2026-10-21 - Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

00:02So,

00:03um, and the uh feedback that's been

00:05received from all of the stakeholders,

00:08the project is then commissioned to be

00:12completed, and uh an update is sent to

00:16City Council uh of the date of the

00:18installation and then the date of the

00:20completion.

00:22So, tonight we are in step three of the

00:24Alex Skate Park

00:26mural. So, this is

00:28>> Amy, can I ask something just about your

00:29procedure?

00:30>> Yeah.

00:31>> Is it anticipated that in step one that

00:34there's actually something on paper?

00:38I mean, in terms of

00:39>> Yes, so there is not a specific document

00:43created for the process,

00:46um, but there are certainly emails that

00:48serve as supporting documentation.

00:52Um, I will say we're actually in the

00:54process of reviewing this,

00:56um, entire process. And so, if there are

01:00process improvements that you want to

01:01suggest that we take, I know

01:05the um

01:07Arts Council, Rona in particular, is

01:10desiring for us to go for more of an RFP

01:13process to make sure that the murals are

01:16professionally,

01:18um, completed, um

01:21you know, I think to ensure that the

01:25um, work is honorific of, you know,

01:29where it's going.

01:31Um, it's really hard to paint faces, and

01:33so if that's included in a design, you

01:35know, it's

01:37it's nice to And there's And there's new

01:38digital technology, too, where

01:41something doesn't actually have to be

01:42painted, but it looks like a painting

01:44when it's through. So, we're in

01:46discussions about some improvements to

01:47the process, and certainly we'll bring

01:49those to y'all to review, um, but we

01:53haven't changed the process yet, and we

01:56want to We don't want to delay this one,

01:58so we're still going to using the same

02:01process for this so specific ask.

02:04>> In step two, does the Arts Council

02:06actually

02:08approve it to move on to us?

02:09>> They make comments. So, they don't

02:11necessarily have to

02:13>> vote on it.

02:14>> No. They They We want to provide

02:16feedback. And so, all the feedback is so

02:18that the city doesn't unilaterally make

02:21a decision about something that is a

02:23community benefit and [clears throat]

02:25that is seen by the community and so

02:27that we can be transparent to say that

02:30we went to the various stakeholder

02:32groups like that, you know, for example,

02:35for for this one, the people the skaters

02:37who use this skate park,

02:39we don't want to decide what should go

02:41out there. We want their feedback on

02:43what they want to see out there. Um and

02:46you know, say if there was a friends of

02:49group, um which there has been at

02:51Greenfield before and that's kind of up

02:53and flood. We have a friends of group at

02:55the municipal golf course. So, if

02:57somebody proposed a mural at the golf

02:59course, we would certainly want the

03:01friends of meeting to weigh in on what

03:04that design looks like and where it went

03:06in the details.

03:09>> Cool.

03:11>> So, um some of y'all um who were still

03:15who were on the board at the time, um

03:19will recall that earlier this year, uh

03:23the board supported renaming the

03:25Greenfield Grind Skate Park the Alec

03:27Chambers Skate Park. Um this was

03:31um

03:32recommended by the City Council's Naming

03:35Committee and then ultimately adopted

03:38unanimously by City Council to rename

03:40the skate park the Alec Chambers Skate

03:42Park. Um there was a uh ceremony in

03:45September that unveiled the renaming. Um

03:48Alec, if you don't know, was uh a pretty

03:51prolific skater. Um

03:54had been a fixture at the skate park

03:55since he was a little kid and he was

03:57unfortunately killed um and he was the

04:01victim of a uh car crash outside of a

04:04satellite bar near Greenfield Park uh

04:06around New Year's Eve this past year.

04:09Um, Dreams of Wilmington, the uh arts

04:12education nonprofit that the city has a

04:15formal relationship with, um they

04:17operate out of a city-owned building at

04:2010th and Banning Street. They had

04:22already started on a mural project that

04:24was approved by city council in May of

04:262025 and had a few delays on it and say

04:30they decided to pause and join forces

04:34with the supporters of Alec Timbrook and

04:37say now this is a joint project. Um, but

04:41um it aligned with what the Arts Council

04:44suggesting is actually going to be led

04:47by a professional artist um Tinak RLLC.

04:52Uh if you Google Tinak on Facebook, you

04:54can see some of the work. He is a

04:56professional local artist.

04:58>> Yes, he's local.

05:00Yep.

05:02Uh it requires no financial input uh

05:05from the city.

05:07Um and then

05:09um you can see on the slide what the

05:12actual mural is going to look like. So,

05:14there is the silhouette of a skater

05:16in the middle of the mural and then

05:19various creatures and abstract design

05:22and this is very this is very urban,

05:25it's very skater-ish and like one of the

05:27goals and objectives starting back even

05:31when this was just a Dreams project was

05:34to appeal to the users of the park. We

05:37have a really tough time with um

05:41graffiti at the skate park uh

05:43and

05:45so [laughter] we started like 2 years

05:46ago, I started to think like what can we

05:49do to combat this? If we just paint it

05:51over and remove it, it's going to

05:53reappear again.

