Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

401 West Venice Avenue City of Venice Venice, FL 34285 www.venicegov.com Meeting Minutes Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday, September 16, 2013 3:00 PM Council Chambers I. Call To Order A Regular Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was held this date in Council Chambers at City Hall. Chair Linda Kenfield called the meeting to order at 2:59 p.m. II. Roll Call Ms. Kenfield welcomed Ms. Hicks to the board. Present: 6- Chair Linda Kenfield, Joan Piper, Verna Silk, Vice Chair Charles Alfano, Jim Woods and Cindy Hicks Absent: 1- Steve Byington Also Present Ex-Officio Councilmember Emilio Carlesimo, Public Works Director John Veneziano, Sarasota County Sports Development and Athletics Manager Pat Calhoon , and Recording Secretary Susan Schult. III. New Business 1. 13-0142 Park Makeover on October 26, 2013 Jim Foubister, David Miller and Charlie O'Donnell introduced themselves. Mr. Foubister distributed a flyer on the Make a Difference Day park makeover events scheduled for October 26, 2013 and described the activities. He stated five parks will be refurbished, described the tasks to be completed including mulching the playgrounds, clearing weeds, and refreshing park signs. He introduced the remaining members of their team present, gave a brief description of their role in the event, noted they will need approximately 150 volunteers, all activities will be coordinated through Maxine Barritt Park, people who volunteer by October 14 will receive a free t-shirt and there will be a bar-b-que for volunteers. Discussion followed on where to sign in, on line registration forms, involving high school students, and possibly utilizing the Sarasota County Sheriff's program. IV. Unfinished Business 1. 13-0143 Comprehensive Plan - City Parks Ms. Piper stated there is no update, as Mr. Lavallee is waiting on criteria from Sarasota County. City of Venice Page 1 of 4 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes September 16, 2013 Board V. Updates 1. 13-0144 Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Board Ms. Silk reported there has been no progress on the land acquisition program and suggested the board send another letter to the county concerning the acquisition of the Venetia Bay property. Ms. Kenfiled gave a brief history of the Sarasota County land acquisition program and nominations for city acquisitions, and recounted why the Venetia Bay property was nominated. Mr. Carlesimo stated he has a copy of the original July 2010 land acquisition application and that city council sent a recommendation on this property to the county. He talked about the priority rating system used for acquisitions, reported the property owner no longer wants to sell the property but may supply access to the trail, and stated he would meet with the city manager regarding a possible grant of access by the owner. 2. 13-0087 City of Venice - John Veneziano Mr. Veneziano noted there is sufficient right-of-way at Patriot's Park to possibly connect the U.S. 41 ByPass sidewalk to Legacy Trail, answered questions on existing sidewalks in the area and possibly creating access, reported his department is updating the park sign inventory, he was unable to meet with anyone from Sharky's regarding the Snook Haven lease, he met with Venice Police Department and the city attorney on the dog ordinance verbiage, and should have a draft for council in late October or November. He noted he has not received an answer from Ms. Cushing on the Let's Dance proposal in Centennial Park. Kathy Cushing, Venice Street Legal, stated she gave the letter to the contractor and he has been working with the city on compliance. Discussion followed on skateboarders using the concrete dance floor, whether people can bring tables, chairs and food to the dance floor area, possible stormwater issues, having the dance floor level with the grass, and location of the dance floor. Mr. Veneziano continued with his update reporting the restrooms at Humphris Park are complete, composite benches are being installed and will be compared to the durability of wood benches, signs will be installed at the entrance to Humphris Park warning people to slow down due to the composition, wear and erosion of the parking lot. He updated the board on the completion status of the restooms at Centennial Park, stated the interior of both restooms will be repainted to deter graffiti, and noted restrooms will still be open during construction. He reported there is funding in the budget to install a shade structure at the childrens interactive fountain, answered questions on a security fence near the fountain for child safety, and mentioned the possiblity that areas of extra pavement at the corner of W. Venice Avenue and Avenue de Parques may be landscaped to extend City Hall Park. Discussion took place on the repair of the concession stands at Humphris Park, the stone berm repairs at Humphris Park, repaving of W. Venice Avenue depending on the proposed reverse angle parking, and whether there could be a second dog washing station at Paw Park. Mr. Carlesimo commented on the two new employees in public works and referred to a letter he distributed from the city attorney on park impact fees. City of Venice Page 2 of 4 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes September 16, 2013 Board Mr. Veneziano stated park impact fees are being accumulated to renovate the restrooms at Wellfield Park, the city does not have a full inventory on benches, answered questions on repairs to benches along Miami Avenue , whether the composite material is hotter than wood during the summer months, noted volunteers may be painting the gazebo, and the new employees will be trimming trees. Discussion enused on the disposition of mulch generated from the new chipper, base lighting in Heritage Park, power sources for the lighting, and installing low level lighting to remain sea turtle friendly. 3. 13-0145 Sarasota County - Jim Wormley and Pat Calhoon Mr. Calhoon reported he is taking over county wide athletics, talked about the county reorganization of parks, the challenge in maintaining the athletic fields with previous rainfalls, they are working closely with the user groups, commented on the success of bringing tournaments to the county to help athletic tourism, fall softball and soccer leagues are starting up, and football has started. He touched on the drainage issues at Wellfield Park, reported the county has taken care of outstanding issues from the quarterly walk throughs, and noted the Chuck Reiter fields are model fields for the county. Mr. Calhoon answered questions on work done on Letson Stadium, the county working with the league presidents, most of the work being done by the league, reported the county worked with the city on a lift station near the Miss Venice softball fields , talked about adult softball tournaments happening in the county, the potential to make Wellfield Park a multi-purpose facility, movable and portable fencing, and the 2014 targeted improvements for Wellfield Park. Ms. Kenfield updated the board on the continuing work regarding the contract with the concession vendor at Venice Beach stating the proposed changes to the contract are on the next county commission meeting agenda, and outlined some of the changes. Mr. Calhoon stated the county could possibly participate in the park makeover events if needed, distributed his contact information, answered questions on practical expansion and landscaping on Venice Beach, and that the county would work through the county park friends group for mature palm tree donations. Miscellaneous Ms. Kenfield announced Venice Area Beautification, Inc. has applied for a small grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation to do a public survey to gather interest in what the public would like to see at Venice Beach. Mr. Carlesimo referred to the documents he distributed concerning the strategic plan status and parks master plan, pointed to the lanscaping plans for the airport and the observation location, reported Airport Administrator Chris Rozansky has the installation of more trees near the observation area on his priority list, noted all the trash receptacles have all been enclosed, and pointed to the county interlocal agreement summary pertaining to parks. Ms. Kenfield noted there is a sunshine workshop in October by Sarasota County. VI. Audience Participation Kathy Cushing, Venice Street Legal, commented on pedestrian visibiity of adults and City of Venice Page 3 of 4 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes September 16, 2013 Board children exiting the restrooms from the Centennial Park parking lot, and suggested a sign stating "Children at Play" be installed at the entrance to the Centennial Park parking lot off Nassau Street. VII. Adjournment There being no further business to come before this Board, the meeting was adjourned at 4:22 p.m. ________________________________ Recording Secretary ________________________________ Chair ********** City of Venice Page 4 of 4