[1. CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:10]
BOARD MEETING TO ORDER. PLEASE, EVERYONE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR GREEN LIGHT ON FOR THE MIC IF YOU DON'T MIND, PLEASE. THANK EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT THIS EVENING. ITEM NUMBER ONE.
CALL TO ORDER. WE'VE ALREADY DONE THAT ROLL CALL, I BELIEVE EVERYONE IS HERE. THAT IS ON THE PARKS BOARD. EXCEPT FOR THOMAS, SEEN AT THIS TIME. NEXT ITEM, WE'LL GO TO ITEM NUMBER
[3. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES]
THREE. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES. CONSIDER APPROVING THE FEBRUARY 5TH, 2026 PARKS BOARD MEETING MINUTES. YOU SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THAT. AND YOU SHOULD ALSO HAVE A COPY IN FRONT OF YOU AS WELL. I'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT, AND AFTER YOUR REVIEW, WE'LL BOARD FOR SOMEBODY TO MAKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL. I'LL MAKE A MOTION.WE APPROVE THE MINUTES. I GOT A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. ITEM NUMBER FOUR. PUBLIC COMMENT. I DO NOT SEE ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC THIS EVENING. MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE. ACTION ITEMS NOT REQUIRING ACTION. WE DON'T HAVE ANY TONIGHT. ITEM NUMBER SIX,
[7. STAFF REPORTS]
ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION. THERE'S NONE. ITEM SEVEN. STAFF REPORTS WILL START WITH PARK PROJECTS.MR. TRAIN. ALL RIGHT. WELL, GOOD EVENING, PARKS BOARD. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER LAST MEETING. WE TOUCHED ON THAT WE'RE CHANGING UP THE FORMAT A LITTLE BIT. SO WE'LL DO A LITTLE BIT OF A DEEPER DIVE ON PARK PROJECTS THAN WE USUALLY WOULD. AND THEN GOING FORWARD, THERE'LL BE A LITTLE BIT LESS FREQUENT THAN THEY OTHERWISE WERE IN THE PAST. I'M HAPPY TO GET QUESTIONS AT THE END AS WELL. BUT YEAH, LET'S GET STARTED. SO FIRST I WANTED TO GO OVER AN OPERATION SNAPSHOT. SO, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE YEARS BACK WE STARTED USING PLACER AI LOCATION DATA TO TRACK USAGE OF OUR PARKS. SO JUST TRACKING PARK USAGE FOR JANUARY 2025, WHICH WAS THE MOST RECENT MONTH I HAD ACCESS TO WHEN I WAS PREPARING THIS. YOU KNOW, WE SAW AN INCREASE IN USAGE, UP 15% FROM DECEMBER AND UP 49% FROM JANUARY 2025. SO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THAT AND ASKING WHY I THINK LIKELY ARE SEEING AN INCREASE FROM 2025 DUE TO ATYPICALLY COLD WEATHER LAST YEAR, JANUARY 2025 WAS A PARTICULARLY COLD MONTH, AND THAT'S GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON PARK SYSTEM. AND THEN SEEING PARK USE INCREASE SINCE DECEMBER 2025 MONTH TO MONTH AS THINGS WARMED UP A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS THE TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH, AND WE HAD A FEW BIG PARK PROJECTS WRAP UP, YOU KNOW, TOUCHING A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT. THE THREE MOST USED PARKS WERE BUFFALO RUN COMMUNITY AND HUNTER'S GLEN, AND THEY ALL HAD SIMILAR TRENDS AS PARKS OVERALL.
SO THAT ALSO HAD US ASKING THE QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WHAT DID THESE THREE PARKS HAVE IN COMMON THAT WOULD MAKE THEM HAVE CONSISTENT TRENDS? BECAUSE ALSO THERE WAS A THERE'S A LARGE DROP OFF IN PARK ATTENDANCE BETWEEN THESE THREE PARKS AND THE REST OF THE PARK SYSTEM. SO ALL OF THESE ARE LARGER MULTI-USE PARKS. SO GENERALLY THEY'RE GOING TO CORRELATE BETTER WITH TRENDS AS A WHOLE. ANOTHER THING THAT WE WANTED TO TOUCH ON WAS MCNAUGHTON PARK HAS BEEN GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION SINCE THE PLAYGROUND HAD BEEN CLOSED AND RECENTLY REOPENED. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. HOW THAT WAS AFFECTING ATTENDANCE.
SO DURING THE TIME WHEN THE PLAYGROUND WAS CLOSED, WE MOST WEEKS SAW ATTENDANCE DROP AT LEAST 30% YEAR OVER YEAR. SINCE WE'VE REOPENED THE PLAYGROUND, THE ATTENDANCE FOR THE PARK AS A WHOLE HAS BEEN UP 86% AND ALSO UP SIGNIFICANTLY FROM 2025. SO THIS IS SHOWING THAT EVEN AT A LARGER PARK LIKE MCNAUGHTON PARK, THE PLAYGROUND IS STILL A MAJOR, MAJOR DRAW AND SHOWS, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE OF UPKEEPING AND MAINTAINING OUR PLAYGROUNDS. I WANTED TO ALSO JUST TOUCH ON COMMUNITY IMPACTS AND RESIDENT CONCERNS, BECAUSE THESE ARE THINGS WE ARE ALWAYS KEEPING IN MIND AND ALWAYS TRYING TO ADDRESS. SO PARKING AT RIDGEVIEW, THAT HAS BEEN A CONCERN FOR YEARS SINCE WE PUT THE SPLASH PAD IN. SO WE HAVE THAT NEW PARKING LOT UNDERWAY,
[00:05:03]
AND I'LL TOUCH ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A COUPLE MORE SLIDES. IMPROVING SAFETY AND VISIBILITY IS ONGOING FOR CONCERN FOR US. SO ONE WAY WE'VE BEEN ADDRESSING THAT IS INSTALLING SOLAR LIGHTS AT A FEW OF OUR PARKS. WE ALSO DEVELOPED A MAINTENANCE AND USAGE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SOLAR LIGHTS ARE MAINTAINED, SINCE THEY'RE A RELATIVELY NEW AMENITY FOR THE FOR THE CITY. AND WE ALSO ARE MAKING SURE THAT STAFF IS AWARE THAT THESE LIGHTS EXIST. SO IF FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIGHTING OPTIONS AT THE PARK, THE PUBLIC CAN BE INFORMED. ANOTHER LARGE CONCERN THAT WE'VE HAD IS JUST VANDALISM. PRETTY OFTEN I'LL GO OUT TO PARKS AND SEE VANDALISM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, SO WAYS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IMPROVING, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WE UTILIZE AN EXISTING CONTRACT AT CAL GREEN WEST TO REPLACE SOME OF THE PLAYGROUND BORDER WITH CONCRETE. SINCE THE BORDER STONES WERE OFTEN USED. TO, WE'RE OFTEN THROWN BY PEOPLE AND KIND OF VANDALISM ISSUE THERE. SO THE CONCRETE BORDER SHOULD SOLVE THAT PROBLEM. WE'LL ALSO BETTER BE ABLE TO MANAGE THIS WITH OUR NEW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, CARTOGRAPH, BY BEING ABLE TO BETTER KEEP TRACK OF OUR RESOURCES AND BETTER KEEP TRACK OF MAINTENANCE ISSUES, WE'LL BE ABLE TO REALLY ASSESS OUR TRENDS AND BE MORE PROACTIVE GOING FORWARD. CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? YES. HOW MANY PARKS DID YOU INSTALL SOLAR LIGHTS AT? SO IN THIS RECENT ROUND, WE DID SOLAR LIGHTS AT TWO PARKS AT BICENTENNIAL PARK AND THEN AT COMMUNITY PARK, SPECIFICALLY AT THE BASKETBALL COURT. THANK YOU.YOU'RE WELCOME. ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE INCREASED USAGE OF THE BASKETBALL COURT? I CERTAINLY CAN TOUCH ON THAT. SENT YOU THE STATS, RIGHT. YEAH. I LET ME SEE IF I IT'S OKAY.
OKAY. I CAN TOUCH ON IT. I CAN'T THROW THE EXACT NUMBER OUT THERE. I COULD GET IT GET IT FOR YOU ALL IF YOU'D LIKE, BUT YEAH. ONE THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT. SO ONE THING THAT WE LOOKED AT AFTER INSTALLING THE AFTER INSTALLING THE SOLAR PANELS AT THE BASKETBALL COURT, WHEN WE LOOK AT PLACER DATA, WE'RE NOT RESTRICTED TO JUST LOOKING AT PARKS. WE CAN REALLY ZOOM IN AND CREATE MORE GRANULAR AREAS TO ASSESS. SO WE LOOKED AT THE BASKETBALL COURT ITSELF. AND IF YOU CAN EVEN NARROW IT DOWN BY TIME. SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT BASKETBALL COURT USAGE AFTER 4:00 PM, WE SAW A VERY, VERY SIGNIFICANT UPTICK IN USAGE. SO LIKE IF YOU WERE TO JUST LOOK AT PARK USAGE OVERALL, IT BECOMES KIND OF A BLIP AND YOU WOULDN'T NOTICE THAT. BUT WHEN YOU ZOOM IN YEAH, VERY, VERY DRASTIC INCREASE IN USAGE OF THE FACILITY AT NIGHTTIME WHEN IT WOULD OTHERWISE BE DARK. SO THAT IS ENCOURAGING AND GIVES US, YOU KNOW, GIVES US THE, THE, THE DATA BEHIND INVESTING MORE IN, IN LIGHTING OUR PARKS. OKAY.
