Town Square›Parks & Rec Watch›July 18, 2024

Parks & Rec Advisory Board · July 18, 2024

"Entire complexes booked, locked, no children" — a public audit of ball field permits

Steven Armstrong, who started a 501(c)(3) youth baseball program for disadvantaged kids, presented the board with his review of 110 city field-permit documents, reporting fields reserved and never used and a 25% late-cancellation fee assessed against only one league. The board also recommended the name Ocotillo Park for a new 1.8-acre neighborhood park and heard a recap of the Fourth of July events.

Called to order approximately 6:00 p.m. · adjourned Not recorded · 13 pages · source document ↗

If you read nothing else

Steven Armstrong told the board that going through 110 permit documents turned up bookings at an alarming level where entire complexes were booked and locked with no children, no maintainer and nobody on the fields.
A 25% fee applies when a field is not cancelled with two weeks' notice. Armstrong said all permit directors were e-mailed about the two-week rule, but when they cancelled, none were assessed the fee except LCYBA.
Greg Shervanick asked whether a $1,849,000 transfer for a land purchase was part of the original deal or additional money; he restated the figure as $1,800,000 and staff said the amount seemed high, possibly $1,819,000, and would look into it.
The board recommended the name Ocotillo Park for the roughly 1.8-acre neighborhood park in Metro Central Phase 2.
Removing the mistletoe-infested trees at Salopek Park would cost about $32,000; 24-30 new trees could be planted there. Four to six trees on the downtown mall show late signs of Dutch elm disease.
The city took back the summer food program after a nonprofit dropped it: over 30,000 meals served to youth this summer, with over 450 youth in programs across 26 days.

Who was in the room

4 of 7 seats represented. District 5 is vacant.

Present

Fred Raish — At large member (referred to as Chair Raish)
Laura Haas — District 6 (referred to as Vice-Chair Haas)
Charles Beard — District 2
Aracely Tellez — District 3

Absent

Alana Bradley — District 4
Miley Sarah Grandjean — District 1
District 5 — vacant

Staff

Steven Bingham — Director, Parks & Recreation
Robert Nunez — Deputy Director, Youth Services, Parks and Recreation
Phillip Catanach — Recreation Deputy Director, Parks & Recreation
Hazel Nevarez — Senior Office Manager, Parks & Recreation
Franco Granillo — Parks Deputy Director, Parks & Recreation
Catherine Mathews — Landscape Architect, Parks & Recreation

Others

Greg Shervanick — Public
Steve Armstrong — Public
Kenneth Coppedge — Public (seated as the District 2 board member as recently as May 16, 2024)
CW Ward — Las Cruces Youth Soccer

Public comment

Kept at length on purpose. Every point raised is listed, in the order the minutes record it.

Greg Shervanick5. Public Participation

Raised the transfer of funds of $1,849,000 to the new land purchase at Motel, Bruins, and Highland.
Said the transfer passed through the City Council as a consent item without public knowledge.
Asked whether the $1,849,000 is part of the old deal or an additional amount to purchase that property.
Noted that the item that passed on Monday also says, "we need more money for that purchase of property."
Restated the question using a different figure: whether the $1,800,000 is part of the original deal or an additional amount of money to pay for that property.
Second question: asked what is going to be put in Pioneer Park.

We need more money for that purchase of property.

On the record in response

On the land purchase, staff said the amount seems high, possibly $1,819,000; that it has been on City Council a couple of times; and that they will look into this. On Pioneer Park, staff said the Pioneer Women's Park gazebo is underway and funded by capital outlay funding from the state legislature. The gazebo is being replaced with a gazebo of the same footprint, same size, shape and details, the difference being that it is made of powder coated steel rather than lattice, with cutout panels. The current project is only the gazebo, but staff are seeking additional funding for the walkways.

