PARAB Minutes 06/21/202332.A.4
June 21, 2023
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE N
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PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD N
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Naples, Florida, June 21, 2023
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LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Parks & Recreation Advisory
Board, in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met
on this date at 2 P.M. in REGULAR SESSION at Headquarters Library, X,
Naples, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Edward "Ski" Olesky
VICE CHAIR: Joshua Fruth
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Paul DeMarco
Rebecca Gibson-Laemel
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Kristina Heuser (excused)
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Lee Dixon (excused)
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Jessica Bergel
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Donna Fiala (alternate)
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ALSO PRESENT: Olema Edwards, Director, Parks & Recreation
Miguel Rojas Jr., Admin. Assistant, Parks & Recreation
James Hanrahan, Region 5 Parks Manager
Mike Ossorio, Region 1 Parks Manager
Aaron Hopkins, Region 2 Parks Manager
Randi Swinderman, Region 3 Parks Manager
David Michel, Region 4 Parks Manager
Rick Garby, Maintenance Superintendent, Parks & Rec
Dayne Atkinson, Principal Project Mgr., Public Services
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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.
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I. Call to Order o
Chairman Olesky called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. A quorum of five was established.
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U. Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation
The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed an invocation/moment of silence. 3
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M. Approval of the Agenda
Parks Director Edwards said there is one change to the agenda, a PARAB member vacancy,
that will be under New Business. ,°
Ms. Laemel moved to approve the agenda, as amended Vice Chair Fruth seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0.
IV. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
Ms. Laemel moved to approve the April 19, 2023, meeting minutes. Vice Chair Fruth
seconded it. The motion passed unanimously, 5-0.
V. Public/Board Comments
(See VH.a)
VI. New Business CN
a. Fourth of July Event
Mr. Hanralian reported that: N
• We've been working with the City of Naples since March to partner for the Centennial M
to have the fireworks not at Sugden Park, but on the barge close to Lowdermilk Park. N
• In early June, Naples City Council decided to hold a parade and no fireworks.
• We already had a quote from Zambelli Fireworks and were able to pivot. We're
partnering with Paradise Coast Sports Complex to have fireworks there.
• Gates will open at 6 p.m.; a band plays at 7 p.m.; we're working on a Fourth of July
themed movie; and fireworks will begin at 9 p.m.
• For the past two years, a different fireworks company got bad publicity for starting
later than expected. Zambelli Fireworks is back. They'd been with us for 20 years with
no problems. y
• He gave kudos to many county departments, including the Sheriff's Department,
Greater Naples Fire, EMS, Waste Management, Risk Management and Parks &
Recreation to get this done. It will be a great event. 2
b. Parks and Recreation Month
Director Edwards said we will be taking a proclamation to the BCC for Parks and Recreation
Month, which is in July.
c. PARAB Vacancy
Ms. Edwards said we received notice that Paul DeMarco will be leaving the PARAB. We will
be posting for that PARAB position. We don't have a meeting in July, but we will come back
in August with applicants to vote on.
Mr. DeMarco told the PARAB:
It was a pleasure being on the board. We got a lot done.
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• When voting for his replacement, he reminded them that many former applicants had
an agenda that was clear once they reviewed applicants. You need someone unbiased
and who supports the betterment of our community, especially those who need it most.
• We've made great strides with the community and he hopes that continues.
• Collier County is blessed with a wonderful staff who understands people's problems. o
You're doing your job well.
• We're going to relocate to be closer to the medical center for my newborn and the best
interests of my family right now. 3
• He enjoyed the PARAB and believes it will do great things.
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[The director and PARAB menzhers said they appreciated his service.]
VH. Old Business
a. Pelican bay Community Park Pickleball Update (Mike Ruffolo, chairman, Pelican
Bay Foundation)
Director Edwards told the PARAB:
We've heard from many constituents, had one Neighborhood Information Meeting,
one PARAB meeting and a very good dialogue with the Pelican Bay Foundation.
