Parks and Recreation Commission

MURFREESBORO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019 12:00 NOON MPRC Members Present: Mr. Eddie Miller, Vice Chair Dr. Gloria Bonner, Dr. Linda Gilbert, Mr. Rick LaLance, Mr. Eddie Smotherman, Mr. Ricky Turner, and Mr. Don Turner (ex officio) MPRC Members Absent: Dr. Charlie Apigian, Mr. D. Edwin Jernigan, Jr., and Mr. Tim Roediger MPRD Staff Present: Mr. Nate Williams, Director Ms. Susan Hicks, Ms. Mitzi Hughes, Mr. Thomas Laird, and Mr. Mark Owens Others Present: Ms. Angela Jackson, Exec. Director of Community Services Ms. Kelley Baker, Assistant City Attorney After the meeting was called to order, Dr. Gloria Bonner led the commission in a prayer and in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Miller then presented for approval the minutes of the May 1, 2019, MPRC meeting. Mr. Smotherman made a motion to approve the minutes as read. Dr. Bonner seconded. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Mark Owens, St. Clair Street Senior Center Superintendent, announced that the seniors are enjoying the facility’s changes. He then proposed changes for room rental spaces at the center and explained that staff was basing the new rates on the actual square footage of each rental space and the rates of other similar-type senior facilities in Middle Tennessee. Mr. Owens mentioned that staff would like to provide set-up and breakdown for the customers as included services with each rental. Originally, there were only four rental spaces in the building, and now nine are proposed. He informed the commission that there is no fee for seniors to just go into the Center and visit. All are welcome. There are many free programs and classes in addition to the ones with fees. Mr. Owens added that an increase in rental fees will help staff provide more free programming. Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the new rentals and fees, and Dr. Bonner seconded. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Williams commended Mr. Owens on his work and the staff’s work at the Senior Center. Ms. Susan Hicks, Cultural Arts Coordinator, requested approval for two new Perform Murfreesboro programs and their fees. The General Music program has been developed for homeschooled students ages 7-11, with a proposed fee of $50. The Washington Theatre Company is the other new program, which is educational and performance-based for seasoned performers ages 12-17. The participants, chosen through auditions, will be prepared for performances at City events, and they’ll help with community outreach throughout the Perform Murfreesboro year. Mr. Miller asked what type of community outreach they would do. Ms. Hicks said that they would perform at various community events like the Art Crawl and the Barfield Bash. Additionally, the group plans to offer acting classes to the Patterson kids. The fee requested for the Washington Theatre Company is $25.00. Dr. Bonner made a motion to approve the two new programs and their fees. Mr. Ricky Turner seconded, and motion passed by unanimous vote. Ms. Hicks next asked for approval of fee increases for three current Perform Murfreesboro Programs, with the required annual $25 Perform Murfreesboro fee being paid as well: Homeschool Show Choir ($25 to $50); Homeschool Theatre ($150 to $200); and Ensemble Choir ($25 to $50). The increased fees will help pay for costuming, t-shirts, and supplies. Last year’s estimation was not enough to cover costs of the programs. Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the fee increases as requested. Dr. Bonner seconded. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Another item from Ms. Hicks was a request to change the price of Perform Murfreesboro tickets purchased after the presale of tickets from $5.00 to $10.00. Ms. Hicks explained that raising the fees will make ticket prices more comparable to other area community theatre ticket fees. Presale tickets will remain $5.00. Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the $10.00 ticket price for tickets sold after the presale. Mr. Turner seconded. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Dr. Bonner asked if there were vouchers for those who cannot pay to see the productions. Ms. Hicks stated that staff always has 10 to 15 tickets to use as complimentary tickets, however they are needed. Ms. Hicks further explained that staff would like to add 10% to the rental fee for groups using the Washington Theatre for ticketed events. She mentioned that some groups use the Washington Theatre because it’s one of the cheapest theatres in the area. The groups then charge high ticket prices for their events. Ms. Hicks said that one group paid $704 to rent the theatre and made $19,500 from ticket sales by charging $65 per ticket. Staff would like more of the profit from such rentals. Ms. Hicks added that if there had been an extra 10% in the rental fee, Patterson could have made $1,950 more from that rental. Mr. LaLance asked if the theatre was in high demand for rentals like that. Ms. Hicks said that such rentals have been increasing, with two comedy shows targeted for the community being already booked for 2020. She indicated that the group which earned $19,500 from ticket sales held a conference for a targeted group of people (not the community). They were not trying to provide a program to the local community. Ms. Hicks additionally mentioned that the 10% increase will not be assessed for such rentals as dance recitals. The last item presented by Ms. Hicks was to change the theatre rental packages from three to two. Currently, the Taymor, Carroll, and Hansberry theatre rental packages are offered. Staff believes the two proposed rental packages will be more user-friendly and more understandable than the three packages offered now. The Carroll Package will be dropped, but some of its features have been added to the Taymor Package, which will have a daily price increase of $50. The Hansberry Package will still be offered as before, with no price increase for daily rentals. The 501c3 prices are also included in the daily and weekly packages. The proposed weekly fees will increase $500 for the Taymor Package and decrease $1,000 for the Hansberry Package. Mr. Miller asked if the weekly rentals were for seven days, and Ms. Hicks said they were, but for 5 hours each day (being standard mini-theatre days). She explained that a regular theatre day is 10 hours. 