06-11-1998
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PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD
JUNE 11, 1998 7:00 PM
EDGEW A TER CITY HALL
MINUTES
ROLL CALL/CALL TO ORDER
The Chairman, Tom Tipton, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Edgewater City
Hall Conference Room. Members present were: Tom Tipton, Shirley Pittman, Erwin
Brown and Maurice Remillard. Also present was Jack Corder, Director of Parks and
Recreation.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Brown moved to approve the minutes of the January 22, 1998 special meeting, and
Mrs. Pittman seconded the motion. Motion CARRIED 4-0.
OLD BUSINESS
Status of Recreation Complex
Mr. Corder stated he has completed the negotiation with McKim & Creed and the City
Attorney presently has the contract. Mr. Tipton asked if they would start construction
first on the gymnasium and then work on the overall layout for the whole park and Mr.
Corder stated they will do it together. He noted the maintenance building is almost
complete and we are now pouring the concrete for the parking lot and all that will be left
to do is lay the sod and put up the fencing.
Mr. Tipton stated he had been approached by more than one resident and the question
out there is will the complex offer any kind of child care for children whose parents may
be using the facility. Mr. Corder stated he didn't think there would be space for that, as
the rooms were being designated for a teen center and senior center. He stated we would
need some sort of state certification for that and he was not sure we wanted to get into the
child care business. Several things brought up were, how child care would add to the
cost, how would you know how many kids would need watching at any given time, cost
of workers, tying up a room all day for this purpose, etc. etc. The Board discussed this at
length with the conclusion being this would greatly add to the cost of fees and potential
liability, and this is really not the purpose for the complex. The Board also discussed
hours of operation of the facility and fee charges, types of activities and agreed to make a
list of further ideas on these subjects and bring them to the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Thor Guard Lightning System
Mr. Corder stated we have installed the lightning indicator system at Whistle Stop Park
He explained that it covers about a 12 mile radius and lets you know when lighting is in
this area. The system has four buttons: all clear, caution, warning and red alert. When
the red alert button goes on, the horn system will sound and all fields will immediately be
cleared. He stated it has a 97% reliability and this system is used by the PGA Golf
Tournament, NBC, ABC and Atlanta Olympic games all use this device. He stated that
on a red alert warning, the fields at Edgewater Elementary School are immediately called
and those fields will be cleared as well. He said he is going to try to dedicate a line from
the Whistle Stop fields to the Edgewater fields and to try and enhance the horn system to
make it even louder. The Board agreed it sounds like a good system and well worth the
money spent.
MISCELLANEOUS
Mr. Remillard stated he had been approached by a resident about the baseball program
and the need for a senior league program for the kids. He stated there was no program
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for those kids above 14 and no All Star program any more. Mr. Corder replied that he
had put in this year's budget to expand the Jr. Major field at Whistle Stop, as it is
presently not large enough to accommodate the bigger age group leagues. He stated if
this item is approved in the budget, possibly we can go back to having All Stars,
however, he noted the season ending tournaments we have been having the past few
years have been received really well by the parents and players, as all of the kids get to
participate, and not just the best players. There was also discussion about this year's
umpires and Mr. Corder explained we had many new people as umpires and while they
may not have been as experienced as some in the past, the season went great with hardly
any problems.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mrs. Pittman moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr.
Brown. Motion CARRIED 4-0.
Minutes submitted by
Barb Kowall
Page 2 Park Board Minutes
June 11, 1998