The feedback from the community is that they don't want to lose two tennis courts, so
we came up with a new concept, Concept No. 11.
We're going to remove racquetball courts and add two more clay tennis courts in that
area so we still have the eight tennis courts we had. We're still planning on removing
two tennis courts to create more parking, but we're adding two more back where the
racquetball courts are now.
Mike Ruffolo told the PARAB:
• We received a lot of feedback, particularly from Naples Park, surrounding areas and
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neighbors outside Pelican Bay.
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• Naples Park residents felt it was important to keep eight tennis courts.
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• We got creative and worked with Olema, the neighborhood and other associations and
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came up with a solution that takes care of two problems. The stone structure that was
being used for racquetball practice was not attractive and it was noisy when it was
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used for pickleball due to the proximity to neighbors, so we'll remove it to add
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capacity.
• We're looking forward to getting the project in front of commissioners.
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Director Edwards said there is no lease agreement or anything in place yet. We're still
working on that because we want to make sure that when we present this to the public, it's
right, so we're not rushing it. But it is a rush. If we get it approved, we want to start
construction as soon as possible, so we can have the facilities open for season. Approval and a
timeline are up to the BCC. We're trying to do what's in the community's best interests, but
not to the point that we jeopardize anything for the community. Are there any board
comments?
Ms. Laemel said she's glad they listened to the community. She's a tennis player and tennis
courts are being threatened everywhere. There are many tennis leagues and players here. it's
not a dying sport. She appreciates that they followed up on that.
A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• Pelican Bay Community Park tennis membership currently allows anyone to join;
Pelican Bay Foundation will be taking over memberships and adding pickleball.
• The foundation will work with the county to determine fees, including married and
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32.A.4
family memberships, and how the fee structure will work.
• It will be a fun place for the community and will include everything from round robins
to pickleball instruction.
• The foundation hopes to make it a good place to learn a sport that's becoming very
popular and will offer the same caliber of instruction and league tennis.
• The foundation will encourage as many USTA and CTA leagues to play there as
possible to ensure it's a vibrant tennis and pickleball community.
• They plan to manage both in a way that allows for sufficient capacity.
PUBLIC SPEAKERS
Gwendolyn Messolonnier, a Stonebridge Country Club resident, said:
• She plays pickleball at Veterans Community Park and belongs to Pelican Bay
Community Park.
• She plays with many players from Pelican Bay.
• There are two sets of tennis courts at the community park, one by the fire station and
the other is called "south."
• She hears people talking and it's probably a rumor, but they're saying they're getting
half the courts, four tennis courts and 10 pickleball courts.
• How do we distinguish between the community courts and Pelican Bay Foundation
courts? What does that entail?
Director Edwards detailed what the county is working on:
• This is a public park and we're looking for a public -private partnership with the
Pelican Bay Foundation.
• The foundation can make capital improvements at the park that are very much needed.
They have the -resources and want to do it now.
• It's not necessarily true that they will get half of everything, but they'll be allowed to
use facilities because they're putting up the money for the project.
• The money isn't coming from taxpayers, but from the Pelican Bay community and
foundation.
• We're trying to ensure that it's equitable for the foundation and the public.
• Pickleball is played by skill set, so we're looking at how to meet the needs of skill
sets.
• If there are 10 courts for the public and 10 for the foundation and there are beginner,
intermediate and advanced skill sets, we won't let courts sit vacant if there aren't
Pelican Bay players. We are not saying 10 would be residual.
• The park is for everybody, so we're going to iron that out because Pelican Bay
residents have a right to use courts because they're putting up the money.
• This is a lot of capital, about $6 million that taxpayers won't have to pay.
A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• There are no pickleball courts at Pelican Bay Community Park now.
• The tennis courts are in bad shape; maintenance was up to the county and
concessionaire.
• The concessionaire told players they don't want to put money into the courts.
