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06/27/1983 AGENDA FAY,:: ,;- PARKS AND RECRE-ATION BOARD- Monday, June 27, 1983 1.. Minutes of May .24 Meeting .2." Minutes of Special Meeting - June 16, 1983 3. Resorts a. Capital Improvement Projects - .Status Reports b. Park Dedication Ordinance c. Gift Catal.o2, •., 'd.. Memorial Causeway -Report of commission action. at Special Hearing f :. ' 11 'e. Other Re orts Comments from Board Members Adjournment i` 1'•a YI ' " .. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes Monday, June 27, 1983 The Parks and Recreation Board held its regular meeting at the City Hall Annex, 10 S. Missouri Avenue, on Monday, June 27th, 1983 at 7:30 p.m. Members present included Mr. Charles Wood, Mrs. Diann Schultz, Mr. Buck Fincher, Mr. Murray Fuchs and Mr. Eric Ford. Members Mrs. Nancy Morgan, Dr. LaMarr MacNutt, Mrs. Ginger McQuigg and Dr. Ira Berger were unable to attend. Also in attendance were Miss Kim Rogers, student Board member, Mr. Ream Wilson and Mr. Art Kader. In the absence of Mrs. McQuigg, Mr. Fuchs moved that Mr. Wood serve as temporary chairman. Mr. Fuchs made a motion that the Board Minutes of May 24, 1983, and Special Meeting Minutes of June 16th, 1983, be approved. Mrs. Schultz seconded the motion which passed.' Mr. Wood called on Mr. Wilson for the following reports. Ca ital Im rovement Projects - Mr. Kader explained that staff had met with the City Manager and the City Commission relative to Capital Improvement Projects for the 1983/84 budget year. Priorities were identified and the projects that remain in the budget include the light replacement program, renovation of Crest Lake, renovation of Ray Green ballfield, restrooms and lighting for Countryside F j -Community Park, soccer fields at Norton Park, landscaping for downtown parks, playground apparatus, Moccasin Lake Park fencing, improvement at Jack Russell Stadium, and limited funding for canopies at the Lawnbowls Club and Shuffleboard Club. Further, Mr. Kader explained that all of the Parks and Recreation Board priorities are on the list with the exception of restrooms at the Eddie C. Moore Complex (to be accomplished by the Softball Association), handball courts at the Youth Maritime Center, construction of Countryside Little League fields, bike trail expansion and irrigation system at Carpenter Field. In sugary, the Parks and Recreation Board priorities included fourteen recommendations and nine are currently on the list. Irrigation repairs for Carpenter Field will be addressed in the operating budget. Mrs. Schultz asked why the handball courts at the Youth Maritime Center were deleted. Mr. Wilson explained that priorities included those projects that involved repairs to existing facilities, and restrooms which are sorely needed at facilities such as Eddie C. Moore and Countryside Community Park. Presently, Port-O-Lets are being used at these locations. Further, Mr. Wilson explained that these projects will receive further consideration from the City Commission during budget hearings. Additionally, Mr. Wilson explained that he had met with representatives of the Morningside-Meadows Association as to the oversight of staff in not including a recreation center building on the original list of Capital Improvement requests, for.the east part of Clearwater. Mr. Wilson explained that indoor recreation centers are needed in the east and north portions of the City and that the omission was an oversight. He explained that he will notify the City Manager of this omission for his information, but indicated that funding possibilities were ex- tremely limited since an indoor center is very costly to construct and to operate. r; . ,m . t He stated that residents of the Morningside-Meadows area will be promoting the project during Public hearings. Mr. Kader explained that the primary funding sources for the existing Capital Improvement projects on the list are Parkland Dedication fees and some revenues from existing capital projects. Only $5,000 of new General Fund monies is being recommended for use. Mrs. Schultz questioned and indicated concern that a department the size of Parks and Recreation will be receiving very little General Fund money. Mr. Wood also indicated concern. Mr. Wilson responded that the budget is tight and that new General Fund money is extremely limited not only for Parks and Recreation, but also for other departments who will be requesting capital projects. Mr. Wood brought up the subject of private groups donating monies toward the construction of projects. Mr. Wilson stated that this could be the case for a sailing center on Sand Key. A request has been received from members of the sailing community as it relates to the establishment of a special fund for the collection of private donations. Monies collected could be used towards the construction of sailing center facilities. Mr. Ford indicated that soccer en- thusiasts have also indicated a desire to contribute. Park Dedication Ordinances - Mr. Wilson distributed copies of Ordinance No. 3128-83 (Recreation Land and Facilities) and Ordinance No. 3129-83 (Open Space). He explained that these ordinances would be going before the City Com- mission for final hearing on July 7th, 1983. Further, members received copies of the "Open Space and Recreation Study" which provides the background and basis for the information contained in,.the ordinances. Also, members received a sheet of "Applicability of New Fee Schedule" which shows the types of development and the fees that they will be required to pay under the new ordinances. Mr. Wilson explained that the new ordinances are based on existing conditions and that new developments in Clearwater would only be asked to contribute what is now being provided to citizens. The objective is not to deplete the present level of service. Basically, the three types of impact fees are: 1. recreation facility impact fee which involves a payment of $200 per building unit, 2. recreation land impact tee which involves a contribution of 150 sq. ft. per building unit, and 3. open space impact fee which includes 4% contribution of the net area being developed. He explained that residential developments of eight or more units will be re- quired to pay all three fees. Developments of less than eight units will be re- quired to