Meeting Minutes 

Recreation District #11

May 16, 2023

Roll Call: Scott Newton, Ricky Young Jr., Alfredo Soler, Brandon Harrell, Bart Soileau,

Absent: None

Also in attendance:   Lisa Palisi

Called to order: 7:11

Public Forum:  None.

Motion to approve previous month’s minutes:  Motion by Alfredo Soler.  Second by Scott Newton.

Old Business. Motion to approve financial reports: Ask Howard about the difference in professional fees

From last year to this year on page 3. Lisa reminded the board that we have a new accounting service, so the difference may just be the way they are classifying things.  She will reach out to Howard for an explanation. Motion to approve by Alfredo Soler.  Second by Scott Newton.  All in favor.  Any opposed? Motion passes.

Director’s Report by Lisa Palisi: Discussion about end of season tournaments. 

Folsom hosted 7/8 boys and 13/15 boys.

Lee Road hosted 7/8 girls & 9/10 boys.

Abita hosted 11/12 boys& 9/10 girls.

Lisa reported that several teams had to play games without a full team due to people going out of town once school ended.  We started the season a few weeks earlier to try to avoid this problem, but it was still an issue. Lisa reported on people being ejected from the park due to inappropriate behavior.

Discussion about email from parent, and my response. A parent accused one of the 7/8 teams of having a stacked team, and stated that he and his family were leaving Abita.  I asked the parent to not base his entire experience at Abita on one thing, when his child had wonderful coaches in the fall and for the current season.

(Bart Soileau arrived to the meeting.)  Alfredo discussed rating the kids for evaluations to attempt to balance the teams more fairly.  Discussion by the board.

New Business:  Brandon read the resolution to set the millage rate for 2023.

Vote:   Bart Soileau  Yea

Ricky Young  Yea

Alfredo Soler  Yea

Scott Newton  Yea

Brandon Harrell  Yea

 All in favor.  Motion passes to set the millage rate for 2023 at 10 mills.

Discussion about the responsibilities of the board chairman were explained by Brandon.

Ricky asked about the paint peeling on the parking bollards.  Lisa told him that she plans to have them repainted when the parking lot is restriped.  Bart asked if the board needs to talk with the mayor about the busses continuing to park at the Park “N Ride since we need more parking when games are going on at the park.

Next meeting:  June 20, 2023

Meeting Adjourned:  7:53

                                                                             St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                         22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

    Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547 

                                                                                       Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                         Alfredo Soler, Secretary                                                                                             

                                                                          Ricky Young, Jr.                                                    Scott Newton                                                                                                                                                                                       Bart Soileau                                                            Lisa Palisi

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Monday, July 17, 2023 at 6:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.      Approval of Minutes from last meeting/hearing

5.      Public Forum

6.      Old Business

a.       Financial Report

b.      Director’s Report – Lisa Palisi

7.      New Business                                                                                                                                       

8.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555,                                                              describing the assistance that is necessary.

Recreation District #11

 July 18, 2023

Roll Call: Ricky Young Jr., Bart Soileau, Scott Newton, Brandon Harrell

Absent: Alfredo Soler

Also in attendance:   Jason King, Kevin Davis, James Rice, Eddie Dowd, Taylor Miguez, Angie Hahn, Lisa Palisi

Called to order: 7:08

Public Forum:  Jason King asked about an update from last meeting regarding working on the fields.  Brandon asked Lisa about report from Lobb’s.  Lisa reported that Lobb’s Horticulture will maintain the fields, spray for ants and mole crickets, fertilize, and herbicide.  Discussion ensued.

No further public comment.

Motion to approve previous month’s minutes:  by Scott Newton. Second by Bart Soileau. Motion passes.                  

Motion to approve financial reports: by Scott Newton.  Second by Bart Soileau.

Director’s Report by Lisa Palisi: Pickleball starts July 31 through October 31 during Open Gym hours, Monday through Friday from 10:00 – 5:00.  Participants will pay $5 per quarter.  Out of district participants will pay a yearly ODF fee of $25.  There are no nighttime hours yet, but we will add those once fall practices start.  Pickleball and basketball will share the gym.  Bart Soileau asked how much was spent on pickleball supplies.  I told him that I bought some balls, and 2 nets, but I didn’t have the exact dollar amount at the moment. Bart suggested that we have an agenda item for field management and maintenance. Lisa asked him if he would like to keep track of projects, and he said that he would.

