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PARAB Minutes 08/17/1994 R Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PARAB) Minutes August 17, i994 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES August 17, 1994 Special Meeting to discuss Strategic Planning/Growth Management Vineyards County Club 400 Vineyards Boulevard Naples, Florida 33999 PRESENT: Mr. Joseph Zaks, Chairman Ms. Darlene Koontz, Vice Chairman Mr. Max A. Hasse, Jr. Mr. Gil Mueller Mr. Timothy Blackford Mr. Stephen Klee Mr. Bruce Pray ALSO PRESENT: Mr. Thomas W. 011iff, Public Services Administrator Mr. Steve Brinkman, Parks and Recreation Director Mr. Gary Franco, Parks Superintendent Mr. Murdo Smith, Parks & Recreation Operations Manager Ms. Jacquie Minnis, Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER at 2:05 pm II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Mr. Zaks opened the meeting by making a motion, seconded by Mr. Hasse, that the meeting end at 4:30. Motion carried. Mr. Hasse expressed the parks were in good shape but he would like to see something done to include water oriented sports. The Florida Communities Trust Grant is geared to funding property that will remain fairly open and natural - not buildings. It grants 507 acquisition or cost of land if the property meets this criteria. The Lake Avalon property, which is a natural water retention area, would rate 50% if the surrounding area of the lake remained natural. Lake Avalon is located in East Naples, off Outer Drive, which is off US 41E. Any facility meeting the requirements of the Florida Communities Trust Grant would be eligible for funding. Chairman Zaks asked for comments from each member of the Board regarding their opinion whether things were being done right, wrong, or if there were any changes they would like made. Consensus of the group: Staff is doing a good job and responds quickly to concerns brought to its attention. -1- PARAB members devote a great deal of time and energy to their tasks and discussed ways to have their decisions and ideas become more visible to the BCC. On some items the Executive Summary could present options, which would eliminate a flat yes or no decision. The more information provided, the more informed the BCC would be about the issue. In lieu of the amount of money spent on planning and engineering projects, maybe BCC should be kept abreast of the progress of the project and become more involved in the process. Progress reports could be supplied on a regular basis, then when it came time for a bid to be awarded, or funds approved, the project will be fresh in their memory. The suggestion to have a PARAB member(s) present at BCC meetings when important issues were to be discussed, was also presented. To help obtain public opinion and comments, a list of PARAB members and phone numbers will be placed on the bulletin board at each community center. Motion by Mr. Hasse: List of entire members of Parks and Recreation Board representatives and phone numbers be posted. Seconded by Tim Blackford. A public survey is being planned regarding Parks and Recreation services. At least 50 responses from each area will be solicited and cataloged. This will help in future planning. The suggestion was made that future planning be paid to quality instead of quantity, focusing on upgrading what we serve and the value of what we now have. Put the facilities in parks where they are most needed, areas will vary, and for future plans indicate the funding source. Mr. Pray questioned why Immokalee had a separate MSTD account and was separate from the general budget. It was explained that all the money was ad valorem but tracked differently for unincorporated areas. A special MSTD can be created by asking the BCC to create one or have a referendum to see if communities wish to tax themselves for additional services. The Immokalee Recreation Center Executive Summary should be going to the BCC on September 6, 1994. Steve Brinkman will give everyone a call if there is any change. Different options for the BCC's consideration will be presented. III. GROWTH MANAGEMENT Steve Brinkman presented the idea of district parks. The County has a good basic community park system and most of them are built very well. The area is growing very quickly and very diversified and the need exists to develop areas that will be more district or regional above and beyond what community parks can provide. The park which will serve Golden Gate Estates will not be the traditional type of park. Facilities which would serve a larger number of people - not the 25,000 population figure for community parks, but to serve 100,000 people - would allow a very comprehensive program and provide speciality programs and instruction. Having the same type facilities, i.e. ballfields, in a concentrated area reduces the maintenance cost. -2- Covered basketball courts have a well rounded use. If that route was followed, rather than including courts in a building, a person would not be needed for programming. The covered courts exist at Frank Mackle and will be constructed at the Estates park. They will also be added to a number of park areas. The Veterans Park group - Friends of the Parks - have expressed an interest in helping to raise funds for them at that park. The