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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/12/1995 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board • • • PARKS ►AND RECREAT ON BOAR .1 • iMr REGLAR iEET N PUBL C H .• • . • '• . 1 • TUESDAY, • .• • • • ••. . .. . • • • .• ...•.. • • COLLEGE STATION CO.NFERENCE.CENTER •.• • .• •••.... •• • • • • • F DRIVE . : .. 13Uv � - • . ..• .. • •• . . . . . . •:. • : • MEMBERS PRESENT: Ron. •Gay, ..Chair: fob Deotte, Vice chair; Greg .Taggart: • .• .... ...... Carol lie Holds: Bar Hardin ;..Debra Anderson: ce ; . son and Nanc Crouch. Caunci iaison Man Y. e •. .•• •• F PRESENT: Steve Beachy. Director; Peter anece en or annex. • Linda Vllaltman, Recrea. ion uperin en enTony c zza o; • •: Athletics upe�v isor� urfiis ••••Bin ham, Parks • ••••O eratio.ns ■ Su erintendent: [ oborf Hensarlin arsOperations l� g Supervisor, Gary. Marske, Parks.operations Supervisor:.Scott •Hooks Parks � era pans u ervisor, am in au , e Secreta ry • Brandt •Glover, Pon Sand l oufax • ••• ea ue. •• 917 V[ST ]RS. . Y :.. Y g • 'Meadowb.rook Court; fon Carter.•• Co egg •a ion I e •• • •• •• • • Amateur Union (AA •U•) 3435 Gree•ntree .Circle; S•teve Mistrek.• Cit ry do D ent; Scott burns Y of � an Parks and I?eorea n e artnn The meetin was called to order air on: ay a , p,m, g • CSF•MI NU TESr'...'.`:::'': _:. Minutes were approved as submitted 1 r FRES NT TION A D CU SiON OF PARKDEVELOPMENT.PLA S; -2000:. 0 e revs ewe e e on e ec n. e ec n ev�ew ed r Steve assed out a f� er that r :: .- p Y r renovations taking place at Sandstone Park =which was un e ram e on election. `He stated that the next park to be des ned will be Pebble Creek Parkwhich J :...will be located adjacent to `Pebble Creek Elementary Schaal. This project was funded . throu h the .1995 band election with budget of $ 00,000 The estimated date of • g a o e o e e . es fr m e b r corn let�on �s.the surnrner o f 199 , Steffe stated that m m . . p sa ecr ea ion a n Coll e e.Sa � on r Stat�orl -1ndo endent- 5chbol D�str�ct and the g =� :; p •••• • • . lrtrDe aent would•be utilize.:..'.in ... . e. .esign.o e. ...ar.:. evera .pu c .... . •held.prior to the.actual construction of the park. •• • Another•project :on the 1 995 band.`election'.was the•:•Lincoln Center/WaY ne :Smith Par Corridor with a budget of $1,230,000.. .Completion is expected in the summer of .1997. Parks&Recreation Board Regular Meeting-Public Hearing August 15,1995 • Page(2) The project will include three lighted baseball fields with adjacent rest room buildings, •as well as some drainage irinprovernentsand additional sidewalks. A grant application is being considered to help with r atching funds for this,:project Steve mentioned that the city still needs to acquire,three properties:on Holleman Street:prior to completion of thep reject. Bee Creek and Central d Parks were liste :on`the`bond election with a $200,000 budget. Estimated completion for these is the Fall of 1998. lmprovemehts will include new fences, dugouts, backstops, concession improvements, and cleaning out the Arboretum. , Steve mentioned that the land 'acquisition item ori the pard election has a budget of $1.5 million. The estimated time frame is 1997-1999. Acquisition is to include approximately 150 acres of land suitable for athletic facility development= The intent is. • to urchas`e the land• aril then utilize future:-bond'elections for construction'of`facilities to on the land. Steve °stated that the city has been wo•rking for over a year on developing a comprehensive plan which includes the land.use plan'and park master plan. This plan will hel identi future b$sible.locations for parks •.' •The . p __ � � 'fy p master plan is scheduled to be • completed in December 1995. Steve mentioned that,'the new:`budg=et year will be starting'on October 1. The Parks Department`is working'with'a 3% budget reduction from'l•ast year, but will be expected p to provide the same levels of service as last year. • • IV. PUBLIC HEARING CONCERNING YOUTH SPORTS ACTIVITIES: Ron stated that each