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Minutes 08/26/1992 R Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (PARAB ) Minutes August 26 , 1992 MINUTES COLLIER COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Golden Gate Community Park Naples, Florida, 33999 Wednesday, August 26, 1992 PRESENT: Ms. Cherryle Thomas, Chairman Mr. Gil Mueller, Vice Chairman Mr. Timothy Blackford Mr. William Clendenon Ms. Geneva Till (arrived 2:30) ALSO PRESENT: Mr. Steve Brinkman, Parks & Recreation Department Director Mr. Murdo Smith, Parks & Recreation Operations Manager Mr. Gary Franco, Parks Superintendent Ms. Barbara L. Johnson, Sr. Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER: 2:00 p.m. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of Monday, June 22, 1992 Minutes. Motioned by Mr. Gil Mueller, seconded by Mr. William Clendenon, passed 4/0. IV. NEW BUSINESS/PRESENTATIONS: A. Ms. Cheryl Thomas announced she will have to leave meeting at 3:30 B. Damage Assessment of Hurricane Andrew: On a whole the Department fared very well , but it will take some time to have everything back to normal standards. There was some substantial wind damage at East Naples and Frank Mackle Community Parks - some light standards, trees down, etc. It may be necessary to hire some outside contractors to help right some of the larger trees. The Racquet Club on Marco lost the roof, sustained a lot of tree damage and some water damage in the building. The courts will probably be playable tomorrow and the building will be open as soon as possible. Caxambas sea wall was damaged (which the County will have to repair) as well as the floating dock (the Concessionaire will have to repair) . This site requires major repairs. Mr. Mueller inquired about the insurance status . The County does have insurance and there may be some reimbursement from the Federal government, including some of staff' s time involved with the storm. Some trees may be saved, but need to be erected and watered as quickly as possible. V. A . Pelican Bay (15 acres) Hopefully these 15 acres will be acquired very soon and will be retained for future use as there are no immediate plans for the site. Westinghouse is providing this land, as well as 20 acres for government use and 20 acres to the School Board. The property is located on Vanderbilt Beach Road, west of the Branch Library. B. Collier Sports Official Contract This annual contract is for use of officials at County sponsored events, not including Little League or Immokalee. Motion to approve this contract was made by Mr. Blackford and seconded by Mr. Clendenon. Approved 4/0. C. Scorekeepers Contract Annual contract for use of scorekeepers at County sponsored events. Again, this does not cover Little League or Immokalee. Mr. Blackford made the motion to approve and it was seconded by Mr. Clendenon. Approved 4/0. D. Vineyards Agreement This Agreement is with the Vineyards Utility, Inc. to supply irrigation water to the County for the sprinkler system at the new soccer fields. At this time it is not feasible for the County to have a well at this site. When the Park has been completed and the water demand is greater, it may become more economical to have a well . The situation will be reviewed again at that time. Motion to approve made by Mr. Clendenon and seconded by Mr. Blackford. Approved 4/0. E. Clam Pass RFP Concession/Beachside Facilities Specifications have been drafted to include the maintenance of the parking lot area, concessionaire to supply all tram drivers, operation of concession stand and beachside facilities, as well as a per centage for capital replacement costs for the boardwalk. Mr. Mueller inquired if a concessionaire for Barefoot Beach could also be included. The Friends of Barefoot Beach have expressed a desire to run the small concession area located on the side of the Bath House at the Preserve. Doubts were raised regarding the necessary concession experience this group may have. Mr. Brinkman stated that this situation was being reviewed and the Department will bring a recommendation to the next PARAB meeting. Mr. Mueller made a motion to proceed with the idea of possibly establishing a concession at Barefoot Preserve at the same time, the reason being the County may benefit by a concessionaire doing both locations as opposed to doing it on an individual basis. Mr. Blackford inquired about the time frame. The Clam Pass Agreement is ending and something should be done within the next month. Mr. Brinkman mentioned that we could proceed with this RFP and when doing the specifications for Barefoot maybe one of the existing concessionaires would apply. PARAB, as well as the BCC, will approve the bids received for this RFP. Mr. Clendenon seconded the motion. Approved 