03-12-92 v City of Atlantic Beach
Parks & Recreation Department
716 Ocean Boulevard
Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233-5400
RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING, MARCH 12, 1992 7:30 p.m.
AGENDA
1. Call to order
2. Approval of minutes of Feb. 10, 1992
3. Introduction of newest member HENRY ISAACS
4. Discussion of plans for 6th Annual Easter Egg Festivities
5. Preliminary look at future plans for Recreation Dept. as set in
the goal setting session held by City Administrators
6. Members Comments
7. Adjourn
MINUTES OF THE RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING OF MARCH 12, 1992 7:30 pm
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Fagan at 7:45 pm. In attendance were
Donald Fagan, Henry Batts, Henry Isaacs, Richard Riley and Parks & Recreation
Director Rose Blanchard. Jeff Croom was absent and excused.
Mr. Gagan moved and Mr. Batts seconded the approval of the minutes of the
Feb. 10, 1992 meeting.
Mr. Henry Isaacs was introduced and the Board welcomend him and assured
him that we were all very excited about working with him as a member of this
Board.
Discussion of plans for the 6th Annual Easter Egg Hunt began and the big
topic was: how to dispense over 1,000 eggs when we parade from Community Center
first. The likelihood of parents gathering at Russell Park and therefore showing
children where eggs are hidden is a definite! To avoid "pre-discovery" of eggs,
it was finally decided that we should rope off an area behind the tennis courts,
hide the eggs in the grassy section and keep guard. When the parade arrives in
the Park, children can be directed to the "hunting area". The toddlers will hunt,
as usual, in the fenced toddler playground area. Each child will also be given
a participation certificate.
The next item on the agenda for discussion was the results of the goal setting
session held by the City Administrators and how it effected the Parks & Recreation
Dept.
This led to the discussion of Donner Park. It being a project we need to
address, particularly the feasability of a building that could be utilized as a
Community Center for the area children. There is no place where they can come
out of the cold, heat, rain, etc. We had planned on building a state of the art
Community Center but the cost is excessive and the City had to abandon the idea.
We then considered moving the double-wide trailer from Russell Park to Donner Park
where it is needed more. The YMCA has been using the trailer as an aerobic center
for the toddlers and plan on using it for their Summer Day Camp at Russell Park.
If we cannot provide at least a leased modular for Donner Park, that means we will
have to transport those children from their Park to the Community Center all Summer
because they do not have a building of their own. We have developed a playground
and extended their "park capablilities" but we still do not have a suitable building
to provide them for summer camp as well as year long access. The City Manager has
instructed Mrs. Blanchard to gather information on a possible "leased modular" until
we negotiate with the YMCA for the double wide modular presently at Russell Park.
If the City could negotiate with the YMCA for them to build themselves a building
similar in size to the modular they are using, and we take the modular to Donner as
a beginning, we could all have achieved our goals for the children of Atlantic Beach.
In our future plans, we would like to request the Boys/Girls Club to come to Donner
Park as a satellite center. They operated there once before and it worked well, but
they did not have a building to work out of. The Board agreed that this was a priority
consideration.
In further discussion, Mrs. Blanchard told the Board that we were to be in
contact withthe Forestry Dept. to seek recommendations on how best to handle the preset
problem of exposed roots in all of the Parks. The over-abundance of rain and wind have
caused serious erosion of the dirt in the Parks.
The next item for discussion was a proposed set of by-laws for this
Board wherein the election of officers was discussed. Mrs. Blanchard reminded the
' Board that there was no provision for the election of a Chairman and Vice Chairman.
This meant that Mr. Fagan, who originally volunteered to be Chairman, could maintain
all 4 years of his appointment as Chairman and she felt that a change every 2 years
would be more beneficial to the Board. The change every 2 years would increase the
different approaches and input and would enhance the effectiveness of the Board.
Mr. Riley moved and Mr. Isaacs seconded the motion to accept the By-Laws as written.
Mr. Riley moved and Mr. Batts seconded the motion to re-elect Mr. Fagan as
Chairman and unanimously elected Mr. Riley as Vice Chairman, both to serve until
REC. ADV. BOARD MTG. 3-92 PG.2
the January meeting of 1994. Both men accepted the nominations and the By-Laws
become a part of this organziation as of this date, MARCH 12, 1992.
