[00:00:02]
[Parks and Recreation Board Meeting]
IT IS SEVEN, SIX OH THREE, AND I CALL THE NOVEMBER MEETING OF THE GARLAND, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD TWO QUARTER.UM, FIRST ITEM IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
EVERYBODY READ THEM THE MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SECOND SECOND BY JONATHAN FERGUSON.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
THE NEXT ITEM FOR CONSIDERATION IS A GARLAND TO GOLD SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY AND, AND GOOD TO SEE, UH, SEE A LOT OF PLACES.
I DON'T KNOW, BUT, UH, UH, I KNEW JERRY CARTER WHEN HE ACTUALLY USED TO PLAY SOFTBALL A LONG TIME AGO, BUT W PHIL APPETITE ANYWAY, JUST WANT TO TELL ALL YOU GUYS, WE APPRECIATE THE CITY AND THE PORT BOARD AND EVERYTHING YOU GUYS DO FOR US OUT THERE AT, UH, CARTER COMPLEX.
UH, THIS YEAR WAS A DIFFICULT YEAR, STRANGE YEAR WITH, WITH COVID COMING IN, BUT, UH, WE STARTED IN THE FEBRUARY.
WE'VE QUIT ABOUT THE END OF MARCH.
AND THEN WE STARTED UP AGAIN ABOUT THE END OF JUNE AND WE COMPLETED OUR SEASON.
UH, OUR NUMBERS WERE DOWN OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE BIT WITH COVID.
WE, UH, WE USUALLY AVERAGE, UH, GOSH, 80 TO A HUNDRED TEAMS. WE PLAYED THREE SESSIONS A YEAR, SPRING, SUMMER AND FALL.
WE AVERAGED ABOUT 65 TO 75 THEMES.
UH, AND THE SPRING AND THE FALL, OBVIOUSLY WE DIDN'T PLAN A SUMMER LEAGUE.
AND, UM, IN THE FALL WE DID THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
WE USUALLY PLAYED AN EIGHT GAME SCHEDULE BASED OVER ABOUT 10 TO 12 WEEKS, ALLOWING THE WEATHER, UH, AT THE REQUEST OF A LOT OF OUR PLAYERS AND TEAMS. WE WENT TO BASICALLY A DOUBLE HEADER SCHEDULE.
IN OTHER WORDS, EACH TEAM PLAYED TWO GAMES EVERY NIGHT.
THEY WERE OUT THERE PLAYING ONE NIGHT A WEEK.
SO THIS HELPED THEM OUT WITH TEAMS, ESPECIALLY ED PLAYERS COMING IN FROM OTHER CITIES, UH, TO PLAY IN OUR COMPLEX.
AND THEY GOT TO PLAY TWO GAMES A NIGHT INSTEAD OF JUST THE ONE GAME AT NIGHT.
SO, UH, THERE WAS SO MUCH POSITIVE REACTION TO THAT.
WE WERE PROBABLY GONNA DO THAT AGAIN FOR ALL OUR SEASONS NEXT FOR OUR BEGINNING IN 2021.
WE'RE ALSO GOING TO GO TO, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE SHORT TIME SPAN.
USUALLY WE PLAY AN EIGHT WEEK, SCHEDULE IT ABOUT FIVE OR SIX WEEKS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SCHEDULE A SEASON EVERY EIGHT WEEKS.
WE'RE GOING TO START MARCH PERS.
AND AGAIN, THESE DATES ARE GIVE OR TAKE, UH, MY FIRST JULY 1ST AND SEPTEMBER 1ST.
AND WE'LL STILL BE THROUGH MIDDLE OF OCTOBER, LIKE, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE TRIED TO BE THROUGH BY NOVEMBER 1ST.
SO THE CITY CAN HAVE ACTUALLY NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, JANUARY TO DO WHATEVER TYPE OF, UH, UH, MAINTENANCE THAT, UH, IS NEEDED TO BE DONE.
UH, THIS PAST YEAR, THE, THE YOU, UH, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND A NEW MACHINE WAS PURCHASED THAT, UH, BASICALLY LEVELS OUT THE, UH, THE ARCS ON THE INFIELD.
AND, UH, THAT USED TO BE ONE OF OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR TWO REASONS.
IF YOU WERE AN INFIELDER AND YOU PLAYED ON THE INFIELD AND THE BALL WAS HIT OVER YOUR HEAD, UH, YOU STOOD A GOOD CHANCE OF BEING TRIPPED UP BY THE GRASS AS YOU WENT FROM THE DIRT TO THE GRASS, BECAUSE IT WAS RAISED SO HIGH THIS YEAR.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST COMPLIMENT.
WE HEARD THAT THE FIELDS LOOKED IN GREAT SHAPE, THE INFIELDS WERE IN GREAT SHAPE.
SO WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS FOR DOING THAT AND TAKING CARE OF THE FIELDS.
UH, DIDN'T HEAR REALLY COMPLAINT FROM, UH, ANY OF THE TEAMS ON, ON THE, THE, THE NEW FIELD SET UP.
SO AGAIN, WE ARE JUST IN A GREAT DEBT TO YOU GUYS FOR, FOR ALLOWING US TO CONTINUE TO, UH, UH, PLAY AT THE COMPLEX AND, UH, THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, BUT THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN ALL OVER.
I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH GASA SINCE EARLY EIGHTIES, WE USED TO HAVE FOUR COMPLEXES IN THE AREA AND THE METROPLEX THAT PLAYED SOFTBALL.
SO NUMBERS, OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE DOWN BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE PLAYING AND, UH, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING OUR AVERAGE ABOUT THE SAME, UH, OBVIOUSLY WITHOUT COVID THIS YEAR, WE'VE BEEN AVERAGING OH, 80, 80 TO 90 TEAMS, A SEASON, SO CLOSE TO 300 TEAMS FOR THE YEAR.
AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WITH, IF COVID GETS TAKEN CARE OF WE'LL, UH, WE'LL GET BACK TO THAT NUMBER.
YOU MAY HAVE QUESTIONS DELETED.
YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? NO, SORRY.
THIS IS JUST REQUEST OF THE BOARD.
SO WE JUST WANT TO DO START OFF WITH ARMIE.
CAUSE WE KNOW HE DOES A GREAT JOB OUT THERE AND HE'S BEEN WITH THE CITY FIRST.
I MEAN, WORKING WITH US FOR SO MANY YEARS.
SO HE'S GOT A GREAT ORGANIZATION.
IT'S A GOOD PLACE FOR US TO START THE LADY DON'T LET SAM ON IT.
SHE MAY, SHE MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
[00:05:01]
OUT THERE.ANYTIME I HAVE A QUESTION, UH, I KNOW I'M SUPPOSED TO GET, UH, NOT GO THROUGH SAM, BUT I DO.
THAT'S JUST OLD HABITS AND I'M AN OLD, YOU KNOW, BUT, UH, ANYTIME I CALLED DOUG, THOSE GUYS TAKE CARE OF US, YOU KNOW, AS BEST THEY CAN.
AND, AND WITH, WITH ANDY BEING AROUND, HE HELPS OUT, YOU KNOW, UH, HE HE'S, UH, HE'S UH, AN ATHLETICS GUY.
SO AGAIN, WE JUST APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS ARE DOING FOR US.
AND, UH, AGAIN, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP OUT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST TO ACCOMMODATE YOU, ARNIE JERRY CARTER A COUPLE OF YEARS.
I REMEMBER US WHEN WE WERE BOTH MUCH YOUNGER.
UH, THIS, THIS GENERAL CONDITION GENERAL THINGS FIRST OFF, WHEN, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WHEN THE COMPLEX WAS FIRST BUILT, IT WAS, IT WAS, STATE-OF-THE-ART ONE OF THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE STATE, TEXAS.
AND WE, UH, WE HAD STATE AND NATIONAL LEVEL TOURNAMENTS THERE.
UH, FIRST QUESTION IS HOW IS THE, HOW IS THE COMPLEX HOLDING UP, UH, RELATIVE TO THE NEW COMPLEXES THAT ARE COMING ON? ARE WE STILL, ARE WE STILL ABLE TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH THEM? WE ARE STILL COMPETITIVE.
UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF THE NEWER ONES ARE COMING ON, ARE COMING ON WITH TURF FIELDS.
AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A COST FACTOR THERE, WHICH, UH, I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO SUGGEST THAT BECAUSE I, I, LIKE I SAID, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH, WITH PARKS REC FOR A LONG TIME, AND I KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS DO AND WHAT YOU DON'T DO.
AND SO THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK DONE OUT THERE THIS YEAR.
UH, IT, IT, THE, THE PARK DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S 40 YEARS OLD.