05:54And I thought if we have something

05:57that is

05:59in the vein of graffiti art, which is

06:02you know, an actual form of uh

06:05of visual art um then the hope and the

06:10strategy is that

06:13people who are graffitiing this site

06:15will respect the artistry and

06:19>> Or at least tastefully add to

06:21>> Yeah or tastefully add to it. That is

06:22the hope. So

06:24So that's it for the information in the

06:27presentation.

06:29I'm happy to answer any questions but we

06:30are asking whether you want to support

06:32this and then we go to the next step of

06:34recommending it to staff.

06:36>> What was the feedback from the Arts

06:37Council?

06:39>> The feedback is

06:41it's a they want to see professional art

06:43and so this is in line with what they're

06:45wanting to see.

06:47>> So this professional art is

06:50local artist.

06:52>> It's a local artist, yeah. And I'm sorry

06:53I should have maybe pulled up his actual

06:56name but he's got a Facebook page. If

06:58you if you just Google the name of Tadek

07:01Art LLC he comes up.

07:05And his work.

07:07>> You just said it's Ronald Lukinski, is

07:08that his name?

07:09>> Ronald Lukinski, I looked him up.

07:13>> He's out of Wrightsville Beach but yeah

07:15he's local.

07:15>> I guess my personal concern there was we

07:17have a lot of good artists that are

07:19local and that we're not going out of

07:21town to bring an artist in when we

07:23should be representing our own so. Okay.

07:26>> He's a skater too.

07:27>> I was going to ask if he was a skater.

07:30>> Skaters, surfers, yes it seems pretty

07:32appropriate.

07:34>> So what are you asking of us?

07:36>> We're asking whether you would support

07:39this mural by this artist and so then

07:42>> particular mural or are

07:43>> That's yeah so this is

07:44>> This is the design that's been going

07:46around. Okay.

07:48>> [cough and clears throat]

07:48>> The next step would be to send a memo to

07:50the City Council saying city staff

07:52support moving forward with the project

07:54and with this design and we have asked

07:56for feedback from Arts Council and from

07:58the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

08:01>> And Arts Council has basically said

08:04yes.

08:05>> They said

08:05>> thing that we're being asked

08:07at this point.

08:08>> Right. Okay.

08:09>> I support all local free public art.

08:12>> And this is great.

08:13>> Yeah.

08:14>> So, I'll make a motion to support

08:18the mural.

08:19>> Second.

08:22>> Point of discussion.

08:24>> Sure.

08:24>> This is on a ramp.

08:26>> It's painted on the ramp.

08:27>> Correct. And ramps get a lot of traffic.

08:29>> They are using special paint.

08:33>> Okay.

08:33>> And uh

08:34>> This comes off the wall.

08:35>> And

08:37>> Takes it.

08:38>> Yeah. So, particular kind of paint, a

08:40particular sealant that's meant to

08:43withstand at least for a while wear and

08:44tear of the use.

08:48>> It feels like

08:48>> Alex Foundation, they've seen the

08:51artwork and approved it.

08:54>> Oh, yeah, for sure.

08:56They have.

08:57>> Thank you.

08:58>> Yes. Good question.

09:01>> Has the foundation actually, I mean,

09:03going forward before

09:05I mean

09:08contacting the artist to do something

09:10>> Yes.

09:11So, this

09:12>> the artist now it's coming to us.

09:14>> Yes. So, this is in collaboration with

09:16Dreams that the foundation

09:18set up honoring Alex

09:21and the artist.

09:23Good question.

09:27>> I have a question. So, would Dreams and

09:28take this Tanek person continue? They're

09:31continuing to paint the park. This is

09:32just one of the things they want to

09:34paint.

09:35>> This is just one of the things.

09:40Wait. I don't think I answered that

09:41correctly. There is nothing else that we

09:44will be bringing. There's nothing else

09:45proposed at this time for the skate park

09:48or for Greenfield Park. This is it.

09:49>> If they want to paint something else,

09:51they have to go through this process

09:52again?

09:53>> Yes.

09:53>> Okay.

09:56>> Who'll be maintaining this?

09:58>> No, once it is

10:01on a city asset, it's the city's to

10:03maintain. So, similarly to the new sign

10:07that was installed for the skate park.

10:11That's already been graffitied.

10:13Um

10:13that's it's the city's once it's a city

10:15asset or it's a city's responsibility to

10:17maintain.

10:19>> So, for keeping of this, is there any

10:21kind of

10:23plan for it? Like just saying, "Hey,

10:25next week this

10:26gets ruined or something." Is the city

10:28responsible to replace it or is there I

10:30don't know what is

10:31>> So, we're pretty clear with any uh

10:33improvement that has um stakeholder

10:37involvement or you know, resident

10:39outside city employee involvement. We're

10:41always very clear that the city can't

10:44guarantee

10:46uh that if it's damaged or destroyed,

10:48that it will be restored. So, we're very

10:51clear that we cannot provide that

10:53guarantee.

