Health, Recreation & Events Committee

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA RECREATION COMMITTEE Monday, June 5, 2017 Municipal Complex, Building A, Public Meeting Room 1 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Members Present: Elton Carrier, Chair; Paul Gawrych, Will Haynie Staff Present: Eric DeMoura, Steve Gergick Mr. Carrier called the meeting to order at 9:55 a.m. Mr. Carrier thanked Mr. Gergick, Mr. Gary Santos and Mr. Jim Owens for being at the T-ball Jamboree on Friday night. He said there were approximately 1000 children participating. He also thanked Mr. Jody Peele, Public Services and his Department, Ms. Nicole Harvey, and the Police Department for helping with the Sweetgrass Festival on Saturday. 1. Approval of Minutes from the May 1, 2017 meeting Mr. Gawrych made a motion to approve the May 1, 2017 minutes. Mr. Haynie seconded the motion. All were in favor. 2. Public Comments Mr. Kevin Cunnane, 3032 River Vista Way, Mount Pleasant, was recognized. He said he has seen press releases about a new park at Town Hall. He said this concerned him as there are portable restroom trailers at Carolina Park and it was an embarrassment for such a nice Town to have this. He said other soccer fields around the state have better facilities than Mount Pleasant. He asked for them to think about this as the Town moves forward.  Recreation Committee June 5, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Mr. Carrier said had not heard any negative comments on the use of our fields. He said it does take time and money. He said they are putting a new restroom facility at Carolina Park soon. 3. Request for acceptance of Recreation Master Plan Mr. DeMoura said they shared the results of the Recreation Master Plan some time back. He said Dr. Brookover from Clemson University provided the report at the January Town Council Retreat. He said what typically happens when Town Council receives any master plan or task force recommendation, they accept the report. He said it is a formal type of recognition. He said the Recreation Department is getting accredited and having a Master Plan that has been accepted by the elected body is a critical component of the accreditation. Mr. DeMoura said they cannot proceed without it. He said in reviewing the minutes, that never took place. He said they are asking for the consideration of accepting the Recreation Master Plan as a recommendation of Committee and by Council. Mr. Gergick said it was a required standard to have a Master Plan that is accepted or adopted by the governing body and they are requesting acceptance. Mr. Haynie said there were some large goals in the plan and asked if they would they be scrutinized on the planning of the funding of those. He also asked if this was a conceptual plan. Mr. DeMoura answered in the affirmative and said the acceptance of it does not mean it is approving the Master Plan and does not commit Town Council to anything. He said the Master Plan recommends certain projects but they consider them all along with other capital projects. He said there is no commitment to it but it recognizes the Master Plan has been conducted and provides some guidance with making decisions for the Town of Mount Pleasant. Mr. Gawrych made a motion to recommend approval of accepting the Master Plan to Council. Mr. Haynie seconded the motion. All were in favor.  Recreation Committee June 5, 2017 Page 3 of 5 4. Review of Recreation Department plan to utilize additional field space Mr. Gergick shared a MPRD Field Usage Plan. He said part of the Master Plan conducted by Clemson University identified several facility priorities. He said one item was multiuse rectangular fields along with trails, greenways and passive areas. He said one of the recommendations of the Master Plan was to carefully consider exclusive lease agreements with private clubs. He said they have done that with the Jammers Basketball group, and with United Soccer Academy Mount Pleasant (USAMP). He said the Master Plan’s recommendation was if the Town continues to enter exclusive use agreements with private clubs they should consider developing an additional four to six fields. He said without an exclusive agreement, the Town would be gaining primary use of those fields. He said after some deliberation at the February Town Council Meeting, the decision was made to terminate the agreement with USAMP at the end of July 2018. He said as the Master Plan recommended the Department would get back use of five fields currently being used by USAMP. Mr. Gergick said Mount Pleasant Recreation Department (MPRD) wanted to present a plan to explain ways they envision using the facilities in the future. He said the use plan is consistent with the findings and recommendations of the Master Plan and is designed to utilize the five additional fields to improve the services offered to the community. He shared the challenges which mostly came from Survey Monkey obtained at the end of the season. He said that the current challenges include: no options for four-year old’s in Fundaments Sports; limited ability to provide progression of field sizes for youth sports; games/practices go late into the evening; maintenance issues from overuse; available field space on both ends of Town for the 1500 volunteer coaches; and limited ability to accommodate rental requests. He said the first objective was new offerings for four-year old’s in soccer and t-ball; the second objective was to provide a progression in field sizes and players on the field in Fundamental Soccer. He said Fundamental soccer currently plays on the same size field for all age groups. The new format will have 15X20 foot fields for four-year old’s, 20X30 foot fields for five-year old’s and 25X40  Recreation Committee June 5, 2017 Page 4 of 5 foot fields for six and seven-year old’s; the third objective was to finish games and practices earlier during the week. The additional fields will allow games to start earlier without the need to wait for others to finish; the fourth objective was to improve the Town’s ability to maintain athletic fields; the fifth objective was to provide more options for scheduling practices on both ends of Town. Mr. Gergick said there would be two additional fields at the Cheryll Woods-Flowers Complex and three additional fields at Carolina Park; and the sixth objective was to accommodate groups requesting to rent fields. He said rentals would only be accommodated after MPRD needs are met. Mr. Carrier said five additional fields will help. He asked if it would be implemented immediately. Mr. Gergick answered in the negative and said it would be in August 2018 as the current agreement is through July 30, 2018. He said it was for information and was the Department’s intent. 5. Program/projects update Mr. Gergick said they have changed the participation portion for athletics to compare four consecutive years. He said youth and adult sports numbers had decreased a little. He said tennis membership was not an actual decrease as they changed the fee schedule for seasonal and annual memberships. He said Tennis was doing fantastic. He said swim lessons were down because of the pool being closed. He said there was a delay in the shipment of the unit but they should be able to turn the system on this week and go through a checklist. Mr. Gergick said they had a T-ball Jamboree on Friday along with a Summer Splash Bash at Park West. He said that summer camps started today with 16 camps offered with approximately 400 children. He said they have travel camps, robotics camps, dance, paint classes, soccer and basketball camps for the summer. He said on Tuesday’s there is the Farmer’s Market and Party in the Park. He said the Junior Olympic State Track Meeting will be at Park West the upcoming weekend with 1500 athletes planning to compete. He said that the Mount Pleasant Junior Golf Open will be June  Recreation Committee June 5, 2017 Page 5 of 5 13 at Patriot’s Point. He said that the Blessing of the Fleet was a great event. Mr. Gawrych asked about an update on the restrooms at Carolina Park, Hamlin Park that is shared with Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission (CCPRC), and if the double gym was still planned. Mr. Gergick said at Carolina Park there will be a restroom and concession stand facility and a Great Lawn. He said the project is working on a shared water line with Oceanside Academy. He said construction should be starting in October and is scheduled to be completed in March 2018. Mr. Gergick said there currently is no funding for the Hamlin project. He said they have the Conceptual Master Plan for the project with ball fields, a two-court gym, program rooms, amphitheater, and a disc golf course. He said the other side of the property would be developed by CCPRC. Mr. DeMoura said they will put the gym out for bid in August. He said it was on schedule as once the new Town Hall is open, the other buildings will be razed and said this was a funded project. He said it was probably time to share the conceptual plans with the Committee again. He said the new gym will accommodate volleyball play and have restrooms that go out to the Town Hall field. He said there will be a new track surface, directional lighting, and a press box. Mr. Carrier recognized Mr. Ayoub at his last Committee Meeting before retiring. 6. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:19 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Karen Bedenbaugh, 6/5/17