IT STILL LOOKS LIKE IT'S IN GOOD SHAPE.
I STILL THINK OF COURSE I'M PREJUDICE.
I THINK WE'VE GOT PROBABLY THE BEST INFIELDS AND OUTFIELDS, ANY AREA OUTSIDE OF THOSE THAT ARE, THAT ARE TURF FIELDS.
BUT, UH, AGAIN, THE, THE TOURNAMENTS HAVE BEEN SET UP IN A DIFFERENT STRUCTURE.
AS I SAID EARLIER, THERE'S A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE PLAYING IT IN A LOT MORE PARKS, SO OUR NUMBERS ARE DOWN, BUT I, I THINK FOR THE MOST PART, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT COME OUT OR ARE PLEASED TO PLAY, A LOT OF THEM WILL COME OUT AND THEY'LL SET UP OUTSIDE IN THE PARK, YOU KNOW, UNDER TENTS OR IN, UH, CAMPING CHAIRS AND JUST KINDA MAKE A DAY OUT OF IT.
HOPEFULLY THEY, THEIR TEAM PLAYS WELL ENOUGH TO STAY LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE A DAY OUT OF IT.
YEAH, THAT'S, THAT IS ONE OF THE GOALS IN IT.
THE SECOND, THE SECOND QUESTION YOU BROUGHT THIS UP AND A GRANDSON PLAYING IN THE NEW FIELDS, YOU KNOW, AND A SELECT BASEBALL, YOU KNOW, TEENAGER DURING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PLAYING IN ALL THE NEW PLACES AND MOST EVERY ONE OF THEM HAVE THAT HAVE THE TURF FIELDS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT IN ORDER TO GET THE TOURNAMENTS OR THE BIG TOURNAMENTS AND HAVE SOME SECURITY THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY PLAY THE TOURNAMENT OR TWO PEOPLE TRAVELING A LONG WAY, THAT THAT BECOMES A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT, UH, OF THE, OF THE, UH, COMPLEX.
IS THAT, IS THAT TRUE? IS THAT ACCURATE? IS IT NOT ACCURATE, JERRY RIGHT NOW IN THE NORTH TEXAS AREA? UH, THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO MAIN PARKS THAT HAVE ALTAR FIELDS.
ONE OF THOSE IS THE BLD COMPLEX AND MANSFIELD, AND THE OTHER ONE IS THE NEW PARK UP IN ALLEN THAT WAS JUST OPENED, I THINK, LAST FALL A YEAR AGO, THIS, THIS TIME, UH, I DO KNOW THAT SOFTBALL WORLD IS, IS WHICH, UH, YOU'VE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, SOFTBALL WE'RE OVER NEEDLESS AS IS GOING TO TURF FIELDS.
UM, BUT FOR THE MOST OF THE REST OF US THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH WITH, UH, WITH THE DIRT AND THE GRASS.
BUT, UH, GO AHEAD, SORRY, WHEN I'VE SEEN THEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY PLAYED IN NATIONAL LEVEL TOURNAMENTS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY TO FLORIDA AND ALL THESE OTHER PLACES.
AND IF THEY HADN'T HAD THE TURF FIELDS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE WIPE OUT FOR THE TOURNAMENT.
IT HAD, RYAN HAS STOPPED RUNNING AND THEY GO TO PLAY IN AND, AND RAIN TO STOP RAINING AND THEY GO TO PLAY HIM.
AND, UH, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE TO ME THAT THAT'S A TREMENDOUS DISADVANTAGE IF WE WERE TRYING TO HAVE THE LARGER TOURNAMENTS BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE TRAVELING SUCH A LONG DISTANCE, YOU CAN'T DO THAT AND THEN NOT GET TO FLIGHT YOU'RE YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
IN FACT, THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS OUR LAST TOURNAMENT FOR THE 2020 SEASON.
AND, UH, BECAUSE OF THE RAIN WE GOT LAST WEEK, UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD TO CANCEL.
SO, BUT, UH, AGAIN, WE, WE, WE DO THE BEST WE CAN, UH, WITH, WITH DOUG AND, AND, AND, AND HIS STAFF'S HELP.
AND, UH, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF GUYS WHO GET OUT THERE AND, UH, HELP, UH, A LOT OF DRAG ON LINE AND DRAG A FIELD, AND THEN A DIAMOND DROWN, A FIELD.
YOU KNOW, JERRY YOU'VE ACTUALLY BEEN OUT THERE UP THINKING A COUPLE OF TIMES THAT, THAT A NATIONAL WORLD TERM IS OUT SLINGING DOWN AND DRIVE WITH THE REST OF US.
BUT, UH, AGAIN, YES, OBVIOUSLY IF WE HAD TURF FIELDS, WE WOULD PROBABLY PLAY EVERY CHANCE WE COULD, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO DON'T TAKE ANY OF THOSE THINGS AS CRITICISMS, BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE ALWAYS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB OPENING DAY.
THERE IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING COMPLEX, BUT NOW JUST TRYING TO LOOK FOR THE FUTURE, MAYBE IN A FUTURE
[00:10:01]
BOND ELECTION OR SOMETHING, WE MIGHT BE CONSIDERING THAT.SO, SO ARNIE, I KNOW YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE, SO IF YOU NEED TO, UH, UH, EXCUSE YOURSELF, I WILL DO THAT AGAIN.
I JUST THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO, TO IN FRONT OF EACH ONE OF YOU GUYS.
AND, UH, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN, WE CAN DO, OR WE CAN HELP, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT PLEASE, UH, LET SAM KNOW, AND SHE DOESN'T HESITATE TO TEXT ME AND CALL ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT I HAVE TO DO.
WELL, I'D LOVE TO COME OUT AND SEE YOU GUYS SOMETIMES.
SO, UH, WE WILL, I KNOW THE SCHEDULE, WE WILL START UP AGAIN AROUND THE 1ST OF MARCH.
SO WE'D LOVE TO HAVE ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO COME OUT THERE, GIVE ME A CALL AND WE'LL GIVE YOU A TOUR WHO DOES ONE CONTACT IF THEY WANT TO PLAY? UM, THE EASIEST THING IS TO CONTACT ME, UH, AND, AND I CAN FLAT GIVE YOU MY CELL NUMBER, CAUSE EVERYBODY IN NORTH TEXAS KNOWS IT.
AND I WILL SHARE HER, UH, IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PLAYING WOMEN'S OR CO-ED, I CAN SURE GIVE YOU TO EITHER THE WOMEN'S DIRECTOR OR THE CO-DIRECTOR, AND I CAN PROBABLY GET YOU HOOKED UP ON A TEAM, OR IF YOU WANT TO BRING A TEAM, WE CAN DO THAT TOO.
YES, MA'AM HANG ANY MORE QUESTIONS FOR ARNIE? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR GUYS ARE DOING THERE.
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION IS THE HEARING REPORT ON FISCAL YEAR 20, 19 2020 URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM.
AND MATT, I THINK YOU HAVE THE LEAD ON THAT, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
SO I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO BRIEF THE REST OF THE BOARD EARLIER TODAY, UH, THE URBAN FORESTRY BOARD, UH, RIGHT BEFORE YOURS.
SO I'LL KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS A QUICK UPDATE FOR THOSE THAT WEREN'T ON HERE, GIVE YOU, UM, FOR, FOR LAST YEAR'S REPORTING.
UM, WE WERE AGAIN RECOGNIZED AS TREE CITY USA FOR THE 12TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR IN A ROW.
SO THAT'S A FANTASTIC ACCOMPLISHMENT.
UH, WE CLEANED UP AFTER AN
UM, BUT KNOCKED DOWN A LOT OF TREES AND, UM, COVID DID KIND OF MESS A LOT OF THINGS UP AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO A LOT OF THE TRAINING THAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST, BUT WE'RE GONNA, UM, BE ABLE TO RECTIFY THAT GOING FORWARD IN A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT WAY AND STILL BE ABLE TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE.
UM, LAST YEAR'S ARBOR DAY WAS HELD ON NOVEMBER 1ST, 2019 AT HALF PARK, AND THEY ALSO DID THEIR TREE GIVEAWAY WITH GPL ON NOVEMBER 2ND, 2019, IN WHICH THEY GIVE AWAY 500 TREES.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THEY DID, UH, WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
I WAS ACTUALLY, I ASKED JERRY CARTER CAUSE I KNOW HE WAS THERE.
DID YOU TAKE ANY PICTURES WHEN YOU WERE THERE LAST, UH, AT ARBOR DAY LAST YEAR, JERRY? UH, I'VE SLEPT SINCE THEN MR. CHAIRMAN AND I SHARE THEM WITH HIM WITH MATT PLEASE.
YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WAS THERE? MAYBE JONATHAN, I FORGET.
ANYWAY, IT WAS A LITTLE COOL FOR THAT DAY.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION, MR. CHAIRMAN FOR MR. RUIZ.
UM, I WAS READING, UM, THE, OH, NOW WHAT AGENDA? AND YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT TRAINING.
UH, IS THERE ANY ADVICE OR TRAINING THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE POWER COMPANY TO THREE? THOSE THREE IS BETTER.
SO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, AN ARBORIST.
UH, HIS NAME IS GRANT THAT WORKS ON THEIR STAFF, UM, THAT, AND THEN THEY SUBCONTRACT OUT THEIR TREE WORK TO, UH, NELSON TREE COMPANY.
UM, UTILITY LINE TRAINEE OR UTILITY PERONI IS A FICKLE BEAST.
UM, IT, IT IS VERY, VERY HARD TO DO, CORRECT SRI PERONI AND GET THE CLEARANCE THAT THEY NEED FOR THEIR POWER LINES AND NOT MAKE THE TREE LOOK LIKE IT HAS BEEN BUTCHERED.
UM, AND A LOT OF TIMES YOU DO CORRECT TREE PERONE AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE OUT MORE THAN YOU PROBABLY NORMALLY WOULD DO TO GET THE CLEARANCE THAT YOU NEED, BUT IF YOU DO IT RIGHT, THEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO IT AS OFTEN.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO AND YEAH, THAT
[00:15:01]
CONCERN.AND I KNOW I SOUND LIKE I WOULD SAY THIS IN EVERY MEETING AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT BEING CALLED AS A THREE CT AND ALL OF THAT.
AND WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING AROUND OUR TOWN AND YOU SEE THOSE UV TREES IS TERRIBLE AND ALSO ALSO LEARNING IN THAT WAY, UH, IS DAMAGING OUR TREES.
I THINK THAT WE SHOULD PUT AN EFFORT ON DOING THAT.
I HEARD BEFORE THAT THIS WAS THE RECENT IS BECAUSE IT WAS ALL ABOUT TIME ALSO.
IT'S FASTER TO CHOP TREES AND THAT'S IT, BUT I DIDN'T READING ABOUT IT.
AND THERE ARE SOME PROGRAMS THAT HAVE PROVED THAT IF WE DO IT CORRECTLY, AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, WE CAN DIVIDE HEALTH CITY IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR AND THE OTHER HOUSES ON THE OTHER HOUSE AND ROTATE THEM.
AND IT HAS PROVED THAT YOU CAN ALSO, UM, SAVE TIME ON THAT WITHOUT DAMAGING OUR TREES AND MAKING THE CITY TO LOOK BETTER.
THAT'S ALL THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME.
AND IF I'LL CHIME IN ON THAT, WE, WE TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND I WISH WE HAD A LITTLE MORE CONTROL OVER THAT.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND ON THAT IS, UM, WHEN, WHEN THE POWER COMPANIES ARE IN A POSITION TO HAVE TO MAKE EVEN THE BEST CUTS AND THE BEST TECHNIQUES, THE MISTAKE WAS MADE YEARS AND YEARS AGO TO ALLOW THE TREE UNDERNEATH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND SO ONCE THAT HAPPENS IN THE NIGHT, THEY GO, UM, AND ENTER IN A POSITION TO MAKE SURE THAT HOMES HAVE ELECTRICITY.
UM, IT'S NOT THAT THEY HATE TREES IT'S THAT THEY GOT TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON AND THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, MAJOR SAFETY, UH, PROTOCOLS TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, NOT JUST ANYBODY CAN PRUNE ON A POWER LINE, THEY HAVE TO BE POWER LINE CERTIFIED.
UM, AND I'VE, I'VE WORKED WITH POWER COMPANIES IN THE PAST AS WELL AS I KNOW MATT HAS.
AND, AND THERE'S A, THERE'S A TIME FACTOR, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T, I'VE BEEN TOLD, YEAH, WE DON'T HAVE, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO BABYSIT TREES.
UM, AND, AND OTHERS ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE AMIABLE TO MAKING, THEY'RE NOT THE PRETTIEST CUTS, BUT AT LEAST THEY'RE HEALTHY CUTS.
UM, AND THEY'RE STRUCTURALLY GOOD CUTS.
AND SO THAT'S THE CHALLENGE THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY, THEY STRUGGLE WITH.
UM, AND I KNOW I'VE WORKED WITH ENCORE BEFORE AND THEY ALSO HAVE A STAFF ARBORIST AND, AND THEY, THEY TRY VERY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE IT'S ATTRACTIVE AND AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE, BUT YET THERE, AGAIN, THEIR PRIORITIES KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON.
WELL, PERHAPS INSTEAD OF THAT, WHY DON'T WE SEE NOW WE HAVE A THREE COMMITTEE.
WHY DON'T WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO START HELPING THESE POWER LINES WITH THAT? I KNOW IT COSTS MONEY, BUT WE CAN TRY TO DO SOMETHING.
I MEAN, WE ALL ARE, UH, PROUD OF BEING CALLED THE TREE CT.
SO LET'S, LET'S SHOW THE WEEKEND, TREAT OUR TREES IN THE RIGHT WAY, NOT JUST TO START PLANTING TREES EVERYWHERE.
IT'S MORE ABOUT KNOWING HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEM AND, AND MAKE THE CD ALSO LOOK BETTER.
I THINK SO, CAN YOU, I, I KNOW THAT, UH, OR I UNDERSTAND THAT NOW THERE'S SOME KIND OF A LIST OR A, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A ORDER OR WHATEVER, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A LIST OF TREES, LOW GROWING TREES THAT THEY RECOMMEND FOR PLANTING AND, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE GET TO THE NEXT PART, WE MIGHT TALK IT, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT URBAN STREET, URBAN FORESTRY PLAN OF SOME SORT, YOU KNOW, AND PEOPLE LOVE THEIR TREES, RIGHT.
THEY HATE TO SEE THEM SEE THEM GO.
AND, UH, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING IN THE ORDER OF, YOU KNOW, HELPING THEM REPLACE THEM WITH, YOU KNOW, MORE SUITABLE TREES THAT AREN'T GOING TO CAUSE PROBLEMS WOULD BE A BETTER, BETTER CHOICE.
IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE A GOOD PLAN ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH THIS SITUATION BECAUSE I, I, I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
KENYA, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ME AND DOING MY RESEARCH, UH, CHAPTER FOUR, ARTICLE THREE, 4.3, FOUR OF THE FRANKLIN LEGAL, UH, PLANNER TELLS AND GIVES THE EXACT SPECIFICATIONS ON WHAT IS REQUIRED TO OWN PRUNING THE TREES.
AND IF YOU WERE TO EVER TO SEE THE DIAGRAM WHERE THE, WHERE THE TREE, THE TREE GROWS LIKE THIS, BUT THE PRUNING GOES LIKE THIS.
AND IT, I MEAN, AND IT'S HORRIBLE.
I MEAN, AT THE, AT THE TOP OF A POWER POLE, UH, THE PRUNING, THE TREES HAVE TO BE ABOUT 10 FEET FROM THE POLE.
UH, THERE ARE NO LAMBS INSIDE OF 10 FEET ON EITHER SIDE THAT'S 20 FEET.
SO THE FIRST POINT OF WHAT DAVID BROUGHT UP IS THAT THERE ARE A LIST.
THERE IS A LIST OF, OF SLOWER GROWING TREES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD TAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS GROUP
[00:20:01]
AND, AND PASS THE ORDINANCE THAT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN PLANT WITHIN THIS RESTRICTED.I MEAN, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A HYPOTHETICAL THING.
IT IS A, IT IS A, IT IS, IT IS IT'S THE LAW THAT THEY HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY.
SO IF YOU DON'T, IF YOU COULD GET THEM WHERE THEY DIDN'T PLANT THE TREES THERE TO BEGIN WITH, ARE YOU PLANTING THE SLOWER GROWING TREES? YOU COULD LOOK AT A DEVELOPMENT THAT WE DID OVER ON CENTERVILLE ROAD CALLED KENSINGTON GARDENS.
AND I WAS ON THE ARBORIST THERE SERIOUSLY.
AND THE FIRST HALF WHERE I STAYED ON HER ALMOST EVERY DAY, THE TREES WERE PLANTED 20 SOME ODD YEARS AGO, AND THERE'S NOT A, ONE OF THEM THAT'S REACHED A POWER LINE, BUT AS THEY GOT TO GOING OUT TO THE DOWNHILL SIDE DOWN THERE, THEY PLANTED THREE OR FOUR TREES THAT WERE NOT OF THE SAME TYPE.