10:54>> Yeah.

10:55Curious when you said there's already

10:56graffiti on the sign, is it destructive

10:59or

10:59>> No, it they just painted the skateboard

11:01black.

11:02>> Okay.

11:04>> Got [clears throat] a good grip on it.

11:05That's fine.

11:07>> One thing I can say about the sealants

11:09on there, uh

11:10I've used some of these sealants. In

11:11fact, I've got one on my driveway now.

11:1410 years old, you spill oil on it, it

11:16comes right up. It's up there. So, if

11:18they're using a good sealant, it should

11:20it should hold up people and traffic.

11:25>> Who sets the standard for that?

11:27>> The construction.

11:30>> I would make sure the skateboarders know

11:31about that, too, cuz that is so I would

11:34just make sure if they use some kind of

11:36sealant that made the ramp extra slick

11:38or unskateable. You know, that that

11:39would be just one thought.

11:42>> Right. So, they

11:44Yeah, that's a great point. The um

11:48skate community were the ones that first

11:50brought to my attention that there is an

11:52actual material that's utilized on

11:56surfaces where people are skating on it.

11:58So,

11:59um they're familiar with the material

12:01that's being proposed, but um we can

12:04look into see if there's um

12:07appropriate signage that should be

12:09installed. Um there are uh

12:12cameras at the skate park trained on the

12:15skate park. Um, they are tied into the,

12:19um, real-time crime center of WPD. It's

12:22actually the only location currently in

12:24Greenfield Park that has cameras. We're

12:26hoping to expand that. Um, so

12:30um, but with anything, you know,

12:33anything in a public park

12:35can't guarantee there's going to be

12:37there tomorrow or that it's going to

12:38look there the same tomorrow. And we try

12:40to be very clear with anyone who

12:43um, wants to contribute to an

12:45improvement, um, that's, you know,

12:48coming from an external collaborator of

12:51the city that we can't guarantee the

12:53longevity of the improvement.

12:55>> Is the skate park locked after hours?

12:59>> The skate park is an open facility. So,

13:01it used to be a staffed facility. It's

13:03now an open facility. Um, it's a lit

13:06facility. You can skate out there until

13:08about 10:00 at night. So,

13:11um, there's we don't we don't have staff

13:13at the park.

13:14>> like it's locked after 10:00?

13:16>> No.

13:16>> It's fine.

13:24>> Any more discussion?

13:28All right.

13:29>> Call for the vote. You already had a

13:30motion.

13:30>> Already had it. Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry,

13:32we didn't call for the Did Did you log

13:35here at the

13:36>> Um, Ingrid did the first and Ricky did

13:38the second.

13:39>> Okay. Um,

13:40any further discussion?

13:44All in favor, say I.

13:46>> I. I. I.

13:47>> Any opposed?

13:49All right, that motion passes

13:51unanimously.

13:54The next item on the agenda is the

13:56election of a new chairperson. We had a

13:59little bit of a of discussion about this

14:00at the

14:02last meeting and we had so many new

14:03people that, uh, the desire was to carry

14:07it over to the next

14:10Um, Joe Pendry, who has been on the

14:13board for a number of years now and has

14:17a great deal of experience with the

14:19parks and recreation industry. She's

14:21She's a former professional.

14:23Um has volunteered to be nominated for

14:27chair.

14:27>> Oh, good.

14:40>> [laughter]

14:43>> Okay, I mean, she was willing to do it.

14:44It was her concern that she couldn't

14:46devote the time to meetings in

14:48particular. And I told her if it would

14:51get her on that that I would gladly do

14:54the vice thing. But I'm just throwing

14:56that out because it's no problem running

14:58a a meeting. And I'm here a lot of time

15:00most times. So, if there's anybody else

15:02here I've already done this before. I

15:03mean, the vice chair or whatever.

15:05Anybody else wants to do it, it's a The

15:08pay is great.

15:09>> [laughter]

15:11>> That's how Joe has agreed to do it. And

15:14I have to agree unless somebody else

15:15wants to do it to take the second seat.

15:17>> I think that's excellent. So.

15:19>> That's what I was afraid you'd say.

15:21>> [laughter]

15:22>> You knew I would.

15:23>> I knew you would.

15:23>> You were afraid of that.

15:24>> Yeah.

15:25>> I think I already mentioned that at the

15:26last meeting.

15:27>> Yes, it is.

15:30>> So,

15:31it's up to the board for a board member

15:33to make a nomination.

15:35>> So, I make a nomination for Joe to be

15:38chair and Ron to be vice chair.

15:44>> I'll second.

15:46So, did you unanimously

15:51>> Right.

15:51>> Uh

15:53All in favor, say I.

15:54>> I.

15:56>> Any opposed?

15:59Congratulations.

16:00>> And thank you.

16:01>> And thank you.

16:04>> [laughter]

16:06>> You're buying the beer.

