PR03-02-2021Min PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
175 WEST WARREN AVENUE
LONGWOOD, FLORIDA
MINUTES
March 2, 2021
Present: David Putz, Chair
Jim Vogel, Vice-Chair
Amanda Sackett, Member
Judi Coad, Member
Lori Rice, Member
Teresa Ray, Member
Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director
Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Coordinator
Donna L. Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary
Absent: Samuel Friedman, Member
1. CALL TO ORDER. Chair Putz called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
2. PUBLIC INPUT. None.
3. ACTION ITEMS.
A. Approve Minutes from February 2, 2021
Vice-Chair Vogel moved to approve the minutes from February 2, 2021, as
presented. Seconded by Member Coad and carried by a unanimous voice vote
with Member Friedman absent.
B. Special Events List
Mr. Capizzi went over the list of upcoming events for March and April,
Chair Putz asked about the Orlando Prowlers event this past weekend.
Mr. Capizzi said it was a great event and extremely well attended.
Discussion ensued about the Orlando Prowler event.
Member Coad said she sees we are still having Barkfest but has not noticed any place to
sign up your dog for voting.
P&R 03-02-2021/1
Mr. Rinaldo said the event was scaled down to showcase the Park so a decision was
made to forgo the dog contest and the raffles to deter people from sticking around. He
said this event one would come to walk around, check out the Dog Park, and then leave,
versus the old model of people sticking around until the end with the raffles and the dog
contest. He said staff talked about the possibility of bringing the dog contest back later
in the year possibly as a stand-alone event to bring awareness to the Dog Park.
Mr. Capizzi said the Chili Cook-Off was canceled which is an event where vendors are
present. Staff felt that Barkfest was a nice casual event that is not costing much money
and would showcase the Park. He stated there is no charge to vendors this year so it
will not be to the scale that the event normally is. He advised Member Coad that the
pool of participants would not have been nearly as big. Hopefully, we will be able to get
it back and better than ever next year just like the Chili Cook-Off. Barkfest was not
canceled because he felt this particular event could be promoted as a casual affair
where people could mosey around the park a little bit, bring their dog, and see some
vendors. He remarked it was something to offer and something is better than nothing
is.
Discussion ensued concerning the dog photo contest at Barkfest.
4. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
Member Rice stated she did not have a report.
Mr. Capizzi advised the Board of the status of the Wildflower Grant. He said the application
is ready to go and just waiting for approval of the area where the plants will be planted. He
said we will know if we are approved by May 16. He advised the Board more plants were
planted at the butterfly garden, and received a good bill of health for the plants.
Discussion ensued about where the plants are purchased for the Wildflower Grant and the
butterfly garden.
Member Coad said she did not have a report, but noted the new banners need to be
purchased and put up in the Park.
Discussion ensued about the banners for Reiter Park.
Member Coad said she received the Lake Mary Life Magazine and inside there was a little
book on Longwood.
Vice-Chair Vogel did not have a report but advised the Board this may be her last Board
meeting. She advised the Board that she has accepted a job that may not allow her to keep
her position on the Board but that she will keep the Board posted.
Member Sackett stated she did not have a report.
P&R 03-02-2021/2
Member Coad asked Member Sackett about the status of the storyboard project she
brought to the Board at the last meeting.
Member Sackett said she has a meeting scheduled with Mr. Capizzi for Thursday at 1:15
p.m. at Reiter Park.
Member Ray said she did not have a report but she went to the Food Trucks and had a great
time. She stated that she misses the music at the event.
Mr. Rinaldo said when we brought this event back, COVID was still a concern and did not
include music at that time but we will readdress that.
Mr. Capizzi agrees that we can bring the entertainment back for April.
Chair Putz asked Mr. Capizzi if he was going to talk about the budget from the Commission
last night during his staff report.
Mr. Capizzi replied yes.
Chair Putz did not have a report but passed out pictures of previous boards and requested a
picture of this Board be taken at the next Board Meeting.
5. STAFF REPORT
Mr. Capizzi said the repairs have been completed on the Splash Pad and it will be opening
earlier than usual on March 16. He said last night at the Commission meeting we were able
to get a Resolution adopted that allowed for the transfer of funds from the general fund
reserves to a line that allows for funding of improvements and renovations at Candyland
Park to the tune of$57,622. He gave the Board an overview of what has been and what
was going to be completed at Candyland Park. He advised he has applied for two (2) Florida
Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) Grants for$50,000 each. One (1) will
go towards Smallworld Park and the other towards replacing all of the backstop fencings at
the baseball fields and resurfacing the tennis courts, basketball courts, and futsal court. He
should know if he has received those grants within the next few months. He said he was
working on a solution to the sod at the Pump Track. Staff was able to locate an asphalt
company to come out and provide a quote on possibly laying asphalt that buts up right by
the current track. He said Mrs. Alt-Bowes has done a great job with trying to advertise the
Community Building more as a meeting space.
Discussion ensued concerning the Community Building and how it is now being marketed.
Member Rice asked what was going on with the parking lot at Candyland being dug up.
Mr. Capizzi said that is a Public Works project.
Member Rice asked about the piles of millings at Arbor Park Dog Park.
P&R 03-02-2021/3
Mr. Capizzi said that they are going to redo the Dog Park parking lot at the same time they
do the parking lot at Candyland.
Member Rice asked if the sunscreen station would be out before the Splash Pad opening.
Mr. Capizzi replied yes.
Member Rice said she was aware we have two (2) of them but she has only ever seen one
(1) out and asked if staff had located a place for the second one and had sunscreen to put in
them.
Mr. Rinaldo said it was good that we did not put the second one out due to the normal wear
and tear of the first one. He said we had to scavenge the second one for parts for the first
one and that we do have one (1) functional sunscreen dispenser. He said we would be
reaching out to our contact at Orlando Health about upcoming events to see if they are
interested in providing a second one again. The dispenser was heavily used for the past two
(2) years.
Discussion ensued concerning the location of the sunscreen stations.
Member Rice asked about the finance line item report.
Mr. Capizzi said we would make sure to have that next month but there has not been much
activity lately.
Member Coad asked for an estimate of how much there was to spend as a Board.
Mr. Capizzi said he was not sure but believes it is close to $7,000 and would forward that
report to the Board.
Member Coad said she enjoyed at Christmas time when the white lights were outlining the
roof perimeter at Reiter Park. She was thinking to have something of that nature as a
permanent thing year-round. She said we do a lot of activities in the evenings. It would be
a nice enhancement to our park to have those on permanently. She said she was curious as
to what that might cost.
Mr. Capizzi said he could certainly get a price for that.
6. ADJOURNMENT.
Chair Putz moved to adjourn. Seconded by Member Coad and carried by a
unanimous voice vote with Member Friedman absent.
Meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.
P&R 03-02-2021/4
Minutes approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: 04-06-2021
David Putz, Chair
ATTEST:
Donna Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary
P&R 03-02-2021/5
THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY
P&R 03-02-2021/6