PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Stafford County Parks & Recreation Commission held its regular monthly meeting Thursday, June 19, 2008, at the Rowser Building. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Tom Paton.
SILENT ROLL CALL
Members Present Absent Staff: Guests:
Joe Brito P Chris Hoppe Robert Dreistadt
Bobby Crisp P Brion Southall Jim Lawrence
John Druiett P Judy Sokolowski Barry Hill
Brad Eads A Camilla Shover Cord Sterling
Bill Hoyt P Tim Baroody Reb Benson
John LeDoux P
Ken Mitchell P
Tom Paton P
Ingolf Rupp A
Randy Walther P
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes from the May meeting were unanimously approved.
PRESENTATIONS BY PUBLIC
None.
NEW BUSINESS
· Annual Report: Stafford Baseball League (SBL)
Robert Dreistadt, President of the SBL, presented the league’s annual report and provided copies to the Commission. He also submitted copies of previous years’ tax returns.
· Annual Report: Stafford Area Soccer Association (SASA)
Reb Benson, Commissioner of SASA, presented the association’s annual report and provided copies to the Commission.
· 2008 Park Bond
Chris Hoppe reviewed the draft version of the proposed bond project list for 2008. John LeDoux motioned, and John Druiett seconded, to proceed with the bond referendum as recommended. Motion carried unanimously. (Tom Paton recommended that the County buy land in the Centreport Parkway area, which is close to I-95.)
· Background Checks
Chris Hoppe reviewed the memo contained in the packet regarding the need for background checks for Parks and Recreation volunteers and contract instructors. He said the issue would go to the BOS on July 1. After discussion, Ken Mitchell motioned, and John Druiett seconded, to recommend that background checks be obtained for volunteers and contract instructors for the Department of Parks and Recreation.
OLD BUSINESS
· Subcommittee Reports: Commuter Parking
Joe Brito suggested that this discussion be tabled until after the parks bond referendum. Bobby Crisp said she was concerned about vandalism at remote parking sites.
· Facilities Plan for Parks and Recreation
John LeDoux motioned, and John Druiett seconded, to table this issue and see if it needs to be modified, since this plan does not match the projects for the bond referendum. Motion carried, with 4 voting yes, 2 voting no, and 2 abstentions. After discussion, the Commission suggested including a cover letter in the Facilities Plan that stated that the plan drawings were conceptual in nature and subject to change. Chris Hoppe said he would contact the engineering firm to determine what changes were needed.
PRESENTATIONS BY COMMISSIONERS
· Bill Hoyt said he had spent time working with the Virginia Youth Football Association and attended bond meetings; discussions ensued regarding sponsorships, donations, etc. He asked if Friends of the Parks could become a vehicle to obtain donations to sponsor individual facilities. Tom Paton asked staff to look into the legal aspects of this matter.
· John Druiett said he went to Willowmere recently, and there was little needed regarding safety improvements. He said he would like to see some trail work performed, and he would like to keep equipment separate from the public. He suggested enlarging the fence area around equipment. He said the park and grass were in good shape overall and suggested adjusting our maintenance employees’ summer work hours to 6 a.m. vs. 7 a.m.
· Joe Brito said the schools’ BOOTS program is building a house Argyle Heights, which is an hour round trip for the schools to transport students. He suggested having students help build a park at the Chichester property instead of them building a house in 2009. John LeDoux said that building park facilities may not be challenging enough for students in the BOOTS program.
· Bobby Crisp said that the BOOTS program used to repair roofs and public facilities, and she would be glad to work with students in park projects. She said she was pleased to get four phone calls: two from residents who had recently discovered Duff Green Park and liked it. Bobby said she didn’t think people know exactly how to get to the boat ramp.
STAFF REPORTS
No questions were asked.
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 9:30 PM.
CJH:jls