• The county has a $6.7 million budget for 71 parks and must prioritize needs.
• Pickleball has been in Parks & Rec's Capital Projects plan for years.
• We're looking into innovative ways to satisfy community needs.
• The community is concerned about elitism at a public park.
Joanne Marin, a resident of Conner's Vanderbilt Beach Estates, told the PARAB:
She's glad they're getting the two tennis courts back.
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• There's a parking issue and concerns about who decides who gets to play.
• Is it four tennis courts for the foundation and four for the public?
• She plays pickleball and tennis and is concerned about how it will be managed.
• Her perception is that the county is selling its rights to a public park to a private entity,
so how equitable will it be?
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Director Edwards responded:
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• The decision will be made by the County Manager's Office and county
commissioners. We can go through negotiations, but they must be agreed to by both
parties and the ultimate decision is with the Board of County Commissioners and
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County Manager.
• We're doing our due diligence and trying to make this fair and equitable for
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everybody.
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• She doesn't want the perception that the public can't use foundation courts. This isn't
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exclusive access, but if they're putting up the money, they should have some access to
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the courts.
Ms. Marin asked if it's 50-50, does the public only have access to half? Does the foundation
have access to everything, while the public/non-foundation residents will only have access to
50%? That's her concern. Pelican Bay residents are county residents, so what prevents them
from scheduling both foundation and public courts?
Director Edwards responded:
• If there are 20 courts, Pelican Bay gets 10 and 10 others are strictly for the public. If
Pelican Bay wasn't using its courts, the public could use those courts.
• People come from many areas to play now and no one stops them.
• She believes this will be 100% access and the concessionaire won't say you aren't part
of Pelican Bay so you can't play.
Jim Hoppensteadt, president of the Pelican Bay Foundation, said.CD
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Focus groups have said loud and clear that this is a very communal sport.
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We talked about different ways to handle it, such as a reservation system or first -
come, first -serve with a white board and it was apparent that the first -come, first serve
whiteboard structure is the way to go.
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An ambassador in the court area will be the best way to help people get to the right
courts with the right level of play.
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Our expectation is that many courts will be used by a combination of Pelican Bay
residents and the public.
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Mike Ruffolo is an accomplished tennis player, so his challenge is to find somebody
who can be competitive. He often has to look outside Pelican Bay.
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We expect that to be the case here. There will be many levels on 20 courts and we
have the ability for six courts for each block of skill level and still have two courts
available for instruction or other uses.
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This will be a flexible facility that can handle a variety of play configurations.
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Mr. Ruffolo added:
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The net gain to Collier County is 20 pickleball courts that don't exist now.
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We want to see the courts highly utilized. The Pelican Bay Foundation and the
community are comprised of mostly seasonal residents so you'd probably have
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alternate courts based on how few people are here in summer.
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During season, courts will be allocated by levels of play. We'll do our best to keep
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courts busy all the time for the community's benefit. There's a lot of demand, even for
more than 20 courts.
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• The same will apply for tennis. We also will bring tennis courts up to the standards we
have at Pelican Bay; they're in disrepair.
• Pelican Bay has 18 tennis courts but the demand isn't the same as with pickleball. Our
tennis court use will be modest, mostly during season and probably during certain
hours and days. N
• There will be ample tennis capacity and a net of 20 new pickleball courts for about $6 N
million. cfl
• It's hard to imagine anyone not thinking that's an incremental benefit to the N
community.
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A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• Pelican Bay Foundation will become the concessionaire.
• The foundation will build a pro shop that will be staffed with Pelican Bay employees
and an ambassador who will manage tennis and pickleball skill levels and courts.
• The foundation knows what hasn't worked at Veterans Community Park.
• The foundation believes it will be a very good concessionaire for the county because it
knows how to run these facilities.
• If the county doesn't like the foundation's decisions, county contracts always include
a buyout clause.
