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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes RAB 051605PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD May 16, 2005 Minutes The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met on May 16, 2005. The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. I. ROLL CALL Members Present: Tory Buckley, Bert Premuroso, Mary Anne Hedrick, Ernest Volonte, Phil Milton, Wendy Walker, and Carolyn Chaplik. Members Absent: David Lutrin. Also Present: Charlotte Presensky, Staff Liaison / Community Services Division Director; Mike Kelly, Parks Director and Councilmember David Levy. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Board approved the Minutes from the April meeting in a 7 -0 vote. III. PUBLIC IMPUT SESSION — ILEX CIRCLE Chief Stephen Stepp discussed some problems with crime that took place at Ilex Circle. There is concern about the footbridge and some of the residents wanted to remove the foot bridge. The City feels that there is a need for the footbridge because there are children that use it to go to school and residents that use it for walking and jogging. A gate was installed at the bridge but it was never locked and there was additional crime. The police are recommending putting in a gate with a timing mechanism so the gate will automatically lock. The Police Department is in favor of another type of locking mechanism that will automatically lock around 11:00 PM and open early in the morning so joggers can use the bridge. Cassandra Hull of Birdwood Street stated that she appreciates the fact that the police are in favor of keeping the bridge and would like to see the bridge locked late at night. She is very glad the bridge will stay open because children do use it to go to school. David Huntoon of Ilex Circle thanked the Board for the wonderful job they did on the Ilex Circle green space. He would like the Board to consider not blocking people from utilizing the area but agreed with locking the gate after a certain hour. Gary Frechette of Ilex Circle thanked the Board and staff for helping with the beautiful green space. He stated that his car had been broken into around 1 1:00 P.M. outside his home. The police responded very quickly. He agrees that the gate needs to be locked by 11:00 P.M. at the latest. Shirley Bonvento of Arbor Way said that she uses the foot bridge and both her children use the bridge to go to school. She feels 8:OOP.M. is too early to close the bridge but agrees it should be locked later at night. Linda Hughey of Reed Drive said she has a big problem with the gate. She feels they are separating the City with a gate. It is a band aid approach and she feels it should not be locked at all. She said that no other City parks are locked and this area should not be locked. Scott Gordon of Ilex Circle stated his house was broken into about four years ago. He said that the people who use the bridge late at night are mostly kids. He feels 11:OOPM to 6:OOAM are good hours for the bridge to be locked. Bob Brockman of Ilex Circle thanked the City and staff for the great job on the green space. The bridge has been an issue for a long time and the homeowners in the area really don't want the bridge removed because they don't want children to have to walk on Military Trail. He feels the crime will never end until this problem is settled so maybe the bridge has to be removed. Pat Igo of Ilex Circle feels the bridge should be locked by 11:00 P.M. He said that there is a steady flow of people that use the bridge but they don't have to use it after 11:00 P.M. Lisa Lynn of Ilex Circle thanked the City for the great job on the green space. She is in favor of locking the gate from 11:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. The gate will not stop crime but it is a deterrent. Marion Demick of Heather Circle stated he lives a few streets away but he has to agree with the people on Ilex Circle that the gate needs to be locked at a reasonable hour. Pat Hughey of Reed Drive submitted a letter to the Board that she read. She stated that she feels the gate should not be closed. She feels the gate is dividing the City. She said that other parks in the City are not locked and this area should not be locked. Tory Buckley stated that the green space is not a park and they are not locking a park. The green space was put in to beautify a weeded area. He feels the City Council should make the final decision. He feels this does not fall under the realm of the Parks and Recreation Board. He also said that if they do put a timer on the gate the Police Department should do a study as to what if any crime occurs after the gate is locked. If this board decided to tackle the issue he will vote that the board does put a timer on the gate. The board will discuss this issue and will get back to the residents with the decision. ITEMS BY STAFF LIAISON Hurricane Update Mike Kelly reported that all the hurricane repairs are completed. He has a meeting with FEMA and the initial assessment was over $750,000 and they ended up spending less than $200,000. Golf Course Update The golf course has been cleaned of all trees, the roof of the clubhouse was repaired and the pump station was repaired. There are still some areas that need sod. All the hurricane repairs have been basically completed. Board Update to Council Charlotte explained that City Council will be hosting workshops for all Board and Committee members to discuss the goals and workings of each board. New Pool The new pool will hold a private opening on May 26 and on May 27 there is as soft opening from 5:00 to 7:00. The pool will be open on Saturday May 28 but the grand opening is Monday, Memorial Day. OLD BUSINESS Councilman David Levy, Charlotte Presensky, Mike Kelly and Jack Doughney met with Commissioner Karen Marcus. The county wants to terminate the inter - local agreement with the City and they want to go ahead and build the park. They are in favor in partnering on certain areas of the park. The county does not have the funds to work on the park for about five to ten years but might be able to move forward faster if partnering with the City. They suggested a workshop with the residents to see what kind of park will be built. Mr. Levy feels the project will move forward and it will be a great park. Charlotte suggested a public forum about the park. The Board will host the meeting and county staff will also attend and answer questions from the public. Bert Premuroso stated that there are commitments to other parks in the city and they don't want to get into a situation where the City starts the park and then there is no money available for the other projects. David Levy feels that this Board's projects are top priority and other cities that will also be using the district park will be putting in money. He stressed that the county will be putting in the bulk of the money and that it will probably be five years before the park is built. However, the county would like to have a site plan in order to move forward. He also feels this is a good way to work in a good working relationship with the county. The board would like to wait until after the summer to host the workshop. David Levy will pass this information on to the City Council and to Commissioner Marcus and they will look to hosting the workshop