Parks & Recreation Board

Meeting Minutes

The Parks and Recreation Board of the City of Mesa met in a regular session at the Parks and Recreation office at 200 S. Center Street, Building 1, Mesa, on December 10, 2008.

Members Present:	Staff Present:
Brian Etheridge	Darla Armfield	Mike Holste
Russ Gillard	Dawn Bies	Cindy Hunt
Don Goodrum	Sue Deck	Andrea Moore
Connie Gullatt-Whiteman	J.D. Dockstader	Kelly Rafferty
Tim Gump	Rhett Evans	Rochelle Rotert
Steve Ikeda
David Martinez
Michelle Udall	Councilmembers present:
Marilyn Wilson	Dennis Kavanaugh
Mark Yarbrough
Members Absent:
Frank Alger, excused

The meeting was called to order at 3:32 p.m. by Connie Gullatt-Whiteman, Chair.

Approval of Minutes

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked for a motion for approval of the minutes from the November 12, 2008 Parks Board meeting. Michelle Udall made a motion, Marilyn Wilson seconded, and it was unanimously carried to approve the minutes.

Public Comments

None.

PRCF Budget update

Rhett Evans shared with the Board the PRCF Budget presentation that was given to City Council at the Study Session on December 8. He also listed the reductions/eliminations in each of the various recreation areas and explained how they impact staff and citizens. The core focus will be to protect and maintain recreational assets and recreation programs pertaining to youth. Focus areas included:

Parks & Basins

• Vary maintenance levels depending on use

• Consolidate maintenance operations

• Continue with limited Park Ranger Program

• Reduce:

o Frequency of cleaning sports facility restrooms

o Contracted vector control

o Fertilizer purchases

o Pest control, herbicide control

o Basin trash removal

o Basin lighting

o Tree trimming

o Watering

o Temporary staffing--Gene Autry Park

• Eliminate:

o Urban Fishing Program

• Limit Restroom Access:

o Red Mountain Lake, Gene Autry Park, Carriage Lane Park

o Open during sponsored play only: Escobedo, Evergreen and Rotary Parks

• Transfer Ellsworth Park and ball fields

Aquatics

• Regional amenity pools to remain open

o Carson

o Brimhall

o Kino

o Shepherd

o Stapley

• Regional Pool Program

o Season: May 22, 2009 - August 1, 2009

o Swim Lessons

o Public Swim

o Competitive Program

o Year-round reservations

o Maintain Access for MPS and other user groups

• Reductions/Eliminations:

o No City-sponsored programs at non-amenity pools

o Mesa Jr., Powell, Parkway, Poston Pools

§ Will be secured and maintained

§ Available for Mesa Public Schools use only

o Special Events/Water Safety Events

o No Sunday operations

• Close Pools

o Fremont when Skyline opens

o Taylor when Rhodes opens

Recreation Programs at City Facilities

• Programming: Youth and teen activities only/fee-based

• Flexibility: Utilize temporary and seasonal staff

• Maximize capacity at recreation facilities

• Reduce General Fund subsidy

• Reductions/Eliminations:

o Open Gym: 4 sites

o Physically disabled sports

o Adaptive outdoor programs:

§ Hiking, biking, trips

§ Camp Grant

o Special Olympics:

§ Kayaking, cycling, dragon boat races, football, winter sports, Ski-Able

o Summer Youth Adventure Series: Fridays - 6 trips

o Elementary After School programs: Grades 1-6, 20 sites

o Boredom Busters: 8 summer sites

o Sports Plus: 4 summer sites

o Summer Sports Camps: 5 sites

o Reduced jr. high intramural sports program (from 3 sessions to 2)

Red Mountain Multigenerational Center

• Eliminate Climbing Wall classes

• Reduce number of Special Interest classes

• Eliminate Saturday Party Packages

• Fitness room to remain open

• Offer group fitness classes

• Open Gym program

• Facility rentals

• Offer youth programs

• Climbing Wall (open use and rentals)

• Offer Special Interest classes

• Conduct fee-based special events (Breakfast With Santa)

Jefferson and Webster Recreation Centers

• Summer Youth Programs

o Preschool Age 4-5

o Grades 1-6

o Grades 7-8

• After School Programs

o Grades 1-6

§ Open Gym

§ Clubs

• Fall/Winter/Spring Break

o Grades 1-6

§ Camps

• Special Events

• Rentals

Broadway Recreation Center

• Adaptive Program (COM)

o Cheerleading

o Basketball

o Floor Hockey

o TGIF

• MASD

o Wheel Chair Sports

o Rentals

Washington Activity Center

• Youth recreation programs funded through June 2009

• Continued operations contingent upon successful RFP process or CDBG funding

Other activities:

• Additional Adaptive Programs

o Camp Fiesta (6-week summer camp)

o Special Olympics (various sports)

• Rec N’ Roll: (Grades K-6)

o Mobile rec unit dispatched to underserved areas

• Summer Youth Development All Day Camps

o (Ages 1-6, various school sites)

