Swansboro Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES SWANSBORO PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD April 19, 2023 The Swansboro Parks and Recreation Board met at the Swansboro Recreation Center for a regular board meeting on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Jennifer Steele called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. Members present were Jenifer Steele, Debbie Harnatkiewicz, Nancee Allen, Lawrence Abalos, Debra Pylypiw, and Elena Messenger. Anna Stanley was present on behalf of the Town. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The board reviewed the meeting minutes from March 15, 2023. Deb P. made a motion to approve, Nancee A. seconded the motion, and the meeting minutes were unanimously passed. REPORTS Managers’ Report: The April 2023 managers’ report was provided to the board for review. Debbie H. asked if the department had always partnered with Onslow County Parks and Recreation for PirateFest. Director Stanly informed the board that the partnership formed in 2017 to bring the event downtown. No other questions or comments were made. Upcoming Programs: Anna Stanley provided an update on previous and upcoming programs. The Onslow County Senior Games are in full force. They had opening ceremonies on Saturday, April 15, 2023. The event started this week and will take place for the next three weeks. Closing ceremonies will be on May 8th. Anna Stanley passed out programs for review. All the normal programs will continue. Director Stanley highlighted the new program with Carrie White. Carrie White runs two fitness programs called Everybody Move and Power in the Park. Anna S is working with Carrie White to put more fitness programs together and is also working with Pogies to offer some new programs. Along with the new fitness programs, the senior adult fishing and Boro Bird Watching are also a couple of new programs that will be starting in May/June. Touch a truck is on April 29, 2023, and Robbie has a good number of vehicles coming out for display. PirateFest is on May 13, 2023. The live invasion will not happen this year, but a new attraction has been added. Mermaids are being brought back to the event after many years. Updates: Director Stanley went over the master plan and corrected the grammar, spelling errors, formatting and sent it back to them. We are kind of at a standstill with them as Director Stanley believes that they might come back and want to charge us. They will be sending Anna Stanley a memo. Dog Park Features-Director Stanley has turned in the purchase order and is waiting for approval for the small addition so the work can begin. Splash Pad- Director Stanley had two contractors conduct a site visit, showed them the area, and overview of what the project would entail. Both contractors stated they were interested and would submit quotes on the concrete work. Director Stanley is working with a vendor to design a site plan that will show the amount of square feet of concrete needed. Recreation Center Furniture- New furniture for the lobby area, game room, and offices has been chosen. A purchase order has been submitted, once approved the furniture will be ordered. 1 Arts by the Sea-All logistics, tents, security, portable toilets have been confirmed. Staff is working on the local entertainment schedule. Five groups have been confirmed and include local dance groups, kids’ choir, belly dancers, and the Marine Corps Band. Artwork for the flyer has been submitted and the flyer should be done by the end of the month. Deb P provided an update on the number of vendors, it is close to being sold out. NEW BUSINESS Fee Schedule-Director Stanley had staff contact approximately 10 other recreation departments in the surrounding areas and inquire about outdoor fees and rentals. The information was compiled into a spreadsheet and provided to the board. Four of the department’s outdoor facilities were rented in 4- hours increments. Four other departments had half and full day rentals, and two departments were hourly only. Director Stanley recommended that the department does not offer half day rentals as the hourly fees are in line with other departments’ half/full day rentals and not to offer full day rentals. Lawrence A. commented that he was more concerned with how the hours were being rented, for example if someone could reserve in the middle of the day and it could potentially keep someone from renting for a longer period. Lawrence A. suggested that we implement a four-hour minimum for the Pug Pavilion only. A few other board members suggested creating 4-hours blocks. After discussion of the options, it was decided to add a minimum of four hours to the fee schedule. Director Stanley recommended changes to the deposit fees for the Community Room. Currently the deposit fee is $100 for all rooms at the Recreation Center and Community Room. The setting up of the Community Room is challenging and renters sometimes rather not receive their deposit back, so they don’t have to set up the room. Director Stanley suggested that a fee of $150 be charged to the renter if the room is not set up correctly before leaving. OLD BUSINESS PUBLIC COMMENTS OTHER COMMENTS ADJOURNMENT Jenn S. made a motion to adjourn the meeting and was seconded by Debbie H. and was unanimously approved and adjourned at 6:09 p.m. 2