Parks and Recreation Advisory Board - Regular Meeting

Calling to order the September 16, 2026 Park and Rec Advisory Board meeting. Will the board clerk please call the roll call, the roll.

Chair William Gallagher.

Here.

Vice Chair Robin Van Hemel.

Here.

Cory Guerrero gave notice that he will not be attending the meeting tonight. Michael Madigan.

Here.

Ben Mazzario-Vega. Here. Linda Rondinoni.

Here.

This meeting is being conducted live with a physical quorum present. The material for today's meeting is available online at www.coconutcreek.gov. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made need to record at the proceedings and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim recording of this proceedings is made including the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal to be based the audio of this meeting may be requested from the city clerk or may be heard online at www.coconutcreek.gov. If you haven't already, please silence your mobile devices. If you must take your phone call, please excuse yourself and step outside. If any members of the public are present and would like to address the board, you may do so at this time. When you come forward to speak, please unmute the microphone, state your name and address clearly for the record, and you mute the microphone when you are done speaking. Please note that you will only have three minutes to speak. Are there any corrections or revisions to the minutes from May 20, 2026 meeting? If none, is there a motion and a second to approve the minutes as presented?

I'll second.

Will the board clerk please call the roll?

Benjamin Nazario Vega. Michael Madigan.

Yes.

Vice Chair Robin Van Hemel. Yes. Chair William Gallagher. Yes. Linda Rondinoni. Yes.

City staff.

City staff will present agenda item 5 regarding updates on special events.

Good evening. My name is Lenore Thomas, superintendent for the Parks and Recreation Department. I'll be providing the update for special events. Our hometown market started, and we have it on the first and third Saturday of the month from September through February from 9 AM to 2 at the Township Plaza. We have over 50 vendors that participate. Upcoming Salsa in September. It's a high-energy evening of live Latin music and dancing coming up on Saturday, September 26th at the City Hall Courtyard from 6 to 9. It features musical acts, is Divas All-Stars, and prior to the band playing, we have salsa dance lessons. They'll be held at 6 p.m. from the Melendrez Dance Studios. The band performance starts at 7 p.m. Our annual Arts Fest, which is co-hosted by the Multicultural Circle, is an enrichment event. We have local artists and vendors, food and entertainment for the whole family. The theme this year is America. The event will be held on Saturday, October 10th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the South Community Center. Also coming up is Moving in the Graveyard. We'll soon be advertising this. It will be held on Friday, October 30th at Sable Pines Park. There will be a movie shown, which is Coco, and prior to the movie, we'll have a trunk or treat along with a family-friendly spooky trail. The activities will be from 6 to 9, while the movie starts at 7. Lastly, Veterans Day Ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday, November 11th at 11 a.m. at Veterans Park.

Are there any questions or comments from the board regarding updates on special events? City staff will present agenda item six regarding updates on recreation, athletic leagues, and programs.

Starting with recreation programs, our upcoming public safety series has a cybersecurity topic. You'll learn practical strategies for protecting individuals, organizations, and communities from cyber threats, scams, data breaches, and other online security risks. This event will be held at the commission chambers on Thursday, October 1st, from 6.15 to 7.15, and it's free to attend. Summer camp is over, and here are some highlights. Summer camp provided campers with an exciting and engaging eight-week experience filled with fun, learning, and adventure. Campers enjoyed two field trips each week along with weekly professional entertainment and educational experiences, including magicians, animal shows, science demonstrations, and more. The North Recreation Complex served 191 campers throughout the eight-week program, The South Community Center served 125 campers with an additional 20 weekly campers on average. Together, the programs provided a diverse summer experience that kept campers active, engaged, and entertained throughout the summer. Fun Days. Fun Days is basically a camp day for kids when there's no school. Both the North Recreation Complex and South Community Center will be hosting Fun Days on all Broward County school day closures. with exception on federal holidays. Upcoming dates are September 21st, October 12th, and November 23rd through the 25th. That's the end of recreation. I can go straight into athletics. The youth flag football league championship games are expected to be on Saturday, September 26th. We had a lot of rain outs this season. We have five age divisions with a total of 247 participants. The girls basketball league championship game is scheduled for October 3rd at the recreation complex. Our youth soccer practices are scheduled to begin the week of September 28th, which is right after the flag football championships with games beginning in October. We currently have 419 participants registered. Volunteer coaches are still needed. Adult pickleball leagues. We are currently registering for four adult pick-up ball leagues, all four leagues beginning the week of September 28th at the outdoor courts at the community center. We have beginners co-ed, women's, men's, and fixed partners divisions. We also introduced an indoor co-ed league that began on September 8th. That program is held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesday mornings. Lastly, an adult flag football league. We are currently registering for adult flag football. The league is expected to begin on Saturday, October 10th, and games will be held at George Gerber Park. I can continue for fitness, if you like.

