Board of Parks & Recreation

Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 PRESENT: P.A. Bowler, Mike Pike, Jimmy Head, Jeremiah Bennett, Bubba Perry, Jill Rathert, Lee Peterson, Andy Gilley, Keith Bruce, Trevor Cole, Wade Evans, Orey Fugate ABSENT: Ken Hesson, Mahlon Hellman, Thom Golden CALL TO ORDER / OPENING PRAYER: Jeremiah Bennett called the meeting to order. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mike Pike led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: A motion to approve the agenda as amended by Mike Pike, 2nd by Jimmy Head. All in favor. CITIZENS COMMENTS: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion to approve March 27, 2023, minutes made by Jimmy Head, 2nd by P.A. Bowler. All in favor. OLD BUSINESS Park Project Updates – Andy Gilley • Rugby Restrooms – There is currently a bid for site work out to the public now and we expect delivery of the building by the summer and hopefully they will be ready by the fall of this year. • New Lights – We will install lights at Memorial Park tentatively in mid-May. Recently, we added seven parking security lights at the soccer complex. • Pickleball at Senior Center – We are currently working through the final design for the courts that will be built at the Senior Center. There is a Capital Projects meeting next week or the week after where this will be discussed. We hope to be out to bid and under construction by the summertime. • Mary’s Magical Place – We are still working on with insurance adjusters to get repairs on the men’s restroom. Hopefully that will begin soon. • Upgrades at Volunteer Park – We are currently working with Civitan Club to make some upgrades for accessibility and for the cooking of hamburgers at Volunteer Park concession stand. They don’t have a grill out there currently. • Cart Barn at Country Hills Golf Course – the demo of the Cart Barn will be last week of April or the first week of May and then we will begin to rebuild the new one. NEW BUSINESS Ashton Gourley Suspension Appeal – Ashton Gourley Andy Gilley stated that whenever a player is commissioned discipline from the Parks Department, the avenue for them to appeal that decision is to come before the Parks Board. Mr. Gourley reached out to us earlier this month and let us know that he is very sorry for his actions and that he would like to come before this body 1 Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 and appeal his suspension. We issued a one-year suspension that was scheduled in at January 2024. Ashton Gourley stated that he got caught up in the moment and that he shouldn’t have acted the way that he did. Ashton stated, “I wasn’t thinking at the time. I really wish I could have reached out to the referee and apologized at the time. The game was close and there was a missed call and at the end of the game, I said a few things to the ref that I regret I said.” This is the first time he has received disciplinary action. Orey Fugate stated that Ashton has not served any suspension time yet because it wouldn’t apply until next year, as the game, he was suspended was the last one for his team in the tournament. Motion to have Ashton’s suspension negated if he is willing to write an apology letter to HOA by Jill Rathert. No second and motion fails. Motion to reduce to a two-game suspension if player writes an apology letter to HOA referee and if any action involves this player in the future, he will be ejected for the year by Mike Pike, 2nd by Bubba Perry. Jimmy Head, Mike Pike, Jeremiah Bennett and Bubba Perry in favor. Jill Rathert and P.A. Bowler opposed. This motion passes. TN United Volunteer Park Proposal – Jonathan Wayland Andy Gilley stated that this proposal has been given to the Planning Department and will go before the Planning Commission on June 6th. They are asking for the Parks Board to vote to recommend or not recommend or neutral recommendation that will go to BOMA and the Planning Commission. Jonathan Wayland is the Director of Operations for TN United Soccer Club in Hendersonville and stated that we have had many discussions on how we can finish out Volunteer Park. The need for indoor turf facilities has risen not only in our organization but other organizations as well so we put together a plan that would serve the needs of TUSC but also a lot of other needs in the community. The plan is for a full-size indoor bubble turf facility with the addition for more turf soccer fields. There would be five total turf soccer fields. This would enable us to practice and play games year-round but also save the fields at Drakes Creek Park. We are working through the process with Andy and the mayor and navigating through the process with the committees. Andy Gilley stated