SO NEXT I WANTED TO TOUCH ON KEY RISKS AND FORWARD LOOKING ITEMS. SO ONE THING THAT HAS GENERALLY BEEN A RISK FOR THE DEPARTMENT OR JUST, YOU KNOW, ANY ALL DEPARTMENTS EVERYWHERE REALLY IS JUST CONSTRUCTION TIMELINES WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO WEATHER CONTRACTOR SEQUENCING.
AND ALL OF THAT CAN, CAN, CAN CHANGE IN A BLIP. SO AND CURRENT PROJECTS THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD IMPACT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE BICENTENNIAL RENOVATION RIDGEVIEW PARKING LOT. SO WAYS THAT WE'RE BEING PROACTIVE TO MINIMIZE THAT IMPACT IS JUST ACTIVELY COORDINATE WITH THE CONTRACTORS, MONITOR SCHEDULES AND TRACK ALL OF OUR COSTS. WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE GIS TEAM PRETTY CLOSELY RECENTLY TO INTEGRATE AS MUCH OF OUR IN-HOUSE DATA AS POSSIBLE, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER TRACK AND MANAGE OUR RESOURCES. FINALLY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON IS WE'RE WORKING WITH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO INTEGRATE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL RESOURCE PRESERVATION INTO THE COMP PLAN UPDATES THAT WILL BE HAPPENING SOON. SO THAT HAS INVOLVED COORDINATING WITH STATE AGENCIES AND PARTNERING WITH LOCAL NONPROFITS FOR THEIR INPUT AS WELL. SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL, BUT WE HAVE A DRAFT GOAL THAT WE'VE BEEN CIRCLING INTERNALLY, SO I'LL I'LL READ THAT OUT FOR Y'ALL AND I'LL PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION. AND THEN I'D BE HAPPY TO GET ANY COMMENTS OR INPUT IF YOU ALL WANTED TO PROVIDE ANY. SO THE DRAFT GOAL IS INTEGRATING PRESERVATION INTO LAND USE, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES, PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS TO INVENTORY AND PROTECT
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HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES. MAINTAINING RECORDS OF THREATENED OR SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC PROPERTIES, AND INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF HISTORIC AND CULTURAL ASPECTS.SO JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT. SO LIKE, WHAT WOULD THIS MEAN REALLY? THIS WOULD MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, WE WOULD BE TAKING, YOU KNOW, THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL IMPACT IN MIND THROUGHOUT FUTURE PLANNING DECISIONS. YOU KNOW, WHERE THAT TIES INTO PARKS IS, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE INTERPRETIVE SIGNS, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH FREEDOM TREE PARK COMING ALONG, YOU KNOW, THERE COULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY THERE. SO YEAH, JUST WANTED TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU ALL AND SEE IF PERHAPS Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE SOME FEEDBACK.
OKAY. WE'LL OPEN UP ANY QUESTIONS COMMENTS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE APPRECIATE IT. YES MA'AM I WAS JUST TAKING FEEDBACK ON THAT. SO I HAVE A REQUEST ACTUALLY.
CAN I GET A COPY OF THIS SLIDE. SO I'D BE HAPPY TO TO SEND THE COPY OF THE PRESENTATION TO ALL OF Y'ALL OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH, DEFINITELY. AND THEN IF YOU ALL. YEAH. MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO THAT. THANK YOU. LASTLY I WANTED TO GO OVER CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE JUST SOME OF OUR BIGGER PROJECTS. SO THE RIDGEVIEW PARKING LOT, WHICH WE TOUCHED ON A LITTLE BIT AGO, WE BROKE GROUND ON FEBRUARY 18TH. THAT IS MOVING PRETTY FAST. I WAS JUST THERE THIS MORNING TALKING WITH CONTRACTORS, AND THAT SHOULD WRAP UP IN ABOUT A WEEK. SO. LOOKING LOOKING PRETTY GOOD TO BE DONE THIS MONTH SHOULD BE DONE EARLIER THAN ANTICIPATED WHICH IS GREAT.
IT'S GOING TO ADD ABOUT 50 NEW SPOTS, WHICH HIGHLY NEEDED, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT PEAK TIMES RIDGEVIEW IN THE SUMMER CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, OVER 300 PEOPLE THERE AT A TIME. SO OUR CURRENT 30 SPOTS AND ONE SPOT PER TEN PEOPLE IS PROBABLY IS DEFINITELY INADEQUATE. SO THIS IS THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG, BIG HELP WITH BICENTENNIAL PARK, ADDITIONAL SITE AMENITIES.
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ARRIVE WITH THE INSTALLER YESTERDAY. I HAVEN'T TALKED TO THEM SINCE YESTERDAY TO CONFIRM THAT, BUT THAT'S WHAT I HEARD ON MONDAY, SO WE SHOULD BE GETTING THOSE INSTALLED THIS MONTH AND THEN COMMUNITY PARK TEES AND TRAILS DISC GOLF COURSE HAD THE SIGNAGE UPDATED. THAT WAS REALLY THE LAST STEP AT THE PARK. THE LAST MAJOR STEP ANYWAY, AND THERE'S BEEN A PRETTY TANGIBLE BENEFIT WITH GOLF COURSE BENEFIT RENOVATIONS, YOU KNOW, 2025 DISC GOLF COURSE USE AT COMMUNITY PARK WAS UP 40% OVER 2024, AND THAT COINCIDES WITH A LOT OF UPGRADES THAT WE DID TO THE DISC GOLF COURSE LAST YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, WHILE DISC GOLF HAS BEEN GETTING MORE POPULAR NATIONWIDE, THAT INCREASE IN POPULARITY IS 8%. SO SEEING 40% LIKELY INDICATES THAT OUR IMPROVEMENTS ARE REALLY PAYING OFF. SO GREAT. GREAT TO SEE THAT. YEAH, THAT WAS MY LAST SLIDE. ANY QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH. ITEM B RECREATION. MR. DALTON. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, PARKS BOARD. HI. GOOD EVENING. OKAY. FOR MY PRESENTATION. I'M ACTUALLY REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS. I THINK MY PRESENTATION I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE WAS GETTING A LITTLE BLAND, SO I'M GLAD TO SPICE IT UP A LITTLE BIT. STILL, THROW THE EXCITING DATA AND METRICS AT YOU, BUT GET TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS. SOME OF THE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION. WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR RECENT ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
THE NEXT SECTION WILL BE DATA AND METRICS ANALYTICS, AND THREE WILL JUST BE UPCOMING PROJECTS, PRIORITIES AND KIND OF SOME INITIATIVES WE HAVE AT THE RECREATION AND DIVISION. SO FIRST ONE, I THINK I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THIS ONE TO YOU, BUT OUR TRAPS. SO TEXAS RECREATION AND PARK SOCIETY EAST REGION, WHICH IS THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, WON THE INNOVATIVE PROGRAMING AWARD FOR ALL ABILITIES SKATE IS WORKED TO THE MOST INNOVATIVE PROGRAM EVENT IN THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA. SO THAT WAS REALLY GOOD. THAT WAS ALLISON AND HER TEAM.
THEY DID THE PROGRAM BEFORE I EVEN LEFT. I WAS LIKE, YOU NEED TO APPLY. AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, IT'S JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING. BUT I'M GLAD THEY APPLIED. THAT WAS REALLY COOL TO SEE THEY WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO ACCEPT IT AT THE TRAPS EAST REGION DINNER ON DECEMBER 11TH. AND SO IT WAS A GOOD WAY TO KIND OF CELEBRATE WITH THE TEAM AND SAY, HEY, HERE'S ALL YOUR HARD WORK PAYING OFF. SO THAT WAS REALLY AWESOME. NEXT ONE IS OUR NEW AND REINVIGORATED EVENTS. SO ONE OF THEM WAS OUR NEW YEAR'S EVE EVENT. IT KIND OF FILLS IN RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A GAP IN FAMILY PROGRAMING, SO WE HAVE THE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT SERVE THE GREATER GOOD OF
[00:15:02]
MISSOURI CITY, BUT WE KIND OF HAVE THOSE FAMILY EVENT GAPS. AND THIS ONE AGAIN IS ALLISON.I CAN'T TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT HER. SHE'LL GET TOO FULL OF HERSELF. BUT NEW YEAR'S EVE WAS A WAY FOR KIDS. ADULTS GET TO CELEBRATE NEW YEAR'S EVE, THE MIDNIGHT, THE BALL DROP. AND SO THIS NEW YEAR'S WAS OBVIOUSLY AT NOON. AND SO WE GOT THE FIREFIGHTERS TO DROP THE BALLOONS, CELEBRATE. WE HAD ICE CREAM THERE. WE HAD A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES BOARDS THAT YOU CAN RIDE ON. WHAT ARE YOU TAKING INTO THE NEW YEAR AND EVERYTHING? IT WAS REALLY COOL. I THINK OUR ONLY GRIPE WAS THE FIREFIGHTERS KIND OF THREW THE BALLS DOWN AT THE KIDS AND WE'RE LIKE, YOU NEED TO FLUFF IT UP A LITTLE BIT. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, IT WAS REALLY GOOD. WE HAD MAYBE 100 KIDS, 100 PEOPLE THERE IN TOTAL. AND SO THAT WAS THAT WAS REALLY GOOD EVENT. OUR NEXT ONE IS OUR LOVE AT FIRST FLEX. THIS WAS OUR FIT EXPO THAT WE USUALLY HOST IN JANUARY AT THE BEGINNING OF NEW YEAR, TO KIND OF GET PEOPLE INTO THE REC CENTER. WE HOSTED ON FEBRUARY 14TH, VALENTINE'S DAY. AND SO THE LOVE AT FIRST FLEX, THAT'S THE NAME OF IT AND JUST SHOWED ALL THE CLASS OFFERINGS. AND SO IT GOT PEOPLE INTO THE BUILDING.
