City of Groveland Minutes Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025 The City of Groveland Recreation Advisory Committee (RAC) held a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in the Lake David Community Center located at 450 S. Lake Avenue, Groveland, FL 34736. Chair-Person Joscelyn Campbell called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. with the following members present: Vice-Chair Linda Cowels, Frederick Wood, Chuck Kenzig, Michael Gris, David Badillo, David Bergstein, and School Board Member Representative LaShawn Irvin. City staff present were Parks & Community Services Director Mike Walker and Recording SecrelayAdminsralve Assistant Maritza Calderon. Excused Absence: Committee Member Shana Martin, David Badillo Unexcused Absence: CONSENT AGENDA Consideration of Approval: February 11, 2025 Revised Recreation Advisory Committee (RAC) Meeting Minutes Motion: Committee Member David Bergstein moved to approve the Consent Agenda; seconded by Committee Member Michael Gris. Motion passed with all committee members present voting aye. PRESENTATIONS 2025 Calendar of Events Special Events Coordinator Francesca Spartz gave an overview of the Calendar of Events contained in the agenda packet and mentioned that the events are also for the public on the city website and provided an update as follows: Upcoming Events The 2nd Friday Block Party is scheduled for Friday, March 14th, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Silver Back Band will perform, and there will be a classic car cruise. The splash pad will also be open until 8:00 PM for the kids' zone. Outdoor Adventure Series by Captain Schirra has already done two for the month of March but the next one coming up will be April 19,2025. Adult Co-Ed Volleyball is currently in progress, with about four weeks remaining in the season. There are four teams participating, and we have received positive feedback sO far. We are looking forward to a strong turnout next season and hope to continue growing Adult 1 March 11, 2025 RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC) MEETING MINUTES Co-Ed Volleyball, just as we did with Adult Basketball. Youth and Adult Basketball will start end of March. Founders Day March 29,2025 will be from 11:00am to 8:00pm there will be three bands for entertainment Fish and Grits a soul band, Randal Crawford local singer and Jason Micheal Carrol local country singer. Throughout the day as we celebrate Founders Day, we want to embrace our City of Natural Charm and our history and that is bringing watersports back to Lake David with the Great Groveland Barefoot challenge. There will also be a wakeboard nvitational and a flyboard fusion extreme sports demo as well by Legacy on the Lake ski show. The Historical Museum will be holding their annual essay competition and will be announcing the winners around 6:15pm. Vietnam War Veterans Day is also March 29th SO we will be honoring and recognizing the Vietnam War Veterans. Mr. Walker gave kudos to Steven and Francesca the highlights on the programs and the events the RAC has commented previously on the programs that are being offered have continued to grow sO Kudos to both Steven and Francesca Committee member David Bergstein inquired about the possibility of hosting the 2nd Friday Block Party, or a similar event, at Cherry Lake Park to see ifi it attracts more attendees. Mr. Walker responded that this idea has been discussed and will remain a topic of ongoing conversation with the City Council as the budget process for fiscal year 2026 approaches. He mentioned that he, Steven, and Francesca have considered this due to the growing population and the challenges of event setup, particularly with Gray Middle School's release and traffic diversions caused by road closures. With the increasing number of vendors, shifting the event could be a potential solution. Easter will be at Cherry Lake Park this year April 19,2025. OLD BUSINESS 1. Capital Improvement Plan (FY24-25) Mr. Walker referenced the first quarter of the fiscal year to the Capital Improvement spreadsheet contained in the agenda packet and reported the following: South Lake Regional Park Phase 1B Bidding documents were sent to City staff to review as there are some changes and corrections that were sent back to consultant SO those are being worked on sO that they can be sent back and meeting in place with our consultant and ready to go out for bid, for the project bid process will be about 30 days which will get us possibly to the end of April hopefully a contract to City Council sometime 2 March 11, 2025 RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC) MEETING MINUTES in May which was not what we were hoping for but we are moving as fast as we can through the process. Ronald Sefton Gaffney Park Phase 2- Mr. Walker introduced Elizabeth Manley and Maceo Abreu from Kimley-Horn, who will be providing in-person updates. The meeting minutes from Kimley-Horn's presentation have been attached to the Recreation Advisory Committee meeting minutes. Cherry Lake Park Phase 3 - The meeting minutes from the presentation by Elizabeth Manley and Maceo Abreu of Kimley-Horn have been attached to the Recreation Advisory Committee meeting minutes. NEW BUSINESS South Lake Regional Park Athletic Programing = The goal is to open South Lake Regional Park in 2026 and ensure it is maintained as a city park, with the same level of care provided by the Parks Department to other parks in Groveland. For instance, the Groveland Baseball League has successfully managed the baseball program at Jimmy Thomas Memorial Park for 85 years. The new park will feature four baseball fields, four softball fields, two soccer fields, and a cricket field. Initially, the focus will be on children aged 4 to 12, with the potential to incorporate adult activities such as oickleball, co-ed softball, and youth soccer or football in partnership with Gray Middle School. The discussion today centers on the need for new programming, as the city currently lacks youth soccer and girls' softball opportunities. While youth baseball has been a tradition for 85 years, any changes to its future will depend on the Groveland Baseball League's preferences. Mr. Walker stressed that this is a sensitive matter, and further discussions with the league will continue after the park's completion. Mr. Walker also noted that if the Parks Department were to manage the programs directly, it would come with significant costs, which will need to be considered in the planning process. He recommended that, for now, the Parks and Recreation Department run the programs at South Lake