Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

MINUTES PARKS & TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE July 21, 2022 5:00 P.M 111 Opera Street, Suite A 1) Roll Call of Committee Members Committee Members present: Samantha Christian, Rick Dwyer, Dudley Webb, Bob Reddish, Ann Kendrick, and Larry Williams. Excused: Julie Nix. P&T staff present: Anthony Whittington, Kathleen Fason 2) Approval of the Agenda Dudley made a motion to approve the July 21, 2022 agenda. Rick seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 3) Approval of the Minutes Bob made a motion to approve the May 19, 2022 minutes. Dudley seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 4) Introduction of Guests 5) New Business A) Velocity Park Update: Anthony gave an update on Velocity Park and where we are with all three phases. We held a kickoff meeting today with the VeloSolutions Rep. Richard Harvey and are planning to get started on Phase 1 sometime between August 15-26. The restroom funding through CDBG has been approved and will be installed after funding is released later this year or early next year. An Outdoor Recreation Grant application is being submitted for Phase 2 this year. Deadline is August 27. All committee members signed a letter to be included in the packet that states their support for the additional phase to be completed, with the exception of Julie Nix who was absent and will sign at a later date. Phase 3 Design is currently being completed. B) Southern Trail, Phase 1 Construction Progress: Cate, Inc. has been awarded the contract. We are planning on an August 4th groundbreaking. The biggest part of this section is the two 70 ft. bridges included in this portion of the trail that will end at T.V. Hill Road. Cate anticipates a 12 to 14-week turnaround on the bridges. C) Discuss Water Feature for Jean W. Wallace Wetlands Trailhead: Anthony asked for assistance in alerting contractors and local artists on the RFP going out soon. City Manager Bill Burrough would like to have bids received in time to budget for the project in 2023. Suggestions of a water feature that is also a large sculpture representing a wetlands theme were entertained. D) Greenwood Pickleball Park: Anthony showed the committee the potential plans for a possible Pickleball Park at the corner of Greenwood Avenue and Richard Street. The plans show 12 pickleball courts, a playground, a large grassy area, two parking areas and a restroom. Funding for a future pickleball court have not yet been secured. E) Artificial Turf at Linden Park Soccer Field: Anthony stated that artificial turf on the soccer fields at Linden Park has long been considered and researched. If funding were to materialize for this project, he said he could be done. P&T are also interested in adding LED lights and a scoreboard in the future. 6) Parks & Trails Director Reports, Announcements, & Items for Discussion  David F. Watkins Memorial Park will be getting a shade kite added to the amphitheater.  Interviews will be held on Tuesday, July 26 for the open Parks Secretary position.  Anthony said he has received two application for the Trail Coordinator position so far. 7) Parks & Trails Advisory Committee Reports, Announcements, & Items for Discussion  Dudley said that P&T employees had done a great job so far with planning and developing Velocity Park. He also stated that he is very impressed with how great the city medians, parks, and trails all have been so well maintained in spite of the extreme heat that we’ve been suffering in Hot Springs.  Bob stated that he really likes the direction that the city is going in with respect to parks, trails, and green space.  Samantha agreed that this is an exciting time in Hot Springs and she feels P&T employees are doing very well. 8) Adjournment: The Parks and Trails Advisory Committee will hold their next regular meeting on Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ APPROVAL: ____________________________ Anthony Whittington, Director Samantha Christian, Vice-Chairperson Parks & Trails Department Parks & Trails Advisory Committee