AND THEY'RE ALREADY INTO THE POWER LINES.
I DON'T SEE HOW WE CAN CALL OURSELVES A TREE CITY AND YOU DRIVE DOWN PLACES LIKE CENTERVILLE ROAD OR BROADWAY, OR THESE OLDER AREAS WHERE THE TREES HAD SPENT ALL THESE YEARS MATURING.
AND JUST AS THEY GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE, THEY HACK THEM TO PIECES.
SO I THINK IT'S ABOVE US, BUT IT NEEDS TO MAYBE START WITH US AND GET INTO THE CITY COUNCIL TO GET THEM, GET THEM TO, UM, CREATE A BETTER ORDINANCE.
AND I, HOPEFULLY MATT, I HOPEFULLY WILL WITH YOUR EXPERTISE AND THE THINGS THAT YOU COULD OFFER, THAT THIS COULD BE THE IDEAL WAY TO, TO START THIS FOR WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO, KENNY.
SOME KIND OF ORDINANCE FOR NEW, NEW, NEW CONSTRUCTION.
I THINK BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR ALONG, I THINK IT MIGHT BE WORTHWHILE RESEARCHING WHAT IT SAY.
I COULDN'T TELL YOU OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
MOST CITIES HAVE ORDINANCES IN PLACE FOR THAT ALREADY.
UM, AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT'S TYPICALLY AN ELECTRICAL EASEMENT OR RIGHT AWAY, OR ANY UTILITY EASEMENT IN GENERAL.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE A TREE IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, BECAUSE I THINK WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SEEING IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S MATURE AND GETTING TO A POINT WHERE THOSE TREES WERE PLANTED EITHER IMPROPERLY AND WEREN'T INSPECTED 30, 40, 50 YEARS AGO.
THAT THAT'S WHERE THE PROBLEM IS.
IT'S I THINK THE WORK THAT THE ORDINANCES THAT ARE MODERN NOW PROHIBIT THAT I'VE NEVER KNOWN THE SITUATION WHERE TREES CAN BE PLANTED IN ELECTRICAL RIGHT AWAY TO BEGIN WITH.
UM, SO I THINK A LITTLE BIT RESEARCH, UM, AND WE'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT ON THE STAFF END AND, AND PROVIDE THAT IN AN EMAIL TO THE PARK BOARD, UM, AND, AND VISIT WITH PLANNING AND VISIT, UM, WITH ENGINEERING.
BUT, UM, I'VE NEVER BEEN ALLOWED TO PLANT ANYTHING IN A UTILITY EASEMENT OR RIGHT AWAY, MUCH LESS THAN ELECTRICAL.
SO, UM, I THINK WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SEEING IS UNFORTUNATELY, A PRODUCT OF IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO.
AND IF YOU IMAGINE, YES, NOBODY LIKES TO SEE THOSE TREES CUT THAT WAY.
UM, BUT THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE IS EITHER CUT THEM THAT WAY TO KEEP THEM OFF THE PROPERTY LINES, OR YOU CUT THEM OFF AT THE GROUND.
UM, THERE, THERE IS NO MORE ATTRACTIVE WAY TO DO IT.
IF THE GOAL IS TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, UM, THERE, THERE'S JUST NOT.
CAUSE IF YOU CONTINUE TO CUT FROM THAT SHAPE AND YOU START TAKING THESE BIG PIECES, THEN YOU END UP WITH A STUMP AND THEN YOUR BIGGER ISSUE IS, IS IMPROPER CUTS OR TOO MANY CUTS.
YOU START CREATING EPICOR MIC SHOOTS, WHICH ARE THESE LONG UGLY SHOOTS THAT COME OUT OF TREE TRUNKS AND INCREDIBLY AGGRESSIVE.
AND THEY THEY'RE RIGHT BACK IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO SOMETIMES THE BEST PRUNE IS WHAT I CALL A BAZELL PRUNE, RIGHT AT GROUND LEVEL.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT IT, THE TREE SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT MAYBE A PART OF THIS, UH, ANDY AND MS. CHAIRMAN WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD TAKE A LOOK AND STEAM, THESE AREAS WHERE THESE TREES HAVE DONE THIS AND YOU COME IN AND YOU TAKE THE TREES OUT AND YOU COME BACK THROUGH OUR FORESTRY, UH, REPLANT, A PROPER TREE, AND POSSIBLY MOVE IT TO A BETTER LOCATION, UH, TO, TO REINVIGORATE THE AREA.
BECAUSE IT'S JUST, UH, IF YOU SEE THIS, BUT THIS IS THIS, THAT'S THE CUTTING, UH, ISN'T THAT TERRIBLE.
THAT'S WHAT A TREE IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE.
YEAH, WE CAN PUT THIS TO REST UNTIL WE GET MORE INFO.
I'VE CONSULTED WITH MANY, MANY OF THE POWER COMPANY AND MANY, MANY, A CITY AND MANY, A PRIVATE HOMEOWNER ON NATURE'S JUST LIKE THIS.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH AND, AND COME BACK AND KIND OF GIVE A FORWARD FORWARD, UM, AND KIND OF LEADING INTO THE NEXT PIECE, WHICH IS THE, THE, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO NEXT YEAR.
YOU KNOW, WE'LL START TO IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS WHERE WE, WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES WHERE MAYBE THERE'S SOME ONGOING ISSUES AND STARTING TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN OF HOW YOU CAN, MAYBE WHAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO TO MITIGATE SOME OF THAT.
UM, SO GOING INTO TO NEXT YEAR, WE WILL, UH, REAPPLY
[00:25:01]
FOR TREE CITY USA.UM, OUR ARBOR DAY FOR 2020 IS FRIDAY.
UH, IT'S GOING TO BE A, UM, SMALL EVENT THIS YEAR AND WE'RE GOING TO VIDEOTAPE IT AND THEN HAVE A VIDEO THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO POST ON, ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND PUT ON OUR WEBSITE THAT TALKS ABOUT ARBOR DAY.
AND, BUT WE'LL STILL GONNA HAVE AN OFFICIAL OBSERVANCE OF IT.
OUR TREE GIVEAWAY WITH GARLAND POWER LIGHT IS GOING TO BE, UM, ON SATURDAY, UH, WE'RE GIVING AWAY 400 TREES AND GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, THE GARDNER FOR THIS TREE GIVE AWAY.
THEY HAD NEVER GIVEN AWAY A SMALL TREE THIS YEAR.
ONE OF THE FIRST THING THEY DID WAS, IS WE HAVE TO PROVIDE A SMALL TREE IN CASE THEY'RE PLANTING A TREE AND THE RIGHT OF WAY, AND THERE'S AN HOUR AHEAD, AN OVERHEAD POWER LINE THERE.
SO WE PROVIDE THEM WITH INFORMATION ABOUT LOOK BEFORE YOU PLAN, MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE GOING, IF YOU HAVE A POWER LINE THAT YOU DON'T WANT THIS BIG OAK, YOU WANT THIS, THIS, THIS PRETTY RED BUTTON, LET ME TELL YOU, THE RED BUDS WERE THE MOST POPULAR TREE, UH, IN OUR GIVEAWAY THIS YEAR.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS AND THE EDUCATION THAT WE CAN DO.
AND YOU KEEP DOING THAT STUFF OVER AND OVER AGAIN, YOU DON'T RUN INTO THOSE PROBLEMS 30 OR 40 YEARS LATER CAUSE DOES ANDY HIT IT ON THE HEAD? THERE WAS A PROBLEM THAT HAPPENED A LONG TIME.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO TRAINING IN HOUSE, UH, WITH OUR STAFF, UM, ON PROPER TREE GROUP FOR ANY PROPER PRE-PLANTING REMOVALS SAFETY, ALL OF THAT.
UM, SOMETIMES THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS THEY'LL USE ON A DAVID DAY IS A CHIPPER AND THE CHAINSAW.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT HOW TO REEVALUATE THE, THE OLD CONTAINER NURSERY AND START TO BRING THAT BACK TO LIFE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN START TO GROW OUT SOME MORE TREES THAT WE CAN PLANT INTO OUR PARTNER SYSTEM.
HOW DO WE MORE EFFICIENTLY START TO USE, UM, THE, THE GREENHOUSE AND TO GROW OUT PLANT MATERIAL? UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE STARTING TO IDENTIFY MEDIANS AND ENTRYWAYS AND STARTING TO PROGRAM THOSE A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVELY, UH, TO, TO MAKE THEM POP AND REALLY SHOW AND BE ABLE TO USE THE GREENHOUSE GROW OUT THAT MATERIAL.