16:08>> We We don't have a lot left. Don't worry

16:10about

16:12Um

16:14Do you want Shall I turn the meeting

16:15over

16:16>> You can keep running.

16:19>> Next item on the agenda

16:20>> is green space preservation.

16:24And this is

16:28one of the board's items in their work

16:33plan.

16:34Um goal number five, open space

16:37preservation, identify three

16:39opportunities to preserve open space for

16:41parks and recreation.

16:43And Franklin had put together a really

16:45great presentation a few months ago with

16:48um sites

16:51identified as potential good candidates

16:53for open space, both um

16:56public property already held by the city

16:58and private property. And um in

17:01subsequent meetings, I've let y'all know

17:03that

17:05um

17:05I've met with the planning director um

17:08to get her and her staff's

17:11feedback and comment on the um proposed

17:15areas. Um you'll recall that the

17:18planning director, Linda Painter, was

17:20here at the last meeting to present to

17:22you on a potential open space zoning.

17:24So,

17:26what we're doing is

17:28um

17:29I want to say we're taking a step back.

17:31We're We're taking one step forward and

17:33one step back. Uh the step back that

17:35we're taking is the

17:38private parcels that were identified.

17:41Um what uh planning would prefer to do,

17:45and I support, is not to actually list

17:49um

17:51parcels and identifiers such as an

17:54address

17:55um because once the city identifies an

17:58actual address and parcel that they may

18:00be interested in buying for any

18:03particular purpose.

18:04>> Excuse me.

18:05>> Yes. There There goes the price. So, uh

18:08>> Those vultures.

18:09>> Right. So,

18:11um what um planning is suggesting in

18:14lieu of identifying particular parcels

18:17is just to have a bubble map.

18:20Um, so with bubbles overlaying areas

18:23that were identified in this

18:25presentation for the private areas.

18:28Um, and then we'll also come back with

18:30reasons why we didn't choose to bubble

18:32some of them. So, that will be um,

18:35presented to you at a forthcoming

18:37meeting. Um, but in terms of the

18:39publicly identified um, parcels, um, the

18:44Hurst uh,

18:46Drive parcel, which is um, city-owned

18:50and is buffered between Maiz Park and

18:54the city's uh, police and fire training

18:57facility, um, that we've long identified

19:00as a great candidate for open space and

19:03future recreation um, facilities. Um,

19:07I'm going to be working with um, our

19:10deputy manager Tom Mouton on um,

19:14trying to formalize

19:17um, and I don't

19:19know what um, specific um,

19:23what specifically that will look like

19:25yet, but somehow having that formally

19:28recognized by the city as um, preserved

19:31green space. Ultimately, what we would

19:34like to get to is a resolution um, by

19:36city council declaring that green space.

19:39I don't know when and how we'll get

19:40there, but we have um,

19:43uh, support from leadership to go ahead

19:45and do that and that was one of the

19:46areas identified in the sports zone. Um,

19:50we'll be bringing um, those steps as

19:52they move forward back to you and that

19:55will almost check off completing this

19:57goal because you are one of the areas

20:00you had supported early on was the area

20:04off of Greenville Loop Road, which is

20:06the park that the endowment um, funded.

20:08So, we can check that box. I think you

20:11can check off um, the the Hurst Drive

20:14area and then um, have a couple other

20:16ideas for some of the other city

20:18identified parcels in here. I don't want

20:21to get um, over my skis or premature and

20:24um,

20:25talking about any of the other ones, but

20:27suffice it suffice it to say we're

20:29moving on it and I know that

20:32continued open space preservation is

20:35important for the current administration

20:37and leadership. So

20:39we're working on it probably slower than

20:41this work group that had this goal that

20:44like but we're moving on it.

20:47>> Those of us who haven't seen it have

20:49access to that presentation.

20:50>> Yeah, I guess so with the so many of you

20:51are new you haven't seen this. So yeah,

20:53we have this digitally. We'll send it

20:55out to the board.

20:56>> Okay, great.

20:57>> I would ask that you

20:59keep it close since it does have

21:01addresses in it. So

21:03it's a it's a public document cuz it's

21:05already been presented to the board, but

21:07I would just ask that you be

21:09Yeah, I don't want to buy any of the

21:11properties.

21:12>> [laughter]

21:17>> All right.

21:18So

21:20next I know on the agenda are if there

21:22are any

21:24committee reports, the first one is the

21:26parks and Greenway

21:28committee that's Joe, Ingrid, Franklin,

21:32and Paul. Ask if any of y'all have

21:34anything, but I will say a couple of the

21:36folks before we officially started the

21:38meeting were asking us to take a look at

21:42the adopted park form that we currently

21:45have and see if we can make that a

21:47little user-friendly.

21:50Yeah, I think just an announcement that

21:51we're going to work on that form and try

21:55and improve its access and use for the

21:57board.

21:59>> It seems if you can get past that first

22:01page that you can kind of figure it out.