• No lights are initially planned for the pickleball courts but the foundation plans on
installing conduits for lights because games after sundown are attractive. Lights will
be phased in. The first courts to be lit will be closest to the pro shop and tennis courts,
which have lights.
• Lights will use "Dark Sky" technology.
• Mr. Hoppensteadt said the concern is less about the lighting glow than about
containing noise. Sound and ambient noise on Vanderbilt Beach Road declines as the
day goes on. We will continue to monitor that.
Marsha Oenick, a Naples Park resident, said: M
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• She frequents the park and considers the foundation proposal generous and N
complicated.
• A legal question remains about whether a community park can be leased to a private
concern and whether it can control and limit public access to facilities.
• This advisory board was assured in April that this question would be addressed. She
requested that the county retain outside counsel to address the question because the
county is a biased stakeholder.
• The assessment may require a physical and operational concept beyond what we see, a'
including how the park is going to be managed. y
• She wonders about access to the park and Pelican Bay Community Center parking
lots.
• She's worried about organizing pickleball courts around skill and not limiting private
and public play.
• This advisory board should require the legal question to be answered before
suggesting that the Board of County Commissioners hears that this board supports the
project.
• The proposed 30-year contract term is a long time and this board should specify
operational guidelines about fees collected from the public and how public access,
long- and short-term maintenance and repair will be managed.
• The lease should require that changes to the structural and operational aspects be
approved by the county prior to implementation.
• This approach is in the current deed.
• The PARAB could use its power before requesting project approval.
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June 21, 2023
• There needs to be continued cooperation between the foundation, county and public to
define how this will work.
• A 30-year contract is a very long time, so it's critical the agreement works both now
and in the future.
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• This advisory board should not support this until details are worked out. c
• There should be an approval process and a plan for opt outs if it doesn't work.
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Director Edwards said the concept was approved by the PARAB in April, when we first
presented Option 10. We brought back the new design concept after hearing the first
Neighborhood Information Meeting and listening to the public. a
Ms. Marin contended it was approved contingent upon the legal questions about the deed.
You agreed to that.
Director Edwards replied:
• She gave her word that it would be done, it's still being done and nothing has been
approved.
• The only thing moving forward now is the concept.
• This is why we're having meetings and will have another Neighborhood Information
Meeting.
• Your questions will be answered. She guarantees that the county legal team's duty is
to protect the county's assets.
• She's not taking anybody's comments for granted, but we need to leave by 3:45
today due to an advisory board meeting that must be set up here.
• Some of these comments can be made at our next meeting.
Marta Meda, a Naples Park resident, said:
• She's a 27-year resident and is concerned about relinquishing control because there's `=
no safeguard to make things equitable for using the tennis facilities. �M,,
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• She'd like an expert to show her the map and how parking will work. You've got 32 N
tennis players, 80 pickleball players, soccer players, dog walkers, beach parkers and N
basketball players coming to the park and when the Ritz -Carlton residences open a
half -mile away, they're going to use our public garage for their private uses and send
the beach parkers to this park.
• We already see it happening without the Ritz -Carlton residences.
• Parking needs to be properly addressed up front. c
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Director Edwards said parking will always be an issue, even without additional courts. y
We're trying to make it better. That's why we took out two tennis courts. This is not the only
park with parking and beach parking issues. There also are parking issues at Veterans
Community Park. The way that the county is growing, parking is always going to be an issue.
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Ms. Meta contended parking won't work at this park and called it dangerous.
Director Edwards said when the public asked for pickleball, if the county built eight county
pickleball courts, even without Pelican Bay being involved, parking would still be an issue.
When she saw the original plans, she noticed parking would be an issue and asked that it be
addressed. You're still going to have a parking issue, no matter what. She can't provide 200
parking spaces because we don't have the footprint for more parking than what's proposed. If
you don't want to move forward, she's OK with that.
A discussion ensued about parking and building a two-story parking garage and Mr.
