2026-09-28 - Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee

00:16Let's have a good meeting.

00:24>> Hey, good evening everybody and welcome

00:25to the Jacksonville Recreation and Parks

00:27um advisory board and we'd like to get

00:29started tonight. Um

00:32approval for the agenda. I think

00:34everybody's received one last week in an

00:35email. Yeah.

00:37>> Motion to approve.

00:38>> Second.

00:39So move approve of the minutes.

00:41Everybody get a chance to take a look at

00:43that.

00:44>> Motion to approve. Awesome. Before we

00:47get started, um we want to go ahead and

00:50welcome our newest member, um Miss

00:52Jennifer. Welcome to the board. We're

00:54excited to have you.

00:55>> Thank you.

00:56>> If you wouldn't mind give us a little

00:58snapshot of you.

00:59>> Sure. Um hi, my name is Jennifer. I live

01:03here in Jacksonville. Uh we moved here

01:05in 2009. I went to Coastal Carolina

01:08Community College, graduated from the

01:10nursing program shortly thereafter. Um,

01:14got a job in Onslow ER, worked there for

01:17a few years. Then we got sent to

01:20Okinawa, Japan, and then Hawaii and um,

01:24he picked up his DD214 today. After 20

01:28years, he's finally retired. We have

01:30three kids, Trent Tatum, and Taylor,

01:321098. They're heavily involved um in our

01:36parks and recreation. So um Trent plays

01:38at the JASA fields. He's in classic

01:40soccer. He travels. Uh Tatum is uh she

01:44does competitive cheer and she also

01:46plays volleyball. Um so she's at Jack

01:48Emette right now. And Taylor plays

01:50piano. My business is First Day Homeare.

01:53I'm based out of the Commerce Center

01:55actually. So um that's a little bit how

01:58me.

01:58>> Okay. We welcome you to the board. The

02:00majority of us have been on here

02:02probably I think the youngest maybe four

02:05years.

02:06>> Yeah.

02:07>> Yeah.

02:08>> Awesome.

02:10>> Yeah. We've been here a long time. So

02:12>> I love that.

02:14>> I used to have hair.

02:17>> So welcome. And we'll set up some uh uh

02:20what what location do you live at in

02:22Jacksonville?

02:23>> In Williamsburg Plantation.

02:24>> Okay. Well, we're neighbors then.

02:26>> Oh, really? Is that where you live?

02:27>> Yes, that's where I live. Oh, well, I'm

02:29the vice president on the HOA there.

02:31>> Uh, you're the one I complain about.

02:34>> I was like, I'm going to say that and

02:36yeah,

02:37>> so welcome. We'll we'll split up the the

02:39parks a little bit to where we have

02:41we'll probably get to that later

02:42tonight. So, we we welcome you and

02:44please if you have any comments,

02:46suggestions, please chime in. We welcome

02:48you. All right, so we'll go ahead and

02:50get started with new business.

02:53Rocks, paper, scissors.

02:55Mike,

02:56>> I don't think we have, but I can do a

02:58give a parks update.

03:00>> Um, and I'll try and breeze through

03:01this. Obviously, if you have any

03:03questions, feel free to stop me. Uh,

03:06because there's a little bit of a list

03:07here. So, since we've last seen each

03:10other, uh, we've been working on the

03:13youth, adult, and Jack at ball fields.

03:16We, you know, even though most of the

03:19athletic season is over, we still have

03:22to work on the fields. We've applied

03:24some growth regulators, herbicides for

03:26the grassy and broadleaf uh weeds as

03:30well as uh doing our fertilization

03:34and we've ariated and top dressed two of

03:36the fields of the common. So those are

03:38all things that matter next year. You

03:41know, those these are things we've got

03:42to keep doing. U

03:45hopefully you attended Rock the Block.

03:47I'm sure Spider's going to maybe talk

03:50about that a little bit. uh our role in

03:52that was basically to help with the

03:54setup and the tear down and those sorts

03:57of things. We staffed it with a couple

03:58of staff members that evening. So, uh

04:03we're that group that likes to be able

04:05to help out and that's what we did uh

04:07for that event. Um

04:10we sent four of our employees that don't

04:13have pesticide license to try and get

04:15certified with our to get their license.

04:18We'll see how that goes.

04:20I say this a lot and if you did know and

04:23I know Jennifer's new we we don't allow

04:26with the state you can spray under

04:28someone's license. I don't allow that

04:31though. Uh I think that you have to be

04:33responsible if you are going to be able

04:35to spray. So I don't allow that to be

04:37done with our department. You have to

04:39have your license. And I will tell you

04:40that we probably have about we have 31

04:43full-time people in the parks world.

04:46>> Mhm.

04:46>> And

04:4822 of them, 23 of them have their

04:50pesticide license. That's pretty good.

04:52There's a lot of value to it for us

04:54because we don't have to go behind other

04:56people. We try and make sure that those

04:58things are done one do it once that way

05:01we don't have to go back behind people.

05:03So hopefully they'll do well. Uh if uh

05:08who has Wilson Bay?

05:10>> It's Scott.

05:11>> Well, hopefully he noticed. Uh we put

05:13new park signs up over there. If you

05:15haven't noticed, we put one up at the

05:17marina a couple of months ago. That is

05:20now what is at Wilson Bay and uh the

05:23commons will be next. So hopefully

05:24you'll see that one over the next, you

05:27know, couple of months go up. This is a

05:28bit of a process putting these signs up

05:32uh and getting them handmade by the the

05:35vendor. So, uh, just be aware of that.

05:39Um,

05:41all of the vegetation at the dog park,

05:44has anybody rode by the commons and seen

05:47where the proposed dog park is?