that there was one other proposal from a group out of state for this piece of property and basically it was a plan for this group to manage property that we would build, whereas, this plan is something where we would manage the property that we built. Motion to recommend and support this proposal to see it goes to further committees for additional approval by Jimmy Head, 2nd by Mike Pike. All in favor. Sanders Ferry Shootout – Sad Dog Discs – Mitch Baker and Jake Graham Mitch Baker stated that they would like to run a Disc Golf Tournament at Sanders Ferry Park on June 10th. Jake Graham explained that every player that enters this tournament, a portion of that entry fee will go back into the course fund, and they have a bank account for improvements for the baskets and the course. Wade Evans clarified that the $30 vendor fee is for any food trucks and if Sad Dog Discs has a table where they are selling merch then we would also need to collect that vendor fee from them. Motion to approve this event by Jill Rathert, 2nd by Jimmy Head. All in favor. Box Lacrosse – Nashville Ignite – Tim Semisch Tim Semisch is with Nashville Ignite and he explained that this year they are moving to become 501C3 non- profit organization. We are hoping to use the rinks at Volunteer Park for a box lacrosse tournament. We have been in discussion with Hendersonville Inline and we will push their agenda and help them fundraise. We are looking to practice full time at the Volunteer Park facility and host 4-5 games that would consist of two weekends in June and August. Keith Bruce added that he has been in discussions with Tim. He stated that the old outdoor rinks at Veterans Park have become unsafe to skate on. We can’t afford to keep maintaining it over and over. This group will be doing a lot of Sunday night practicing and so it won’t affect the Hendersonville Inline schedule. Basically, we are going to incorporate them into a program within the Parks system. Motion to approve this group as a league in the Parks system by Jimmy Head, 2nd by Bubba Perry. All in favor. 2 Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 Pour Taste Sumner and Wine Festival – Jon Yeager Jon Yeager stated that he would like to have a charitable event on September 22nd - 23rd at Sanders Ferry Park. We are partnering with HolidayFest and Larry Phillips and he has a few sub-partner non-profit groups that we want to support. We want to showcase middle Tennessee food and wine but for us, Lindsay and I, we recently opened the restaurant “Edit” at the Streets of Indian Lake so it would showcase that as well. Motion to approve this event by Jill Rathert, 2nd by P.A. Bowler. All in favor. Camp Gladiator – Liz Kennedy Liz Kennedy stated that she has been a personal trainer for almost 12 years. She has been in the Nashville area running a boot camp for the last five years. I recently moved to Hendersonville, and I love the parks. I would love to do a couple mornings a week exercise camp at either Veterans Park or Memorial Park, wherever you guys will allow me to set up. We have insurance and I’m also completely open to a yearly donation to the Parks or a nonprofit group. Wade Evans stated that the Fit4Mom group that was recently in the parks just ended so this fills a void. Motion to approve program by Bubba Perry, 2nd by Jill Rathert. All in favor. Nashville Sounds – Play Ball Weekend – Abby Holman Abby Holman is the Director of Marketing for the Nashville Sounds, the AAA Baseball team in Nashville. Part of MLB’s initiative to help bring baseball to youth in communities is what they call “Play Ball Weekend.” We have a requirement to host some sort of camp or clinic on June 9th – 11th, it is part of the requirement we have with the league. Typically, in the past we have held “Play Ball” clinics with our players, but they will be on the road that weekend, so we are trying to source a few other ideas. We are hoping to set up one of our “pop-up” baseball games in conjunction with one of the tournaments in Hendersonville parks that is already scheduled to have a place for siblings or other kids that aren’t playing during that time frame and learn how to play baseball. We would have our Mascot Booster there and get the help of a few retired players that live in the area to help instruct. Our staff would also be on site to help. Wade Evans stated that the Parks Department has worked it out for this to happen at Veterans Park when we host the Game 7 tournament. Motion to approve pop-up games with Nashville Sounds by P.A. Bowler, 2nd by Mike Pike. All in favor. Marine Corps Softball – Sgt. Patrick Sheppard Sgt. Patrick Sheppard stated that he represents the Marine Recruiting Station headquarters in Nashville, and they