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 March 11, 2009.

Members Present:	Staff Present:
Frank Alger	Darla Armfield	Mike Holste
Russ Gillard	Dawn Bies	Andrea Moore
Don Goodrum	J.D. Dockstader	Kym Otterstedt
Connie Gullatt-Whiteman	Rhett Evans	Kelly Rafferty
Tim Gump	Dale Furnas	Bob Skutnik
Steve Ikeda
Michelle Udall
Marilyn Wilson
Members Absent:
David Martinez, excused

Mark Yarbrough, excused

The meeting was called to order at 4:25 p.m. by Connie Gullatt-Whiteman, Chair.

Approval of Minutes

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked if there was a motion for approval of the minutes from the January 14, 2009 Parks Board meeting. Frank Alger made a motion, Don Goodrum seconded, and it was unanimously carried to approve the minutes.

Public Comments

None.

Review and discuss park rules regarding dogs

Dale Furnas told the Board that a letter had been received from the Mayor’s office regarding allowing dogs in all of Mesa’s parks. The Mayor’s office has asked Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities (PRCF) staff to bring this issue to the Parks Board and get a recommendation from them about this topic.

Ms. Furnas gave the Board information regarding dogs in parks. She shared statistics from the Humane Society regarding dog ownership in the U.S., local trends regarding dogs in parks, which included park rules for Tempe, Gilbert, Phoenix, & Scottsdale. She also shared national trends, including ordinances from Pennsylvania, Anchorage Alaska, and Santa Cruz & San Mateo California. She gave the PRCF maintenance and park ranger staff’s perspective, which included both issues and opportunities associated with dogs in parks.

A lengthy discussion followed after which the Board agreed to form a subcommittee of Board and staff members who will meet and discuss the issue and make a recommendation at the May 13, 2009 meeting. Russ Gillard, Frank Alger and David Martinez were assigned to sit on the subcommittee.

Update on Park of the Canals

Andrea Moore told the Board about KABOOM, a non-profit organization that runs a community builds program for playground construction. She explained that Bert Millett, a resident from the Park of the Canals area, has been trying to generate support to put the playground back in the park. KABOOM approached the City and said they are considering the site for a community build and a grant to fund purchasing the equipment. She added that Mr. Millett had already raised $10,000 and that the funding partner would pay $100,000 for the remainder of the expense. The Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation would be the grant recipient and the City will maintain the area after it is in place. If Mesa is selected, kids and parents will design the playground. She told the Board that May 28^th there would be 425 volunteers at the park installing the playground.

Chair Comments

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman thanked the Board for the cards and kind words after the recent passing of her mother.

Director’s Comments

• Beverly Park Update – Mr. Evans asked Ms. Moore to give the Board an update on Beverly Park. Ms. Moore reported that the KaBoom organization had approached the West Mesa Community Development Corporation (WMCDC) with an offer to fund the development of Beverly Park. The WMCDC needs to raise $10,000 and the KaBoom grant will be for $100,000.

• Calendar of Events (update on past/present events) – Mr. Evans reminded the Board that Parks Board Chair and Vice-Chair nominations would take place at the May meeting to begin at the July 2009 meeting.

Reports on meetings and/or events attended by Board Members

Mr. Gillard reported he had attended the Pancake Breakfast on February 21^st.

Ms. Wilson attended family soccer games at Harmony Park and had played tennis at the Gene Autry Sports Complex.

Mr. Goodrum attended the Breakfast with the Mayor event and the MLK event at the Amphitheatre.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked if there were any other items for discussion; the Board had no additional comments. Mr. Alger made a motion to adjourn, Mr. Gillard seconded, and it was unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

J. Rhett Evans

Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities Department Director