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PR05-03-2022Min PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS 175 WEST WARREN AVENUE LONGWOOD, FLORIDA MINUTES May 3, 2022 Present: David Putz, Chair Amanda Sackett, Vice-Chair Judi Coad, Member (arrived at 6:32 p.m.) Lori Rice, Member Larissa Morgan, Member Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Coordinator Donna L. Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary Absent: Teresa Ray, Member Rachael Carroll, 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 April 5, 2022 Vice-Chair Sackett moved to approve the minutes from April 5, 2022, as presented. Seconded by Member Morgan and motion carried by a unanimous voice vote with Member Carroll and Member Ray absent. 4. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS. Chair Putz reported and made sure everyone was aware and had received the invitation to the Board Appreciation Dinner on June 2, 2022, at the Longwood Community Building. He had a Playground Safety Handbook that was sixty-one (61) pages from December 29, 2015, and the original was put out in 2010. He said he wanted to talk about this because we have talked about swings in the past and it has been discussed that they are too dangerous to have in our parks. He passed out a Playground Safety Report Card to all members for them to review. Discussion ensued with regard to having swings in the parks and the requirements needed to have swings in the parks and equipment that is not recommended for parks. It was brought to member Putz's attention that the majority of the parks do have swing sets. Member Coad reported and said she attended the Health Fair and it was a great attendance. She said there were a lot of different things there and spoke with every single P&R 05-03-2022/1 vendor. She asked them if they were happy and they all gave her upbeat responses about the event. Discussion ensued about the setup of the Health Fair and doing it again in the Fall. Member Coad said she did not have time to go to the concert at Reiter Park but she made a point to drive by the hospital parking lot and said it was packed. She only heard good things online in reference that it was a great concert and people enjoyed it. She said she wants to take it a step further with the school performances and have them come out and do a holiday show of some sort. School events bring parents and family and grandparents which would be good for attendance. She stated wouldn't it be lovely to have choirs included in an event when the holiday time rolls around. She said it should not cost hardly anything and it will certainly bring people to the park. Vice-Chair Sackett said we should include the dancers too. Member Coad agreed. She said those were the only two (2) recent events that she got to go to but she has heard good things about the events. She asked if she could order a couple of big costumes and asked if we had the money for her to do so while things are on sale right now. Mr. Capizzi said we might have to wait because we will be taking some funds for the Juneteenth event out of what we have not used. He said he would get back to her and asked her to email him what she wanted to buy. Discussion ensued about the costumes and what she is interested in purchasing. Member Coad said she wanted to bring up the 4th of July since it is coming up pretty soon and asked how the Board felt about having a Leisure Services booth manned by the board members with something to give out. Discussion ensued concerning having a table at the event and whether they wanted to either give out or sell items. It was decided that the board would give items out and not sell anything at the event. Member Coad said she called Mr. Capizzi shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Friday to let him know there was an attack at the Dog Park by two (2) pit bulls. She asked if anyone had any information about what happened. Mr. Capizzi said a report had not been filed and he did not have any additional information. Discussion ensued regarding the incident at the Dog Park. Member Coad said we had a conversation at the last Board Meeting concerning the large complexes such as Alta being built in the area and that it was being felt that people are coming from those places to use our parks. That is what they are there for but she took the time to have a conversation with Mr. Kintner and asked him if there was a requirement to P&R 05-03-2022/2 build some form of a park when a large apartment complex is approved to be built within city limits. Mr. Kintner said that depending on the size of the development, approximately 2%to 5% of the land must be designated for an outdoor common area. Discussion ensued with regard to large complexes and what they are required to provide their tenants. Vice-Chair Sackett reported and said that as far as Chair Putz's report card goes, the parks are looking good and well maintained because she has gone around and looked at all the parks herself. Discussion ensued with regard to the status of the parks. Vice-Chair Sackett asked for a pickleball update because she can't wait for that and said we should have pickleball lessons so people can learn how to play. She knows that a portion of the profits from Strongwood coffee is set aside for parks but does not know if at future events we could have coffee donated to us so we could sell it. We could have it out on the table to make people aware or something along those lines. Discussion ensued with regard to having coffee donated for the Board to sell at events. Mr. Capizzi said they are still slated for some time in June for the pickleball courts to begin construction. Discussion ensued about the installation of