RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
MINUTES
April 29, 2015
Pop Austin Recreation Center
12:00 noon
Members Present: Willie Dickerson, Carl Brown, Mike Peacock, Andre Dye,
Irene Pate, Derrick Greene
Members Absent: Tracy Belt, Bob, Johnson, Vanessa Jackson
City Staff Present: James Worsley, Holli Browder, Tommy Groce, Shelley
Stephens,
Millie Del Toro
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Irene Pate at 12:13pm
Roll was taken.
The Board had a quorum at the meeting today and therefore the minutes of the
previous
meetings were able to be approved. A motion was made by Carl Brown to approve
and Mike
Peacock seconded the motion to approve all of the minutes
Director/Staff Update
James thanked Therapeutic Supervisor Melissa Crawford for hosting our meeting
in her building this month. Melissa gave an overview of upcoming programs and
activities that Therapeutics was currently involved in. Encouraged the board to
come out and join their group anytime they have activities or events going on.
Tommy Groce: (Park Services Division Manager): Tommy stated that his division
is currently in the middle of special events for spring and summer. He also
stated that this coming weekend he has a tournament in town at South Commons
and was hopeful they could play and it wouldn?t rain. He also said the leagues
were behind in the schedules due to the rainy weather we have had and that
everyone was trying to catch up.
Shelley Stephens: (Community Schools Supervisor): Community Schools will be
participating in the Ledger-Enquirer?s Get-Fit Expo on May 2 at the Civic
Center.
Millie Del-Toro: (Community Schools Supervisor): We are currently registering
for summer camps Tillis has 101 registered, Psalmond Road is full, 29th Street
has 18 registered, and Shirley Winston is closed. Summer camp will begin on
Tuesday, May 26, 2015.
Holli Browder: (Assistant Director): Holli discussed the outdoor pools are
currently under renovation and coming along well. She explained that the
department had concerns regarding the pools and that a pool study had been done
and now those areas were being addressed thanks to funding approved by Council.
New water features, pumps and leak repairs were being address. Holli also
talked about the Columbus Aquatic Center and that the transition was going well
with the department and that we had begun operating the facility on April 28.
James Worsley: (Director): James stated that the budget is a length process
and that the department would have roughly the same budget as last year. As a
department we are focusing on critical needs at this time and had asked to
include 28 lawn mowers for $225,000 as well as some repairs for the Riverwalk
bathrooms for $66,400 and surveillance systems at the recreation centers for
$159,000. James also stated that there had been no capital improvement funds
since he has been the director of the department. July 1, 2016 will begin the
new budget year. James emphasized that we are telling our story that our
department has a direct impact on the quality of life for citizens that affects
the economic impact to the city.
Updates from the Board:
Irene Pate: Reminder of the Spring Sale this weekend at Britt David Studios
Friday 6pm-8pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Britt David also getting ready for the
summer schedule to begin.
Mike Peacock: Mike is the VP at Northern Little League at Psalmond Road. They
now have a new scoreboard on the t-ball field w/scorers building to use for
other programs such as softball. The t-ball field is the second field closest
to the recreation center that they are trying to get lights and possibly
bleachers on in the future.
Parking at Northern Little League: Mike stated that he had called the
non-emergency CPD about the parking. This was the second time he has called.
This time he asked that an officer come out and ride through the parking lot
because he was concerned about the visibility of people walking through the
parking lot and getting hit by a car. Mike had to leave before the officer
arrived on scene however the league president Earnie was there and met with the
officer. The officer asked Earnie ?what do you want me to do?? after he rode
through the parking lot and looked at the cars that were illegally parked.
Earnie told him to write tickets to the people who were illegally parked. The
CPD officer told him he wasn?t writing people a ticket for that.
Andre Dye: Andre was unable to attend the last meeting. He recently witnessed
the seniors exercising at Shirley Winston Park and how awesome it was to see so
many people involved at that facility. He also thanked Tommy and his staff for
the job they do of cutting the grass and he understood how hard that could be
sometimes with the weather and rain. He also stated that Carver Park was being
well used as he saw lots of people out in the park using the various areas.
Derrick Greene: Derrick stated that the Easter Egg Hunt went well. He thanked
the department for the great job that was done by the department for the
decorations, staffing, and wristbands on kids. He said it was a great safe
event and everyone had a great time.
Derrick is planning a Back to School event at Shirley Winston Park on July 19
and IHeartradio will be giving out personal hygiene packages to children and
they are partnering with Amerigroup to provide chips and drinks as well as
bounce house for the kids to enjoy.
Carl Brown: Did the department know about the kids sneaking in Golden Park?
Tommy replied yes and that we have been working with CPD on this.
Willie Dickerson: Nothing to report.
With no further discussion, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Carl
Brown and seconded by Mike Peacock.
Our next meeting will be May 27th at Gallops Senior Center.
Meeting 1:06 pm.
Holli Browder
Assistant Director
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