IT SHOWED US, SHOWED THEM WHAT WE HAD TO OFFER. IT SHOWED THAT WE HAD OF A WEIGHT ROOM. WE HAD BATTING CAGES. A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL COME INTO THE REC CENTER AND THEY'LL SAY, WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS EXISTED, AND IT'S LIKE WE'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG. THEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW, THIS EXISTED. SO IT WAS A WAY FOR TO GET PEOPLE IN. IN 2025, WE HAD JUST THE REGULAR FIT EXPO. WE HAD ABOUT 100 PEOPLE. DATA RAN WITH THIS AND WE HAD 700 PEOPLE THROUGH THE DOOR. SO THAT'S A HUGE BOOST. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING A COUPLE UPTICK OF MEMBERSHIPS, BUT IF PEOPLE JUST KNOW ABOUT US AT THAT POINT, I'LL CONSIDER THAT A SUCCESS. AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME PROGRAM REGISTRATION THAT IS INCREASING AS WELL. SO THAT WAS REALLY GOOD. THAT WAS RUN BY RUN BY MONICA ROBERTS, OUR OTHER RECREATION MANAGER, AND SHE'S HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING. SHE'S DOING AWESOME. ANOTHER RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS IS JUST NOW IMPLEMENTED.
SO IT IS A RECREATION AND TENNIS CENTER AUDIT FORM. IT'S MEANT FOR CITIZENS NOT PARKS AND REC STAFF. WHAT WE KIND OF DO THIS IS WHEN DONNIE AND I COME IN AND DANIELLE COME IN, WE AS PARKS AND REC PROFESSIONALS, WE KIND OF KNOW WHAT TO LOOK AT, BUT WE'RE NOT THE MAIN CUSTOMER BASE THAT WE'RE SERVING. AND SO WE WANT PEOPLE THAT COME IN RIGHT NOW.
IT'S KIND OF BEEN A PILOT PROGRAM WITH THE CITY OF MISSOURI CITY EMPLOYEES, BUT NOT PARKS AND REC EMPLOYEES. AND SO IT'S JUST COMING IN AND SAYING, HEY, HOW FAST DID STAFF GREET YOU? THEY GREET YOU WITHIN 20S WHEN YOU GO INTO THE BATHROOM, IS IT CLEAN WHEN YOU GO INTO THE WEIGHT ROOM? ARE THERE THINGS THAT MAYBE I SEE EVERY DAY AND I KIND OF JUST BEGIN TO OVERLOOK? IT'S JUST KIND OF AN AUDIT. SEE WHERE WE'RE AT, SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND DRIVES ACCOUNTABILITY, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. I THINK THAT'S KIND OF WHAT IT IS, IS, HEY, IF SOMEONE IF WE'VE SEEN AN AUDIT AND IT SAYS, HEY, THERE'S A TEAR IN THE HEADREST ON THE BENCH MACHINE, THEN WE NEED TO FIX IT, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THAT MIGHT BE NOT SOMETHING WE'RE SEEING, BUT IF THAT PERSON SAW IT, THEN ANOTHER PERSON SAW IT. AND IF THEY'RE TOURING AND EVERYTHING. SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE KIND OF HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE. AND IF ANY OF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I'LL HOOK YOU UP WITH A FREE SHIRT IF YOU DO IT. SO I WILL SEND YOU THE FORM AND EVERYTHING. YES, BUDDY. PEOPLE.
HOW DO PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED GET ACCESS TO THIS FORM? WE HAVE TWO THAT HAVE DONE IT ALREADY. ANYBODY THAT IS INTERESTED THAT IS NOT A PARKS AND REC EMPLOYEE, I WILL TAKE. I THINK WE'RE TALKING I MEAN, MAYBE THIS FIRST ROUND, MAYBE TAKING 15 TO 20 PEOPLE AND WE'VE HAD TWO PEOPLE DO IT. SO WE'VE HAD OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DIRECTOR DO IT AND SOMEONE IN PERMITTING DO IT FOR US. AND SO AND I WANT THE BRUTAL HONESTY OF WHAT YOU SEE AND EVERYTHING SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE FIXING. SO BUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, I KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE SOMETIMES. LET US KNOW. YOU HAVE TO GO IN WITH A MIND THAT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT BEFORE, THOUGH, RIGHT? ANOTHER RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT IS MARKETING EFFORTS. AND THIS REALLY GOES ACROSS THE RECREATION DIVISION TO ADMIN DIVISION. CHRIS IS NOT HERE. SHE'S OUT ON A CRUISE RIGHT NOW. LUCKY HER. BUT SHE'S BEEN DOING AWESOME SINCE SHE STARTED HERE. I THINK THE BIG THING IS YOU'VE SEEN THAT INCREASE ON SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE THAT HAS BEEN 100% HER BEFORE IT WAS ME. SO IF IT WAS BAD, OKAY, IT IS WHAT IT IS.
BUT SHE HAS DONE AWESOME. SHE'S KEPT IN THE SAME THE SAME COLORS, THE SAME FORMAT. SHE'S VERY CONSISTENT WITH IT. AND IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY OF THE REELS, WHICH I'LL SHOW HERE IN A BIT, SHE'S THE ONE THAT'S BEEN DOING ALL THE REELS AND IT'S BEEN A HIT. WE HAD MONICA ROBERTS ACTUALLY GO TO FORT BEND ISD, HAS A SCHOOL LIAISON MEETING, AND SO IT'S JUST LIKE HOW TO GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY. AND SHE WENT TO TALK THERE AND SPEAK ABOUT IT. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE SAID, WE DIDN'T KNOW Y'ALL HAD ALL THIS, WHICH AGAIN, SHOWS THAT WE'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING RIGHT IN THAT SENSE. BUT I'M GLAD SHE WENT OUT THERE AND DID IT. AND THEN OUR WEBSITE REHAUL AND EDIT. IF YOU GO ON OUR WEBSITE, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF OLD AND OUTDATED AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. WE ACTUALLY, CHRIS AND I WERE TRAINED ON HOW TO EDIT THE WEBSITE, AND SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A WHOLE REHAUL THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE AN AUDIT OF, AND WE'RE GOING TO START IMPLEMENTING THAT. LET'S SEE IF THIS WILL PLAY. I DON'T KNOW IF THE SOUND IS THERE, BUT. AND REALLY THE GOAL OF THIS WAS JUST TO GET PEOPLE REALIZING WHAT'S IN THE REC CENTER. THEY DON'T REALIZE WHAT WE HAVE. LIKE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE BACK, RIGHT? AND SO AGAIN, THAT WAS CHRIS'S IDEA. I DON'T WANNA TAKE CREDIT FOR THAT. SHE'S SHE'S DONE AWESOME WITH IT. SHE CAME AND ASKED ME. SHE SAID, DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE THE REINS
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OVER? AND I WAS LIKE, PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU. SO SHE'S BEEN DOING REALLY GOOD WITH THAT.ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO DATA AND METRICS? OKAY. DATA AND METRICS REVENUE, WE'LL KIND OF GO THROUGH THIS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW. A LOT OF THIS STUFF WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH WITH MY PRESENTATIONS, BUT THIS IS THE PAST THREE MONTHS. AND SO IT IS DECEMBER, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PRESENT EVERY THREE MONTHS. AND SO THAT WAS MY IDEA. JUST, HEY, THE PAST THREE MONTHS SNAPSHOT. SO AND WE'RE DOWN 4.5% FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR. KIND OF WHAT THIS DATA TELLS US IS THINGS THAT WE'RE SAYING, I DON'T WANT TO MAKE AN EXCUSE, BUT LIKE, HEY, WHAT HAPPENED? AND THEN WHAT CAN WE DO TO FIX IT? WE HAD THE FREEZE AND FACILITY CLOSURES AND THAT DEFINITELY AFFECTED IT QUITE A BIT. I THINK THERE WAS MAYBE TWO WEEKS, ALMOST MORE, WHERE NONE OF THE PAVILIONS WERE RENTABLE. WE HAD TO CUT OFF ALL THE WATER TO THE RESTROOMS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT, AND THAT DEFINITELY AFFECTED US. AND THEN SOMETIMES WHEN YOU'RE COLD, YOU DON'T WANT TO GO AND WORK OUT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THIS TELLS ME THE REVENUE IS DOWN IS HOW CAN WE MARKET THESE FACILITIES OUT? HOW DO WE TELL PEOPLE WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER? AND THEN JUST SOMETHING WE'VE CONSTANTLY LOOKED AT DIFFERENT PICKLEBALL PLACES. THAT'S OUR BIG THING RIGHT NOW. PICKLEBALL PLACES, FITNESS CONNECTION, ALL OF THOSE. AND WHAT MAKES OUR FACILITIES MORE LIKELY TO BE RENTED THAN OURS? BIRTHDAY PARTY ADD ONS IS ONE OF THEM. I KNOW DONNIE'S SMILING BEHIND ME BECAUSE THAT'S ONE THAT HE'S BEEN WANTING TO TAKE ON FOREVER. AND I THINK THIS IS I THINK THAT'LL BE REALLY BENEFICIAL AS A PARENT MYSELF. AND PLANNING A BIRTHDAY FOR MY SON, WHO TURNS THREE NEXT MONTH IS LIKE, OH MY GOODNESS, IF SOMEONE COULD JUST PLAY HIS BIRTHDAY FOR ME, I WOULD LOVE IT. I WOULD DO IT.
AND THEN JUST AN EASIER RESERVATION SYSTEM. A LOT OF TIMES WITH THIS, ALL THE TIMES WITH THIS, IF YOU WANT TO RESERVE A PAVILION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO CALL IN.