5/0. F. Clam Pass AUO Expansion Project The Registry wishes to expand the deck area and facilities on the beach and have $75,000, plus interest in escrow for expansion. They will be requesting permits, doing the construction, and when completed —2— it will become a County asset. Mr. Clendenon inquired about the status of the extension of the utilities to this site. Mr. Brinkman stated that was another project, to be completed when this is done. This facility will be expanded at the AUO' s cost but the County will be installing the water and sewer. Mr. Clendenon inquired if the Registry would be contributing to this cost. Mr. Brinkman replied that the Office of Capital Projects is working on this project and they have built in a project cost of approximately $300,000. Inquiries will be made as to whom is responsible for these costs. Mr. Mueller inquired about what the expansion included. Mr. Franco explained that the deck area would be enlarged and an additional storage facility be built to house cabanas, chairs, umbrellas, etc. Ms. Till inquired whether the Department would have any input into the plan; Mr. Blackford remarked that maybe they (The Registry) would not even have the contract after the completion of the expansion. Mr. Brinkman explained that this could be true, but the construction was part of the Agreement and if permission were refused, it may allow them to get out of paying those funds for the Third Pod to the County. Mr. Mueller made the motion to have Staff proceed with this on the condition that it does not in any way correlate with, or go along with, the request that they had this past summer - that it is an entirely different project. They were denied that request and we need to be very careful . Seconded by Mr. Blackford. Approved 4/0 with caution. VI A - User Fees - Beaches & Facilities In July 1992, BCC authorized staff to explore the possibility of increasing beach parking fees. Revenue collection at all sites would be accomplished through the use of staff and parking meters. Basically, Tigertail and Clam Pass would remain staffed, and N. Gulfshore Blvd. , Vanderbilt, Barefoot Beach and Barefoot Preserve would have parking meters installed. The parking fee at the staffed sites would be $2.00 per day and at the metered sites a cost of 25 cents per hour. Parking revenue would be collected during the months of December to April inclusive. An additional Park Ranger would be requested to help collect the money and patrol these sites. Mr. Mueller expressed his concern about possible vandalism, particularly at Tigertail Beach. The majority of visitors at this site are tourists and not residents. He questioned the pressure that would be put on Park Rangers, as they spend a great deal of time monitoring the sea turtles, and have many locations to patrol . Mr. Mueller made the suggestion that attendant hours be cut back, i .e. 10:00 am to 4:00 pm instead of 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, but kept year round. Tigertail , in particular, pays for itself as the revenues far surpass the related expenses. Mr. Brinkman explained that this Executive Summary was a result of the 6/30/92 BCC meeting at which time the request was made td do away with the full time people and use meters for five months of the year. Mr. Mueller had attended that BCC meeting and was under the impression that staff was to come up with some form of recommendation, not particularly for only five months of the year. Ms Till wished to have confirmed that the revenue figures quoted in the Executive Summary were for the full year at the new recommended price. Mr. Franco explained that the Rangers now spend —3— approximately two hours daily on turtle monitoring as the State has changed its requirements and the nests no longer need monitoring at night. Marco Island is also the only site that a full time Ranger assigned specifically to a location. Presently, five full time Rangers and two part time Rangers are budgeted. The Rangers would be spending more time at the beach sites and reducing time spent at any of the other parks. The number of parking spaces at Bayview, 951, and Lake Trafford were discussed and the question raised why these locations were not going to be metered. The decision not to meter was due to the inability to monitor these locations and the added expense of collecting money from the meters. Ms. Till inquired about maybe using a building at 951 . Mr. Murdo Smith stated that at one time there was a concessionaire who operated near the Coast Guard Station, but that concessionaire is no longer there. The 951 and Bayview metering decision was made partially due to the size of the site, as well as a safety concern. People park on the road now, if meters were installed those spaces