05:49>> So, most of that has been done by the

05:51park staff to work in there. We've

05:53gotten rid of all the vegetation over

05:55there. So really from our seed, we're

05:58going to have a gate for us to be able

06:01to uh enter through a maintenance area

06:04on the back side. So we we're waiting

06:06for some rock now so we can put kind of

06:08a driveway there so when it is wet,

06:10we're able to still get to it. We're

06:13just waiting on that. And I know Susan

06:15and and again, I don't want to steal uh

06:17spiders, thunder or anything. I'm sure

06:19he'll talk to you about fencing and

06:21those those sorts of things. So, uh, I

06:23would tell you that's moving right

06:25along.

06:26Uh,

06:28our landscaping crews are mulching now

06:32the memorial gardens,

06:34the Beirut Memorial Grove, as well as

06:37Riverwalk Park. So, just be aware of

06:40that if you're out and you see them.

06:42Also understand that uh we got a ton of

06:47flowers in today. So you will start

06:49seeing our winter installations over the

06:52next couple of weeks going in. Be aware

06:55of that. We'll put them throughout the

06:56city as well as in the park.

06:59Um

07:03I know some of you in here really enjoy

07:05the trail. We'll be out edging the trail

07:08this year again and we'll be doing some

07:10pressure washing work.

07:12over the next couple of weeks. So, you

07:13may see us out there. Just keep that in

07:15mind when you're going by.

07:18With the change in the weather, you

07:19know, it kind of flipped over a couple

07:22of days that we're going to back off of

07:24mowing hopefully by next week to maybe

07:26every two to three weeks

07:29depending on and just so you know, it's

07:33right around the corner. Our 270 pole

07:37Christmas decorations will begin going

07:39up on November 2nd. It takes three weeks

07:42to put those up for a staff of about

07:44six. And we do have a we have a new

07:48pattern this year. So, everybody will

07:51have the same look going on throughout

07:54the city.

07:56And last but not least, and I don't like

07:58to whine about this, but just be aware,

08:02we're doing the best we can, or we're

08:05trying to. We're not perfect by any

08:06means. We uh basically have worked this

08:09summer with about eight or nine

08:11part-time people. Generally, we would

08:13need around 18 or 19.

08:15>> Wow.

08:16>> Yeah. So, it's been a bit of a struggle,

08:18but I think we've done well dealing with

08:20that. Um

08:22just be aware of that. I always say

08:25chances are if you're calling to me to

08:26tell me something's wrong, we probably

08:28know about it. We literally each morning

08:31have to, you know, you have to rep

08:33prioritize each day sometimes, you know,

08:35just because we're not going to be able

08:37to get to this or this is a bigger

08:39priority because there's an event or

08:42what what you know, whatever it is. So,

08:44we've got to be in our line of work, we

08:46got to be a little bit flexible to

08:48what's going on in the community, what's

08:50going on in our programs,

08:53those sort of things. Any questions

08:54about anything?

08:56>> Feel free. Now's that time. Yes, sir. Uh

09:00we briefed uh adding a third soft or

09:03baseball field in Northeast Creek and

09:04six flat fields quite a while ago. Any

09:07update on that?

09:09>> That would not be a question for me. I

09:11would

09:12>> then

09:13>> I would defer more to Susan about

09:15athletic fields.

09:16>> Okay.

09:17>> Yeah.

09:20>> Yeah.

09:21>> Anything else for Michael?

09:23>> Is the staff shortage because of budget

09:24cuts or is it because you can't find

09:26people? It's It's not because of budget

09:28cuts. It's from not being able to get

09:30people. I mean,

09:31>> okay.

09:32>> Yeah, that's pretty much it.

09:34>> Okay.

09:34>> We just we struggle. Uh and

09:37traditionally, we go through cycles of

09:39this where,

09:42>> you know, we'll have people and they'll

09:44be all over the place and they'll be

09:46very, very good help and then we'll have

09:49what I call bodies that walk through the

09:51door.

09:52>> Yeah.

09:52>> You know, and

09:54>> it is what it is. And sometimes we don't

09:56even have enough of those.

09:58>> Yeah.

09:58>> Uh our workers work hard every day and

10:00they do the best they can. One of the

10:02values of

10:05you know our our you know the parks role

10:07in the city is and it is a valuable role

10:10I believe is that

10:13because we hire our part-time people. We

10:15don't use an agency.

10:17>> Um

10:20you know some of this is my own undoing.

10:22So, I've had probably three staff

10:24members this year that we had as

10:27part-time people, but have moved along

10:30to another department in a full-time

10:32role.

10:33>> And our world is a good world to vet

10:36those type of people and say, "Hey,

10:38this, you know, even though I hate to

10:40lose them, obviously the goal from my

10:43seat is to make sure if you know they've

10:45got a family, they need to provide. I

10:47hate to lose them, but in the big in the

10:50big picture, the city's going to gain by

10:52that. You know, they're going to get a

10:54full-time person. So,

10:57good question.

10:58>> Anybody else?

11:00>> All right, Mr. Spider.

11:02>> All right. Well, we have closed out all

11:04of our summer camps and uh summer sports

11:07and splash pads over the weekend, so we

11:09finally closed those down. Um moving

11:12right along into the fall activities.

11:14We've got volleyball which Jennifer you

11:16said that you know you've got a daughter

11:17playing that's awesome. So we got flag

11:20football as well uh as baseball and then

11:23uh we have special needs baseball on uh

11:25Saturday. So Jo Alvis he does a really

11:28good job with that program and you know

11:30we'll talk a little bit about the

11:31inspiration field uh in a minute. So uh

11:35we've also started basketball

11:37registration. It seems uh seems too

11:39early for basketball but that started

11:41last week. So registration's going up.

11:44Um, more importantly, the projects.