Steven Armstrong7.1 Sports Field Scheduling

Said he is just raising awareness and discussion about field usage.
Said he started a 501(c)(3) youth baseball program for disadvantaged kids.
In the process he discovered that people could pay for or get fields for their kids to practice on, while other kids would not get to practice or would go to areas not really appropriate, covered in goatheads.
Said he spoke to mothers who were driving children around while seeing fields with gates that were locked.
Said he made a request for information from the City for the various fields.
Said reservations through the City's online athletic field reservation system are to be through a fee on an equitable basis.
Said that if the leagues are not using the fields for practice on weekends and weeknights, there is a problem; and if the fields are not distributed on an equitable basis, that is also a problem.
Said big organizations coming in is great for revenue and the community, but if it comes at a huge expense to local kids that needs to be looked at.
Said the reservation link states reservations will only be taken for the following week and only in person, while an online system is also set up to make a reservation — which makes the process confusing.
Said that if he comes in Monday morning to reserve a field for the upcoming Sunday he cannot do it; it has to be the Sunday after that. There is very little flexibility in the system.
Said what is required to prepare a field for practice is open for discussion — when you reserve a field you agree to be safe and waive liability, and the fields are not dragged for smoothness between games. What it takes to get fields ready drives how much lead time the reservation needs.
Said priority goes to residents of Las Cruces and to leagues and coaches — LCYBA carries priority — but a coach from that same league gets no priority and is charged just like an average person off the street. Coaches have already paid LCYBA and registration fees, yet pay the same amount as someone who did none of that.
Compared the actual LCYBA permit against actual use, and said there is a chronic issue with timing and organization: LCYBA not getting things in on time bootstraps city employees and makes permit requests difficult because they are not timely.
Gave the permitted hours as Monday through Thursday five to nine, Friday five to ten, all fields, Saturday eight to four — and said that via the permitting procedure the fields are not even open until ten.
Said that looking at this online there are 110 documents, with a "not used" notation in the middle of them entered by him as part of his audit — going in and recording that a field was booked and was not used.
Said those instances come up at an alarming level: entire complexes booked, locked, no children, no maintainer, nobody on the fields.
Asked whether the resources are too scarce for the demand, and suggested building batting cages at low cost, which he said can multiply the use of each field by four.
Said Parks & Recreation received a permit from LCYBA that said, in effect, that due to some of their disorganization they were going to request a bunch of fields for a bunch of times — and that what is asked for in permits, and whether the field will actually be used, needs to be looked at when approving permits.
Said practice is for two hours and games are about one hour; fields are allocated via blackout days used for games, and practice time is spent fighting for a random field somewhere.
Described an organization called Perfect Game that holds tournaments, asking for a few days in February; as the tournament nears some teams drop out and the organizers wait to cancel certain games and divisions until the very end, because they do not want teams to drop out.
Gave the example: Perfect Game asked for February 9, 10 and 11, then cancelled all but one day, cancelling on the 6th — but since a field must be reserved a week prior, those days are lost to everyone.
Said policy is getting in the way of equitable distribution of the fields because there are no exceptions.
Said revenue was established on the permit at the initial request, but as cancellations came in and dropped the number of fields, the revenue dropped too.
Said there was an effort to ask for cancellations two weeks prior in order to release the fields, and that there are many examples of not cancelling two weeks before where the revenue dropped and the fields were not released.
Said the blackout dates initially entered would get removed — in the example above, blackout dates would be the 8th and the 12th.
Said the blackout dates are overly inclusive: tournaments ask for more than they need, LCYBA asks for more than it needs, and people black out more dates than they need.
Said his people went out at the close of business on blackout dates and took pictures, finding that fields were not being worked on and not being prepped all of the time — sometimes yes, sometimes no — and that a good portion of the time all of the complexes were locked.
Concluded there was no devoted structured effort about how and when to prep the fields to maximize availability for kids.
Gave Monday as the worst example: tear down is completed by four or five o'clock and there are no more maintenance employees on the fields, there is no blackout date on Tuesday, yet all of Monday is blacked out — so kids cannot practice Monday night.
Said that during the practice season a field must be reserved the Monday prior because of first come, first served; and that if there is no announcement that fields have become available after a cancellation, they simply remain unused.
Raised the LCYBA round robin fee, citing the screen: "did not cancel field with the first two weeks' notice, 25% fee attached." Said LCYBA was not timely with his permit and created a level of frustration — but that all directors who came for permits were sent the e-mails about the two weeks, and when they cancelled none were assessed a 25% fee except LCYBA.
Said the theory is good but the implementation is not working.
Said there is a bigger demand than there are facilities, which can be narrowed with more efficient and equitable distribution.
Said a solution needs to include everyone — maintenance, scheduling, increasing the flexibility — and that revisiting the policies and procedures would be a good start.
Said the policy looks okay on paper but the application has issues, and that if policy changes take extended time, work should be done to help the system while those changes are worked on.
Said 90% of the policy is really good; it is the application of the policy that is creating problems.
Said the allocation of the mandate on an equitable basis to sponsored and co-sponsored Las Cruces community groups is problematic, and that the triggers in that policy for the application of field use are not created equal.
Gave as an example that reservations are required 48 hours prior — an internal policy, not a City mandate — and that the language requiring a week prior contains no exception. Asked what if there were an asterisk allowing exceptions by approval of the director.