AND SO KNOWING ME, BEING A MILLENNIAL, I KNOW THAT IF I HAVE TO CLICK MORE THAN ONCE OR TWICE OR I HAVE TO CALL SOMEONE DONE, I'M GOING TO GO FIGURE OUT THE NEXT PLACE. AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT DIFFERENT REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, RECREATION SYSTEMS TO MAKE THAT EASIER AND MAKE IT MORE MAYBE LIKE AIRBNB BASED, VRBO BASED, WHERE IT'S A COUPLE OF CLICKS AND YOU HAVE IT RESERVED. I WANT TO COMMENT ON THAT ONE. SO I NOTICED FORT BEND COUNTY, THEY ACTUALLY WENT TO A TOTAL ONLINE BASE OF MAKING RESERVATIONS, NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THEY USE OR WHAT HAVE YOU, BUT AND IT'S HERE RECENT WITHIN THE LAST FOUR TO SAY WITHIN THE LAST 2 TO 4 MONTHS. AND SO I DON'T WANT TO SHARE TOO MUCH. BUT WE ARE WE WILL HAVE A DIFFERENT RECREATION SOFTWARE I BET WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. SO AND THAT'S A BIG PART OF THIS. OKAY. FACILITY USAGE, WE'RE DOWN ABOUT 6.1%. AGAIN I DON'T WANT TO MAKE EXCUSE BUT FACILITIES THE FREEZES REALLY AFFECT THAT. I SAID RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF CLOSING FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. THAT WAS NOT THAT WAS ON A PAST SLIDE THAT DIDN'T REALLY AFFECT ANYTHING. JUST SO WHAT Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS IS USUALLY WE CLOSE DOWN IN NOVEMBER TO DO OUR WEEK OF ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. AND WE MOVED IT TO AUGUST. AND SO AUGUST, SEPTEMBER WE NOTICED A LITTLE BIT OF RESIDUAL. THIS DOESN'T I DON'T THINK IT HAS MUCH THERE. BUT AGAIN, WHAT THIS JUST TELLS ME IS WE NEED TO REINTRODUCE OURSELVES AND WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER.
EVERYBODY COME WHEN PEOPLE COME IN AND THEY HAVE A BASKETBALL GAME, OR THEY HAVE A VOLLEYBALL GAME AND THEY'RE THEY HAVE A TENNIS SOMETHING AND THEIR PARENTS COME IN LIKE, OH, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS EXISTED. I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS HERE. THAT SHOWS THAT WE NEED TO DEFINITELY GET OUT, TALK TO THOSE PROPERTY. HOMER POSE, HOA ISD MEETINGS ANYWHERE WE CAN GET OURSELVES OUT AND TALK ABOUT OURSELVES. WE NEED TO DO IT. PARKS AND REC I THINK WE ALL BELIEVE IN WHAT WE DO, AND WE JUST NEED TO GET OUT THERE AND TELL PEOPLE WHAT WE DO AND GET THEM IN OUR BUILDING. PROGRAMS. LAST YEAR WE WERE 137, THIS YEAR 115 16 1.1% DOWN. AND THIS IS INTENTIONAL. THE LAST YEAR WE WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, IT WAS VERY MUCH LIKE, HEY, LET'S PUSH OUT PROGRAMS, AS MANY PROGRAMS AS WE CAN PUSH OUT, PUSH OUT. THE LAST 2 OR 3 MONTHS, WE'VE ACTUALLY SWITCHED INTO A INSTEAD OF VOLUME BASED PROGRAMING AS MANY PROGRAMS AS WE CAN DO. WE'RE SWITCHING TO IMPACT BASED MODEL. AND SO HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN WE GET IN OUR PROGRAMS IF WE ARE DOING IF I'M DOING A PROGRAM THAT ONLY HAS TWO PEOPLE IN IT EVERY MONTH OR SOMETHING, WE MIGHT NEED TO REEVALUATE IT, JUST SEE THE LIFE CYCLE OF IT AND MOVE ON FROM IT. IT'S NOT BAD TO ARCHIVE A PROGRAM, TRY TO GET IT LATER, BUT IF IT'S NOT WORTH OUR TIME, THEN WE NEED TO KIND OF LOOK AT SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF PROGRAMS OFFERED BY PARKS AND REC AGENCIES WAS 250 LAST YEAR. WE OFFERED 513, SO WE HAD MORE THAN DOUBLE, WHICH YOU WOULD THINK, OH, THAT'S GREAT. BUT THEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA BELOW, THE NATIONAL AVERAGE OF REVENUE PER PARTICIPANT WAS $24 AND OURS WAS ONLY NINE. AND SO THAT JUST KIND OF SHOWS WE NEED TO REEVALUATE OUR COSTS FOR REGISTERING AND JUST REEVALUATE WHAT WE DO. IF WE HAVE SOME OF THESE REC SPECIALISTS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY NEED TO REEVALUATE EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHAT WE'RE OFFERING. AND THEN RATHER BY MEASURING SUCCESS BY THE NUMBER OF PROGRAMS, WE'RE PRIORITIZING PROGRAMS THAT DEMONSTRATE STRONG REGISTRATION, ATTENDANCE AND COST RECOVERY PERFORMANCE. AND I'LL GO OVER COST RECOVERY HERE IN A BIT.
PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, WE'RE UP 10%. I THINK THIS IS IMPACTING BY OUR IMPACT BASED MODEL FREEZE AFFECT SOME OF THESE NUMBERS, BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT TOO MUCH IMPACT BASED MODELS WORKING. WE KIND OF IMPLEMENTED START IMPLEMENTING IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY OF THIS YEAR TO
[00:25:01]
CONTINUE IMPROVE, IMPLEMENT PROGRAMS THAT ALREADY HAVE A FOLLOWING. AND SO ONE THING WE CAN DO IS WE IF PEOPLE KEEP COMING TO US AND SAY, I REALLY WANT SPIN CLASS, I WANT SPIN CLASS, THAT'S FOR PEOPLE SAYING IT, FIVE PEOPLE SAYING IT, THEN WHY DON'T WE OFFER THAT IF WE ALREADY HAVE THAT BASE, IT'S NOT REALLY STARTING FROM SCRATCH. WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT WE KNOW THAT WANT IT. SAME THING. BLESS YOU. SAME THING FOR JIU JITSU. WE HAVE PEOPLE ASKING FOR IT AND EVERYTHING. AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE JIU JITSU CLASS. I THINK IT'S STARTING THIS THIS MONTH. AND SO IF PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR IT, LISTEN TO THEM. WE'RE PUBLIC SERVANTS AND WE DON'T HAVE TO REALLY SAY, OH, THIS HAS TO BE A CRAZY CREATIVE PROGRAM. IT CAN BE SPIN CLASS, IT CAN BE JIU JITSU. AND THEN DEFINITELY JUST EVALUATE THE LIFECYCLE PROGRAMS. TRENDS COME AND GO. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH RECENT TRENDS IN PARKS AND RECREATION? AND SO I MEAN, JUST NOT I THINK THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE OF EVENTS OR PROGRAMS THAT I'VE BEEN LIKE, MAN, THAT'S REALLY SUCKS TO SEE THAT GO. LIKE PEAK MIGHT BE A PROGRAM THAT MIGHT BE GO, BECAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING I CREATED WHEN I GET HERE. BUT IF THAT'S NOT BEST SERVING THE COMMUNITY AND ALLOCATING RESOURCES THE BEST TO THEIR ABILITY, THEN THAT'S JUST IT IS WHAT IT IS. LAST COUPLE OF ONES PHONE ANSWER RATES. THIS IS ONE THAT WE ACTUALLY STARTED GETTING MAYBE 3 OR 4 MONTHS AGO. WE HAVE WE AVERAGE ABOUT 375 CALLS TO THE REC CENTER IN ONE WEEK. OUR ANSWER RATE RIGHT NOW IS 96%, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD.AND THAT'LL FLUCTUATE. WE'LL GO FROM 92% TO 98%. AND WE ALWAYS HAVE SOMEONE STAFFED OVER THERE.
COMMUNITY CENTER. WE AVERAGE ABOUT 42 CALLS. I KNOW ALISON'S LIKE ABSOLUTELY NOT. WE AVERAGE A LOT MORE. BUT THIS IS TO THE ACTUAL COMMUNITY CENTER PHONE THERE. AND THAT'S A 57% AVERAGE ANSWER RATE. AND WE'RE OPEN FROM 9 TO 1. AND A LOT OF THOSE, IF YOU SEE THE CALLS, THEY'RE HAPPENING AT 2 P.M. THEY'RE HAPPENING AT 5 P.M. AND EVERYTHING. AND SO THE ANSWER IS GOING TO BE LOWER BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE WE'RE NOT THERE. AND KIND OF WHAT THIS DATA TELLS US. WE JUST NEED ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OVER THE COMMUNITY CENTER. SO ALISON AND HER STAFF CAN CONTINUE TO DO THEIR JOB AND NOT NECESSARILY GIVE TOURS AND ALL OF THAT.
RIGHT? I THINK THIS IS THE LAST DATA AND METRIC ANALYSIS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOURS.
IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS, PARKS AND REC STAFF HAS RECEIVED ABOUT 56 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. AND SO THIS INCLUDES THE TEXAS RECREATION AND PARK SOCIETY REGIONAL MEETINGS. IT'S THE EAST REGION WHERE WE DO DIFFERENT LUNCH AND LEARNS. IT'S ABOUT, I THINK IT SAYS THIRD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 HOURS. IT'S AROUND THE HOUSTON AREA.
