Recreation and Community Engagement Committee

Recreation and Community Engagement Committee Meeting agenda for 3/16/23 @ 7pm DRAFT Attending Committee members including adHoc: Ellen Marcus <ellen@actsofpaint.com>-- Jon Worley <jon@aidabet.com>, Jay Keller <jayktakoma@gmail.com>, (taking minutes) Pat Rumbaugh <theplaylady@gmail.com>, Priscilla Labovitz <plabovitz@icloud.com>, Howard Kohn <kohn@erols.com>, Staff: Gregory Clark <GregoryC@takomaparkmd.gov>, Chris Parker <christopherp@takomaparkmd.gov> 1) Approval of 2/16/23 minutes Approved- Jay Moved Ellen seconded 2) Recreation Staff Updates Report by Chris Parker a. Recreation Administrative i. Greg has returned! Greg has returned as Director of Recreation and Debby has returned to Deputy Director. ii. Summer Camp registration has been open a month and we already have some full weeks in Camp Takoma & Visual Arts Camp! iii. Scholarships 1. So far for 2023 we have 44 completed scholarships approved. (55 were awarded last calendar year.) iv. Spring & Summer class registration has opened to those with scholarship & city residents. 3/22 for non-residents. v. Spring/Summer Guide is here at our buildings and should also have arrived in mail to residents. vi. School Year Childcare Registration opens on 4/19 for City Residents, 4/8 for those with a scholarship. 1. This time we are trying a new timeframe, registration opens at noon online & in person. b. Rec Center i. Spring Break Basketball Camp is FULL! ii. Work has started on the roof. Work will be completed shortly depending on weather conditions.  iii. The Annual Fitness Expo will be held on Saturday Apr 1, 2023 10am-2pm 1. Expo will include: short fitness class demos, health vendors, DJ and refreshments iv. The heat doesn't work in the gymnasium and PW will be coordinating replacing it soon. 1. Two proposals were submitted to HCD, Ira is still reviewing, no updates yet. v. Classes are going well, camp is gearing up. c. Seniors i. Nine seniors volunteered on Monday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 14 to stuff 100’s of eggs with candy for the annual Egg Hunt on April 8, 2023. The seniors' time on the egg assembly line is greatly appreciated and will put smiles on the children’s faces on the day of the event. ii. Seven seniors attended the Monday, March 13 Arts & Crafts workshop with Alice Sims and finished the two part class project making decorative wall clocks. Participants decorated their clocks and attached the clock parts. d. Special Events i. Save the Date: Sunday, March 26. To celebrate Good Sportsmanship Month the Rec Dept is partnering with the Takoma Park Library to host a book discussion and signing event at the Takoma Park Community Center. Feature author Al “Hondo” Handy and his book “Defying Expectations”. ii. Next Special Event will be Egg Hunt (April 8, 2023) Chris will be coordinating. We plan to bring back the traditional egg hunt and activities on Ed Wilhelm field (walking will be encouraged as the Community Center parking lot will be down to about 10 spaces). Please let us know if you are available to volunteer and help us spread the word for both special events. e. Sports i. Winter Basketball League 1. The season is mostly complete, most divisions had their last game on Saturday, March 11th. Both 5th/6th and 7th/8th Grade Girls divisions are playing their final games this weekend, March 18th at Takoma Park Middle School. ii. Futsal 1. League is ongoing. The Season ends on Sunday, Mar 26, 2023 2. Games are played at Takoma Park Recreation Center iii. Adult Co-ed Softball has 4 teams enrolled. The season starts on April 2 iv. Tball registration for ages 5-8 opened March 15th for residents f. Teens  i. STEM Forward - Teen Camp currently has 7 teens enrolled. Additional marketing will be completed over the next two weeks to increase registration ii. The Summer Youth Employment Interest meeting on 2/24 went extremely well with 25 participants. Students learned about the program as well as resume and interview skills. iii. The teen program has partnered with Main Street Pearl to do a movie night on Friday, March 24 at 4pm. There are 20 spaces available. iv. Counselor in Training is back!! Teens age 14-16 can register to volunteer for Summer Camp for 2 weeks. Each participant can earn up to 40 SSL hours for participating. The cost is $40 for residents and $50 for non-residents. There are currently 5 participants registered, there are 9 slots left. v. The girls and boys mentorship trips taken in February and March went very well! Students are looking forward to Mentorship Monday continuing. vi. Just Teens Summer Camp is filling up nicely. There are 13 spots each week and the registration breakdown is as follows: 1. 