11:46We've got a lot of in exciting things

11:48going on. Uh, bathroom renovations.

11:51There's been a few hiccups, a few bumps

11:52in the road, but this starting progress

11:55uh to progress nicely. So, uh, we've had

11:58them painted. Uh, looking at getting the

12:00floors cleaned and then putting up

12:02partitions. So, hopefully by the end of,

12:04uh, October, we'll see some, uh, some

12:07real progress and hopefully finish up

12:09there. um board of elections. Uh they're

12:12coming in and they'll start uh voting uh

12:16October the 15th. So they'll be taking

12:19up a lot of space and uh a lot of good

12:21things going on there. Uh the

12:23inspiration field, it's still uh they're

12:26grading right now. They're doing a lot

12:28of the grading, but when the fencing

12:30comes in, they're ready to go ahead and

12:31put that up. That should take about a

12:33week. And then uh I think either this

12:35week or next week, we're looking at

12:36getting the gazebo put up. by October

12:39the 15th, mid-occtober. Uh they're

12:41looking at uh pouring the the actual

12:43rubber for the field. So

12:45>> nice.

12:45>> A lot of lot of good work going on

12:47there. Uh if you hadn't checked it out,

12:49I would definitely go by it. Actually

12:51starting to look like something. So then

12:54our dog park. Yeah, as Michael alluded

12:57to, we uh we already got a fence

13:00contract, so they're ready to pull the

13:02trigger on that. Uh the money's been

13:03allocated and uh we've uh we're working

13:06on getting the electrical. So I know

13:08Susan's been doing a lot of hard work on

13:10there looking at the amenities and some

13:12of the neat things they could do for the

13:14dogs. So it's a neat little uh little

13:16area out there. Um and then Northeast

13:19Creek. Uh as far as the fields, I'd say

13:22that uh we have some of that area

13:25cleared out. Um we're looking at how we

13:27can utilize that space. Uh we're always

13:30uh people come and look for lit areas.

13:33So, but we don't have many rectangular

13:36fields. So, that would be a nice thing.

13:38I know Michael's guys have been doing a

13:40lot of hard work clearing that area out

13:42there and hopefully we get it, you know,

13:44safe and accessible so that we can put

13:46some people out there. So,

13:47>> so one of the challenges there is that

13:51it's a great area for practice, maybe

13:54not games right now.

13:56The challenge that we run into there,

13:59and Steve, you're out at that park a

14:01lot, right? You may see grass get high

14:03out there and traditionally that's

14:05because there are low areas out there

14:07and it holds water and we can't get into

14:10those areas to mow until we have a

14:13little bit of a you know prolonged

14:15>> dry spell

14:17>> and then we can get out there and mow it

14:18and you know so so there is a struggle

14:21on being somewhat dependent for somebody

14:24in that area because rain will affect

14:28its usability.

14:29>> Yeah. And one of the most uh the

14:32projects I'm proud of is uh we're

14:34actually improving the fencing. So we

14:36we've started the Commons Youth Fields.

14:38We've gotten rid of the old dome back

14:39stops that everybody complained about.

14:41Put up a traditional baseball back stop.

14:44So and they should be moving on to

14:45Northeast Creek, redoing all of the

14:47fabric on that fencing uh there. So it

14:49should look really good by the time it's

14:50finished. After they do that, they'll

14:52head back over to the adult ball fields.

14:55We should be done with our adult ball

14:56field season. Uh we're looking at

14:58pulling back the fence on one and two um

15:02about 10 ft trying to get 300 ft out of

15:05those fields. Uh so one thing we have a

15:07lot of complaints about from the guys is

15:09you know they go out there they want to

15:10hit home runs so that's all they're

15:12really interested in and our other two

15:14fields are a little bit shorter. So

15:16that'll give them a little bit more

15:17play. So that's it.

15:20>> So they can't hit home runs.

15:22>> Well they're going to hit them anyway.

15:24Yeah, it's just whether that ball comes.

15:25>> You just don't want all of them. They

15:26don't mind. They want to show off a

15:28little.

15:29>> Nice.

15:30>> I had a question if you don't mind. On

15:31that rectangle field that the low spots

15:33tend to hold water. Is it the kind of

15:35thing where some infill in those low

15:37areas would help or does it need a

15:38grading?

15:39>> So, it is infill but it's not a little

15:41bit. I think there's two yards across.

15:46>> So, I believe that area and I might be

15:48wrong and Spider you might remember. I

15:50think it's about 12 or 13 acres. Okay.

15:54>> That's

15:54>> that's a lot

15:55>> when you need two yards. That's a lot.

15:58Yeah. It's it's it's I think the last

16:00time we looked at a budgeted,

16:03you know, swag number, it was around

16:05$300,000 to bring top soil in there and

16:08level that field out. Now,

16:10>> once again, that was probably to make it

16:13competitive fields. Maybe you could trim

16:17some of that back to get it more

16:19playable, but that's a, you know,

16:22>> then again, that numbers from six years

16:25ago,

16:27>> $6, right? Maybe half as much twice as

16:31much price.

16:32>> Yeah, every bit.

16:34>> Thank you.

16:34>> Yes, ma'am.

16:35>> Any questions for Spider?

16:37>> How busy is the gym?

16:39>> Oh, it stays busy all the time. Yeah. Uh

16:41we have uh volleyball in there five

16:43nights a week and then we have a lot of

16:45uh rentals so it's very difficult to get

16:48in there. I know Dancing with the Stars

16:50is coming up uh here pretty soon. So

16:53Onslow so but yeah it stays really

16:55really busy. So I I I want to add

16:58something to so I I was out riding

17:00around the other night and I I do go out

17:03to the parks at night. You know, that's

17:06a time where I can drive around, not be

17:08seen, and kind of look and see how

17:10things are going. And I'm going to tell

17:11you, if you've not driven down the Kur

17:13Street at about 7:30 or 8:30 at night,

17:16go on down there.