WE HAVE THE STATE CONFERENCE WHERE WE JUST WENT TO THIS PAST FEBRUARY. THIS WAS THE PICTURE OF US. IT WAS IN CORPUS CHRISTI, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF COOL EDUCATION SESSIONS. I WENT TO ONE THAT WAS LIKE BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS, MOUNTAIN BIKE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. AND IT'S JUST REALLY, REALLY, REALLY COOL STUFF. DONNIE ACTUALLY PRESENTED 2 OR 2 THERE AND I ONLY WENT TO ONE. DON'T TELL HIM, THOUGH. AND THEN ATRA ATRA IS A THERAPEUTIC RECS CONFERENCE, AND ALISON AND NICOLE WERE ABLE TO GO TO THAT ONE AS WELL. AND SO WE HAVE ABOUT 56 HOURS OF OUR STAFF CONTINUING TO DEVELOP THEMSELVES, WHICH IS GREAT. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT BEFORE I GO? YES. OKAY. UPCOMING PRIORITIES AND PROJECTS FACILITY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT PLAN. THIS IS SOMETHING ACTUALLY I JUST CREATED A TEMPLATE FOR TODAY AND I'M DONE WITH IT. SO NOW WE JUST HAVE TO START TAKING INVENTORY. IT'S JUST A LONG TERM REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE FOR HIGH USE ASSETS. AND SO IT'S OUR TENNIS COURTS RECENTLY BECAME IF YOU'VE SEEN OUR TENNIS COURTS, WE HAVE A COUPLE THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE ROAD WITH JUST ALL THE VIBRATIONS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT THAT ARE GOING TO NEED RESURFACING.
AND SO IT'S HARD TO GO TO DONNIE AND BE LIKE, HEY, DONNIE, YOU GOT $15,000 TO THROW MY WAY.
SO IT'S TRYING TO KIND OF MAP IT OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE. AS A LOT OF THESE RESURFACING, YOU NEED IT EVERY 5 TO 7 YEARS. AND SO I'M THE GOAL OF THIS IS TO BE ABLE TO GO TO DONNIE AND GO TO LEADERSHIP AND SAY, HEY, IN 2034, I KNOW WE HAVE TO REPLACE COURT ONE AND TWO AND THIS ONE HERE AND EVERYTHING FOR TREADMILLS AND EVERYTHING. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THAT. PROACTIVE PLANNING PROTECTS FACILITIES, CONTROL COSTS AND MAINTAINS COMMUNITY TRUST IN OUR AMENITIES. A LOT OF THOSE ELLIPTICALS THAT WE HAVE IN THERE ARE HAVE BEEN HERE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, SINCE THE REC CENTER HAS OPENED. BUT THAT DOESN'T. NOW THAT THEY'RE OPERATING, THAT'S GREAT. BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN WE DON'T NEED TO REPLACE THEM.
SO THAT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT'LL PROBABLY MONICA WILL ACTUALLY PRESENT ON THE NEXT TIME AROUND.
RECOGNIZED SPORTS ASSOCIATION. SO OUR RSA RESTRUCTURE A LOT OF THIS ONE. THE MAIN ONE IS OUR RSA CAME TO US WHEN WE'RE DOING THIS AND THEY HAVE TO APPLY EVERY YEAR. IT USED TO BE EVERY THREE MONTHS, BUT NOW IT'S EVERY YEAR. BUT WE HAD SOME PEOPLE SAY SOME OF OUR SOCCER ORGANIZATIONS, BASEBALL ORGANIZATIONS SAY, HEY, I'M TRYING TO PLAN A TOURNAMENT NEXT YEAR, BUT WE DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GOING TO BE APPROVED OR NOT. AND MOST LIKELY, IF THEY MEET ALL THE CRITERIA, THEY'RE GOING TO BE APPROVED. BUT HOW CAN THEY BRING BIG TOURNAMENTS IN HERE IF THEY CAN'T, IF THEY DON'T KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE APPROVED? AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT MONICA CAN ALSO BE WORKING ON. ANOTHER ONE IS JUST THE MAINTENANCE STANDARDS.
AND SO JUST SOME TYPE OF THING THAT SAYS, HEY, TWICE A WEEK YOU NEED TO WATER. ONCE A WEEK, YOU NEED TO DO THIS AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE I THINK ENOUGH DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON THESE THINGS WILL LEAD TO A LOT OF FUNDS BEING ALLOCATED TO IT LATER ON. AND SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING A UPKEEP OF THEM AND WE'RE STAYING ON THE SAME PAGE. ANOTHER ONE IS SILVERSNEAKERS. SILVERSNEAKERS IS A PROGRAM OFFERED THROUGH CERTAIN I THINK IT'S MEDICAID, ONE OF THOSE THAT OFFERS IT. THEY GET THEIR MEMBERSHIP PAID FOR. AND SO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN APPLICATION PROCESS AND ALL THAT. BUT THE INSURANCE PLAN WILL PAY US FOR ALL THE MEMBERS THAT COME TO THE REC CENTER. AND SO THAT'S ONE THAT WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PEOPLE
[00:30:01]
COME TO US AT THE REC CENTER IS LIKE, WHY DON'T YOU HAVE THIS? I KNOW WE WOULD HAVE TONS MORE PEOPLE HERE IF YOU DID THIS. AND SO I THINK WE STARTED THE PROGRAM IN 2022. I THINK THINGS SHIFTED AROUND. BUT MONICA'S GETTING BACK INTO THAT AND WE'RE GETTING ALONG IN THE PROCESS HERE PRETTY QUICK ABOUT IT. AND I THINK THAT WILL INCREASE FACILITY USAGE, REVENUE, MEMBERSHIP, ALL OF THAT. AND IT SERVES OUR COMMUNITY. QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO THERE. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE I'M GETTING THERE. I'M ALREADY THERE. SORRY. HAVE Y'ALL DURING THE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS PROGRAM, ARE YOU GOING TO ALSO INCLUDE A WAY TO BE PROACTIVE ON GETTING IT OUT TO THOSE SENIORS OUT THERE OR THOSE THAT ARE ENTERING MEDICAID, MEDICAID, MEDICARE? IT'S NOT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE.NO, IT'S MEDICARE REALLY NOT ADVANTAGE. YES, THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE COMMUNICATION PLAN PLAN AT ALL FOR IT. BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY JUST AT THE WHY HAS THAT ADVANTAGE.
IT'S ALL OVER. THANKFULLY, WE HAVE A REALLY BIG SENIOR NETWORK HERE WITH NICOLE AND ALLISON. THEY'VE BUILT IT OVER AND SO WE'LL MAKE SURE IT'S COMMUNICATED THROUGH THERE, MAKE SURE WE COMMUNICATE THROUGH OUR MEMBERS. I DON'T WANT THEM HAVING TO PAY IF THEY'RE GOING TO GET PAID, AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE PUSH IT THROUGH. I THINK WE ACTUALLY GET LIKE A IT'S ON THE WEBSITE TO SHOWS WHERE ALL THE GYMS ARE, AND THERE'S NOT REALLY A GYM OR FITNESS CENTER NEAR US THAT OFFERS IT. NOT TOO CLOSE, I THINK WITHIN LIKE TEN MILE RADIUS. SO AND THE ONLY REASON I MENTION IS BECAUSE I THINK OF I MEAN, I USE MYSELF AS AN EXAMPLE. I'LL TURN 65 THIS YEAR AND SO IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT. AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING TO BE OUR OR AT LEAST CONSIDER MAKING IT AVAILABLE OR GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THOSE THAT ARE THERE. I KNOW THEY HAVE A MARKETING PLAN TOO. ONCE YOU AS SOON AS YOU GET IT APPROVED, DO THEY HAVE A WAY OF LIKE, HEY, HERE'S THE WAYS TO GET IT OUT TO YOUR COMMUNITY. PERFECT. THANK YOU SIR. YES, WE WANTED TO WE WANTED WE WERE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO GET CONSTANTLY GET THIS TYPE OF STUFF OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND. THIS IS A THIS WOULD BE A REALLY POPULAR ONE. THIS WOULD BE HUGE. YEAH. THIS IS ONE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HURRY UP AND PUSH THROUGH. I THINK WE'RE ANNOYING THE SILVER SNEAKERS PROGRAM, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE BENEFIT WILL BRING TO COMMUNITY IF WE CAN GET IT GOING. SO. YEAH. OKAY. CONNECT TO RE-IMPLEMENTATION I SAY RE-IMPLEMENTATION WE WERE ABLE TO START GETTING IT GOING, I THINK, RIGHT BEFORE I GOT HERE, AND I THINK IT JUST KIND OF FELL OFF, BUT IT JUST IT'S A DIGITAL SYSTEM FOR ROOM COUNTS, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, TRACKING. SO IT'S A WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR STAFF AS WELL. SO IT'S LIKE, HEY, BEFORE I LEAVE, DONNIE AND I SAW THAT WE HAD A TENNIS TOURNAMENT TODAY AND THERE WAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF TRASH PILING UP AT THE TRASH CAN. SO SOMETHING I CAN GO IN THERE AND BE LIKE, HEY, NEXT SHIFT NEEDS TO DO THIS.
MAKE SURE YOU'RE ABLE TO PICK THIS UP. AND HEY, ROOM COUNTS. THERE'S FIVE PEOPLE IN THE GYM AT THIS TIME. WE'RE OUT. WE'RE SEEING WHERE WE AT WITH ROOM FACILITATION RATES AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. AND SO WE HAVE WE'LL HAVE AN IPAD IF YOU SEE, IF YOU COME TO THE REC CENTER, YOU SEE THEM CLICKING. IT'S JUST DOING ROOM COUNTS, MAKING SURE THEY'RE DOING BATHROOM CHECKS, SEEING WHEN THINGS HAVE BEEN CLEANED AND ALL THAT. AND SO JUST STREAMLINES IT. WE'RE ON PAPER AND CLIPBOARD RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS NICE, BUT WE CAN WE CAN GET INTO 2026. SO. LAST THING IS OUR COST RECOVERY MATRIX AND PROGRAM EVALUATION. THIS IS KIND OF BEEN SOMETHING I'VE BEEN SPEAKING ON THIS ENTIRE TIME ABOUT, YOU KNOW, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE EVALUATING OUR PROGRAMS, WHAT WE'RE OFFERING, HOW WE OFFER IT.