would not be used. It would be necessary to have the Sheriff' s Department control the illegal parking on the roadway. Mr. Mueller was of the opinion that sheriff vehicles go up and down 951 frequently and illegal parking was their responsibility. Staff was asked for other ideas. Mr. Brinkman stated that the Ranger who was to be hired would be used for collecting the money. Maybe part of funds could be used for a Ranger based just at Tigertail . Mr. Mueller again raised the question of vandalism occurring at Vanderbilt and Tigertail . Mr. Clendenon asked if staff would be willing to go into a "fall back" mode and Mr. Brinkman acknowledged that if major problems arose, the Department would go back to BCC for recommendations. Questions were raised regarding the seasonal collection of fees. It was explained that the County Attorney' s office opinion was that a distinction could not be made betwee residents and non- residents in areas where certain Grants had been received from the State, and that beach renourishment funds might be put into jeopardy by discriminating. Mr. Blackford made a motion this structure be approved until we get further direction from the BCC, as the BCC has already voted to cut these positions. Mr. Clendenon would ask to submit an alternate plan to the Commission. Mr. Mueller again suggested cutting back on the hours, and stated that doing away with the attendants was creating a disaster. Mr. Mueller made a motion stating that he believed it would be improper to take the guards away from Tigertail Beach, at Vanderbilt and Clam Pass seven months a year. At Vanderbilt especially and particularly at Tigertail Beach, I suggest BCC consideration of the possibility of reducing the hours of the guards i .e. 10:00 am to 4:00 pm as opposed to 8:00 am to 6:00 pm; it would reduce expenses. At Tigertail , where revenue is almost three times in excess of expenditures, it would not be wise to remove the guard who performs a useful service. I am of the opinion, based on past experience, the occasional presence of a Ranger would be totally inadequate, as much of the time is spent monitoring turtles. Mr. Blackford seconded the motion, and it was approved 4/0. -4- Facilities Fees - At the June meeting the Rental and Fee Policy of the Recreation Section was distributed. In this Draft copy some changes have been made, formulas are included, some fees have been increased, etc. Mr. Blackford questioned if the Draft locked in the fees for a period of time. The answer was that the fees could be changed at Budget time when the Budget is submitted to the BCC for approval . Staff recommended changes would be first approved by PARAB and the Department Director could also recommend changes. Mr. Tom 011iff, Public Services Administrator, has made some changes to this Draft. The revised copy will be submitted to PARAB at the next meeting. Motion was made by Mr. Clendenon to approve the Fee Policy as submitted by Parks and Recreation Department. Ms. Till seconded the motion and it was approved 4/0. Surveying has begun at for a Little League Field at Golden Gate and a Softball field at Veterans Park. The construction agreement was awarded to Lynch Construction and completion is expected the end of January. These projects were budgeted this year. B. Safe Swimming at Tigertail Beach - Temporary buoys, which look like crab traps, have been installed. Within two weeks the permanent buoys should be in place and the vendor's equipment on the beach will be moved just a little north of the present location. Mr. Mueller thought that was an excellent idea as some of the beach vendors seem to be enroaching on the beach. C. Budget - Capital List - List requested at last meeting D. Picnic Tables for Immokalee E. Immokalee Community Park Amphitheater Renovation - When renovations to the amphitheater are completed, the concrete picnic tables will be replaced with Plastisol . This should take place sometime after November. The Bid for renovations was awarded to Lodge Construction. F. Conklin Point. Boat Ramp - The design of this facility is 95% complete. Plans are presently being reviewed and the County has received notice from the State of the award of Florida Boating Improvement funds in the amount of $505,000. Plans are for a concession similiar to Caxambas; there will be approximately 58 boat trailer spaces, and a launch fee will be charged. If a launch fee is charged, there would be no parking or entrance fee. There will be people probably using the park portion of the facility who do not use the launching facilities. This will be similar to Bayview Park which has picnic as well as launching facilities. Hopefully the construction bid will get started within the next few weeks. G. Clam Pass Utilities - Tied in with