are requesting to use fields 2,4,12 and 13 at Drakes Creek Park on May 5th for an event for 70 – 100 marines. He stated that they will have their annual physical fitness test which will also utilize some of the greenway for a 3-mile run. We would bring in catered food and would also have an in-house softball tournament from around 11:00am until around 4:30pm. Wade Evans stated that they have already provided their insurance. They will not be utilizing HOA’s umpires but will keep everything in-house. Motion to approve this event and wave field fees by Jimmy Head, 2nd by Bubba Perry. All in favor. Greenbrier Police Fishing Tournament – Curt Allen Curt Allen is the Lieutenant over patrol with the Greenbrier Police Department. He stated that they are hoping this year’s event will support the Advocacy Center in Robertson County. Our goal is to have as many boats as we can and there will be an entry fee. Every dollar we make goes back to the Child Advocacy Center. We are hoping to have this tournament on June 11th. Motion to approve event by Jill Rathert, 2nd by P.A. Bowler. All in favor. Movie at Sanders Ferry Park – Sydney Lunn Andy Gilley stated that with this filming in the park, they will need to shut down Sanders Ferry Park for most of the day. Sydney Lunn explained that she was sorry this is last minute but sometimes in their industry they must wait until the last minute to pull the trigger on locations, largely due to the actors and their availability. She said that she had not had a chance to speak with Wade yet about this but was hoping to also include a rain date for Monday since it looks like Thursday may have rain. She explained that this filming is for a feature 3 Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 film produced by Amazon. It is called Holland, Michigan and is set in Michigan. This location is great because of the lake. We are hoping to close off the main entrance to the park and have actors filmed inside of a car, driving that loop inside the park. Motion to approve the use of Sanders Ferry Park for this movie filming by Jimmy Head, 2nd by Bubba Perry. All in favor. QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTS AND DISCIPLINARY UPDATES Andy Gilley stated that you can look at the number of disciplinary issues vs. the number of games played for each group. No other discussion. FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Updated Shelter Reservations Policies – Andy Gilley Andy Gilley stated that he spoke with the Mayor and Jessie on this, and we believe this doesn’t need a vote because it is an expansion on our current policy. We noticed that with some of our shelter rentals there were very specific requests for weddings, food trucks, sound permits, etc. This enables us to keep better records and obtain more information and make sure that these people renting the shelter are providing all the needed documentation. STAFF REPORTS Recreation Coordinator – Cindy Hamblen stated that Raptors Baseball started, and they have played 3-4 games. Feel free to drop by and visit us on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings. Raptors Kickball registration will start on May 1st. The Kids Club program this year will be moved to Whitten Elementary, and the dates run from June 12th – July 14th. Pre-registration just took place and we had 29 of our previous campers sign up to return. We had open registration today, so we currently have four spots still available if anyone is interested. There are some Kids Club summer employment opportunities. We are looking to hire camp counselors. We are currently taking applications. The Special Needs Fishing Rodeo is coming up on Friday evening on June 9th at Memorial Park. Athletic Coordinator – Orey Fugate stated that Adult Kickball and Softball is underway. Kickball is in their third week and softball is in their 6th week. Summer 5U and 6U T-ball registration is now full. That gives us 8 teams for 5U and 5 teams for 6U. The coaches’ meeting will be on May 12th. Summer Men’s Basketball registration will end this weekend on the 29th. There are 5 spots open. Fall Baseball and Quickball registration begins May 29th and runs through June 23rd. Special Events Supervisor – Wade Evans stated that this past weekend was great from an event perspective. Smart Stepps is moving to Goodpasture school this year. We are looking forward to Nerf Night. This is the first time for this type of event, so we are looking for it to go well and the old hockey rink seems to be the perfect spot. If you have any questions about a random event, feel free to reach out to me and ask. Parks Maintenance Superintendent – Trevor Cole stated that they don’t have any big projects going on but are staying busy