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03/24/1975 " \ . , " " 1:' ':. I ~ (: ' ~\~,,::& ....(/:',~~ 'l'.' CITY OF CLEARWArER PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTBS HARCH 24, 1975 / \'" ", '~ . . . ~ .. <, , '>.. ( The regular monthly meeting of the Parks and Recreation '~ Bonrd was held at tbe dcpurtmunt offices at 10 South Missouri Avenue on Monday, March 24, 1975 at 7:30 P.M. Present were Mrs. Melvin Taube, Mrs. Edwin Grcnelle, Messra. Gus Stavros, Al Price, Bill Justice, Hank McWhorter, Harold Robinson and Eddie C. Moore. In the absence of Chairman Dick Prokes, Mr. Gus Stavros was elected Chairman Pro Tern. Mrs. Grenelle was welcomed to the Board os n new member. Mr. Prokes was unable to be present due to his capacity as Chairman of the Memorial Civic Center Board who was entertaining the members of the City Commission at a Town Hall Meeting. Also, Mr. Ream Wilson was absent due to his attendance at'the National Recreation Parks Association Southern District Conference at Roanoke, Virginia. , .." Minutes of the meeting for the month of January, 1975 were approved as received in the mail; and the minutes of the meeting for the month of February, 1975 at which members were present for discussion of expenditures of Community Development Funds were approved as received with the exception that Mr. Al Price was also present at this meeting which noted a 100% attendance of all Board 'Members. \ I,' " \':: '. . ..J ~;: ~''''0): ' ' }, r ~. 1- ">:', (~~.\ :"'~'. '" Board Members received copies of the department's budget for the month of February and year-to-date. Normal expenditures: for this period of the year are 41.6% of the total budget. Actual expenditures of our department represent 38.9% at this time. How- ~ver, larger ex~enditures against the budget will take place during the summer months; and at this date certain capital expendi- tures are not included. Major over-expenditures in our department are those in which we have no control such as utility charges and ,~ar~ge'.costs. It appears a study of these charges will necessar- ily be made and i:tformation on, \that improvements are to be made can be discussed at future meetings. ,. . ':t\. '''{. . ':",:. ';" - ' . ".'r '. (.~: . ~ 1. . ~ Board Members received an itemized accounting of Glen Oaks Golf ~ouise budget, and income exceeds expenditures throuEh Feb- ruary by $16,432.42. A capital outlay item 01 $12~OOO. for im- proving irrigation at this cours~ is not included at this time. Mr. Moore reported Golf Course Manager, Chick Lewis~ ,submitted his resignation on this date effective thiD Friday~ April 4, 1975. Mr. Lewis has done an outstanding job for us in upgrading this course and increasihg revenu~. However, a Par 3 Go~i Course 1s unable to compete with a Par 72 Hole Course in recruiting per- sonn~l. Mr. Lewis indicates he will accept a job that will pay him substantially more than ~hat he receives from the City. ~ J ". , " ,~~ :: '/':1;" .If! . '?;:'::r3',, y/.... .....~ . . :~,;';:;/ " :.' : :...~ ;( , -1- ' ... . '/: The Board won advised that the Kings Highway Neighbor- hood Center should be completed in a matter of n few weeks. Landscaping of the crounds will necessarily be delayed until the last item. Alao, Lhe Board was advised th3t Hr. Mike Paroby has again been contacted with rer,ard to naming the center in honor of Arthur M. Kruse aB previously recommended. Hr. Paroby states this ttem will be placed on the agenda for consideration by the City Commission. ..'.. ; ~.; .'. \ Mr. Moore reported the playground apparatus has been in- stalled at the Uaines Rond project. Bids for the two tennis courts and concrete multipurpose courts should be ready within the next few weeks. Due to complaints of neighbors adjacent to this city-owned propcrtYI the present 5-ft. fence at the Little League Baseball Field will be elevated to a height of 9 ft. and a 6-ft. fence will be installed separating the re- maining properties. Also) we will plant cedars along certain 'portions of the park to add to the buffer between properties. At a ,recent meeting between Mr. Ream Wilson and Mr. Moore with one of the adjacent property