AND THIS WAS A COST RECOVERY THAT I CREATED WITH HELP OF DONNIE, JUST KIND OF LUMPS IT INTO. THANKFULLY, WE'RE NOT A DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW THAT NEEDS TO BE 100% COST RECOVERY.
DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T NEED TO STRIVE TO BE CLOSE CLOSE TO IT AS POSSIBLE. AND SO THIS KIND OF JUST PUTS DIFFERENT PROGRAMS INTO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. AND SO IF ALISON CAME TO ME TO A PROGRAM WITH A PROGRAM IDEA AND SAID, HEY, I REALLY WANT TO DO A DANCE CLASS FOR SENIORS OR SOMETHING, THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY FALL INTO TIER THREE MIXED BENEFIT, AND IT ALLOCATES THE COST RECOVERY GOAL FOR THAT. SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO SET OUR PRICES TO MEET THAT COST RECOVERY GOAL OF EXPECTING HOW MANY PEOPLE TO REGISTER. AND SO JUST SOMETHING TO KIND OF KEEP US IN CHECK. OBVIOUSLY THE THE HIGHER YOU GO OR LOWER YOU GO. TIER FIVE, THOSE PERSONAL TRAININGS, THE FAMILY RENTALS, THOSE ARE COMPLETELY PRIVATE BENEFITS. SO THOSE WOULD BE 100% OR MORE COST RECOVERY. WE SHOULD MAKE GENERATE REVENUE OFF THAT. BUT OBVIOUSLY THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IS THE OPEN SPACES, THE TRAILS, THE THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THAT'S FUNDED WITH BOND OR GRANTS OR THINGS OF THAT MATTER. YES. THE FIFTH COLUMN FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, THIRD BOX DOWN. IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE COMBINATION? SAY THAT AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. GO TO THE FIFTH COLUMN ALL THE WAY ON THE RIGHT.
YES. THIRD BOX DOWN COMBINATION. IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE COMBINATION? YES. OKAY. YES.
AND WHAT THAT WAS AND A LOT IS A LOT OF THESE, WE COULD PROBABLY FIND A WAY FOR CHALK FEST TO BE A LARGE SCALE EVENT, BUT WE COULD ALWAYS FIND A WAY THAT IT'S AN INDIVIDUAL BENEFIT BECAUSE WITHIN CHALK FEST YOU HAVE THE. AND SO IT'S KIND OF FLUID AND WHERE YOU PUT IT AND IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS, THIS WILL CONTINUALLY CHANGE. BUT IT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO KNOW WHERE WE'RE SETTING OUR REGISTRATION RATES AND EVERYTHING. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS?
[00:35:09]
QUESTIONS ANYONE I HAVE A REQUEST AGAIN. SAME REQUEST. CAN I CAN YOU SEND ME THIS? ABSOLUTELY. THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE I WANT TO TAKE IT TO A COUPLE A COUPLE BOARDS AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. THEY DON'T KNOW. ABSOLUTELY. AND IF YOU EVER WANT US TO COME SPEAK AT THOSE, LET US KNOW WE CAN FINISH BE BETTER. YEAH WE CAN. WE'LL BE THERE. ALLISON, YOU GOT IT. I'M JUST KIDDING. VERY WELL DONE. VERY WELL DONE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.[8. DIRECTOR'S REPORT]
ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO ITEM EIGHT, DIRECTOR'S REPORT, MR. HAYES. SO I ABSOLUTELY LOVED BOTH OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. NUMBER ONE, IT'S REALLY NICE TO HAVE OUR STAFF BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SHOW YOU HOW PROFESSIONAL THEY ARE. RIGHT? SOMETIMES IN THOSE LITTLE TINY SNAPSHOTS THAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, YOU SEE HOW PROFESSIONAL THEY ARE. BUT BUT THIS THIS REALLY PROVES THE POINT. IT SHOWS THE WORK THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING. THEY'RE ABLE TO EXPAND ON THAT. AND AND I JUST I CAN'T BE MORE PLEASED WITH HOW THIS HAS BEGUN. AND I AND I HOPE YOU ALL FEEL THE SAME WAY. RIGHT. YES.ABSOLUTELY. YES. THANK YOU. WELL, THEY DESERVE IT. ABSOLUTELY. SO A COUPLE OF THINGS FROM, FROM ME. THE THE FIRST ONE REALLY COMES DOWN TO WE ARE THE PROFESSIONALS AS, AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT. WE'RE REALLY GOOD AT A LOT OF THINGS, A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS. SO SOMETIMES WHAT WE'RE NOT AS GOOD AT IS HAVING THE CONNECTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE NEED. MARY. PERFECT EXAMPLE. HEY, CAN I HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION? I WANT TO SHARE THESE TO A COUPLE OF BOARDS. DALTON THEN RESPONDING, YOU TELL ME WHAT BOARDS I'M COMING TO AND I'LL DO THESE PRESENTATIONS FOR YOU. DALTON, NOT ALISON. YES. AND SO WE WE REALLY DO LOOK TO YOU TO HELP US MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY. WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR REALLY STRONG PARTNERS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR SPONSORSHIPS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR SPECIAL EVENTS. AND SO WITH THAT SAID, WE ARE REQUESTING OUR CHAIR AND THIS BOARD TO BE A PART OF OUR SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE. SO WE TYPICALLY THIS COMMITTEE WILL ORGANIZE OUR FIVE MAJOR EVENTS CHALK FEST, FOUR FEST, TASTE OF MISSOURI CITY, OKTOBERFEST, SNOW FEST. SO OUR FIVE MAJORS AND WE ARE REQUESTING THAT TWO PARKS BOARD MEMBERS BE ASSIGNED TO THAT SPECIAL EVENT COMMITTEE, AND THAT THAT MEETING WILL ACTUALLY THAT COMMITTEE WILL MEET ONCE A MONTH TO CONTINUE TO PLAN THESE EVENTS. SO THAT COMMITTEE WILL BE MADE UP OF REC STAFF, PARK STAFF, OUR COMMUNICATIONS BOARD, AND THEN ALSO MEMBERS OF THE PARKS BOARD. OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE OUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND ALSO SPECIFICALLY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY ADVOCACY FOR SPONSORSHIPS. WHAT WE ARE SEEING AS A DEPARTMENT AND AS A CITY AS A WHOLE, IS THAT WE ARE STARTING TO FLATLINE, RIGHT? HOW MUCH PROPERTY DO WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP IN OUR CITY? AND AND WHERE DOES MOST OF OUR REVENUE COME FROM THAT SUPPORTS OUR DEPARTMENTS? WELL, IT COMES FROM TAXES. AND SO AS WE FLATLINE, THAT MEANS THAT ALSO THE REVENUE THAT'S COMING IN FROM THE TAX SIDE, WE HAVE TO, AS A DEPARTMENT, LOOK AT ADDITIONAL WAYS TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND BE, YOU KNOW, MORE PROACTIVE IN WHAT WE'RE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. I THINK DALTON AND ADAM SHOWED YOU SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING ON OUR END ALREADY TO REALLY BE VERY PROACTIVE IN THAT MANNER, WHETHER IT BE OUR COST RECOVERY PLANS, TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO, OH, WHAT DID YOU WHAT DID YOU CALL YOUR YOUR PROGRAM IN. WHAT IS IT. NO, NO, NO. IMPROVED IN WHAT IS SHOOT. YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK. HE'S RIGHT THERE.
[00:40:02]
RIGHT THERE. OH IS THERE IMPACT BASED MODEL OKAY. NEXT LEVEL. NEXT LEVEL. THAT'S NEXT LEVEL.THINKING I WAS I WASN'T I WASN'T EVEN CLOSE DALTON WASN'T EVER GOING TO GET THAT. IT DID START WITH AN I. THANK YOU ALLISON I APPRECIATE YOUR EMPATHY. THANK YOU. SO LIKE THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING AS A DEPARTMENT BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THIS NEED.
AND SO WE WE ARE ASKING, YOU KNOW, THAT LAWRENCE AS THE CHAIR IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. AND SO AND TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE. WE ALWAYS WANT TO MAKE SURE WE SUPPORT STAFF. THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS THAT WE HAD AS MEMBERS. AND GENERALLY WHAT I TRY TO DO IS TO JUST LET FIRST PEOPLE. COMMIT OR DECIDE WHO WANTS TO. I TRY NOT TO APPOINT, I LIKE YOU TO VOLUNTEER AND I'LL OPEN UP. THE FLOOR IS THERE AND HE ONLY NEEDS TWO.
ARE THEY TWO THAT WANT TO VOLUNTEER? HOW OFTEN? AND THEY NEED TO KNOW THE COMMITMENT OF WHAT IT IS, WHAT DAY, WHAT TIME? ONCE A MONTH, TYPICALLY AN HOUR. BECAUSE IF IT'S DURING THE DAY, I WORK 9 TO 5 LAWRENCE VOLUNTEER AND I THINK, OKAY, BETWEEN MISSOURI CITY GREEN AND THE PARKS IS PERFECT. OKAY, OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE. OKAY, I WILL VOLUNTEER. THERE YOU GO. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES, SIR. APPRECIATE THAT. AND THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD ADD TOO, IS WHEN YOU WERE TALKING, WHAT CAME TO MY MIND, KIND OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT MISS ROSS WAS ASKING OR REQUESTING. I THINK IT MAY BE POTENTIALLY GOOD FOR YOU TO CONSIDER. A LOT OF THE HOAS HAVE THEIR ANNUAL MEETINGS, AND THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, FOR PARKS DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE MOST OF THE HOAS, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO PUT I WANT TO PUT MY REQUEST IN WHEN WE DO OUR ANNUAL HOA. AND THAT'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND VISIT THOSE THAT ARE THERE TO DO A PRESENTATION BEFORE THEM, THEM BEING THE HOA, ESPECIALLY AT AN ANNUAL MEETING, TO LET THEM KNOW. HERE'S WHAT WE HAVE THAT YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THEY JUST DON'T KNOW. AND MISSOURI CITY HAS RECENTLY ANNEXED NEW AREAS INTO THE CITY LIMITS. AND SO THEY NEED TO KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHAT SERVICES WE PROVIDE AND WHAT EVENTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A COMMUNITY LIAISON WHO SHE NEEDS TO KNOW. WE WANT TO DO A ROAD SHOW. YEAH, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, NO. AND AND AS A DEPARTMENT WE AGREE. ACTUALLY, I'LL BE DOING A PRESENTATION ON MONDAY NIGHT TO QUAIL VALLEY FUND. AND THEN LAST MONTH I WAS OUT AT LAKE OLYMPIA AND WE'RE WE'RE ALREADY STARTING THAT.
