PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Stafford County Parks & Recreation Commission held its regular monthly meeting Thursday, July 17, 2008, at the Rowser Building. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Ken Mitchell.
SILENT ROLL CALL
Members Present Absent Staff: Guests:
Joe Brito A Chris Hoppe Jim Lawrence
Bobby Crisp P Judy Sokolowski Robert Burdsal
John Druiett P Jennifer Burdsal
Brad Eads P
Bill Hoyt A
John LeDoux A
Ken Mitchell P
Tom Paton A
Ingolf Rupp P
Randy Walther A
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ken Mitchell motioned, and Bobby Crisp seconded, to approve the minutes from the June meeting with a minor revision. Motion passed unanimously.
PRESENTATIONS BY PUBLIC
Robert Burdsal shared information with the Commission regarding working with the community and the need for parks. He said his son had a great time in football last year, and his coach, Coach Hodge, had high values and did a great job. He said he was concerned about the possibility that Mr. Hodge would not be coaching this year. Chris Hoppe said that Mr. Hodge’s oldest child had aged out of our football program, and his youngest child was too young to participate; therefore, Mr. Hodge was unsure about what to do about coaching. Chris said he would check into the matter further and provide more information.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
OLD BUSINESS
· Facilities Plan for Parks and Recreation
Chris Hoppe distributed new CDs of the most current Plan and said that revised pages of the Plan had been included in Commission packets. Bobby Crisp motioned, and John Druiett seconded, to accept the Facilities Plan for Parks and Recreation. Motion carried unanimously.
· Monetary Sponsorships
Chris Hoppe discussed the memo that was in the Commission packet that explained the escrow account that had been set up for athletic field maintenance and how these funds would be handled. Members mentioned their “donation subcommittee”, which consists of Bill Hoyt, John Druiett, and Bobby Crisp. Questions and pros/cons of sponsorship signage at facilities were raised; staff will gather and provide more information, including size restrictions.
PRESENTATIONS BY COMMISSIONERS
· Bobby Crisp said she was looking forward to the bike trails being finished in the George Washington District and is excited about the George Washington Foundation’s discovery at Ferry Farm. She also said she was asked to be one of the judges at the upcoming Cardboard Boat Regatta at Aquia Landing.
· Brad Eads said the power lines that will be installed in northern Stafford will change the landscape at Austin Ridge. He said this could be an opportunity to obtain land for walking or bike paths, since Dominion VA Power would need to clear land. Bobby Crisp suggested that a citizen committee be formed to meet with Dominion VA Power and let them know what the community’s needs are.
· Ingo Rupp said he was interested in soccer fields, and they were slow to improve. He praised maintenance staff for all of their efforts to improve fields.
STAFF REPORTS
· Brad Eads asked of the Gymnastics program makes money. Chris Hoppe explained that the Gymnastics program is required to meet 100% of its budget each year, and it does. He said that this program has been very successful through the years and often exceeds the operational budget.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
· Patawomeck Park
The park was complete enough to be considered “open” of April 19. Punch lists for items to be corrected are being completed now. Softball games and practices are being played. Drinking water well construction permit was submitted June 3. Play equipment is scheduled to be delivered +June 30. Grand Opening Ceremony has been postponed until fall.
· Smith Lake Park Synthetic Athletic Turf Fields
Survey and geotechnical boring work is complete. Conceptual Designs will be submitted for comments shortly.
· Commuter Parking Sub-Committee
A recommendation on this issue is not ready to be presented to the Commission at the June meeting.
· Facilities Plan
The final report was presented to the Board of Supervisors at their May 20, 2008 meeting. The Belmont - Ferry Farm trail was also presented at that meeting. CDs of the final report will be distributed at the Commission meeting. The Board may consider approval of report and plan at their July 1, 2008 meeting.
· Athletic Field User Groups Informational Meeting
The inaugural Athletic Field User Groups informational meeting occurred June 10. Representatives from Stafford Baseball League (SBL), Stafford Area Soccer Association (SASA), Stafford Lacrosse Association (SLA), Virginia American Youth Football League (VAYFL), Parks and Recreation Football, Bill Hoyt representing the P&R Commission, and staff attended. The group decided to meet the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 PM, monthly until November 2008 and then quarterly thereafter. The group discussed topics that were appropriate for the meetings. Some brainstorming was done on fields/areas that might be available for use this fall.
Frustration was expressed by some attendees about the current Facility Use Policy and the priorities for allocating fields. Some believe that because all the users are Stafford residents that the resources should be allocated with parity. VAYFL was very concerned about their ability to have a program in fall 2008 because they had tentatively been told that based upon field availability and the allocation priorities, they may only get one game field this fall; they need two. At this meeting, VAYFL was informed that two game fields are available for them.
My warnings to the Commission over the last year about the shortage of fields have come to true; unfortunately, sooner than we had hoped.
· Athletic Field Allocation Policy and Facility Use Policy
Now that availability of athletic fields is critical, we are modifying the recently approved Swimming Pool Lane Allocation Policy to address athletic field allocation. We will present a draft policy to the Commission for comments in summer or fall. We are also working on an updated Facility Use Policy. Even though we recently updated it, we have determined that it needs further modification to address new issues such as the FSPA sites. Some information that was in the Facility Use Policy can be relocated into the Swimming Pool Lane Allocation Policy and the Athletic Field Allocation Policy
· 2008 Park Bond
The Board of Supervisors will discuss the potential 2008 park bond referendum at their afternoon work session on 6/17/08. Hopefully, a decision will be made at that meeting whether to hold a referendum and for what $ amount.
· Senior Program
Paul Milde attended a senior citizen brunch in May and was asked to respond to questions. Subsequent to the meeting, Mr. Romanello received a letter from two seniors restating their concerns. The response letter is included in the Commission package for your information.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:25 PM.
CJH:jls
