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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - PRAB - 05-21-2009MEETING MINUTES CITY OF MILTON PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Thursday, May 21, 2009, -11:3o a.m. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order by Mark Reed at 11:3o a.m. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken by Linda Blow. MEMBERS PRESENT Mark Shaw Mark Reed Curtis Mills Tom Mulroy Sandra Sheley OTHERS PRESENT Marcia O'Shaughnessy, Member, Milton Disability Awareness Committee Scott Stachowski, HYA Certification Officer Brad Chambers, Parks & Rec Advisor Linda Blow, Projects Coordinator Quorum announced by Mark Reed. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion to approve agenda as submitted was made by Mark Reed and seconded by Sandra Sheley. The note was unanimous and the motion carried. Curtis Mills recommended eliminating this as a standing agenda item and that was approved by the Board, thus, approval of meeting agenda will no longer be an agenda item. APPROVAL OF PAST MINUTES Motion to approve minutes of April 30, Zoog by Curtis Mills, seconded by Sandra Sheley. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS ■ North Fulton Special Recreation Proposal-Councilmember Tina D'Aversa Brad Chambers gave a brief review of this proposal from Tina's presentation to council at the last council meeting. It essentially involves all of the cities in North Fulton in a sharing of recreational facilities for the disabled. ■ Parks and Recreation Mission Statement (follow-on discussion from April meeting and special called meeting with City Council) Chairman Reed ➢ Mark Reed will tweak the Mission Statement per council's input and bring back before the committee at the next sleeting. Discussion of community meeting with CPAC — Chairman Reed ➢ Mark Shaw states that his comments to the council at the special meeting may have been misunderstood because he didn't feel it was answered. Mark Shaw suggests that the Board begin the work of the nuts and bolts — create a timeline — and then tie in the monies. ➢ Curtis Mills will send out the 2005 Birmingham Park Master Plan funded by Fulton County to all committee members. ➢ It was recommended that Chris Lagerbloom and Stacey Inglis be invited to the next meeting to explain the budget process. ■ Discussion of EDAW Comprehensive Assessment — Chairman Reed ➢ Brad Chambers advised the Committee that if they would like to host another meeting for EDAW to give their presentation the cost would be $1700. The Committee suggested that they wait to see what information EDAW has available for them and then make the decision. The next required meeting is a Town Hall meeting. REPORTS OF COMMITTEE Standing Committee — HYA and baseball Softball — Tom Mulro & Mark Shaw ➢ Tom Mulroy stated that he had sent a copy of the summary Report and Recommendations on the Use of Bell Memorial Park by Travel Teams to all Board members. [copy attached] ➢ Tom read the report to the board for input and discussion. -)o- Scott Stachowski, HYA member in attendance, asked if he could speak on the recommendation. All agreed. Scott stated that there is a 5 year agreement for recreational baseball now in place with renewal options each year. He agrees that field space is a problem. Point 2 under recommendations states that the City should appoint positions for the HYA Board — he strongly disagrees with this point. He points out that HYA is running the leagues, not the City, hence the official agreement. He is concerned that the City is trying to micromanage the way HYA is running the baseball teams. He also requested an appointment to the HYA Board to represent the City's interests. ➢ Mark Reed wants the recommendation to go before the Council as is. Curtis Mills moved to approve the recommendation to the Council and Sandy Sheley seconded. The vote was unanimous and the motion was carried. _ Standing Committee — Finance & Budget — Curtis Mills SandShele ➢ Curtis stated that he and Sandra have created a discussion outline. This item will be moved to the top of the agenda for discussion and review at the next meeting. Standing Committee — City Code Chapter on Parks & Rec Fees & Chargees Rental Poles Discussion — Mark Reed Sabrina Moore ➢ Mark Reed states they have reviewed this Chapter. Need to set a meeting with Brad to discuss further. 2 Standing_ Committee — Recreation Site — Mark Reed/Lauren Jackson Mark Reed states that they have had a discussion with Katie Reeves on this subject. They will be sending a letter to all school principals inquiring on the use of the school's recreation sites. CITY STAFF REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS ■ Presentation of recycled products compaLiy for signs and other amenities ■ Reciprocal Agreement with Alpharetta to waive non-resident fees for Feeder Teams pla3dn at Wills Park and Bell Memorial Park Tom Mulroy to meet with Jim Craig on this. Brad announced he will not be at the next meeting and that he will communicate with Linda and Mark to insure the have all information necessaU before the meeting. OTHER BUSINESS NEXT MEETING DATE Thursday, June 18, xx:3o a.m. LOCATION OF MEETING The location of the meetings will be the Executive Conference Room in the City Manager's office. ADJOURNMENT Motion and Vote: Sandra Sheley made a motion to have the meeting adjourned. The motion was seconded by Mark Reed. The vote was