Entire complexes booked, locked, no children, no maintainer, no body on the fields.

Theory is good, but implementation is not working.

90% of the policy is really good, it is the application of the policy that is creating problems.

Reservations will only be taken for the following week, only in person.

Did not cancel field with the first two weeks' notice, 25% fee attached.

On the record in response

No response is recorded during the item itself. Under Staff Member Comments, Franco Granillo said, in reference to Steve Armstrong, that all those policies have been vetted through legal and Council, as well as the fees and charges; that it will cost more for on-call staff because gates must be opened when they normally would not be; that the fields are under lock and key as they are to a public park and users have to be insured; that if fields are left open people go in, trip on base pegs, get into the restrooms and then complain about dirty restrooms; that they are servicing fields due to league organizers; that fields were not known to have been released until Monday, after the tournament; and that last year the city went from 42 tournaments to 54, with overtime costs showing it.

Another member of the public (unnamed)7.1 Sports Field Scheduling

Said he tried to make reservations and was told over the phone that leagues have everything booked from June to January.
Said he was told that to make reservations you have to come in in person, as the website is not usable until next year.

On the record in response

None recorded. The minutes do not name this speaker; the attendance roll lists CW Ward of Las Cruces Youth Soccer and Kenneth Coppedge as members of the public present.

6.1 Metro Central Phase 2 neighborhood park name — Ocotillo Park

about 1.8 acres

Park size

Cathy Mathews reported that City Council at Monday's meeting agreed to a reimbursement agreement for a neighborhood park in Metro Central Phase 2. The park is about 1.8 acres.

Per policy, staff recommended the name Ocotillo Park. The park has a putting greens / putt-putt golf type of theme and a chalk wall.

This was the meeting's only action item.

7.1 Sports field scheduling

110

Permit documents reviewed

25%

Late-cancellation fee

for not cancelling with two weeks' notice; assessed only against LCYBA

Mon-Thu 5-9, Fri 5-10, Sat 8-4

Permitted hours

fields "not even open until ten" via the permitting procedure

Feb 9, 10, 11 requested

Perfect Game example

all but one day cancelled on the 6th; a week's notice is required, so the days were lost

48 hours prior

Reservation lead time

described as an internal policy, not a City mandate; separate language requires a week prior with no exception

two hours vs about one hour

Practice vs game length

multiply use of each field by four

Batting cages

Armstrong's estimate

90%

Share of policy Armstrong endorses

Presented by Steven Armstrong, a member of the public, as a discussion item. His presentation and a second, unnamed member of the public are recorded in full under Public Comment above rather than summarized here.

The core of it: an audit of 110 permit documents, a reservation system that requires in-person booking a week ahead while also offering an online system, tournament organizers holding fields and cancelling days before, blackout dates that are overly inclusive, and a 25% late-cancellation fee applied to one league and no other.

