APPROVED RAC December 7 2020 minutes revised
Minutes of the Recreation Advisory Committee held on December 7, 2020.
Members present:
Kendra Borja
Sandra Carro
Alise Henry
Michael O’Hara
Gayle Mercado
Lisa Sotir
Members absent:
Christian Dunham
Jacqueline O’Donnell
Natasha White
Also present:
Angela Dorney, Recreation Director
Jacquelyn Villagran, Recreation Superintendent
Leslie Rackl, Executive Assistant
The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m.
The meeting began with self-introductions of the Committee members.
Discussion turned to the election of a new Chair/Vice Chair of the Committee. Ms. Borja
nominated Mr. O’Hara as Chair of the Committee. Ms. Mercado seconded the
nomination. Mr. O’Hara was elected Chair by acclamation. Mr. O’Hara nominated Ms.
Henry as Vice Chair of the Committee. Ms. Sotir seconded the nomination. Ms. Henry
was elected Vice Chair by acclamation.
Ms. Borja made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 2, 2020. Motion
seconded by Ms. Henry and unanimously approved.
Ms. Villagran gave a recap of the recreation programs and sanitization protocol since Covid-
19. Summer Camp was offered with limited enrollment numbers per cohorted group. In
addition, there was one designated bathroom for each cohorted group. Curbside drop off and
pick up for campers was established, with temperatures taken and questions asked before
existing vehicles. Rooms are fogged and sanitized daily. A Virtual Learning Hub program was
offered while schools were closed, with cohorted groups by grade in place. Current
programming guidelines allow 12 participants per class. Gymnastics is currently offered and
are following all the US Gymnastics requirements for sanitization including a UV light sanitizer
on the uneven parallel bars and balance beams. In addition, face masks are required to be
worn during class. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Piano and Jazzercise are also currently offered.
The tot lot playground is also open, with restrooms cleaned every 2 hours per county
guidelines. Face masks are also required at the tot lot. The tot lot is fogged daily.
In regard to athletic activities, any supervised sport does not require a face mask during play
but masks are required for pickup games per the Miami-Dade County guidelines.
The recreation department began hosting movie nights on the basketball courts in October.
There have been 3 movie nights thus far, all have sold out. Upcoming events include Santa
Express, Letters to Santa and a Starry Night Out parents night out. Registration is underway
for winter break camp and flag football. The swim team will have a swim meet Dec 19 & 20.
Ms. Carro asked for additional movie nights to be offered. Ms. Dorney said monthly movie
nights will be scheduled as long as they remain successful.
Ms. Dorney related that Wild Waters has been completed but the Village is waiting for an
operating permit from the Department of Health. Ms. Henry suggested advising the public that
is a Department of Health issue.Once received, the Village Building Department can issue a
certificate of occupancy. It was noted that Wild Waters is not a heated structure. A ceremonial
public ribbon cutting is needed for the grand opening.
Ms. Carro asked about the possibility of reserving a swim lane online or through an app.
Discussion turned to capital projects. Ms. Dorney related that capital projects have been
frozen due to Covid-19. The recreation department’s operating budget has been cut 30%.
The Village has sustained a loss of revenue due to state sales tax. Additionally, the contract
for the MS Country Club has been reworked, with loss of revenue in excess of $200,000. It
was noted that the only capital project approved is carpeting in the Royal Palm Room.
In FY 2020 the recreation department’s budget was 3.5 million; this year in FY 2021 the budget
has been reduced to 2.4 million, a 30% cut. Capital projects from FY 2020 were frozen. Mr.
O’Hara said that at the recent Council meeting one of the agenda items was capital budgetary
projects with $350,000 for replacement of the Tot Lot. Ms. Dorney said that the Council has a
budget workshop early in the year at which time the public can voice their suggestions for
capital. Mr. O’Hara told Ms. Dorney that the Committee should be made aware of any big
ticket capital items before they are brought to Council and that the Committee should be more
involved in capital projects. Mr. O’Hara said that the attention needs to be refocused on the
Community Center instead of a new Tot Lot. Mr. O’Hara felt blindsided that $350,000 was
asked for a new Tot Lot instead of Community Center improvements. Mr. O’Hara told Ms.
