Swansboro Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

Town of Swansboro Swansboro Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes November 20, 2024 I. Call to Order & Roll Call- The Swansboro Parks and Recreation Board met at the Swansboro Recreation Center for a regular board meeting on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. Deb Pylypiw called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Members present were Jenifer Steele, Lawrence Abalos, Debra Pylypiw, Matthew Prane, Debbie Harnatkiewicz and Elena Messenger. Anna Stanley and Sara Elliott were present on behalf of the Town. II. Adoption of Minutes a. September 18, 2024, Meeting Minutes- The board reviewed the meeting minutes from September 18, 2024. Matthew P. made a motion to approve the minutes, Elena M. seconded the motion, and the meeting minutes were unanimously passed. III. Reports a. Monthly Report- Director Stanley said that the October and November monthly reports were in the packet and asked if there were any questions. Elena M. asked if there was any reason for the increase in engagement and views on social media. Director Stanley responded that it was likely due to Mullet Festival since we post consistently beforehand. Matthew P. asked if the board could see what the festival brings in and how the budget works for the festivals. Director Stanley said it would have to be a public records request but will see if it is something she can release to the public. Deb P. stated that the main income for festivals would be vendor fees, which is stated in the report. Director Stanley also mentioned that festival sponsorships start in the new year so it will be in the upcoming year’s reports. Matthew P. was interested in knowing if the festivals supported themselves, which Director Stanley responded, they do not, which is why we have sponsors and grants. Director Stanley stated that you can look at the budget online which is the revenue and expense of the festivals, but it is from July-June rather than the calendar year. Matthew P. asked if the money brought in by the festivals would go directly to support Parks and Recreation. Director Stanley said it is put into general funds just like everything else we get. There were no other questions about the monthly report. b. Upcoming Programs/Events-Sara E. reviewed upcoming programs December- Parks and Recreation are offering POUND and Tai Chi. Instructor Harold and Sara E. have discussed offering another time for Tai Chi that could accommodate full-time workers. But the current program did fill in a week and had 7 on the waitlist so the current time at 2 PM will stay. Parks & Recreation are also offering Holiday Wreath class, and new Handmade Holidays which are new Page 1 of 4 different themed crafts. The first one was last night and went very well. SantaFest is on December 7th and Parks & Recreation are looking for volunteers to help with the event. Police Officer Ben, and Town Hall Admin Jackie, have volunteered to be our Santa and Mrs. Claus for the event. Lighthouse Realty is sponsoring the event. We will have hayrides provided by the mayor, hot cocoa and popcorn bar, games, crafts, and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Since we had more participants at Halloweenie Roast, Parks & Recreation is expecting a larger turnout than last year for SantaFest. Deb H. asked if we were making money on our programs and Sara E. responded that yes, we always stay in the black. With our kids’ programs, we can reuse supplies which helps keep our costs low. Director Stanley stated that Sara E. also must submit a program development form before programs get approval. Parks & Recreation want to break even, but we aim to make money on our programs. Sara E. added that we also plan our expenses to determine prices which is why our wreath classes have increased this year because of the increase in prices for fabric/material. Our cost recovery rate is higher than the national average for the Parks and Recreation departments. Deb P. asked about the effect on the Recreation Center from having early voting in the classroom. Director Stanley stated that we had to cancel programs the first week and we had to cancel a reservation. Director Stanley is currently tracking the extra expense of having staff stay later to cover early voting. Deb H. asked why it was here, but Deb P. mentioned that it used to be at the library, but they outgrew that. Director Stanley said they can request the building because it is a government building and that they seemed to have outgrown the space here which is why she is tracking the revenue lost and the extra staff hours used. Several board members expressed their concern on how many people left because the parking lot was too full because of early voting. There were no more questions. Flotilla- Director Stanley is sending out an email to all previous boaters asking them to participate in 2024. We tend to get registrants week of because of the weather. The last 3 years we have increased. Some regulars tend to sign up at the Captain’s Meeting. Deb P. discussed our vendors for Flotilla which are limited to cotton candy, cheesesteaks, tacos, but mostly it is non-profits who are selling hot chocolate, cider, baked goods, etc. After last year, we decided to cut back and focus on a few vendors and non-profits. During