Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (Formerly Parks, Rec and Senior Services)

City of Royal Oak Recreation Department 1600 North Campbell Road Royal Oak, MI 48067 248-246-.3180 Minutes Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Advisory Board Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 7:00p.m. Zoom Royal Oak, MI 48067 Meeting called to Order 7:01 PM Members Present: Sarah Kindinger, Commissioner Melanie Macey, Mike Ripinski, Crystal Chow, Maya Harris, Susan Anderson, Joseph Vukich, Kari Woloszyk Also, Present: John Fedele, Superintendent of Recreation, Members Absent: Ryan Ross, Aaron Filipski Director Public Works and Recreation I. Approval of Minutes: Motion Mike Ripinski, second by Commissioner Macey. Unanimously approved II. City Commission Comments: Filled vacant commissioner seat with Monica Hunt. Strategic planning is set for January 30th it is an open meeting, please reach out if there are any suggestions. Tree replacement program, there are rules in place regarding fees/amount per tree and we will create a better plan. Person from Facebook is interesting in organizing an outreach program for seniors. Try to get subcommittees going. Need to appoint a member to the Downtown Park Task Force at next meeting. III. Public Comment: Pat McGee – Lives next to Normandy Oaks Park, hopefully the park will be open. Calling in regard to Elks Park, deteriorating because of construction staging from Normandy Oaks. Had an issue with a broken park bench at Elks Park and DPS. Thinks the upcoming traffic committee meeting with improvements to Nakota and Delemere should have representatives from Normandy Oaks Park at the meeting. Janice Wagman – welcomes new members, appreciates Maya’s help with reaching out to Seniors. There are a lot of activities that can benefit seniors. End Public Comment IV. Introduction of New Members: New Members: Joseph Vukich Kari Woloszyk Susan Anderson Maya Harris Ryan Ross – not present V. Business: . b. Officer Elections a. Chairman: Commissioner Macey nominates Sarah Kindger, 2nd by Mike Ripinski, passed unanimously b. Vice Chairman: Commissioner Macey nominates Mike Ripinski, 2nd by Sarah Kindinger, passed unanimously c. Secretary – Mike Ripinski nominates Maya Harris, 2nd by Commissioner Macey, passed unanimously a. Senior Center Update a. Introduction of Paige Gembarski – Senior Center Coordinator - New pop up meal with IT Irish Tavern on January 22nd - At home bingo Feb 8th. Everything is on the Facebook page - Valentines cookie kit Feb 10th – call to RSVP - Another pop-up meal with IT Irish Tavern for St. Patrick’s Day on March 10 - Kitchen equipment installation coming a long - Give a Book a Forever Home small library program, co-op with staff - Starting in person classes at the center in February - Moving forward with Tax aid assistance next month or March depending on organizers schedule. - Planning spring classes right after Easter - Received three donations, one for $2,500 and two $1,000 donations going into the City’s donation fund. - Installation of condenser on going, center closed until January 21 c. Budget Topics - John Fedele explains that the department is going through preliminary stages of preparing next fiscal year’s budget. If there are any ideas members would like to see to please have ideas for next meeting. d. Royal Oak Leprechauns - John Fedele explains the timeline of the Royal Oak Leprechauns move to Royal Oak from Adrian to new board  members. Received a donation to help with the renovations of Memorial Park field #3 to install artificial turf in the infield. Timeline for renovation is groundwork and install in March, field ready to play in April. e. Staff Reports - John Fedele states that recreation programs will start back up on January 23rd and January 27th on a limited basis. Use this time to monitor how classes run and will help with slowly re- opening facilities. Facilities will only be open to those who have a schedule class, no walk ins. - John Fedele reads statement from Director Aaron Filipski regarding the continuing improvement of our parks and the need for funding in order to provide the right maintenance service as well as continue to upgrade our facilities and parks. 1. Sarah Kindinger recommends a “Park of the Quarter” feature in the insight 2. Mike Ripinski recommends putting together a recap of what projects have been completed 3. Crystal Chow agrees with funding for operations and maintenance, likes the idea of promoting Parks and Recreation, maybe sell Parks and Recreation shirts. Use Facebook for a photo contest. 4. Commissioner Macey agrees with funding and specialized maintenance. Advocate for more staff in parks department with two large parks coming on board shortly. 5. Mike Ripinski claims the elephant in the room is a Parks and Recreation millage for maintenance and improvements. The trick is with the messaging. VI . Items not on the Agenda: Mike Ripinski recommends a Royal Oak Golf Course update for February meeting. VII . Upcoming Events None Next Meeting: February 4, 2021 Adjourn: Motion moved by Mike Ripinski, Second by Maya Harris unanimously at 9:00 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, John Fedele Maya Harris John Fedele, Superintendent of Recreation Maya Harris, Secretary