Parks and Recreation Meeting

Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes Date of meeting: December 07, 2022 Call to order: 6:00 pm Meeting Location: Town Hall I. Roll Call Commission Zatkin Present Commissioner Jeff Allen Present Commissioner Jeff Ahern Present Chairperson Diane Huckins Present Vice-Chair Erin Thomas Present Commissioner Michelle Ahern Present Commissioner Gina Anderson Absent II. Call To The Public • None III. Approval Of Meeting Minutes • Approval of Minutes of September 07, 2022, Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes o Motion to approve - Jeff Allen o Second - Erin Thomas IV. Business • Master Plan o Draft of master plan – presented 6 months ago. We are 90% complete. Would like for you to review. Theresa will present draft presentation – slide show. o Strengths ▪ Grading park components 94% of our park components are a 2 on the grading scale High diversity of components 5 of our parks are in the top 10% - Anamax is in the top 100. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 2 o Level of Surface ▪ 61% of our community has this level surface ▪ 91% have access to our parks o Questions ▪ Thomas • Expanding partnerships – goal 8 – what type of partnerships are you speaking of? Car dealers? Government agencies? o HOA’s are a good partnership that are mutually beneficial – identifying the opportunities • Goal 3 – Staffing and expanding volunteers? Is this something Towns do with teenagers or just adults. o 13 up – task would be • Goal 5 – Partnerships o Services with school – language doesn’t match? What does that mean? ▪ It relates to the responsibilities of both parties. IGA’s were drafted are two different times. o Hester – 10-15 years apart and they have different maintenance. We have already started to gap the language for both IGA’s. We kind of just maintain it, however we need it in writing to it’s stays consistent. o All city parks on Musco lighting we just have a few lose ends we need to tie end with the lighting. • Energy efficiency? Didn’t hear that in the goals. No assessment was made for solar or LED’s. • Hester o Two of our parks are highly recognized for their high tech LED lights. We have won awards for these fields. • Commissioner Allen o Automated lights – photo cells? • Hester o Musco lighting is automatically controlled and is connected to our website. This is something we are attempting to accomplish at this time. • Commissioner Allen o Private Partnership – You mentioned examples? Marana? Oro Valley? • Theresa Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 3 o City of Scottsdale has established some partnerships and Theresa will share some articles with the commission members. • Commissioner Allen o Sponsorship? Auto dealers. o Connecting Llano Grande and Anza o There is a trail that runs completely through Sahuarita. Anza connects through Rancho Sahuarita. o We have moved very quickly with all of the changes that Theresa mentioned. 80% of it. Especially regarding sponsorships. • Devin o Information piece, started with the Website, then automatic processes. End goal is platform with payments and lighting will speak together and everything will be fully automated. ▪ We will then be the only one in Southern Arizona who has this capability. o Our sponsorships/partnerships ▪ In Kind – Have really offset our budget • KGVY – 30K – In kind sponsorships – but is also a partnership which will include their logos. • Hester o Land Leases – ▪ City of Glendale is very successful at their land lease ▪ We are actively looking forward to these types of land leases. ▪ We are at the beginning stages of land leases that will bring in much needed revenue. • Commissioner Zatkin o How does the Master Plan help with parks, etc? How does the Master Plan help the council or commission members decide on funding and where the funding should go. o FICO had a huge master plan – 40k how does that relate to • Theresa o Mapping work shows who has less opportunity so we would prioritize those needs. • Hester Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 4 o These conversations are still happening and we have more support from the community. We know you worked very hard a few years ago to push this to go through. The Master Plan will help us change things. • Chairperson Huckins o It is in black and white that we are falling short. Last 6-8 years ago, we had public backing butt were not listened to and it was reduced. Want people with power to take action. • Commissioner Zatkin o Thank you for continuing to talk about this. We had no idea that this was still being talked about. • Hester o We decided when we started this Master Plan that we were not going to leave it on the shelf. We have already shifted and done more than half within this year. It is important now that we see multiple plans to get the funding necessary. • Chairperson Huckins o For how many years have we been saying “no land, no money.” o We waited for eight years for a bond that never happened. There was no plan “B” • Hester o This is the important difference now, is that we have multiple plans to get the funding we need to accomplish these things. • Thomas o What can we do as a commission to help you or support to help you with those changes? • Hester o This is where it starts, once you adapt, with your support we all encourage and would take it to council. Your voice goes along ways. • Chairperson Huckins o If we want to change design issues, you have to have public meetings, stakeholders, etc. ▪ Council Member Diane Priolo o Interested in Park and Rec development – I was reading the report and I am seeking understanding. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 5 ▪ Discussion about connectivityy’sin trails. I don’t get it? It’s really hot here? Why? It’s hot. Help me understand. • Theresa o I understand your – however our community really loves to use the trails. Whether if it’s bikes, dog walking. People really do value the opportunity to walk out their back door and use our trails. • Hester o In connectivity you see how kids ride their bike from park to park. Walk their dogs. Thousands of people walk the trails here in Sahuarita. • Commissioner Zatkin o We also have many people who utilize the trails. In turn, utilize restaurants. • Devin o We took ownership of our Google analytics – July 1 – Nov 30 – we had 235K searching for usage. 250K using the map feature at Sahuarita Lake. • Commissioner M Ahern o My kids love the trails. It also makes us feel safer that our children can utilize all the parks with their bikes, etc. • Commissioner Zatkin o Activities at our trails may be a good idea – at trail connection • Vice Chair Thomas o We use the trails every Saturday with the Boy Scouts. The trails are highly utilized – hiking groups, mountain biking. The connectivity is key. There are some areas that need improvement. Special needs accessibility is difficult. • Chairperson Huckins o There is a trail map. • Hester o We will have a new trail map of the connectivity's • Council Member Diane o How do we pay for it all? Community don’t want bonds. How do we deal with this disconnect? • Theresa Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 6 o We are pursuing a new bond – we know the community was not o The community that lives in an HOA do not want to pay for extra amenities. • Hester o We need to look at stand alone bonds. • Commissioner Zatkin o Community is divided with bonds • Hester o Educating the public – regarding bonds. We have already seen a shift with the community. Education is working and we are priming ourselves for the opportunity. • Chairperson Huckins o Not who lives in HOA communities still would like to have access to a recreation center. We can still offer more than what the HOA’s offer. • Hester o Thank you, Theresa– such a great collaborative opportunity. There is so much more happening. We have an opportunity to buy a building 10k sq feet to start a recreation center so we can begin after-school programs. We are in the planning stages. We are also in the planning of a land lease development. Potentially bring in a large aquatic center, hotels, and apartments what this community needs. We are thinking outside the box. • Chairperson Huckins o When the community starts to see goals – whether they are small – there is encouragment. • Hester o A year and a half ago – our programs were not full. Today, all of our recreational programs are full and we have wait lists. The community wantss more. Exciting things to look forward to. • Vice Chair Thomas o As a teacher – I see a lot of families – who need after-school programs. Significant need for after-school programs. • Hester o This is something we heard across the board for after school care.  Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes, Roundtable Page 7 • Vice Chair Thomas o Many of these students need mentors – Adult Supervision. V. Commissioner And Director Report On Current Events • Winterfest – Very exciting – from last year we had 8 entries to 47 entries in one year. We have over 400 people walking our parade. • New Webpage – o Sponsor Inform o Calendar o Easy to use o Links it all together o Devin has taken the lead on this project • Inclusive Playground o Install in 2-3 weeks – completion – February o Anamax – Splash Pad is still happening • Vice Chair Thomas o Will there be a grand opening? Will we get notification • Hester o Recycling – January 07 o SAACA – Art at the Lake - January o Car Nuts – Classic Car Show – January 28th o I have accepted a new position in Richmond VA – I have mixed feeling because we have done tremendous things within the last year. Both Devin and Dylan will keep everything moving seamlessly. • Chairperson Huckins o Thank you for all the staff. You will be missed. o Are we going to pencil in next years PRCS Commission Meetings. ▪ 03-01 ▪ 06-07 ▪ 09-26 ▪ 12-06 VI. Future Agenda Items N/A VII. Adjournment Adjourned 7:30 pm