17:18>> Pickle ball city,

17:18>> cuz it's it's a happening spot.

17:21>> It's cool.

17:22>> It is a very, very happening spot.

17:24>> The Commons is extremely busy, too.

17:26>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, I come in at 7:00.

17:28People are at the Commons literally at 6

17:316 o'clock in the morning, but Yeah. And

17:34I know those tennis courts are used too,

17:35whether pickle ball or tennis, but I'm

17:38just telling you there was a line out

17:40there for the pickle ball players.

17:42>> Yeah.

17:42>> Yeah. We've started a new tennis ladder

17:44league. So it's about 50 additional

17:46people. So they're doing open plays

17:48right now on Mondays. But

17:50>> how the dance class is going?

17:51>> They're doing they're doing great. Yeah.

17:54The steppers and the uh

17:57>> um

17:57>> line dancing. Yeah.

17:59>> Can I ask a question about the commons?

18:01>> Sure. Um, so my daughter, because she

18:02does play volleyball there, there's only

18:05one bathroom that everybody can use and

18:07it's super busy. And so when the girls

18:09have to run in, you know, or they're in

18:11between a game cuz these are, you know,

18:13eight and nine year olds, so they hold

18:14it until the last minute.

18:15>> Boys and girls can't go in there. So if

18:17there's one boy in there, then there's a

18:18line of like 10 girls missing some of

18:21the game.

18:22>> Is there is there just that one bathroom

18:24that they are youware?

18:25>> The only other place we'd have it is the

18:27adult center. So it's in a different

18:29building. They have

18:30>> Yeah. Okay.

18:31>> And that's the bathroom renovations that

18:33you

18:33>> That's the challenge. Bathrooms are

18:35being worked on.

18:36>> Okay. So, it typically there the right

18:38side is the ladies room and the left

18:40side is the men's. Um the bathroom

18:42renovation was initially supposed to be

18:44a pretty quick project and it's not.

18:46>> Yeah. Exactly. So, it is not for my

18:49spider. It's hopefully by the end of

18:51October. I think you just said

18:52>> it's not going to help you a whole lot

18:53with volleyball season if it's

18:56>> Well, at least you know why. It's not

18:58that the building doesn't have better

19:00capacity, it's just timing is

19:02everything.

19:02>> We've added some extra staff to try and

19:04mitigate it and keep it safe.

19:06>> Yeah. I'd love to be just I've often

19:08heard parents complain just to be like,

19:10"It's getting worked on, you know, just

19:11to give some sort of resolution." So,

19:14that makes sense. I figured that might

19:15have been the bathrooms you were talking

19:16about, but I was unsure. So, cool.

19:20>> Any other questions for Mike or Spider?

19:24>> All right, we'll move along. Um, that

19:26council,

19:28>> not much to report. Um, we don't have

19:30Mr. Homer here to give us the planning

19:32advisory board report, but um, we're

19:34still pursuing the UDO review process,

19:37um, which applies to a whole lot of

19:39things, some of which will relate to

19:41parks, recre, but not a whole lot. Many

19:43of them will be streets and other

19:44things, but we're working through those.

19:46Uh, so four phase process. It's going to

19:49take us at least a year to get through

19:50all of them, I'm sure. Um, but we're,

19:53you know, we're doing them as quickly as

19:55we can to bring the UDO up to speed and

19:57make it a little easier for everybody to

19:59work within that thing. It's a big

20:01document. Outside of that, not much to

20:04report. Hope everybody's enjoying the

20:06almost fall weather. We won't discuss

20:09that till October 1st.

20:11>> Still in summer mode.

20:12>> That'll be Thursday, by the way.

20:16>> So, before we get on to the parks

20:18report, I have one question for Michael

20:20and Spider. Should we include the

20:22memorial gardens in our should we assign

20:25somebody?

20:25>> No, that's probably not a bad idea. And

20:28I I will say this on um

20:31really October 1st is the beginning of

20:34our second year. Although this past

20:36year, we backed up and didn't start

20:39until October 15th. We've been

20:40maintaining over there almost the full

20:42year now. So, I would tell you that

20:44there's nothing wrong with that.

20:46>> Okay.

20:47>> I mean, we are there. We are there every

20:49day. And they look good. They look good.

20:52I'm there all the time running. Thank

20:54you.

20:54>> And they look really good.

20:55>> Always looks beautiful there. And the

20:56welcome center now has the restrooms.

20:58>> They may be valuable and and I don't

21:00know who has the rails to trail, but it

21:03would be valuable. Probably it'll fit

21:05right into that.

21:06>> So that's what I was looking at. Um so

21:08to split us up, does anybody want to I

21:11know those that are here, Mr. Ross,

21:14Steve, do you guys anybody want to give

21:15up a park that they have? Because I was

21:18going to suggest maybe

21:20that you take on the memorial gardens

21:23and the trails. Is that okay?

21:25>> Yes, ma'am.

21:25>> All right. So, and then we'll assign um

21:27Miss Jennifer will assign her the

21:29commons.

21:30>> Okay.

21:30>> For now. And then um

21:33>> Well, Scott has three.

21:34>> Yeah, Scott has three. We have We can

21:36move one of his.

21:37>> So,

21:38>> so what we talked about at the last

21:40meeting was it a little bit of a

21:42realignment and we had talked about

21:44Woodlands and Phillips uh Woodlands Park

21:46and Phillips Park going to our new

21:48member

21:50You want to?

21:51>> Yeah. Woodlands and Phillips aren't

21:53aren't on here. So that's why

21:56>> because I had Phillips

21:58>> as well.

21:59>> Okay.