New Business:  Brandon reporting on the letter from Mayor Curtis regarding his desire to terminate the current CEA and to enter a new agreement with the town for the ballfields. Brandon stated that we don’t know why the mayor wants to terminate a 40 year agreement which still has 30 years left.  He also reported that the attorney for the town called him.  Brandon let him know that the recreation district has requested legal advice on how to proceed with this matter.  Bart reported that he was confused by the letter so he went to talk with the mayor.  The mayor reported to Bart that communication between the town and the recreation district is poor, which Lisa and Brandon disagreed with. The letter is leverage and the mayor wants to be heard by the board.  Brandon explained to Bart situation regarding the buses.  Lisa reported what happened regarding the buses parking at the Park ‘N Ride.  Bart stated that he felt like the letter is a threat to him and his family because his children participate in sports at the recreation district.  Further discussion ensued.  Lisa then asked the other attendees if there was something they wanted to discuss at the board meeting.  Eddie reported that he recently moved to Abita, and he was curious about what activities are offered at the recreation district, and what future plans are for development.  Lisa explained that we are mitigating wetlands on the next phase of development. Eddie asked about public input.  Lisa reported that there’s a public comment period at every meeting, or that Eddie could come to the gym office to talk anytime or ask questions.  Bart would like to see a timeline for future development.  Ricky said the Facebook profile page is unattractive, and needs to be updated.  Jason asked us to put the link for Abita Braves on our page.

Next meeting:  August 15, 2023

Meeting Adjourned. 7:45

                                                                             St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                         22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

    Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547 

                                                                                       Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                         Alfredo Soler, Secretary                                                                                             

                                                                          Ricky Young, Jr.                                                    Scott Newton                                                                                                                                                                                       Bart Soileau                                                            Lisa Palisi

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Monday, August 14, 2023 at 6:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.      Approval of Minutes from last meeting/hearing

5.      Public Forum

6.      Old Business

a.       Financial Report

b.      Director’s Report – Lisa Palisi

7.      New Business                                                                                                                                       

8.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, August 19, 2023.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555,                                                              describing the assistance that is necessary.

                                                                Recreation District #11

August 15, 2023

Roll Call: Ricky Young Jr., Bart Soileau, Alfredo Soler, Scott Newton, Brandon Harrell

Absent: None.

Also in attendance:   Emily Couvillon, Jason King, Kevin Davis, Angie Hahn, Taylor Miguez, Jessica Schilling, Lisa Palisi

Called to order: 7:08

Motion to approve previous month’s minutes:  by Alfredo Soler. Second by Scott Newton. Motion passes.                   

Public Forum:  Jason King reported that we need to order dirt to fill the trenches on the field by the gym where the electricians dug to bury the lines to install lights.  I informed him that the trenches were filled in with a load of dirt, and another load of dirt was delivered Friday so that Gary can fill in again.

Taylor Miguez asked if a practice schedule is posted.  Lisa reported that when we have our recreation activities going on, we don’t have fields available to rent.   She asked again about the practice schedule being posted, and Lisa reported that it is posted at the park. She is looking for a field to rent for a semi-pro football team to [practice starting in November or December.  Brandon asked if she checked with any of the high schools, and she said she is doing that.  She’s looking for pricing and availability for guys from Mississippi and around here to practice.

Brandon asked for financial reports.  Lisa reported that we did not receive the bank statement from Whitney.    

Bank balances are as follows:

CBT Beginning balance was $144,110.12.  Ending balance is $161,696.51

Sinking fund balance is $17.98.

Hancock/Whitney beginning balance was $232,627.96.  ending balance is $238,498.29.

Director’s Report by Lisa Palisi: Registration for fall sports ended this past weekend.  For fall baseball, we have 44 registrants so we will have two 7/8 teams, and one 9/10 team. We only had 4 boys register for 11/12 and 1 for 13/15 so we will not have teams for those age groups.  For softball, we will  had 5 girls for 7/8, 1 team for 9/10, 4 girls for 11/12 and 1 girl for 13/15.  Lee Road didn’t have enough for a 13/15 softball team either. We will play Coquille and lee Road because Folsom didn’t have any teams for fall baseball or softball. We have 77 players registered for flag football, so we will have two 5/6 teams, three 7/9 teams and two 10/12 teams. I still need coaches for 10/12 football and U6 and U8 soccer.  I received the paperwork from Mr. McHugh regarding working on wetlands mitigation.  For Thomas Brown the cost is $18,500.  For Kelly McHugh, the cost is $20,500.  Fredo asked if this was the same firm we worked with in the past.  Lisa and Brandon replied that PAS Interiors took care of the wetlands mitigation for the gym. Discussion ensued.  Motion to accept by Scott Newton.  Second by Bart Soileau. Lisa asked if we could rehire Gary full time. Brandon stated that we could hire him to maintain the fields, but we would have to look at this matter again in October when we know what the situation is with the town regarding the use of the fields. Brandon reported that the town sent their inspector to the park yesterday to take pictures of the structures at the park, Josh Mullen and Mr. L.C.

