Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

The Parks Advisory Board met in regular session on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Annex. MINUTES Board Members Present Kathy Boswell Kim Houston James Hailey Board Member Absent Amber Kunes Mandy Edwards City Staff Present Andy Tarkington, Parks and Recreation Superintendent Terrie Ortiz, Parks and Recreation Clerk Guest Present David Rushing of Whirlix AGENDA ITEM 1.0 Call to Order Kathy Boswell called the meeting to order. The meeting began at 6:10 pm. AGENDA ITEM 2.0 Approval of Minutes Kathy Boswell called for motion to approve the February minutes. Kim Houston made a motion. James Hailey seconded his motion. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote. AGENDA ITEM 3.0 Hear Presentation by David Rushing of WhirlixAbout Park Playground Replacement Recommendations Andy introduced to the board members, David Rushing of Whirlix. David told the board about his background and how he started working for Whirlix. David went on to tell the board that between himself, the owner, and several other construction workers they have over 80 years’ experience in the company. David told the board that the company was made up of construction workers and got into doing fun work, which was building playgrounds. David told the board that Whirlix is a sales first company for a complete playground project. He told the board the 1 company would go over what would be done for Southeast Park. David told the board that this would mean that they were going to go over everything from site work, to hardscape, to aquatics, to all the instillation process, to concrete curbs, to the playground equipment install. David informed the board that everything they do is done in-house or they have certified companies that go through a certification process with Landscape Structures so they would be able to do work with Whirlix. David told the board that Whirlix is the founding member of I.P.E.M.A. David told the board thatWhirlix has design leadership in playground structures. Whirlix does designs differently than landscape structures. The company is very design oriented in playground designs. David explained to the board that they will not see standard deck, plank, slides there is a real design concept and artistic values that Whirlix puts into their playgrounds. David told the board that Whirlix is a pioneer company in inclusive play, they have actually put an inclusive play prject design together for West City Park, which he and Andy have been talking about. David let the board know that at some point and time he will present that to the board. David told the board that Whirlix has the best warranties in the business and will stand by their product. David gave an example of the warranty they stand by. He went on to tell the board that Whirlix did a project for Colleyville, TX. 16 years ago. David explained that Whilrix’s poly and plastic warranty is good for 15 years. The City of Colleyville got in touch with Whirlix and told them that a tube on their equipment had broken. Most companies will tell you that either “they do not make that product anymore or you are out of your warranty and you will have to pay for it.” Whirlix replaced the tube within a week and did not charge the city for it. David went on to tell the board that this playground equipment was built 20 years ago and Whirlix rebuilt the part that was broken and replaced it within a two week time period. Andy added to what David was talking about by mentioning the cracked slide at Souheast Park. He called the company that put it in and they told him they did not make that part anymore. David also told the board that it does not matter if the playground equipment was built in 1990 or this year Whirlix will replace a broken part of the equipment. Andy informed the board that the reason he likes Whirlix is because they are a one stop shop. Andy told the board that most playground companies will build you a playground, and that is it. Whirlix will try to use what you have, they will design steps and how to get to the park. If it is broken they will fix it. If it needs to be replaced they will replace it. A David reminded the board that Whirlix stands behind their product. David went on to tell the board that Whirlix’s powder coating is different. Whirlix does three step coating process. Whirlix uses an epoxy primer then a powder coat primer and then they add color on top of that. David asked the board, “what does that really mean”? He went on to explain that over time it will last must longer. David told the board that their post and metal decks, metal components have a 100 year warranty. David gave an example of the difference in the playground equipment. Southeast Park’s playground equipment was put in in 1992. Whirlix put playground equipment in at Breckenridge, TX. in 1992, that playground equipment still looks really good today. Whirlix has had to replace pieces that have gotten broken, but the structure is still functional and kids are able to play on it. Southeast Park’s playground equipment is broken and the company that put it in said they do not make the parts for that design anymore. David told the board that if they put playground equipment in a the parks, that if anything goes wrong with it in the first three years, Whirlix will take care of it. He went on to explain that the reason they do the warranties