22:00>> We had given um Scott Riverwalk Park and

22:05had that was where the conversation

22:07about shifting started.

22:09>> Gotcha. Okay.

22:12>> So let's see over there by by Jazza.

22:16which would work

22:17>> for

22:18>> I'm there

22:18>> right work well for Jennifer

22:20>> I live there so why don't you take

22:22Woodlands

22:23>> okay

22:24>> in the commons

22:25>> sure

22:25>> and then Phillips Park

22:30>> Mr. Ross that's on my mind

22:32>> yeah Mr. Ross, do you mind taking

22:33Phillips Park?

22:34>> Oh, that'd be fine.

22:34>> Okay.

22:41>> What is Miss Jennifer going to have?

22:42>> Woodlands in the Commons. If it was

22:44going to work out anyway, those would

22:46have been the ones I would have wanted

22:47because that's where my kids live.

22:49>> And uh

22:51>> when is when is the visitor center

22:54opening officially

22:56>> at the gardens? We had the ribbon

22:59cutting last week.

23:00>> This this last week? Just Friday.

23:02>> So they're open.

23:03>> Mhm.

23:04>> Oh, I was there this weekend and I

23:05didn't

23:06>> You mean the restrooms?

23:07>> Yes.

23:07>> The restrooms are not open?

23:08>> Yeah. So the restrooms not open because

23:11they're not That's part of the visitor.

23:13>> They were open when we were there for

23:14the ribbon cut.

23:14>> Yeah, they're not open. They weren't

23:16open on Saturday.

23:16>> We had to close them.

23:17>> Okay.

23:17>> They're not ready.

23:18>> Okay.

23:20>> I understand.

23:21>> They're not ready yet.

23:22>> Sounds like a story.

23:23>> I will know.

23:25>> I will know when they are ready, though.

23:26>> We'll have to be ready by the 23rd.

23:28>> I can't answer that. M

23:30>> all I do is clean them

23:32>> and maintain them

23:34>> on the 23rd. All right. So, Mr. Maxwell

23:36have Rails to Trails and the Memorial

23:38Gardens.

23:40Okay.

23:42Everybody good?

23:43>> Yeah.

23:43>> Thumbs up.

23:44>> Thumbs up. All right. All right. Let's

23:46go ahead and Mr. Hinkle, do you want to

23:48give us a report on Northeast Creek?

23:50>> Sure. But first, I went to downtown

23:53Alive and I think the coolest thing I

23:55saw was the police department's Mustang.

23:59Rock the block.

24:00>> Yeah, rock the block. Whatever it was.

24:02>> Yeah.

24:03>> So, didn't know they had that.

24:04>> Yeah, that was very neat.

24:06>> Yeah, that no CM gray they have. And I

24:10think that would have been the perfect

24:10time to rob a bank cuz all the police

24:13department was down there,

24:15>> but they're all closed.

24:19But it was a good time. Uh, so all the

24:22kids have been enjoying the splash pad

24:24during the month of September. I mean,

24:26they really like it. So, it'd be really

24:28nice if we could open it at the

24:30beginning of May

24:32instead of the end of May

24:35since it's nice and warm.

24:36>> Mhm.

24:36>> Yeah. Uh, Northeast Creek has been

24:40hosting like weekly cross country

24:43events, it seems.

24:45I got tons of kids running around.

24:47Drives my dog crazy.

24:50So, she wants to run with them, you

24:51know, but she doesn't need to do that.

24:54Uh the brush piles are still around the

24:57park there. So

25:00the uh the walk-in from Shadow Ridge

25:02Road that the grass is like almost knee

25:05high now. So they use a trim.

25:07>> Okay.

25:09>> Uh

25:10and

25:12people are speeding on Corbin like

25:14crazy.

25:16>> So they uh

25:17>> especially going home at night from

25:20about 3:30 to about 6. So they usually

25:24drive 10 over, but then they're in a

25:25real hurry, you know. So they go about

25:27another five over. It's nuts.

25:30>> I'm sure Shadow is Shadow Ridge is a cut

25:33through road, too.

25:34>> Yeah.

25:35>> Coming off Corbin from 24.

25:37>> No, they go up to Huff.

25:39>> Well, either way, but they got to go

25:41down Shadow Ridge, right?

25:43>> They go down Corbin and then over to

25:46Huff.

25:46>> Oh, I'm sorry.

25:47>> Yeah.

25:48>> I thought you said they were doing it on

25:50Shadowwood.

25:51>> Shadow Ridge.

25:51>> Shadow. Shadow Ridge is where we need

25:53the grass cut.

25:54>> Okay.

25:54>> Yeah.

25:55>> To walk in there.

25:58>> Either way, it's a drag strip.

26:00>> Oh, we cut through, right?

26:02>> Yeah.

26:03>> It's They go really fast. It's uh quite

26:05amazing.

26:07>> We'll reach out to the police department

26:09and give them that feedback.

26:12>> Sure.

26:13>> They do catch quite a few speeders

26:14there, though. It's amazing where they

26:15usually catch them right on that curve.

26:18>> Well, there's a couple spots. There's a

26:20little rise

26:21>> and then they'll sit right below it and

26:23you come over the little rise, they got

26:24you. Yeah.

26:25>> And then they get like bonus points or

26:27something for speeding by the park.

26:29>> So, it's But the park looks good. And uh

26:33the playground is packed every evening

26:35after school. I mean, just all kinds of

26:37people there. I don't know what the kids

26:39are going to do now. The splash pad's

26:41not going to be up, but

26:43>> that's all right. They'll find something

26:44else to do.

26:45>> They still got the playground.

26:46>> The playground gets a serious workout.

26:50Yes.

