PARAB Minutes 10/19/202211 October 19, 2022
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
Naples, Florida, October 19, 2022
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Parks and Recreation Advisory
Board inand for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on
this date at 2 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION at Big Corkscrew Island Regional
Park, 810 39th Ave. NE, Naples, Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Edward "Ski" Olesky
VICE CHAIR.: Joshua Frath
Paul DeMarco
Rebecca Gibson-Laemel
Kristina Heuser
Lee Dixon (excused)
Jessica Bergel (via Zoom)
Donna Fiala (excused)
ALSO PRESENT: Miguel Rojas Jr., Admin. Assistant, Parks & Recreation
Olema Edwards, Interim Parks Director
Chris Harmon, Region 1 Parks Manager
Dayne Atkinson, Principal Project Manager, Public Services
David Michel, Interim Region 4 Parks Manager
Aaron Hopkins, Region 2 Parks Manager
Randi Hopkins, Interim Region 3 Parks Manager
James Hanrahan, Interim Region 5 Parks Manager
Summer Araque, Program Director, Conservation Collier
Derrick "Rick" Garby, Superintendent, Parks & Recreation
William McDaniel, County Commissioner District 5
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Any persons in need of a verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the Zoom recording and
PowerPoint presentations from the Collier County Parks & Recreation Department.
I. Call to Order
Chairman Olesky called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. A quorum of five was established; a sixth
member arrived later.
H. Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and an invocation/moment of silence was observed.
M. Approval of Agenda
Ms Gibson-Laemel moved to approve the agenda. Mr. DeMarco seconded it, The motion passed
unanimously, 5-0.
IV. Previous Meeting Minutes
Ms. Gibson-Laemel said she had a question about a sentence on p. 3, which said "it's a tight -knit
community." She said it referred to Immokalee. We don't need to change it, but she wanted to point
that out.
Ms. Edwards noted that's where they were talking about the soccer fields and Immokalee and busing
Immokalee residents to Big Corkscrew Regional Park for soccer.
Ms. Gibson-Laemel agreed, noting the context wasn't clear. She asked if the fields were still ahead of
schedule, noting that it wasn't on the agenda.
Ms. Hopkins said they're aiming for March.
Mr. DeMarco moved to approve the September 21, 2022, meeting minutes. Ms Gibson-Laemel
seconded it. The motion passed unanimously, 5--0.
V. Public/Board Comments
VI. Intro to Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park [Randi Hopkins]
Ms Hopkins welcomed everyone to the park and reported that.
. • This is the first official meeting we've had here, outside of staff meetings.
• BCRP is the largest community center countywide. It's over 22,000 square feet. Our VPK room is about
2,000 square feet, which also is one of the largest countywide.
• We're currently going through the licensing process with DCF. We're hoping to get licensed soon and
open this building within the next month.
• We've started pouring concrete on the Aquatics facility, but don't have a timeline for that yet. We're
hoping to open that within the next six months. _
• This park has been in the works for about 20 years. Area residents have wanted this park, which is halfway
between North Naples and Immokalee.
• There wasn't a -place for summer camp or adult sports, so there was a high need.
• Impact fees and a raised sales tax were used to fund the park, which is now in Phase 1.
• This park was broken down into two additional phases. The North Phase finished last year and opened
August 1, with four fields, two of which are natural turf and two that are artificial turf.
• We have an amazing maintenance team.
• Two softball fields opened August 1. MLU partners we host are Florida West, one of the largest soccer
associations. in Collier County, Pop Warner and Naples Bears.
• There are about 250 cars in the parking lot each night.
• We have a partnership with Naples Knights, which rents our softball fields.
• We also run our own adult softball league.
• It's a very busy park and has been wanted for a long time.
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• We have a state-of-the-art playground, the only playground like this in Collier County; there is a similar
playground in the City of Naples made by the same builders.
• The playground is like the Magic Kingdom, with a castle that's separated by children's ages, levels and
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abilities, with ADA access.
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• There's a spring in the mulch in case children or adults fall.'
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• She can provide a tour of the building afterward.
• We'll be offering VPK and after -school once we get through the DCF licensing process.
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Ms. Gibson Laemel asked about the DCF licensing process.
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Ms. Hopkins said it's just going through the regular process. The hurricane put us back a few weeks because DCF
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wasn't allowed to conduct field visits. They emailed yesterday to say he's allowed to go to sites now. He came out
today for a preliminary and took measurements of everything and told us about issues we might potentially need to
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correct, such as we didn't have a gate at the back of the playground, so we have to add a gate. There were small
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things like that we made adjustments for, so we're ready for DCF's final visit.