Atkinson said it would be cost prohibitive and would quadruple the cost.
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Director Edwards said many people are on vacation now and another advisory board needs
to use this space this afternoon so she has to stop this discussion. We will have another
pickleball meeting after the holiday. It's important to continue conversations.
VIH. Manager Updates
Director Edwards introduced Mike Ossorio, the new Region 1 manager, and asked him to
detail his background.
Region 1 [Mike Ossorio]
• He's a tennis player. He was the director of Code Enforcement, has been with the
county since 1993 and has been working in the Building Department and Growth
Management.
• He's been a licensing officer, a code enforcement officer, a manager in code
enforcement, licensing manager and on the building side, he recently was the head of
Code Enforcement, where he spent the last seven years as director.
• He decided to retire after 30 years, but an opportunity came up to continue to work for
the county.
• He's worked with many boards, from the Code Enforcement Board, the Special
Magistrate and the Contractor Licensing Board to the Board of County
Commissioners.
• His philosophy always has been service.
• He graduated from Naples High in 1986, joined the Navy and worked on submarines.
• He learned how to serve and spent almost five years as a.submariner.
• He's always been a podium -seeker in public service, believes in teamwork and
providing good service to taxpayers.
• Olema has been great to work with. He's only been here for one month and we made
some great changes.
• We reviewed, updated and completed the boat launch permit application.
• We reviewed and updated our 2024 Policy and Procedures for upcoming renewal and
the upcoming kickoff for launch permits in January 2024.
• We updated our enforcement procedures and policies to enforce the regulations of
boat launch departments to ensure there's a fair, level playing field for the consumer
and the commercial side, running a business.
• He completed a Region 1 brochure to detail codes and provide information to the
public. Olema is reviewing it and hopefully, PARAB will see that.
• Park Rangers have worked hard. Since we lost the vendors, they've stepped up and
25% of them are pumping gas and doing vendor activities.
• We chose a vendor, which the BCC will approve at the next meeting.
• Park Rangers have been manning the marinas at Cocohatchee River Park and Port of
the Islands to do vendor activities.
• He reached out to the sea turtle people for sea turtle season. Turtles start hatching next
month.
• We have 13 KeyStaff part-timers who check all beaches, from Marco Island to North
Naples and they believe it will be a huge sea turtle season.
Region 2 [Aaron Hopkins]
• He oversees adaptive -inclusive recreation, Golden Gate Community Park, Golden
Gate Community Center and Max Hasse Community Park.
• For the 2022-2023 school year, we had 198 kids signed up for our after -school
program at seven county sites, from Immokalee to Naples.
• For voluntary pre -kindergarten, we had 103 students registered at eight sites, including
Immokalee.
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We have great staff, really good teachers and substitute teachers who are on staff.
Managers also do a great job managing after -school and VPK programs.
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We're on the third week of summer camp.
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We offer adaptive -inclusive recreation at Golden Gate Community Park.
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Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park has a regular Camp Collier, a preschool camp
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and a sports camp.
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East Naples Community Park has Camp Collier, as well as middle school.
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Eagle Lakes Community Park has a camp.
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Golden Gate Community Center, which has a middle school camp, as well as a BMX
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and skateboarding camp.
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Immokalee Community Park and Immokalee South Park.
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North Collier Regional Park has a camp.
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Max Hasse Community Park has a camp.
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North Collier Regional Park sports camp and middle school camp.
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Sugden Regional Park sailing and water-skiing camps.
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Veterans Community Park offers a camp.
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Vineyards Community Park has a camp that also offers pee -wee sports and youth
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sports.
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As of today, we have 18,128 participants in summer camps, where we're providing a
safe, fun opportunity for kids to spend time outside school.
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Our summer camp program utilizes the summer reading program. All our community
centers have a librarian assigned to them for participation.