Sure.

For Creek Fit, our current membership is 2,494. Oh.

City staff will present agenda item seven regarding updates on Creek Fit.

For Creek Fit, the current membership is 2,494. That's an increase of over 200 members from last fiscal year. Creek Fit is currently distributing surveys to members to gather feedback and better understand their experiences. We have received 29 responses to date and will continue sending weekly reminders throughout the month of September. to encourage additional participation and increase the overall response rate. We had a 9-11 step challenge. We had a great turnout for our 9-11 Remembrance event with participation from Mayor Jeffrey Wasserman, Vice Mayor John Brody, Commissioner Jackie Raley, police officers, firefighters, Parks and Recreation staff, and other city departments. Along with police chaplains, we led a prayer At 8.46 a.m., participants gathered in the Recreation Complex Fitness Center for a moment of silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives. The event also featured a 110-flight stepmill challenge, with one police officer and one firefighter completing the challenge while wearing full gear. The police officer and firefighter rotated every 22 flights until the full 110 flights were completed. A step class challenge was also offered in the group exercise studio, providing an additional way for members and staff to participate in the remembrance.

I have a question. On the surveys that you did get back, just curious, what was the general feedback? Anything that you think you may want to address or things that are going really well?

Hi. I'm Janet Hall, Parks and Rec Director. So I think they just went out, so we really haven't been able to accumulate any data yet.

Yeah, just curious. Yeah. Thank you.

I just have a question about the fitness center closing on the south end. Am I allowed to address that? Yes. I noticed that it's, I was reading it in the agenda, it said it was permanently closed, going to close June 5th, but I believe they pushed it back to December now?

Correct. At this point, and later on when I do my report, I'll address it again, we have to wait, we're waiting for the November November vote to see what happens with the amendment number three that's going to be on the ballot regarding tax reform because that will affect everything that we do moving forward. And so that is on the table as well as fees for right now until after that vote.

WE'VE ALREADY INSTITUTED THE NEW FEE THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IN MAY OR NO?

NO. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN PUT ON HOLD. THE FEES, CREEK FIT SOUTH, EVERYTHING UNTIL AFTER THE NOVEMBER. OKAY.

OKAY. CITY STAFF WILL PRESENT AGENDA NUMBER 8 REGARDING UPDATED ON CITY PARKS.

At George Gerber Memorial Park, the baseball field backstop modification is almost complete. The backstop is being extended to help reduce foul balls from entering play areas on the east and west soccer fields. At Donaldson Park, the playground is open now. The shade structures were installed over the playground area and has been open for the public. Sable Pines Park. The two-story pavilion is currently closed and pending inspection. We have new concrete sidewalks and trails being installed throughout the back of Sable Pines Park near the Back Pines Pavilion. The project is being done in phases. In collaboration with Public Works, the Parks and Recreation, and the Parks and Recreation Department, the Thorgard Lightning Alert System is updated. We are currently working on different ways to inform and educate the public on the Lightning Alert System.

Are there any questions or comments for the board regarding updates on parks?

No, thank you.

We will now hear communication and reports. Does city staff have any communication or reports for the board?

Yes.

Again, good evening. My name is Janet Hall, Director of Parks and Rec. I'd like to take a few minutes to update you on some changes and initiatives taking place since our last board meeting. We've had a department reorganization. Staff reorganization began this month. As part of the restructuring, Enrico Castro is serving as superintendent over the north and south districts, the recreation complex and the community center. This is going to allow one voice of supervision over both locations so they're getting the same message and we can make both facilities operate better together. Lenore Thomas is serving as superintendent over parks, special events, and facilities. Makes more sense to have parks and special events because they go together and facilities all under one umbrella also. This reorganization provides a more streamlined leadership structure, establishes unified recreation leadership, improves coordination between events and facility operations, and supports professional growth and succession planning within the department. We also held our first ever department-wide Parks and Rec staff meeting and team building session. First one ever. The theme of the session was based on the Odyssey, how to pick something current. which represents a challenging journey that ultimately leads to personal growth, transformation, and self-discovery. Our focus was simple. Parks and Rec is one team. When we work together, challenges become opportunities, uncertainties become confidence, and the changes become progress. The session provided an opportunity for staff from across the departments to connect, strengthen relationships, and reinforce our commitment to work together towards one common goal. And over the past several months, we have been finalizing the city's sponsorship and donation policy and procedures. As a part of this initiative, we are developing a dedicated section on the Parks and Rec webpage that will highlight each one of our special events and provide information about available sponsorship opportunities. Again, we need to be more creative on how we can fund different events, and this is a great way to do it. our goal is to have this section live on our city's website by the end of this year we believe this will create greater visibility for our events provide additional opportunities for the community in business partnerships and establish a more consistent approach to sponsorship and donations As Lenore alluded to, an inclement weather policy is currently in its final review with the city. As you may recall, we experienced a thunderstorm during our last Butterfly Festival. This policy will establish clear procedures and provide guidance for managing inclement weather in the future events. And this is for all city events, just not parks and recreation. We already went over Amendment 3. If you have any questions on that, I'd be glad to answer them. Overall, these initiatives are part of our continued effort to strengthen Parks and Rec Department, improve how we operate, and position the department for continued growth and success. And thank you. And I will now have updates on Parks and Rec Master Plan from Deputy Director Danielle.