22:03It's just the first page you're looking

22:04at and you go, "Well, I've seen this. So

22:06what do I do with it?" And then you kind

22:08of look over the margin and say, "Oh, I

22:10click here and then it takes me

22:12someplace." And that's what's To me,

22:13that's what wasn't clear.

22:15>> Got you.

22:15>> And I have two recommendations. The one

22:17in the example entry, there's the list

22:20of date, you know, on all these

22:22questions. They go away on any of the

22:25other

22:26>> Yeah, I just put that that's just an

22:28example page I put in there of things

22:30that you know you might want to

22:32>> So I

22:33to me it would be easiest to be prompted

22:35>> Oh.

22:35>> on each page for what kind of

22:37information you're looking for. And then

22:39second thing is uploading a photo.

22:42I was not able to figure it out.

22:45>> Okay.

22:45>> Okay.

22:46>> Thank you for that.

22:47>> Yep.

22:52>> Anything else from that committee you

22:53need to report Ingrid or Franklin?

22:56>> I don't think so.

22:58>> What's um

22:59Can I ask about the committee like what

23:01y'all are doing?

23:02>> Yeah, so if you let me give you a little

23:04background. So if you go to the last

23:05page um

23:07of your agenda, the board

23:11um I think this is in the second

23:14iteration of adopting a two-year work

23:16plan. So

23:20uh last year and then two years before

23:23that, we went through an exercise with

23:27the board walking through strengths,

23:29opportunities, weaknesses, challenges um

23:33that Parks and Recreation has and asked

23:37for your interest. We went through

23:38various exercises asking what

23:41are strong interests and priorities for

23:44the board and from that distilled down a

23:47two-year work plan and then

23:50did further distill that into working

23:52groups and so

23:54these five um

23:57blocks that you see here are the

24:01um goals of the work plan and then the

24:03committees that you see on the previous

24:05page are

24:07the people who are on that work group.

24:11>> The objective okay. [clears throat]

24:12>> Yeah.

24:13>> I was reading this earlier. Thank you

24:15for explaining

24:15>> I I know it's a little it doesn't it's

24:17not intuitive that it ties together but

24:19it does completely tie to it. So

24:22we could maybe rename that um

24:25work plan committee reports so that it's

24:28intuitive that it's actually tied back

24:29to the work plan.

24:34And so

24:37I think there was a bit of a discussion

24:39at the last meeting since we have so

24:41many new members of how to incorporate

24:45new members into the work plans. If

24:48that's something that you want to do on

24:49your own, you can do it that way. If you

24:52want to set aside time at the November

24:54meeting to take a taking a deeper dive

24:58into these work plan goals and

25:02um get a sense of

25:05or

25:06board members volunteer

25:08to be on the particular

25:12>> Last meeting we three of us talked about

25:15serving on the education line.

25:16>> Yeah, that would be great.

25:18>> That's the one that we don't have

25:19anybody on right now, right?

25:21>> Right.

25:22>> Go forward. Interests [clears throat] me

25:23hosting parks. I'll public engagement.

25:26>> Yeah, take it from there.

25:27>> Okay.

25:29>> And

25:30I want to know more about open space

25:32preservation, but

25:34Yeah, that's what we're finding.

25:35>> Yeah, go.

25:35>> Okay.

25:38We will document that in the minutes.

25:40>> Okay.

25:41>> Uh and then

25:44early on in the adoption of the work

25:46plan, I know that

25:49um at the end there we left time at the

25:51end of advisory board meetings for the

25:55groups to work together.

25:57Um

25:58maybe we can

26:00reestablish that momentum and plan for

26:03that at the end of the November meeting.

26:06Does that sound good?

26:06>> Yeah, that's that's a good idea. That

26:08would do that.

26:09>> And brainstorm.

26:09>> Yes.

26:10>> As a group.

26:10>> Okay.

26:11>> Before the meetings, I think we

26:12depending on what's more convenient.

26:14>> Well, let's decide that right now. Would

26:16you like to do it before or after the

26:17meeting? I would give yourselves a half

26:19an hour.

26:21>> Before the meetings actually worked well

26:23for us when we were doing that, but it's

26:25up to whatever's convenient.

26:27>> before makes more sense.

26:28>> Yeah.

26:29>> I agree.

26:30>> And that way you're already here.

26:32>> Mhm.

26:32>> Okay, we'll send out a reminder

26:35uh before the next meeting and we'll

26:37include that in the public notice that

26:39there will be a work session prior to

26:41the actual meeting in November.

26:45>> And Amy, you had mentioned, I think

26:47correct me if I'm wrong, that we might

26:49be able to

26:51adapt additional or change a little bit

26:54of these.

26:56>> I mean, it was a 2-year work plan. You

26:58guys would have to go back and see

27:00exactly when it was adopted. I would Let

27:02me go back and see when it was adopted.

27:05I can't remember off the top of my head.

27:06I don't know if Rhonda does. If we're

27:08getting close to the end of the 2 years,

27:10I wouldn't suggest changing much, but

27:12maybe if we're just right in the middle

27:13of it and you want to change something

27:15up, it's up to the board. It's your

27:17plan. It's your plan.

27:18>> The reason I asked is because

27:20I see you you want college You're

27:22looking like for college students.

27:23>> Mhm.

27:24>> But, when I saw last week the success of

27:28the um summer camp program, leadership

27:30program,

27:31>> Mhm.

27:31>> I'm wondering if we could

27:33>> So, the volunteer program?

27:34>> bring them into bring them into this

27:35goal and figure out, okay, you know, you

27:38already got a We've already got a

27:40uh excited and engaged group.

27:43>> Yeah, that's perfect.

27:44>> We can bring those kids together with

27:47this.

27:48I think that would make make some sense.

27:50>> Okay. I do think we said student

27:52involvement, too.

27:54That's true that we kind of had

27:56identified um UNCW in Kick Fear, but I

27:59think we were referring to student

28:02>> Yeah, I think it

28:03>> across the board, too.

28:04>> Yeah, that's perfect. I don't think it

28:05has to be restricted to advantage.

28:09Good point.

28:17>> At what point

28:19do we select the chair for the goal one?

28:25>> So, that was something that the groups

28:27did individually.

28:29>> Just within the group.

28:30>> I'm going to nominate Pitch.

28:32>> I was going to nominate

28:33>> [laughter]

28:35>> Okay, chair, I'm going to go

28:36>> we have a deal.

28:37>> Good deal.

28:38>> I'll have a hot potato in this group,

28:39you know.

28:40>> [laughter]

28:41>> That's it.

28:48>> So, we would do that at our next outdoor

28:50session.

28:51>> Mhm.

28:52>> I would suggest that.

28:57>> And

28:58so, Ron and Zack, you don't have

28:59anything to report tonight on the

29:01engagement committee, okay.

29:04>> I do not.

29:07>> Okay.

29:08Well, I think it's a great opportunity

29:09with so many new members and um taking a

29:11closer look at these goals and getting

29:14re-motivated. I think um yeah, start to

29:17get some traction.

29:19I got that. Okay.

29:23Uh next on the agenda is the chair's

29:25report. We don't have the chair here

29:28this evening. Uh so, we'll skip over

29:30that.

29:31Uh I do not have anything for What's

29:34chair, do you have a report?

29:36>> Yeah, I'm working on one, though.

29:38>> [laughter]

29:39>> I'm in the early stages, but

29:42Uh I'll have it by November.

29:43>> Yeah.

29:44>> [laughter]

29:45>> Uh I don't have anything for staff

29:47report.

29:49Is there anything else that any of the

29:52members would like to bring

29:55to discussion?

29:55>> I would. Um

29:57there's a lot of us here that are new.

29:59And

30:01parks, the whole the whole city, all the

30:03services have been re-aligned and so

30:05forth. Uh in other words, you're mostly

30:08programming now. Uh

30:10Sally is over. She's, you know, pretty

30:13much doing

30:14um

30:15>> assets

30:15>> assets. Yeah, thank you.

30:17It would be nice if we could have

30:19>> a presentation on the re-alignment.

30:21>> on who's doing what. Because what's

30:22happening is I'm getting questions

30:24about, you know, say, "Well, who's who's

30:27doing that?" I say, "Well, that's not

30:28really our thing. That's so-and-so." And

30:30stuff. Uh but we look at Greenfield Lake

30:33Park, we're dealing with about four

30:34different entities cuz parks always get

30:37blamed cuz the water's bad. And that's

30:39parks and recreation, you know, and if a

30:41duck dies, they blame parks. That's

30:43actually fish and wildlife, you know.

30:45>> [laughter]

30:45>> No, the water's actually flowing.

30:47>> Right, stormwater. That's what I meant.

30:48Yeah, you tell it. So.

30:50>> Yeah, we can and the goal, I can tell

30:52you the goal for the city administration

30:54and city staff is that

30:57from

30:59um the city organizational standpoint,

31:02we

31:03don't want residents to

31:06focus on who's doing what. We have a

31:10motto, one city. And so, our goal is for

31:14any member of the public to be able to

31:17send an email, find a link on the

31:19website, and ask a question, and if it's

31:23not if it's sent to

31:25uh a department that's different than

31:28that that oversees it,

31:30we're just going to get your answer

31:33get you an answer and not, you know,

31:35"Hey, you need to call so-and-so." Um

31:38and I think that we're making good

31:40strides in that. We have changed um

31:43we're going to a new um public records

31:46um software called Next Request. Um

31:50so, I think that there's a lot of

31:54um

31:55process being made using technology that

31:59makes getting the public's

32:02um questions answered much more

32:04efficiently.

32:05Um however, you raise a good point that

32:08I haven't thought about before in that

32:10you are

32:12a board, a public board representing

32:15parks and recreation. So,

32:17um you want to feel like you have all

32:19the answers or at least know

32:21>> Who to call.