is because their reputation depends on it. Whirlix has worked hard to build 2 a reputation on a quality product, high intense design on what Whirlix does and being able to provide a turnkey process that encapsulate everything on the project. David explained to the board that Whirlix designs for all abilities and all ages. David told the board that Whirlix tied some inclusive features into Southeast Park, but David explained that Southeast Park is a unique park but it does not have adequate parking for an all-inclusive park. David told the board that we would need a big footprint for an all-inclusive park. He explained to the board that once you have the word out all of the little towns around the area will come to the park. David told the board that all products are made in the United States. Whirlixmakes all their product in-house. David went on to tell the board that the post, and clamps that go on their product has a 100 year warranty. He told the board that Whirlix is the only company will not come in a pull everything out of the ground if the equipment needs to be spruced up some. They will retro fit to the existing equipment; redesign from the post that stay in the ground. This keeps the longevity of the post and warranty. David told the board about Whirlix’s tender tough coating. David explained to the board that the coating they use will help reduce a child or person from getting the shock. He explained that when you slide down a slide (poly) go over and grab a metal pole it will shock you. He told the board that if it happens to a younger child, ages 2-6 years old, they get discourage and will not play on the equipment. He told the board that Whirlix dips all their poles, where there is any place a child may touch with their hand in a poly coating. David told the board that taking down any place,especially on an all-inclusive playground, that will hold static electricity is key to playground equipment. He explained that now a day’s people have defibrillators, insulin pumps, or cochlear ear implants that a small electric shock will throw these devices out of rhythm. David told the board that they have had horror stories where a child’s cochlear implant shorts out and the device does not work anymore, until the parent can get it fixed. David told the board that they want Whirlix’s equipment to be as safe from the first time it is used to the ten thousandth time it is used.Whirlix does everything with multiple stacking clamps. This allows the equipment to move some without causing it to break. Whirlix is the founding member of I.P.E.M.A., the International Playground Equipment Manufactory Association. David told the board that they will recycle playground equipment that is no longer usable. David told the board that Whirlix is looking to have their playground equipment last generations not something you pull out of the ground every 10 to 12 years. David explained to board that Whirlix has a 15 year warranty on all their plastic and steel components, 10, 8 and 5 year warranty on most of their other products and three year warranty on everything else. Whirlix has replacement parts for everything. David told the board that Whirlix has a parts division that does nothing but take care of replacement parts for playgrounds. David showed the board a design for Southeast Park. David told the board that Whirlix will have some better renders for Southeast Park. He explained to the board that the key components that we need to look at are the old wooden pavilion, the basketball court it is cracked and heaving in places. There is old site furnishing, the playground equipment is unsafe. Whirlix came in and decided to renovate the entire park. He and Andy discussed in detail about what the parks board is wanting at this park. They also discussed the all-inclusive part of the park. David 3 explained that it is really hard to do an inclusive park on one this size. So Whirlix tried to look at how to tie some inclusive nature into this park. Looking at something that is not only going to spruce up the park but revitalize that part of the neighborhood. The scope of this project is playground, shade, splash pad, resurface the basketball court, new soccer goals, new pavilion, new site furnishings, and basically all the play area and sidewalks within the fence would go away and redoing everything. There is a plaque out there and Whirlix will put in in a new set so it does not go away. David told the board that to save the city money they would put tables and benches on existing concrete pads that were at the park already. A splash pad would go where there are existing water lines because it is a recirculating system. The splash pad is 50ft. circle, you do not want it to be too big because it would draw to many people to it. The biggest issue around this park is the parking. If too many people are out there, people would start parking in front of homes and upsetting the neighborhood. David told the board about some inclusive nature features. He showed them a swing that is called a Wegoswing. It is a multifunctioning swing. This swing actually allows kids in wheelchairs to get in with their friends. Lots of kids can be on this swing, the most David has seen on this swing with a wheelchair is 12 children. David told the board that Whirlix hates putting an inclusive swing in the park, because it separates the child from his friends. They do