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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 082098 WorkshopCITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING AUGUST 20, 1998 The August 20, 1998, Joint Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and the Recreation Advisory Board was called to order at 6:00 P.M. 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 to the Flag. ROLL CALL The City Clerk called the roll and the following elected officials were found to be in attendance: Mayor Joseph R. Russo, Vice Mayor Lauren Furtado, Councilman David Clark and Councilman Carl Sabatello. Councilman Eric Jablin was absent from the meeting. The following members of the Recreation Advisory Board were found to be in attendance: Charles Torrey, Jim Maynor, Ed Oliver, Sue Miller, Brian McLaughlin. PRESENTATIONS City Manager Herakovich announced that the Parks and Recreation • Department had been working for quite some time with the community planning firm of Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart on the City's overall Master Plan and would present their work to date. Director of Parks and Recreation Sue Miller introduced Dave Clark of Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, who explained the purpose for this interim workshop was to obtain feedback, and stated objectives were to establish a long - range plan, prioritize most important needs, and plan funding strategies. Mr. Clark explained that staff consensus for a vision plan was to have a system of neighborhood parks containing open space and close enough to walk to within ten minutes of home; community parks with activities located within three miles of home; and special use facilities. Mr. Clark commented that many community parks were filled with so many activities they had become sports centers, which were considered special use facilities; and that community parks with open land for activities such as playing ball until 11 p.m. without lights being a problem, were needed. Mr. Clark stated that enough special use facilities were needed to meet the needs of the residents, and that greenways and natural areas, as well as linkages . of bikeways, sidewalks, and trails were also needed. A quick analysis of existing conditions showed the City had great resources CITY COUNCIL JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING, 8/20/98 2 and a good basic park system; however, linkages were now missing and roads were shaping the community, making it more difficult to achieve the vision plan. Mr. Clark explained how development patterns within the City had influenced the quality of life. Mr. Clark pointed out voids within the City where neighborhood parks were needed, and voids within large planned communities where there were no community parks. Mr. Clark requested one item from each person present which they considered the most important needs. Responses included a large district park, baseball fields, neighborhood parks, linkages, outdoor amphitheater, senior center, swimming pool, city center, and nature centers. Mr. Clark explained that the three top priorities obtained in a telephone survey were (1) a swimming pool; (2) trails, bikeways, and linkages; and (3) renovation of the existing facility; and reported that a large district park was the next highest priority item. Mr. Clark displayed a graphic depicting current status of planning for the Parks and Open Space Master Plan, reviewed community • parks, neighborhood parks, and linkages, and explained that sufficient neighborhood parks could be provided if school grounds could be utilized as parks and if, as the opportunity arose, a couple of homes were purchased and demolished in order to use the land for a neighborhood park. Mr. Clark advised that re- claiming roadways was felt to be a number one priority by his company, and used Burns Road as an example. The possibility of only widening Burns Road near the bridge and keeping it two lanes in other areas to slow traffic was discussed. Major recommendations by Mr. Clark were that traffic calming devices be instituted City -wide, and that since the image of Palm Beach Gardens was perceived from I -95, PGA Boulevard, and the Florida Turnpike, which were all at the discretion of someone else in terms of landscape treatment, gateways, and major corridors, that those areas must be made to feel like a part of the City and the City must decide how to get the attention of the County and DOT to let them know what the City wanted in those areas. Mr. Clark suggested enhancing the City sign at gateway areas by incorporating Mediterranean revival materials such as archways and columns, or another style if appropriate. The area next to Gardens Mall around the lake was suggested as a possible City Center area, which the City Council advised was • already in preliminary development stages and that the developer would work with the City to incorporate public use into their plan. CITY COUNCIL JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING, 8/20/98 3 Mr. Clark suggested other City Center areas in South Florida that the members of the City Council could visit so that as they negotiated with the developer they would have an idea of what they really wanted, and recommended the City be as proactive as possible in these negotiations. Mr. Clark recommended continuing to work on linking areas via bicycle pathways, etc., and commented that special use facilities were not proposed because it appeared most of those uses could be incorporated into the district park. Mr. Clark discussed cost and requested that the City provide a budget they considered reasonable based on existing sources of funding and what might be reasonable funding sources for the future. Mr. Clark recommended that City Codes be reviewed to be sure they provided for neighborhood parks as proposed in the vision plan, and explained that impact fees and codes would allow development of the next community park needed beyond those provided in individual PUD and DRI parcels. Another idea proposed was to have a foundation or friends group to act as a flag- waver and obtain funds for the parks system. Mr. Clark recommended that relations with the School Board be strengthened so that school playground fences could be taken down and those areas used as neighborhood parks. Vice Mayor Furtado questioned if the telephone survey had taken into account whether they were speaking with people in an older section of the City or in a new project where neighborhood parks would not have been a priority, to which the City Manager responded that information could be ascertained from the addresses. Mayor Russo stressed the importance of acting quickly to finalize an option to purchase land offered for sale by the MacArthur Foundation for a district park, with partial funding to come from outside sources including the County. City Manager Herakovich advised that item would be on the agenda for the next City Council meeting, and that staff recommended a referendum in the year 2002 for public works and park development. Mr. Clark recommended obtaining use of rights -of -way along existing canals which might be used for future linkages. Vice Mayor Furtado suggested employment of a full -time grant writer in order to obtain more grant funds. Councilman Sabatello agreed with obtaining rights -of -way along canals for future linkages, expressed his opinion that neighborhood parks needed to be at least five acres in order to CITY COUNCIL JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING, 8/20/98 0 work, and suggested that open space be contiguous with the canals in future developments. Discussion ensued regarding taking advantage of land opportunities as they became available. A member of the Recreation Advisory Board urged that the City proceed quickly to act on the District Park land from the MacArthur Foundation. The City Manager responded a meeting had been held regarding the agreement that afternoon. Mayor Russo explained that although no commitment had been made by the County Commission, according to Commissioner Marcus their plan was to participate, and they did not plan to establish a district park in the northern portion of the County. In response to a question by Mr. Oliver regarding possibly raising impact fees to provide park funding, Mayor Russo recommended a workshop meeting to discuss that issue because of the pressure of major growth from the MacArthur Foundation land sales. A question was asked regarding whether any State funding was available, to which the response was grant money. The possibilities of obtaining County impact fees were discussed. The desirability of holding a second workshop meeting in September was discussed. U1 E CITY COUNCIL JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING, 8/20/98 ki ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, upon motion by Vice Mayor Furtado, seconded by Councilman Clark, the meeting was adjourn707SE�H m. APPROVAL: 1�A) t . RUSSO • ATTEST: FURT JABLIN COUNCTMAN AVID CLARK COUNC ARL S ABATELLO Ll�i IND�1 V. KOSIER, CMC, CITY CLERK 0