7.2 Mistletoe and Dutch elm disease

about $32,000

Salopek Park tree removal

six

Trees possibly lost at Salopek Park

24-30 new trees

Replacement planting

four to six

Downtown mall elms showing late signs

Franco Granillo said the parks are experiencing issues with both mistletoe and Dutch elm tree disease. Salopek Park, on Stern Drive toward NMSU, has a lot of mistletoe and the city is possibly losing six of the trees, which are old. On the downtown mall, about four to six trees are showing late signs of Dutch elm disease, and there are also some that may be treated.

On Dutch elm disease: the fungus shows a nice side of the tree and then, in the middle of the tree, areas that are bare with leaves dropping. It is spread by elm beetles that carry the fungus, is from Asia and was introduced to the U.S. accidentally. The tree dies back, and the roots die back from nutrients lost because there are not enough leaves. Mechanical, cultural, chemical and biological treatments are used: mechanical is pruning, cultural would be introducing another type of beetle, biological can be an injection of some kind, and chemical would be spray.

On mistletoe: it is easier to identify — a tree goes into decline and a big green growth appears. It is a parasite that attaches to the tree and sucks nutrients and water, and the branch will decay and die. It grows on a wide range of trees, is hard to remove because it is sticky, and causes a loss of outer branches. It is spread by birds, wind and humans, and it is impossible to remove and control once established.

Removal of the trees in Salopek Park is about $32,000. Staff said they could plant 24-30 new trees there.

7.3 Fourth of July recap

1.5 miles

Parade route

Apodaca Park to Meerscheidt

410

5K participants

Parade entries

over 120 vehicles

7,000 to 9,000 (estimated)

Parade spectators

1994

Parade running since

2016

NMSU partnership since

2,000-3,000 rising to 8,000-10,000

Concert attendance

Phil Catanach showed a video of the electric light parade. The parade is a 1.5-mile route running from Apodaca Park to Meerscheidt. It starts with the electric 5K fun run put on by the Las Cruces Running Club, which runs the route in the opposite direction in a circle; there were 410 participants. The theme was Rocking in the USA, with 58 entries and over 120 vehicles including floats, car clubs, safety, law enforcement and different organizations. The parade has been going on since 1994, with an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 spectators.

The second night is the Fourth of July concert and fireworks, and a video was shown. The partnership with NMSU started in 2016, using Sisbarro Park and combining resources. The event ran 6:00 to 10:15 p.m. This year brought in a Black Jacketed Symphony cover group from Alabama. It started with 2,000 to 3,000 people, but by darkness there were 8,000 to 10,000.

8. Staff member comments

42 to 54

Tournaments, year over year

26 days

Summer program length

over 450

Youth in summer programs

over 30,000

Meals served

the attached slides, labeled for the August 15, 2024 meeting, give 19,115 total meals over the same 26 days

seven

School-year locations

City 35 years, FYI 15 years, City again

Food program history

Franco Granillo said the dog park rules have been discussed for years and staff want to get them on the books for an ordinance to be read, which is an ongoing process. The rules were redone and have been sent to legal for review. Two separate presidents of the dog park coalition have also reviewed them and like them. The reason for an ordinance rather than guidelines is that there are so many issues with dogs and codes needs something to back them up. The rules are in draft form and will be e-mailed to the board members. Staff are working with the community constituent representative for public feedback.

Granillo also responded to Steve Armstrong: all those policies have been vetted through legal and Council, as well as the fees and charges. It will cost more for on-call staff because gates have to be opened when they normally would not be. The fields are under lock and key as they are to a public park, and you have to be insured. If they are left open, people go in, trip on base pegs, get into the restrooms, and then there are complaints about dirty restrooms. They are servicing fields due to league organizers. He also said fields were not known to have been released until Monday, after the tournament. Last year the city went from 42 tournaments to 54, and overtime costs for the City show that.