26:50>> And uh the ball fields are being

26:53utilized on the weekends and they were

26:55actually playing

26:57ball leagues baseball there the other

26:59night which surprised me because they

27:01haven't done that before I don't think

27:02when my grandson was playing because it

27:04was his age group you know 910 kind of

27:06time.

27:07>> Mhm.

27:08>> Got to watch him play there.

27:10>> Okay.

27:11>> Anything else sir?

27:12>> No.

27:13>> Mr. Reg. Mr. Reg.

27:16>> Okay. Rails the trails. No issues or

27:19concerns. Uh, as fall approaches, Mr.

27:23Mike.

27:23>> Yes, sir.

27:24>> Will your team blow the leaves and other

27:27debris off again? Usually. Okay.

27:30>> Absolutely.

27:32>> Are you talking about on the trail?

27:33>> Yes.

27:34>> Yeah. I failed to mention that.

27:35Obviously falls coming. We we definitely

27:38go to like twice a week we blow the

27:40trail.

27:41>> Oh, yeah. And you know, obviously if we

27:44have wind events,

27:47>> we're going to go out there the next

27:49morning. We know that the trail is going

27:50to be impacted by that because it's

27:52lined with trees.

27:54>> Yeah.

27:54>> So, we understand that. Yeah.

27:55>> It's mainly the u pine needles.

27:57>> Yeah. The pine needles. Yeah. We did

27:59which is a, you know, people going to

28:01slip on those if they're not careful.

28:03>> Yeah. Uh Philips Park, it's clean.

28:07Soccer's the main thing out there. Uh

28:10question about the basketball court.

28:13Will it ever I know it's not really

28:16utilized, but as the saying goes, if you

28:19build it, they'll come. Will it um get a

28:23new basket

28:25or net?

28:26>> Does it need a new basket?

28:29>> We'll have to look at that tomorrow.

28:31>> Oh, yeah. And look, from my seat,

28:35whatever we have should be kept to a

28:38standard.

28:39you know, uh, so if it needs new goals,

28:41we'll have to get new goals for it.

28:43>> Oh,

28:43>> but we'll definitely look at that

28:45tomorrow. I'm sure Spider will

28:47>> and Jacksonville Commons,

28:50that's the Central Police,

28:54the young kids, they're probably out

28:56there about right now.

28:58>> Yeah. It'll be about 50 or 60 of them

29:01playing pickle ball and they will play

29:03until

29:06the lights go out out there. It's lots

29:08of tennis. Um, see the progress on the

29:12dog park and the all-inclusive ball

29:15field every day as I pass by. So, I see

29:19the constant progression.

29:22>> Lots of softball and kickball.

29:25And are there signs on the cabanas for

29:32reservations?

29:33>> There's no signs on on the shelters for

29:36reservations. Um, when you say that, I'm

29:40not sure what you're asking.

29:41>> Well,

29:43to avoid conflicts because I see some

29:46people there.

29:47>> So, I I I'm not going to defer to Megan

29:50yet, but you correct me if I'm wrong

29:51because Megan pretty much her world

29:53handles reservations. However, if you

29:56reserve a shelter, you get a reservation

29:59slip. And we deal with we deal with

30:01these conflicts, okay? And this is

30:03really how they're dealt with. First of

30:05all, if there is a problem on the

30:07reservation slip, there's a phone number

30:09to call. There's actually two numbers to

30:11call. If it's during the daytime,

30:16it's one of my guys's number. If it's

30:19after hours, it's the non-emergency

30:21police line. Right? So

30:25our shelters throughout the city are all

30:28first come first serve. So if you go to

30:31the commons now and you want to no one's

30:33there, you have every right to go use

30:35the shelter. However, if you do that and

30:38an hour later I show up with a

30:40reservation slip,

30:42you're going to have to move yourself.

30:44Okay? So that's how that's remedied. If

30:47there's a problem, they'll generally

30:48call our staff. We'll go make sure that

30:50the reservation slip is there. If

30:52there's a continued problem, we have no

30:55problem calling the police department

30:57and letting them come and solve the

30:59problem for us because it's really not

31:01our job to get into that. We're just

31:03interested in who has the reservation.

31:05Our staff also has a list of all the

31:10reservations.

31:13Does that answer does that any good

31:15answering your question?

31:16>> I was just Do you need to add anything?

31:19The only thing I would add is we very

31:21rarely have any issues. Um, and if

31:24somebody comes in, we highlight the

31:25information on their receipt so that

31:27they know, you know, if you have any

31:28issues, this is the phone number. If you

31:30have any maintenance issues, this is the

31:31phone number. We make sure they know,

31:33you know, they've got the park shelter

31:35that they want for the day and time they

31:37want. And if somebody else is there,

31:39what they can do. Um, we have had, you

31:44know, if if somebody's got the park

31:47shelter rented and somebody else comes,

31:49sometimes people don't mind sharing half

31:51of a picnic shelter, but that's up to

31:54them. Um, they do get the priority by

31:56making that reservation.

31:58>> Um, and some people will call and say,

32:00you know, do I have to? They don't have

32:02to, but we do very strongly encourage it

32:04because they do get the priority if they

32:06did that. So, I want to give you an

32:08example real quick about what happened

32:10in the spring. We had a lady at one of

32:13our shelters show up for a birthday

32:16party

32:19and about an hour later, somebody else

32:23showed up for a party, right? Well, the

32:26second person that came actually had it

32:28reserved. Well, the first person said,

32:29"Well, we have it reserved.

