Not approved until September 1, 2011 LIBERTY PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD July 14, 2011

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1 Not approved until September 1, 2011 LIBERTY PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD July 14, 2011 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board was called to order by President Bill Niffen. Other Board members in attendance were: Patrick Flora, Neil Kanning, Jackie Kennedy, Jerry McCaslin, and Vern Windsor. Staff members in attendance were: Dennis Dovel, Director of Parks and Recreation; Donna K Taylor, Community Center Manager; BJ Staab, Sports Complex Manager; and Chris Wilson, Parks and Open Space Manager. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Patrick Flora made a motion to approve the regular meeting minutes. Vern Windsor seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously. OPEN FORUM There was no one present to address the board. CORRESPONDENCE Included in the Park Board packet was a copy of the June update provided to City Council. This memo provides an update to the events of the Park Department and is shared with Council monthly. This memo was included as information sharing. FINANCE Director Dovel presented the May financial report to the Board in a new format that includes both a financial statement format as well as a written description of each division s financial picture and that of the overall department. Through May, the department shows a positive position. Overall the department is reflecting a positive net that is $18,734 less than This can be attributed, in large part, to the second phase of the fitness equipment lease, new in Jackie Kennedy inquired as to the large increase in expenses from 2010 to 2011 in the Frank Hugh Library expenses. Dennis Dovel responded that the expense was for roof repairs. Patrick Flora asked if the water backup at Fountain Bluff Sports Complex from the river would have a financial impact on the budget. Dennis Dovel stated that at this point, the response would be no. In fact, the water is down compared to just a few days ago. If the water doesn t exceed that of 1993, then there would be little financial impact. If it goes higher, then the potential is there for concern. Jackie Kennedy stated she really appreciated the new format used to present the budget. It was much more understandable for those that don t work in finance on a daily basis. REPORTS Director s Report Dennis Dovel reported that the signature year end projects originally discussed with the Board in April will be on hold due to Council s approval of a 2% salary increase for full time staff. While staff is confident the budget can absorb the increase, additional year-end projects may not be possible. Staff will keep the Board informed over the next few months if year end projects will be realized. The 2012 budget process has begun. Staff has already started to develop the budget 1

2 and will continue to work through the process over the next couple of months. If the Board has anything they would like to see staff try and include, please provide ideas and suggestions no later than the August 4 Park Board meeting. On June 26, the Parks and Recreation Department held its first concert in the newly developed Summer Concert Series. The free concerts have been planned as another recreational opportunity for the community. The June 26 concert featured Sidewalk Prophets and drew nearly 2,000 spectators to the Downtown Square. The next event will be held on Friday, August 12, 7:00 p.m., at the Downtown Square. The featured act is KC All Stars, playing hits from the 70s to today. KC All Stars was voted best band in Kansas City by KMBZ radio for the last three years. The Department is currently seeking citizen input through a satisfaction survey. The survey is available on line through the City s website as well as hard copies are available at the Liberty Community Center and Liberty City Hall. The survey has been active since June 15 and will conclude on July 31 at 10:00 p.m. To date, over 200 individuals have completed the survey and 217 have started the survey. One question included in the survey asked the respondents if they felt Liberty residents received a good value for their investment in Liberty Parks and Recreation facilities and programs. Staff is pleased to report that a resounding 77% have already responded yes! In June the Liberty Parks and Recreation Department launched a formal volunteer program. The project was spearheaded by LeAnn Lawlor, Aging Services Coordinator. Supervisors in each division developed a list of volunteer opportunities as well as descriptions for each position. A handbook was also developed to provide each volunteer with information and criteria needed to be a Parks and Recreation Department volunteer. All volunteer opportunities, application forms, and handbook are posted on the City s website. Applications are available for individuals and groups. The national average value of a volunteer hour is estimated at $ Historically, Parks and Recreation Department s have relied heavily on volunteer support, especially in youth sports programs serving as coaches and assistant coaches. In recent years, background checks have been a requirement for youth sport coaching staff. However, with the implementation of the new volunteer program, a more stringent background check will be performed, utilizing SSCI, the third party company recommended by the National Park and Recreation Association. The cost for each background check is $ To cover this cost, youth sport fees were increased $2.50. The SSCI background checks are effective with the fall sports programs. Each background check is valid for one year. Community Center Manager s Report Donna K Taylor reported on the following activities at the Liberty Community Center Revenue generated by the two food vending machines in the first ten weeks has paid all the food expenses, the cost of the machines, plus a small profit of nearly $700. The Swim Team Championship meet is scheduled for Saturday, July 16. Events begin at 7:00 a.m. and are scheduled throughout the afternoon. Attendance is expected to be Registration for fall programs begins on August 10 for members; open registration is scheduled for August 17. Fall programs begin the week of September 12. Information on upcoming fall classes will be available on the website as early as Tuesday, July 26. Staff was contacted last year that current membership/program registration software will no longer be updated by Active.net. Staff has researched other software and reviewed demonstrations from five other software vendors, narrowing down the list from five to the top two. Additional research will be conducted to determine which of the top two vendors meets the needs of the 2