Robert Nunez said the summer program was fast and furious, only 26 days, as children return to school Monday. Over 450 youth were in the programs, and over 30,000 meals were served to youth this summer through the food program. Staff are preparing for the school year at seven different locations.

Steve Bingham said people need to understand that putting on a good parade is hard, and he feels it is the best parade he has ever seen. There is a new administrator who will be a great asset to the community. The City used to run the summer food program, which is free through a federal grant, but it was turned over to a nonprofit; this spring the nonprofit informed the City it was not doing it anymore. That is the 30,000 meals, for low income youth with limited access to food. The City did it for 35 years previously, then FYI took it over for 15 years and stopped this past spring, and the City took it back.

9. Board member comments

Vice-Chair Haas extended her thanks for everything staff does. She said she likes to come prepared, and that if there is anything that would help the board in their discussions and decisions, staff should not be shy about sending things — like the weekly calendars and upcoming events.

Board Member Aracely Tellez said today felt a bit heavy, and that moving forward it would be nice to have more input from staff, as they are knowledgeable. She also thanked the staff.

Board Member Charles Beard said he found this a bit overwhelming.

Chair Raish thanked everyone.

Attached presentation slides (pages 8-13) — labeled for a different meeting

over 70,000

Aquatics patrons this summer

excludes rentals, splash pad and interactive fountain

38 plus 5 head lifeguards

Lifeguards

12 classes, 126 participants

Swim lessons

4 sites, 240/day

Summer recreation

June 5 - July 12, 26 days, grades K-5

1 site, 60/day

Weed and Seed

906 N. Tornillo St.

1 site, 30-40/day

Teen Connection

304 W. Bell Ave., grades 6-12

19,115

Summer food program meals

over 26 days

$2.97 breakfast / $5.25 lunch

Meal reimbursement

$69,930.00

Summer food program amount

June/July, 26 days of service

General Fund $309,459

Safe Haven playground

play area approx. 2,300 sq ft; accepted 04/05/2024

1.86± acres

Ocotillo Park

N 0.94± acres, S 0.92± acres

PIF (reimbursement) $343,200.00

Ocotillo Park funding

acceptance 08/14/2024 — after this meeting

Pages 8 through 13 of this document are slide decks. Two of them carry a date line reading "Parks & Recreation Advisory Board — August 15, 2024": the Youth Services Summer 2024 deck and the New and Upgraded Facilities Report. They are recorded here as document contents, not as things said at the July 18 meeting.

Recreation Section Summer 2024: the aquatic season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day at the Regional Aquatic Center, Las Cruces Natatorium, East Mesa Bataan Memorial and Laabs outdoor pools, the Mesa Verde and Unidad splash pads, and the Plaza de Las Cruces interactive fountain. Free swim days are Memorial Day, Father's Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Over 70,000 patrons had been served this summer so far, not including rentals, splash pad or interactive fountain attendance. The team included 38 lifeguards and 5 head lifeguards; swim lessons ran 12 classes with 126 participants. A teen open session ran Monday through Friday at Meerscheidt Recreation Center, reaching 80 teens on average per session.

Youth Services Summer 2024: summer recreation ran at 4 sites, June 5 to July 12 (26 days), 240 participants per day, for youth in grades K-5. A. Fielder Memorial Safe Haven's Weed and Seed program ran at 1 site (906 N. Tornillo St.), same dates, 60 per day, grades K-5. Teen Connection ran at 1 site (304 W. Bell Ave.), same dates, 30-40 per day, grades 6-12. The Las Cruces Summer Food Program provided 19,115 total meals over 26 days; it is an entitlement program reimbursing the sponsor $2.97 for breakfast and $5.25 for lunch, for a June/July amount of $69,930.00, serving youth ages 1-18.

