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1 DRAFT MINUTES City of Glendale Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting Glendale Adult Center 5970 W. Brown St. Glendale, Arizona 85302 Monday, October 10, 2022 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Reginald Martinez, Jr., Vice-Chair Helena Johnson Bodine, Commissioner Kathryn Mawby, Commissioner Kathleen Roe, Commissioner Bud Zomok, Commissioner Joseph Jarrett Torres, Teen Commissioner ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Jim Burke, Director John Kennedy, Assistant Director Sean McGary, Interim Deputy Director/Civic Center Administrator Dean Kinnoin, Senior Recreation Coordinator Sam Chiovari, Parks Superintendent Briannon Mahr, Recreation Coordinator Diane Williams, Management Assistant 1. Call to Order Vice-Chair Martinez called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Vice-Chair Martinez conducted roll call. 3. Citizen Comments None. 4. Approval of the Minutes Motion by Commissioner Johnson Bodine, second by Commissioner Roe, to approve the September 12, 2022, Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting minutes as written. Motion carried 5 – 0. [Commissioner Jarrett Torres was not yet present.] 5. New Staff Introductions Mr. Kennedy introduced Mr. Sam Chiovari, the new Parks Superintendent, and shared a brief background of his work experience. Mr. Kinnoin introduced Ms. Briannon Mahr, the new Recreation Coordinator, and shared a brief background of her work experience. Mr. McGary announced that Mr. James Hannasch was recently hired as the new CIP Project Manager. Mr. McGary said that Mr. Hannasch was unable to attend tonight’s meeting and will attend an upcoming meeting to meet the Commission. 2 6. New Business a. Information: Commission Reports [Commissioner Jarrett Torres entered the meeting during the agenda item.] Commissioner Johnson Bodine announced she visited Utopia Park and explained it was a unique park since the HOA, Arrowhead Park Phase II, signed a contract with the City to maintain the landscaping at the park. She did not see anything wrong at the park and said it was a beautiful park. She indicated the park lost two light poles and staff from Glendale came out right away to remedy the issue. Vice-Chair Martinez reported that he attended the LiVE!@Murphy Park events for the first time and recommended it. He said it was very enjoyable and there was a nice crowd, a nice band, and food trucks. He attended the Latin Fusion Night and the Reggae Night and is planning to attend the upcoming Comedy Night. b. Action: Annual Chair and Vice-Chair Recommendations Mr. Burke announced the Commission needed to make recommendations for the Chair and Vice-Chair positions, for a one-year term to begin on February 1, 2023. The Government Services Committee Board and Commission Policy was provided to the Commissioners. Vice-Chair Martinez stated that he planned on continuing on the Commission and volunteered to serve as Chair. Motion by Commissioner Johnson Bodine, second by Commissioner Zomok, to recommend approval of Commissioner Reginald Martinez, Jr. for Chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission for a one-year term beginning February 1, 2023. Motion carried 6 – 0. Commissioner Johnson Bodine volunteered to serve as Vice-Chair. Motion by Vice-Chair Martinez, second by Commissioner Zomok, to recommend approval of Helena Johnson Bodine for Vice-Chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission for a one-year term beginning February 1, 2023. Motion carried 6 – 0. c. Information: Update on the Community Centers Mr. McGary gave an update on the City’s Community Centers, which included the following information: • O’Neil Park o Construction is underway o Anticipated date of completion: Middle of 2023 • Glendale Community Center o Start of construction: October 1, 2022 o Anticipated date of completion for construction of the façade: November 2022 o Anticipated date of completion for construction of the basketball court: Winter 2023 • Rose Lane Park Community Center o Start of construction: October 20, 2022 o Anticipated date of completion: Middle of 2023 Mr. King indicated optimism that the Community Centers would be open for summer camp and programs in 2023, with 72 hours of programming each week. He said staff will be ordering supplies and equipment for the buildings. 3 Mr. Burke gave a brief history of the operations at the Community Centers since 2008/2009. He explained that the timeframe for construction completion is based on the timing to bring fiber optics to the buildings, which will take place in late March 2023 or early April 2023. Commissioner Roe asked how late the Community Centers would be open at night. Mr. King relayed he did not have the exact hours at hand; however, estimated 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. in the evenings, plus weekend hours. He relayed there was a commitment to provide senior programming during the day. Commissioner Roe inquired if the after-school program would include meals. Mr. King replied in the positive and said that St. Mary’s Food Bank will continue to provide meals, as it has done in the past. Commissioner Mawby asked if there was a cost for the families to utilize the Community Centers. Mr. King anticipated there would be fee-based programming. He anticipated that after-school programming and summer camps would be