Meeting Minutes February 7, 2023 Parks and Recreation Board

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PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD 
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES 
February 7, 2023 
 
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL 
Madam Chair Dykstra called the meeting to order on Tuesday, February 7th, at 5:00 
p.m. 
 
a. Roll Call 
 
Members in Attendance: 
Madam Chair Melanie Dykstra 
Vice-Chair Tim Johnson 
Boardmember Shawn Hsu 
Boardmember Jegadesan Krishnamurthy  
Boardmember James Montgomery 
 
Members Absent:  
Boardmember Cenalmar-Bruquetas 
Boardmember John David  
 
Staff Members Present: 
John Sefton, Community Services Director 
Mickey Ohland, Community Services Planning Manager 
Rebecca Kuiper, Recreation Superintendent 
Erika Berry, Recreation Superintendent 
Derek Gerson, Recreation Program Coordinator 
Timberly Matson, Park Ranger Lead 
Joshua Adams, Business Systems Support Analyst 
  
2. SCHEDULED/UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES 
a. None

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3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 
 
a. Madam Chair Dykstra requested approval of the minutes for the October 4, 
2022 Parks and Recreation Board meeting. Vice-Chair Johnson made the motion 
to approve. Boardmember Krishnamurthy seconded the motion. The motion 
was approved unanimously. 
 
 
4. ACTION AGENDA  
 
a. Chandler Youth Sports Association (CYSA) 2023 Concession Requests 
Erika Berry, Recreation Superintendent, briefed the Board members about the 
concession requests for the Chandler Youth Sports Association organizations to 
cover the 2023 calendar year. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra summarized how the CYSA organizations and vendors 
decide on their agreements and that the City of Chandler does not intervene in 
those negotiations. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra inquired if there were any permanent concession stands 
in any of the City of Chandler’s Parks. Erika Berry stated that there are two. They 
are located at Arrowhead and Snedigar Parks. Erika Berry explained that both 
have been operated by the Chandler Lions Club. Erika Berry then stated that in 
recent years the CYSA groups that use Arrowhead have decided not to have a 
concession vendor for their activities. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra inquired about the responsibility of maintaining the 
concession stands. Erika Berry explained that the City of Chandler works with the 
Chandler Lions Club regarding the structure. The Chandler Lions Club is 
responsible for the equipment and securing any permit to operate. 
 
Boardmember Montgomery inquired about the revenues generated by 
vendors and whether the City of Chandler assesses any fees or charges to the 
concession vendors. Erika Berry explained that the City of Chandler’s 
requirements is that the vendor is registered with the City’s Tax and License 
Division and has the required certificate of insurance.  
 
Boardmember Montogomery requested a motion to recommend Director 
approval of the 2023 CYSA Concession requests. Boardmember Krishnamurthy 
seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

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5. DISCUSSION / BRIEFING 
 
a. Vice-Chair Johnson inquired about how the City of Chandler’s pool operations 
addresses concession sales. Erika Berry stated that the concessions are managed 
through the Request For Proposal (RFP) process. Erika Berry also stated that for 
the past several years this contract has been awarded to Angelo’s Italian Ice. A 
discussion ensued. Madam Chair Dykstra recommended a presentation be 
provided to Boardmembers on an overview of operations for the City of 
Chandler’s pools. 
 
Boardmember Hsu inquired about the City of Chandler’s current fee structure 
and if it was possible to get a comparison of fee changes from the past five years. 
Erika Berry stated that staff would be able to provide this information at a future 
date. 
 
b. Park Ranger Presentation 
Timberly Matson, Lead Park Ranger, provided a presentation on the Park 
Ranger operations. Timberly Matson stated that there is a total of five Park 
Rangers. Timberly discussed the scheduling and reporting structure of the five 
Park Rangers. Timberly stated that the main role of the Park Rangers is to 
enforce through education. Timberly explained that they can issue violations but 
do not issue citations.  
 