AND WE WE AGREE. YEP. THANK YOU. GOOD. ALL RIGHT. WHO'S OUR LIAISON? OUR COMMUNITY LIAISON.
IT'S IT'S THE POSITION'S ACTUALLY UNFILLED RIGHT NOW. BUT OUR CITY SECRETARY FILLS THAT ROLE FOR US. WELL OKAY. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. NEXT REQUEST. ONLY. THAT WAS THE ONLY REQUEST TONIGHT. OH OKAY. WELL THAT'S GOOD. THERE YOU GO. BUT THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE SET SOME, YOU KNOW, PRETTY STRONG GOALS. WE'VE SET A GOAL TO BRING IN $15,000 IN SPONSORSHIPS FOR OUR EVENTS THIS YEAR. LAST YEAR WE WERE PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO THAT ACTUALLY, THIS YEAR WITH FOURTH FEST, WHICH WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING ON THE 4TH OF JULY, WE'RE WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. WE ARE WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING AT A SHORTER PROGRAM THIS YEAR, BUT CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING WITH CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO REQUEST ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX TO DO A FULL DRONE SHOW AS PART OF THE THE FOURTH FEST.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT BRINGING IN A NATIONAL NAME. CURRENTLY WE'RE LOOKING AT TONE-LOC. AND SO DEFINITELY LOOK I DON'T KNOW PERFORMANCE HE'S STILL PERFORMING. YEAH HE IS. HIS HIPS ARE STILL OKAY. HIS HEART MAYBE NOT BUT HIS HIPS ARE OKAY. WE'RE ONLY JOKING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE JUST LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO, ALLISON SENT ME A MESSAGE THAT TONE-LOC WAS AT A PERFORMANCE AND HAD SOME HEART ISSUES AND THEN HAD TO CANCEL HIS PERFORMANCE. SO WE'RE LIKE, OH, GREAT. BUT STILL, IT'S IN THE BUDGET. SO ANYWAYS, LIKE, I KNOW THAT WE
[00:45:06]
NOW HAVE TWO REPRESENTATIVES ON OUR, OUR, OUR SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE. I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT IF ANY OF YOU KNOW OF ANY ORGANIZATIONS, CORPORATIONS THAT ARE LOOKING TO GET THEIR NAME OUT THERE, OUR SPECIAL EVENTS, WE USUALLY AVERAGE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 2500 TO, YOU KNOW, 4000 PEOPLE AT EACH ONE OF THESE. AND SO IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO GET GET OUT IN FRONT OF THE, YOU KNOW, CITIZENS OF MISSOURI CITY. SO AND WE PROVIDE REALLY GOOD PACKAGES. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING RIGHT NOW. I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK STAFF. THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IS ALWAYS A LOT OF FUN AND A MOMENT REGIONAL, AND IT'S ALSO A LOT OF WORK. WE HAVE A GREAT PARTNER WITH EDISON ARTS FOUNDATION AND AND WE WORK HARD IN THE GROUP THAT ORGANIZED AND REALLY TOOK THE TIME TO PLAN. THESE EVENTS ARE HERE WITH US TONIGHT. SO DALTON AND ALLISON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS OF TIME THAT WENT INTO MAKING FEBRUARY 1ST OF THE BEST, YOU KNOW, BLACK HISTORY MONTHS THAT WE'VE HAD. AND SO, NUMBER ONE, THANK YOU, ALLISON AND DALTON. ALSO, THANK YOU TO OUR PARK STAFF RIGHT BEFORE WE ACTUALLY OPENED UP THE FREEDOM TREE PLAZA THIS LAST WEEKEND, A LOT OF PARKS STAFF WERE DOING WORK ON AREAS THAT REALLY AREN'T OUR RESPONSIBILITY. THEY WERE POWER WASHING ALL THE WAY UP THE SIDEWALK, ALL THE WAY DOWN MISTY HOLLOW. THEY MADE SURE ALL THE TRASH WAS CLEANED UP. THEY KILLED EVERY WEED THAT WAS ALONG THAT ROADWAY. YOU KNOW, LIKE IT WAS A LOT OF WORK FOR US TO MAKE SURE, NUMBER ONE, THE FREEDOM TREE WAS TIP TOP AND READY TO GO, BUT ALSO THAT THAT WHOLE ENTIRE ROADWAY WE POWER WASH COMMUNITY PARK FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. WE WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME REALLY MAKING SURE THAT THAT WE WERE READY FOR THAT, BUT THAT WASN'T IT. RIGHT. LIKE THE FREEDOM WALK WAS THE END OF OF IT. WE HAD OUR COMEDY SHOW THAT HAPPENED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. WE HAD OUR KICKOFF, WE HAD OUR DANCE DAY, WE HAD THE TRIP TO THE THEATER LIKE THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE MONTH TO CELEBRATE IT. AND IT REALLY WAS A SPECTACULAR EVENT. AND AND WE HONESTLY COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT THE DEDICATION OF OUR STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS. THOSE OF YOU THAT I SAW THROUGHOUT THE MONTH AT MANY OF THESE EVENTS, THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING AND CONTINUING TO SUPPORT PARKS AND RECREATION. THAT'S IT. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE DO APPRECIATE IT. YES, MA'AM. AND THIS IS FROM A RESIDENT. WHEN THEY'RE BOOKING THE PAVILION, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SAID AND THIS IS PRIMARILY AT BUFFALO RUN PARK. AT ONE POINT THEY HAD ACCESS TO WATER BY THE PAVILION AND THEY NO LONGER HAVE THAT. I DID NOT KNOW THAT. SO AS FAR AS A SOURCE OF WATER, YEAH. PAVILION ONE SHOULD STILL HAVE WATER AT ONE TIME. THEY HAD TO HAVE A KEY TO TURN IT ON AND TURN IT OFF, BECAUSE THEY WERE GETTING READY TO DO A CRAWFISH BOIL THERE. AND I THINK THEY'RE STILL DOING IT. IT'S JUST THEY'RE HAVING TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER WAY OF DEALING WITH WATER. YEAH. I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT REQUEST COME IN. OKAY. BUT LAST TIME I KNEW THE WATER WAS WORKING THERE.WOULD YOU HAVE YOUR CONTACT? GIVE ME A CALL AND WE CAN SEE. OKAY. YEP. ABSOLUTELY. ALL RIGHT. OH, ONE LAST THING. YES, SIR. THIS NOT THIS SATURDAY, BUT NEXT SATURDAY. DON'T FORGET, ON THE 14TH OF MARCH, WE HAVE OUR EDIBLE ARBOR TRAIL FEST. SO COME ON OUT. ENJOY A GREAT TIME.