AND THEN REALLY START TO DIVE INTO LOOKING AT DOING, UH, OR FORESTRY MASTER PLAN FOR THE CITY, AND REALLY STARTING WITH AN INVENTORY OF OUR PART TREES.
UH, WE'RE ALREADY IN THE PROCESS OF, OF HAVING THE EQUIPMENT THERE USING OUR GRAPH AS A SYSTEM, TO BE ABLE TO GATHER THAT INFORMATION.
UM, BUT HOW DO WE GET INTO OUR PARTS INVENTORY TO FIND OUT WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT CONDITION IT IS, WHAT SIZE IT IS, WHAT IT'S COMPOSED OF, UM, SO THAT WE CAN START TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN OF HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAINTAIN IT AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO REMOVE TREES THAT NEEDED TO BE REMOVED.
UH, AND THEN WHAT'S A PLAN TO SYSTEMATICALLY, UM, PLANT TREES WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO DO THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF, UH, OF GOOD, YOU KNOW, I'M OF THE MINDSET THAT, UM, IF YOU CAN PLANT ONE TREE GRADE, YOU COULD PLANT A MILLION TREES AND, AND BETTER, BUT WE DON'T, CAN'T PLANT A MILLION TREES.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AS STRATEGIC AS WE POSSIBLY CAN WHEN WE PLANT TREES SO THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE THOSE, THOSE BENEFITS.
AND SO WHAT I'VE RECOMMENDED TO THE TREE BOARD IS THAT WE NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN AND START TO LAY OUT WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE, UM, WHAT THE ROI IS ON IT, HOW WE GET THERE, WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO DOING IT AND KIND OF THE PLAN THAT WE'LL BE PUTTING TOGETHER, UH, TO DO THAT.
UM, THERE'S ALSO IN YOUR PACKET, A LINK TO A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT, UM, URBAN FORESTRY ANALYSIS THAT I DID FOR DALLAS.
WHAT WAS THE LAST ONE DEN, UM, RELEVANT AND IN DALLAS, WHICH WERE THREE REPORTS THAT I DID THAT I WANT TO DO ONE FOR GARLAND AS WELL, AND WHY THESE REPORTS ARE REALLY GOOD IS ONE, IT STARTS TO SPELL OUT THE CASE.
NOT ONLY DOES IT GIVE YOU THE BASE MATERIAL TO WRITE YOUR PLAN, BUT IT TELLS YOU JUST LIKE WHEN WE DEAL WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER ASSETS, WHETHER IT'S A PLAYGROUND OR A BUILDING OR WHATEVER, IT HAS A VALUE TO IT.
AND TREES ARE THE ONE ASSET IN OUR, UH, PARK S WITHIN OUR PARKS THAT ACTUALLY APPRECIATE OVER TIME.
YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER ASSET THAT WE PUT IN THERE, IT STARTS COSTING US MONEY THE DAY YOU PUT IT IN, AND IT STARTS TO DEPRECIATE TREES.
ONCE YOU PUT IT IN, YOU MAINTAIN THEM.
THEY ACTUALLY APPRECIATE AND VALUE OVER TIME.
AND WE HAVE A VERY, VERY GREAT TREE CANOPY COVER IN THIS CITY.
IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ATTRACTED ME TO THIS JOB AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
AND, UH, THAT ASSET HAS A VALUE.
AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE MAINTAINING THAT ASSET.
UM, JUST LIKE WE WOULD ANY OTHER ASSET WITHIN OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT.
AND SO THIS INVENTORY WILL ALLOW US TO DO THAT.
AND THOSE REPORTS WILL SHOW YOU SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT COMES OUT OF THAT, AND THEN USE THAT AS OUR BASE TO BE ABLE TO BUILD OUR PLAN MOVING FORWARD.
SO IN A IT'S VERY, VERY HIGH LEVEL, UH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT TREES AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL.
AND SO LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING INTO THIS IN A LOT MORE DETAIL WITH YOU ALL, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, PLEASE.
[00:30:01]
NEED TO UNMUTE CHAIRMAN.SO ARE YOU MOVE, UH, MATT, UH, COULD, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION ON THE, UH, UH, THE NOVEMBER 6TH, UH, ACTIVITY AT AVALON PARK.
I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING.
AND THE REASON THAT WE DIDN'T SERVE AS, BECAUSE OF COVID THIS YEAR, WE, WE ARE KEEPING IT VERY, VERY SMALL.
AND SO IT'S JUST GOING TO LITERALLY BE SOME, WE'RE GOING TO ASK WHY WE'RE GOING TO VIDEOTAPE IT.
UH, WE DIDN'T WANT TO PUT ANYBODY, MAKE ANYBODY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE OR MAKE ANYBODY FEEL LEFT OUT OR ANYTHING ALONG THOSE LINES, EVERYBODY BECAUSE OF RESTRICTIONS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE CHOSE TO DO IT THIS WAY THIS YEAR.
SO THE PART MORE, IT'S NOT GOING TO GET AN INVITATION TO IT, THEN THAT'S MORE RANDY, PROBABLY.
SO THE ISSUE WE HAVE IS THAT WE ARE STILL KIND OF UNDER THE, FROM THE MAYORS, UH, DISCRETION, UNABLE TO INTENTIONALLY CREATE A GATHERING OF OVER 10.
UM, AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL HIT THAT REAL QUICK WITH PARK BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF AS WELL.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT THE DECISION IS THE CORRECT DECISION JUST GIVEN THE SITUATION IS LET'S MAKE SURE WE STILL DO IT.
UM, AND I THINK WE'LL HAVE GREAT REACH CAUSE WE'LL HAVE, UH, PUBLIC MEDIA RELATIONS HELP US BROADCAST IT.
WE'LL HAVE OUR MARKETING FOLKS HELP BROADCAST IT.
SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THE MESSAGE IS OUT THERE AND, UH, AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT WE'RE DOING IT AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE.
AND THEN THE KEY IS THAT WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND WHY YOU'RE DOING IT.
AND THEN SECONDLY, FOR, FOR, I KNOW YOU'RE AWARE OF THIS, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF MATT'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE WORD MAY HAVE GONE TOO, BUT THE CITY COLLECTED FROM, UH, DEVELOPERS WHO HAD AT ONE AT A DISTRICT WHILE BACK, UH, LIKE SOMETHING LIKE $800,000 IN TREE MITIGATION FUND, A TREE MITIGATION FUND WAS ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE TREES THAT THE DEVELOPER WAS REMOVING.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN A COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE WORKING ON THAT.
HAVE THEY, IF THEY HAD ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU ABOUT WHEN WE'RE GOING TO START GETTING THAT MONEY TO START USING A MASS PLAN, UH, IT'S ALREADY HAPPENED.
THEY, UH, UH, THAT'S WHEN BOOKOUT LED THE CHARGE WITH, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THE, UH, THE ORDINANCE WAS APPROPRIATE FOR THE USE OF NOT ONLY TREE PLANTING, BUT SHRUBS AS WELL, UM, AND, AND THE IRRIGATION NECESSARY TO SUPPORT IT.
UM, SO THAT, THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US AND WE'VE ALREADY UTILIZED THOSE FUNDS IN ORDER TO REPLACE TREES ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF GARLAND ON, ON, UM, A COUPLE OF STREETS THAT ARE NOT TOO FAR FROM AUDUBON PARK.
UM, SO THAT'S BEGUN AND THAT'S A, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
UH, WE, BUT THAT MONEY WILL NOT LAST FOREVER BECAUSE GARLAND IS AS YOU KNOW, MOSTLY BUILT OUT.
AND THEN WE'RE KIND OF ONLY IN REDEVELOPMENT IN SOME, SOME DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME, SOME RAW PARCELS OUT THERE THAT, THAT MAY, UH, GET SOME FREE MITIGATION, BUT ALSO TREE MITIGATION FUNDS CAN BE A BARGAINING CHIP FOR COUNCIL TO, UM, HELP BRING ATTRACTIVE DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE'VE GOTTA BE REAL JUDICIOUS AND THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE USE THOSE FUNDS GOING FORWARD.
ARE YOUR, ARE YOUR THOUGHTS THAT TRY TO MAKE IT A SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT YEAR, UM, EXPANSION OF USING THOSE FUNDS OVER THAT, THAT KIND OF A PERIOD OF TIME, OR IS THAT I'M JUST, I'M JUST THROWING THINGS OUT.