Friends of Parks groups have been organized at the various community parks. There were some legal opinions regarding incorporation which are being settle. Then these groups will be activated and can begin to have fund raisers. When facilities are built impact fees are available for construction, but operating funds are becoming more difficult to obtain. A structure or facility needs to be maintained after it is built. An opinion was expressed that facilities be built that have low maintenance. Although the cost of vandalism is small in this area compared to various parts of the country, this will change as the population grows and changes. The need for more swimming pools was questioned. The consensus was to see how the existing pools - Golden Gate and Immokalee fare. Neighborhood parks are "walk to" parks, easily accessible for youngsters and residents of a neighborhood. Community parks are "ride to parks" serving a larger area. Developments of a certain size should be required to provide neighborhood parks. There are some requirements at the present time, but there is no ordinance in place to enforce the issue. Vineyards donated the land for the community park now under construction. Neighborhood parks will be placed on the next agenda. Potential Changes: 1. Marco area - collect community park impact fee. Marco residents are currently paying on the regional impact fee. Both Marco and Immokalee have a separate impact fee account, the remainder of the County's Park and Recreation fees are in one fund. 2. Eliminate individual facilities in community park and list as one dollar amount. Then the facilities desired by the community could be constructed and not those which will not be used. This would allow more flexibility. 3. Modify the definition of community park so money can also be used for acquisition of neighborhood parks. One example would be the land across from the Little League ballfield in East Naples. Community Parks would include neighborhood to district. Regional - District parks up to regional. When Naples Manor and Naples Park were established there were no homeowners groups established to speak for them. Some developments have neighborhood parks but they are not designed for children. 4. Designate schools - middle schools designated as district parks. The middle schools have athletic fields available and usually have no organized school teams using these fields. Small fields need lighting but using the school facilities would help cut the cost of infrastructure. -3- 5. Park plans should go with school plans. The ball field at Pine Ridge cost $50,000 to renovate as opposed to $300,000 to build a new one. The Department is working with the School Board to agree on use and maintenance costs. 6. Beach parks are regional parks. However, there is no impact fee money designated for beaches, only boat lanes. A standard or unit value would have to be established. This could consist of amount of acreage or linear feet of beach, number of parking spaces per 1,000 population, etc. Staff will come back with some suggestions. The additional parking at the Preserve and Tigertail Beach is being funded by regional impact fees. The TDC money will be providing an additional 20 feet width of beach, but no additional parking spaces or access. Two cents of each dollar collected goes for beach renourishment/pass dredging; one cent goes for events dealing with tourist attractions as specified in the Ordinance. At the next joint meeting of the Naples City Park Board and PARAB there will be a speaker present from Palm Springs to explain their Beach District. All of the beaches could be unified into one beaching district which is a union of interest worth looking into. 7. Boat Ramps - Some improvements will be made to the gas system at Caxambas; the possibility of acquiring some additional land at Bayview to expand the parking, boat lanes, and construction of a dock master building is being explored. There are no plans at 951 as the cost versus spaces is not feasible. The County now has a total of 11 boat lanes at 5 different sites. 8. Impact fees - City of Naples pays a regional impact fee but not a community park fee. If these fees were merged, then there would be an increase. Collier 's Parks and Recreation impact fees are charged per dwelling unit whereas some counties charge per sq. ft. , number of bedrooms, cost of unit, etc. 9. Park Trails - bikeways. The only nature trail the Department has is at the Preserve. There are some walkways in some of the park areas, and bike ways on the street. Anita Chapman heads the Bicycle Pedestrian Corridor Section and is in the process of planning bike paths. The first priority is for paths to the schools. A fixed amount of gas tax money is designated for bike paths per year - $100,000 - which is not very much. A County wide survey showed that 95% of people surveyed wanted more bike paths and were willing to pay more for them. There are plans, and property has been donated, for a pathway behind the airport up to the post office on the east side. 10. Linear park - is a landscaped area along the road, a visual setting. Suggestion that developers take care of the median in front of their site. Meeting adjourned. Next meeting will be at the Vineyards, August 24, 1994. -4-