free. d. Information: Awards Received from Arizona Parks and Recreation Association (APRA) Mr. King shared information on the awards that the City of Glendale received from the 2022 Annual APRA Conference, which included the following information: • 2022 Partnership Award o Recreation Staff was recognized for their efforts in collaborating with Televeda, a web-based portal that offers recreation programming. They created the Glendale Recreation Online Wellness Program (G.R.O.W.), which offers classes to the community online or in person at the Glendale Adult Center via Televeda. Classes are held virtually which expands the engagement with the community. • 2022 Outstanding Public Official Award o Vice Mayor Jamie Aldama was selected as the recipient of this award for his great support of the Public Facilities, Recreation and Special Events Department and the work done in the communities. o Vice Mayor Aldama has championed the re-opening of the Community Centers in Glendale to bring back city-managed programs, continued private funding of the Hook-A-Kid Fishing Clinic at Bonsall Park, and has been heavily involved in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan process by requesting the inclusion of a Disparity Report, to ensure equal access to recreation activities and park amenities to all areas of the City. The Disparity Report is now used as a guide for future programming across the City. Vice-Chair Martinez inquired about the types of classes on Televeda. Mr. King said the offerings can be limitless and include such programming as aerobics, crafts, tai chi, and a new offering of bingo. e. Information: Thunderbird Conservation Park Master Plan Update Mr. McGary gave an update on the Thunderbird Conservation Park Master Plan, which included the following information: • J2 Engineering was selected as the vendor to examine and refine the Master Plan. • J2 Engineering has been preparing a community survey, which is currently in draft form. He anticipated the survey will be out to the public in two weeks after final approval is received. He said the survey will be posted on the City’s website, social media, and other areas. Mr. McGary announced the Open House for the rollout will potentially be on December 7th or December 8th; however, these were very tentative dates. 4 Mr. Burke noted the first phase of this Master Plan update will be similar to the Plan update for Sahuaro Ranch Park, in that a conceptual design will initially be brought to the Commission and the public, and recommendations and potential revisions can be made. He said the Commission will then recommend a set of concepts to City Council for the final project. He indicated the planning phase should take approximately six months. 7. Staff Updates Mr. Kennedy shared information on the Fiesta Bowl Charities Project at O’Neil Park: • The project will include two new playgrounds, a new sport court, and new turf for the soccer field. • Preparation Day: Wednesday, November 16, 2022 • Build Day: Friday, November 18, 2022 • The playground company is Kaboom!. Staff is recruiting approximately 20 volunteers for Site Preparation Day. • McCarthy Construction is donating its services to remove the existing playgrounds, which will save the City a few thousand dollars on project costs. Mr. Burke reported on the following: • Staff is working on the capital and operating budgets for next year. The Commission will be kept posted on budget developments. • There were approximately 90 participants so far that have completed the Sahuaro Ranch Park Master Plan Update survey. The survey will be open to the public until October 16, 2022. Commissioners were encouraged to complete the survey and share the survey link with others. An Open House was held at the Fruit Packing Shed on a Thursday night at which there were a few people in attendance. A future presentation will be given when the potential design is ready. 8. Commission Comments and Suggestions Commissioner Jarrett Torres said he passed by Butler Park a few days ago and it looked worse than when he last saw it. He said there were lots of tree branches on the ground, which made the park look dirty and not presentable. Commissioner Johnson Bodine stated she would e-blast the Sahuaro Ranch Park survey to her HOA community and to several other HOA presidents to share with their communities. Commissioner Zomok noted that there was a Parks and Recreation tour for the downtown Glendale merchants at the (Elsie McCarthy) Sensory Park. He was asked to thank staff for the tour on behalf of the downtown merchants, which he did. Commissioner Mawby reported that a big tree at Sunset Park had storm damage and was taken care of quickly. She said the turf was mowed and looks terrific. She relayed there was a lot of storm damage but was impressed with the work of the Parks Department. Vice-Chair Martinez will send the Sahuaro Ranch Park survey link to the people in his community. 9. Next Meeting The next regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission will be held on November 14, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., in conference room B-3 of the Glendale Municipal Office Complex, located at 5850 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale, Arizona, 85301. 5 10. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Jarrett Torres, second by Commissioner Johnson Bodine, to adjourn the meeting at 6:41 p.m. Motion carried 6 – 0.