Dorney that Committee members should have received an email detailing the requested
capital projects. All of the Committee’s recommendations have been ignored concerning the
Community Center. Mr. O’Hara added that if this is, in fact, an advisory board then the board
needs to be involved and given an explanation why the needs of the Community Center are
being overlooked and the Tot Lot is given precedence. Ms. Dorney explained that safety is a
concern which is why the Tot Lot is a capital project, adding that the Tot Lot is nearing the end
of its lifespan. Ms. Dorney added that all of the suggested recreation capital projects were
submitted to Mr. Benton. All of the departments in the Village submit their capital projects list
and Mr. Benton ultimately decides which projects are then submitted to Council. The criteria is
safety first, repairs needed second and aesthetics third.
Mr. O’Hara also told Ms. Dorney that the Committee needs to be kept up to date on the
happenings in the recreation, such as when the aquatic center reopened for swimming. Mr.
O’Hara said the Committee should be one of the first to know. Ms. Villagran said that new
executive orders from Miami-Dade County were coming in so quickly, the recreation
department needed to make sure facilities were open with the proper coverage and that
signage with rules were in place; sometimes orders came in after 5pm on Fridays with opening
beginning on Monday. Ms. Borja said that communication is one of the complaints from
residents, but she understands that Ms. Dorney needs to make decisions that the Commission
is not involved with. Mr. O’Hara said that the residents look to the Committee for answers. Mr.
O’Hara told Ms. Dorney that when big things are happening the Committee has the right to
know about them, especially since Covid. Ms. Borja said she would like to be part of the
capital projects but not necessarily a representative to the community. Ms. Dorney said she
provides monthly updates during Committee meetings and responds when additional
questions are asked.
Committee members noticed that it was reported that there was a sexual assault charge
against a coach on the fields. Ms. Dorney said that the coach was not affiliated with Miami
Shores nor was he on staff. Ms. Dorney added that everyone hired through recreation,
including athletic coaches, are Level 2 background screened. The coach in question was
privately hired by a parent to coach his children. Ms. Borja said that a crisis response is
needed so that important information could be given out to the community since the story was
on various social media sites.
Concerning contracts for the travel sports teams and swim team, Ms. Dorney said all the
contracts are open ended. All of the sports and swim team pay a rental fee for use of the
facility and participants are charged through the travel league or club. Mr. O’Hara told Ms.
Dorney that residents should be charged a different fee than nonresidents for these programs,
adding that residents are paying the tax dollars for the facilities. Ms. Dorney said that the swim
team is a highly competitive team, nationally ranked 97th out of 3000. Mr. O’Hara would like
Ms. Dorney to include nonresident fees in travel team contracts. Ms. Dorney noted that the
swim team has had to cap the enrollment numbers on the team and there is currently a long
waiting list. Mr. O’Hara told Ms. Dorney that there should be a benefit to residents on travel
sports/swim team; this needs to be addressed at the next meeting
Ms. Mercado made a motion to have recreation staff research either adding a surcharge
for nonresidents or offering a discounted rate for residents on all activities run on
Village property by an outside entity. Motion seconded by Ms. Henry and unanimously
approved. Ms. Borja said this could be used as an opportunity to generate additional revenue
for recreation. Ms. Dorney said currently the swim team pays a per lane, per hour rate, not a
per member rate. Ms. Borja suggested having nonresidents pay a surcharge to the Village. It
was also noted that swim team is an annual program while the travel sports teams are
seasonal. Ms. Villagran will contact different municipalities to see how their programs are
charged and bring the results to January’s meeting. Ms. Villagran noted that in her experience
other cities do not charge a surcharge and that travel/club is about skill.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.