32:22>> Who [laughter] to call. So, that makes a

32:24lot of sense. So, we can absolutely

32:27provide you with um a short presentation

32:29on the realignment and kind of the org

32:32chart and and who's doing what. But, um

32:35with the caveat that it's one city. So,

32:37we

32:37want everybody to be able to find the

32:39answer anywhere, but it's Yeah, it's uh

32:42it's a big change. Um not just um things

32:45moving to asset property management, but

32:47things moving to downtown services, and

32:50things moving to transportation

32:51department. So, yeah, it's been a lot

32:53for It's been confusing for us, so I can

32:55imagine

32:56>> Yeah. [laughter]

32:57>> how it's been for other people, so I

32:59think that's absolutely something we can

33:01provide

33:01>> Okay, great. Great. Yeah.

33:03I guess you could bring up the holiday

33:05parade.

33:07>> Yeah, so the holiday parade this year is

33:10the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

33:13>> Oh, wait.

33:14>> Uh it's the date changes for one year

33:17only. Typically, it's the first Sunday

33:19in December.

33:19>> Right. Yeah.

33:20>> Um it's being changed for one year, so

33:23the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I believe

33:25that's November 29th.

33:27Um and it is um customary for members of

33:33this board to be a part of the judges'

33:35table.

33:37Um it's a lot of fun. It's

33:40social that you decide which uh floats

33:43win the when the parade.

33:45Um and so, we will definitely entertain

33:48volunteers who want to do that from this

33:50board again this year. I think we're

33:51also going to have some members of the

33:53um municipal service district, um the

33:57folks that take care of of downtown, but

33:59we definitely are still

34:02um making that accessible to anybody

34:03who's interested from this board. And

34:05so, you can volunteer tonight, or you

34:07can send us an email, and I can get that

34:09information over to Laura Primavera, who

34:12is our downtown services

34:14uh director. She's aware that I was

34:16going to be uh continuing to invite you

34:19guys, and so she's she's looking for

34:21names.

34:22>> What is the deadline for for entries on

34:24that? Do you know?

34:26>> I don't have that with me, but I want to

34:30say it is probably the first week in

34:34November.

34:35>> November. Okay.

34:35>> Yeah.

34:36>> Cuz cuz

34:39I'm an officer in in New Hanover County

34:41Democratic Party and I think we're

34:42usually

34:43I think we're usually involved too. So.

34:45>> It's already on the city's website.

34:47>> Okay, great.

34:48>> So you should be able to find it there,

34:49but

34:50Kim if you make a note I can also send

34:52out the website.

34:53>> Okay.

34:54>> For that.

34:55I know that

34:56>> [clears throat]

34:56>> the float registrations are being taken

34:59already. We already have like eight or

35:0010.

35:01>> Okay.

35:01>> Um usually we get a big rush after

35:04Halloween.

35:04>> Right.

35:05>> Um but so you still you still have

35:07plenty.

35:08>> Yeah, I'm new

35:09>> You still

35:09>> I'm new to that role now. So.

35:12>> Yeah, you've got a few weeks.

35:13>> Okay.

35:15Celebrate Downtown has moved from

35:17October to November now.

35:19>> November 6th. Yeah, so there's a

35:23information session being held in

35:25Riverfront Park November 6th and a movie

35:29being shown afterwards.

35:31You can find out

35:33updates.

35:35It's really number one a celebration of

35:37the adoption of the greater downtown

35:39plan.

35:40Um that our planning department in

35:42conjunction with the public worked on

35:44for two years and it's really a big

35:46thank you to

35:47all the comments and collaborative

35:50nature from the residents for that plan,

35:52but also

35:53Um people can come and let us know how

35:58they want to see Riverfront Park further

36:01activated, how they want to see Water

36:04Street Park activated once that

36:06next phase of that park is concluded. Um

36:09across the street from the federal

36:10building. You can find out about the

36:13status of some Riverwalk maintenance

36:16project from our design and construction

36:18department. Um and then there's going to

36:21be a movie shown afterwards. So.

36:24>> What's the movie? Hocus Pocus.

36:26>> Oh, is it?

36:27>> [laughter]

36:28>> It was originally supposed to be October

36:3030th. So.

36:31>> Oh, okay.

36:32>> Halloween maybe that

36:34>> [laughter]

36:34>> still be in the spirit, right?

36:39>> Does Parks and Rec Advisory Council have

36:41any particular role?

36:43>> No, it's being um tabled by city staff.

36:46So, staff from the communications and

36:49engagement department, design and

36:51construction,

36:53um and then that we will have

36:55um

36:56Dave Pugh, recreation supervisor there.

36:58He'll be uh attending one of the tables

37:01um where we ask about um further

37:04activation of what people would like to

37:05see in Riverfront Park.

37:08So, we'd love for you to come.

37:10>> I will.

37:10>> [laughter]

37:11>> I was going to say the same engagement

37:12team that was at the amphitheater,

37:14right?

37:15>> Yes. So, yeah, so the communication and

37:17engagement department, that's a newly uh

37:20organized department um with the

37:22realignment, and they're really taking

37:25the lead on enhancing

37:27public engagement with just about

37:29everything that the city does.