with mowing and taking care of ball fields. We just turned the bid in for the security cameras at Civitan in Drakes Creek Park and there are 12-13 cameras going in and that should cover a large portion of the park and give much better visibility over there in case anything happens. With the restroom fire at Mary’s Magical Place, we should be getting it cleaned in the next couple weeks and then after that we should get the remodel done and get that back open. We had an AC unit go out at soccer. We are waiting on the bid to go back in for that so that we can get a new one put in and get that cooled down. You all have probably seen a bunch of tree guys cutting down dead trees in the park. We are trying to be more proactive with that. We are hiring for part-time maintenance work. It will be 30 hours a week. 4 Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 Assistant Parks Director – Dallas Long stated that rec soccer and TN United have about a month left of their season and we just had the largest tournament in TN United’s history this past weekend with 250 teams in town. That was a huge success. We are going into the last week of Middle School Soccer so good luck to those teams during their tournament play and championships. Just last week we started up the adult league, so we have 12 teams in that league on Wednesday nights and they will play up until early June. Lacrosse is going into the last week of their regular season and then we will be shutting down the Lacrosse field in preparation of the light installation at Memorial Park. Flag Football has one month remaining in their season and Rugby is in the last two weeks of their season. Assistant Parks Director – Keith Bruce stated that Fast Pitch is ongoing and about three weeks into games. Hockey is the same and are about 3-4 weeks into their season and having a good year. They had a very nice tournament over there this past weekend with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday jam-slammed with hockey. Two division of the Senior Men Softball have started, and the third division will start on Monday. Middle School Baseball is ongoing, and they will begin their tournament next week. Civitan Baseball is ongoing and has 2-3 weeks left of the regular season. The Middle School Baseball and Softball state tournaments are May 19-20th. I appreciate the maintenance guys dealing with the rain. Parks Director — Andy Gilley stated that if you see any dangerous trees in the parks, please let us know. We’ve already done some work when it comes to the wind damage that happened a couple months ago. We’ve been in a long holding pattern to have money appropriated. Thank you to the Board of Mayor and Alderman for helping us to appropriate the funds to take care of some of these issues. I noticed in a social media group, that somebody asked what was going on at Heritage Park yesterday. We had the Elementary Cross-Country event. You can always check our website under the special event list to keep updated on these types of events. We are trying to figure out ways to use that property until it can be utilized as a public park open to the public. You can hold the date of June 20th in your calendar as we have some exciting announcements coming up with the Hometown Jam series and Live Love Nashville. Memorial Day with the Issacs is coming up and we also are looking forward to Pig Fest in the fall. We already have 18 teams signed up to participate in the BBQ contest. Every year it gets better. We are going to train tomorrow with TRPA. ROUND TABLE P.A. Bowler – I admire the young man for coming before the board to appeal. That is not easy. Who I admire more is the referee that did his job. With respect to the other board members, I think we need to be cognizant of overturning a decision by the Parks Staff that understand what went on in this situation specifically. Mike Pike – Thank you to the staff and your hard work. I commend the Board as well. I love my time up here. Jeremiah Bennett – None. Jill Rathert – None. Jimmy Head – None. Bubba Perry – None. Lee Peterson – Thank you Board for that disciplinary action for that young man. I know not every decision is easy, but I appreciate you working with him but still holding him accountable for his actions. I appreciate that. I want to encourage people to follow the Parks and Recreation Facebook page and thank the staff for updating the website. I have never had one complaint about the Parks and only compliments. 5 Parks Board Minutes APPROVED 4/24/23 Motion to adjourn by Jill Rathert, 2nd by Jimmy Head. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________ ________________________________ Ken Hesson, Chairman Kristen Emerson, Administrative Assistant II 6