05-17-90 v . MINUTES OF THE RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING OF MAY 17, 1990 7:30 pm
Chairman Fagan called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm. Present were, Chairman,
Donald Fagan, David Turner, Richard Riley, Henry Batts and Rose Blanchard. None
of the absent members were excused in that none of them called to advise that they
would not be able to attend.
In the item discussing the last meeting, all were very impressed by the Staff of
DNR and the input of the City Commission and Mayor.
The discussion continued, touching on some of the items that came before the groups
at the last meeting, such as:
User fees for the Athletic Associations use of fields and electric power in the
Concession stand, the lights at the Tennis Courts, parking lot, and of course,
the daily use in the Modular. The bill for consumption in April is not in yet,
and that and the one for May will show us how much we are paying with all systems
on. Most of the lights are going every day, some more than others. Mr. Fagan asked
the Board to think of ways to implement user fees and how they will be charged.
All our facilities are free and seem to be the only such free facilities in the
general area, at least with a 5 mile radius on all sides (North, South, East &
West) . The increase in cost to us, will justify the implementation of user fees.
We have the only racquetball courts in the area, and added to the Tennis Courts,
Little League fields, etc. we provide free services to all who pass through. All
members agreed this means the taxpayers of the City of Atlantic Beach are paying
for anyone who wishes to use our facilities, taxpayer or not! Too generous, say
the Board!
The next item was the Gazebo and the feeling is that we cannot even consider
this item until after the new City Hall is occupied and the parking provisions have
been met. Therefore, the idea is to rent a Recreation Trailer from the City of
Jacksonville for the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Dec. (6th) or see them
for staging materials they use for concerts, etc. The item was clarified as not
just a once a year event and that a Gazebo would not be as effective as a Band
Shell. Again, the plan was to try to secure either the Recreation Trailer or the
staging materials used in the Coliseum.
The Senior Center was then discussed and Rose mentioned that the concept
would have to wait until it can be determined if we can use Bed Tax monies for
this project. The Tennis Court could be converted to a Shuffleboard Court, add
Tennis Courts and other Adult Activites in Russell Park, design Donner Park as
the "all ball fields" Park as we had planned for Section H. Using the free service
from DNR would be ideal. The feeling also surfaced that if we did something along
these lines in Donner, it WOULD spark more interest there. The Board was given the
update on the property acquisitions in Donner. After all property has been purchased,
this Board should recommend to the City Commission that all unused monies should be
used to professionally clear the necessary properties. Once that is done, DNR would
be able to come down, look over the whole picture and let us know if we can go ahead
with our thoughts in each of the Parks concerned. The reason for using professional
people to clear the property is that the City has neither the equipment nor the
manpower to do so. The Board requested that Rose get estimates on the clearings
by the next meeting and also provide each member a copy of the FY Budget for 1989-90.
In a brief discussion of a possible Parks Logo for stationary etc, Richard Riley
offered the services of a friend of his who may suggest a few ideas. We will wait
for him to get back to us. The Board expressed a desire to attend some budget
workshops and Rose said she would inform them of when these meetings were to take
place. Briefly touching on the Summer Program here and the Calendar or Events for
the next year, there being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm.