PR10-06-2020MinPARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
175 WEST WARREN AVENUE
LONGWOOD, FLORIDA
MINUTES
October 6, 2020
(Virtual Meeting — Webex)
Present: David Putz, Chair
Jim Vogel, Vice -Chair
Judi Coad, Member
Lori Rice, Member
Teresa Ray, Member
Amber Sackett, Member
Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director
Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Coordinator
Donna L. Alt -Bowes, Recording Secretary
1. CALL TO ORDER. Chair Putz called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
2. PUBLIC INPUT.
Brian Sackett advised the Board that he was at Candyland Park and the t-ball field and the
bathrooms were looking pretty bad. He said he spoke with the Acting City Manager, Clint
Gioielli, and Park's staff was there on Monday morning fixing the situation.
3. ACTION ITEMS.
A. Approve Minutes from September 1, 2020
Member Vogel moved to approve the minutes from September 1, 2020, as
presented. Seconded by Chair Putz and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
Chair Putz advised the Board that he has a hearing problem and the City is working with
him to allow him to hear everyone in the meetings. He said if he does not hear you
please be patient.
B. Fall/Winter Events
Mr. Capizzi advised the Board that the Fall Festival will occur on November 215t and 22"d
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. He said they have met with WTDI, LLC and discussed the
procedures that will be in place for the event. There are 100 vendors already signed up
to attend. It will be pretty close to what we usually have but due to COVID-19
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(Coronavirus), there will not be a Kid's Zone. There will be a specific area for food and
entertainment and those specifics will be worked out in the weeks to come. He then
discussed the tentative plans for the event and advised the Board that once he has more
concrete information he would provide it to them. He said he would send out the
updated Special Event list to the Board and went over the events scheduled for October,
November, December, January, February, and March. He advised the Board the parade
will not be taking place due to the lack of participation this year by the local High School
and other key groups. There were about thirty (30) people that said they would like to
participate, but that is not nearly enough entries to make it feasible for the City. He said
Celebrate the Season will take place and suggested December 4, 2020, since Altamonte
Springs is doing their event on December 5, 2020. It will not be near what it has been in
the past. We will not have the volunteers, the ice skating rink, or the train. We would
like to make it a two (2) hour event and utilize the amphitheater lawn to space out
properly. There will be more signage at the park with the proper procedure information
to be safe and make everyone feel welcomed at the event. There will be entertainment
on the stage and Elevate Studios is willing to come and perform. There is money
budgeted for the event that we can spend to obtain some bands or acts. There are a lot
of people that are chomping at the bit to come out and perform. He said the staff is
trying to get Santa for the event. One of the Santa's said he would not be willing to
come to the stage and do sing-alongs and readings but we are going to be asking a few
other people if they would be interested. The event will end with a fireworks show.
Zambelli Fireworks has offered to come out to our event and do the same type of show
they have done for us before. We would like to do ice cream or something of that
nature but do not want to encourage full-blown meals or eating at the event. He said
there will be specific employees at the Fall Festival to clean the tables where people eat
and keep an eye on things in the food area. He mentioned that he would prefer to hold
the event on the 4th because he knows that Saturday, December 5th is available but
Altamonte Springs is holding their Tree Lighting with fireworks on that day. He would
prefer to be a day ahead of them and do it on Friday, December 4th like we usually do.
The following week is the Car Show and he would like to keep it away from that. We
could do it the following Friday if need be. Two weeks after the regular weekend would
be the 19th and 20th and that is the weekend we are trying to get Santa Visits Longwood.
He said he did meet with Rob from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
Rob will be taking it back to their meeting the third week of the month and making sure
that people are good with doing Santa Visits Longwood on the 19th and 20th. He said
that he will be offering that date out to the Fire Department, Police Department, and
Citizens On Patrol (COP) but CERT is very integral in making that happen. It is a great
date because the kids are out of school beginning the 19th. He said we can discuss
Celebrate the Season later in the meeting. He continued going over the upcoming
events list. He said he thinks March would be a great time to reschedule both the Chili
Cook -Off and National Night Out. We will hopefully be further away from COVID and Flu
season. He is also open to rescheduling either one of them in February. We are one of
the only cities that are still doing events. He thanked the City Manager and Commission
for their support and for allowing us to continue to hold these events.
Member Sackett asked about the rescheduling of the Pirate Seafood Festival.
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Mr. Capizzi explained that it had been canceled in March due to COVID and then we
canceled it again in October so we have postponed it for March 271n and 281n. He said
that is when we normally have it.
Member Sackett asked about the Chili Cook -Off and whether or not we were going to
join forces with the Fire and Police Departments for that event.
Mr. Capizzi said that they were not interested if it was a Chili and BBQ combo because
they have teams that want to do a BBQ only event. It looks like we will be doing a Chili
Cook -Off event but we could do a separate BBQ event. Nothing has been solidified yet
because of the uncertainty of everything.
4. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
Chair Putz reported and went over the aspects of a meeting he attended on Sunday,
September 20. It was to inform and have a discussion about the Request for Proposal (RFP)
put out by the City of Longwood for the redevelopment of the Historic District. He said the
meeting was put on by the citizens and not the City or the individuals that have provided
the proposals to the City. He told the Board about the proposals that have been put forth
and advised the Board to become involved since it involved the Community Building and
this Board directly.
Member Coad reported about Celebrate the Season and said Mr. Capizzi covered a lot of
the information. She and staff have been discussing it for quite a while and it was not going
to look at all like it has in the past. She commented about moving it back to a Saturday and
said that even though Altamonte Springs is doing something on Saturday the 5tn, maybe
that would be a good thing for crowd control. We typically have thousands of people at the
event. Hosting it at the same time as Altamonte Springs might help curb some of the
attendance which we have to deal with. She said we are working on entertainment, the
lighting of the Christmas Tree, and perhaps finding someone who wants to dress as Mrs.
Claus or an elf and read "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids.
Discussion ensued about Celebrate the Season and Santa's Workshop.
Member Coad asked for input about Santa's Workshop.
Mr. Rinaldo advised that Elevate Studios has already committed to Altamonte Springs so
they are not available on December 5tn
Member Coad asked for a discussion on Santa's Workshop ideas and date for the Celebrate
the Season.
Discussion ensued about Santa's Workshop, the types of products, and the price range of
the products.
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Member Coad stated that she would move forward with the contact and said if they are
interested, Mr. Rinaldo, Mr. Capizzi, and I will meet with them and hopefully have
something to fill that gap.
Discussion ensued about the date for Celebrate the Season, the logistics of the event, and
ideas for things to include for the kids. It was decided that the event will be held on Friday,
December 4, 2020, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with December 11, 2020, as a backup date
should it rain.
Member Coad provided the final printout of the banners for the park and went over them.
She asked Mr. Rinaldo to share how the banner program for Ronald Reagan Boulevard
(County Road 427) was going.
Mr. Rinaldo said his understanding from the CGI representative is that they have sold out
95% of the banners. He said there are approximately sixteen (16) different businesses, 90%
of them are from Longwood. Mr. Capizzi has a list of businesses.
Mr. Capizzi thanked Mr. Rinaldo and Member Coad for working on the banners. He said
Orlando Health, Advent Health, Scott's Heating and Air Conditioning, D & A Building
Services, Six Flags Nursery, Sport Mazda North, One Florida Bank, David's Cookies, Marco's
Pizza, Tint World, Comfort Care, Comprehensive Energy Services, Seminole County Chamber
of Commerce, Ace Gymnastics, Legendary Athletics, and North South Supply have all
participated and bought banners. The banners will span from the intersection of Ronald
Reagan Boulevard to Longwood Lake Mary Boulevard and State Road 434 to Ronald Reagan
Boulevard.
Discussion ensued about where the banners on Ronald Reagan Boulevard are, when they
will be put up, and how many banners have been bought.
Member Ray had no report.
Member Rice reported and said Happy National Night Out. She asked the staff if they could
request an updated Board Member Roster from the Clerk and if Mr. Capizzi was able to give
us any insight or update regarding the conference he attended.
Mr. Capizzi said he was only able to take four (4) classes because they were limited in
capacity due to COVID protocols. He went on to talk about the conference and the
information he was able to gain from attending the conference.
Discussion ensued about what Mr. Capizzi learned at the conference, bringing more art and
yoga classes back to the City, and how it can be implemented within the Leisure Services
Department.
Member Rice thanked Mr. Capizzi for the update. She talked about the American Academy
of Dermatology (AAD) Grant opportunity. She said this project has been active for a couple
of years and we have completed all of the necessary grant funding pre -requisites with
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implementing a Sun Smart campaign and reaching out to citizens of all ages in a variety of
ways. She thanked the staff for doing that. We have been able to spread awareness to the
young via our Summer Camp program by utilizing some of the items in the AAD toolkit. She
said we have done that for two (2) seasons with the campers. We have partnered with
Orlando Health to install sunscreen dispensers at Reiter Park. We have had spotlights on
social media to inform and educate about the year-round awareness that is necessary for
sunscreen protection. We have promoted May 2019 as National Sun Awareness Month.
She said the City of Longwood Commission publicly recognized this initiative. The staff has
received acknowledgment from a local dermatologist to be able to fulfill the grant
requirement with the letter of support. Part of the grant requirement was to have the Sun
Awareness Initiative in place for a minimum of one (1) year and we have fulfilled that. The
grant opens in October, closes at the end of December, and is awarded in March 2021. She
said that previously this Board discussed where and how to utilize the grant opportunity for
a sunshade structure.
Discussion ensued about the design and the use and placement of the sunshade structure
at Reiter Park.
