08-17-94 v . MINUTES OF THE ADVISORY RECREATION BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 17, 1994
The meeting was called to order by Chairman, Don Fagan at 7:35 pm. Present were:
Don Fagan, Cynthia Corey, Beth Robertson, Patricia Goelz, newest member, Jane
Tanner and P & R Director, Rose Blanchard. Henry Batts and Gary Santora were excused.
The minutes were read and Cynthia Corey moved, Beth Robertson seconded, that the
minutes of the June 15 meeting be accepted as read. There had not been a July
meeting due to various vacation schedules of the members.
The Board called on Jane Tanner, who gave a brief bio of her interests and why
she would like to serve on this Board, all of which the Board was very pleased with.
She was warmly welcomed by all.
The next order of business was the request of BeeJay Lester, City Animal Control
Officer, for a dog run. There are many dog owners who are unable to "run" their
dogs (Apartment dwellers, for example) and they had approached Ms.Lester previously.
Her request is attached. The Board felt they would like to get some feed back from
the public. Cynthia Corey will try to get a brief survey form in_ the TIDE VIEWS
newsletter for Sept. delivery. From that, the Baord will persue the idea. A suggestion
was made that perhaps local Vetrenarians and/or Pet Shops would off set the cost of
a fence and gate, by donations. The Board will re-visit this project as soon as they
have input from the citizens.
The next item on the agenda was to discuss the formulation of a Nominating Committee
for the two vacancies upcoming. The Board decided, instead, to submit the following
recommendations to the City Commission at the Sept. 12, 1994 regular Commission meeting,
with the suggestion that they consider appointing 2 new members by the Sept. 26th
meeting, so as to provide continuity to the Board by having a full 7 member Board
working on Oct. 1, 1994. The following are the recommendations of the Advisory
Recreation Board:
BARBARA HOPSON, as a Senior Citizen representative. She indicated she
would be happy to accept, if so appointed.
A MALE representative from the Donner/Jordan neighborhood. (We specify male
because we will loose 2 male members, retain ONE male, before re-appointments.
A TEEN (senior H.S. or College Student)
These specific recommendations would round out the Board and permit a more complete
representation of the citizenry of Atlantic Beach. Only TWO vacanies are available
as of Sept. 30, 1994.
The Board decided that they wanted to formulate a set of by-laws with which to work.
They will, individually, work on ideas, and then come together at the next regular
meeting of the Board to formulate a set of by-laws.
The meeting was opened, at this time, to Members Comments.
Don Fagan, as outgoing Chairman and Senior member, urged the Board to keep
plugging and being an active Board. He urged that the members look at some activities
ON the Beach, our #1 recreational asset. He expressed his pleasure regarding the
fact that this Board has accomplished all of the goals set by the Board about 5 years
ago, and will hopefully continue to do so.
Jane Tanner, felt that a thorough "Orientation" for new members would be
extremely helpful. The Board decided that as soon as a 7 member Board had been appointed,
they would set aside a Saturday and do just that, to fill in any blanks for the new
members.
The Board approved the request of Joyce Freeman to use the P & R Tent on Sept. 3, 1994
while they distribute clothes to the neighborhood residents in the Jordan Park area.
They also approved the use of 4 Tennis Courts approximately 4 times beginning in
Sept. for a Women's Doubles Tournament, as they have played in the past 2 years.
The Courts will be used on Tues. from 9 am to Noon, BUT NOT EVERY WEEK. This request
comes from a resident of the City of Atlantic Beach.
There being no further business to come before this Board, Beth Robertson moved and
Cynthia Corey seconded, that we adjourn. The time was 9 pm.
•
a A iL;\'T I C BEACH POLICE DEPARI7 CAT
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
TO: Recreation Committee
FR M: BeeJay, Animal Control
SUBJECT: Encloseddog run on city property
DATE: 8/17/94
COY: Rose Blanchard; Chief Thompson
As background on the above, a couple of years ago (1991) I was conversing with
a Swedish vet technician who was an Atlantic Beach resident (now married and
living in Jax) . We were discussing dog problems in both countries and she in-
formed me that in Sweden the "state" provides free dog exercise runs in their
parks.
The city erects them and maintains them. The size is usually larger than a tennis
court, comes in different shapes (oval, long, etc.), no tops but the enclosure is
six feet high with a walk-in gate. There are three garbage cans inside, a pooper
scooper is provided, and the dog owner can be fined if the poop is not cleaned up.
Their surface is either concreteor grass. They are used frequently, year-round.
In Sweden there are a lot of apartments and no place for dogs to exercise. Also,
there is no rabies virus in Sweden.
Hereby I am requesting your consideration to have such a facility on city property
in the most available location with the following stipulations:
SIZE: tennis court length but half the width with 6-foot chain link fence.
3-foot walk in gate with lock.
• SURFACE: grass or red clay
SIGNUP: Get key from designated person/place (police dispatcher? or someone
on recreation committee? ), sign in with name, address, phone, dog tag #.
FEE: None, but must have Atlantic Beach dog tag with uptodate rabies vaccination
CLEANUP: Garbage can with lid and plastic bags/cups provided for cleanup of feces
LIGHT: One light for night use that can either be switched on and off or have a
coin-operated meter for 25(t per hour.
AMENITIES: One wooden bench, one water spigot, one small shelter
REASONS FOR THIS FACILITY:
1. Elderly and handicapped would have a way to exercise their dogs easily and
safely.
2. Parks are for people and their pets, as well as for their kids.
3._ Many_apartment dwellers in Atlantic Beach who have no place to let their dog
exercise unleashed.
4. Very low maintenance facility and low construction costs except for fence.
5. Innovative idea - this city would be the first to have such and could set
a precedent for other cities.
Your consideration is greatly appreciated plus any other ideas to supplement the
above proposal. Thanks.
P.S. REVENUE COULD COME FROM DOG TAGS AND FROM THE PET REDEMPTION FEES