PARAB Minutes 02/20/2013 February 20,2013
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
February, 2013
Immokalee, Florida
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 2:00 P.M.
in REGULAR SESSION at the Immokalee Community Park Center,321 N. First
Street, Immokalee, Florida 34142, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: John P. Ribes
VICE CHAIRMAN: Edward "Ski" Olesky
Mary Bills
David Saletko
Murdo Smith
(Vacancy)
Excused: Phillip Brougham
ALSO PRESENT: Barry Williams, Director -Parks & Recreation
Vicky Wilson, Regional Manager
Annie Alvarez, Regional Manager
Nancy Olson, Regional Manager
Amanda Eberl, Administrative Assistant
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February 20,2013
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Ribes called the meeting to order at 2:03 PM.
A quorum was established; five voting members were present.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE&INVOCATION
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The Invocation was offered by Mary Bills.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
A motion to approve the Agenda was made and a second in support was offered.
Carried unanimously, S—0.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: JANUARY 16,2013
Correction:
• Chairman Ribes was not present at the January meeting. Edward Olesky served as
Acting Chair for that meeting. All references to Chairman Ribes will be changed to
Acting Chair Edward Oleski as appropriate throughout the document.
• Chairman Ribes' absence will be noted as "Excused "
• On Page 4,Item VI(A)— "New Business"—The word,"been,"was changed to
"beer"under the first bullet point.
Edward Olesky moved to approve the January 16,2013 Minutes as amended. Second by
Mary Bills. Carried unanimously, S—0.
V. STAFF HIGHLIGHTS:
A) Employee of the Month (December,2012)
Barry Williams announced that Lenore Montelongo was chosen as"Employee of the
Month"for December,2012. Ms. Montelongo has been employed by the County for
the past ten years. She received a plaque and gift.
Annie Alvarez noted the position of Program Supervisor has been vacant since June,
2012. She stated Ms. Montelongo stepped in as Supervisor of the "Pre-K"and"After
School"programs at the Center.
• The students in the"Pre-K"program are doing well. Assessments of the
students have been positive.
• DCF conducted an inspection in January and the determination was
"impeccable." (The playground was free of fire ants.)
Ms.Alvarez thanked Ms. Montelongo for her service.
B) Capital Projects Report—Facilities Management
Barry Williams referred to the"Capital Projects Update."
1) #80065—Gordon River Greenway Park:
• Manhattan Kraft submitted the successful bid in the amount of$8.9M
• Bid will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners on
February 206 for review and approval
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February 20,2013
• Anticipated commencement: May 1,2013
• Will invite the major stakeholders,as well as the members of the
Advisory Board,to attend the ribbon cutting
2) #80066—Bayview Park Playground:
• Has been under construction to expand the parking area for the past two
months
• Initial plans to close the park were rejected by the community
• Anticipated completion: May,2013
• Construction on the playground will not begin until the project has been
completed
3) #80085—Immokalee South Park Community Park:
• Contract was awarded to Compass Construction by the Board of County
Commissioners in December,2012
• Initial environmental work on the site is required—two Federal grants
are associated with the project
• The old Church and the modular unit will be torn down(first step)
• Anticipated commencement: May,2013
• Anticipated completion: October,2013
4) xxxxx—Eagle Lakes Community Park Community Building:
• The Advisory Board has supported obtaining funds for the project
• 30%Drawings of the facility were recently presented to the East Naples
Civic Association
• The Association approved the Drawings
• The final design plans incorporate a 10,000 square foot community
center with a game room, a conference room,and a fitness center
• An aquatic facility was not included in the initial design and has not
been funded
• Anticipated completion: Summer, 2014
VI. NEW BUSINESS:
A) Interview with Jean Haven
• Ms.Haven provided background information to the Advisory Board, She
stated she resides in Florida on a part-time, seasonal basis.
• After discussion concerning the requirements of the Ordinance concerning
attendance, Barry Williams placed a phone call to the BCC office. It was
verified that Advisory Board members must be full-time residents.'
• Ms. Haven was thanked for her interest and invited to attend meetings whenever
possible.
Consensus: The application could not be approved because Ms. Haven did not meet
the eligibility requirements.
B) Goodland Arts Alliance Agreement—Nancy Olson
(Note: A copy of the Exhibitor Agreement was included in the Board's information packet)
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February 20,2013
• Tara O'Neill of the Goodland Arts Alliance presented a proposal to the
Advisory Board during the January meeting
• The draft of the Exhibitor Agreement was reviewed by the Collier County
Attorney's Office
• Purpose: Local artist have requested to exhibit their work at the Margood
Harbor Park and sell their work at the Park's gift shop. A portion of the sales
(20%)will be returned to the Alliance. The Alliance, in turn,will assist in fund
raising efforts to restore the cottages within the Park.
• Goal: The restored cottages will be utilized as art studios for local artists. It is
anticipated the art colony will become a"destination"during season and help to
enhance Goodland's image.
Ms. Olson stated she would like to present the proposed Agreement to the Board of
County Commissioners in March and requested approval from the Advisory Board.
Mary Bills noted Paragraph 7 of the Agreement did not specifically reference
restoration of the cottages. It was not clear if the 10 volunteer hours mentioned was to
be the Alliance's sole contribution.
Murdo Smith asked what percentage of the sales would be allocated to Parks and
Recreation. Nothing was stated in the Agreement.
Nancy Olson acknowledged she did not have the information. She noted the Alliance's
first Arts Festival was scheduled for Sunday,March 10th(10:00 AM—4:00 PM). She
will contact the Alliance for clarification and report to the Board at the April meeting.