entity would be given five minutes to talk, and„then other individuals would be given a chance to speak. Ron men .tioned: that•`:since •the department's budget was reduced by 3% the;sports=leagues could expect to receive. the same level of support they.received last year, but that the department would not be able to increase their support due to the budget cuts.,;,•fon stated that,there could not be any expansion. of schedules or facilities because thei=department are 'hot prepared to absorb those costs within the:budget= ,Ron asked :that:;fhe eorganizatio s, consult with the city prior to expanding or adding additional leagues. He also asked for therm to consult with the city in the bidding of tournaments, He stated that he would like to:see snare :tournaments brought to''the city, buf coo'rdi anon must be nnade to ensure ,the. ay.,a�lab�lEty of.facll[t�e for; s ne s word nati n with - the anContion:and ,V[isitor .Bureau. son.the,wallah' _ �l�ty_;of•morns. ;lion encouraged fh� organizations�to rna�e.-alrran ements.to u ,v nt-: l n g wi fields, as well as che,ckin th the Parks De� artment aboutland.that could:b,e used for.„ p a e • ,ct c � =- • • l on stated that.there will be neater demands n the future than-the.cit{■/■■ will-be able.-to meet with its,current.facilities.:? He..mentioned; that;,additional funds are needed ;for..-: b: .maintenance, and. a ` • repairs,.maintesupplies of current fields.; He:;said':that the. replacement of. the four scoreboards at Southwood by College station Little League is:a good example r •' of e type•ofthngthatneedto be.done on,an:annuabasis,:by these. leagues. Other • • }. 1 a#4,0.,0j- r �,. 'C -� Parks 84Recreation Board L • • �* tom../ ��,...„ � eguar'MeetingHea August 15.1 99ring5 \I-LA (k t r .,;�.:;.w Page(3) needs include fencereplacement-at South wo0 where peo p e r actce a In Y: h! ttin balls into it, the purchase of marble dust the mark -.fhb fields, e s e . iz r r o0 5 r F . the dugouts, windscreens for the outfield fences, foul- a netting, a• .i iona soccer ...:...:....:'.....:..: : :...:....:...........- .:..:... . ...:....... ..... goals, etc. ea u e n farm ed the board 'thattheir Ron'darter, Chairman, College Station Little L g .. i ;. ... : or anization is broke. He stated that when the league went to Southwood in`1980,-the g w. E 99 5 t h er regular r -season con Si5 ed of lea ue :consisted of 400 kids on 2,5 teams. In :. ... .. ea ue i s r owin u e are ` 5 1,256 la in on 97 teoirris. He stated that the .g J g _ . v p Stated ed t ha t his league w as con ac e e t haven to play on the same amount of fields, H , , g offidM E Boy's S Sa e a t t u e .. es oh os the a or ec [ on l thed District and.State Little LeaJ by• : Tournament because of the quality_of the f fields. He saidthey were; unable to accep t s re,.•..ardin use-:of the fields, 'Mr. Carter stated that this opportunity .. . . .. :because.of:conflict g g was lost duei-to the lack of playing fields. • • Mr. Carter stated that he 'requested, at a previous board meeting, that the soccer r a e other all fields s to alleviate eth e :crow in fields at.Southwood be converted tog , fields. He asked Jhgt 'the' board make`.an' immediate decision sod that-they cbuld p roceed With scheduling for-the season! - - Mr, Carter stated that their organization received a list of'23 iotactice -fields from e pastyear. ..:.. .. . .. : . . Parks Department this Seven of those- fields were unplaya e,'some duo one holes, o e was unmowed, - and Sandstone, which had road construction, was inaccessible,' He stated that some teams either'didn't practice or had limited practice due t o the late'communication! He is requesting that their league be given a list 'of practice fields12y February1'. ..:.::.::. Brandt Glover, Sandy Koufax. r ea a ett er from Mark' o n son . Baseball Coaeh . .. ,.. is' ago and which promoted that particular league!= e 'league started - years played ed at Haswell Park in Bryan, The league is open to everyone .'