3 Department more fully. Annual maintenance for the facility is scheduled Labor Day week. Areas closed for the week are pools, basketball court, and locker rooms. All others areas are open as usual. The Liberty High School will be given access to the outdoor pool for practices while the indoor pool is closed for maintenance. Donna K. Taylor reviewed the membership, rental, and program report for the Winter Spring season. Neil Kanning inquired as to the decline in usage. Donna K. Taylor advised that staff had identified several issues that may have lead to the decline in usage: Discretionary income may not be as readily available, requiring parents to select fewer activities for their children. A youth sports program provides more activity time for their children than an instructional program such as dance or swim lessons. The School District s increase in pool usage reduced water aerobics programs from two/night to one/night. Three long term aerobic instructors have moved out of the area. New instructors take time to develop their own following of participants. Primary instructor for small group instruction left to care for new baby and small sibling. No mailing of the brochure may have affected the swim lesson program. Parks and Open Space Manager s Report Chris Wilson reported that the Park staff is fully engaged in the busy summer routine of maintaining parks, trails, and ball fields. A seasonal Parks Custodian was hired for the summer to clean park restrooms and to empty and haul trash from parks each morning. This has greatly improved efficiency by freeing up other staff for mowing. Staff has spent extensive time enhancing the look of the cemeteries. Numerous headstones have been leveled, holes filled, trees trimmed, grass planted, etc. The Street Department is installing a new culvert through the cemetery. The roof at Frank Hughes Library are been repaired, and no leaks occurred following the recent rains. New flowerbeds are being installed at several locations as part of the Citywide Beautification Program. To date, staff has reengineered, added soil and replanted all of the bump outs along Kansas Street, the Highway 291 & Liberty Drive median, and the triangular median at Liberty Drive and Fairview. The Lowe s Roundabout should be planted in the next month. By the end of July, existing flowerbeds will be enhanced at: City Hall main entrance City Park sign Bennett Park sign Canterbury Lane sign After multiple citizen inquiries, the existing tennis court at Manor Hill Elementary has been designated for Pickle Ball use. Pickle Ball lines were painted inside the tennis lines. The tennis net can be lowered with a crank to meet the requirements for Pickle Ball as needed. Staff planted 100 trees from the Forest ReLeaf Program in the tree nursery at Stocksdale Park. In two or three years, these trees will then be planted to city parks and rights-of-way. Two hundred trees were planted in the medians of Withers Road from Hwy 291 to the Community Center, along the east side of Withers Road from the Community Center south to S. Liberty Parkway, and in the gaps (from dead trees) along both sides of S. Liberty Parkway west to I-35. Approximately 30 of the trees were planted around the Stocksdale playground and long the walking trail at Fountain Bluff. Staff staked and mulched the trees, and will continue to water the trees as needed throughout the summer. Devin Skillman has been moved into the newly established position of Horticulturist. This position will be responsible for coordinating all beautification projects across the City, including landscaping at parks, City Hall, medians and other public areas. 3

