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HomeMy WebLinkAbout23 09 PRB Minutes MINUTES SEPTEMBER 6, 2023 6:30PM IN PERSON, REC CENTER TYPE OF MEETING Parks and Recreation Board Monthly Meeting CHAIR Will Bertron SECRETARY Evan Mintz ATTENDEES Members Present: Will Bertron, Richard Cunningham, Amar Patel, Evan Mintz, Stephen Damiani, Lulu Lopez, Laura Turley, Arlene Wells, Brett Bingham, Manish Agrawal Staff: Susan White Council Liaison: John Montgomery VISITORS Additional Attendees: Alida Drewes and Dave Beach I. Call to Order: Will Bertron called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. II. Citizen Comments: Alida Drewes: She noted that senior fees haven’t been reduced and that West U isn’t doing enough for seniors, and overall that the city isn’t doing enough to provide detailed information about city meetings and activities. III. Meeting Minutes: Minutes for the June PRB meeting were approved unanimously. IV. Council Update: John Montgomery, Mayor Pro Tem CM Montgomery thanked the board for staying on for an extended period due to the low number of applications over the summer. He said that there is discussion about shifting the application process so that it starts after the summer, when people have returned from vacations. The Edloe walking path is making progress, but slower than expected because the temperatures are too high for the paving material to properly set. A CenterPoint pole is going to be moved in the future. The council is meeting to discuss the city budget. There will be a special meeting on the 18th on the topic. The maximum potential tax rate was set based on property values, as state law limits how much tax revenue the city can raise. The rate has gone down, but an individual’s property tax bill will likely go up because of increases to assessed home value. Nevertheless, we have one of the lowest tax rates in the area. At the same time, the city is facing staffing challenges – especially for police and fire – and the city is engaging in a staff compensation study. West U is one-third of one percent of the Harris County population, but is one percent of assessed property value. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 2 State preemption of local rulemaking – the “Death Star” -- law has made it difficult for West U to pass the unique laws and structure that has made the city a success, including prohibitions on short-term rentals and keeping of certain animals. V. Friends Update: Sami Morrison, Friends Board Chair Susan White spoke for Sami, who was not at the meeting. Registration for Fathers and Flashlights begins on Sept. 11. Park Lovers Ball planning has started, which will be at the Post Oak hotel in February. VI. Wier Park Concept Updates: Will Bertron, Chair Next Wednesday the Friends board has their monthly meeting and will discuss supporting the design development, construction documents, the bid process, and construction management. VII. Parks and Recreation Update: Susan White, Parks and Recreation Director Edloe Pathway Project: The city has done a walkthrough. There are some issues with irrigation on the new turf given the ongoing drought. New crosswalks are being planned. Questions were raised by the board about lowering the speed limit along Edloe. Questions were raised about project cost: The construction costs around $670k. Questions were raised about padding the powerline poles because of kids on bikes: One of the poles is being moved. But the path was not intended for bikes. It was noted that the state preemption law prevents West U from passing our own traffic and safety laws. 2024 Budget Process – Rental Fees, Colonial Wooden Deck (Byron): The city found that our fees are slightly below our peers. Recreation Center Hours of Operation: We are stretched in terms of staff and will need to start opening later on some days. The city is also looking at closing the Rec Center earlier on weekends. (Worth noting that 110% proposed consideration of opening the Rec Center at 530am instead of 5am.) The city needs somebody to work the front desk jobs in the morning and mid-shift. The Rec Center had to close in order to keep the Colonial Pool open due to staffing shortage! There have been questions about keeping Colonial open later in the year, but it really is a question of staffing. Questions were asked about using technology in lieu of staff – including computer or card-scan log-ins for admission to facilities. However, the city is subject to strict regulations on lifeguards. Questions were asked about having local volunteers or hourly workers, especially among retirees, to fill some labor gaps. It was noted that the city once relied on volunteers for senior services and the city ended up hiring staff to ensure reliable labor. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 3 Questions were asked about providing health care for part-time workers in order to help with recruiting. Park updates: The Water Oak in front of Colonial will have to be taken down because it is dying. The Colonial deck is in poor condition and the replacement was originally planned for 2024 but it needs to be fixed before then. Some rentals have been relocated due to disrepair. The city is making changes to how it evaluates the decks to ensure it never got to this condition in the first place. The City Centennial will be held on May 4th, 2024, and a founders day event in January during which the city will open a time capsule from 25 years ago. The city is looking for sponsors. VIII. Park Ambassador Reports & Remarks - Colonial Park: Amar Patel (east) not much to report, the play area looks nice; Evan Mintz (west) We’ve covered problems with conditions on the deck; Stephen Damiani (pool) It is awesome and the slide is great. - Friends Park: Sami Morrison – - Huffington Park: Brett Bingham – Somebody was smoking marijuana in the park! He wasn’t bothering anyone, but they shouldn’t be doing that in the park. People in the neighborhood have called the police on him. - Jennie Hughes Park: Laura Turley – Saw some kids playing with pop-rockets, and that’s great! The water features are out again. - Judson Park: Richard Cunningham – Everything looks nice, but there is still a problem with one of the gates not catching. - Recreation Center: Manish Agrawal – No issues - Whitt Johnson Park: Arlene Wells – Looks ok - Wier Park: Lulu Lopez – It is sad when school starts and usage drops off. XI. Order of Business Old business: New business: Richard is working on a book about West U. There is no photo of the city’s first mayor at City Hall, but we found a photo of him. XII. Adjournment Motion to Adjourn – 7:53 pm.