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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKFB Minutes 2022-03-22 KEEP FRIENDSWOOD BEAUTIFUL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022 PATTY STEINKE, CHAIRPERSON MICHAEL FERNANDEZ, CO-CHAIR SHAWN POTTER, CO-CHAIR KAYE COREY, BOARD MEMBER TODD MENDENHALL, BOARD MEMBER DIANNA HALL, BOARD MEMBER JEFF SMITH, BOARD MEMBER STEPHANIE REDDICK, BOARD MEMBER VIJAY MAHAL, BOARD MEMBER MARY WISE, BOARD MEMBER BRANDEE FERNANDEZ, BOARD MEMBER KELLY BROWNING, BOARD MEMBER DIANNA HALL, BOARD MEMBER JAMES TONEY, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION KIMBERLY RAMIREZ, ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION NATALIE MAYFIELD, RECREATION ASSISTANT CATHERINE WOOD, RECREATION MANAGER PAULA MATRANGA, GUEST GRACE BLASINGAME, GUEST RONAN O’DONELL GUEST MAXWELL LIN GUEST 1. Call to Order Chairperson Steinke called the meeting to order at 6:01pm 2. Minutes A. Consider approving the minutes of the Keep Friendswood Beautiful Meeting held on February 22, 2022 Stephanie motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by Shawn. Unanimously approved. B. Public Comment Ronan O’Donnell, & Maxwell Lin from the FHS Recycling came to speak about their recycling club. They average 25 children a week and are assigned rooms in the school to collect recycling. The recycling is sent to a backroom to be sorted. They average 5 large trash bags of plastics and 1 large trash bag of cans. It’s then given to a local recycling plant. They also collect dead markers, and the money is donated to the Ronald McDonald House. They provide a trophy to the teacher that has the cleanest recycling bin. Another award is presented to the volunteer who shows the most initiative. They are currently in short supply of large can liners (60 gal), large gloves, hand sanitizer, and clear packaging tape. C. Discussions A. Discuss the Volunteer Hours – Track it Forward Program. Patty stated she’d like to encourage the committee to use the Track-It-Forward App to log their volunteer hours. Brandee proceeded to pull the site up on the screen to show the committee a tutorial on how to use the Track it Forward App/website. B. Discuss the updates for the 2023 Tree Giveaway. Kim stated that in 2021 when we first started in Centennial, we offered some seedlings. One of the residents who received some is offering to provide the City with more seedlings. The resident also suggested the name be changed to “Friendswood Arbor Day.” Kim suggested that we start offering seedlings instead since it may be difficult to obtain more mature trees. Patty stated that we will maintain our current budget for the Giveaway. Michael motioned to change the name to “Friendswood Arbor Day.” The motion was seconded by Vijay and unanimously approved. The committee briefly discussed filling out an application for Friendswood to become a “Tree City.” It will need to be approved by the City Manager’s office beforehand. Shawn motioned to approve the spending of $450 to have someone fill out an application on the committee’s behalf. Michael seconded the motion. Unanimously approved by the committee. D. Committee Reports A. Receive reports from the Executive Committee regarding (1) the 2022 KFB budget and purchases and (2) the signups for the 2022 KFB Events. (Patty Steinke) Patty reported that the Executive Committee recently had a meeting. Patty stressed the importance of the committee volunteering for the upcoming Spring Sparkle event. Patty wanted to clarify that there are four signature events sponsored by the committee and the importance of volunteers attending these events. Fall Hall, Spring Sparkle, Santa in the Park, and the Tree Giveaway (now called the Friendswood Arbor Day). Kim reported that new KFB tee shirts have been ordered and should be arrived before Spring Sparkle. Stephanie motioned to spend up to $500 on volunteer shirts. Motion was seconded by Jeff and unanimously approved. Patty requested we email a link to the City’s Volunteer information to the committee. Kim went on to inform the committee of the proper way to solicit sponsorship for the committee. B. Receive a report from the Keep Texas Beautiful Committee regarding its activities, upcoming events and the FMWT Clean-Up Event. (Michael Fernandez) Michael reported that volunteer information and expectations can be found on the KFB website. He also reported that the FMWT Clean-Up will only take place thrice a year. May 21st, August 20th, and November 5th will be Clean-Up days this year. Michael stated he would prefer a minimum of 6 volunteers at the Clean-Up event. Preferably 8- 10 volunteers will attend. Kim informed the committee that the trash-grabbers may need to be replaced as the current ones owned have been breaking. Shawn motioned that we spend $260 on new grabbers. Vijay seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. The Keep Texas Beautiful Conference is coming up in Austin this year. Michael stated several people have already volunteered to attend said conference. There is a budget for 3 people to attend, this year Vijay, Shawn, and Patty will be attending. June 27th-29th is the schedule for the committee. C. Receive a report from the Public Awareness Committee regarding KFB’s social media activities and program. (Brandee Fernandez) Brandee reported about the upcoming photo contest the committee is holding. There are different categories for photos that can be submitted. There is a total of $850 for prizes for the photos. May 17th-19th will be the timeframe for the judging and a winner will be announced during the first schedule Concerts in the Park. D. Receive a report regarding the Fairy Trail at Stevenson Park. (Shawn Potter) Shawn reported that last month there was 1400 views of the trail. 