4 The Parks and Open Space Division initiated a Parks Assessment process. Each staff member has been designated as the lead for a particular park, and they will be identifying priorities for renovation and enhancement. They will serve as the steward for their respective park, identifying ongoing needs and ensuring the park is safe, clean, and well maintained. The Liberty Parks and Recreation Department was awarded the state grant for a pour and play rubberized surface for the City Park playground. The grant will fund 48% of the project. The Parks Department will fund the remaining 52%. This type of surface will greatly improve handicap accessibility to the playground. Jackie Kennedy advised staff that the flowers planted at Fountain Bluff entrances look beautiful! Jackie also reported to staff that near the roundabout there is a problem tree/shrub that needs to be cut back to allow a better visual of oncoming traffic. Jackie also advised staff of a couple of concerns at the City Park ball field: 1) lights need to be adjusted and 2) there is a wasp nest under the bleachers. Very Windsor reported to staff that someone in the Bennett Park neighborhood had placed a no mulch spray painted sign near the mulch. The sign, although informative, did not look professional and recommended it be removed. Bill Niffen reported that he and his family had attended a birthday party at the Westboro/ Canterbury Greenway gazebo and the screens blocking the birds from nesting were obviously working quite well. The picnic tables were clean. Sports Complex Manager s Report BJ Staab reported that deadlines are approaching for fall sports. Youth sports deadlines include soccer, flag football, cheerleading, volleyball, bitty soccer and bitty flag football. Adult sports deadlines include kickball, softball, flag football, volleyball, and soccer. The KC Metro Youth and High School Summer 6 v 6 Soccer league had 65 teams competing this season. Youth played on Saturdays and Tuesdays; high school play was held on Sundays and Wednesdays. The league was very impressed with the Fountain Bluff facilities and has expressed an interest in returning next season.t There have been several tournaments scheduled at Fountain Bluff this summer: June 29 July 3: 12U Global World Series (21 teams from 6 states) July 5 July 10: AAA World Series (30 teams from 7 states) July 14 July 17: Single A World Series (65 teams from 7 states) July 19 July 24: 13 AAA World Series (30 teams from 13 states) July 28 July 31: Men s Senior Softball In addition to tournaments, the Missouri Comets have a soccer camp scheduled July 25 July 29. In addition to program updates, BJ provided the following information to the Board: Derek Mayden vacated his maintenance position at Fountain Bluff late April. Brock Winkelbauer joined the full time staff early July. Due to the addition of aglime at the Middle School ball fields last fall, no T-Ball games were rained out this year. Staff utilized the Middle School fields to move games from South Valley when that field was unplayable due to rain. Alcohol sales for the new vendor, Y-Liquor, have been very slow. Staff bagged sand earlier in the week in preparation for the possibility of flooding. Jackie Kennedy stated during her review of the June edition of the NRPA magazine she read about healthy food choices for concession and vending in Parks. She asked staff to research the possibility of adding items such as peanuts, granola bars, raisins, frozen fruit pops and other healthy snacks to the concessions at Fountain Bluff. Neil inquired as to the policy in place regarding cancellation of games due to lightning. BJ advised that umpires currently make that call but staff is planning to 4

5 have a discussion with the umpire organization at the end of the season to see if a better policy needs to be put into place. The challenge is if an umpire at one field doesn t see the lightning, they may not call a game where an umpire at another ball field may see the lightning and cancel the game. The current policy allows for inconsistency in application. Park Charitable Fund Report Bill Niffen reported that with a substantial balance in the scholarship fund the committee decided to raise the current cap of available funding per quarter to allow more youth to apply. The committee also discussed expanding the marketing of the program to make sure more children were aware that alternative funding was available for programs available through the Parks and Recreation Department. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS Election of Officers Ballots with a slate of officers were distributed to the Board members in attendance. The following Board members were unanimously voted in to serve July 2011 June 2012: President Bill Niffen Vice President Jackie Kennedy Secretary/Treasurer Vern Windsor Park Board Development Book Annual Review As a part of the duties assigned to the vice president, Neil Kanning reviewed the Park Board Development Book and recommended the following addition to the book: In the budget section, it is recommended that staff include a list of definitions for the terminology used in that section. Staff will provide the Board updated information to include in their current development books. Park Board Bylaws Annual Review As a part of the duties assigned to the secretary/treasurer, Vern Windsor reviewed the Park Board Bylaws and had the following recommendation: Article 4, second paragraph: A Park Board member s seat shall be considered vacant in cases where that member is no longer a resident of the City of Liberty or in cases where the Park Board member has missed three or more consecutive regular or special meetings called (except when a request for a leave of absence or sickness) in accordance with these bylaws. The Park Board at the next regular or special meeting of the Park Board called in accordance with these bylaws shall address the vacancy. Staff requested the city attorney review the recommendation and he had the following concerns: What is the criteria determining what is considered an excusable absence Who would be authorized to excuse an absence How can the Board address the vacancy when the Mayor and Council appoint citizens to fill a vacancy. The Board further discussed the intent of the recommended change. Neil Kanning suggested it may be more appropriate for staff or the Board to send a letter to the non-attending Board member asking their intent to continue on the Board. Jackie Kennedy stated that the Board 5

6 needs members who are willing to actively participate on the Board, not just attend meetings once a month. After further discussion and review, Vern Windor stated he would continue working on developing appropriate verbiage to more fully reflect the intent of the Board. This topic will be moved to Old Business at a future meeting. MISCELLANEOUS Jerry McCaslin announced to the Board that Liberty had placed third on the Family Circle magazine s list of the 10 best towns for families. One of the many criteria for selection was the recreational amenities available in Liberty. The Kansas City Star In Brief section also highlighted the selection. ADJOURNMENT Neil Kanning made the motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board is scheduled for Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 6:00 p.m., location TBA. 6