02-1: Draft Minutes of February 23, 2026 — original pdf

Backup

PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 The PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD convened in a REGULAR meeting on FEBRUARY 23, 2026 at 301 W 2nd Street in Austin, Texas. Chair Bazan called the PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Board Members in Attendance: Stephanie Bazan, Ted Eubanks, Diane Kearns-Osterweil, Nicole Merritt, Pedro Villalobos. Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Luai Abou-Emara, Jennifer Franklin, Shelby Orme, Kim Taylor. Board Members Absent: Kathryn Flowers, Lane Becker. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Bertha Rendon Ortiz - East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association Kate Hainsworth - Off-leash dog issues APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Parks and Recreation Board regular meeting of February 2, 2026. The motion to approve the minutes of the Parks and Recreation Board special called meeting of February 2, 2026 was approved on Board Member Merritt’s motion, Board Abou-Emara’s second on a 7-0 vote. Those abstaining were Chair Bazan and Board Member Taylor. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Presentation, discussion and approve letters of support for the Austin Parks and Recreation Operations and Maintenance Team crews, who work tirelessly performing routine maintenance as well as repairs and renovations throughout the Austin park system. Charles Vaclavik, Operations and Maintenance Division Manager; Joe Diaz, Facility Process Manager; Nate Thayer, Parks Grounds Manager, South District; Merrideth Jiles, Parks Grounds Manager, Citywide Services; Albert Homann, Building Services Manager; Felix Padron, Parks Grounds Manager, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a presentation and answered questions on how APR works with non-profit partners to maintain parks, and additional resources needed by the O&M team. Page 1 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 The motion to approve letters of support for the Austin Parks and Recreation Operations and Maintenance Team crews, who work tirelessly performing routine maintenance as well as repairs and renovations throughout the Austin park system was approved on Board Member Eubanks’ motion, Board Member Villalobos’ second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 3. Presentation, discussion and approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to authorize a contract for a recreation management software system for Austin Parks and Recreation with the recommended vendor, RecTrac, LLC d/b./a Vermont Systems, for an initial term of two years with up to four two-year extension options in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000. Steve Hammond, Golf Division Manager, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a presentation and answered questions on the evaluation matrix used to make this award recommendation, what programs will use this software, whether this software can be used to reserve baseball and soccer fields, software enhancements, why RecTrac was the selected software, and whether usability or customer experience were considered as award criteria. The motion to approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to authorize a contract for a recreation management software system for Austin Parks and Recreation with the recommended vendor, RecTrac, LLC d/b./a Vermont Systems, for an initial term of two years with up to four two-year extension options in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 was approved on Board Member Eubanks’ motion, Board Member Kearns-Osterweil’s second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 4. Presentation, discussion and approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to approve 2,369 sq. ft. of permanent waterline use and 19,261 sq. ft. of temporary workspace on parkland located at Auditorium Shores at Town Lake Metro Park. Total Mitigation to be paid by Austin Water Utility is $504,498. Paul Books, Planner Principal, Austin Parks and Recreation, Chris Irwin, Project Manager, Capital Delivery Services, and Oystein Moen, Engineer, Austin Water gave a presentation and answered questions on whether sidewalks will be blocked, whether the project team is working with the Texas School for the Deaf, the distance of the waterline from the creek, and whether the waterline will impact Gibson street park. The motion to approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to approve 2,369 sq. ft. of permanent waterline use and 19,261 sq. ft. of temporary workspace on parkland located at Auditorium Shores at Town Lake Metro Park, Total Mitigation to be paid by Austin Water Utility is $504,498, was approved on Board Member Villalobos’ motion, Board Member Taylor’s second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 5. Presentation, discussion and action on a recommendation to Austin City Council related to the Circuit of the Americas Planned Unit Development Amendment. Scott Grantham, Planner Principal, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a presentation and answered questions on whether the location of the dedicated parkland relative to a full jurisdiction area is what is impacting superiority in this case, whether the option for fee in lieu is impacting superiority in this case, why the soccer fields cannot be built in the Page 2 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 original location, whether the intention is to use the area originally slated for soccer fields for new for-profit amenities/infrastructure, what with the need for parkland in this area