pay only the' recreation facility impact fee. Non--residential developments of one acre or more will be required to pay only the open space fee. He explained that the ordinances were innovative and that they have a sound base. Non-residen- tial developments will contribute only toward open space since they do not impact recreation facilities or recreation land. Considerable discussion ensued among Hoard members and Mr. Wilson encouraged each member to read the information pre- sented and to contact the department in the event they have any questions. He explained that monies from each of•the three categories will be placed into three separate trust funds and that monies must be used within a certain distance for 'those specific purposes. Mrs. Schultz inquired as to what happens when money -2- 4 ti cannot be spent within the distance of an impacted project. Mr. Wilson explained that some discretion is left to the City Commission in this regard but that every effort will be made to develop a Capital Improvement program with projects in the appropriate locations. A separate budget will be presented each year showing the a aunts of monies collected from the ordinances and projects being recommended for construction. _Gift Catalog, - Mr. Wilson distributed drafts of a gift catalog that might be considered for the City of Clearwater Parks and Recreation Department. Ile empha- sized that the copy was a draft and that changes could be made. Members indicated a.concern that items listed in the catalog were too specific and need to be more general. They felt that it could be more attractive and that it should include color. Mr. Wilson explained that the final brochure will be colorful, and that a map of recreation facilities will be included on the last page. He indicated that a second draft will be available for the next Board meeting. Miss Rogers stated that she would like to have a copy of the final product to see if high schools might want to contribute. Memorial Causeway - lair. Wilson stated that Mrs. McQuigg had attended the City Commission special hearing on the Memorial Causeway and that she relayed to the Commission the recommendations of the Parks and Recreation Board. Specifically, these recommendations included parking at the east end only and use of the Causeway as a passive park, mass transit along the emergency roadway and encouraging the opening of Sand Key Park to relieve congestion on Clearwater Beach. Mx. Wilson stated that Mrs. McQuigg presented these recommendations to the City Commission and that many people also spoke regarding the subject. The final decision by the Commission was that no parking would be allowed on the south side of the Causeway after the 4th of July. He indicated that Mrs. McQuigg was concerned about this decision and that, on her own, was writing a letter to the City Com- mission to express her concerns. Other Reports - Mr. Wilson informed Board members that Mr. Art Mulholland is retiring as Parks Superintendent and that Mr. Ozell. George will be taking his place. He indicated that one division head might be invited to each month's s. Board meeting to explain the workings of his division. Board members expressed interest in this proposal and asked that the City Forester attend the next Board meeting. Comments from Board Members Mrs. Schultz stated that the soccer field on Clearwater Beach needs work .since much of the grass has been worn away. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Kader indicated that this would be investigated. She also inquired as to why grass or some other ground covering couldn't be placed on the piles of dirt along the Youth Maritime Center. She felt that the existing conditions were unattractive. Mr. Wilson stated that they would look into the matter. Mr. Ford stated that the newspaper publicity'on the ordinances was good. Ile asked if annexations of developed prop- erty paid park dedication fees under the new ordinances and the response was Yes. He inquired about when lights would be installed on the soccer fields at Eddie C. Moore and Mr. Kader stated that this was in the works and the fields should be lighted for this coming season. Further, Mr. Ford asked if restroom facilities -3- .7 . v' ? Y could be constructed similar to those in County Parks. Mrs. Schultz and Mr. t Wilson indicated that these are excellent rastrooms but that they are very expen- sive. Our current restroom design similar to the one located on Sand Key involves natural ventilation and natural lighting. This design will quite possibly-be used in future construction. He inquired as to when budget hearings will be held and the estimate is the end of July or August. tie also felt that grassing was needed at the Court Street soccer field because of heavy wear and tear and Mr. Kader said that we would be looking at the situation. Mr. Fuchs inquired about the status of the Historical society's request to place the Plumb House on the Ross Norton park property. Mr. Wilson said that the Historical Society has an architectural plan showing the location of the building on the•middle finger of land and that they are presently drafting a list itemizing the responsibilities of each group, the Society and the City. Mr. Fuchs asked that the Board be allowed to see the final proposal prior to its going before the city commission. Mr. Wilson said that this would be accomplished. Mr. Fuchs also indicated his,support of Morningside residents regarding a recreation center in east Clearwater, and felt that the CoCoNut Building would be a good possibility.• He wanted to hear more about this subject. Mr. Wood and Miss Rogers had no comments. Mr. Fincher felt that the City should look into the '? .. .. y purchase of CoCaNuts in that it'is actuall .? '' .. y .a part of the recreation complex. He stated that the building was a part of the original recreation complex design and that an indoor center is '..needed.:.Also, Mr. Fincher stated that he had heard several compliments from soft- :ball players in a•recent tournament regarding the outstanding facilities at the Eddie.C. Moore Complex.'. Specifically, he stated that these players were from Miami, and that they had said that they wish'they had a similar facility in Miami.. There being no further matters before the Board, the meeting adjourned. - 4- , , M