2002-04-11 ** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1 JOINT UTILIZATION COMMITTEE
2 Minutes
3
4 April 11, 2002
5
6 Joint Utilization Committee Members Present: Greg Standerfer, City Council
7 Representative and JUC Chair; Bobby Rawls, Parks and Recreation Board
8 Representative; Bill Eden, CISD Board of Trustees Representative; and Wendi
9 Carlucci, City Council Appointed Citizen
10
11 Committee Members Absent: Jerry Lawrence, Vice -Chair and CISD Board of Trustees
12 Representative; John Rollins, CISD Appointed Citizen; and Tom Stephen, City Council
13 Representative
14
15 Guests: Brent Kline, representing CISD
16
17 Staff Members Present: Steve Polasek, Deputy Director of Community Services; Dr.
18 Derek Citty, CISD Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services and Steve
19 Moore, Recreation Supervisor
20
21 Agenda Item No. 1, Call to Order
22
23 Chair Greg Standerfer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
24
25 Agenda Item No. 2, Administrative Comments
26
27 Deputy Director of Community Services Steve Polasek provided the following:
28
29 Joint Recreation Center -- As discussed at the last JUC meeting, plans are moving
30 forward for a possible joint recreation center with the school district, the City and
31 the White Chapel United Methodist Church. The Exploratory Committee has met
32 and will bring more information to the Committee as needed.
33
34 Agenda Item No. 3, Consider: Approval of the minutes from the February 21, 2002
35 meeting
36
37 A motion was made to approve the minutes from the February 21, 2002 meeting.
38 Motion: Eden
39 Second: Carlucci
40 Ayes: Carlucci, Eden, Rawls, Standerfer
41 Nays: None
42 Abstention: None
43 Approved: 4 -0
44
45 Motion carried.
46
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 1 of 6
** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1 Agenda Item No. 4, Discussion: Aquatics Center CISD and City employee fee structure
2
3 CISD Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Derek Citty led the
4 discussion about the discounted fees offered to CISD and City employees at the Aquatics
5 Center.
6
7 Dr. Citty said he and Aquatics Center Director John McGough have received several
8 comments from citizens regarding the price cut that CISD and City staff are given beyond
9 what Southlake residents are given and asked JUC for guidance about whether it was
10 appropriate to offer a price break to City and CISD employees.
11
12 Dr. Citty commented that the community response to the aquatics programs offered by
13 the District and by the City has been better than he expected at this time; currently there
14 are hundreds of children signed up for the summer programs. He said the programs are
15 more successful than he anticipated saying that the "Water never sits still in the pool right
16 now!" He encouraged members to go by the Center and see how popular the programs
17 are.
18
19 Mr. Eden expressed an interest in knowing how much money the Center was making. Dr.
20 Citty said he did not have exact figures at this time, but that as of a few weeks ago it
21 looked like the Center was operating at about $50,000 ahead of what they had projected.
22 Dr. Citty said the impact that the fees collected from CISD and City employees was
23 minimal (estimated at less than 2% of the total revenue) on the budget. An assessment of
24 the fees, etc. could be done after one full year of operation.
25
26 Mr. Polasek said that the Center will show a large increase in the number of summer
27 passes and free swim tickets purchased during the upcoming months.
28
29 Mr. Standerfer commented that he was in favor of offering the discounts to CISD and
30 City employees as a benefit to them as those fees were a very small percentage of the
31 overall revenue received by the Center.
32
33 Mr. Rawls expressed his views about the discount and also favored offering the CISD
34 employees a price break to use the Center.
35
36 Mr. Polasek said from an administrative standpoint, the City's rationale behind the fee
37 structure was that "a healthy workforce is a better workforce" and compared the price cut
38 offered to City and CISD employees to corporations that offer fitness centers, etc. to their
39 employees.
