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, March 3, 2022, at 7:00p.m. Leo Mahany/Harold Meininger Senior Community Center Game Room 3500 Marais Royal Oak, MI 48067 Meeting called to Order 7:02 PM Members Present: Commissioner Melanie Macey, Michael Ripinski, Sarah Kindinger, Michael Lawrence, Rebecca Cheezum, Samantha Grant, Joseph Vukich Also, Present: John Fedele, Superintendent of Recreation, Aaron Filipski Director Public Works, and Recreation, Members Absent: Vincent Brown I. Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mike Ripinski , spelling error under item b. “Satisfied “second by Rebecca Cheezum Unanimously approved II. City Commission Comments: Grant for arboretum grant was approved by city commission, wait for final approval from county. Grant Park lease was renewed. Waterworks Park: talked at city commission level, Aaron Filipski put together a website regarding updates to the park. Starting to clean out. AARPA presented methods for using funds. CARES ACT: Federal Gov gives city money and has come back to us. Roughly $700,000 and has to be closely related to COVID. Project Backboard: Art on a basketball court, no money associated with it but encourage users to do it. Possibly Commission for the Arts project. Talked with library for use of Chromebook’s at the senior center. WWII Memorial Legacy Kickoff April 7 at Memorial Park. Dog Park survey was sent out this week. Will look at results next months P&R meeting. III. Public Comment: Janice Wagman – seniors and broadband and internet, data provide by Commissioner Saarland Douglas, 19% of that 65+ do not have broadband access in Royal Oak, 13% lack computers of 65+ in Royal Oak. End Public Comment IV. Business: a. Proposed Beechwood Park Renaming - Presentation from Judy Davids provided to the board. Elizabeth and Gilbert (Henry) Hamer family-owned property in Royal Oak and one of the longest living land owners in Royal Oak. - Ancestors escaped slavery from Kentucky. Went to Canada first and realized Royal Oak presented a great opportunity and finally moved to Royal Oak. Worked for the Starr family. First black pioneers in Royal Oak. Would like for Royal Oak to acknowledge the family more. Family is one of the first black families to be buried in Royal Oak Cemetery. - Would like to change Beechwood Park to Hamer Finch Wilkins Park. Introduce a reflective garden with a statue or marker in the center of park with a bench. Use it as a reflective area.  Mike Ripinski makes a motion to rename Beechwood Park to “Hamer Finch Wilkins”, 2nd by Samantha Grant. Passed unanimously. b. Livable Communities Grant - Opportunity through AARP with a Livable Communities Grant from $10k to $50k. Did I some brainstorming and ultimately Susan Barkman came with an idea to create a “card game” that can be a learning experience, focus on resources. Writing the grant for a senior focus. - Susan Barkman – idea is to be playing and see it in a repetitious manner and are playing with other which can help combat loneliness and sharpen their minds/skills. c. Parks and Recreation CIP Overview - John Fedele presents a graph that outlines the upcoming CIP projects and details which year they are projected to be started and their estimated cost. d. Centennial Commons Usage/Reservation Guidelines - John Fedele presents to the members of the board a breakdown of guidelines used for park reservations/usage and whether or not a special event permit is needed based on those guidelines. Asks board to review and come up with suggestions for the usage and reservation of Centennial Commons e. Fall Zone Material Discussion - John Fedele presents scientific articles regarding the safety of PIP (poured in place) fall zone material f. Senior Center Report (moved ahead of “A”) - Introduction of new Senior Center Coordinator, Yolanda Botello.  - John Fedele mentions the high participation numbers during the March 1 Tech Conference - Aaron Filipski – maybe use AARPA funds for ROSES program g. Staff Report - Aaron’s states an award for multi year maintenance for normandy oaks natural grow areas will be presented to the commission in the next couple meetings. V. Items not on the agenda: Sarah Kindinger – thank you for the rocks in the garden Samantha Grant – public spaces and community places up to $50k grant. Replace flowers downtown with vegetables or fruits. Commissioner Macey – ROFC team park cleanups. Joseph Murphy discussion of adding fitness equipment to Worden Park. Signage be consistent with DNR, mile markers etc at Normandy Oaks Park. Cookie picks up at Senior Center, extend the time/throughout the day. More fairy gardens, garden gnomes? VI. Upcoming Events Next Meeting: Thursday April 7 , 2022 Adjourn: Motion by Mike Ripinski , 2nd by Joseph Vukich at pm, passed unanimously at 8:45 pm Respectfully Submitted, Approved, John Fedele Samantha Grant John Fedele, Superintendent of Recreation Samantha Grant, Secretary