I THINK WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE FROM, FROM MATT GOING FORWARD WILL BE A VERY ROBUST URBAN FORESTRY PLAN, UM, OR URBAN FORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN, TREE HEALTH PLAN, WHATEVER WE WANT TO CALL IT, AND IT'LL TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
SO WE HAVE PURPOSEFUL, INTENTIONAL PLANTING PLANS.
UM, WE, WE CAN USE THOSE MONEY SOMETIMES WHEN PROJECTS ARE SHORT ON FUNDS, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE WHETHER IT'S A REC CENTER OR A PARK OR A TRAIL, AND IT'S A TIGHT BUDGET, BUT WE STILL NEED TO PROVIDE SOME LANDSCAPING.
THOSE ARE AVAILABLE TO US, BUT WE WANT TO DO IT WITH A PLAN RATHER THAN JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOTGUN APPROACH.
SO I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT NEXT YEAR, UH, GOING FORWARD WITH URBAN FORESTRY.
SUB-COMMITTEE, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD EXPECT.
AND JUST, JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT REAL QUICK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE IS SOME BASE CANOPY LAYER DATA OF WHAT OUR BASE BE DOVER IS.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL, WE'LL DISCUSS AS WE MOVE FORWARD IS, YOU KNOW, OUR BAY, OUR CANOPY IS CURRENTLY THIS, WHAT DOES THE CANOPY COVER GOAL THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE? AND THEN HOW MANY TREES WOULD YOU NEED TO PLAN TO DO IT? AND THEN WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE TO PLANT THOSE TREES.
AND THEN THAT'S THE BEGINNING OF HOW YOU HAVE A PLAN.
AND THE GOOD THING IS, IS WE HAVE SOME OF THAT BASE DATA THAT WE'LL BE RUNNING FORWARD, UM, IN THE NEAR FUTURE COMING INTO NEXT YEAR.
SO, UH, MARGARET, HOW MANY ARBORISTS DOES GARLAND HAVE NOW? UM, ANDY, ARE YOU CERTIFIED ARBORIST? DON'T NEED MORE THAN ONE.
YOU GOT, YOU GOT THE ONE, YOU GOT ONE.
SO WE HAD TWO AND YOU TOOK ANOTHER JOB AND ACTUALLY IF YOU COUNT A GPS, THEY HAVE A COUPLE.
SO I'M BEING A LITTLE BIT, UM, UH, FACETIOUS THERE, BUT WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, I KNOW RIGHT NOW I'M
[00:35:01]
THE ONLY ONE I THINK.AND, UH, WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE? 50 YEARS AGO, YOU STOLE MY LINE.
CAN I GET A, UH, A MOTION FROM THE URBAN FORESTRY COMMITTEE? UM, MOLLY, UM, I MAKE A MOTION, UH, RECOMMENDATION.
THE BOARD APPROVED THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM AS PRESENTED SECOND, THE SECOND MOTION BY MOLLY BISHOP A SECOND BY MARGRET LAGGED.
ANY DISCUSSION ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
ANYBODY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES.
I CAN'T BRIEFING ITEMS. UM, DELANEY OR SOME OF THESE YEARS.
I NORMALLY THE PARKS FOUNDATION COMMITTEE I'LL HAVE AN UPDATE TOO.
THE FIRST ONE IS DEFINITELY MINE.
SO WE ARE SUPER PROUD AND EXCITED THAT OUR VERY OWN HEATHER LAMBERT, WHO IS THE SUPERVISOR OVER AT HOLFORD, SHE WAS RECENTLY NAMED THE TRAPS NORTH REGION DIRECTOR.
SO, UM, THAT'S OUR AREA THAT WE WORK WITHIN THE BIG TRAPS ORGANIZATION INTO, SHE GETS TO LEAD AND PLAN AND WORK WITH A BUNCH OF, UM, REC PROFESSIONALS AND PART PROFESSIONALS ON OUR S UH, NORTH REGION CONFERENCE.
AND SO NORMALLY THAT'S HELD IN NOVEMBER.
UM, WE WON'T BE HAVING ONE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF COVID.
UM, BUT WE WILL BE BACK AND PLANNING THAT FOR ALAN FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO ANYWAY, SHE'S THE BIG CHEESE FOR OUR REGION AND WE'RE SUPER PROUD OF HER.
THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S FIVE REGIONS IN THE TEXAS RECREATION, PARKS SOCIETY, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, AND CENTRAL.
AND THEN THERE'S A COUPLE OF LARGE DIRECTORS.
AND SO THAT PUTS THEM ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR TRAPS.
AND SO THEY HAVE SOME RESPONSIBILITIES, UH, FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATED TO THE REGION, BUT THEY ALSO PROVIDE INPUT AND DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE FOR THE AGENCY STATEWIDE AS A WHOLE.
SO SHE'S BEEN INVOLVED IN TRAPS.
I'VE, I'VE KNOWN HEATHER A. LONG TIME FOR, THROUGH TRAPS AND WORKING WITH THE NORTH REGION AND SHE'S ALWAYS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB.
SO SHE'S, SHE'S EARNED IT, EARNED IT WELL, AND WE'RE HAPPY FOR HER.
SHE WON AN AWARD LAST YEAR, TOO.
SHE WAS OUR RECREATION PROFESSIONALS.
I ALREADY TOLD HER, THANK YOU.
SHOULD WE KNOW WHO'S GOING TO BE OUR EDUCATOR WHO OUR EDUCATION DIRECTOR FOR TRAILS? WELL, LAST YEAR IT WAS.
AND THEN I TOOK A NEW JOB AT A NEW CITY THAT HAD SO MANY PARKS TO BUILD.
I HAVE DEDICATED THAT CHAIR WENT TO THE VICE CHAIR.
WE NEEDED A GREAT SITUATION THAT I FELT THAT, UH, IF I COULDN'T GIVE IT 110, I NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE ELSE COULD, CAUSE THIS IS A LOT GOING ON AROUND HERE.
WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU OVER HERE.
UM, MARGARET, DO YOU WANT TO GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE PARKS FOUNDATION? SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO OPEN UP A CONVERSATION ABOUT PLACING BENCHES AND PARKS AND WHAT IS INVOLVED WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND HOW CAN THE GARLAND PARTS FOUNDATION HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN? GOOD QUESTION.
UM, HAVE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT GO IS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE Z ADS FOLKS ARE WORKING ON, UM, IN BETWEEN OTHER TASKS IS HAVING A, UH, A STANDARD OF, OF AMENITIES THAT GO INTO PARKS.
AND THEN THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE, UH, SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SEE IS WHAT I WOULD CALL KIND OF A DONATION AND GIFT CATALOG.
AND THE PURPOSE FOR THAT IS, IS THAT IT GUIDES THE, UM, FOLKS THAT HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS AND WANT TO DO THINGS THAT ARE GREAT FOR THE PARKS, BUT THEY DO IT IN A WAY THAT CONNECTS WITH THE DESIGN INTENTION OF, OF EACH OF THE PARKS, RATHER THAN IT BEING THEIR FAVORITE THING.
BUT THEN IT DOESN'T QUITE JIVE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO, UM, THAT WILL BE SOME TIME BEFORE THAT'S FORMALIZED AND I WOULD EXPECT PARK BOARD WOULD SEE THOSE DRAFTS SOMETIME NEXT YEAR, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO PREDICT WHEN JUST BASED ON THE WORKLOAD.
UM, SO IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD JUST FACILITATE FOR NOW KIND OF UNOFFICIALLY PIECE BY PIECE, THAT WE CAN JUST LOOK AT THE PROPOSAL AND SAY, HEY, IF IT MEETS
[00:40:01]
OUR DESIGN STANDARDS FOR WHATEVER PARK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A MANUAL FOR THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION.UM, I, I DON'T WANT TO STEP ON THE BOARD'S TOES BEFORE I REALLY TALK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH.
WE HAVE A MEETING COMING UP, UM, THIS MONTH.
SO, UM, I WAS ASKED TO ABOUT AN ISSUE PAPER AND I'M LIKE, WELL, I CAN'T REALLY DO THAT WITHOUT THE BOARD.
SO WE'LL GET SOMETHING LIKE THAT TOGETHER.
UM, IS THERE ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO SEE FROM US IN THAT ISSUE PAPER, WHERE WE'RE JUST KIND OF PRESENTING WHAT IT IS WE WANT TO DO JUST LOCATION AND JUST KIND OF THE INTENT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN PROVIDE SOME, UM, STANDARDS THAT WE KNOW WE CURRENTLY USE, UM, BOTH FROM A PRODUCT SELECTION AS WELL AS AN INSTALLATION STANDARD.
UM, IT'S NOT JUST THE BENCH, IT'S GOTTA BE THE CONCRETE PAD THAT GOES WITH IT.