.:..13-14 years o : including those outside the Cog lle e Station/Bryan area, The first season starts,in he.:... middle of February and is a 14-- arae'season, and'the second season starts a er e first- one -ends. Mr, Glover 'stated that 13-14 ear olds dont ,have a•'place tb'play' ay ! E en th e High Sc 0o i s baseball in Colla e Station.�unttl the-'middle of May wh . - ! . a ,fields � � e �=:.are; i hed lain on the senior lea ue fields, The' `other problem is e anis p v major league dimensions which is difficult for that age group to play on. He belieVe§ that more 13 1.4 year old kids would-play-baseball if there wOre'field4 to play o'n. Gary Norton stated that AAU became big in 1994, when he and Robert Williams•put a 9-and-under team to ether and took them to Kenner,-Louisiana.aE Twenty teams from across•the nation w• ent to`participate it the tournament. This year. 1995, •„ thirty eams showedg a in Kenner! Mr. Norton would like to see tournaments like that'brought to- College- o p Colle e Station: . He would like • o see'additional,'.. uns put into the, ent budget that.wouldallow e` os in o these tournaments.g NancyCrouch stated that the Council was having a public hearing about the budget' the following Thursday and would like for these organizations to be there to voice their ) concerns.- . ......... 1 • Parks&Recreation Board • Regular Meeting-Public Hearing August:15,1995 Page.(4) Tony Scazzero :stated that he organizes the .youth athletic, programs for ,the city of College.Station E The ,ur pose is to offer an o ortunit fp. eve child to ar ici ata in � g .p p pp . Y. rY [� . � those sports:activities,,not taking a, select,few that can make it toall-star teams. He stated that every child gets to play a certain amount of time in each sport. ;He,also 11 mentioned that every child that participates in the city's program uses the same equipment, gets the,same shirts and receives the .same awards.as every other, child, m Also,all parents/volunteers receive the sae training for oa hing their teamk . 'j . . � e ,t: e rowth ofd.•the softball Tony. mentioned; that in order to help accommodat h . g . Y program, he.and David Hudspeth. Assistant Athletic`Supervisor, move dates.back and: forth, and •alter the waythe season is.ruin by changing the length of the.season, the. number of garn,es, as .well as the formats,. ..When he took over at Central Park there were 120 softball teams to date there are 5.12 •tears, which is ,a maximum, .Tonyi stated that he' bids on national, state, and invitational tournaments throughout the year. He checks with the Convention and Visitors Bureau prior to bidding on tournaments to,ensure :the availabilityof rooms on:certain.dates. Tonymentioned that the,fees charged for youth programs are:not on acost"-recovery. basis but help to pay for maintenance items,,and lighting andwatering costs,, He,also stated that 75% of all youth are out of organized sports by age 12 because of their parents' involvement. K!ds just want to play ball,.not ibe,over-controlled:and organized=. by their parents. 3. r..r Steve mentioned that the department has determined that it can only:accommodate.. a certain number of teems and once that.:maximum number Is reached, subsequent teams are either turned away or put on a waiting list. He stated.that since the city.is limited In its resources, these youth organizations need to start thinking about doing the same thing. Steve also mentioned;that r maybe;the organizations need to start thinking• ; about servinJ the 'college Station residents first, before:--lettin0 .outside residents,, participate. .. ...... .:....... fon asked if•..the .Little• Lea ue•or- anization thou ht about the:-conse uences ,when • • �r the allowed five �ear odds to la baseball. Mr,.Garter stated.,:that:the;Ogrement'was Y Y p y; �. that five ear olds uld only w 0 play.ars eight-game .. ... ... not want to :deny.Bryan:residents from playing.bas ball.:in.:co[lege;Station because he thinks it's one comnuni acid Litt.:from Lea ue is a universal..Gisport. lion :stated that Steve doesn't want:to se orate the two cities, but that the rt of cane e Station has an•: obligation to'servethe citizens