ownerst Mr. Moffitt) the complainant threatened bodily harm to children who may be going on his property to recover balls. We have every inten- tion of fencing the area and providing buffers as previously promised these nearby residents. A total of $80)000. is ear- marked for this project. After a discussion) the Board Mem- bers recommended this new facility be named in honor of Bobby Forbes) a recently great Clearwater athlete who passed away. The complex will include a baseball field, multipurpose area, tennis 'courts) playground and picnic facilities. With as many activities being played in this park as will occur) it was deemed appropriate to name a facility such as this in honor of Bobby Forbes. The Board approved unanimously the motion by Mr. Hank McWhorter and seconded by Mr. Bill Justice that this ,facility be named Bobby Forbes Park. <,"< '. . ~< i ::,"'.~' , ~ 1" " I ,"\ . ::. -," ~:J~I. '" . " ,..' '."c ;. . The Board was advised fences have been erected at the newly planned basebull field at Wood Valley. The small ball- field will be constructed immediately. On nction by the City Commission we will forego lighting as previously planned and place the $10,000. earmarked for this item into the budgeted $10)000. appropriated for a building. It is estimated we can construct a building approximately 30' x 40' for 520)000. if we can use City forces in this respect. Playground apparatus and concrete multipurpose area is also being planned for con- struction at this site for the available budget of $46tOOO. for the complete project. . ' , ,l:.; : ...., . ,I .'/ ~ ~ '\ '. , , .'" . .. " " : ~", The Board discussed the bike trails and ramping of street ends as a continuous program for bike paths in the City. The present ramping is being done by personnel from Public Service and a budget of $5,000. has been appropriated for this type of work. The Board expressed concern that the bike trails program had been implemented coo slowly and suggested arrangements be made whereby the progrnm can be accelerated. A suggestion was made that ramping of street ends where children attend school be accelerated due to emphasis on safety for children using th~se routes. 'j:,!:' .. ::,~,:,;,~, , :~.. I I ~I\.;' ~ .. ~t:;.L . .. . ~};;'I . .~L, \f ',: ' . -2- .. ~ r:'~~J Mr. Moore informed the Board that n site plnn ror Nor- ton Park will be developed in the future which will include construction of two tennis courts, double concrete multi- purpose area and playground apparatus. A swimming pool is planned for this nren when funds become available. At pre- 'scnt. $58.000. is available for the aforementioned projects. The Board was advised that Condon Gard~ns has an appro- priation of $35,000. which is to include n double.sized con- crete basketball court. playground apparatus and storage building. " An appropriation of $35,000. has been made for the de- velopment of Valencia Park. This would include construction of two tennis courts, a multipurpose area and sidewalk. The tennis court construction replaces funds previously allocated for an irrigation system which now becomes the responsibility of the developers. C. I McMullen Park Tennis Courts and Clubhouse are scheduled to go to bid by the Engineering Department on July I, 1975. Thes~ bids were previously scheduled to take place in April, although the Engineering Department is unable to schedule them at that date due to a heavy work load in their department. Approximritely $221,270. is appropriated in capital improve- ments for McMullen Park. " ~'.I. . ~);<@"",. .' .~ ' ..' ;..' , '"n , . " ' \... . " :,:.:' .: A'total of $83,000. has been appropriated for recreational facilities at the former Clearwater Yacht Club property with ~his amount to be budgeted ,for tennis courts, concrete multi- purpose'area, playground apparatus, swimming pool repairs and restrooms.After discussion, it was recommended we pursue ,~',repairs to the swimming pool as a first item and construction ,~f restroom facilities by City personnel to service this facil- ity. Motion was made by Mr. piice and seconded by Mrs. Grenelle th~t the Board recommend proceeding with this work as soon as possible. The Board was advised that the $175,000. for a soft- :ball complex is still being held in abeyance due to lack of "adequate open acreage for constructing fields. Our staff will continue to inquire with regard to open space for possible future acquisition ror this purpose. As previously stated, the City .