New Business: 

 Bart asked why we couldn’t invite the mayor to our meeting to discuss the CEA.  Jason asked about talking with the town. Brandon said the town’s attorney suggested that the attorneys speak about the situation.

Kevin asked why we can’t invite the mayor to our meeting. Fredo reported that the mayor has attended a

Recreation meeting in the past, and he has spoken with the mayor several times, but the mayor did not bring up this issue.   The mayor sent a letter.  Bart stated that the mayor explained to him that it was a reaction to the bus situation.  Angie asked if there’s a way to get to the root of the problem. She asked where’s the problem start so that it can be resolved.  Alfredo replied, “We don’t know.” She stated that both sides are bullheaded and won’t cooperate.  Emily explained that the parish ordinance doesn’t allow the busses to park at the Park ‘N Ride.  Bart stated that the town said the busses were the catalyst for the letter.  Kevin Davis stated that in his opinion the bus situation is an opportunity, or leverage, for the town to ask for more money.

Brandon reported that our two CEAs with the town cover the Park “n Ride and the ballfields.  Both CEAs state that the recreation district has authority over both of these areas. Brandon reported that he received permission from the school principals for the busses to park at the schools.  Angie asked if anyone spoke with the bus drivers personally and why we didn’t call the Sheriff’s Office.  Fredo stated that we didn’t want to get the sheriff’s office involved.  Bart stated that people complain to the town about the rec board, but that in the past 9 months that he has been involved, he believes the board follows the rules.  Alfredo stated that if people have complaints, they need to let the recreation district know.  Brandon added that the board members are coaches, and that people call them and talk with them when they have an issue about something at the park.

Ricky suggested that there needs to be a discussion. Angie tried to encourage the board to meet with the mayor.  Emily explained that a quorum cannot meet without having a public meeting.  Jason asked if participants at the recreation district know about the current issue with the CEA.  Jessica suggested using social media to inform people of what’s going on.

Brandon asked Emily to reach out to Adam to arrange a meeting with the mayor.

Next meeting:  September 19, 2023

Meeting Adjourned.

                                                                      St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                   22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

    Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547 

                                                                                       Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                         Alfredo Soler, Secretary                                                                                             

                                                                         Scott Newton                                                 Bart Soileau                                                                                                                                                                                          Lisa Palisi, Director

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Tuesday September 5, 2023 at 3:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.     New Business

      a. Discuss termination of Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the town of Abita Springs

      b. Public comment                                                                                                                                      

5.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, August 19, 2023.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555,                                                              describing the assistance that is necessary.

                                                                            Recreation District #11

September 6, 2023

Roll Call: Scott Newton, Alfredo Soler, Bart Soileau, Brandon Harrell

Absent: None.

New Business:  Discussion of letter from the mayor to termination the cooperative endeavor agreement with the recreation district.  Brandon reported that we heard from the mayor’s office at 4:00 today that the mayor thinks he has a way to govern by ordinance instead of terminating the lease.  Most of it has to do with the openness of the park and availability to competitive outside tournaments.  Fredo responded that we will discuss the ordinances suggested by the mayor at our regularly scheduled September meeting which will be September 19.  Brandon asked if anybody has any comments. Brandon reported that ARC was started years ago.  At some time in the early 2000’s, St. Tammany Parish created the recreation districts.  At that time, the town and the recreation district entered into cooperative endeavor agreements regarding the use of the property for recreation.  Brandon reported that the termination of the CEA by the mayor was unexpected.

Brandon reported that he’s been on the board for 6 years, Fredo’s been on the board for about two and a half years, and Scott and Bart started this year.  We had a fifth board member who resigned last week, so if anyone knows someone to recommend to the parish council, let us know.  Fredo reported that the board is a checks and balances for how the recreation money is spent.  Kevin Caillouet asked why the park is locked.  Brandon reported that the park is locked due to incidents of vandalism that happened in the past, and because we have a small staff.  He also informed those attending that

Lady asked what is our yearly budget,  when do we address that budget in an open meeting, is it like other public agencies, how many employees do you have, and when you discuss what activities you have, is the only way to respond to that to attend a meeting.  People don’t come to a lot of meetings, but it’s important to see that information on your website.  Brandon reported that we review the budget and update the budget in November to present the budget in December.

