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PR07-01-2025Min LONGWOOD PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Longwood City Commission Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida MINUTES July 1, 2025 6:30 PM Present: Larissa Morgan, Chair Jennifer Barr, Member Judi Coad, Member Abdallah "Albert" Ghazzawieh, Member Jason Jose, Member Ardel Cheffer, Member (6:31 p.m.) Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Manager Donna Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary Absent: Amanda Sackett, Vice-Chair 1. CALL TO ORDER. Chair Morgan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. PUBLIC INPUT A. Public Participation. None. 3. ACTION ITEMS A. Approve Minutes from the June 3, 2025, Meeting. Member Coad moved to approve the June 3, 2025 minutes as presented. Seconded by Member Jose and carried by a unanimous voice vote with Vice-Chair Sackett absent. 4. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Member Barr reported that she has spoken with Mr. Capizzi and Mr. Rinaldo about the banner program and the Wall of Honor her father was working on prior to his departure from the Board. They are in the beginning stages of planning for the Wall of Honor. She advised that she will keep the Board updated as they get more information. She said she attended the Rock, Freedom, and Fireworks event and that it was very well done. She said there was an impressive police presence as well as city workers and everyone looked like they were having a good time. She said the fireworks were amazing. Member Coad reported that she was not able to attend the Rock, Freedom and Fireworks event but received many pictures of the event. She will be ordering two (2) new items for Celebrate the Season and one is a blow-up reindeer that is colorful and the other is a lantern that has a snow globe inside. She advised that she just sent Mr. Rinaldi a picture and will be ordering angel ornaments for Santa's Breakfast and Celebrate the Season. She will be ordering 400 because they ran out at Celebrate the 7/1/2025 / 1 Season and need more for Breakfast with Santa. She advised Mr. Rinaldo they need to start working on sponsorship for Celebrate the Season now and start getting the bookings. She asked the Board if they had any questions for anything they might like to see or anticipate. She advised the Board to please keep that night open to have all hands-on deck for this event and stated it takes sixty (60) people or more to make this event happen. Member Ghazzawieh reported he was able to help locate any items that may be needed. Chair Morgan reminded everyone that the financial disclosure forms were due today and hoped everyone was able to complete them. She said the Board Appreciation Dinner was amazing and it was great to recognize everyone for their volunteer work. She said the Rock, Freedom, and Fireworks kid zone was awesome. She thought it was well attended and Commissioner Morgan estimated there were around 10,000 people in attendance. Member Jose stated that the fireworks were phenomenal. He said there a couple of people that came up to him about the food trucks and asked if they could stay open for 15 to 20 minutes after the event as people were wanting to get food or ice cream after the fireworks on their way out of the park. He also said there were a lot of comments about the lack of patriotic music during the fireworks. Member Cheffer said she was unable to attend the July 4th event. She asked staff about upcoming events and for more information about Dogtoberfest, Halloween Dance, the haunted house, and what are the Board Member's obligations. Mr. Capizzi responded that they would get her the information on Dogtoberfest. He advised that during National Night Out, there are several areas that Board Members can participate and he reviewed them. He said the Halloween Dance does not need a Board Member in attendance since staff would be working. He said she was welcome to attend the event but it was not required. He said the Haunted House is a go and they will be meeting with them again sometime in July or early August to get pricing and other details. He said it would be open Thursday through Sunday and would be making that formal and in writing at some point well before the event. Discussion ensued about the Haunted House and possible package options for families that can be offered. Member Cheffer asked about hurricane season and if the Board members were involved with anything. Mr. Capizzi responded no; board members were not involved. Member Coad advised Mr. Capizzi that a commissioner came to her with a concern about that event and the increase in the city's electric bill. She said they think they should change the 80/20 agreement to be more since the electric bill would be more due to this event. Mr. Capizzi responded that they would be using generators for the most part and that they do not have much in the way of electrical outlets in that area of the park, therefore, the bill should not increase by much if at all. 5. STAFF