Mrs. Blanchard then announced plans for the annual SPRING FESTIVAL to be
held on Saturday, May 9, 1992 from 10 am to 5 pm. In that this Board has never
been in service during our Spring festivals, the discussion was lenghthy. The
City of Atlantic Beach had not had a Spring Festival in the past 2 years, due to
construction of parking lot and City Hall, so this Board was not too familiar with
the event. After discussion, the Board decided to proceed with the efforts to try
to get some local musicans and their bands to play for the day. Mr. Riley was
chosen to be in charge of solicting funds to pay for the entertainers, and Mr.
Isaacs would contact Mike Shackelford while Mr. Fagan would talk with the "NOT
TONIGHT, I HAVE THE BLUES BAND". The Board was also instructed to find out what
the fees were for the services of the JACKSONVILLE RIVER CITY BAND AND THE BEACHES
POP ORCHESTRA. The Board suggested that Little League NOT play at night. Mrs.
Blanchard stated she did not feel that was necessary. .they always played before
and have a tight schedule to maintain. The possibility of a "night in the park"
was brought up, but lighting is a difficulty. Mr. Fagan reminded us that we need
some risers as we CANNOT USE THE ONES FROM JACKSONVILLE BEACH ANYMORE. . .THEY ARE
T00 DANGEROUS! Mrs. Blanchard will get a price on building risers, in house, by
City labor. The item of concessionaires came up and Mrs. Blanchard explained to
the Board that in that the City of Atlantic Beach cannot give the children of our
City (Little League & Soccer) any monies for their fund raisers, she had assured
these groups that they will be SOLE CONCESSIONAIRES to help them make a little extra
money. Mrs. Blanchard asked the Board members NOT to solicit any funds until she has
had a chance to talk to the City Manager for authorization of the members to solicit
in the name of the Recreation Dept. of the City of Atlantic Beach. Other possibilities
for future musical events in the park were discussed and will be persued.
There being no further business to come before this Board, Mr. Fagan
adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm.
ATTACHED HERETO AND MADE AN OFFICIAL PART THEREOF, IS COPY OF THE BY-LAWS FOR THE
RECREATION ADVIOSRY BOARD, OFFICIALLY ADOPTED MARCH 12, 1992
Respectfully submitted:
Rose H. Blanchard, Parks & Recreation Director
BY-LAWS FOR THE RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
ARTICLE I
MISSION STATEMENT It is the mission of this Board to study the needs of the Citiz
as they relate to recreational activities, both present and
future, and advise the City Commission of the recommendations
of the Board relative to how best to achieve these goals.
ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP Membership is open to all citizens who have an interest in
the recreational aspects of this City.
ARTICLE III
APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS The Five Members of this Board are appointed by the City
Commission, as stated in the governing RESOLUTION NO. 90-2,
on file in the office of the City Clerk. Each person appointed
thereto, shall serve for a term of four (4) years.
ARTICLE IV
ELECTION OF OFFICERS A Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson will be elected by a
majority vote of the membership. The office of Secretary
may be held by the Recreation Director or designee. The
election of a Chairperson shall take place at the Janaury
meeting every 2 years and the office duties will commence
immediately. The office of Chairperson shall be in effect
for 2 years. If a vacancy arises in the Chairperson position,
the Vice Chairperson will complete the unexpired term. At
the next regularly scheduled January meeting, the Vice Chair-
person may be elected to serve a full 2 year term.
ARTICLE V
MEETING SCHEDULE This Board shall meet on the second Thursday of each month
at 7:30 pm in the ADELE GRAGE COMMUNITY CENTER or any other
designated site necessary. Any change in the regular meeting
day, time or place will be made know to the Board members,
in advance.
ARTICLE VI
AMENDMENTS TO Any changes, amendments, additions or delitions to these
BY-LAWS By-Laws can be made ONLY BY THE MAJORITY VOTE of the
full membership and incorporated into said By-Laws within
30 days of said changes.
APPROVED, ACCEPTED AND ADOPTED: MARCH 12, 1992