03.17.2021 Parks & Rec Minutes 0 MINUTES
i�` Special Meeting of the
Prosper Parks and Recreation Board
TOWN OF Prosper Town Hall
p S PER, Council Chambers
250 W. First Street, Prosper, Texas
Prosper is a place where everyone Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 6:00 pm
1. Call to Order/Roll Call.
The meeting was called to order by Rebekah Land, Chair, at 6:00 pm.
Board members present: Rebekah Land, Chair; John Metcalf, Vice Chair; Gina Kern, Secretary;
Matt Cely; Matt Furay; and Cameron Reeves.
Staff members present: Dudley Raymond, Director of Parks and Recreation; Paul Naughton,
Parks Planning Manager; Trevor Helton, Recreation Supervisor; Matt Furr, Parks Supervisor;
and Patty Kendzie, Marketing Coordinator.
Also in attendance: Philip Neeley, Senior Discipline Lead, Dunaway Associates; and Tanners Dyson,
Landscape Architect, Dunaway Associates.
2. Consider and act upon approval of the Draft Minutes from the December 10, 2020, Regular
Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board.
Motion to approve by Metcalf. Second by Kern. Approved 5-0. (Furay abstained, as he was not a Board
member in December 2020.)
3. Consider and act upon approval of the Draft Minutes from the January 11, 2021 Regular
Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board.
Motion to approve by Kern. Second by Furay. Approved 6-0.
Board member Ty Bledsoe entered the meeting at 6:05 pm.
4. Public Input Meeting for Pecan Grove Park.
Neely (via Zoom)welcomed residents and said Pecan Grove Park is located in a great location, a
neighborhood that provides unique spaces. Neeley and Dyson presented slides which conceptualized the
preliminary design plans: open spaces for play; additional trees; a concrete trail; creek improvements;
and proposed new elements (pavilion, expanded playground equipment for ages 2-5, and pickleball and
basketball courts). The final slide showed the cost evaluation for the proposals. Naughton thanked Neeley
and Dyson for their work and opened the meeting for public input.
Citizens from the public attended both in person and online. Feedback received was positive about the
additional amenities and improvements. Additional feedback included:
• Seeing if additional parking could be provided.
• Additional amenities such as benches around the lake or trail could be added.
Staff mentioned that at this time the budget does not include the additional parking lot or other amenities,
although adding benches can be added later or once staff is further along with the design process. Staff
will consult with the design team and come back to the Parks and Recreation Board with what additional
parking would look like for the park project and request feedback. Naughton thanked everyone for the
feedback and said staff is excited to move forward with the project.
5. Discussion with the Board regarding future projects and their funding.
Naughton spoke about the budget adopted by the Town Council. Raymond said it is a balance sheet, with
projects to be slotted in, and should be viewed as an estimate of dollars expected to come in. When the
talk turns to bonds, that is a bigger spreadsheet.
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111 This budget is a way to organize projects and understand the timing. It's a systematic approach that
Prosper goes through to lay out projects based on needs and the Master Plan.
Naughton said this year's work will focus on the finish out of Lakewood Preserve. In following years,
priorities will be Tanners Mill, various hike and bike trails, and Sexton Park. When the time comes to work
on those, they will be included as a funding source. Metcalf said this is terrific from a planning standpoint
and thanked Naughton for his efforts. Land said it's exciting that Tanners Mill and Sexton Park are
coming along, as these projects have been in the planning stages since 2015.
6. Consider and Act upon the 3rd Amendment of the Park Facilities Agreement -Windsong
Ranch.
Naughton described the process of Parks Fees and Credits. Park Agreements capture each phase of
development. Currently under consideration is the 3rd one for Windsong Ranch, capturing the final
phases, 7-10. He showed the sketch of the 3rd neighborhood park (7.5 acres) which will include a practice
area, street parking and additional parking near the trailhead. The park will be constructed utilizing their
Park Fees and the developer will maintain the park and trails until 70 percent occupancy.
Motion to approve by Cely. Second by Reeves. Approved 7-0.
7. Presentation of the Annual Report of the Tree Plan.
Raymond said municipalities must meet four criteria for Tree City USA: host an Arbor Day Celebration; a,
$2 per cap on tree planning or maintenance; have an ordinance about tree protection; and have a
Forestry Board. In Prosper, the Parks and Recreation Board serves as the Forestry Board.
Furr presented the Annual Report of the Tree Plan and gave numbers of trees on specific sites.There are
912 trees in medians that require quite a bit of daily maintenance and it's anticipated 166 medians will be
added this year; there are 360 trees in Frontier Park; and 107 trees in the Tree Farm, planted over four
years to be used in Hays Park and Windsong Park. Parks Operations has a full time Arborist on staff. 145
seed trees were planted last year, an initiative which began in the fall to replace the trees in the Tree
Farm (initially donated by a developer).
The Board asked questions about winter damage to trees in Prosper. Furr said Cedar Elms and Bald
Cyprus may bloom later and a few Live Oaks that looked the worst are budding now. Damage won't be
fully known for a few months. The Board asked that resources be posted to help residents assess shrubs
and trees for winter storm damage.
Furr asked the Board for suggestions regarding the 3rd annual Proper Arbor Day Celebration. Cely
thanked the department for hosting this event and said his family enjoyed it last year.
8. Comments by the Public.
There were no comments by the public.
9. Informational items
a. Recreation Update
Helton said the Prosper Fishing Derby was held March 6 at the Frontier Park pond. An estimated 400-500
attended the event which was rescheduled due to severe weather. TPWD stocked an additional 1,000
fish this year and a total of 850 fish were caught. Prizes were awarded in various categories to children
up to age 14. Thank you to Title Sponsors Academy Sports and Outdoors and Pondmedics, and also
Board volunteer Metcalf.
On March 10, Governor Abbott updated the state's COVID-19 guidelines. Helton said current policy for
Recreation Services is: staff and instructors are required to wear face coverings; attendees are not.
Cely asked about plans for July 4th. Helton said he will be meeting with Cedarbrook to discuss the details
of the celebration, which is scheduled for July 3.
The annual Mayor's Luncheon will be hosted via Zoom on April 14 for Prosper area Active Adults 55+.
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b. Park Development Update
Naughton gave an update on hike and bike trail construction. The Whitley Place Trail Extension is in its
final stage. Construction has begun along the powerline easement. The expectation is to award the Hays
Park bid at the next Town Council, so that project also is progressing. Kerr asked status of the
continuation trail at Pecan Grove Park. Naughton said Oncor will be constructing the portion of trail that
connects to the park and the project is coming together.
c. Park Operations Update
Furr said youth sports have begun; Frontier Park will be highly used this weekend. There is a record
number of participants (725) in Spring Football (7 on 7) and crews have converted fields to accommodate
the increase. Tree trimming on all properties will be delayed so as not to stress the trees.
10. Discussion regarding any miscellaneous business or items to be placed on future Agendas.
The Board further discussed Pecan Grove Park. Bledsoe said park enhancements will add value to
homes, yet it's important to be mindful of the budget. Kern said there are peak moments of traffic on
Armistad, with speed being the issue; the new build on the north side should not cause that much of a
traffic increase on Armistad. Raymond asked the Board to keep an eye on the traffic patterns over the
next month. He said the budget will be brought to the April Board meeting.
11. Adjourn.
Motion to adjourn by Kern. Second by Reeves. Meeting adjourned at 8pm. Approved 7-0.
Gina Kern, Secretary
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