jennifer Parker, David McCauley, Angela King, Nicole Dennis, Marie St. Clair, Korey Page Absent: Jennifer Colton, Steven Raudman Michelle Griffin called the meeting to order at 5:05pm, welcomed the attendees, and advised that a quorum was present.  Approval of February 7, 2023 Minutes Michelle gave the board members an opportunity to review the minutes from the last meeting. Katherine Dermanis made a motion to accept the February minutes as written. Michelle Griffin seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. New Business Master Plan Update Director McCauley began discussion about the PRLS Master Plan that originally began four years ago. Currently, the master plan is halfway completed. The report has been written and awaiting feedback from the City Manager’s Office. The chief planner for the master plan is Alison Eubank. The goal is to get the word to the Planning Commission by August and also have the City Council adopt the master plan. The board members will also have an opportunity to review the master plan. The master plan is also waiting on the ADA assets relating to projects Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 and programs. There were some discrepancies with the graph analysis. The graph analysis went through and graded every park. Some of our parks were in the top ten of the country while some of our parks needed additional work. Additionally, there were some questions from senior leadership. Director McCauley also began discussion about the placemaking community plan which is expected to be a 10-year process. The strategic plan is expected to be a 20-year plan which includes the placemaking aspect. There are a total of seven strategic priorities for the city which include: 1. Economic Growth 2. Educated Citizenry 3. Excellence in Government 4. Family Resiliency & Economic Empowerment 5. Living with Water 6. Placemaking 7. Safe & Clean Community The master plan is going to be a large part of what comprises the community plan. The community steering groups have been meeting for over a year discussing community visioning, strategic issues, and hearing groups community checkpoints. There is also the discussion of an actionable timetable from the master plan. It has been debatable because some planners do not like the accountability of planning and having a timetable. This is all also based upon the budget factor. There are many CIP projects and they have to be prioritized. Some of the projects included the Buckroe Boardwalk, Air Power Park, Darling Stadium, Community/Neighborhood Centers for branding and marketing, and upgrading all the gaming rooms within the community centers. Subcommittee Discussion Angela King began to discuss about subcommittees and the different topics areas that were on the agenda. There was feedback via email about how to structure the subcommittees or how often they should meet. There has been some hesitation on creating another meeting group relating to the subcommittees. Mrs. King and Director McCauley suggested that maybe instead of creating separate subcommittees about specific topic areas, the monthly meetings could have themes. The meeting themes could be rotated every quarter. This idea could help avoid creating more meetings that the board members have to attend. Also, it could be an addition to a structured agenda and include more topics/discussions. It was discussed that a vote was not needed to approve the recommendations of the themed meetings. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 Board Member Updates Director McCauley reminded the board members that the July meeting will be held on July 14, 2023 due the Fourth of July Holiday falling on the first Monday of the month. He also shared that there are three vacancies on the board. He encouraged anyone that is interested to become a board member to apply online on the city website. Program Proposal Applications Review Director McCauley introduced Marie St. Clair from Northampton Community Center and Korey Page from YH Thomas Neighborhood Center to discuss program proposal application that were submitted at their recreation center locations. Marie began to discuss the first program proposal titled “X-Motive Dance”. It is a dance program for ages 12 to 20 years old to help build self esteem and express themselves through dance. This program is available to males and females. The group is looking into using Northampton Community Center dance room. The classes will be available at a discounted rate for all members of the community center. The program is divided into two teams which are ages 12-17 and ages 18-20. The program can also be utilized at the other centers within Hampton if the other centers wish to accept the program. The program would be held on Wednesday’s from 6pm to 8pm and Saturday’s from 12pm to 2pm. There was discussion about whether or not the program would be charged for utilizing the facility. There was also discussion about adjusting the age group for the program to possibly include the ages of 11-17. It was suggested for the board members to complete the grading rubric to see if the program proposal should be accepted. However, it was shared that additional information is needed from the organization and a follow-up would be conducted regarding the program proposal application. Ms. Nicole Dennis also shared that with this particular organization that it would probably be best for them to complete the instructor application instead of the program proposal application. The reasoning behind this suggestion is that once HPRLS hires them as an instructor, HPRLS will get a percentage of what they’re charging. HPRLS would hold all of the date and the insurance regarding the risk aspect. Korey Page introduced the program proposal for YH Thomas Neighborhood Center. The program was created by Wayne Gomes of the Hampton Roads Police Athletic League Baseball. It would be an enrichment program for the summer that would be a total of eight weeks. The program would begin June 26th running through August 14th. The target age group would be ages 7-14. The program would be available to males and females. The program would be no cost to HPRLS and they are looking for a facility to utilize the program. They are also looking to expanding their program to four sites that include Northampton Community Center, West Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669 Hampton Community Center, YH Thomas Neighborhood Center, and Mary Jackson Neighborhood Center. The program would involve baseball fundamentals. Mr. Gomes is proposing the idea of adding the program as an enrichment for HPRLS summer camp. It would be recognized as a vendor that would offer this program at no cost to our paid clients, but patrons will be able obtain the skill sets through the enrichment. The motion was made and seconded to accept the program proposal as written. All was in favor and the program proposal was unanimously approved. Ms. Dennis also suggested for the grading rubric to be completed as well. Adjourn: There being no further business, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 @ 5:00 p.m. 5th Floor City Hall, Canty Conference Room Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services 22 Lincoln Street | Hampton, Virginia 23669