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Please watch the Collier County Parks Facebook page. We've been posting a lot about
camps and have many speakers. Yesterday, the CCSO came and landed their
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helicopter on the field. We've had ice cream socials and Youth Haven is speaking at
Golden Gate Community Center today. We have a lot of guest speakers internally
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from different departments and divisions, such as Recycling and Pollution Control.
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We had a successful five -week Junior Leader training program. Graduates are now
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working as Junior Leader interns and helping out this summer. We have 87 teenagers
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interning with us in summer camps countywide.
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Region 3 [Randi Swinderman]
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She oversees Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, Immokalee South Park,
Immokalee Community Park and Immokalee Sports Complex.
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We have a lot of extra kids compared with previous years.
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Big Corkscrew didn't have a community center last year because it was shutoff at
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the last moment in the summer, so we crammed kids into concession stands and had
80 kids. This summer we had 180 kids and we're maxed out, so we added an extra
100 kids at that one location.
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South Park also had higher numbers this year.
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We're hoping to get the pool open by mid -July and we'll do a grand opening with the
county commissioners, and everybody will be invited.
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Hopefully, we will end construction on that project and go back into design for Phase
2, where we currently are.
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In November, we'll shut down the Sports Complex for the upgrades, so we're going
out construction for one project and jumping into the next.
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Due to the Sports Complex shutting down in November, we're moving Christmas
Around the World, one of our signature events, to Immokalee Community Park
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across the street.
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Due to the TIGER grant, we had to move the parade route, but the setup will be even
better at Community Park than it was at the Sports Complex.
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It's still early, but we're planning a big holiday season.
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Region 4 [David Michel]
• In athletics, we have a summer sports camp and we've done some field trips. Last
week, we took the kids to Topgolf and they had an awesome time there.
• From July 14-16, we have the Florida USSSA Fast Pitch (Softball) Tournament. It's
one of the only tournaments we do in the summer because we do a lot of resodding
and other work on the fields and September kicks off our tournament season.
• Sun-N-Fun Lagoon will open July 1 and Dayne and Rick have been helping us out to
get everything prepped and ready.
• At the Rec-Plex, a summer youth basketball program starts next week.
• At Veterans and Vineyards, there are over 130 kids at each site for summer camps.
Veterans Park kids visited the fire department last week to learn about fire safety.
• We took over pickleball at Veterans. It's open play from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and people
also can do rentals or lessons and it's open play again from 5 p.m. to closing. It's been
working well.
• Rick's teams have been helping out with blowing off the courts and hanging new
signs. We have new whiteboards there and more signs coming with different
guidelines and rules. We also have some projects coming up for Veterans pickleball,
such as re -asphalting pickleball courts. We hope to resurface the courts, which have
gotten a lot of wear and tear.
Region 5 [James Hanrahan]
• He covers East Naples, Eagle Lakes and Sugden Park.
• All three of our summer camps' full sessions are at capacity.
• There's a maximum capacity of 12 and 15 for water-skiing and sailing due to required
ratios, so he had time to talk to each student about their experience.
• There are 80 kids at East Naples and he helps camp counselors deal with situations
that come up, such as family and personal matters.
• Eagle Lakes is in the middle, but not as quiet as skiing and sailing. They have
athletics, skiing, sailing and traditional camps.
• We have structure, but the kids just want to be on their electronic devices.
• He and David helped schools out with end -of -school parties and the majority went to
Eagle Lakes.
• Sun-N-Fun is considered a water park, while our other parks are considered aquatics
facilities.
• Feedback he received from teachers and students is that they had a blast. It was cool
we were able to partner with schools for an end -of -school pool party.
Maintenance Report [Rick Garby, Parks Superintendent]
• There's a lot of teamwork going on now and Mike is now on our team. It keeps getting
better and more unified.
• We installed new aluminum fish tables at the 951 boat ramp this week and water
pumps also are going in.
• Golden Gate Community Center has had asphalt and concrete walk repairs and new
ramp curbing. Some trees are being trimmed, which started Monday.