9 enrolled in week 1 2. 8 enrolled in week 2 3. 7 enrolled in week 3 4. 8 enrolled in week 4 vii. A one-week STEM summer camp is in the works! Additional details coming soon! viii. Still looking for a new Esports Club instructor! The individual must be over the age of 21 with some experience in gaming online and competitively. g. Library and CC Renovation i. We are still waiting on the permit to come back from the county, but finally could be coming soon. Approx 1 ½ wks after we get the permit the construction fencing and prep work can begin. ii. Community Center renovations will start much later (approx a year and a half from when original construction begins). This includes: 1. Gender Neutral restrooms and three family changing rooms 2. New location for the Multi-Media Lab and Senior Room 3. Additional room we can use for rentals and classes 4. Remodeling the Rec Dept office 5. For approximately 6-8 months during construction on our side the Rec Dept offices will move in with the Interim Library. We may move earlier if parking is a problem at the Community Center 6. Services during the various phases of construction:  a. Passports and Notary services will remain on site b. Some classes will need to be relocated to be virtual or at another location c. Teen programs will need to be held off site - TPMS principal has agreed to house our program there during construction. d. Large rentals (50 or more) and auditorium rentals are not available due to limited parking. 3) Recruitment of new committee members (get out the word, etc) two new people are interested. Cherwanda is off the committee. 4) Promote Library on New Hampshire Ave: What promotion is being done? Transportation to the Library. Priscilla has been attending County meetings. The challenge is to get folks to the Library. 5) Community Events (occurring and in planning) o Diversity Celebration Fest (Celebrate Takoma) Need buy in. July 4th evening party. § Ideas? Rec giving $10,000 to public works. Discussion on diversity celebration options. § Playday Events: Winter playday glitch with letting playday folks into the school. The goal is to hold spontaneous play days in every ward this summer. 3 parks are newly renovated. April 16th Noon to 5 pm Washington § *April 16, noon-5pm, Washington Adventist University, Family Fun Festival, Let’s Play America is bringing play activities § *May 11-14, Capon Springs Play Adventures, Join Pat www.caponsprings.org an all-inclusive resort tons of play options for all ages § *June 17, 5-9pm, 9th Annual Adult Play Day, VFW, two bands, Soko BBQ, & many play activities § June-August, Spontaneous Play Events in All Six Wards, Two hours of play, Meet your neighbors & come out & play! § July 4, Morning (9am-noon) Picnic, Play & Parade Watch event, Evening (5:30-8:30) Play activities in front of PBES § August 1, National Night Out, Maple Avenue in front of PBES, play activities galore. § *September 23, 15th Annual Play Day, 10am-2pm, TPMS § Food Forest at TPES: they are looking for helpers- shoveling, mulch work and gardening. 6) Discussion of Committee leadership (Vice Chair, Secretary, Etc) Ellen Marcus new chair. We need volunteers for Vice Chair and Secretary. 7) Next meeting: 4/20/23 @ 7 pm using Microsoft Teams 8) Adjourn. 8:10 pm Additional: Let’s Play America play teams invites the Recreation Committee and Recreation Department to help brainstorm about the most economical way to get the updated Takoma Park Playground Guide printed and mailed to every resident. Plus, having extra Guides at City locations. In 2012 the Guide was created, printed and mailed to every resident. The City paid for this service. High praise from community residents for this Guide. 2015 the Guide was updated, printed and mailed to every resident. The City paid for this service. Also extra Guides were given out at the library and community centers. 2021/2022 the Guide was updated again. Dean Paris a Takoma Park resident, amazing graphic designer is willing to put it in the same format, so the Guide can be printed and mailed to every resident. The City only shares in the Takoma Park City Guide page 19, the seven parks they maintain. Many residents do not know about all the other parks. The Guide is a superb resource the nonprofit Let’s Play America has created for free and would like to see every resident benefit by having their own Guide. You can see the latest update on the link below. Also, a scavenger hunt was created you can access by using the QR code. https://www.letsplayamerica.org/takoma-park-playground-guide