Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission

City Hall City of Harrisonburg 409 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Monday, September 21, 2020 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order A meeting of Harrisonburg Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission was held on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 7 p.m. via GoToMeeting. Kevin Gibson called the meeting to order with the following commission members present: Sandra Bopp, MuAwia DaMes, Chance Ebersold, Kevin Gibson, Obie Hill, and James Logan. Present from Parks and Recreation: Gin Chandler and Luanne Santangelo. I. Welcome - Kevin Gibson welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. August Meeting Minutes - Obie Hill made a motion to approve the minutes from August 17, 2020. Jim Logan seconded the motion. All members voted in favor of approving the August 17, 2020 minutes. III. Director’s Report - Luanne Santangelo provided a written report to Advisory Commission members. a. Reopening of fitness centers had 201 reservations at CAC and 31 Simms. Renovations were made in the fitness centers to accommodate social distancing and provide a safe environment for users. b. Swim teams have returned to the pool for usage. Operations has transitioned to the doom pool. c. Race to Beat Breast Cancer and the International Festival will be virtual this year. d. Planning for the 2021 VRPS conference is still taking place. The conference is scheduled for October. e. Athletics is taking reservations for use of some fields for practicing. Teams can submit an application request and their plan for following safety guidelines. Youth football, tackle and flag football, and adult kickball was cancelled this year. f. Presentation of the Purcell Park Master Plan to City Council will take place in October. g. Continuous evaluations take place to determine reopening and scheduling of use for various facilities. h. Heritage Oaks Golf Course financial comparison will be provided to Commission members by Luanne Santangelo. Walking is still permitted at Heritage Oaks before 8a and after 8p. All parks, including Heritage Oaks, will close at 5p when the time change occurs. IV. Event Attendance/Advocacy Opportunities - City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 1/11/2022 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 21, 2020 Commission a. The Race to Beat Breast Cancer Run will be a virtual run and is scheduled in October. b. Commission members may assist in spreading the word of the fitness centers availability to the community. c. Fall and holiday events will be announced on social media. d. Luanne Santangelo recognized Bill Rule’s retirement. Bill retired at the end of August with 34 years of service with Parks and Recreation. His legacy will live forever in this community. e. Kevin Gibson shared Dan Martonick is not able to attend the current scheduled time meetings due to a conflict with his work schedule. Discussion was held regarding Dan’s availability and other options for his continuous service on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. f. Discussion was held regarding elections for a Chair and Vice Chair of the Advisory Commission. The election cycle was missed. It was decided to proceed with roles as they currently are, and an election will take place in January 2021. g. Park bathrooms will remain closed through the season. h. The Capital Improvement Plan will be presented to the Advisory Commission in the October meeting. i. Currently working on a CDBG grant to put in an accessible route to the pickleball courts. It is under environmental review now. V. General Public Comments - Comments were not received. VI. Next PRAC Meeting - October 19, 2020. VII. Adjourn - The meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.a. Minutes from the August 17, 2020 Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting 3. New Business 3a. Director's Report 4. Action Items 4a. Event Attendance 4b. Advocacy Opportunities 5. Public Comments 6. Next PRAC Meeting 7. Adjournment Notice to Public City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 1/11/2022 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 21, 2020 Commission In accordance with the Emergency Ordinance to effectuate temporary changes in certain deadlines and to modify public meeting and public hearing practices and procedures to address continuity of operations associated with pandemic disaster, adopted on April 6, 2020, the public will not be able to physically attend the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. Residents/Media will be able to watch the meeting live on: • The City’s website, https://www.harrisonburgva.gov/agendas • Public Education Government Channel 3 Note Kevin Sandy MuAwia Jim Dan - No Obie Mayor Reed - No Chance Note Obie motion Jim Second all approve Note see director's rpt Obie - westover pool considering pool for outside lane usage? Not at this time. Obie concerned there is not enough options for recreation due to COVID with restrictions on things to do. Not enough places to go (swimming). We have not entered into recreation swim yet. Determined based on state of pandemic versus a date/specific time. Use of playgrounds - consideration for reopening. Ongoing process evaluating guidelines and current conditions. Is there a best practice or rubric regarding the process of evaluation and reopening? Look at CDC, VHD and other P&R to see what is happening. Based on our community and the response. Re-evaluating playgrounds within next couple of weeks. City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 1/11/2022 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 21, 2020 Commission HOGC - rounds played and revenue - are we at the place as last year. Would need to research and pull stats from last year. Will send rounds and financial comparison from last year to this year. League play not resuming is a detriment. Walking still open before 8a and after 8p for walking. Will not change walking times. 5p for all parks. Note Breast Cancer 5K - virtual run Parks and Simms visitation Encourage places are available to participate. Simms available for older adults and those at higher risk. Other events for fall - pumpkin carving contest - virtual and FB other events. Silly Walk areas - good idea. Kudos. Recognize Bill Rule 34 years retirement. Wonderful person and will be missed. His legacy will live forever. Kevin - Dan Martonik not able to make this time due to work schedule. by-laws state miss certain # meetings cannot serve. M - what his schedule is to see if options are available. M - not able to do before 5p. Schedule change happened at work after his commitment and wants to be involved, but cannot make this time. K - 7p is established time J - Dan has been very committed to commission, but should explore all options to help make it available. Something to think about for a bit. Does not think knee-jerk react. Kevin will follow-up with Dan and see what can make work. Kevin - Elections - nothing in by-laws regarding chair and vice-chair. Coming up on cycle. Luanne how this processed worked. Calendar year - January. Informal process with board. Nomination take place for Chair and vice. Missed Jan 2020. Finish out year as are and revisit in Jan? Kevin chair for 3 years and health of organization for someone else to take over. Jim - continue with current positions and wait until Jan to vote. Obie, Chance agree. City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 1/11/2022 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 21, 2020 Commission Revisit in Jan 2021. Note Note None Note Note Oct 19th Sandy keep Kevin until Jan. International Fest - Dates - already took place Bathrooms - parks closed - closed through season and will not reopen. MuAwia - HOGC July 31st financials. CIP submitted to CM. CIP on agenda for next month. Sandy - pickleball courts being used a lot. Easier access down the incline. L-working with grant funds to put in an accessible route. under environmental review now. Note Note 7:38 p City of Harrisonburg Page 5 Printed on 1/11/2022