unanimous and the motion carried. After no further business, the City of Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting adjourned at 1:oo pm. DATE APP APPROVE] Mark Reed, Chair Milton Parks & Recreation Advisory Board City of Milton Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Summary Report and Recommendations on the Use of Bell Memorial Park by Travel Teams Background Rec League Agreement: The City has an agreement with Hopewell Youth Association (HYA) regarding the use of Bell Memorial Park for a recreational baseball league. This agreement is automatically renewed (unless cancelled) each calendar year through December 31, 2013. Travel Team Agreement: The City also has an agreement with HYA regarding the use of Bell Memorial Park by travel teams. This agreement expires on December 31, 2009 and has no provision for renewal. Demand for Baseball in Milton: During the spring 2009 season, participation by Milton residents was as follows: ■ Ree League: The recreational league for 4-15 year olds included 649 players: 567 Milton residents and 82 non-residents (87% Milton residents.) • Travel Teams: The five travel teams for 9-13 year olds included 53 players: 23 Milton residents and 30 non-residents (43% Milton residents.) Two of these travel teams had only one Milton resident each. [Note that there are discrepancies in the residency data provided for the travel teams, but HYA has refused to provide travel team rosters with addresses, citing privacy concerns.] Field Space Shortage: The four fields at Bell Memorial Park --which are the only public baseball fields in Milton --are not adequate to support the growing demand: ■ All of the rec league age groups (except the 8 year old group) were sold out and marked "WAIT LIST" during spring 2009 registration. • Field space is a major issue on Fields 1 & 2 (used by players age 9 and up), where a significant amount of field space on weekdays and Sundays is reserved for travel teams. HYA first allocates 4 hours per week of field time to each travel team, which allows less than 2 hours per week of field time for each rec team. • Next year, 112 eight year olds will move to Fields 1 & 2 and no fifteen year olds will graduate, which means 10 additional teams would be required to accomodate all returning rec players. ■ In August 2009, more than 300 Milton students will be redistricted from Manning Oaks Elementary in Alpharetta to Cogburn Woods Elementary in Milton. Next season, these Milton residents (who may now play baseball with their classmates in Alpharetta) may instead play at Bell Memorial Park with their new classmates. May 19, 2009 Page 1 Alternatives for Travel Players: There are alternatives for Milton residents who wish to play travel baseball. These include travel teams that play at Birmingham United Methodist Church and other fields in Milton owned by churches, schools and private residents. Travel teams also play at Wills Park and Webb Bridge Park in Alpharetta and at various parks in Forsyth and Cherokee counties. Opportunities for Advanced Players: HYA offers its advanced rec players the chance to compete against other parks on summer all-star teams. HYA could also offer these rec players the chance to compete on Sunday select teams. Select teams (which compete against other select and travel teams) are offered for 9-12 year old rec players at Ocee Park in Johns Creek and Sharon Springs Park in Cumming. Recommendations 1. Do Not Extend the Travel Team Agreement with HYA: The City should provide formal notice to HYA that it will not extend the Travel Team Agreement beyond its expiration in December 2009. This will allow sufficient time for these travel teams to secure alternative field space and for travel team players to try out for other area teams. 2. Recruit Milton Residents to Join the HYA Board: The Cily should actively recruit rec league parents from Milton to fill any HYA board positions vacated by travel team parents. The City should also appoint a rec league parent from Milton to serve as the City's representative on the HYA board_ The City's board representative should play an active role in field scheduling, fees and other areas that require the City's approval. 3. Provide Field Space for High School Feeder Teams: The City should continue to allocate field space at Bell Memorial to a Milton High School feeder team and, as needed, an additional feeder team for the new high school in Milton (at Bethany and Cogburn) that is scheduled to open in 2012. 4. Provide Field Space on Sundays for Select Teams: The City should amend the Rec League Agreement to allow HYA to offer advanced rec players the chance to compete on Sunday select teams. Permit Travel Teams to Use Excess Field Space: The City should amend the Rec League Agreement to permit the use of excess field space by travel teams, subject to the following: • the City should have the right to approve travel teams on a case-by-case basis; • adequate field space should first be allocated to the rec league, select teams and feeder teams; • preference should be given to travel teams in the oldest age groups (starting with a 13u travel team); • travel teams should be subject to a 70% Milton residency requirement; • travel team players should pay fees equivalent to those paid by rec players; • travel team coaches and players should be selected though an open and fair process, based on standards pre -determined by the City. May 19, 2009 Page 2