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 May 13, 2009.

Members Present:	Staff Present:
Frank Alger	Dawn Bies
Milt Fort	J.D. Dockstader
Russ Gillard	Dale Furnas
Connie Gullatt-Whiteman	Mike Holste
Steve Ikeda	Andrea Moore
David Martinez	Corrine Nystrom
Matt Shaffer
Michelle Udall
Marilyn Wilson
Members Absent:
Don Goodrum, excused

Mark Yarbrough, excused

The meeting was called to order at 3:34 p.m. by Connie Gullatt-Whiteman, Chair.

Introduce new Board members

Connie Gullatt-Whiteman introduced the two newest Board members, Milt Fort and Matt Shaffer and asked them to each to share a little information about their background with the Board.

Approval of Minutes

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked if there was a motion for approval of the minutes from the March 11, 2009 Parks Board meeting. Michelle Udall made a motion, Russ Gillard seconded, and it was unanimously carried to approve the minutes.

Russ Gillard, chair of the Dogs in Park Subcommittee, asked for a motion for approval of the minutes from the April 9, 2009 subcommittee meeting. David Martinez made a motion, Mr. Gillard seconded and it was unanimously carried to approve the minutes.

Public Comments

Tawni McBee from All Greatful Dogs offered to answer any questions, from a dog training point of view, regarding dogs in parks.

Hear update on Falcon Field Master Plan

Corrine Nystrom, Airport Director at Falcon Field, spoke to the Board regarding the Falcon Field Master Plan. She passed out land use concepts to the Board and shared some history about Falcon Field. Ms. Nystrom stated that Falcon Field is a growing airport and the 4^th busiest general aviation airport in the country. She told the Board that airport staff had been working with neighbors in the area to ensure the airport’s growth doesn’t negatively impact them. She stated that while Falcon Field wants to be a progressive airport, it also wants to retain its historic feel.

Airport staff requested and received input from the City’s Transportation Department and also wanted input from the Parks Board due to areas at Falcon Field Park being affected by the airport’s expansion plans. The expansion would retain the playground area at the park but the western portion of the park, including the basketball and volleyball areas, would be converted for airport use.

Mr. Gillard asked about public access to the park, including parking, due to the expansion. Ms. Nystrom noted the existing parking areas, with no additional parking planned for park users.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked about the possibility of new park land being added in the orange grove area west of Greenfield Road. Ms. Nystrom said that the area could be available for park development. Mr. Martinez agreed that open space and amenities that would be lost to Falcon Field need to be replaced, possibly in the groves area. The Board was in agreement that the land available in the groves is needed for future park land. Ms. Nystrom added that plans are 5-10 years out at this time but could be moved up depending on the economy and if airport business increased. Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked about funding and maintenance. Ms. Nystrom indicated that while the park is currently being funded and maintained through the parks department, the airport can assume all funding and maintenance responsibilities upon implementation of the park reconfiguration. That decision can be made as the plans move forward once the parks department weighs in on whether it wants to continue maintenance activities.

Discuss and make recommendation on dogs in parks research

Mr. Gillard told the Board that the Dogs in Parks Subcommittee met in April to discuss the issue of dogs in city parks and to consider various alternatives to allowing dogs in parks/basins. He stated that the subcommittee’s recommendation was to gather information from citizens via surveys during the cooler, busier months (September – November) to allow for more input from users.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked about the types of questions that would be on the survey. Dale Furnas said staff would be contacting the City’s Public Information Office for assistance with setting up and conducting the survey.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman asked for a motion on the subcommittee’s recommendation. Frank Alger motioned, Marilyn Wilson seconded and it was unanimously carried to approve the subcommittee recommendation.

Update on KaBOOM! Playground grants

Andrea Moore updated the Board regarding the KaBOOM! playground grants awarded to Park of the Canals and Beverly Park. She told the Board that on May 28^th volunteers would build the playground at Park of the Canals and at Beverly Park on June 3^rd. The Board inquired about who would be maintaining Beverly Park. Ms. Moore stated that for now the park would be maintained by volunteers in the neighborhood.

Chair Comments

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman informed the Board that this would be Mr. Gillard’s last regular meeting as a Board member. Mike Holste, sitting in for the PRCF Director, presented Mr. Gillard with a plaque from the City for his many years of service to Mesa Parks & Recreation.

Director’s Comments

• Calendar of Events (update on past/present events) – Mr. Holste updated the Board about the following events:

o Kino Pool Grand Opening – May 15^th, 5-8 pm

o Pachanga en la Piscina (Making Waves presentation) – June 5^th

o Rhodes Pool – scheduled to open September 2009

o Skyline Pool – scheduled to open October 2010

• Summer Registration – summer camps, reduced from 26 to 10, start in May. Staff has been seeing lower than normal sign ups at this time, due in part to the TimeOut brochure being completely on-line for the first time.

• Fees and Charges update – Mr. Holste told the Board that Rhett Evans would be addressing a City Council subcommittee at an upcoming meeting regarding adding a senior fee for pools.

• 2009 APRA Conference – Board and Commissions Day is scheduled for Thursday, August 27^th.

• Special Olympics events held included Desert Challenge Regional Games, You Look Marvelous Fashion Show, and the Arizona State Track Meet.

Reports on meetings and/or events attended by Board Members

Ms. Wilson said she had attended soccer games at Harmony Park and Coach Pitch baseball games and Stapley Jr. and Hawthorne schools.

Mr. Martinez attended the District 6 Pancake Breakfast in February as well as ball games in various parks in Mesa.

Steve Ikeda attended the Falcon Field event, MacFest, the District 3 Pancake Breakfast, as well as Mesa Grande and Beverly Park meetings.

Ms. Udall attended softball games at Mountain View Park.

Mr. Shaffer and his family utilize the Red Mountain Multigenerational Center and will be swimming at Mesa pools this summer.

Mr. Alger attended various meetings planning for the annual Veterans Day Parade and has visited a couple of Mesa parks with his dogs.

Mr. Fort attended MCC Rose Garden Board meetings and Mesa Sister Cities Board meetings. He said Mesa had recently been recognized for its humanitarian efforts as a sister city.

Mr. Gillard attended the District 6 Pancake Breakfast, the Broadway Recreation Center makeover dedication event and City Hall at the Mall.

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman attended the Falcon Field open house and regularly takes walks in Sheepherders Park. She also visited the Botanical Gardens Chihuly Glass exhibit.

FY 09/10 Chair/Vice-chair elections

Ms. Gullatt-Whiteman opened the floor for nominations for the positions of Parks Board Chair and Vice-chair. Mr. Gillard nominated Mr. Martinez for Chair, Mr. Ikeda seconded the nomination. No other nominations were received; it was unanimously carried to approve Mr. Martinez as Parks Board Chair for FY 09/10. Ms. Wilson nominated Don Goodrum for Vice-chair, Mr. Gillard seconded the nomination. No other nominations were presented; it was unanimously carried to approve Mr. Goodrum as Parks Board Vice-chair for FY 09/10.

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, Ms. Udall seconded, and it was unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bryan Raines

Deputy City Manager