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VII. New Business
a. NPC Alcohol Presentation [Robert Strommen, Naples Pickleball Center]
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Mr. Strommen detailed the alcohol request and stated that:
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• It's the same request and same location as last year, but for two different dates.
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• On December 1-4, we are holding an approved Fun Festival 50-Plus Tournament. It's a combination of a
health -fair festival and a 50-plus pickleball tournament geared toward ages 50 and over and senior citizens.
• We haven't decided on exact dates that we're going to serve alcohol, but it's probably not Sunday and is
most likely Thursday, Friday and Saturday,
• As we've done in the past, once we get approval, we will follow all county alcohol requirements for
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licensing liability.
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• We are not doing the serving and will contract with a local approved -provider, with all the insurance
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requirements; local and state mandates for allowing alcohol.
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• The second request, which is the same, is for NPC Championships Tournament from February 2-5.
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Alcohol also won't be served on Sunday.
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• We were given permission last year to serve alcohol, but that was at Sugden Park.
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• Approval is park -specific, so even though we received permission last year, we're changing the location
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where alcohol: would be served to East Naples Community Park,CD
• We anticipate about 950 players for the NPC Championships in February and nearly the same number of
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participants and attendees for the. Fun Festival 50 Plus in December.
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• We request PARAB's permission to recommend to Parks & Rec that could proceed and follow the rules
and requirements established by Parks & Rec, state and local regulators.
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Mr. DeMarco made a motion to approve alcohol at the Fun Festival 50-Plus Tournament from December 1-4
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and the NPC Championships from February 2-5. Ms. Gibson-Laemel seconded it. The motion passed
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unanimously, 5--0.
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b. Naples Boat Show Presentation [Tiffany°Schank, Marine Industries Association of Collier County]
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Ms. Schank provided details of MIACC's request and stated that. -
The. association came before PARAB about a year ago to seek approval for alcohol at the boat show, which
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was approved.
• We are moving forward with having our 2023 boat show at Sugden Park and she wanted to see if PARAB
had any questions about the design or layout and reintroduce you to what the Marine Industry is and its
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future plans for the show at Sugden Park.
• MIACC is anon -profit organization. that represents marine businesses. and anyone involved in waterways
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for the boating public. We also work very closely with the state in Tallahassee and any lawmaking that
would affect boaters' access and rights to the waterways and clean waterways,
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• We're the connection for the local industry and state association.
• There are slightly more than 150 vendors at the four -day event. Before inventory issues due to COVID, w
had about 250 boats on display. We may not have 250 boats this year due to COVID and demand for boat
damaged by Hurricane Ian, but eventually we'll get back to that point. N
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• About 7,000 people attend the events and Saturday and Thursday are our busiest days. N
• We have vendors on land at Sugden Park and we also have boats on the water at the Naples City Dock.
• We're working with staff to try to figure out the best place for parking. We will use Sugden Park for
preferred parking and there would be a nominal fee to park on -site and we'd use the Collier County E
Government Center for overflow.
• I'm open to suggestions on other parks we can use, but for now, that's what will work best for us and we'] z
learn this year what works and what doesn't.
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Gibson 1Laemel asked if there would be any boats in the water this year at Sugden Park. o
Ms. Schank said they'd like to. That's definitely our goal and she'd outline that.
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Ms. Schank continued her presentation:
• There will be free shuttle transportation between both locations. They'll drive by the Government Center' Q
parking garage and do a drop-off there. c
• Our design layout uses the big field for the exhibition tent and the main entrance to the show.
• We'll use part of that for our vendor parking and the overflow parking so we can maximize that parking
area, as well as other parking spaces. She counted 110 spaces onsite; plus the field.
• The show will snake along the edge of the lake, with a beautiful walk on the pathway or the road, and then -o
loop back around and through the exhibition tent for the exit, using the same entrance and exit.
• Marine Industries is committed to providing all the vendors, securing all the insurance, the contracting, the _12
start-up, administration and everything that goes into the event. We'll handle it all. a
• Park staff would only be needed to maintain the park, park facilities and bathroom facilities, which might ,n
need extra maintenance, cleaning and supplies. N
• We're going to provide several restrooms for the show grounds, but park facilities still will be used.
• We're considering using park staff and we'd pay fees for staff to work the event. N
• We asked if there was any accessible water or electric onsite that we could use. We need water for boat cm
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washers to wash down to boats each morning so they're fresh and clean. That's something we want to look a;
at in the future.
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[Heuser joined the meeting at 2:24 p.m.]
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• There's not a lot of electric onsite, so that's something we can work on for the future. If there's not enougl w
electric, we could bring in generators.