Boardmember Montgomery asked if the Park Rangers are responsible for 
security at large events. Timberly stated that is more a function of Police Officers, 
however, they do assist when necessary. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked if the Parks Rangers have the authority to issue 
non-criminal citations. Timberly stated that the Park Rangers can issue non-
criminal citations but do not have the authority to issue criminal citations. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra inquired about how many Park Rangers would be ideal 
from a staffing standpoint. Timberly stated that ideally, eight would be the 
preferred staffing level. Madam Chair Dykstra asked if any municipalities had 
overnight Park Ranger staff. Timberly stated she does not know of any 
municipality that currently has overnight Park Rangers.

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Madam Chair Dykstra inquired about who patrols the City of Chandler’s trails. 
Timberly stated that the Park Rangers are responsible for patrolling the City of 
Chandler’s Trails.  
 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked if data could be provided regarding calls for 
service. Timberly stated that call logs would be provided to Boardmembers at a 
future date. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked how long the Parks Rangers were under the Police 
Department. Timberly stated that the Park Ranger staff have been under the 
Police Department since 1994. Mickey Ohland, Community Services Planning 
Manager, stated that originally the Park Rangers were a part of the Community 
Services Department. 
 
Boardmember Montgomery inquired about Park Ranger recruitment and if 
there have been any recent challenges. Timberly stated that there have been 
noticeably fewer applicants than in past years. Discussion ensued. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked if there are any plans to request more funding for 
Park Ranger staffing. Mickey Ohland stated that the Community Services staff do 
not have access to funding requests the City’s Police Department might have. 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked if this information could be provided to Board 
members at some point. Mickey Ohland stated that information could be 
provided. 
 
Boardmember Krishnamurthy inquired about the tenure of the Park Rangers 
that are currently employed. Timberly stated that two Rangers have been 
employed with the City of Chandler for 17 or more years and two have been 
employed for 3 or fewer, with the fifth position currently being recruited for. 
 
c. Community Recreation Program Structure 
Erika Berry provided information regarding the process of implementing 
community recreation programs. A memo was provided and included in the 
Board members’ packet. Discussion ensued. 
 
Boardmember Hsu and Boardmember Montgomery had questions related to 
volunteer instructors, the Break Time production timeline and other recreation 
program logistics. John Sefton, Community Services Director, interjected stating 
that the appropriate amount of time and level of detail had been exceeded the 
purpose and scope of the Parks & Recreation Board meeting. John Sefton asked 
Boardmember Hsu and Boardmember Montogomery to schedule a time outside

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the Parks and Recreation Board meeting so that he could address additional 
inquiries and discuss further. 
 
Madam Chair Dykstra asked if Marketing staff could provide a presentation on 
Marketing Operations and the Break Time publication. John Sefton stated that 
the Marketing work group would provide a presentation at a future meeting.  
 
6. MEMBER COMMENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS 
a. None 
 
7. CALENDAR ITEMS  
a. The next Parks and Recreation Board meeting will be held Tuesday, March 7, 
2023, at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers Conference Room 
 
b. Groundbreaking for the Tumbleweed Park softball fields will occur in March. 
Mickey Ohland will provide more information once a date has been determined. 
 
c. State of the City February 16, 2023, at 6:30 pm; location Chandler Center for the 
Arts 250 N. Arizona Ave. Chandler, AZ 85225 
b. Chandler Innovation Fair will be held on Saturday, February 25th from 10 am to 3 
pm at A.J. Chandler Park, Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, 178 E. Commonwealth Ave., 
Chandler, AZ 85225 
 
8. ADJOURNMENT 
 
With no further items, Madam Chair Dykstra requested a motion to adjourn the 
meeting at 6:34 p.m. Vice-Chair Tim Johnson made the motion to adjourn the 
meeting. Boardmember Krishnamurthy seconded the motion. The motion was 
approved unanimously.  
 
 
_________________________________________              _____________________________________ 
Melanie Dykstra, Madam Chair 
Mickey Ohland, Community 
Services Planning Manager