not want to make any child feel excluded. David told the board that Whirlix wants handicap children to be able to have a piece of playground equipment that they can maneuver own their own. Whirlix puts in sensory screens for all children, this will help kids develop their social skills. David talked to the board about the billows structure, the concept of this structure is playing in the clouds. There are a lot of climbing and rope features five to 12 playground features in all. It has a small footprint but a lot of play climbing packed into this structure. David told the board that there are only two billows play structures in the country right now. If we wereto put one here quickly it would be the first billows play equipment in the state of Texas. David talked to the board about the surface for the parks. He explained to the board that the pea gravel that is in the parks now is not up to compliance. He told the board that the surface to the parks that they design has rubber and fiber in it. Just at the Wegoswing it has 650 sq. ft. of rubber and the rest is engineered with fiber. David talked about the HIC rating (hit impact continuum rating), this rating is based on if a child falls off of a play structure how hard is his brain going to bounce in his head when he hits the ground. Whirlix puts in the rubber and fiber, they put in 15 inches which compacts into 5 inches, and this has about a 700 H.I.C. rating, that is within compliance. In other areas it is about 750 H.I.C. rating depending on the height of the structures. Whirlix puts the rubber and fiber on the surfaces, not by a child climbing capability but how high a child may climb. David told the board that if a structure is eight feet high the rubber around that structure is four inches thick. David went on to tell the board about Whirlix’s splash pads. Whirlix’s splash pads use more water that other splash pads. David told the board they were about the kids interacting with each other and the equipment. He told the board that the water in the splash pad will run about 3-4 minutes and shut off. A child will have to activate the splash pad. Kathy asked David to explain the water filtration system. David talked about the how the water for the splash pad recirculates. He told them about a sere out system, this is so rain water does not get into the tanks. Whirlix 4 does a 3000 gallon tank that is enclosed in concrete. Whirlix has all the mechanical system done in house and it comes completely put together so that they just have to install it in the ground enclosure. David told the board that it was perforated metal structure that can be locked up. It operates basically like a pool with a lot of chemicals. It is a clear and open space so you do not run into a ventilation problem. Whirlix provides engineers for this tank, everything comes premanufactured and on a skid and they set the skid. Kathy asked what type of chemicals does this system use? David explained that it uses a chlorine system, basically like a pool. Kathy also asked if the system had a backwash like a pool. David told the board that it does, it recycles the water. David went on to tell the board that the tank is like a filter so the water is running through a filtration system. David told the board that they could set up training for this system. David told the board that Whirlix uses concrete verses fiberglass. Kathy asked what the life capacity is for concrete. David told her about 30 years, he went on to say if the system is maintained properly the life expectancy will last longer. David told the board that aquatics is new for the Whirlix company but if you see one of their playground structures most have been in the ground and usually last 30-35 years. David told the board that they will look at what type of pavilion the board would like, the size, color and type of roof, metal or wood a bit later. He went on to talk about the basketball court, Whirlix went with blue instead of black and looking to put the Mineral Wells logo in the middle of the court. Kathy asked about restrooms and lighting for Southeast Park. David told the board that they did not add restrooms but they can look into it. James Hailey asked about the sitting areas for people that are not playing or are just there with their friends hanging out. If there was a place for others that were not on the basketball court or the play area. David told the board that there is room to add a sitting area. David also told the board that there is a company that can come in a place restrooms in the park. Andy told David that the restroom at West City Park was done that way. They got the plumbing connected and ready for a restroom and this company brought it in and set it. James asked about the fence that was around the park, David told him it would stay they were not removing it. James also asked about the sidewalks at the park, David explained that the sidewalks would be there and Whirlix would add to them. Kathy asked about the lighting at the park.She explained that she did not know what type of light was out there but it is very dark. David told the board that it may be more cost efficient to get Public Utilities to take care of that. He told the board that there are a number of ways to light the park. Lighting has come a long way with LEDs. Kathy was looking at the Whirlix design and told David that she did not think there was enough lighting