The Parks and Recreation Commission convened on February 19, 2025, at 12:30 PM to hear public comments, receive a superintendent report on facility updates and upcoming events, and consider improvements to the Rotary Park RC track. The commission unanimously approved the previous meeting minutes and voted to recommend the RC track improvements to city council. A public comment about a dog off-leash area was taken under advisement for a future agenda.
Welcome. Welcome everyone to the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Your interest in the business of the commission is appreciated. If you wish to speak on an agenda item, please come forward when the chairperson opens the floor for public input on that item. Next on the agenda, we're gonna call to order. Thank you. Next we will have the Pledge of Allegiance. Oh, we have a call to the public. Go ahead. So she was kind of hoping and wondering if there is a way to have an area along the river there and the sandbar where the dogs can get down there, play, have fun on everything without fear of uh animal control come along giving citations. So other than that, you guys are doing a fantastic job. Parts look great. Thank you very much. Thanks. Do we have any comments from the commission about that? About the board. Um I do. I just want to say um is there a Madam Vice Chair? Uh Madam, if I just may interrupt. Yes. Um, we're not permitted to to actually respond to that, but if you wanted to bring up uh a discussion about maybe putting it on an agenda, there's an opportunity for you to discuss that at the end of the meeting today if you want to put it on an agenda. Okay, yes. Thank you, attorney umerie. We'll definitely put that on the agenda to discuss. Okay. Anyone else? Okay, now we're moving on to our parks and recreation superintendent report. So we were waiting for thank you, madam vice chair. Um, my report today is gonna be rather brief. Um I'd like to start with the projects that we have to update. We have opened up much of the first phase at the optimum community center. This includes the gymnasium, the multi-purpose room, and our office. Uh, this has allowed us to begin offering such programs as the Vita free tax service. I encourage anybody that's interested in getting their taxes done for free to come to the community center 8 a.m. till nine, or excuse me, till one p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at the community center. Um we also are doing basketball now, that's happening this very moment, and uh gymnastics. And uh furthermore, we're allowed to uh we've we've had Veterans in Motion, Positive Pause, and Saint uh get back to business in their rooms. Uh they're not completely settled. Uh Saints still has one more move that they'll have to make after we get done refurbishing a room, but uh they're up there and uh they're welcoming clients right now. So we will have a grand opening event at the end of March. Uh other new facilities that will have a ribbon cutting or grand opening event soon include the Senior Enrichment Center, March 4th, the UTV trailhead at the parkway in Silver Creek, March 18th, and Gary Keith Park, April 11th and 12th. There will be more details uh forthcoming in future press releases about times and and specifics about all of these uh ribbon cuttings and grand openings. We have several upcoming events happening in our parks. I'd like to let you know about. Uh February uh 18th through the 23rd. Actually, it's changed to the 21st through the 23rd. We have the AFA Bash for Bats Adult Softball Tournament that's gonna be at all fields at Rotary and Ken Fovard Park Ball Diamonds. Uh so this weekend you can expect to see uh about 70 teams in town uh for that softball tournament. It's it's always a big one.