LOTS OF NATURE BASED ACTIVITIES. I'M PRETTY SURE YOU CAN GET A TREE THERE, A FREE TREE, A PLANT MAYBE? YES, PLANT. EVEN PLANTS. TREE FRUIT, FRUIT, YOU NAME IT. I HAVE A TREE IN MY FRONT YARD, A LIVE OAK THAT I GOT TWO YEARS AGO. VERY GOOD. AND I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO TAKE THE STEAKS OUT BECAUSE ITS ROOTS ARE STRONG. SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT EVENT AND LOOKING FORWARD TO CELEBRATING WITH MISSOURI CITY GREEN AND ALSO OUR PARKS AND RECREATION STAFF. SO THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. OH YEAH. THEY'RE NOT BIG TREES. ALL RIGHT. ITEM NINE
[9. BOARD REPORTS]
BOARD REPORTS. AND JUST JUST ABOUT THE EDIBLE EARTH. YEAH THAT WAS OURS TO SAY. WELL I'M GOING TO KICK IT OFF FIRST. I GOT ACTUALLY TWO THINGS I NEED TO DISCUSS. AND I KIND OF HAVE TO TAKE THEM HEAD ON. UNFORTUNATELY OR FORTUNATELY, I DON'T KNOW. THE FIRST ONE. AND[00:50:08]
I'D JUST LIKE TO JUST GIVE US INFORMATION. THAT'S ALL I DO. I PROVIDE INFORMATION AND THERE'S BEEN A RESTRUCTURING FROM THE PARKS BOARD. AND BEFORE I START, I WANT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A SNIPPET OF WHERE IT STARTED AND WHERE IT'S AT. AND THIS IS ONLY HISTORICAL INFORMATION. I'M GOING TO SAY, DON'T HOLD ME MY FOOT TO THE FIRE ON EXACT TIMELINES OR DATES, BUT I'M GOING TO SAY 20 TO 25 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY FIRST STARTED THE PARKS BOARD, THEY STARTED WITH SEVEN. AND THEN I'M GOING TO SAY OVER THE LAST. 15 TO 20 YEARS, THEY GREW IT TO NINE.AND THEN ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, 5 TO 7 YEARS AGO THEY GREW IT TO 13. AND SO NOW. COUNCIL HAS TAKEN THE ACTION TO REDUCE IT BACK DOWN TO NINE. LET ME SAY THIS. FOR ALL OF US HERE ON THE BOARD AND IN THE PUBLIC, THE PARKS BOARD IS SET UP AS A RESULT OF ORDINANCE AND SERVE AS APPOINTMENTS BY CITY COUNCIL. THEY MAKE THOSE APPOINTMENTS. THEY I MEAN, IT'S ALL AT THEIR PURVIEW. SO THAT'S WE SERVE AT THE WILL OF OF COUNCIL. THAT'S THE BEST WAY I CAN SAY IT. I ALSO SAY THAT WE'RE A RECOMMENDING BODY. WE CANNOT OBLIGATE. AND WHERE IS IT I CAN'T ARE YOU HIDING HER. SO WHENEVER I SPEAK WE HAVE SOMETHING OUT OF LINE. SHE GETS ME STRAIGHT. SO OBVIOUSLY I'M STRAIGHT. SHE'S NOT THROWING DARTS AT ME. BUT WE SERVE, WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND SO IF YOU NOTICE, EVERY TIME WE TAKE ACTION, IT'S ALWAYS A RECOMMENDATION. AND SOMETIMES THE MORAL MAJORITY OF THE TIME COUNCIL KNOW THAT WE'VE DONE A YEOMAN'S JOB AND THEY ACCEPT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS. BUT THERE ARE TIMES BECAUSE THEY'RE SITTING AT A DIFFERENT BRANCH AND HAVE A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT PROCESS, THAT THEY MAY WANT TO GO A DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN OUR RECOMMENDATION. AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, FIRST OFF, I'VE ALWAYS ENJOYED WORKING NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL I SIT UP ON THE PARKS BOARD, EVERY LAST PARKS BOARD MEMBER THAT HAS SET UP HERE, THERE'S NOT BEEN ONE THAT'S SET UP HERE THAT HAS BEEN LIKE, OH MY GOD, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT BEEN ONE. THERE ARE VOLUNTEERS THAT HAVE DONE A YEOMAN'S JOB OF SERVING ON THE PARKS BOARD. AND I'VE SEEN, I'VE, I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY, I GUESS I'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH THAT I'VE EVEN HAD SOME THAT HAVE GONE ON TO GLORY AS WELL. AND SO WE HAVE REDUCED OUR CITY COUNCIL, REDUCED THE NUMBER BACK DOWN TO NINE. THANK GOD I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE PART OF THAT GUY. THAT DECISION RIGHT THERE. BUT THEY DID. AND SO THAT MEANT THEY DIDN'T RENEW SOME OF THE POSITIONS FOR THEM TO GET TO THAT STAGE RIGHT THERE. AND SO I DEFINITELY TRIED TO REACH OUT EITHER THROUGH EMAIL OR VOICE TO, TO JUST THANK THEM PERSONALLY FOR THEIR SERVICE BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN GREAT ASSETS AND THEY STILL ARE TO THE CITY OF MISSOURI CITY AND TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. AND EVERY TIME I'VE READ SOMETHING FROM ONE OF THOSE MEMBERS, IT'S JUST BEEN, YOU KNOW, POSITIVE AND AND EVERYTHING THAT I WOULD EXPECT NOTHING LESS FROM THEM. AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THAT OPERATES RIGHT THERE. AND FOR THOSE THAT EVEN HAVE TO RENEW, YOU STILL GOT TO GO THROUGH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT REQUEST AND THOSE THINGS. AND THAT WAS ALL PUT INTO A LETTER THAT THAT WAS SENT TO YOU IF YOU HAD TO, IF YOU'RE UP FOR RENEWAL AND GENERALLY YOU SERVE IT TO YOUR TERM. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ITEM BEFORE I GO TO THE NEXT ONE? JUST THAT WE'RE DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE THEY REALLY WERE VERY GOOD MEMBERS TO WORK WITH. VERY MUCH SO VERY MUCH SO. THEY WERE EXCELLENT, VERY PROACTIVE. YES, YES. AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM MY TENURE HERE, THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, EVERYBODY THAT'S EVER SERVED ON HERE, THEY'VE JUST BEEN WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL PEOPLE, WONDERFUL PEOPLE. AND I GOT MUCH LOVE FOR THEM AS WELL. MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT. AND. THIS ONE. I GOTTA PULL MY SCREEN UP FOR THIS ONE RIGHT HERE, THIS ONE HERE,
[00:55:06]
THESE FOLKS HERE. I WANT TO SPEAK A MOMENT ABOUT REGINA AND TOM NICHOLS. EVERYBODY HERE ON THE PARKS BOARD KNOW HIM, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M MAKING THIS STATEMENT. AND IT'S A POINT OF PRIVILEGE PUBLICLY. THE NICHOLS, TOM AND REGINA NICHOLS, I ALWAYS SAY, YOU KNOW, TOM'S THE ONLY MAN. AND IN MISSOURI CITY THAT'S BIGGER THAN ME PHYSICALLY. YEAH, BUT BUT HE IS DEFINITELY BEEN A GENTLE GIANT. AND HIS LOVELY, LOVELY WIFE, REGINA. AS AS ACCEPTED HER WINGS. AND SO THEY'RE HAVING AN EVENT TO RECOGNIZE HER. AND IT IS SATURDAY, MARCH 21ST, 4 P.M. AT THE ART FACTORY. IT'S CALLED THE ART FACTORY IS AT THE DOCK, WHICH IS 1125 PROVIDENCE STREET, DOWNTOWN HOUSTON. AND THEY WERE JUST, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE PHILANTHROPISTS ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND THROUGH. THEY WILL ALSO WILL BE DOING THEY'RE DOING A TREE DEDICATION FOR A MEMORIAL TREE IN HONOR OF REGGIE NICHOLS ON MONDAY THE 23RD AT 10 A.M. AND THE LOCATION WILL BE AT THE OYSTER CREEK TRAIL NEAREST THE YMCA PARKING LOT, WHICH IS AT 4433 CARTWRIGHT. AND SO I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT BECAUSE WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TRY TO GIVE PEOPLE THEIR FLOWERS WHEN THEY'RE ALIVE AS WELL AS WHEN THEY GO ON. THESE PEOPLE ARE VERY SPECIAL TO MISSOURI CITY AND EVEN MORE SO, MAYOR'S YOUTH COMMISSION, THE WAY THAT THEY EVEN CAME ABOUT COMING TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND NYC WAS THROUGH AN EVENT THAT WAS HELD. AND DON, WE ALL KNOW DON JOHNSON. DON JOHNSON KNEW THEM, SAW THEM. THEY HAD A CONVERSATION, TOLD THEM AND THE THE NYC KIDS WERE THERE THAT DAY, TOLD THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING, WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT, AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANT TO HELP. WAIT, MAN. WELL, THAT'S GREAT TO SEE THESE YOUNG PEOPLE OUT HERE.YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO HELP THOSE NYC KIDS AND AND WE WANT TO SUPPORT THEM. AND THEY STARTED THEIR PHILANTHROPY. OFFERING SCHOLARSHIPS TO THOSE GRADUATING SENIORS. THEY'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A LONG TIME, A LONG TIME. AND TO THEM, IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW MANY. THEY JUST WROTE THE CHECK. WOW. AND SO WHEN YOU FIND PEOPLE LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GODSEND.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO, AGAIN, TAKE A, A POINT OF PRIVILEGE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM, TO THANK THEM FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE AND CELEBRATE THAT HOMEGOING, THEIR HOMEGOING. SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY KNEW THE DATES AND JUST BRING IT UP IN PUBLICLY, AND I'LL LET ANYONE ELSE ADD TO WHATEVER THEY WOULD LIKE TO. AS IT RELATES TO THE NICHOLS, THE ONLY THING I WANT TO SAY IS I THINK YOU SAID SATURDAY THE 21ST. DID YOU SAY AT 4:00? THAT'S A IT'S ACTUALLY FROM 1 TO 4, 1 TO 4. I'M SORRY. YOU'RE RIGHT. RIGHT, 1 TO 4. AND THEN THE PROGRAM ITSELF WILL START AT 130. AND BECAUSE TOM KNOWS THAT THIS IS STILL VERY RAW FOR HIM, THAT HE WON'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK. SO HE'S HAVING ACTORS PORTRAY SOME OF THE THINGS HE WANTS TO SAY BECAUSE HE'S VERY PHILANTHROPIC WITH THAT GROUP. ALSO, THE ART FACTORY, IT'S GOING TO BE VERY MEANINGFUL. YEAH. CAN YOU SEND THIS TO US IN THE EMAIL? I CAN, I CAN I CAN DO THAT. YEAH.
THANK. ABSOLUTELY. I MISSED A COUPLE OF THINGS I DON'T WANT TO GO OVER. YOU CAN ANY OTHER COMMENTS. ALL RIGHT. THOSE ARE MY TWO ITEMS. ARE THERE ANY OTHER BOARD REPORTS THAT WE NEED TO COVER. ALL RIGHT. ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA. IF YOU DON'T MIND I'D LIKE FOR ON THE NEXT
[10. ITEMS FOR NEXT AGENDA]
AGENDA, WHICH WILL BE MARCH AN UPDATE ON STATE PARK FOR US. SO THAT WAY WE CAN KIND OF KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE. AND DO ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THEY'D LIKE TO ADD FOR NEXT AGENDA? GREAT MEETING. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WE'RE WITHIN ONE HOUR AND ONE MINUTE. YEAH. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. THIS WEEKEND. WE SPRING FORWARD ON THE TIME.[01:00:01]
YES. I DO NOT FORGET TO MOVE YOUR CLOCK FORWARD.* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.