32:31>> Our staff was called in." Initially, I'm

32:34thinking, "Okay, things happen. we can

32:36we're not we're going to make mistakes

32:38sometimes you can double book right so

32:40you know at first we were like okay well

32:42maybe we double booked but what we ended

32:45up finding out my staff found out was

32:48she had come on the the first lady

32:50actually had her dates wrong

32:52her reservation wasn't for two more

32:55weeks

32:55>> oh no

32:56>> but here's what we did okay my staff

33:00looked at the lady who had the shelter

33:02that uh wasn't supposed to be there we

33:04helped her back up because we have a

33:07reservation slip. We knew what shelters

33:09were available. We were able to help her

33:12move

33:14to another shelter

33:16and continue having their party. So,

33:19that's that's awesome stuff right there.

33:20And I I I don't I'm sharing that with

33:22you because I think the staff did a

33:24great job in solving a problem that

33:27could have got ugly

33:28>> and it worked itself out. Now, to

33:31Megan's point, we do have a lot of times

33:32where people say, "Look, I only really

33:34need half the shelter. You're welcome to

33:36use the other half." But by no means are

33:38do they have to do that. You know, they

33:40have every right to say, "I don't want

33:41anybody over here."

33:43>> Anyway,

33:44>> the only correction I'll make to that is

33:46you can't double book in the system.

33:47>> Well, there you go.

33:49>> Recrack has its its quirks, but that is

33:52not one of

33:52>> There you go.

33:54>> Thank you.

33:55>> Yeah. Good question, though.

33:58>> Thanks, Mr. Maxwell. Anything else?

33:59>> No, ma'am. We're good. Okay.

34:01>> Um I have Brook Valley and Northwoods

34:04and there are no issues with either.

34:06They both look good. Um

34:10more kids now over in Northwoods because

34:12they're over there from the school and

34:14they're in the after school care. So

34:15there there's more over there than there

34:17were throughout the summer, but

34:18throughout the summer it was so hot over

34:20there. You didn't want to touch any of

34:22the stuff. But

34:24>> they're both good. They're good. Thanks,

34:27Mr. Ross.

34:28>> Uh

34:30Overall, the park was great. Great day

34:32to be out there. Weather was great. The

34:34uh the dents on the basketball courts on

34:38both ends are off the a little bit off

34:41the rim.

34:42>> Okay.

34:42>> They're just hanging. Uh the astro turf

34:45are where the bars are where the kids

34:49get on

34:49>> like the monkey bars.

34:50>> Yeah. Right. The that's tearing up.

34:53There's a great big slab loose. So, I

34:56dragged it to the trash can where the

35:00guys could see it and dispose of it. I

35:03don't think it's a hazard as far as

35:05people

35:07slipping or getting hung up on or

35:10anything, but something you might want

35:11to look at. We'll look at that first.

35:14>> Thank you for

35:16getting ready to have at the picnic

35:18tables. They had a getting ready to

35:20start a a party and that was fun to see.

35:23two little girls are eating and uh um

35:28just really have people having a lot of

35:29fun. So, went real well. My wife and I

35:33went uh on Sunday, which was another

35:36great day. Went over to Wilson Bay Park

35:39just to sit and watch the grass grow.

35:41And uh it's amazing that people had two

35:45couples there fishing and parking lot

35:48was full and uh just really enjoyable

35:51day. Nice and quiet. Great park.

35:54>> Having a good time taking the little

35:55babies and

35:56>> whatever. So

35:58>> awesome.

35:58>> Good time was had by all everything

36:00being utilized.

36:02>> Look good.

36:04>> Thank you.

36:04>> Thank you, sir.

36:06>> I have Richard Ray and Jack Emiet. Both

36:08look perfect. Great. Anytime there's an

36:10issue, it seems like I go back a couple

36:12hours later and it's fixed. So, it's

36:15been commendable on our staff that you

36:17have. What little staff you have?

36:19>> Short staff. hardworking chore staff

36:21>> where we are.

36:22>> So the event that happened this weekend,

36:23I didn't mean I didn't catch it

36:25downtown.

36:26>> Was parks and wreck available for that

36:28or was that something other?

36:29>> No, that was more uh the businesses.

36:31>> This is Okay.

36:32>> Yes. All right. And we're all good about

36:34removing the bricks and finding Jimmy

36:37Hoff underneath the road the roadway.

36:39>> It's already been done. He wasn't there.

36:42>> But there's another event this weekend.

36:43>> And if he was, he's this weekend.

36:47>> It did look like there's like a big

36:48building going up down there, though.

36:49They had a sign at like 604 New Bridge.

36:52It said where it's going to be a new

36:53outdoor area. Did you see that?

36:55>> Yeah.

36:55>> I went down to that the October fest the

36:57clove hitch had. We have another one

36:58this weekend too, you know. Correct. So,

37:00>> yeah.

37:01>> Which that one utilizes parks a little

37:03bit.

37:04>> Right.

37:05>> Yeah.

37:05>> Do you know if the barricades, the

37:07concrete barricades were removed, but

37:09the regular striped barricades were

37:11still up all day today? Are they staying

37:13up? Are they being removed? Do you know

37:15who's responsible for that?

37:16>> I don't, but I will check on that. They

37:17were still up today. They block in

37:18court.

37:19>> I don't think our staff put them up, so

37:21I don't know who put them.

37:22>> Okay.

37:23>> But I can let it know.

37:25>> All right. I know they were borrowing,

37:28so I'm not sure where they came from

37:29either.

37:31>> Anybody have any other things? Do we

37:32have a one city one moment tonight?

37:35>> Yeah, we do.

37:35>> Okay.

37:36>> Yeah. Rock the block. Hold on one

37:37second.

37:38>> I'm sorry, Mr. Mike. I Yes, sir. Failed

37:40to mention your guys that come in on the

37:42weekends and clean the basketball court.

37:45Kudos.

37:46>> Thank you.

37:47Appreciate that.

37:51>> All right. One city one moment.