the pickleball courts. Vice-Chair Sackett asked about the construction items at Candyland Sports Complex and how much longer it is going to be taking up parking spaces. Mr. Capizzi said he knows they are trying to fix lawns now but he does not know how long that is going to take. He suggested she reach out to Shad Smith who would know more about the project since his department is handling the project. Discussion ensued concerning the equipment at Candyland Sports Complex. Vice-Chair Sackett asked if there could be lined parking spots all the way down to make it easier so that people are not taking up three (3) parking spots at a time. Discussion ensued about the parking situation at Candyland Sports Complex and what can be done to remedy the situation. Member Rice reported and followed up on the parking situation at Candyland Sports Complex and asked if it would be very costly to re-stripe the front parking lot. She said it sure would look nice and you have already lost the fire zone to fading. She said if it had a new coat maybe you could make the parking spaces more compact. They do seem to be wide spaces, but at the same time, she knows there are regulations for parking spaces. It would freshen up that top parking area to have it re-striped. There are new handicap signs and that looks good but that is her suggestion. Over the last weekend, she attended the P&R 05-03-2022/3 Bach to Rock event at Reiter Park. She said it was an awesome event and it was great to see opportunities where children can showcase their talents as they did with the jazz concert. She said Reiter Park is looking great with the new fishing dock, and the stained boardwalk. She said that Juan, from J Visions, has updated the butterfly area and we have a new shower for the splash pad. She asked if she missed the sunscreen station or not. Mr. Capizzi said it is not out there yet. He said they were going to put it out there but the battery needs to be replaced and they have not done that yet. Member Rice said Chair Putz went over the save the date email and she hopes that everyone can come to celebrate being Board Members. She thanked staff for the Fall Festival synopsis being emailed in advance of our meeting and said it is wonderful to see the numbers end up as they did especially compared to a couple of years ago. She is not sure how we got there. She knows in years past we have had other expenses and asked if they were out in a different line item such as the sound equipment, stage, water, Orlando Sentinel advertising, etc. She asked if we did not have any of that. Mr. Capizzi said they did have WTDI pay for some things as opposed to having them pay for services or goods in the past. In 2021, they did not have to pay for a stage which saved a significant amount. He said they did charge the generators to the fall festival line last year (2020) since they had the excess funds. COVID signs were another couple hundred or so last year, which was an expense that they did not have this year. There were also more sponsors this year, which makes the bottom line look better. In accordance with the contract, they do not have to split sponsorship money with the Longwood Historic Society. Discussion ensued regarding the event, the expenses, and the net revenue for the Fall Festival. Member Rice said she is going to be the one to ask about the 427 banners and asked if they had finished installing. She said she sees gaps, she sees old banners, and she sees big banners. Mr. Capizzi said that everything from Dog Track Road going north to State Road 434 has been completed and the new banners are all large banners. Today International Signs was trying to finish installing the banners all the way north to around General Hutchinson Parkway. The exception is the two (2) banners at the intersection of West Church Avenue and Ronald Reagan Boulevard. They could not get to these banners because the wind started to pick up when they were doing them and that area is very congested so they had to stop. They should have the vast majority of the banners installed today. Discussion ensued with regard to the banners on Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Member Rice said she did have a chance to speak with Ms. Rosado last night and asked her where we are in the budget process. She wanted to know if she could expect from staff here tonight an update on the proposal that will be going forward to the workshop. Mr. Capizzi let Member Rice know he was meeting with Ms. Rosado and the Acting City Manager on Wednesday. P&R 05-03-2022/4 Discussion ensued with regard to the budget meeting. Chair Putz asked about the seal/stain at Reiter Park and asked why they did not do the restroom building where it says, Reiter Park. He said it looks like irrigation must spray up there on the building. Mr. Capizzi said they missed the front of that building. Discussion ensued about the pressure/soft washing at Reiter Park. Member Morgan reported and said that she did not know that we were changing the banners. She saw the banners driving past them and what caught her eye was the butterfly banner. She was able to attend the Easter Egg Hunt as well as Tartan Day. She said her life has been consumed with Longwood Babe Ruth. As of this Saturday, her term will end as Vice President on their Board and she is looking forward to some relief. She commented that her softball team is undefeated and has a very hard task in front of them with having to play Mount Dora which is a very good team. Member Morgan said she went to a Hawaiian event in Melbourne after a doubleheader and it took her almost two (2) hours to get there. By the time she got there, there were really no vendors and a lot of people were leaving but she made the effort. She said she was able to pass the word on to people about coming to the event. Discussion ensued concerning the Hawaiian event. 