Thank you, Janet. Good evening, Chair, Vice Chair, Board members. Once again, my name is Danielle DeBaris, Deputy Director for the record. And we are going to provide you with some updates on some of our big projects, the big park projects that you guys, each time that we meet with you, we try and provide you with the updates so that way you're aware of how they're progressing. and the first one i'm going to touch on is the lakeside park phase one so if you're familiar with lakeside park the city owns the property at the north end which will be considered phase two i'm talking about the south property where most of our amenities are already located that's the phase one improvements and this project is moving along very nicely and we anticipate substantial completion in october The project highlights include four new pickleball courts, two half court basketball courts, and a batting cage, which will be large enough for cricket pitch. Public Works is currently working on getting approval to have the baseball field sod replaced within the next few months, as the current turf requires replacement. So that project is moving along very nicely. And then the other park that is in the works is Oak Trails Park. Once again, that's at the north end of the city as well. A pre-construction meeting is scheduled for September 17th, and a notice to proceed will be issued at that time. Project highlights include the renovation of the existing house that was on the property to a nature center, outdoor exercise equipment, walking paths, restrooms, a new parking lot, picnic area, and landscaping. The project is anticipated to take one year to complete. And then the last thing I'm going to touch on is Main Street. You're all quite familiar with Main Street. There's a parcel of land that's called or tentatively called the Village Green on that location. And it's approximately a couple acres in size. And we're working on trying to develop or design, not develop, design that area. So the design consulting companies were shortlisted, and the shortlisted firms will be providing presentations on September 23rd, which is next week, at which time the firm will be selected to design the new future park, which I'm sure you will all be privy to that information once that design is finalized. And that's all I have as far as the Parks Master Plan updates.

Do any members of the board have communication or reports?

I was just curious. I was just wondering, the person that designed Windmill Park, were they in the mix for the new design, the short list? They did such a great job.

Off the top of my head, I can't recall the name of the company that designed Windmill Park, but I know that I think we had a total of eight companies that put a bid in for the design, and of those eight, I think we narrowed it down to four, and those four are going to be presenting next week, which I believe is open for you if you're interested. It is, I believe it starts at 8 a.m. September 23rd, next week, at this location.

One thing that we do on Creek, we do our parks well. Exciting.

It is exciting.

Have you toured or have interest in touring the new wedge preserve in Parkland? Just to get ideas of what went well, what maybe you would do different, things like that?

We can. We can definitely take a ride over there. Wedge Preserve? Yeah.

If you'd like me to set it up, just let me know. I'm happy to do so.

Thank you.

It's pretty cool.

I have a couple of things.

It's a fall festival on your events. I know it's a collaboration, but...

Yes. We don't have it advertised, yes, but Saturday, November 14th. Yeah, so the collaboration with the Women's Club, yes. Okay.

You didn't mention it. I didn't know if it was still up. And also, are you having a kickball this year? No. Kickball. Last year there was kickball, but I think it was city-sponsored.

Yes, we did run an adult kickball league. Yes, yes. But the reorganization, the supervisors and superintendents in those areas are working on programs for the future.

Okay, so you don't know. Because it's usually, it was in the fall. In the fall winter. There was a lot of rain outs that week. I mean, it was like every, I don't think there were, there were probably about five weeks behind or something by the time we were done.

I remember that, yes. There was a lot of renounce.

It was crazy. And also, I'm happy to see that the north and south, the community center and the rec center, is under one purview. Because I just renewed my membership north, and I wanted to do the dog park, and I had to go to the south to do the dog park. So I may wait until it all gets unified, and then just .

So at this time, the Doll Park memberships will still be allocated and controlled at the South Community Center. So it's still going to be South? Yes.

OK. All right. No problem. I'm down there enough anyway. But it's nice to pay one. That's all.

Thank you.

City staff, do you have the date for the next meeting?

The date for the next meeting is Wednesday, January 20th, 2027. And if we can have a consensus.

Yes.

Yes.

I'm not available then, but one person is not a showstopper.

If there are no further comments, I'll take a motion and second to adjourn the meeting.

I have no further comments. Motion to adjourn the meeting.