Regional Park. He emphasized that the focus should always be on the kids and their needs, not on personal interests. The purpose of today's meeting is to gather feedback from the Recreation Advisory Committee, which will make recommendations for Mr. Walker to present to the City Council as part of the 2026 budget process. The key decision is whether to partner with outside non-profit organizations, like the Groveland Baseball League, to run programs or to have the Parks Department manage the programs directly. Parent Testimonial from Emily Batman, Former Board Member of the Groveland Baseball League (Stepped down in December 2024) Emily Batman, a mother of five children, all of whom participate in sports, shares her experience as a former board member of the Groveland Baseball League. She explained that in November 2024, the board made the decision to transition from recreational baseball to an all-travel baseball program after switching to a new organization. This change created challenges for Emily, particularly as one of her two sons would make the travel team, while the other might not. It 3 March 11, 2025 RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC) MEETING MINUTES became difficult for Emily to explain to her sons that one of them would be excluded due to not meeting the skill level required. As both a parent and board member, Emily found this situation emotionally draining, ultimately leading her to step down from her position. After the family relocated to Clermont, Emily faced the challenge of encouraging one of her sons to play again, but this time in the City of Clermont league. Despite this, Emily believes in the importance of providing her children with the opportunity to be part of a league that focuses on learning the fundamentals of the game, rather than solely on competition. She emphasized that this age is about developing a love for sport, understanding its concepts, and fostering growth. Emily feels strongly about the potential benefits of having the city run the program with volunteer oversight. She supports the idea of including parents in the process, as it promotes a sense of community and accountability. Emily also believes that having a proper system of checks and balances ensures that the league remains fair and inclusive and focused on player development. For Emily, recreational baseball should be about growth and learning, and she is pleased to see the City of Clermont league thriving under this approach. Emily would encourage the City of Groveland to consider adopting a similar approach to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment for young players. Motion recommending Parks Director to build budget proceeds for the city to show that Parks and Recreation should be in control running the organization: Motion: Committee Member David Bergstein motion for Mr. Walker to build budget and City runs the programs; seconded by Committee Member Frederick Wood. Motion passed with all committee members present voting aye. Review and Recommendation - Summer Camp Proposals EYP & YMCA Mr. Walker started by saying that after the last meeting, which was a great meeting presented by Empowering Young People and following that meeting, the YMCA was still interested in doing summer programing and Mr. Walker felt it was important to continue that conversation. He had talked with the City Manager about taking this item to the City Council, Mr. Walker stated he emailed everyone on the Recreation Advisory Committee letting them know that Monday March 17,2025 there would be an agenda item for summer camp options presented to the Council. Both EYP and the YMCA were asked to submit a written proposal, which they did, and Mr. Walker thought it would be appropriate to have the Recreation Advisory Committee review the proposals. Mr. Walker requested the RAC provide a motion and direction to include in the staff memo to the City Council on the Recreation Advisory Committee recommendation. Committee members had questions regarding the two summer programs and Mariah McCoy = Representative for EYP was present to answer the questions on behalf of EYP, YMCA was not present sO questions that were regarding YMCA summer camp could not be answered. City Event Coordinator Steven McDonald did speak on behalf of YMCA on what was on the proposal given by YMCA. Motion: Committee Member Michael Gris motion is for the Recreation Advisory Committee to recommend to the city council to be in partnership with EYP by providing up to $15,000 for summer camp services to the city of Groveland residents at the Nathaniel Community Gymnasium; seconded by Committee Member David Bergstein. 4 March 11, 2025 RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC) MEETING MINUTES Motion passed with four votes in favor aye and three votes against. REPORTS a. Elese Tomlin Community Center Vice Chair Cowels noted that no Report was provided in the packet but continued to share the following updates. From February 15 to February 28, 2025, a total of 469 clients were served. The program received 126 calls and included twenty-seven students in the afterschool program, with eleven of them receiving tutoring. We are still recruiting additional tutors. Additionally, three new high school GED students enrolled, focusing on Math and Science tutoring. Two youth assistants were responsible for monitoring and supervising students in the computer lab, assisting with meals, and helping with homework. One client received resume writing assistance, and another received financial counseling. In- kind donations totaling $19,493 were generously provided by Walmart. Throughout this period, 236 meals were served to seniors. Lastly, Vice-Chair Linda Cowels received a Community Service Award for Black History Month from Vision Church. b. Committee Reports Chair-Person Joscelyn Campbell Nothing to report at this time. Committee Member Badillo Nothing to report at this time. Committee Member Gris Nothing to report at this time. Committee Member Bergstein: Nothing to report at this time. Committee Member Wood Nothing to report at this time. Committee Member Kenzig Nothing to report at this time. School Board Representative Irvin Nothing to report at this time. 5 March 11, 2025 RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC) MEETING MINUTES Vice Chair Cowels Nothing to report at this time. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. ADJOURNMENT Chair- Person Joscelyn Campbell adjourned the meeting at 8:28 p.m. 10 Ao Groveland OmD FLORIDA pbil oscelyn gampbéI, Chairperson City with Natural Charm V ' Attest: Gl y Maritza Caldeton, Recording Secretary 6