• We'd also like a posted sign on Sugden property and the road. We asked the Sheriff's Office to post a 'c
lighted sign showing directional information about where to turn because this is a new location.
• Dock 4, the T-Dock, was just renovated after the fire. It probably won't be completed, but we're asking foi
it to be and want to ensure there are no loose boards or causes for harm.
• We'd love to have boats on the water. We have floating docks for the short-term by the edges of the T-
Docks. We might need to make some adjustments to the ramp so we can have a gang way down to the m
floating docks. That's our shorter long-term goal, stretching between all T-docks.
• This might require us to add some electricity on T-Docks. We can add as we go for our future plans. To de a
this, we'd need to upgrade the ramp that's there. Right now, it's only set for the ski boat. To bring in high -
end boats, 25-foot center consoles, we need to upgrade the park ramp .
Chairman Olesky asked if they would be doing the upgrades on the ramps.
Mr. Hopkins, who noted that he's no longer Sugden Park's manager, said he was working with Tiffany and James a
who is now the park manager:
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Mr. Hopkins reported that.
• He was the one who originated these conversations about the ski boat launch. It would be directly behind
the Water Ski Center.
• We've talked with Risk Management and with Dayne. They will be widening it and making it not just dirt
or gravel.
• It would have multiple uses. The Pro-WaterCross World Championship event was canceled this year due to
the hurricane, but they'd be able to utilize it and we'd be able to use it for in-house programming and the
Marine Industries' boat show.
• The launch would be about 60 feet, similar to what's at the quarry on 951, a legitimate boat launch. Right
now, it's a makeshift launch that's working for us, but we only have a very small ski nautique, as opposed
to larger, $100,000-type boats.
A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• The county is assessing how much the 60-foot launch would be, but Marine Industries is willing to chip in
on some costs, such as design fees.
• This won't be completed for the 2023 Boat Show. This is in Marine Industries' future plans.
• The county wouldn't have to pay for it because it will be part of a partnership.
• JeffNewman,.the business operations manager, is working on the partnership and has drafted an agreement.
• - This will be the first annual boat show at Sugden Park and the county wants to see how it goes.
• Marine Industries is going through the standard permit process and will rent the space.
• After the first year, the county would enter into a contractual agreement, which Jeff has drafted.
• This is expected to be very successful. Once there's a written, contractual agreement, the county will
determine logistics and funding.
• This is not an official capital project.
• The grass area will be used for vendor parking. Boats will be displayed along the pathway, not on the grass.
The grass area will feature exhibition tents.
• Grass parking was used successfully for -the Naples Pickleball Open Championships and many car shows.
• Handicapped parking will be designated, with a shuttle/golf cart to bring attendees to the boat show area.
• Handicapped parking involves a fee. Those spots are the closest attendees can get to the show, even at the
Government Center, where they'll be shuttled from the Government Center to the show.
• There are 110 spots. Overflow has never been an issue and they also can use the government parking
garage, which is part of the CAT bus loop and the Sugden loop..
• This is a collaboration with the City of Naples' Parks & Rec Department.
• It was suggested that signs be posted to indicate overflow parking and trolley pickup.
• Parking and drop-off information will be posted on the websites and publicized on social media.
• They've worked with Facilities Management to secure the government center.
• This won't conflict with any pickleball events.
• Because the City of Naples has the water access and docks, the county is working as part of a partnership.
• The event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Hurricane Ian put a damper on some permitting, but applications are being reviewed.
• Permitting will go through the fire department, Growth Management and CCSO.
• There won't be an amplified sound permit.
• There will be a banner permit to enable Tiffany to post pendants around the area.
• There also will be a right-of-way permit and a special -events permit.
• The permitting process is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.
• The target date is January 19-22.
c. Hurricane Ian Update [Dayne Atkinson, Public Services Division]
Mr. Atkinson provided a PowerPoint presentation detailing damage to beaches and parks facilities.
Mr. DeMarco asked what the timeline was for repairs and if it could be accelerated.
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Mr. Atkinson said they're trying to provide access, but not for all amenities, and they expect access to be availabl
by December 1. Vanderbilt Beach may not have a drivable traffic circle, but there will be pedestrian access. All
amenities won't be available but there will be access.
Mr. DeMarco asked about FEMA funding.
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Mr. Atkinson said FEMA doesn't accelerate funds. We're working with our insurer and FEMA and have to make
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sure we have FEMA contracts and contractors to do that, so when we submit that, we have a chance at a
reimbursement.
Commissioner McDaniel said there are no delays due to funding issues.