REPORT 7/1/2025 /2 A. Staff Report for July 1, 2025. Mr. Capizzi reported on Rock, Freedom, and Fireworks and advised Member Jose that he was not the only one that mentioned the lack of patriotic music. Staff will speak with DJ Dennis about that for next year. He said the weather cooperated but there was a little bit of rain around 4:00 p.m. and then it went away. He said they were able to utilize some of the cameras that went up in the park, explained how that worked, and that the Longwood Police Department will have access to those cameras. The Senior Matinee is July 16, 2025 and the movie is Facing the Titans. The next event is the Food Truck Battle and the Concert in the Park. He said in October they will start up heavy with events through the end of the year. He said they have recently put in the walkways at the Dog Park (Arbor Park) and it looks terrific. He explained they added an additional walkway into the park and another next to the water station. In a couple of weeks, they will be doing a major tree trimming and removal of any dead or diseased trees. He said they amended the fencing on the playground at Candyland Sports Complex and removed a 20-foot section of the fence by the pavilion to prevent kids from jumping over the fence, which constantly damages it. He said they will be purchasing new plants over at Reiter Park within the next month as well as at the Wayman portables. He said they will be signing the decorations contract and advised that St. Petersburg is extending their contract with Outdoor Holiday Decor. He said they have a gigantic mulch purchase order coming up for all of the parks in Longwood. He explained what type of mulch they were getting and how it would be installed. Once they have internet capability at Reiter Park, they will be looking into the Easy Ad TV for Reiter Park, which will scroll with information regarding events and things that are going on in the city. Discussion ensued with regard to sponsors for the Easy Ad TV. Member Barr asked why National Night Out is at Candyland Sports Complex and not at Reiter Park. Mr. Capizzi explained that when it started, they did not have Reiter Park and that the annual Police Department/Fire Department softball game was held that night and they do not have a field at Reiter Park for that game. Mr. Capizzi said there would be two (2) interpretive signs being put at Reiter Park with the Impact Fee monies. He would be getting with Media One and the signs will show where things are located in the park. He said Accurate Electrical has been consulting with Duke Energy with regard to more lighting for the Skate Park. Mr. Rinaldo advised that they are in week five (5) of Summer Camp and everything was going smoothly and the kids are having fun. He advised he would have the breakdown for Rock, Freedom, and Fireworks at the next meeting. Member Barr asked if the camp was completely full. Mr. Rinaldo responded that was currently completely full. Member Coad asked where the plants were going at Reiter Park. 7/1/2025 /3 Mr. Capizzi explained they would be replacing some of the muhly grass that has been overtaken with torpedo grass and the plants would be going in existing areas of the park. He said the butterfly garden just got a couple of hundred milkweed plants. Member Coad asked if they were putting the new mulch in all the park play areas. Mr. Capizzi responded yes. Member Coad asked about sponsorship for Reiter Park Memorials and suggested sending the information to Ms. Cartagena to put in the weekly email so people are aware of the program. She asked what the balance is of the $100,000 that they have not yet designated. Mr. Capizzi responded that he did not know off hand what the balance of the Impact Fee money was but that they have funds left over after all of the purchases that have been made. Discussion ensued with regard to what the money has been spent on and what happens to the money at the end of the year. Member Coad asked if there are any other needs for the parks or the department that he has seen since she has not been out and about. Mr. Capizzi responded not at this time but that he would be walking the parks to check. Discussion ensued with regard to the lotion dispensers at Reiter Park. Mr. Capizzi advised that Orlando Health has renewed their naming rights contract with the city. Discussion ensued about the specifics of the Orlando Health contract, the branding, and how the money received was spent. Member Barr offered to connect staff with the Jazz Band Director at Rock Lake Middle School for events. She will connect Mr. Capizzi to the band director. 6. ADJOURN Member Ghazzawieh moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Member Coad and motion carried by a unanimous voice vote with Vice Chair Sackett absent. Chair Morgan adjourned the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Minutes approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: 08-05-2025 Larissa Morgan, Chair ATTEST: Donna Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary 7/1/2025 /4