Member Rice made a motion to use up to $7,000.00 of the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board's Fundraising Fund to contribute towards the shade structure
that would be installed next year, 2021 because of the grant date. Seconded by
Member Coad.
Discussion ensued about the motion and the budgeted funds.
Mr. Rinaldo said he thinks this is a very worthwhile project because it keeps up with the
reviews on Google about needing shade at the park. He said we have over five hundred
(500) reviews about Reiter Park and one of the themes that come up constantly is that
people wish there was more shade. He thinks this would fulfill that desire and need in the
community.
Discussion continued about the area where the shade structure is going to be at Reiter Park
and the lighting in that area.
Motion carried by a unanimous voice vote.
Member Rice thanked everyone and said she thinks this is a good investment for all in our
community.
Discussion ensued regarding thanking a past Board Member for bringing this project to the
Board.
Vice -Chair Vogel reported and advised staff that he had been around to visit the parks and
provided his findings to Mr. Capizzi. He said that there was a lot of chalk graffiti at one of
the parks and minor trash issues. There was one park that needs new playground
equipment and the water fountains are in bad shape.
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Mr. Capizzi said we are taking two of those water fountains out and replacing them soon.
Vice -Chair Vogel said for the most part the landscaping was great and it looked like the
parks were in good condition. He did not see any issues with them and he will continue
moving forward with the equipment. He said he will get with Mr. Capizzi and see what is in
the future for us.
Member Rice asked what park the graffiti was at.
Vice -Chair Vogel said Shadow Hill in the pavilion area.
Member Sackett reported and said she would like to ask permission to be more involved
with the Santa Claus aspect of Celebrate the Season and coming up with ideas to making it a
little more special for the kids. She said she would like to be in discussions about that with
either the radio station or some other aspect. She said the awnings at Candyland Park over
the bleachers need to be pressure washed. With all of the rain, they are getting a little on
the gross side. She asked if there is anything that can be done about the tape on the
bleachers. She commented that people just tear it off and it looks messy. She also asked if
there was a fence or something that looked a little more pleasing to try and keep the
parents off the bleachers. She said she noticed it was really bad at the t-ball area because
the parents just rip the tape down and just sit there anyway.
Mr. Capizzi said he will see if the Parks Supervisor has any ideas for that.
Member Rice asked if the parents were not allowed to use the bleachers.
Member Sackett said the idea is that the bleachers are supposed to be for the players so the
players can spread out more. The ones having the problem with this are the t-ball parents.
Other parents have their chairs and sit where they need to sit but it does not look good with
the yellow police tape/caution tape. She asked if there is anything that can be done to
control vaping at the park. She said there is a no -smoking area in the park but they are still
vaping.
Mr. Capizzi said unfortunately there are eight (8) states in the United States (including
Florida) that have statutes allowing people to smoke in public parks and beaches and there
is absolutely nothing that a local government official can do about it.
Member Sackett said she thought that was why there was a designated smoking area.
Mr. Capizzi said we designated that area to encourage people to go away from other non-
smokers. Vaping is a bigger issue because there is no guideline for that.
Member Coad asked how the skate park and the pump track are doing and for Mr. Capizzi
to talk about that in his report.
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5. STAFF REPORT
Mr. Capizzi advised the Board on the condition and status of both the skate park and the
pump track. He said that both will be closed for three (3) weeks in November to
repair/replace grass that is holding the lime rock in place.
Member Rice asked about the closing of the dog park on Wednesday and why.
Mr. Capizzi said it is closed on Wednesday for maintenance and explained what is done
when it is closed. He then said Duke Energy just replaced all the lights in Candyland Park
with LED lights. He is going to go out for a Florida Recreation Development Assistance
Program (FRDAP) grant this year that would help replace all the backstops with new fencing
in addition to resurfacing all of the courts. He said we will be replacing all of the batting
cage floorings as well.
Member Rice suggested getting playground equipment for the toddlers at Smallworld.
Mr. Capizzi said he has a design from Nathan Almond that he has not seen yet for the
Smallworld playground.
Discussion ensued about the playground equipment.
6. ADJOURNMENT.
Chair Putz made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by Vice -Chair Vogel and carried
by a unanimous voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.
Minutes approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: 11-03-2020
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Donna Alt -Bowes, Recording Secretary
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David Putz, Chair 61
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Staff Report — Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Food Trucks (November 12, 2020 @ Reiter Park; 5:30 — 8:30 pm)
Downtown Longwood Cruise -In Car Show (November 14, 2020, 5:00 — 8:00 pm)
Celildh in the Park (November 14, 2020 @ Reiter Park, 12:00 p.m. — 6:00 p.m.)
Movie in the Park (November 20, 2020, 7:00 — 9:00 p.m.,TBA)
Fall Festival (November 21 and 22, 2020, 9:00 am — 5:00 p.m.)
Celebrate the Season (December 4, 2020, 6:30 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.)