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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-17-2024 Fairhope Recreation Board Meeting MinutesMinutes of the Fairhope Recreation Board The Fairhope Recreation Board met on Wednesday, July 17th, 2024, at 5:15 p.m. at Recreation Center located at 803 N. Greeno Road in Fairhope, Alabama. Present: Pat White, Lisa Atchley, Josh Warren, Cathy Hudson, Charlie Langham, Scott Berry, Corey Martin, and Jack Burrell. Absent: Debra Flowers and Maurice Morrisette. The meeting was called to order by Lisa Atchley at 5:17 p.m. The minutes of the June 11th, 2024, meeting was considered and approved on a motion by Scott Berry, seconded by Josh Warren, none opposed. Guest(s): Gary Gover, Cole Wagner, and Michelle Smith and Austin Gerald on behalf of Eastern Shore Masters Swim (Michelle is currently not affiliated with ESMS). Michelle Smith spoke to the Rec Board about her background in sports, coaching, and being on the Rec Board years prior. She has asked the Rec Board to recognize Eastern Shore Masters Swim as the City’s “adult recreation league” and what steps need to be taken to make that happen. After much discussion, Michelle and ESMS were told that they in no way can be considered a City Recreation League due to the fact they have a paying coach on the pool deck and are currently not paying the city any rental fees for the use of the pool. ESMS has agreed to provide the Rec Board with a written proposal, including all financial documents, so the Rec Board may review and discuss it at a later meeting. Recreation Updates: Pat White informed the Rec Board of the following: ● All athletic fields are shut down from use for the month of July. We have been performing cultural practices such as aerification and vertical mowing to rejuvenate the turfgrass for the upcoming Fall seasons. The real benefit is to let the grass rest and recover from constant foot traffic. ● The office/pavilion project at Founders is nearing completion. This will be an office for Cole to have a bird’s eye view of the new track facility. ● The target mounds on the driving range at Quail Creek were removed. The range is now flat, and we are re-planting the areas where the mounds were removed with sprigs that were pulled from the football and baseball fields at Volanta. The goal is for the driving range to have the same appearance as a fairway. The mounds were very difficult to maintain and were hard on the equipment (ex. ball-picking up machine). ● I had a meeting with the engineering team on the indoor pool structural work that is budgeted for this year. We discussed the timeline of getting the bids out, council approval, and contracts signed to be able to start in December when swim season has completed, giving us a 3–4-month window to get the work completed. ● A meeting is set for Monday, July 22nd with a structural engineer to discuss possible costs of engineering the football press box renovations. This project will need to be engineered and bid out before any work can be done. ● Many excited meetings are taking place to discuss improvements to Fairhope Docks Marina. ● The Grandstand seating and press box at the Track at Founders is still slated to be ready and installed in January 2025. Recreation New Business: Discussion was had regarding creating a sub-committee of 2-3 members to review the current fee structure and it will consist of Cathy Hudson, Lisa Atchley, Cole Wagner, and Debra Flowers. The Board is hopeful to go over the sub -committee’s recommendations at our August Rec Board Meeting and have something concrete to present to the City Council. Discussion was had regarding the sub-committees’ thoughts and overall top 3 companies to possibly do the architectural and feasibility study on the new property at Highway 13 and 32. Discussion was had regarding changing the current Recreation Board By -Laws to state that a Rec Board Member must be in the City’s police jurisdiction instead of planning jurisdiction. Charlie Langham made a motion to recommend to the City Council to change the current Rec Board By-Laws to state that all members shall reside in the police jurisdiction, instead of the planning jurisdiction (Article III: Board of Advisors), and 2nd by Josh Warren, motion passed unanimously. Charlie Langham made a motion to recommend to the City Council to approve Gonzalez - Strength & Associates, Inc., to proceed with the professional consulting services for the feasibility study of the recreation property, and 2nd by Scott Berry, motion passed unanimously. Being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:22 p.m.