2 Mr. LaLance made a motion to approve the requested 10% rental fee increase to public ticketed events at the Washington Theatre and the revised theatre rental packages and fees as presented. Dr. Bonner seconded. Motion passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Williams informed the commission that an in-depth Parks and Recreation budget review for the past fiscal year, an agreement for the Select Soccer group’s use of the newly renovated soccer park, and the final master plan for Parks and Recreation will be presented to them soon. Mr. Williams also gave several project updates. The Mountain Bike Trails at Barfield Crescent Park, the first in Murfreesboro, are finished, open and well-received; Phase 4 of the Stones River Greenway Extension is expected to be finished in early fall; the McKnight Park Maintenance Shop vertical construction will start soon, and upon its completion, the shop will help serve MPRD’s properties on the north side of town; and Phase 1 of the Richard Siegel Park (RSP) enhancements, as a result of the partnership with the Tennessee State Soccer Association (TSSA), will soon include turf installation for 9 soccer fields, an indoor, full-sized soccer field, and the lighting of the Jordan Farm fields. Mr. LaLance asked if staff had considered the lighter colored pellets for the turf, since the black pellets, which are at the park now, can get extremely hot. Mr. Williams explained that he, Mr. Laird, and several other staff members have visited numerous field sites to see their turf first- hand and have researched the best types of turf that could work at Richard Siegel Park (RSP), based on local temperatures. Mr. Williams said he’d be happy to discuss with Mr. LaLance (after today’s meeting) the type of turf that staff plans to select for the RSP. Mr. LaLance said that the big tournaments, like the President’s Cup which is here now, bring a lot of visitors to town. He said he’d seen players/fans from Nevada, Southern California, South Dakota and from other out-of-town places in the local restaurants and shops, and he knows many of them are staying at the hotels/motels while here. Mr. Williams added that since there have been plans for renovation of the Siegel Park soccer facility, even more groups are contacting MPRD to try to book their tournaments. He further said that Murfreesboro is going to have a very busy weekend with the big soccer tournament and Uncle Dave Macon Days being held. Dr. Bonner said that she appreciates that MPRD makes safety a priority for the many events held at its facilities and on the greenway. Mr. Williams said that the partnership MPRD has with the Murfreesboro Police Department (MPD) is crucial in keeping facilities/events safe. He said MPD helps with numerous events, including the Fourth of July. Mr. Smotherman said that in addition to the events mentioned by Mr. Williams, the Chinese Delegation will be at MTSU this week, and he asked that residents please try to be kind and courteous to all the visitors in the community. Mr. Don Turner thanked the commission for such a warm welcome. He said that he certainly can’t fill the shoes of Mr. Bill Allen, but he can try to follow in his footsteps. He added that the three City golf courses are in great shape and hoped that the commission members and others could visit them at some point. Mr. Turner also mentioned that the Brandt Snedeker “Sneds Tour” (a Premier Junior Golf Tour), which goes all around Middle Tennessee, is at Old Fort Golf Course today, with 80 teens playing. Mr. Miller said that the MPRC was excited to have Mr. Turner and to hear about the golf courses. 3 Mr. Thomas Laird announced that the President’s Cup soccer tournament (going on this week) out at Richard Siegel Park starts at 7:00 a.m. and goes until about 12:30 p.m. each day and has open admission. The tournament started today and will run through Sunday. Mr. Laird added that there are around 2,000 visitors in town for the tournament, which will have an economic impact of around one-million dollars locally. Mr. Laird shared that the Barfield Splash Out is being held today from 1:30-3:00 p.m. between Barfield Pavilions 5, 6, and 7, with water being sprayed by the Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department. The next Splash Out will be on July 25th at Old Fort Park. The one-mile Island Fun Run is scheduled for all ages on July 17th from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the Gateway Island to help celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month. There will be music and prizes at the event. Mr. Laird reminded the commission and public that Uncle Dave Macon Days is coming up Friday and Saturday of this week, July 12-13. He invited all to go hear the old-time banjo music and see some buck-dancing. Also, the 3rd Friday Night Concert has been rescheduled to the 4th Friday this month, July 29th, at Cannonsburgh due to various other scheduled events. It will be held from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The Greenway Art Festival, a juried event, is scheduled for September 21st from 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. He encouraged those interested in getting their art into the festival to turn in their submissions soon. Mr. Laird announced that Youth Football registration was going on now, with practices to begin in August. Flag football will be for the 5-6 and 7-8 age groups, while tackle football will be for the 9-10 and 11-13 age groups. The Cheer program is also taking signups. All signups may be done online for the football and cheerleading programs. Movies Under the Stars will run through July 27th, starting at 8:30 p.m. on designated nights, with a different movie being shown each week. Mr. Laird said that Boro Beach had a record attendance on opening weekend. He mentioned that gate lines for Boro Beach and the concessions are being streamlined and are moving quickly this summer. He added that the aquatics staff is helping in that regard. Mr. Laird also announced that the current open swim hours for Boro Beach are: 10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1:00-6:00 p.m. on Sundays, with modified open swim hours to start on August 4th. Mr. Laird said that information on his updates from today can be found in MPRD’s Rec Connection, on Facebook, and on the City’s website under Parks and Recreation. Mr. Laird also announced that the Miracle League would be having its fall league soon and invited everyone to go watch a game or two. He said the games are wonderful to see. Dr. Bonner commended McFadden Community Center staff for the programming available for the center’s kids this summer. She was there this week and noticed that the children were really enjoying the opportunities through the community center. Mr. Laird said that Ms. Priscilla Murray and Mr. Steve Bingham have done a great job with the summer program and are making a positive difference in the kids’ lives. He added that Ms. Murray and Mr. Bingham started planning activities in March and April. 4 Meeting adjourned: 12:42 p.m. Approved: _________________________________ ________________________________ D. Edwin Jernigan, Jr., MPRC Chair Nate Williams, MPRD Director 5