37:30>> great. They were great at that, yeah.

37:32>> Yes, so we're we're support staff for

37:34ordering for Isaiah,

37:35>> is that his name?

37:36>> Yeah, Isaiah, our former parks and rec

37:38employee. He's fantastic.

37:40>> he's fantastic.

37:41>> He's one of the ones that we lost with

37:42the realignment, but he's still he's

37:44still all parks and rec.

37:45>> Yeah.

37:49>> Anything else?

37:49>> Ron, or you can

37:51adjourn the meeting.

37:53>> He started it.

37:54>> [laughter]

37:56>> Is it okay to just invite city council

37:58members new ones? Just

37:59>> We've done that.

38:01We have done that. Uh

38:03yeah, so I believe that

38:05um

38:06uh

38:08um council member uh J.C. Lyles been

38:11invited. Um

38:13Cassie Santaguida has been invited.

38:15Clinton Quintana who came. Um it's been

38:19a little bit of a struggle, not because

38:21they're not interested, but because

38:22their calendar's so busy. But if you

38:24want to reach out

38:25>> Yeah, is it okay to just send an invite

38:26regardless?

38:27>> Absolutely.

38:28>> Cool. Cool.

38:29>> If you can get them to come.

38:30>> Ron's on that committee, so yeah.

38:32>> Or are they expected to be here for the

38:33whole session?

38:36I mean, if we could come up with a plan

38:37or something.

38:37>> there's no expectation. It's just hey,

38:40we want to

38:41>> that would be the the fun there, so.

38:43>> Because they're

38:45uh just like you all, there's uh they're

38:47a pretty new board. um Um, most of them

38:49are in their first term, and so um

38:54I think that the objective there was to

38:58uh

38:58have them learn a little bit more about

39:01what this board focuses on,

39:03um and what its priorities are, and to

39:06you know, have that elevated to a

39:07council person's knowledge. Um, so

39:11if you get them to come, we can ask them

39:13to stay for 5 minutes or for the whole

39:15whole time. Whatever you want.

39:16>> Yeah, cuz they cuz they came to a couple

39:17of events this year. We did a block

39:19party and that type of thing, and they

39:21did come up for a while.

39:22>> Yeah. Yeah.

39:23And so

39:25they're absolutely um

39:28great supporters of parks and

39:29recreation. As you can imagine, they

39:31get, you know, invitations for places

39:33like five nights a week, I'm sure. So

39:35it's just difficult to fit it into their

39:36schedules.

39:37>> So maybe if we tell them, say, you know,

39:39"Can you Can you come down for 10, 15

39:40minutes? Stop by." You know. Can I go

39:43sit for you if you show up?

39:45>> [laughter]

39:48>> Council openings.

39:51Council member openings. Do we need any

39:55applicants?

39:56>> For this board?

39:57>> Yes.

39:57>> Uh

39:57>> [clears throat]

39:58>> I think that we're full right now except

40:00for when Ingrid

40:01>> [laughter]

40:02>> I think

40:03So you can be on for two terms, and then

40:05before you come back for a third term,

40:07you have to roll off for a term. And so

40:09I think that Ingrid cannot reapply right

40:12now. So when

40:13>> I'm out. I'm off the committee.

40:14>> When were you off the committee?

40:15>> Although I might have been She was She

40:17was She was reappointed last night.

40:18>> Oh, you were reappointed last night.

40:20>> Yes, you were.

40:20>> I was?

40:21>> Yeah.

40:21>> Are you just making that up?

40:22>> I am not making it up. Look at the

40:23minutes. I was We

40:25We watched the whole meeting on TV, and

40:27I said

40:27>> Oh, that's funny.

40:28>> Yeah.

40:28>> Okay.

40:29>> [laughter]

40:30>> Welcome back.

40:31>> Welcome back.

40:32>> I was off last night.

40:33>> That's why I said I said, "Okay, now we

40:35know who's going to be the next chair."

40:38>> I said we're full, so there are no

40:39openings

40:39>> Yeah, okay.

40:41Hopefully I didn't get that wrong. I was

40:43in there watching DJ and I was watching

40:45it, so you know.

40:47>> I was watching it, and I didn't watch it

40:48until the end. Now I will have to go

40:49back and watch it until the end.

40:50>> Feel left out.

40:52>> No.

40:52>> Uh

40:53that is that's That honey is from

40:56Haliburton Park.

40:59Yeah.

41:00>> Oh, that's great.

41:01>> Yeah, so uh feel free to take one, take

41:03two.

41:03>> That's great.

41:05>> I will take two. One of my diet.

41:07>> I'll take one.

41:10>> All right.

41:10>> They're good for your allergies.

41:12>> I move that we adjourn.

41:14>> Okay, I second.

41:17>> All in favor.

41:18>> All in favor.

41:19>> Aye.

41:21>> Thank you all very much.

41:22>> Thank you. Thank you.

41:24>> Goodnight. Thank you.