in the middle of the park. David explained to the board that the more lighting you have the more people want to hand out and this is a residential area also. The board discussed lights that would turn off at a certain time. David told the board that the billows playground design was a personal favorite of his and it would be a great edition for Southeast Park. Kathy asked what the age range was for this park. David explained 2-12 years. David told the board that part of the structure was for ages 2-5 and then there is parts that are for 5-12 years. He also told the board that this structure was about $49,000 and it has lots of play for the kids. James asked David if the splash pad was A.D.A. compliant. David told the board that it was zero level entry all the around. He went on to show the board where everything at park was A.D.A. accessible. 5 Kathy asked James if they had already got the topography survey for this park. She told Andy the City paid Sanford Lahue $7,500.00 for the survey. James confirmed what Kathy was asking. Kathy and the board talked about the design and how it was under a million dollars. Andy told the board that adding the bright colors plus the effort that Whirlix has put into making this design, he feels comfortable with this company. AGENDA ITEM 4.0 Hear the Presentation of the Parks, Recreation and Fossil Park Report Andy read the Parks, Recreation and Fossil Park report while David Rushing got prepared for his presentation. Andy told the board that our youth volleyball were about to start their tournaments. Andy informed the board that we would be sending the 1st place team of each age group to the T.A.A.F. state tournaments. Andy also told the board that we were waiting to hear if there will be a state tournament. T.A.A.F. had cancelled the regional tournament due to COVID-19. Andy told the board that Denton informed T.A.A.F. that the University of North Texas will no longer allow them to use their courts. T.A.A.F. is trying to see if the Texas Women’s University will allow them to use their facility. Andy told the board that all volleyball teams around the region would be going from 24 at the U.N.T. courts to 8 courts at T.W.U. Andy informed the board that if state volleyball does take place it would be in June. Andy told the board about the new Recreational Coordinator, Lee Morehead, starting on May 17, 2021. Andy told the board that thanks to Brenda Lee, we were able to hire Lee for the position. Brenda Lee stepped up and offered to be the interim Recreation Coordinator until Lee gets here. Andy told the board that the Easter egg hunt was cancelled. He let the board know that we did not have one inquiry about the egg hunt, but when it got cancelled he got complaints. Kathy asked if anyone had registered for it. Andy informed her that people did not have to register for the egg hunt. Andy informed the board that Brenda was getting the lifeguard class dates organized. The class will start April 24 and end May 2. Friday, April 23rd was thdate scheduled for the pre-course test and orientation. The re-certification class date is still undetermined. The water safety class instructor class was scheduled be May 8th, 15th, 16th, and 22nd, but are now likely to be at a later date. All of these classes will cost $75.00 and the re-certification class will cost $50.00. Andy talked to the board about the vandalism at West City Park. Someone had ran over the steel poles that were placed at the park to prevent people from driving onto the park grass. He told the board about all the leaks that happened in the park, swimming pool and the Little League concession stand. Andy finished reading the report of the park crew and the Fossil Park. Kathy told Andy that the steps that were added to the Little League fields looked great and wondered when they would be able to add more to the other areas that needed them added. Andy told the board that it would have to be a winter project. The park crew would do their best to get them more steps. James asked Andy if the new sidewalk improvements that were going on downtown were going to be Parks and Recreation Department’s responsibility. He wanted to know if he would be able 6 to add any more people to work if that was the case. Andy told James that his plan was to see if he could get an additional employee to work seasonally. AGENDA ITEM 5.0 Hear Parks and Recreation Board Ideas for Future Agenda Items AGENDA ITEM 6.0 The board asked Andy about adding the Parks and Open Space plan so they can get projects done to the parks. Andy explained that he had it on a City Council agenda and Covid-19 hit, it got removed. Andy told the board that the City Council members did see the minutes from the December 2020 meeting about them requesting to add the Parks and Open Space plan to the upcoming budget. The board asked if they could talk to the City Council as a board. Andy told them he would see about getting them put in the next City council meeting agenda. Andy explained to the board what a Parks and Open Space plan is. He told the board that it is a plan that evaluated your parks system and a plan for the future. Andy or anyone from the city cannot do the assessment of the park, it works better to have it done by a firm. The cost of the plan could be as much as $35,000. Adjournment The board did not have a quorum to end meeting. Therefore, Kathy ended the meeting at 7:57 p.m. 7