this Flotilla we are offering hayrides from the Recreation Center as a test for satellite parking for future festivals like Independence Day and Flotilla. The Fire Department is arranging the tractors and trailers for the event. The route goes down Main Street Ext and turns around at Preston’s. It is a dry run because of the need during Mullet Festival and we may lose Ward Farm next year. We were late getting the information out to the public because we were waiting for final details and confirmation. Sara E. mentioned that Chief Randall is looking for non-profits to run the tractors in the future as a donation only so we would not have any cost associated with the shuttle. Deb H. mentioned that during Candlelight the Baptist church had a shuttle for donations Page 2 of 4  as well. Matthew P. said that St. Mildred’s could be a future option for the shuttles. Lawrence A. asked if Ward Farm could be used for Flotilla because of the limited space, but it is too late to ask, and we are looking at other options in the future since we may not have access to Ward Farm. Lawrence A. expressed concern that there is not enough parking on the soccer fields and worried about damaging the fields for the soccer association. Sara E. and Elena M. commented that the field could fit 200 cars and with as little money as we receive from the soccer association, it shouldn’t be a consideration. IV. New Business Director Stanley gave updates on a few projects that include PO’s that have been submitted for the basketball courts. She is still waiting for a quote for sealing the asphalt. The splashpad amenities PO’s have been submitted as well and items will be ordered once approved. The toilets for the park restrooms and the water fountains will have POs submitted after 1 more quote. The goal was to get all the funds encumbered by the end of the year. Director Stanley said the skatepark was built from a grant which means to replace it we must apply to the North Carolian Department of Parks to get permission to change it. There was an initial meeting with a local contractor from Morehead City who said the skatepark is not large enough for a tennis court but could potentially fit 3 pickleball courts on the skatepark. The tennis courts do need to be resurfaced. Matthew P. gave an update on the pool committee stating that they had their first meeting to confirm the pool committee. The committee has 5 members. 3 are in the city and 2 are subject experts for starting and planning these types of projects. The pool committee meets on the 4th Thursday of every month but skipping December with the next meeting being in January as the first open public meeting. At 6:00 PM, Deb P. had to leave the meeting, so the meeting is being led by Vice President, Lawrence A. Lawrence A. asked what the plan was for the skatepark and if we were just going to get rid of it before writing the letter. Director Stanley asked if Board of Commissioners Joe Brown would like to discuss. Commissioner Brown said that there is a lot of new information, but a good amount that they cannot share. At the next commissioners meeting the CEO of New River YMCA is coming to brief the town on new plans of a new YMCA in Swansboro or Sneads Ferry. Commissioner Brown stated that the pickleball money is safe and will be there until the pickleball courts are built. There are a lot of different ideas that are floating around on what to do for the pickleball courts, tennis courts, and skatepark. Matthew P. asked if we were done with all the legal action with the skatepark, but Commissioner Brown can’t comment on that yet. Lawrence A. said that before we continue to move forward, we need a plan for the skatepark and Page 3 of 4  Director Stanley responded that in a public meeting, there was a discussion of a concrete skatepark being built elsewhere. Commissioner Brown stated the Town was not financially hurt by the skatepark, but Deb H. mentioned that overall, the Town was affected because we lost a major amenity. Director Stanley asked if there were any other questions from the board before moving onto public comment, there was not. VI. Comments Several pickleball members were present. Ruth White was present along with 7 other members. Ruth White wanted to confirm that the courts needed to be resurfaced sooner than 2 years and if that being so, will it be pickleball courts. Director Stanley said that they will need to be completely redone, and the old courts removed. Another pickleball member asked if the courts are redone, will they be dedicated pickleball courts. Director Stanley said they will be multi-use courts, but Commissioner Brown said that he and Director Stanley will discuss it later because the funds are for dedicated pickleball courts. It was discussed the different steps that need to be taken to finish the project as a whole and how long we want to wait to find out about the skatepark. Several board members want to move forward with finding out from the state about removing the skatepark and finding out how much a storm water permit would be. Director Stanley mentioned that the December meeting has been cancelled in the past and the next meeting is in January. All board members agreed to meet in January. VII. Adjournment—Deb H. made a motion to adjourn at 6:30 pm and Elena M. seconded the motion. All members were in favor. Page 4 of 4