\ Commission has approved use of funds available for sale of the industrial park l5-acre site for utilization of this money for th~ purChase ot a softball site. Mr. seher indicat~d a possible sale of industrial park properties, although it may be necessary t~~~emove some of the restrictions imposed by the City in order to make the sale attractive to would-be buyers. " ," ..~.. c .~ .. ~ 1,. 1 . ,l" . . c " ~. .~ ~; . ~:: <,': +:Ij. . '~..~~>" .:': . '.~.' , .1 ~~. "f.e ." 'I .',' " I ( , i :. I ~. . " .. , ., >, . ' ;.{' '.;.. . . . ,~ ' . ~~> ;' \..., " ,.' '" The Edgewater Drive Beautification Project is still status quo as far as our department is concerned, although there is a budget remaining of $10,158. for this project. We will be un- able to progress further until County and State agencies approve 'certain aspects of this project. ,. .~. I :.,,~ -;' ~;, :~'? ". " . . ,I,: ' ~~.~.(:. : ;.;. . "~', :: : ~'. . . .~\ '. .' , :;i, , t~~~: "" ri{.~.~'.:';: ~~. ,I ,~,!, .... . -3- :, ~. ~ . ~ >1- " ,'" The Board Members ~ere provided itemized copies of all City open spaces and facilities. lncluded is the sanitary landfill site of 316 acres. The 69 pieces of property equal 939-99/100 acres. <;;L ., ':/;. ' Board Members have previously suggested that new members visit Parks and Recreation facilities in order to familiarize themselves with the discussion of City properties at meetings. Mrs. Taube and Mrs. Grenelle had discussed this visit to fa- cilities at the meeting of the Community Development discus- sio~R; and Mrs. Martin, new City Commissioner, has also re- quested an opportu~ity to view these facilities. After discussion, it was agreed that other Board Members were interested in attending a review of department facilities ~ and suggested other members of the City Commission may wish to join in this trip. An invitation will be extended to them in this respect. The date set aside is Friday morning, April 11th, at 8:30 at the Parks & Recreation office. Mr. Moore suggested the members consider scheduling enough time to include the 'entire morning, and possibly a few hours after lunch. ", I . The Board was advised Mr. Lane Marshall had reported on the Crest Lake landscaping plans at the City Commission meeting on M6nday, March 17th. Mr. Marshall recommended development of this park over a period of several years. 'No action was requested or made by the Commission on this report. The Board discussed usage of Crest Lake Park at length and agreed the concept' of a Community Park is most desirable. Also, the Board suggested that any action that could assist in the development of this ,park should be done at the very earliest date. <'. , . . :. , " / ""~'): I. .., ~... " :';~"~':~ . ., ,",.. I: .:f~ , , l::~:' : '~~', ~ . :~i .- l).," Mr. Moore reported non-resident cards are being obtained by many people, and at this date 600 cards have been sold. . .. I ,i'," , ~... ~l. ~. :'. Messrs. Robinson, Tack and Prokes and Mrs. Taube recently were advised they have been reappointed to the Parks & Recrea- tion Board effective February 28, 1975 for a period of two 'years. .-oj. ~!' :,' , > ':; .>,-, ':r . .,Of . Board Members discussed usage of Bobby Walker Swimming Pool at Clearwater High School and the need for restrooms at this facility. A motion was made by Mr. Justice and seconded by Mrs. Taube that the City appropriated Capital Improvement Funds of $15,000. be allocated for materials to be expended for rest- rooms with the County School Board providing the labor. Motion was carried. Mr. Moore will send this recommendation to Mr. Paroby to determine if such an arrangement can be made with the School Board. , . ':" . . I,. ',' , ~ ~:. ',' " 1;'< ",' '. ," .' .......) ~;~~' \~:" ' ~,., ..~ . . " . }.1..... ' . ',. -,. .... I~'i'~' I .t:/'. ". . 'There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. ,(, -l.-