• All Vanderbilt Beach accesses have had new signs installed on the beach and
roadways. Signs were removed by Hurricane Ian and people who wanted souvenirs.
• At NCRP, we've done stonework and erosion repairs by the Exhibit Hall.
• At Gordon River Park, we installed hundreds of pine straw bales at entryways.
• At Vineyards Park, all the sod was repaired in ball fields. Weed and pesticide
applications, top dressing, and best practices will begin. We have 200 tons of sand that
will be installed on the fields.
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• At Veterans Park, sod work has been done on the soccer field and two ball fields and
the dog park, which is complete, ahead of schedule.
• We were saving money, but it rained, which we needed, so it got spaced out. We can
do better on our budgets.
• At Sugden Park, about 800 bales of pine straw are being installed on banks.
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• At Ann Oleski, picnic tables and benches were finally delivered. They're in the build -
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out process and will be installed.
• Each region on his side will get several tables and benches.
• At Sun-N-Fun, we're landscaping and working vigorously to get ready for the July I't
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opening.
• At NCRP, we currently have sod being cut out, with at least two trailer loads going in,
and then nine loads of sand to top dress it.
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• All other ball fields are scheduled for sod repair, best management practices, pesticide
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sprayings, etc., as they close; all are not closed yet.
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• Conner Park has had new irrigation installed, as well as a row of Cocoplum hedges on
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111' that was damaged from the hurricane.
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• At Port of the Islands, we installed eight semi loads of aggregate for the parking lot.
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We'll be rolling it and adding more to level it out for boat trailers.
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• We're waiting on Palm Springs and Aaron Lutz parks and baby playgrounds, which
have been ordered. One is still in permitting; we could use Mike Ossorio's help.
• NCRP is in the Concept Phase for Phase 2 and we're still working on South Park
Phase I because we have some additional features that are going to be coming from
another playground, so it's still in progress and in concept.
• We're working on light repairs everywhere. Lights are out everywhere.
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• Butterfly gardens are flourishing; volunteers report great butterfly counts.
• Pressure washing has never stopped, and we're paying a lot more attention to
restrooms, how they smell, how they look and how they're stocked. We're working
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with Parks & Rec, Park Rangers and others.
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• We are still 150 refuse cans short from Vanderbilt Beach to Barefoot Beach due to
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Hurricane Ian, so we're running double shifts on holidays and still can't keep up with
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the amount of trash and use.
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• There's no parking anywhere in Naples. It's first -come, first -serve wherever you go,
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unless you have a VIP parking pass. That's always what it's going to be anywhere you
go. There's not enough parking anywhere.
Mr. DeMarco asked about Rover Run Dog Park at Veterans Community Park. Behind the
area where you are resodding and cleaning up is a golf course. There were a lot of trees
separating and blocking it from the dog park, but they were all torn down and there's nothing
blocking the dog park from the edge of the golf course. Residents have seen balls come from
the golf course and it scares them. Can the county do something?
Mr. Garby said we can on our property, if it's a budgeted project. But where the fence stops
is not our property. They've cleared it because of all Hurricane Ian damage and it's causing
noise issues.
Mr. DeMarco said maybe the county could put netting above the fencing.
Mr. Garby said he'd love to meet him out there so we could look at it.
Audience member said it's her community, Stone Ridge, and they've ripped all the trees out
and no one is playing golf right now.
Mr. DeMarco said the balls come over when golfers make an error.
Audience member said it used to look like an amazing rain forest and it's all been ripped out.
They plan to replant the trees.
Mr. DeMarco said the concern is the balls coming in, not the noise.
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Mr. Garby said change occurs all over and not everyone is happy.
32.A.4
Capital Projects [Dayne Atkinson]
• Sun-N-Fun is scheduled to open next Saturday, July 1st
• We had two incidents of vandalism there in the last two weeks, so we're hoping
nothing else happens that will cause delays for the July 1 s' opening.