The Exhibitor Agreement will not be presented to the BCC until possibly April
Edward Olesky moved to approve the Exhibitor Agreement with two modifications:
(1) to identify the percentage of sales to be allocated to the Alliance as well as to
Parks and Recreation, and(2)to confirm that restoration of the cottages at Margood
Harbor Park is part of the Agreement. Second by Murdo Smith.
Carried unanimously, 5—0.
C) Kiwanis Club of Golden Gate
Barry Williams:
• During the past two years,alcohol has been served at"Frontier Days"
• The event has been sponsored by the Kiwanis Club on an annual basis
• Current policy allows organizations to serve only beer and wine
Edward Olesky moved to approve the request by the Kiwanis Club of Golden Gate to
serve alcohol at the "Frontier Days"even as long as the Ordinance is observed, i.e.,
"alcohol"is restricted to only beer and wine. Second by Mary Bills.
Discussion:
• Chairman Ribes asked if the Advisory Board was authorized to approve the
request.
• Barry Williams explained the BCC had empowered Advisory Boards to approve
such requests to avoid requiring applicants to appear before the Board of County
Commissioners.
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February 20,2013
• Nancy Olson clarified the Ordinance was specific to the Marina and two parks.
Any organization wishing to apply for a wine and beer permit must appear before
the Advisory Board.
Chairman Ribes called for a vote. Motion carried unanimously,5—0.
D) "Adopt-a-Park"Assignments
Barry Williams stated Mr. Olesky mentioned a request from Immokalee concerning
the Fitness Center.
• The facility is widely utilized as substantiated by the number of bookings
• Have begun to experience difficulties it is a very busy center that would
benefit from the addition of square footage and more equipment
• Residents have expressed interest in the expansion project
• Next year's budget may be reduced to $400,000—there is approximately$4.5M
of deferred maintenance projects for.FY 2014
• The cost to expand the fitness center is approximately $300,000.
Mr.Williams noted a portion of the budget could be allocated to fund development of
a design plan. Construction would be delayed. He confirmed the numbers were not
"official."
Beach Park Facilities:
• An item concerning Beach Park Facilities has been placed on the Board of County
Commissioners' Agenda for the March 26t1i meeting.
• The County Manager's Office is proposing to re-direct a portion of the Beach Park
Facilities' budget to advertising and beach re-nourishment. The funds allocated to
Beach Park Facilities would be reduced from$2M per year to $750,000.
• Parks and Recreation has not received support to spend the large amount of
Reserves funds.
• A number of projects have been proposed but were not funded by the BCC.
• Re: Vanderbilt Beach Park Restrooms
o Originally allocated$1.2M to build a new facility
o Staff has been redirected to build a smaller, less expensive facility
Mr.White confirmed Parks and Recreation will be taking the"biggest hit"while Museums
are losing all funding from the TDC ("Tourist Development Council").
Mary Bills asked if the Galisano Museum received funding from the TDC.
Mr.Williams replied there may have been some TDC funding but he did not know if it was
on-going. He confirmed that the Parks role with regard to the Galisano Museum was the
landlord. The Museum is a separate entity and there has been limited interaction.
Chairman Ribes read the newspaper article concerning the issue and was disturbed that no
attempt had been made to solicit a recommendation from PARAB. He stated Parks and
Recreation was not represented because it was not viewed as a stakeholder.
Mr.Williams noted Jack Wert did attempt to obtain imput from various Advisory Boards.
The County Manager,through his own initiative,brought the recommendation which did not
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February 20,2013
reflect the recommendations from the various Advisory Boards. It will be presented to the
Board of County Commissioners on February 26th
When asked if he thought the recommendation would pass,Mr. Williams replied affirmatively.
The County Manager suggested several options(charging entrance fee and holding fund
raising events)to help the Museums generate revenue. He indicated if they were not
successful,the General Fund could supplement the short-fall.
• There are projects that could enhance the beach experience. The question is whether
or not the community is open to funding the projects.
• Public support does not appear to be evident.
Comment: "We are under the gun from private enterprise and hotels. It's as simple as that.
Why should one opinion carry so much weight?"
Mr.Williams reminded the Board that Collier County has one of the lowest millage rates in
the State and there was resistance to raising taxes.
When the subject of charging residents for Beach permits was mentioned,Mr. Williams stated
the Board of County Commissioners is committed to preserving the right of residents to enjoy
free access to the beaches. The Master Plan supports the Commissioners' position.
VII. DIRECTORS HIGHLIGHTS:
Barry Williams noted:
• Conservation Collier is now part of Parks and Recreation and they are "a joy to
work with."
• Vanderbilt Beach Restrooms: The existing facility will be renovated to expand
capacity. Temporary facilities will be situated until the project is completed.
• Spring sports have started — baseball, soccer, lacrosse. The Little Leagues had a
grand opening ceremony at Max Hasse.
• "Pickle Ball"Tournament: 300 participants
VIII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
(None)
IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS/HOARD COMMENTS:
• "Frontier Days"is scheduled from March 7th through 10 th
X. Adjournment:
A Motion was made with a second in support to adjourn the meeting at 3:10 PM.
There being no further business for the good of the County,the meeting was
adjourned by order of the Chair at 3:20 PM.
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February 20,2013
COLLIER COUNTY PARKS&RECREATION
ADVISORY BOARD
k(0)
John P. Ri rman
174 The Minutes were approved by the Board/Committee one ` �' ,2013,
"as presented" [19 or "as amended" [ �.
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