in September or October. NEW BUSINESS Capital Priorities Planning Charlotte handed out a Capital Planning Project Book. Charlotte feels the information that was collected a few years ago has to be updated regarding the priority plans and projects. She would like to hold some workshops and meetings with the goal of producing another priority list by March that will be used for next budget year. She went through the book page by page and explained each entry to the Board. She is proposing they continue to move forward with the concepts with some modifications and do some significant work on projecting their impact funds. She feels that this project should not be rushed. She reminded the Board that PGA National is a priority because the park is in bad shape. She also discussed doing a needs study on demographics to find out the need for a new teen center. She would plan on this being one of the priorities for next year. Tory Buckley would like to know how much the impact fees actually are and how much money the Board actually has to use for projects. The impact fees through next year are already projected. Tory wanted to know how the Board is going to allocate if they don't know how much money they have. Charlotte stated that they are creating essentially a wish list because they don't know what the impact fees are at this time. She would like to see the Board involved in a survey with the public to get an idea of what the residents are looking for. She said that Alan Owens is working on the projections and Charlotte will bring that back to the Board when it is available. The Board would like to know what they did in the four years prior and then have a projection for five years into the future. They understand a projection is not necessarily fact but they would like to have these figures. They would like to do the public study but would also like to see what the future looks like. Charlotte is going to bring a draft of the survey to the June meeting for the Boards input so it will be ready to go in the Fall Newsletter. COMMENTS BY THE BOARD Maryanne Hedrick wanted to know if the dog run is being used. Charlotte said it is being used and there is an article coming out about the dog run. Carolyn Chaplik wanted to know where the dog run is located and what is the difference between a dog park and dog run. Charlotte explained that they are waiting for additional grant money to turn the dog run into a dog park. Charlotte also informed the Board that the grant funds that she originally thought the City was not going to get, they will be getting after all. This will fund $200,000 for City Park Phase II and $200,000 for Lilac Park Phase II. Phil Milton wanted to know when the bridge at the walking trail will be completed. Charlotte stated that it is probably about 6 to S weeks away from completion. Tory Buckley commented that if the projections were better there might be funds for the dog park. He also commented that Nature Trails were one of the top things on the priority list and this has never been addressed. Tory also wanted to know from the Police Chief if sex offenders are allowed to use the parks and can they be barred from the parks if they are a registered sex offender. Maryanne Hedrick: What is the board going to do to address the gate at Ilex Circle? She stated that they have heard what the neighborhood has to say but what is the Board going to do about it. Changes have to be made for the safety of the residents. Philip Milton made a motion for this Board to recommend that City Council make the final decision on the gate closure at Ilex Circle. The Board's recommendation is to put a timing mechanism on the gate and have it locked from 11:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. Ernest Volonte seconded the motion. The Board voted accordingly: Tory Buckley - Yes, Bert Premuroso,- Yes, Mary Anne Hedrick — Yes, Ernest Volonte- Yes, Phil Milton- Yes, Wendy Walker -Yes, and Carolyn Chaplik -Yes to make a 7 -0 Vote. The Board would like the time frame monitored by a report from the Police Chief to see if it makes a difference in the crime in the area. Ernest Volonte asked about the development that is going up on the east side of the golf course. He is concerned about the level and the land that is in that area. He is concerned about flooding in the area. He was told that the City is aware of the problem and the burm will be made higher in the final stage of the project. All the drainage is going to go into the wetlands. Ernest would also like to know why it took three weeks to ariate the golf course. He was told that there was some equipment that broke down and that slowed down the process. Also, this years arification was more extend than last year. Ernest wanted to know if the City lost money during this process. The funds are actually up from last year at this time. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:11 P.M. Approval: Robert Premuroso, Chairperson Un IQR� Wendy Wa er, Vice Chairperson Phil NMton, Board Member Mary nne Hedrick, Board Member f Ernest Volont oard Member CAJ-A" C40& �h Carolyn Clfaplik, Board qember Alan Leyland, Alternate Board Member David Lutrin, Alternate Board Member Attest: r- Susan Bell, Public Information/ Recording Coordinator Pat H ughey Reed Dr. NOTICE PUBLIC MEETING RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD May 16 7:00 PM Council Chambers TO discuss the locking and timing of the Ilex footbridge -rY -- 05-16-05 -As a resident of this city for over 40 years, I have seen many changes, some good and some even better. However, as some lll~mbers of this city's council and this board, are well aware, I have for many years pleaded for a safe place for the children and young people in the Palm B each Square area of this,city to play. As it is now, they play in the streets and sidewalks. Some of the older ones are allowed to walk or bike to parks on the north side of the canal that separates Palm Beach Square fro m the rest of the city. This is also the route that is used to travel to the schools. -With the closing of this access, o ur children will be force d to walk along Military Trail or to MacArther Blvd., to use the facilities that our tax dollars have been applied to, yet we are being denied reasonable safe passageway. -It WijS after the mal<ln.¥ of"Ilex Circle Greenspace" this gate was installed .It should be noted that of all th~ par~s in tbe city, tbis is the only one that has required the installation of a locked gate. -It is my earnest plea to this groqp to consicler the message bein~ sent by the recent acti~m in locking this passage way. There have been comw.ents about crime and hoodlums entering Gardenia G ardens. A.re these l:>eing directed at the Palµi l3eflch ~9uare residents? ' If so, I suggest/request that, if it hasn't already happened, there be a study done to determine the increase in crime, what kind of crime, who were the perpetrators, victims, time of day of the crimes, what kind of transportation was used in the commission of these crimes. Whatever the customary facts are to be gathered and used in making this kind of study. Only then can an informed decision be made. Please · co~~ider the equity of the spending of tax dollars, use of facilities and the messages being sent to the residents of this city. We want to be "one united city".