AND THEN ALL OF THOSE APPROVALS, I'D LIKE TO SEE, GO THROUGH Z AD'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE AS WELL AS, UH, MATT'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE, UM, IN THE APPROPRIATE LOCATION, THEY'RE SAFE, THEY HAVE SOME INTENT, UM, AND THEN WE'VE GOT IRRIGATION OR OTHER ASSETS WE NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S PRETTY QUICK I THINK NO BIG DEAL.
AND THEN ALSO, IF WE WERE, IF THERE WAS AN INTENT TO PLANT A TREE WITH, IN LIKE A TREE, A TREE AS A PART OF THAT CATALOG THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, WOULD THAT HELP THE, UH, TREE CITY USA STUFF FOR YOU FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT? OR IS, DOES IT HAVE TO BE KEPT TOTALLY SEPARATE? IT, IT WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK IT COUNTS NO MATTER HOW IT GETS THERE.
UM, I WOULD BE, I WOULD HESITATE RIGHT NOW TO COMMIT TO A DONATION TREE PROGRAM WITHOUT VISITING WITH MATT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
AND I'LL TELL YOU KIND OF WHY IT, THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT IT HAS INCREDIBLE BENEFIT AND VALUE.
SOMETIMES I FIND THAT ONCE THAT DOOR IS OPEN AND PEOPLE WANT TO DONATE TREES, PERHAPS IN THE MEMORY OF A LOVED ONE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, AND THAT TREE DOESN'T SURVIVE, UM, FOR WHATEVER REASON, CAUSE TREES JUST, THEY DON'T, UH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON A PRETTY GOOD PERCENTAGE, THEN YOU GOT SOME UPSET FOLKS ON, YOU KNOW, WE DONATED THIS TREE, THE NAME OF SO-AND-SO, WHY THE CITY LET IT, LET IT DIE SO IT CAN WAIT.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT WHAT THE BEST PARAMETERS ARE FOR THAT.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WOULD PUT THAT ON OUR TO-DO LIST, BUT I WOULD, I'D BE HESITANT TO COMMIT TO IT RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES LIKE A BENCH THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WITHIN THAT PRODUCT CATALOG? UH, WHAT, UH, WHAT I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST IS IT'S VERY, VERY COMPREHENSIVE BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF, OF, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A COMPANY, A CORPORATION, ANOTHER FOUNDATION, ANOTHER GROUP, YOU KNOW, MIGHT BE A ROTARY OR KOWANAS.
SO ANYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, AN INEXPENSIVE, BARBECUE PIT, ALL THE WAY TO BASKETBALL COURT.
I MEAN, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, SCOREBOARDS ARE COMMON.
UM, LOT, LOTS OF AMENITIES THAT WE WOULD STANDARDIZE ON, I WOULD INCLUDE IN THAT CATALOG.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANYTHING, UM, UH, HOW DIFFICULT IS TO CONSIDER IN THAT CATALOG WATER FOUNTAINS FOR HUMAN AS DONE? OH YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
NO, THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR.
WELL, I WAS ASKING BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A SPECIAL INSTALLATION.
AND SO WHEN WE CREATE THE PROCESS, IT WOULD JUST BE SOMETHING THAT GETS REVIEWED BY STAFF FOR FEASIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, IF IT MEETS THE STANDARD, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE A STANDARD FOR DRINKING FOUNTAINS, UM, WITH AN ADA HEIGHT THAT A STANDARD HEIGHT THAN A PET BOWL.
UM, AND THEN SOMETIMES A JUG FILLER DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION.
AND THEN THE INSTALLATION IS JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, WORKING THAT IN WITH STAFF.
SO THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE COMMON ON A DONATION CATALOG.
ANYTHING ELSE FROM THE PARKS FOUNDATION? OH, SORRY.
SO WE'RE EXACTLY WITH THE FOUNDATION.
DO YOU HAVE A FIVE OH ONE C3? YES, SIR.
WELL, WE ARE, WE ARE, UH, BY TEXAS STATE STANDARDS.
WE ARE THIS NEXT, WE'RE GETTING OUR FIVE OH ONE C3 PAPERWORK TOGETHER.
AND WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT BYLAWS AND LOOKING FOR THAT THROUGH A LAWYER.
RIGHT? WELL, UM, ACTUALLY LAW STUDENTS ARE PROHIBITED FROM GETTING, GIVING LEGAL ADVICE.
[00:45:01]
UM, I'M LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT LAWYER.IF ANYBODY KNOWS SOMEONE THAT MIGHT WANT TO JUST LOOK SOMETHING LIKE MR. ALBERT, HE IS, UM, WELL, I DON'T THINK IT'S THAT.
I THINK THERE MIGHT BE A SMALL CONFLICT OF INTEREST PERHAPS.
WE WOULD FIND ONE, BUT I MIGHT ASK HIM JUST TO LIKE DO IT FOR A FRIEND AND THEN THEY WOULD BE OKAY.
I JUST GOT WORD BACK FROM MY FRIEND.
WHO'S A LAW STUDENT THAT SHE COULDN'T DO IT.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING ALL THAT.
PICKLEBALL COURT UPDATE THE LONG AWAITED PICKLEBALL COURTS.
RIGHT? SO WE, WE PUT, WE PUT THIS ON AT THE REQUEST OF SOMEONE ON PARK BOARD.
SO IF YOU HAVE SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR ME, I WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
OTHERWISE, THERE ARE, UH, I HAVE SOME BROAD ANSWERS OTHER THAN THAT, WAS THERE, WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC OTHER THAN JUST WANTING TO KNOW IF AND WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO HAPPEN? RIGHT.
WELL, I KNOW THAT CENTRAL PARK IS, IS IN NEED OF A REVAMP ON THE TENNIS COURT.
AND I THINK YOU SAID THAT THERE JISD ACTUALLY HAS A CONTRACT WITH YOU GUYS TO, UH, HELP MAINTAIN THEM.
AND ALL OF THAT, UM, IN THE NEXT TENNIS COURT REDO, CAN WE JUST HAVE ONE PICKLEBALL COURT WITHIN THAT GROUP OF TENNIS COURTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, PUT UP? UM, SO YEAH, THERE'S NO DOUBT THERE'S A HIGH DEMAND AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, WHETHER IT BE ONE OR MORE, UM, THERE AREN'T ANY SET IN STONE PLANS AT THE MOMENT, THE COURT THAT'S AT CENTRAL PARK.
MATT HAS BEEN TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, NEED SOME ATTENTION.
UM, AND THERE IS AN AGREEMENT, MATT, I BELIEVE IT GOES BACK TO 1970 SOMETHING.
DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT? AND SO 1975 FIVE.
SO, UH, IT'S NOT LIKELY BEING ADHERED TO ANYWHERE.
I KNOW THAT IF WE NEED TO REPLACE THE, THE TENNIS COURTS PROPERLY WITH FENCING AND LIGHTING, UM, PROPER POST-TENSION SLAB AND ALL THAT, WE'RE PROBABLY IN THAT 800 TO 800,000 TO A MILLION DOLLAR RANGE FOR A SET OF FOUR COURTS.
UM, THERE WAS ALSO SOME DISCUSSION THAT WAS HAD WITH COUNCIL PRE COVID REGARDING RICK ODIN PARK.
THAT WAS WHAT TO DO WITH THE TENNIS CENTER, A FUTURE.
UM, SO WE WERE ASKED TO LOOK AT SOME SITES FOR THAT.
UM, AND SO WE ARE, UH, WE HAD MADE SOME HEADWAY WITH THAT AND WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT A CIP PROJECT REQUEST TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION RELATED TO THE TENNIS CENTER.
SO THAT'S A LONG WAY OF SAYING THAT THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, IF FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO ADD PICKLEBALL TO THE TENNIS THAT WOULD REPLACE WHAT'S AT JACK COLEMAN IN THE RECODE AND PARK.
UM, ANY OTHER TIME WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT PICKLEBALL WHERE WE'RE ABSOLUTELY LOOKING FOR IT, CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A HUGE DEMAND.
AND I KNOW THAT WE I'D MENTIONED THAT WE HAD BEEN IN CONVERSATION WITH SOME PRIVATE GROUPS THAT WERE LOOKING FOR FINANCE, UH, INVESTMENT FOR A PICKLEBALL FACILITY THAT'S YET TO COME TO FRUITION.
UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S HIGH ON MY LIST AND I THINK IT'S, WE JUST DON'T HAVE ANYTHING SET IN STONE AT THE MOMENT.
SO I REMEMBER THE, UH, THE DEPUTY OVER AT THE COLEMAN TENNIS CENTER.
