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10/22/2019 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 22, 2019 City of Clearwater Spectrum Field 601 Old Coachman Road Clearwater, FL 33765 m ap ® e Meeting Minutes Tuesday, October 22, 2019 6:30 PM Spectrum Field Parks and Recreation Board Page 1 City of Clearwater Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 22, 2019 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair Mark Rodriguez, Board Member Norene M. Marlow, Board Member Lisa Tuttle, Board Member Jason Hood, and Board Member Patrick Raftery Absent 1 - Vice Chair Jennifer Christou-Wood Also Present— Kevin Dunbar— Parks & Recreation Director, Michael Lavery — Parks Senior Manager, Patricia O. Sullivan - Board Reporter 1. Call To Order The Chair called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. at Spectrum Field. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approval Of Minutes Member Tuttle moved to approve the minutes of the July 23, 2019 Parks & Recreation Board meeting as submitted in written summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Consider Renaming Bayfront Parks including Memorial Parks 1 and 2, Bayfront Tennis Complex, west City Hall parking lot, and Harborview parking lot. Parks & Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar said the City Council had referred the renaming of the downtown waterfront parks to the Parks & Recreation Board, the Public Hearing required by Code was not advertised and needed to be rescheduled. Consensus was to reschedule this item for a special meeting on November 5, 2019 at Council Chambers. A map of the referenced parks was requested. 4.2 Tour Spectrum and Carpenter Fields Mr. Dunbar said the tour would provide an overview of what the City and Phillies were trying to achieve at the Spectrum Field/Carpenter Field complex, which was owned by the City. Mr. Dunbar said the Phillies has been in Clearwater since 1923, Philadelphia had the country's largest media market with a single baseball team. Only Page 2 City of Clearwater Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes October 22, 2019 21 cities host Spring Training teams. He was working with the Phillies to obtain funding from the County and State, extend the Phillies agreement with Clearwater for another 20 years, and modernize the 16 year-old facility, which showed signs of wear and tear and no longer was state of the art. The game of baseball now included player development, analysis, nutrition, etc. All Phillies minor league coordination was done at the facility. Phillies Director of Florida Operations John Timberlake said the facility was built on City donated land, Clearwater spent$8 million on building the facility and the Phillies, which managed the project, spent almost$14 million. He said the City was responsible for major facility maintenance. He said major league baseball needs had changed. He said by January, the facility would have hundreds of employees onsite and by mid-February, 1,100 employees would be present including major and minor league players, player and video coaches, analytics personnel, nutritionists, chefs, etc. He said players often ate their meals in front of their lockers, the original facility did not have a kitchen. He said all player medical rehabilitation was located at the facility with 25-30 rehabs underway during this slowest time of the year. Mr. Timberlake said the Phillies intended to extend its agreement with Clearwater another 20 years. He said the project had an estimated$80 million budget and would take 3 to 4 years to complete. He said$8 million would be invested in air-conditioning, roofs, etc. and$2 million would be used for necessary reinforcement of the berm. He said$71 million was budgeted for new weight rooms, enclosing the club level, adding 800 seats, constructing a dormitory for young recruits, and upgrades that will create an exceptional fan experience for the next 15 to 20 years. He said Spring Training generated significant tourism for Clearwater and Pinellas County. He reviewed investment requests: 1) $16 million from the City, 2) $20 million from the State; 3) $40 million from the County, and 4) $10 million from the Phillies plus cost overrides. He said the County had invested$41.7 in the Blue Jays Stadium in Dunedin. He said renovation plans would modernize the facility and represented the costs of hosting a professional team and reaping the resulting economic benefits. He said the facility had a significant economic impact on Clearwater and improved residents'quality of life. In response to questions, Mr. Timberlake said game tickets would continue to be priced competitively, concession prices were the lowest among Spring Training facilities. He said the facility benefitted the Phillies and the community and hosted tournaments, multiple free events, corporate events, and large concerts. He said the project safeguarded the City against any cost overruns. He hoped construction would begin in April. Mr. Dunbar said the Phillies would pay all cost overruns, the City of Dunedin had to spend$2 million more than budgeted. He requested the board recommend the City Council support the proposed funding for upgrades to Spectrum and Carpenter fields at the board's special meeting in November. Page 3 City of Clearwater Parks and Recreation Board 5. Old Business Item Meeting Minutes October 22, 2019 Mr. Dunbar requested members review the 40 -year old Code language re the Parks & Recreation Board for the January meeting and recommend modifications to the Board's mission to make it more relevant. Parks Senior Manager Michael Lavery suggested the Board could provide guidance to update the department's Master Plan. 6. Director's Report: None. 7. Board Members to be Heard Adjourn Attest: It was requested that Mr. Lavery email department updates prior to meetings so members can pose questions re items of interest. In response to a question, Mr. Lavery said responsibility for Imagine Clearwater's entertainment venue had not been determined; Assistant City Manager Michael Delk, the project manager, provided monthly updates at City Council Work Sessions. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. followed by a tour of Spectrum Field and Carpenter Complex. Board Report City of Clearwater Chair Parks & Recreat • n Ad isory Board I Page 4