37:53>> So, we've heard about uh a lot about how

37:55hot it was this summer. We had the

37:57hottest event of the summer at Rock the

37:59Block. I think it was about 100° out

38:02there that on that pavement, but um we

38:05had a car show, a bunch of vendors came

38:07out. Um a lot of good partners with PD

38:11and fire and transit this time. transit

38:14was um busing people in and out because

38:16there's not a whole lot of parking

38:18downtown.

38:19>> We did a silent disco. I think my girls

38:21loved that the most. So when they

38:23finally got down there, they put put the

38:25headphones on and look silly dancing out

38:28there, but you can't hear any music. So,

38:31>> um I got to say parks that did an

38:33awesome job. Probably our most popular

38:35thing there was our food court. So, we

38:38had a nice grass area there and it

38:40stayed busy and my you guys did a good

38:42job, you know, cutting it and

38:44>> tearing down and Jerome and Willis and

38:47those guys do a great job. Appreciate

38:49it. I'll pass that.

38:54>> How was the attendance?

38:58>> So, I was at the So, Spider the um

39:02emergency operations center and I was at

39:03the event at the tent. Um it I have a

39:06really hard time gauging numbers like

39:08that, but it seemed like we had a lot

39:09more and it was a lot more steady. Um we

39:12changed things up a little bit with the

39:14states uh the placement of the stage. So

39:16instead of how we had it um kind of the

39:20way we had it angled last year, this

39:22year we actually turned it so it was

39:23pointing down New Brbridge Street and

39:25that seemed to be really well received.

39:27Um we also like Spider mentioned changed

39:29the uh food court location so it was a

39:32little bit more it it had a cool vibe.

39:34Jojo put some um solar lights and some

39:36tables. It was nice, but it as far as

39:39attendance, it to me it seemed like

39:41there were more people. Um but I'm not

39:45very good at

39:45>> Yeah, I worked in the EOC both years.

39:48So, uh PD had a drone up the first year

39:51flying. Second year we did it for a few

39:53minutes, too. So, it was more spread out

39:55this year. So, it was really hard to

39:57gauge. Last year was more at the stage

39:59area, but because it was the whole

40:01length of the street, you know, there

40:03were a lot of people. You just really

40:04couldn't tell how many people, but

40:06because it was so hot, we are looking at

40:08changing and pushing back that event

40:09towards the end of September. So,

40:12>> perfect.

40:13>> Yeah.

40:15Little less heat stroke.

40:17>> Yeah.

40:18>> All right. Anybody else?

40:20>> Um, I just have a few dates to share

40:22with everybody. Um, November 7th,

40:24remember it's a Veterans Day parade.

40:26It's a sat Saturday. Um and um the

40:30turkey trot is coming up. So if you

40:32haven't registered, please do. It's uh

40:35on it's on Thanksgiving and it takes

40:37place in the comments.

40:39So

40:41>> this is my my advertising out there.

40:44>> I have one more day. Let's not forget

40:47what's October 10th.

40:49>> National Night Out.

40:50>> National Night Out.

40:52>> Let's do a little plug for for everybody

40:53here in the police department. Okay. And

40:55on um October 23rd, it's

41:00right.

41:00>> And I was going to re the gardens ready

41:02for that. It's looks pretty decent.

41:04Okay. Flags

41:08>> be all over them. Trust me.

41:10>> And national night out will be at the

41:11commons, not to

41:13>> River. Yeah. We really need to stress

41:14that to everybody that that National

41:16Night Out is moving is moving to the

41:19Commons. Okay.

41:22>> Yeah. It was canceled last year, right?

41:23>> I know. We look forward to it. Yeah. But

41:26thank goodness it was moved to October

41:27because it was so hot.

41:30>> So yes,

41:31>> that's exactly why it is in October.

41:34>> Yeah, I'm looking forward to that.

41:37Actually,

41:37>> I think we all

41:38>> Veterans Day weekend.

41:39>> Veterans Day weekend. We still have the

41:41big event going on where they have the

41:43Walk of Heroes. And do are you is are we

41:46still doing an event that weekend?

41:49>> The light show.

41:49>> The light show or the concert? So, Red,

41:52White, and Salute will be that Friday

41:54evening. Okay. Um, I've not heard many

41:57details about the bands or anything like

41:58that, but yes, Red, White, and Salute

42:00will be that Friday evening to make sure

42:02that we don't have any conflicts with

42:03like the POW hour or anything like that.

42:05>> Friday before or Friday?

42:07>> Friday evening before.

42:09>> The sixth. Yes.

42:11>> Okay.

42:12>> Okay.

42:13>> That is the same day that morning of the

42:15Freedom Fountain observance, which is

42:16all part of that whole two week. It's

42:18like a 10day spread for Veterans Day

42:20from weekend to weekend. Right.

42:22>> Lots of things. You can check the um

42:24visit Jacksonville website to find out

42:28the full schedule of everything

42:29happening.

42:29>> Just call Megan.

42:30>> Yes. Or call Megan. I'm sure she'd love

42:32more phone calls.

42:33>> Absolutely.

42:34>> Anybody else have anything to add? All

42:37right. Our next meeting is November

42:4023rd,

42:426 o'clock.

42:43>> Yep. Right. How close to Thanksgiving is

42:46that? That's the Monday before, if I'm

42:48accurate.

42:49>> Did that last year, too.

42:51If anybody wants to try out their

42:52culinary skills and

42:54>> happy

42:57taste testing Ross,

42:59>> there you go. Thank you.

43:01>> No, no problems, please. All right. So,

43:04Jennifer, we welcome you to our uh our

43:07wild gang here. And since we don't have

43:09anything else, meeting a journ, do I

43:10hear a motion?

43:12>> Second. Second. Well, let's do it. Have

43:14a good night, everybody. Be safe. Thank

43:17you.

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