40
41 As a whole, the Committee members present supported offering the discounted fees to
42 City and CISD staff.
43
44 Agenda Item No. 5, Discussion: Joint Use of CISD fields for Southlake Carroll Lacrosse
45 Association
46
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 2 of 6
** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1 Mr. Polasek led the discussion and provided background information about the growth of
2 the Southlake Carroll Lacrosse Association. Membership has grown from 50 participants
3 last year to over 200 members this year and they are projecting membership of 450 next
4 year. Lights have been installed on the Carroll Intermediate School (CIS) field, which the
5 Lacrosse Association is currently using. In addition to the CIS field, the Association is
6 using fields at the Southlake Softball Complex for practice, which will soon undergo
7 reconstruction and will not be available. Lacrosse teams also share use of the Dragon
8 Stadium.
9
10 The Lacrosse Association has a need for more practice fields and has made a request to
11 the City for more lighted fields, however, the City does not have any fields available.
12 This item is 011 the agenda to present Lacrosse's request to the CISD for the possibility of
13 using CISD facilities that may be available.
14
15 Mr. Rawls petitioned the CISD members to explore the possibility of the Lacrosse
16 Association using the fields at Dawson Middle School on South Kimball Avenue or the
17 junior high school for play and noted he was not sure whether lights could be used at
18 those locations. He said due to their phenomenal growth, they are "a victim of their own
19 success" and were in serious need of more lighted practice fields twice a week for an
20 hour and a half. He said the Lacrosse Association is willing to pay for the electricity for
21 the field. Mr. Rawls stressed that the Association is a new sport and that they need City
22 and CISD help.
23
24 Mr. Standerfer asked when the soccer fields at Bob Jones Park would be lit. Mr. Polasek
25 responded the southern fields were now lighted. He said at this stage of Bob Jones Park
26 development, there was not room for a lacrosse field; presently there are ball fields on the
27 southern end, soccer in the middle and equestrians on the north along White Chapel
28 Boulevard. He said the only way a lacrosse field could be accommodated would be to
29 place it more into the interior of the Park, toward the Corps property, or possibly on the
30 Corps property. Mr. Polasek said that the Corps property is classified as environmentally
31 sensitive and could not be developed for playing fields.
32
33 Ms. Carlucci expressed concerns she had with providing a short-term solution for the
34 Lacrosse Association and whether they would ever "see the light at the end of the tunnel"
35 and have their own fields or if they would be moved from place to place.
36
37 The land that the City purchased from Ralph Evans at Bicentennial Park is one area to
38 consider as a long -term solution, however, it is still a few years away from being
39 developed. The City Park Master Plan calls for another City community park (25 -45
40 acres) to be developed, which could house additional game and practice facilities for not
41 only lacrosse, but also soccer and baseball.
42
43 Dr. Citty said the CISD had some spaces available, but with Chapter 41 (Robin Hood)
44 coming along, there would need to be some type of agreement similar to the one executed
45 for the CIS field. He said he would take the Lacrosse request to the CISD trustees to
46 receive feedback.
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 3 of 6
** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1
2 It was mentioned that a soccer field is available at Durham Elementary, but that some
3 elevation improvements were needed to the field in order for it to be used.
4
5 Mr. Polasek answered Mr. Standerfer's questions about whether the Lacrosse teams were
6 city- sponsored, if the city contributed to facilities for other sports associations and if the
7 city currently contributed to lacrosse facilities.
8
9 Mr. Rawls said that lacrosse was a great opportunity for area youth that are not able to
10 participate in high school sports and the sport is growing in its popularity by leaps and
11 bounds. Some kids have had to be turned away because there was no place to practice.
12
13 Dr. Citty asked Mr. Rawls if a third field would meet the Lacrosse needs to which he
14 responded that it would certainly help. Dr. Citty said he would meet with John Craft,
15 Assistant Superintendent for Financial and Business Operations, tomorrow to see what
16 could be arranged for an additional field and would get back to the City so that Mr. Rawls
17 could advise Kelly Riley, Lacrosse Association president, of the CISD decision.
18
19 Members talked about the possibility of developing the City's 25 -acre property tract
20 designated as the north side DPS facility at Dove and Ridgecrest into a lighted sports
21 complex.