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Ms. Gibson-Laemel asked how high the storm surge was.
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Mr. Atkinson said it was 10-12 feet. Everything in the electric room at Vanderbilt Beach was destroyed and
Barefoot Beach was worse.
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d. Expiring 'Perms
Ms. Edwards reported that:
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• Three board members' terms are expiring this year, Chairman Olesky, Jessica Bergel and Lee Dixon.
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• If they plan to renew their terms, they should fill out the applications.
• The PARAB can vote on that at the next meeting; there is no December meeting and that's when the
terms will be ending.
• PARAB members should review policies and procedures and offer any suggestions.
• Instead of an in -person vote, she suggested an anonymous vote so people aren't put on the spot.
• She'll approve a list of questions that applicants can be questioned on so the board can learn about their
backgrounds, park issues and expertise.
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• She plans to work on a manual with bylaws and ordinances that will help new members who join the
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board, as well as the chairman.
• PARAB could hold a special meeting before December or in the new year to work on that.
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Ms. Gibson-Laemel said a manual is a great idea.
Mr. DeMarco said it's good for people to tell us why they want to be on the board. Some have a formal agenda.
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VIII. Capital Projects [Dayne Atkinson, Public Services Division]
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Mr. Atkinson said he had no new updates to report because they're focusing on hurricane -related
projects. But he did get a bid back on Sun-N-Fun Lagoon, which was within $150 of the engineer's
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estimate. Bids on the towers are expected next week and we're actively permitting Golden Gate this
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month. We've reviewed the 60% designs on the turf fields and the pool for Immokalee.
Ms. Edwards asked if they were ahead of schedule.
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Mr. Atkinson said they were until the hurricane hit and now they're back on schedule.
Ms. Gibson-Laemel asked about concrete.
Mr. Atkinson said they've been getting concrete, even if it's 40 yards a day. We still have another 500
cubic yards to come, but after several months of waiting for concrete, this is good.
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1X. Manager Updates
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Conservation Collier [Summer Araque]
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Ms. Araque reported that:
• There were several preserves with debris and some downed trees, but it was quite minimal compared with the
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rest of the county.
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• Most of our cleanup is done and was done by staff, but we had to hire a contractor to remove a tree that fell.
• We've been able to open all the preserves, except Caracara Prairie Preserve, which is accessed through the
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CREW Trust Trails. It's managed by the South Florida Water Management District, which is closed now.
Until they're open, we won't be open:
• Pepper Ranch Preserve is closed, but usually is closed June through November. We open again in November,
so we're working to get that open. Hopefully, the ranch should be open, although it will be very wet, so we
may not be able to open all the trails. It's open on weekends, Friday through Sunday, except hunt weekends,
which are once monthly, September through April.
• We have five public hunts and three youth hunts. The information is on our website at
www:conservationcollier.com or you can ask me.
• We have been able to open the parks and preserves for public access.
Maintenance Update [Rick Garby]
Mr. Garby reported that:
• We've been assessing, planning, rebuilding and repairing, but the beaches are a mess.
• There are problems with light bulbs and poles on ball fields at 13 sites. We can't get to poles
because it's too wet.
• Everything is open, except some beaches and two marinas.
• Park Maintenance staff has been doing debris removal; tree trimming and trash removal: We've
removed thousands of yards of debris.
• We need ballfields, lights, playgrounds and landscaping
• We're all working to get through this but we're in recovery mode.
• We can't get mulch for the playground. We have 727 funds pouring in, but it's hard to get
mulch. We're working with DCF to get the playgrounds open.
Mr. DeMarco asked if there's been a public outcry about getting everything fixed.
Mr. Garby said there has been. They were upset the goals were out. We have to make sure there's
nothing hanging from light poles and fences are down. We get a lot of 311 call requests. We've rebuilt
beaches and ramps and redone foliage. We had to retrieve everything at Tigertail Beach that was in
mangroves, which looks like it was vacuumed. There's no mulch. There were hundreds of yards.
Region l [Chris Harmon]
Mr. Harmon reported on beaches and marinas:
• There's a lot of rebuildinggoing on to allow public access:
• Beaches are now open, but he'd urge everyone to be cautious because there's a lot of metal and other
hazards buried in the sand. Move slowly and carefully. A metal detector user has been finding a lot of large
pieces of buried metal:
• Don't go out on the beaches without boots.
Ms. Gibson-Laemel said Boots on Beaches would be a great public message. Are we letting people know about
the dangers?
Mr. Harmon said there are CCSO and Naples Police patrols that are trying to keep the beaches closed, but there
are other ways to get on beaches. It's just a recommendation. What we don't know about hazards is significant.