the Expansion of Clam Pass. H. Vanderbilt Beach Access & Parking - Department was asked to explore the possibility of additional land for parking. There is some available land in the vicinity, the assessment of which is between 1 .2 and 1 .4 million dollars. I. 951 Boat Ramp Parking - Remove from Update List -5- J. Barefoot Beach Preserve - The Bid has been approved for the 3rd parking lot in the amount of $36,000. The area has been staked and the completion time is 30 to 45 days. This will provide 44 additional parking spaces. K. Collier County Racquet Club - Installation of two new clay courts and lights, and repairing court #5 is now in process. This project should be complete within the next week; however, due to Andrew it may take additional time. It may be desirable to delay the opening of the new courts for a little bit. L. Remote Controlled Cars - The Department has been requested to look at possible sites for the use of remote controlled cars. Golden Gate Community Center was being considered, but there is a question of zoning. The Planning Department is investigating. M. Additional Parking at Tigertail - Would need permitting from the State. Capital Projects is working on submittal of same. At this time positive results seem improbable. N. Balifield Construction - Veteran's & GGCP - Been discussed VII. NEW BUSINESS: 1 . Ms. Till inquired if anything had been done in connection with the School Board regarding Big Cypress park. A summer program was held at Big Cypress School for the month of August; it started slowly, picked up, and then slowed again. There is still the possibility of Avatar of GGAB purchasing property in the Estate area. Maybe a representative of this group or Sandy from Real Property could come to our next meeting. The major problem is the number of lots that would be necessary to purchase to meet the required acreage for a community park. 2. Mr. Murdo Smith has received letters from North Naples area requesting additional tennis courts in that area. At the present time there are none scheduled in the five year plan. People want the courts now and we will probably receive more requests in the future. Mr. Clendenon suggested the requestees come to a PARAB meeting; then if approval were given, the citizens could go to the BCC for approval . Mr. Mueller stated the the day will come when the Racquet Center on Marco will become financially self supporting and wondered if other courts could be operated in a similar way. Mr. Brinkman explained that was an item being discussed in the five year Master Plan, that there be some facilities with revenue producing abilities. Some additional types of facility would have tennis attached and yes, there could be a Naples and South Naples tennis facility built in connection with another facility. 3. Ms. Till : The Ground Breaking for the pool was reported in the paper. -6- A 4. Mr. Blackford: Are there tennis courts planned for the Vineyards? Yes, 6. Mr. Clendenon suggested if we invite the Women' s Tennis League to a PARAB meeting, that we be prepared to discuss plans for additional courts at additional sites. The courts at the Vineyards are in the Master Plan, but the budget for them was not approved. More courts could also be added to the back portion at the Racquet Center on Marco. If the demand is there, it seems that courts would need to be added to all County locations. Mr. Blackford stated if the demand is high we need to hear from the women, what documentation do we need to take? Mr. Smith suggested the residents come in and ask for approval , if PARAB approves the request it would the item would then go before the BCC. It would be a chance to meet the public and make them feel they are participating. Mr. Mueller made the suggestion that a memo be written to the employees at the Racquet Center recognizing the painting, cleaning, etc. , that they have done on their own at the facility. Mr. Brinkman remarked that whenever there is a special employee that gives above and beyond the call of duty, it would be nice to have PARAB write a Resolution that could be passed on to the employee. This would be in the form of a certificate stating the accomplishment of the employee and signed by the PARAB members. Mr. Mueller felt that this was an outstanding example of employees doing a good job and some sort of recognition ws deserved. Mr. Brinkman stated that these employees at the Racquet Center were being nominated for the County Employee of the Month award. Mr. Smith thanked all the staff that helped before, during, and after the hurricane. Ms. Till is to purchase a card and something for Ramona' s new baby from the members of PARAB. Mr. Clendenon: Motion to adjourn. Seconded by Mr. Blackford. Approved 4/0. Adjourned 4: 10 p.m. 7698 —7—