22
23 Agenda Item No. 6, Discussion: Special Olympics Update
24
25 Steve Moore, recreation supervisor, provided a very brief update to the JUC. Mr. Moore
26 said to jointly host a Special Olympics event would require a big commitment on the part
27 of the City and the CISD. He and Missy Fisher, recreation specialist, are involved now in
28 the planning stage and emphasized it would take 3 -5 years of developing and organizing
29 to host such an event. An Olympic planning committee will be organized, spear- headed
30 by Ms. Fisher, to begin making contacts and investigations into event requirements,
31 sponsorships, etc. Ms. Fisher will attend the Special Olympics events at UTA this
32 summer as an observer to determine what Southlake needs to host an event. Staff will
33 continue working to develop this project and will report periodically to the JUC.
34
35 Agenda Item No. 7, Discussion: CISD Project Update
36
37 Brent Kline said preliminary discussions have begun on the possibility of constructing a
38 joint recreation facility as discussed at the last Joint Utilization Committee meeting.
39
40 Ms. Carlucci noted that she and Vickie Glover will be tagging dead trees at the school
41 sites next week to aid the landscapers in replacing them.
42
43 CISD hired a head aquatics club coach from New Mexico this past week. He will begin
44 work at the Aquatics Center on June 1, 2002. More information will be provided later.
45
46
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 4 of 6
** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1
2
3 Agenda Item No. 8, Discussion: City Project Update
4
5 A copy of the City Project Update was not produced for this packet as the City's senior
6 civil engineer, Mike Hutchinson, has left the city for a job in the private sector. An
7 update will be included in the next JUC packet.
8
9 Bob Jones Park Reconstruction -- Discussions continue with the bonding
10 company for the Bob Jones Park concession/restroom restorations. The project
11 should start up and continue soon according to Mr. Polasek. He said there were
12 still issues to resolved, but that the bonding company was moving forward.
13
14 Liberty Garden — Ms. Carlucci updated Committee members about the Liberty
15 Garden project at Bicentennial Park. It is proceeding nicely and is a good
16 cooperative effort by the Parks and Recreation Department, the citizens of
17 Southlake, American Airline flight attendants, the Southlake Garden Club, and
18 Keep Southlake Beautiful according to Ms. Carlucci.
19
20 Ms. Carlucci said the garden was recognized nationally by Keep America
21 Beautiful and will be featured in their publication.
22
23 Agenda Item No. 9, Discussion: Future Joint Use Facilities, Projects and Goals
24
25 Open Tennis Courts at the CISD Junior High School — Mr. Rawls announced that
26 the City had awarded the contract for operation and management of the Tennis
27 Center to Stephen and Mia Poorman. He explained that the Park Board had
28 recently voted to approve the provision in the agreement granting the Poormans
29 exclusive use of the two tennis courts on the hill in Bicentennial Park, Monday -
30 Friday, 8:00 a.m. — 12:00 noon and that there would be two tennis courts ( #3 and
31 #9) available for the general public to use for open play at the Tennis Center at all
32 times. During the Park Board's consideration of the item, some citizens did not
33 favor this provision and felt there would not be adequate open tennis courts for
34 the general public. Mr. Rawls told JUC members that at the Park Board meeting,
35 the question was raised whether the CISD could open up the tennis courts at the
36 junior high school for general public use. Dr. Citty, John Craft and Steve Polasek
37 will discuss the possibility of using the junior high school tennis courts at their
38 next meeting.
39
40 Mr. Standerfer commended the committee members saying they were doing a great job!
41
42 Agenda Item No. 10, Adjournment
43
44 A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 6:55 p.m.
45
46 Motion: Rawls
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 5 of 6
** *Official Minutes * **
Approved by Joint Utilization Committee August 8, 2002
1 Second: Carlucci
2 Ayes: Carlucci, Eden, Rawls, and Standerfer
3 Nays: None
4 Abstention: None
5 Approved: 4 -0
6
7 Motion carried.
8
9
11 411
12 Greg Standerfer, Chair OW
13
14 Attest:
17 Sieve Pola , Deputy Director of Community Services
18
19
April 11, 2002 JUC Meeting Page 6 of 6