Ms. Edwards said the state Department of Health has been doing water quality tests and has been posting signs,
warnings and information:
Region 2 [Aaron Hopkins]
Mr. Hopkins reported that:
• Adaptive -inclusive recreation is back to normal and is operating out of Golden Gate Community Park.
There was a little water damage. There housed in the administrative area.
• The Golden Gate Community Center, VPK and after -school programs are up and running.
• There was minor damage on the BMX dirt track, but the BMX group has been able to ride and we're
working on it.
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• Golden Gate Center is featuring a Family Halloween Monster Bash this Friday for $6/person.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -Day Saints reached out to us. For the last two weekends, there were
more than 800 church members camping and doing debris pickup at homes. They've now switched their
focus on Lee County, where the damage is greater. They did great work in this community.CN
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Commissioner McDaniel said the church group worked in the community and slept at the parks
Mr. Hopkins continued his presentation:
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• The Second Annual Diggity Dog Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. November 5 at Golden Gate
Community Park.
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fields are open again.
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• There was some damage to lighting.
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Mr. DeMarco asked about Trunk or Treat.
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Mr. Garby explained that it involves decorating the trunk of a vehicle and offering treats to kids. People rent a
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parking spot, decorate a car and kids walk through to get treats. There have been some really good ones over the
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years.
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Region 3 [Randi Hopldns]
Ms. Hopkins reported that.
• Big Corkscrew Regional Park will be offering Trunk or Treat this Friday, from 6-9 p.m.. Unfortunately,
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many lights were damaged.
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• There also will be a Trunk or Treat in Iinmokalee next Friday.
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• Tony Rosbough Park had a power line go down, but it was fixed and power was restored.
• All fields, except Field 3 at the Sports Complex, are fully lighted. Big Corkscrew and Immokalee were the
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only ones that had problems with lighting.
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• Christmas Around the World will be December 10 at the Immokalee Sports Complex. It will be a regional
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event with all parks, games, activities, a bounce -house and mariachi singers.
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Region 4 [David Michel]
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Mr. Michel reported that:
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• He helped with the hurricane and spent four nights at the Emergency Operations Center.
• Staff has done an amazing job. Noting that Olema's vision is to enrich the lives of the people we serve,
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we've done an excellent job.
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• All facilities are good in the region and we're lucky we didn't get hit very badly.
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• The Rec-Plex is one of the few shelters left and 125 people are still there and the Red Cross is working
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with staff there.
• FEMA is at Veterans Park. There were about 25 people per hour last week. The National Guard also was
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there handing out goods; it's now closed.
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• The Boo-Tacular will be held from 6-9 p.m. October 28 at the North Collier Regional Park soccer
complex, with three regions involved. It's grown every year and is a big event. There will be trick or treats
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vendors, the fire department, CCSO, costume contests, a DJ, a haunted trail and bounce houses and games.
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Region 5 [James Hanrahan]
Mr. Hanrahan reported that. 0
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• All East Naples facilities are all open.
• Staff did an amazing job at three locations during the hurricane.
• Sugden Park was hit hard and flooded. Once the water receded, the National Guard took over and it was a a
pickup site for food and water for the community and there were 81 cars on line, reaching out to U.S. 41.
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• Michael Toolan stayed overnight to monitor the semis and the water and help the National Guard.
• Eagle Lakes was the dorm for the National Guard. They were prepared to sleep outside and eat MREs
outside, but were happy to have showers and to sleep with air conditioning in the community center.
• David Jones spent the night with them and woke up at 1 a.m. to walk them to the showers.
• Day care was provided for first responders and staff s children.
• This is the best we've worked together since he began working for the county in 2016.
X. Director Highlights
Ms. Edwards praised the park team for doing a tremendous job providing children with childcare and
disaster recovery. They helped special -needs children, people on oxygen and with other medical needs,
and helped at shelters. They also distributed sandbags before the hurricane. James and Randi went out
before the hurricane to provide life vests. This is why we're so successful as an agency. You have
caring people who love what they do. We're here to enrich lives for the people we serve. We're proud
of what we do and enjoy it. Thanks for supporting us and please attend the Halloween events.
Ms. Gibson-Laemel said she was impressed with the teamwork since Olema has taken over on the
PARAB meetings. She's proud to be on this board.
XI. Adjournment
Next Meeting Dates:
Nov. 16, 2022, 2 p.m. (North Collier Regional Park)
There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order
of the Chair at 3:30 p.m.
Parks & Recreation Advisory Bid .
These minutes were approved by the Board on
or as amended
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Olesky, Chairman
_, (check one) as presented,
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