• Mesa Flag Football and Girls Slo-Pitch Softball League

o (Grades 4-8, various park sites)

• Remaining Adult Sports:

o Softball, Flag Football

§ Eliminate Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball

§ Discontinue use of MPS gyms and BRC for Adult Sports

• Youth Field Lighting Program

o Increased fees to cover lighting costs for school fields

• Consolidation

o Centralized operations: Registration, reservations, department support, programming collaboration

o Centralize staffing:

§ South Center Campus (Parks and Recreation Office)

§ Recreation centers

• TimeOut Publication:

(Registration and reservation information)

o Phase out printing

o Online: http://mesaaz.gov/parksrec/timeout/

o TeleTrac (phone): (480) 644.4449

Parks & Recreation Office:
200 S. Center St, Bldg. #1
Mesa, AZ 85210
(480) 644-2352

Mr. Evans reported that the majority of cuts in the PRCF Department were to recreation, which cut 63% of its program budget. The department budget, as a whole, was cut by 22%, with a reduction of 56.3 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) staff positions.

Board members suggested requesting support from the community to help with trash in parks and basins, and also to try and find private sponsors for recreation programs. Mr. Gillard reminded the Board that the Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation would welcome their involvement with these efforts.

Discuss and make recommendation on Parks Board structure

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman proposed that the Board discuss and consider whether to reduce the size of the Parks and Recreation Board as seen from recent news articles and changes to various Advisory Boards across the City. This would be accomplished through attrition over the next few years, with a recommendation to City Council to change the City Code regarding the size of the Board.

Mr. Gillard expressed the need to have continued representation from the Board on the Foundation when his Parks Board appointment expires in June 2009.

Mr. Evans asked the Board to consider being community advocates in lieu of monthly meetings, if the meeting schedule were to change.

A discussion ensued between the members, which also included the next two agenda items (5 and 6). Mr. Goodrum suggested keeping the size of the Board intact, but reducing the frequency of meetings. Mr. Etheridge asked if the Board needed representation from all districts in Mesa. Mr. Evans stated that the Mayor’s office appointed members to the various boards but was not aware if it involved looking for citizens to serve from each district on each board.

Mr. Goodrum made a motion to retain the current Parks Board structure of eleven members. Mr. Etheridge seconded. Seven members were in favor of retaining the current structure, two members opposed, one member left prior to the motion being made and did not vote.

Discuss and take action on changes to meeting schedule

Mr. Etheridge suggested meeting every other month as opposed to quarterly meetings and coordinating events for Board members to attend on months with no meetings. Ms. Wilson made a motion for the Board to meet every other month, beginning in January 2009; Mr. Etheridge seconded. The motion was unanimously carried.

Discuss and take action on changes to Parks Board work plan

Andrea Moore went over the status of the goals for Board’s work plan for FY 07-08. She then initiated a discussion with the Board about goals for the FY 08-09 work plan. It was decided to keep the same priority areas, but to change key action items based on changes to the meeting structure and the revised PRCF budget.

Mr. Gillard made a motion to approve the updates to the Parks Board Work Plan for FY 08-09 as discussed; Mr. Yarbrough seconded the motion and it was unanimously carried.

Director’s Comments

• Beverly Park update – Ms. Moore said that she had been in contact with the Mesa Grande Alliance, who reported that they did not meet in November, but were still working on gathering survey information.

• Calendar of Events (update on past/present events) :

o Winter Wonderland at Jefferson Recreation Center – December 12

o Fit City Jingle Bell Walk at Mesa Riverview – December 13

o Mistletoe Magic at Chandler Community Center – December 13

o Webster Recreation Center Holiday Carnival – December 19

o Winter Recreation Camps at Webster and Jefferson Recreation Centers begin December 22 and 29

Reports on meetings and/or events attended by Board Members

Mr. Yarbrough attended the December 8 Study Session. He said he realized PRCF staff would be cutting budgets but felt that they would be maximizing the remaining services.

Ms. Udall attended the November Fit City event at Mountain View Park and said it was lots of fun.

Mr. Ikeda attended the art event for Light Rail on December 8 and also MacFest at the Mesa Arts Center.

Mr. Goodrum attended the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day at Red Mountain Park.

Mr. Gillard has attended Foundation for Mesa Parks & Recreation meetings/activities and MacFest.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman attended MacFest. She also mentioned the article she had submitted to the Mesa Independent on the 2030 Master Plan, which should be published shortly.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman thanked Councilmember Kavanaugh for attending the Parks Board meeting. Councilmember Kavanaugh mentioned that he is making an effort to attend each of the City’s advisory boards over the course of the year to familiarize himself with what each Board is doing. He applauded the members for being such great advocates in the community.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked if there were any other items for discussion. Mr. Gillard clarified that bulleted minutes for future meeting would be sufficient. Mr. Yarbrough made a motion to adjourn, Mr. Gillard seconded, and it was unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:56 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

J. Rhett Evans

Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities Department Director