I FORGET WHAT HER NAME WAS, BUT, UH, SHE SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR PICKLE BALL COURTS AND THE ABILITY TO RUN A PICKLEBALL PROGRAM OUT OF THE TENNIS CENTER.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE OTHER THING THAT, THAT THE TENNIS FOLKS WILL SAY, OR THAT I HAVE HEARD IS, AND IT'S TRUE.
SOMETIMES HAVING THEM STRIPED, SOMETIMES THE TENNIS FOLKS, DON'T LIKE ALL THOSE STRIPES ON THEIR COURT AND VICE VERSA, THE PICKLEBALL THAT NEITHER CAUSE YOU CAN PUT, UM, TO PICK A BALL COURTS PER, PER TENNIS COURT GENERALLY.
UM, AND SO THOSE, THOSE ARE OPTIONS.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU BUILD ONE PICKLEBALL COURT, IT'LL IMMEDIATELY BE 19 TO FEW, RIGHT? YES, NO, IT'S FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
I CAN TELL YOU, UH, WHATEVER YOU BUILD, IT AIN'T ENOUGH KENYA.
[00:50:03]
THE, THE, OH, I APOLOGIZE.THE CORE OF THE TENNIS COURTS ARE GOING TO, IF WE'RE GOING TO FIX THOSE, THAT MEANS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO STAY THERE.
WELL, SO ONE OF THE OPTIONS WAS TO, BECAUSE OF THE CONDITION THAT YOU TALKING ABOUT RICK ODIN.
SO THE, THE DISCUSSION FROM COUNCIL WAS FOR US TO ASK, THEY ASKED TO LOOK AT OPTIONS TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER LOCATION.
WE'VE LOOKED AT ANOTHER LOCATION THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE, UM, SO THAT THEY, IN THE, IF THERE'S SOME BUDGET AVAILABLE TO BASICALLY GET THEM BACK, WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE, WHICH IS 13 COURTS, UM, WITH THE INTENT OF, IN THE FUTURE, TRYING TO GET THEM TO A, UH, 20 COURT FACILITY, BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF THE IDEAL NUMBER FOR THEIR TOURNAMENTS.
UM, BUT THAT'S ALL GOING TO ABOUT TO BE DISCUSSED AT THE, UH, COUNCIL LEVEL CIP BUDGET.
BUT I'M, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE MILLION OR SOME DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING TO BE INVESTED IN WHAT IS ALREADY THERE AT THAT PARK.
SO THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE GONNA, IF YOU'RE GONNA, YOU ARE PLANNING TO INVEST THAT MONEY TO FIX THE FANS AND THE TENNIS SKIRT.
UH, IT MEANS THEY ARE GOING TO REMAIN THERE.
SO RIGHT NOW, THE BUDGET FOR RECODE AND DOES NOT INCLUDE, UM, DOING ANYTHING WITH THE TENNIS FACILITY, IT'S, IT'S EVERYTHING AROUND IT.
UM, AND A LOT OF DEMOLITION OF EXISTING FACILITIES, BUT BECAUSE THE BUDGET, UH, THAT WAS APPROVED DOES NOT INCLUDE ENOUGH TO DO A NEW TENNIS FACILITY.
SO WE STARTED LOOKING AT THERE, SOME OTHER MONEY AVAILABLE IN ANOTHER PARCEL, UH, IN ANOTHER PART OF TOWN.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE INVESTIGATING AT THIS POINT.
SO FOR THE TIME BEING THAT THE FACILITY AT RECODE WILL BE AS IS, SHOULD I THINK THERE'S TWO ISSUES.
ONE IS THE CENTRAL PARK TENNIS COURT, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS WHAT ARE WE DOING? OH, SO THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT ONCE IN CENTRAL PARK.
SO MY QUESTION ABOUT THE OTHER ONE THEN, BECAUSE, WELL, SOMEHOW COUNCIL PROMISE THIS, THIS TENNIS CENTER, PEOPLE THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO BE DONE FOR THEM.
AND I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THE LEVER, ANYTHING, UH, IT WILL BE GOOD TO SEE AT LEAST TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT EXACTLY WE ARE AT.
SO, UM, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY PROMISES MADE OTHER THAN TO LOOK AT IT FROM A STANDPOINT OF WHAT DOES THE BUDGET AT RICK ODIN PROVIDE.
AND RIGHT NOW IT DOESN'T PROVIDE NEW TENNIS FACILITIES, BUT I THINK THERE'S, THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT IN OTHER AVENUES AND ANOTHER LOCATION.
AND SO NONE OF THOSE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN ANY DETAIL YET AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN SOON.
SO, AND THEN BACK TO CENTRAL PARK, REPLACING THAT IS ALSO A BUDGET REQUESTS, BUT ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE SOLVED WITH MONEY.
AND NONE OF THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED JUST YET.
OKAY, DON, JERRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? AM I, WHERE WERE YOU ON THE 2004 BOND COMMITTEE NOW? THAT'S THE ONE, I, THE ONLY ONE I MISSED LATE SEVENTIES, CAUSE I, I KNOW THERE WAS, UM, A PROPOSAL FOR A SUPER BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, SOCCER COMPLEX, UH, TUCKER VILLE, UM, ON HIGHWAY 66 ACROSS FROM THE FIRE, THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.
AND THEN, UM, SOMEBODY MENTIONED, I DUNNO, WHO WAS ABOUT MOVING THE TENNIS CENTER THERE, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT TENNIS WAS IN THAT BOND IN 2004.
UH, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, IS SAVE ANY ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND INFORMATION TILL AFTER THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PARTS AND NOT ALL OF THE PLAYERS IN THAT BUNCH OF MOVING PARTS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED WITH YET.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT TONIGHT WOULD BE THE TIME FOR THEM TO FIND OUT.
UM, SO THEY'RE THERE, THEIR COUNSEL IS AWARE OF THE SITUATION AND, AND THE APPROPRIATE BUDGET REQUESTS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED FOR THEM TO CONSIDER.
UM, AND AS SOON AS, AS SOON AS I GET SOME DIRECTION ON THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO DEBRIEF EVERYONE ELSE.
AND THAT'D BE HERE EARLY NEXT CALENDAR YEAR, RIGHT? UH THAT'S WHEN IT'S FINALLY APPROVED.
I THINK IT'S APPROVED IN LIKE FEBRUARY, BUT I SHOULD HAVE SOME, SOME INDICATION BY THEN, BUT AGAIN, ANYTIME IT INVOLVES, UM, LAND AND SOME OTHER, OTHER VARIOUS MOVING PARTS, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S APPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS IN THE
[00:55:01]
PUBLIC FORUM AT THE MOMENT.ALL I WAS GOING TO ALL, I WAS GOING TO SAY IN ADDRESSING THAT DAWN'S, UM, QUESTIONS IS THAT, UH, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT PARKS BOARD WAS ASKED TO PRESENT, UM, THINGS THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE IN THE 2004 BOND PROGRAM.
AND THERE SEEM TO BE AT THAT TIME IN 2004, A NEED, UM, IN DIFFERENT AREAS, WE'VE ADDRESSED THE SKATE PARK, BUT TOQUERVILLE WAS SUPPOSED TO INCLUDE, I THOUGHT FIVE FIELDS AND THEY WERE, THERE WAS A DEMAND FOR FOOTBALL, BIG BOY BASEBALL IS WHAT THEY CALL IT.
AND, UM, AND SOCCER, UH, WHERE THE PREDOMINANT THINGS THAT WERE MENTIONED THERE AT THAT TIME, AND BASEBALL MAY HAVE HAD MORE THAN ONE AND FOOTBALL MAY HAVE THAT HAD MORE THAN ONE.
UM, BUT, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THERE, WHETHER THAT BOND MONEY IS RESTRICTED TO THOSE SPECIFIC, UM, NEEDS OR THAT WERE ADDRESSED AT THAT TIME AS, AS SOMETHING FOR, UH, ANDY TO COME UP WITH A DEFINITION ON THAT FROM A RESEARCH AND FEEDBACK THAT HE GETS.
MARGARET, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES.
SO WHAT, OR WHEN ARE YOU PRESENTING THIS TO COUNCIL? I I'M, I'M NOT REAL SURE WHAT THE DATES ARE.
THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SET YET WE WITH THE, WITH THE STAFF LEVEL.
SO I JUST WANT TO REITERATE, BECAUSE I THINK WE MIGHT BE GETTING AWAY FROM THE PICKLEBALL DISCUSSION AND INTO A TENNYSON AND TUCKERBIL DISCUSSION THAT, THAT WE COULD ABSOLUTELY, UM, DISCUSS IN THE