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 19, 2022 7:00 PM Cecil F. Gilkerson Community Activities Center 1. Meeting Called to Order A meeting of the Harrisonburg Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission was held on Monday September 19, 2022 at 7 p.m. at the Cecil F. Gilkerson Community Activities Center. Obie Hill called the meeting to order with the following commission members present: Obie Hill, Jim Logan, Kevin Gibson, Leonard Van Wyk, and MuAwia DaMes. Present from Parks and Recreation were Donna Scott, Scott Erickson and Andrew “AJ” Morris. I. Welcome - Obie Hill welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes II. Approval of August Meeting Minutes- Kevin Gibson motioned to approve the August minutes. Leonard Van Wyk seconded the motion. The August 2022 minutes were approved by a unanimous vote. August 15, 2022 Meeting Minutes Click here to enter the action/summary (insert the summary from the memo here 3. Director's Report & Project Updates III. Director’s Report & Project Updates- Donna Scott highlighted for Brian Mancini - a. The swim meet this past weekend went well. The number of swimmers doubled from last year, and many hotel rooms were booked on Friday and Saturday from out-of-town guests. b. We will be lighting up 4 buildings in blue this year for the Lights on Afterschool initiative scheduled for October 20th. Last year, we lit up the Lucy Simms Center, and the CAC. This year, we will add the Parkview Admin Building and Denton Park, making a total of 4 buildings that will be lit up this year. c. The hiring process is going a bit better for attracting full time staff to Harrisonburg. In a relatively short period of time, we went from 11 full time vacancies down to 5. We are confident that 3 of those 5 vacancies will be filled relatively easily. This is encouraging news. 4. Action Items 4.a. Upcoming Events City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 9/21/2022 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final September 19, 2022 Commission IV.a. No Upcoming Events. 4.b. Tour of the Westover Pool IV.b. The Aquatics Manager, AJ Morris, gave a tour of the Westover Pool. 5. General Public Comments V. General Public Comments: a. No public comment. VI. PRAC Questions/Comments-Highlighted Questions/Comments: a. Are the programs currently being offered getting back to where they were pre-pandemic? For the programs we can offer, our numbers are close to or at pre-pandemic levels. b. Is the Activity Guide being mailed out? Are they located at the library? Is the guide in Spanish? Response: Due to printing costs, the Activity Guide is available online, and printed copies are in the lobby of the CAC. This seems to be effective, as most activities are full, with waiting lists. The guide is currently not available in Spanish. c. Are the swim classes starting back up again? Response: Yes. Swim classes offered over the summer are close to pre-pandemic levels. d. Can the department accommodate a rec room at the CAC where kids that do not play sports can hang out? This rec room could include foosball, bumper pool, pool, air hockey, ping pong, board games, and couches. Response: Currently, there is no space available at the CAC to create a rec room; therefore, funding would need to be acquired to create additional space. e. Is Parks and Rec helping with the International Festival? Response: Yes, we are providing logistical assistance. 6. Next PRAC Meeting-October 17, 2022 at Hillandale Park VII. Next PRAC Meeting - The next meeting will be held at Hillandale Park on October 17, 2022. 7. Adjourn VIII. Adjourn - The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Notice to Public Residents/Media will be able to attend the meeting according to best practices and procedures associated with pandemic disaster. 1. Masks are not mandated but strongly encouraged 2. Social Distance rules will apply City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 9/21/2022