Youth Activities Committee Meeting Minutes

Youth Activities Committee
Monthly Meeting Minutes from Monday, March 24, 2008

In Attendance:

Karen O’Donnell, chairperson
Tracy Harrington, vice chairperson
Hank Lewis, committee member
Heidi Pettyjohn, committee member
Lee Crowell, alternate
Ted Wessel, Assistant General Manager, LOWA
Peter Williams, member BOD, LOWA

Call to Order:
A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order by Chairperson Karen O’Donnell at 9:15am.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes were reviewed and approved unanimously.

Reports:

BoD liaison – nothing to report

Finance committee – no report

Planning committee – no report

Teen Center – no report

Assistant manager’s report – the Activities and Wellness Director’s position is being reassessed. The committee requested clarification on the status of our cost center. Currently, Ted is overseeing many of the responsibilities of the Activities and Wellness Director. Difficulties and conflicts in scheduling and running programs, especially in the Community Center, that have come up due to a lack of an A&W director were discussed. A suggestion was made to publicize the Community Center Attendant’s schedule so that members know when the CC is open.

Committee business: Mary Paxton has resigned as secretary of the committee. Lee Crowell will rejoin the committee as a voting member. Hank Lewis nominated Lee as secretary, Tracy seconded, and Lee was voted secretary unanimously. We are still looking for a vice-chairperson, and are actively recruiting new members.

Skate Spot: The project is almost $7,000 under budget! A candidate for a second skate spot attendant has applied. The applicant is an employee with Dodson Security. We are waiting for the background check to be completed on our first applicant. It was agreed that two attendants would be best. Karen suggested that we purchase and mount a flag to be a visible sign that the Spot is open. It was suggested that we could start with a sign, then move to a flag as budget allows. The Skate Spot grand opening is to be held Saturday, May 3, with a rain date of May 4, from 11 to 2PM. Hot dogs and sodas will be given away, use of the spot will be free, and music will be provided.

Budget: Loss of the tot lot at Spotswood Park was discussed. It was decided that we would go ahead with the edging and mulching at that park on schedule, despite the added cost of adding the tot lot later. Edging and mulch at the Campground playground has been eliminated, due to uncertainty surrounding the future use of that area. Hank and Karen will be surveying Hollyfield Park this afternoon to see if the playground footprint can be condensed. The budget and Master Plan will be further discussed after this information is gathered. Phase 2 of the Skate Park and upgrades of sports fields will be kept in the Master Plan as placeholders.

E-Newsletter: will go out this week.

Battle of the Bands: Volunteer positions were discussed. Layout of the event was planned. Raffle items were discussed. A timeline for setup was discussed. Security guidelines were discussed. Plans are in place.

Next Meeting: Monday, April 28, 9:00AM, Community Center

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:15AM.

Youth Activities Committee
Monthly Meeting Minutes from Monday, April 28, 2008

In Attendance:

Karen O’Donnell, chairperson
Tracy Harrington, vice chairperson
Donna Eclipse. Committee member
Heidi Pettyjohn, committee member
Lee Crowell, alternate
Ted Wessel, Assistant General Manager, LOWA
Tom Sheridan, member BOD, LOWA
Sue Merna, Planning Committee Liaison
Lee Frame, Board of Supervisors Orange County
Benny Roman, Skate Spot attendant
Susan Wright, Low member

Call to Order: A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order by Chairperson Karen O’Donnell at 9:10am.

Approval of the Minutes: Donna moved to approve the minutes of the March meeting as amended. Heidi seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Reports:

BoD liaison – Tom reported that the BoD received a report from a consultation firm, and this report is available on the LOWA website. There are several recommendations for updating operations, including better education for members and the formation of a quality control council to help train and implement the changes.

Assistant Manager - Ted informed us that there is a proposal for contracting out the maintenance and personnel for the pools. Local teenagers will be given first priority in hiring, and the Association will hire the Slimnastics instructor.

BoS - Lee commented that the Players were becoming a multi-generational activity. The budget for Parks and Recreation for Orange County will have a major impact on Parks and Rec. services. The BoS is trying to keep before and after school program s in the school system, but will expect them to pay for themselves. No before and after school care will be available for children with special needs.  Emergency services have become more expensive, especially on the other side of the county.

Finance committee – no report

Planning committee – Sue reported that tonight will be her first PC meeting. She will email a report to Karen after the meeting.

Teen Center – Karen reported that she found a Wii! She also purchased Guitar Hero, Dance-Dance Revolution with multiple mats, Mario Smash Brothers and a Bowling and Sports Pack game, along with extra controllers for all of the games, at the cost of about $800. We will look into getting a media cart to store the Wii and Games on. It was suggested that we store the game cart in the closet in the computer room. All of this is being purchased with monies earned from Battle of the Bands. It was further suggested that we have a lock installed on the closet door, and that attendants closely oversee the system. Wii tournaments will be held during Teen Center nights, and older people, such as the Fun Bunch, can take advantage of the system as well. The second pool table will need to be moved out of the Teen Center. We will start getting updates

Committee business: The creation of a Youth Activities webpage to be linked to LOWA’s home page was discussed. We need someone to design and maintain it. Lee offered to go to the Communications meeting.

Battle of the Bands: The Battle of the Bands was a fantastic success. A recording of the highlights was shown on Channel 18.

Skate Spot: It is now open and running. Benny has a group of 23 kids that are forming a skateboarding team. The Skate Spot Grand Opening was planned.

E-Newsletter: We need to update our email contact list.

Next Meeting: Monday, June 23, 9:00AM, Community Center

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:30AM.