look like 25 years from now, the timeline for the parkland dedication, and why the proposed parkland dedication sites were rejected by APR. Board Members discussed the lack of options for the applicant to dedicate parkland given the superiority requirement that the land be located within or adjacent to full purpose jurisdiction, the economic driver that the for-profit amenity/infrastructure could provide, concerns over the possibility of fee in lieu, lack of clarity of what the ultimate outcome of this amendment would be in terms of if land will be dedicated and where and how large of a contiguous area would be dedicated. The motion to approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to not approve the Circuit of the Americas Planned Unit Development Amendment was approved on Board Member Eubanks’ motion, Board Member Kearns-Osterweil’s second on an 8-1 vote. Those voting aye were Chair Bazan, Board Members Abou-Emara, Eubanks, Franklin, Kearns-Osterweil, Merritt, Orme and Taylor. Those voting nay were Board Member Villalobos. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 6. Presentation, discussion and action on a recommendation to Austin City Council related to the South Shore Planned Unit Development Amendment. Robynne Heymans, Planner Principal and Randy Scott, Parkland Acquisition Division Manager, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a presentation and answered questions on why this item is not recommended by APR, whether APR is seeking to purchase the parcel of land in question, and whether the residents and visitors of the PUD area already have ample access to parkland. The motion to approve a recommendation to Austin City Council to not approve the South Shore Planned Unit Development Amendment was approved on Board Member Franklin’s motion, Board Member Eubanks’ second on a 7-2 vote. Those voting aye were Board Members Abou-Emara, Eubanks, Franklin, Kearns-Osterweil, Merritt, Orme and Taylor. Those voting nay were Chair Bazan and Board Member Villalobos. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 7. Discussion and approve the creation of a Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Recommendation working group. The motion to approve the creation of a Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Recommendation working group to be led by Vice Chair Flowers, was approved on Chair Bazan’s motion, Board Member Villalobos’ second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 8. Discussion, and change the date and location of the May 2026 regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board from May 18, 2026 at City Hall to May 19, 2026 at the Permitting and Development Center at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752. The motion to change the date and location of the May 2026 regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board from May 18, 2026 at City Hall to May 19, 2026 at the Permitting and Development Center at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752 was approved on Page 3 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 Board Member Merritt’s motion, Board Member Villalobos’ second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. 9. Discussion and appoint an alternate for the Parks and Recreation Board seat on the Joint Sustainability Committee. This item was tabled by the Chair. STAFF BRIEFINGS 10. Staff briefing on the TxDOT’s construction of the Austin Water wastewater line along Waller Street at Edward Rendon Sr. Metro Park at Festival Beach, including actions taken to mitigate and address the impact to the Festival Beach Food Forest. Greg Montes, Program Manager II, Austin Parks and Recreation and Kevin Koeller, P.E., Division Manager, Austin Water gave a briefing and answered clarifying questions on whether the documentation that allowed for the expansion of the food forest was not considered when this project was being planned, whether the MOU between AW and APR has been finalized and signed, why the pipeline project was not mentioned by TxDOT to FBFF members during meetings with impacted community stakeholders, whether the FBFF community is involved in the creation of the MOU, when the fencing will go up around the easement, and whether the Parks Board can put pressure on TxDOT. No action was taken on this item. 11. Staff briefing on process and procedure updates to Chapter 26 compliance. Paul Books, Planner Principal, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a presentation and answered clarifying questions on why the National Historic Preservation Act was not mentioned, and enhancing communication within APR and between departments. No action was taken on this item. 12. Staff briefing on Parks and Recreation Department community engagement events, planning updates, development updates, maintenance updates, program updates and administrative updates. Liana Kallivoka, Assistant Director, Austin Parks and Recreation gave a briefing and answered clarifying questions on the value of senior programming, and the wishbone bridge opening. No action was taken on this item. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS None. The motion to waive the rules and allow the Parks and Recreation Board to meet after 10:00 p.m. was approved on Chair Bazan’s motion, Board Member Eubanks’ second on a 9-0 vote. Vice Chair Flowers and Board Member Becker absent. Page 4 of 5 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 23, 2026 Chair Bazan adjourned the meeting at 10:08 p.m. without objection. These minutes were approved at the DATE Parks and Recreation Board meeting on Board Member NAME motion, Board Member NAME second on a VOTE.. Page 5 of 5