Ms. Laemel asked if the park was damaged while it was closed.
Mr. Atkinson said yes. Kids took a chair down one of the slides and scratched it, they sprayed
the fire extinguisher all over the bathrooms and pump house and ripped off some doors in the
bathroom.
Ms. Laemel asked if there are cameras there.
Mr. Atkinson said they're reviewing the camera footage now.
Mr. Atkinson continued his presentation:
• In Immokalee, bid packages are due by next Friday, so we're looking good. We're
hoping to take that to the board in September for the award, but the turf and the
stormwater are 100% designed and 85% of the pool because we didn't make a change
with the pool. Instead of having a huge competition pool, we blended the zero -entry
pool. It still has competition lanes, but will be more inclusive. The competition pool
wasn't getting used much. The blended concept will get more usage.
• The Golden Gate bid package is due next Friday. It will be put out to bid and we hope
to be taking that to the board in September.
• For Sun-N-Fun, we have the Lazy River renovation starting in the fall. It's currently at
about 60% design.
• Hurricane Ian updates: For most of our marine and beach locations, we have engineers
on board to start permanent repairs. The only location that we don't have the money
for is Barefoot Beach. The boardwalk was nearly 100% destroyed, with just bits and
pieces left in the mangroves. Over the summer, we'll be cleaning up the park and
parking lot and creating sand access. The goal was to open in time for season, but we
won't have the boardwalk, which will probably take a year or more because of where
it was located in the mangroves. It requires local, state and federal permits and we will
be working to create future access from all the parking lots.
• The Caxambas work is moving along. We've been doing emergency repairs for a
while, but permanent repairs will start in October or November. We're working to try
to relocate a dock so we can have limited residential -only access.
• Golden Gate skate park is about halfway through with renovations.
• We just got our PO to redo all the lights to LED at the skate park and BMX Park.
• Pathways: Veterans Park just got bids back. The scope is ready for Golden Gate and
we'll soon put it out for bid. We hope pathways will be done by September or
October. We're also putting together a scope for Sugden Park.
Mr. DeMarco asked if they plan to do anything in the Veterans Park area, the pathway that
brings you all the way to the back, where there's nothing there. Are they going to do
something when they clean up the pathway?
Mr. Atkinson said yes, drainage is horrible at Veterans Park and it kind of sits in a bowl, so
we plan a complete drainage system assessment this fall. We'll put band aids on before we can
make any real comprehensive changes to drainage.
Mr. Atkinson continued his presentation:
Court resurfacing is going on at East Naples. In the next week, 40 pickleball courts
will be done. The TDC approved all 59 courts for resurfacing. That will be done
before fall.
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June 21, 2023
32.A.4
We just got bids back for all courts, from bocce to pickleball and tennis, at Veterans
Park. We hope to resurface the courts and finish pathways by fall.
Golden Gate is next for court resurfacing by mid -fall; the pathways already were
resurfaced.
IX. Director Highlights (Olema Edwards)
Ms. Edwards said Rick said it best. She has a great team. They're dedicated to serving the
community. That's our motto, serving with purpose, so we're doing the best we can. You have
people who really care about serving the community and doing what's best for the community.
She's proud to serve alongside them and appreciates them, the community and community
partners. Parks won't always get it right, but we're going to try our best. We want the
community to keep an open dialogue with us because it's a team effort between parks, the
community and our community partners.
Ms. Laemel said she can see the difference in leadership in just a few years. Rick said it best.
The teamwork within Parks & Rec is very obvious.
Ms. Edwards thanked her.
X. Adjournment
Next Meeting Date:
August 16, 2023, 2 p.m. — Immokalee Sports Complex
There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned
by order of the chairman at 3:18 p.m.
Parks & Recreation Advisory Board
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Edward "Ski" Olesky, hairman
These minutes were approved by the Board on
presented, or as amended
(check one) as
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