of College Station first. It does not mean that we won't serve.other residents though.. • Mr. Carter, stated thatyou can o an here in the state and you :w n'tx'find better , fields.than at Southwood Ron. stated ,that:if,Little:.League 'continues.;to exp' and:':their: ose:fields ma not continue to sta it ood a condltior . :Con -would like;to program,._th r ., see more communication between the various:r.s drts,.oranizatons :and the; darks Board. He would like the organizations to consult with the board before expanding their,leag ues, . Greg asked what the major conflict was regarding the fields; was it practice fields,,'or. play fields? Mr. Carter stated that there just weren't enough playing fields. Greg asked • Parks&Recreation ecreatiBoard = .:., ar Regular Meeting-Public,Hearing August.15.1995 Page(5) for the availabilityof using their fields for playing games. if he had checked with CSISD Mr. Carter stated that they already use those fields for practice, but not or games, and he could look into it. i regarding the usage of the senior league fields. Gary Marske Discussion took place rega g g stated that the junior high school uses the fields from about January through April. Barry asked about the baseball field at Willow Branch. Tony stated that the field was used and maintained bya 30-and-over adult baseball league, but the maintenance of the fields got beyond what they could handle. Ron asked if Little League and SandyKoufax could work together and form one . � g league. Mr. Glover stated that he was willing to work with Little League. Steve asked what the organizations charged for kids to participate in the league. Little League charges $25, Sandy Koufax charges $60. Mr. Carter stated that Little League will probably gp robabl ou to $40 per child next year to help cover expenses. Mr. Glover stated that their fields at Haswell Park are maintained by that organization and e parents. He said that the Cityof Br.Yan gave those fields to the Sandy Koufax League. Steve asked the representatives present, If the City had two fields with 90' bases, two fields with 80' bases, four fields with 60' bases and four t-ball fields with minimal facilities, would that accommodate these organizations?" Mr. Glover stated that he would e thrilled with those facilities. Bob mentioned thatleaguegrew the soccer g 35% this past year and that they use the Southwood fields from February through March. in addition, soccer lost the. (1• : Anderson due to the construction of the church. . Steve asked if Little League could schedule their t-ball games after the soccer season ended in order to use'those same fieldsR Ron suggestedcombining Little League and Sandy Koufax and asked what problems Sandy Koufax had with Little League rules. Mr. Glover stated that Little League does :not allow double headerson weekends. Ron stated that he doesn't think it makes sense for the ,,community to,have.three leagues servicing the same population. He does not want to see competition between the leagues. Mr:. Norton asked that the board request additional funds for the Parks Department for . ..:.. .... ..... additional maintenance of the current fields,to accommodate. the leagues thathave. p � L come about. Nancy asked if Little `League aid fees for maintenance like he: city leagues do. Curtis stated no. Nancystated that the department should consider limiting their subsidizing of these activities to a certain number. If the leagues should decide to go above that number then they would be responsible for paying the fees associated with the increase. V. OTHER BUSINESS/BOARD CONCERNS: Ron mentioned that theark tour would be on September 26, at 4;00 p.m. and would p p begin at the Teen Center. c V . ADJOURN: Pants&Recreation Board ``. RRegu1at~Meeting-Public Hearing August 15...1995 . ." Page(6) ' . fan adjourned themeeting at 9;25 p.tin. _ . .,.• . , - •• :. . '( '''' . . 1 f i •• • APPROVED::•''. . . ; - ... , Fes". • - • Roti Gay:•Bbard Chairman . Date ,• ••. .• w is ttest.l . • • .. ... Brd 0011.0. George •CPS: Board''. ' ' 1 Secretary Date .