25278 Park and Recreation Month

22:59Resolution number 25278, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, declaring the month of July 2025 as Park and Recreation Month in Pasco County. Whereas Pasco County's parks, recreation, and natural resources departments programs and facilities are essential services that enhance our quality of life by providing a balance of athletic, social, cultural, and recreational opportunities, building self-esteem,

23:30teaching life skills, encouraging environmental awareness, and providing public spaces for For every citizen to enjoy. And whereas Pasco County's parks, recreation, and natural resources facilities support tournaments and special events that boost our economy, enhance property values, attract new business, and increase tourism. And whereas the Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department provides a diverse inventory of facilities, fields, fields,

24:01preserves and conservation areas, as well as campsites, ramps for water access, beach areas, picnic areas, playgrounds, and swimming pools for the public to enjoy. And whereas the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department maintains and manages facilities that help build strong communities, excuse me, support family unity and strengthen neighborhood involvement.

24:27Mm-hmm.

24:28And whereas our parks, trails, and blue water showcase ecological beauty, provide space to enjoy nature, help maintain clean air and water, and protect wildlife. And whereas recreational and outdoor activities, adaptive recreation, special needs summer camps, inclusive programming, and leisure education are essential to the well-being and rehabilitation of countless individuals in our community. And whereas the

24:58Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Department oversees 38 park locations and more than 20,000 acres of parkland and open space. And whereas, launched in 1985, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Park and Recreation Month. This year's theme, Build Together, Play Together, reminds us of the contributions of parks and recreation professionals who maintain our counties and

25:28country's parks. And whereas the local and state parks maintained by the Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department, are vital to the well being and quality of life of every citizen and visitor of Pasco County. Now, therefore, be a resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, the said board hereby declares July 2025 as Park and Recreation Month in Pasco County and celebrates the dedicated

25:58work of the Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Department. Down in resolved in regular session with a quorum present and voting this 15th day of July 2025.

26:11Move approval.

26:12Second. All in favor? Aye. This is my res resolution, but I'll go last so I'll I'll let Commissioner Oakley speak first if he'd like to.

26:21M all I can do is thank you every day y'all are out there. You got a tough job 'cause Um The fact that you got all these bills all over the county. you have more people wanting to be on those fields than anyone I mean, if we were charging a greater amount of money we'd bring in all kind of money for this job. So 'Cause people love to be on the fields and y'all do a good job at keeping the fields up and and all. So we need to as a board we need to make sure we support you now and in the future.

26:51So 'cause we're not slowing down anytime soon. The growth is coming and a lot of kids are coming to Pasco County and they need to have good fields. So thank you. Mr. Wait,

27:04You know, there's there's politics and then there's sports field politics I've learned in this job. And That's probably the more difficult of the two, to be quite honest, in balancing the wants and the needs and the demands of field times and parents and coaches. So, you know, know that we recognize those challenges that you guys walk a tight rope trying to figure out and balance every day to provide exceptional service

27:34and a fantastic experience to everybody who uses our fields. So glad you guys are here today and thank you for all your work.

27:44Mr. Yeager.

27:45So one thing I want to touch on is when you think of parks, people have weddings at parks, they have birthday parties, right? So it's more than just um the fields, but you know, as a mom of five, we have spent so much time at parks and fields and you know, helping restore those fields and um just making memories of it feels like yesterday our kids were playing T ball. Like there's so many memories made in parks. So just thank you guys for everything you do for keeping everything nice.

28:15Um I'm out in Moon Lake Park every two weeks and I know how hard you guys work on that park to keep it beautiful and it's just absolutely gorgeous. So thank you.

28:26Commissioner Yeager. I think you guys parks have the best job. We do too. Uh we g y I mean y you get you get to have people have fun with people. We just had the pe pretrial folks up here, et cetera? Different type of thing. You guys get to see most people having fun, other than the sports politics or who's getting one feel where. But uh w and what you guys do is great. Uh was I was up at Veterans Park over the weekend with my uh grandson, two years old, just having a ball in the in the splash pad. families after families were coming in, coming out, still probably like saying twenty, thirty

28:56minutes, whatever, there was a birthday party going on. Just that quality of life of having a place to go. And what you guys have done with Sun West over the past year. Uh two years has been phenomenal. Thank you for the board for supporting it as well. It's gonna be a awesome Scullop and Music Fest coming up on July for twenty fourth and people are gonna be really excited about that one. Uh and what you guys did with the Wiregrass Sports Ranch when we had the trouble with Rad Sports coming through, you guys stepping in to make that happen. monumental achievement and just a phenomenal job. So thank you guys for the great

29:26work you do. And I don't feel bad for you, I feel great for you.

