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1 12_19_2019 Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Advisory Board HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BOCC Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Advisory Board Thursday, December 19, 2019 PRESENT: Anthony Sanchez Jack Berlin Nathan Gennara Roland Guidry Jr. Aaron Casteel Harold Jackson STAFF: Rick Valdez Forest Turbiville Adrienne Rouse Ross Dickerson Brad Reinhart Greg Brown Sign in sheet available upon request. I. WELCOME/CALL TO ORDER a. This meeting was called to order at 12:06 p.m. by Anthony Sanchez II. PUBLIC COMMENTS a. Paul Rosenbloom spoke about his efforts to grant public access to FishHawk Sports Complex. Highlights include: i. Examples of his attempts to utilize fields at the facility and interactions between himself and FishHawk Youth Sports Association (FYSA) staff. ii. Utilizing the system, county leadership, and the Board to address his concerns on behalf of the taxpayers. iii. His belief that adequate guidance already exists in the administrative documents but may be further clarified with minor adjustments. iv. His concern with how FYSA executes these documents. v. His desire for taxpayers to be permitted to use vacant fields without fear of intimidation. b. Scott Powers responded by stating that they enforce county rules and have made fields accessible to the public. He stated that Mr. Rosenbloom is attempting to use fields not designated for public access. His recommendation is for Parks and Recreation staff to handle this issue. c. Bill Barrett gave examples of how field access is being handled at other facilities. He stated that he shares concerns about public access to fields and emphasized that this issue exists county-wide. d. Discussion ensued between the Board, staff, Paul Rosenbloom, and Scott Powers regarding these experiences at FishHawk. Highlights include: i. FishHawk has put signs on several fields and they are identified on the website. ii. Fields designated for public access often have scheduled programming. iii. The Parks and Recreation department is exploring opportunities to improve green space at neighborhood parks as an alternative location for citizens seeking a place for causal sports. 2 12_19_2019 Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Advisory Board iv. Members of the public cannot share fields with league participants, regardless of how much space is available on that field. e. Aaron Casteel enquired how FYSA would help someone like Paul Rosenbloom find an open field. Scott Powers stated that they submit their schedules to the county, but they keep it private from the public due to rain outs, game cancellations, etc. f. Jack Berlin requested that everyone agree to be civil and that a consideration be made for publicly posting the schedule with the understanding that it is subject to change. Anthony Sanchez requested that staff work with FYSA to see if they can get a schedule posted and find designated field times, subject to change. Rick Valdez stated that the goal is to have all league schedules posted on the county website. g. Suzanne Casteel explained how Pinecrest handles their schedule to assist with public access. h. Bill Barrett made the following comments: i. He cited county ordinance 38-24, which deals with prohibited activities. He stated that by telling a citizen to play soccer at a neighborhood park, you are telling them to violate a county ordinance, so either the ordinance must change or we cannot tell citizens to do so. ii. He stated that the Board previously voted to include an opt-out for the new field maintenance program in the Field Use Agreement (FUA) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), but it is not currently in the document. iii. He stated that partnership agreements were discussed in a previous meeting and that the Board wanted to abstain from making a vote until they could see a proposal. He stated that the Parks Director has not sat down with potential partners, and that these partners have been unable to bring this document forward. i. Scott Levinson addressed the Board enquiring if they met individually with the consultant for the FUA. He also enquired if league representatives were present at these meetings, or if they were aware of any meetings which took place between the advisor and league representatives. Greg Brown summarized the goals for the advisor and the process that was followed for the meetings. III. PRESENTATIONS a. Friends of County Parks has provided lunch for us today- Thank you! b. Welcome c. Sports Facility Advisor (SFA) Update i. Jack Berlin spoke about the need to standardize how fields are utilized across the county with an agreement that is fair for everyone. The consultant was brought in to assist with county-wide standardization versus to meet with leagues individually. ii. Greg Brown spoke about the intended outcomes of utilizing the SFA. The FUA and SOP are currently in legal review. Feedback from previous meetings was shared. 3 12_19_2019 Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Advisory Board iii. Discussion ensued between Board and staff. Highlights include: Number of leagues that have expressed interested in new field maintenance program exemption. The FUA is still undergoing changes and is in legal review. There is an upcoming Town Hall Meeting in January. Cost recovery and lunch letter programs. d. Staff Recommendations for Accommodating Public Access at Athletics Complexes i. Discussion ensued between Scott Powers, Rick Valdez, and members of the Board regarding new field maintenance program exemptions. These are still being written. Motion: Jack Berlin made a motion authorizing the Chair to send a note to the Commissioners informing them of the current FUA status and requesting more time to review a more complete document. The motion was seconded by Roland Guidry Jr. The motion was passed with no opposing members. e. Defibrillators in Parks i. Rick Valdez stated that the department is inspecting existing Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). Next, the department will ensure each park has at least one and then determine which parks require additional units. ii. Discussion ensued between members of the Board and members of the public. Highlights include: How AEDs are handled and stored by leagues at large facilities, such as FishHawk Sports Complex and Skyway Sports Complex. The AED requirements, as defined by Risk Management AED training f. Bakas Equestrian Center Update and Appraisal i. Forest Turbiville spoke with the director of procurement. A letter will be sent to Mr. Pepin requesting a proposal by January 31, 2020. g. CELM Section Manager Update i. Forest Turbiville introduced Brad Reinert, new section manager. h. 2020 Meeting Dates Motion: Jack Berlin motioned to accept the 2020 Meeting Dates. The motion was seconded by Aaron Casteel. The motion passed with no opposing members. ACTION ITEM: Add this item to November 12, 2020 Agenda i. Open Board Position; any feedback or suggestions? i. No update 4 12_19_2019 Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Advisory Board IV. BOARD ACTION a. Approve minutes from the November 14, 2019 meeting Motion: Jack Berlin made a motion to approve the November 14, 2019 meeting minutes with amendments and the motion was seconded by Aaron Casteel. The motion was passed with no opposing members. ACTION ITEM: Remove “Sunday” from the second bullet under public comments. b. Church Service Request: Center for Restoration Ministry Motion: Jack Berlin made a motion to approve the Church Service Request submitted by the Center for Restoration Ministry. The motion was seconded by Nathan Gennara. The motion was passed with no opposing members. V. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS a. Jack Berlin addressed Scott Powers regarding an email sent to the County Commissioners. Anthony Sanchez summarized a portion of the email for meeting attendees, which included inappropriate comments about Parks and Recreation Staff. Scott Powers apologized for these comments. b. Discussion ensued between members of the Board and Suzanne Casteel regarding inspections, standards, and cost recovery for leagues interested in field maintenance exemptions under the new FUA. VI. ACTIVITIES a. None presented. VII. ADJOURNMENT a. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:29 p.m.