5. STAFF REPORT. Mr. Capizzi said Concert in the Park is on May 7, 2022, and the band will be Papa Wheelee. The Senior Matinee is on May 11, 2022, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the movie is The Hero. The Longwood Downtown Cruise-In Car Show is on May 14, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and the Food Truck Battle/Entertainment (Elevate Studios) is on May 14, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There is another Concert in the Park on June 4, 2022, at Reiter Park and the band is going to be Switch. He said since we are getting into the hotter months, we traditionally slow down with the events, but we still have the luau, the flag retirement ceremony, and the Independence Day Celebration. He said we are currently working on finishing up details for the Independence Day Celebration and that Mr. Rinaldo has secured the same fireworks vendor that we had last year which was terrific. Chair Putz asked if it was for the same price. Mr. Capizzi replied yes, it was the same price as last year which is $10,000.00. Discussion ensued about the Independence Day event. Mr. Capizzi said we are kind of in a transition now with Longwood Babe Ruth. The contract with Longwood Babe Ruth is going to be up on September 2, 2022. Either the next meeting in May or the first meeting in June he will be asking the Commission what they would like to P&R 05-03-2022/5 do as far as the baseball/softball facilities go at Candyland Sports Complex. They will have the option to renew the contract with Babe Ruth, turn Candyland Sports Complex into a rental facility, or go with another option. He needs to know what they would like to do because we can not wait until September as Longwood Babe Ruth starts signing people up as early as June. It would not be fair to the kids to have them sign up in June and then cancel the league in August. He said we want to make sure that the kids have somewhere to play in the fall. There are plenty of options around but we do not want them to have to scramble last minute, so he will be taking it to the Commission and letting them decide what they would like to do moving forward. Mr. Capizzi updated the Board on another topic of sensitivity that staff has been dealing with. There are some neighbors within relatively close proximity to Reiter Park, who have been notifying the city of excessive noise during some of the concerts. Discussion continued concerning the noise complaints from residents who live close to Reiter Park. Member Coad asked for an update on the water fountains to be put in at Reiter Park. Mr. Capizzi said he does not have anything new to report as that is part of the budget process too. He said that this project is dependent on monies coming in from the impact fees. Once he has more information, he will certainly let them all know. Member Coad asked if the lights had been redone on the handrails. Mr. Capizzi said they have not. He said they are coming back to complete that. Member Coad said she did attend the Easter Egg Hunt and it was fun. She said she told the people that run it and maybe staff can pass it back to them that the kids were walking away with the big eggs. She said they should put a do not remove sign on them or anchor them down in some way. Member Coad asked if Mr. Capizzi has had his conversation with Ms. Rosado about the funds they have raised that are not spent on our events. Mr. Capizzi replied no, that is tomorrow in their meeting. Discussion ensued about the 131 Fund report. Vice-Chair Sackett asked if they were going to be doing the tent and the tables for the luau event like they had for the Pirate Seafood Festival. Mr. Capizzi said they would not be providing a tent because the event is a shorter event and the tent was extremely expensive. He said next year if they expand the event, they can do it as long as they can justify the expense. Discussion ensued with regard to the budget for the Hawaiian event for next year. P&R 05-03-2022/6 Member Rice asked about the Juneteenth event. Discussion ensued with regard to the Juneteenth event. Member Rice said it was recognized at the Commission meeting last night that May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. She thinks that everyone that is involved with parks, events, and opportunities outdoors should feel very proud. Being able to be outdoors and enjoying our parks whether you are counting ducks, hitting a ball with a bat, listening to music, or enjoying butterflies is terrific. She can think of nothing greater to lend itself to good mental health and so we should celebrate parks as it relates to mental health. She said regarding baseball at Candyland Sports Complex, she hopes that our city in the future gets to continue having a way that the children can play in a league in our city. To lose that hometown team with the Longwood name on it would be a shame. She said she did not care who the league is or what affiliation they are with, having a Longwood team as we have had for thirty (30) years, is important. She hopes that can continue for seasons to come. 6. ADJOURNMENT. Chair Putz moved to adjourn. Seconded by Member Coad and carried by a unanimous voice vote with Member Carroll and Member Ray absent. Meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Minutes approved by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board: 06-07-2022 06a/1,41d David Putz, Chair ATTEST: (--- -&L,:alUs,.,s., Donna Alt-Bowes, Recording Secretary P&R 05-03-2022/7 THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY P&R 05-03-2022/8