29:30So and uh so I am uh very happy to be the sponsor of this and as everyone knows here this is a big part of why I'm a commissioner's the parks. My husband and I spent twenty-five years being youth coaches and he continues on the board of Positive Positive Coaching Alliance, which uh has a presence here in Pasco County. Um Yeah, last week I took my grandsons to Sun West and they uh my husband, my son and my grandsons all did the uh Just the wake part. And absolutely

30:00loved it. And uh I w I was just thinking, you know, every vacation that my husband and I go on, it always is we always go to a park. Whether it's a a county park where we go, a city park, um state, federal, um or national park. Um it's just a big part of what we we like to do. And so um I think we have uh such a wonderful park system, but my gosh, we are straining, strainin', strainin'.

30:31And something else that comes to mind during COVID, what our Parks Department guys went through. I remember that someone spit on someone at I think it was Starkey Wilderness

30:42Park. 'Cause

30:43they weren't allowed to go in. I mean And I know what some of you have dealt with with gulp the Gulf Harbors.

30:51Some very passionate Gulf Harbors folks as we work to to uh set up our park. So um I'm just really glad that we're we're doing this here today and um as you can hear we we have great support. You have great support here for what you're doing and we'll put our money where our mouth is. Yeah. Can I

31:10can I uh real quick? I would just I would just like to say, you know, Keith, the creativity of of of your team just blended with just the natural diversity of our county. I mean coast to woods to riverine. means it's you guys are able to make a little something for everyone out there and I think it's I think it's a beautiful thing. And I I also just admire the role that you guys fill every day as as educators, environmental stewards and and community builders really. And so just grateful for for all that you do and just love our park. So thank you.

31:40Thank you. So Keith Wiley, Director, Parks, Recreation, Natural Resources. Um theme: build together, play together. So I think very appropriate. I'm not going to ask for any money today, right? Because that's that's not the purpose of this. But we are building together, right? So the the board has been very, very supportive, County Administrator, Mr. Karbala, Kathy, I don't know where Kathy is. Kathy Pearson.

32:04We're building everything and addressing all the issues that we that we've you know come across. And the board's been very supportive from increasing impact fee to allowing us at first go the general obligation bond to even see if the citizens would support funding parks, which of course they did. Um so yeah, I think and then a couple board meetings ago, Mike, uh the the loan, right? The boards uh uh approved the loan to to pursue two district parks on the east side of the county. So we are building together. But with the capital investment comes the maintaining of the facilities.

32:34And typically on these events we bring, you know, the the the the field operations team in, but honestly, it's this this is the management team for for my Know if my department and without them, we wouldn't be able to provide answers to all the questions or the reservations or the ideas to add additional infrastructure at various parks, maybe Sun West possibly is the one I'm thinking of. But um, yeah, without them, I would not be able to do my job. So very, very grateful uh for their support and their constant dedication. It's just amazing. Um, and

33:05then play together, I think you all are together. at best. We're involved in the community. We're creating memories. We're creating, you know, uh holidays sometimes we're involved in that. So yeah, this this theme I think is very, very appropriate for what we're doing in Pasco County presently at the moment. So thank you again for your support.

33:22You know, um bef before I come down and I d I think there's enough we can all go down if you guys want, but um um I am gonna be bringing up in commissioner items and just in case you're not here. um when I was in Philadelphia with the the NACO conference. there was great discussion about what all the counties were doing to celebrate the nation's two hundred and fiftieth birthday. And we're gonna be having that discuss I'm gonna set off that discussion today and I'm sure it's

33:52gonna involve you guys, so um stay tuned because we we we need to come up with some of our plans. So all right. So if you wanna stay up here then I'll go down.

34:14I wouldn't eat it.

34:26Sneakers and machine.

34:33Right.

35:11Water coaster contacts.