CC 04/01/2019 Minutes - Joint Workshop with PRAB

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CASSELBERRY CITY COMMISSION Minutes of April 1, 2019 — Joint Workshop Page 4 of 7 Audience Participation: 1. Ms. Laurie Sprigg, 226 Normandy Road, voiced concerns about opening up what was originally intended as a neighborhood park to everyone and the additional parking issues that would cause, suggesting that the parking areas should be placed on the side of the park away from the neighborhood. 2. Ms. Lois McIntosh, 240 Sunnytown Road, stated she was a long-time resident of the neighborhood and shared recent photographs she had taken showing the parking issues along the neighborhood streets in front of the homes. She voiced concerns about parking, drainage and lighting issues with the proposed park design. 3. Mr. Joe Perez, 130 Lime Road, voiced concerns about the size of the proposed park, noting that there had been opposition from the residents in the neighborhoods to the improvements and stating he did not feel it was fair to ask the residents to pay for improvements that they did not want. He also stated he did not feel the City Commission was being as sensitive to the surrounding neighborhoods for this park as they were when considering the improvements to Dew Drop Park. 4. Mr. Eric Mayhew, 239 Sunnytown Road, stated he had been a resident of Sunnytown Road since 1987 and was opposed to the proposed park improvements, stating the residents did not want the park turned into a regional park, as it was intended to be a neighborhood park. 5. Mr. Hutch Pollack, 320 Ballpark Road, stated he lived right across the street from the park and voiced concerns about the parking issues, noting that of the three concepts presented at a previous meeting, the least unacceptable one was the one that put all the parking off of Anchor Road with fencing, security and park closure, with no parking on the residents' side of the park. 6. Mr. Mario Alvarado, 810 Meiner Boulevard, Altamonte Springs, stated he was the Director of GOSA (Greater Orlando Soccer Academy) and that his group which also included local kids, used the fields at the park for practice. He also expressed concerns about the lack of parking which affected the residents in the adjoining neighborhoods, and about the illegal activities he had observed in the park. He added that his organization was willing to help the City as much as they could by raising funds to help with improvements. No one else came forward. Commissioner Aramendia left the meeting vroom. at 8:19 p.m. Commissioner Aramendia returned to the meeting room at 8:25 p.m. Discussion: A lengthy discussion ensued amongst the City Commissioners, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members, the consultants and staff regarding the various proposed elements of the park, and concerns that had been brought up including: parking issues along Ball Park Road and Sunnytown Road and feasibility of relocating parking to the west side of the park with access from Anchor Road; utilization of fencing and signs to discourage parking along Ball Park Road and Sunnytown Road, and to address the drainage issues and erosion being caused by parking in those areas; GOSA (Greater Orlando Soccer Academy)'s rental of the fields and willingness to assist with funding to offset cost of field and parking improvements; safety issues relating to unlawful activities occurring at the park and possible solutions including lighting, clearing of wooded areas, trimming of trees, fencing and securing the park after hours; possibility of shifting location of retention pond to the east to allow for relocation of parking areas; concerns about opening access to the park from Anchor Road due to drug activity in that area; concerns about not