New and Upgraded Facilities Report: Safe Haven playground and shade structures at the NE corner of N Tornillo and E Picacho, play area approximately 2,300 sq ft — demolition of old play and shade structures, removal of wood fibers, installation of new play and shade structures and rubberized surfacing, with slides, a balance beam and climbers. Funding source General Fund $309,459; construction period 01/22/2024 to 03/22/2024; acceptance 04/05/2024.

Ocotillo Park (aka Twin Parks): located on Santa Minerva between Quicksilver and Alchemy in Metro Central Ph 2; size 1.86± acres (N 0.94± acres, S 0.92± acres). Features: rock surfacing, turf grass, perimeter trees, concrete ADA walkways, bike rack, two 14'x14' shade structures, pet pick-up stations, picnic tables, benches, play equipment with engineered wood fiber surfacing, cornhole, mini golf holes, chalk wall. Funding source PIF (reimbursement) $343,200.00; acceptance 08/14/2024.

Recorded votes

3. Approval of the AgendaMotion passed

Approve the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting Agenda for July 18, 2024.

Moved by Laura Haas · seconded by Aracely Tellez

No vote tally is recorded.

4. Approval of the MinutesMotion passed

Approve the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes May 16, 2024.

Moved by Aracely Tellez · seconded by Laura Haas

6.1 Metro Central Phase 2 Neighborhood Park Name RecommendationMotion passed

Recommend the name of Metro Central Phase 2 Neighborhood Park to Ocotillo Park to the City Manager.

Moved by Aracely Tellez · seconded by Laura Haas

The only action item on the agenda. No vote tally is recorded.

10. AdjournmentMotion passed

Adjourn.

Moved by Laura Haas · seconded by Charles Beard

No time of adjournment is recorded.

Left open at the gavel

Staff

The $1,849,000 land purchase transfer

Shervanick asked whether the transfer for the land purchase at Motel, Bruins, and Highland is part of the original deal or additional money, and said it passed City Council as a consent item without public knowledge. Staff said the amount seems high, possibly $1,819,000, that it has been on Council a couple of times, and that they will look into it. No date to report back is recorded.

Staff

Additional funding for Pioneer Women's Park walkways

The current project is only the gazebo, funded by state capital outlay. Staff said they are seeking additional funding for the walkways. No amount or timeline is recorded.

Unassigned

Field reservation policy and its application

Armstrong asked the board and staff to revisit the policies and procedures, increase flexibility, announce fields released by cancellation, and consider an exception clause by approval of the director. Granillo defended the existing policies as vetted through legal and Council. No motion was made, no staff review was committed to, and no item was set for a future agenda.

Unassigned

Uneven application of the 25% late-cancellation fee

Armstrong said all permit directors were e-mailed about the two-week cancellation rule, but that when they cancelled, none were assessed the 25% fee except LCYBA. The minutes record no staff response to this specific point.

Franco Granillo

Dog park rules ordinance

The redone rules have been sent to legal for review and reviewed by two presidents of the dog park coalition. They are in draft form and will be e-mailed to board members, and staff are working with the community constituent representative for public feedback. Getting them on the books as an ordinance is an ongoing process, carried over from April 18, 2024.

Unassigned

Salopek Park tree removal and replanting

Removal is about $32,000 with 24-30 new trees possible. No funding decision, board recommendation or schedule is recorded.

Unassigned

Dutch elm disease on the downtown mall

Four to six trees show late signs and some others may be treated. No treatment plan, cost or timeline is recorded.

Staff

More staff input at meetings

Board Member Tellez said the meeting felt heavy and asked for more input from staff going forward. Vice-Chair Haas asked staff to send materials such as weekly calendars and upcoming events in advance. No commitment is recorded.

City Manager

Ocotillo Park name — City Manager and Council

The board's recommendation goes to the City Manager, who under policy 3.3 submits it to Council for approval or rejection. Nothing in this document records that step being taken.

City Council

Vacant District 5 seat and turnover in District 2

District 5 remains vacant. Kenneth Coppedge, seated as the District 2 member on May 16, 2024, appears in this document's attendance roll as a member of the public; Charles Beard holds District 2.