8740 searches, activities and other schematics have increased. All of the houses are currently down as they are being re-sanded, and some are receiving new inserts. New hinges have been purchased and the houses will be reinstalled next week weather permitting. Shawn met with Ted regarding creating a large wooden sign for the Fairy Trail. It will be completed and installed before April 1st. The bench for Natasha (previous chairperson) will be completed and installed next week. There will be a new Fairy addition courtesy of the Ranglerettes. $754 for the woodwork of the sign and $35 for additional features regarding the proposed wooden sign. $850 total is the requested funds to complete these proposed projects. Kaye motioned to approve the committee spending up to $850 on new additions to the Fairy Trail (new wooden sign and map insert.) Motion seconded by Mary and unanimously approved. The cost for the chair in honor of Natasha is a total of $2000. The Parks dept has offered to cover half the cost. Shawn motioned to approve the committee spending $1000 on the chair. Seconded by Vijay and unanimously approved. E. Receive a report from the Education Committee regarding upcoming educational presentation. (Mary Wise) Mary reported there is no updates to this committee or nothing new to report. Patty reported that Brandee and Michael will be working an educational event next month at a local church. F. Receive a Report from the Beautification Committee regarding the (1) Pollinator Garden, (2) Mustang Field, and (3) Business Beautification Awards. (Kaye Corey, Dianna Hall, and Michael Fernandez) Kaye reported that the pollinator garden is no longer dead. A team of around 10 volunteers have been working in the garden to help it re-bloom this spring. She reminded the committee that proceeds from the Spring Sparkle and Fall Hall go towards the beautification of the garden. Weeding, pruning, and plant replacement is currently taking place. New containers have been added or ordered to host milkweed plants for the garden. New rocks have also been added around the fountain since the last ones were no longer there. The bee-house is being restored by the individuals who donated it. Dianna reported the blue bonnets are growing but not at the rate hoped for. The committee discussed the possibility of adding a bench to Mustang Field. It was proposed the bench discussion be tabled until a feature meeting. Michael had to step out for another meeting and couldn’t personally provide a report. Todd suggested “Parkwood Office” as a possible business to receive said award. However, the committee will be required to vote on said matter. It will be tabled until the following meeting. Brandee suggested the new British Market as another option to receive the award. G. Receive a report from the Parks committee regarding monthly park improvement updates. (Kelly Browning) James reported that Stevenson Park will be opening soon. The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held on April 1st. The Park’s masterplan is around 80% complete and it will soon be time to present that to the committee. A town-hall meeting will be held soon to discuss the plan with the public. H. Receive a report from the Environmental Action Committee regarding the KFB’s Recycling Club and recycling trends in the City. (Vijay Mahal) Vijay reported that he will be meeting FHS recycling club on March 30th to participate and help with their program. He plans on letting the students know the importance of recycling. Shawn motioned that the committee spend up to $300 on supplies for the FHS recycling committee. Brandee seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Vijay stated he’s concerned with how residents might be recycling oil for vehicles. He inquired about the possibility of having hazardous waste recycling provided at Fall Hall or Spring Sparkle. Kim informed the committee of the large cost associated with this but proposed looking into a grant. Shawn motioned the committee spend up to $30 to purchase cookies to thank the FHS recycling club. Seconded by Stephanie and unanimously approved. E. Business Items A. Discuss and take possible action on the KFB’s Governor’s Community Achievement (GCAA) Award Project. Kim reported that one application has been submitted for this Award Project. The City is also looking into the possibility of redoing the parking lot at Stevenson. The committee showed their favoritism to help support this project as request. B. Discuss and take possible action about participating in the 4th of July parade. Patty reported that Vijay will be the lead on participating on the 4th of July parade. There is currently a budget of $300 for this committee/event. F. Adjournment Patty adjourned the meeting at 7:40pm.