Also in attendance:   Emily Couvillon, Lisa Palisi

Called to order: 7:00

Public Forum:

Next meeting:  September 19, 2023

Meeting Adjourned: 7:45

                                                                  St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                

 22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

    Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547 

                                                                           Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                                  Alfredo Soler,  Secretary                                                                                             

                                                           Scott Newton                                                                 Bart Soileau                                                                                                    

                                                           Lisa Palisi, Director

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Friday, September 14, 2023 at 5:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.      Approval of Minutes from last meeting/hearing

5.      Public Forum

6.      Old Business

a.       Financial Report

b.      Director’s Report – Lisa Palisi

7.      New Business                                                                                                                                       

8.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, October 17, 2023

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact                                                                                                                                      Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555, describing the assistance that is necessary.

                                                             Recreation District #11

September 19, 2023

Roll Call: Scott Newton, Alfredo Soler, Bart Soileau, Brandon Harrell

Absent: None.

Also in attendance:   Emily Couvillon, Lisa Palisi

Called to order: 7:15

Motion to approve previous month’s minutes:  by Alfredo Soler. Second by Scott Newton. Motion passes.                   

Lisa reported that the financial reports were not received prior to this meeting.

Public Forum:  None.

Director’s Report by Lisa Palisi: Lisa reported that soccer games are ongoing.  Football games have started.  T-Ball practices started this week, and games will begin October 7.  Lisa reported that she was thinking about asking for a storage shed by the gym, but realized that the mechanical yard on the side of the gym is paved and fenced with a lock on the gate.  She spoke with A-1 Fence about getting a price for a cover to store the golf cart given to the park for Gary to use while weed eating around the premises. A-1 does not have a price for the cover. Fredo asked about how big the mechanical area, and Lisa suggested we take a look after the meeting.  Basketball registration is going on.  Practices will start in November with games starting in December.  Lisa explained that we need to have an earlier cutoff date due to problems getting uniforms delivered before games start.  Brandon suggested ordering uniforms ahead of time. Fredo suggested that we need to find someone who gets what we need in a timely manner.

New Business: 

 Brandon reported that he and Lisa just left the town council meeting where they discussed the ordinances and it seems the entire town council is on board with “fixing things” here in their mind.  It appears to match the town’s master plan.  They want sidewalks here, a water feature here, an open basketball court.  They really want everything open which they say is for the master plan to make Abita a destination.  They also said something about more participation, but we have good participation.  Fredo, feels the town is trying to use their influence to do what’s best for them, but not what’s best for the people who already participate at the park.  Fredo stated this is even more reason to move forward with developing the land we have as quickly as possible.  Brandon reported that he asked Lisa to get participation numbers from the past 5 years for our programs.  Since 2018, there have been 7,350 participants, 12,000 participants from other teams participated.  For our current fall sports, about 25% of participants live within the town limits.  Branson suggested that we look at the past two years to see if the fall sports is an accurate representation of this number of people who reside within town limits and send it to the town because if so, they are trying to make decisions for 75 % of people who do not live in the town.  Brandon added to his letter to the town that the City of Covington has 11 parks.  Other cities don’t have any ordinances over the parks in their area.  Fredo would like us to put as much information about our programs on the website and Facebook page so that our constituents are aware of what’s going on at the park.  Lisa reported that she thought the town was planning to vote on the ordinances until park supporters showed up at the meeting.  The mayor reported that the ordinances were just suggestions and he tabled the vote.  Robyn, one of our soccer coaches asked who is making complaints because anything she ever asked Lisa for was taken care of.  Brandon said that he saw where the town wants us to have all star teams, but the problem is that you have to have all star teams to play. 

Fredo reported that the baseball all star team last year ran into a problem with finding tournaments to play in last year, and the kids ended up playing in a travel tournament which was not fun for them! Fredo suggested that the board consider a 5- year plan for planning the future of the park.  Lisa reported that we will have a public meeting for input as part of moving forward with the development of the property once we get the mitigation taken care of.

Next meeting:  October 17, 2023

Meeting Adjourned: 7:45

                                                                  St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                 22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547

                                                                                       Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                        Alfredo Soler, Secretary                                                                                             

                                                                     Scott Newton                                               Bart Soileau                                                                                                

                                                                        Lisa Palisi, Director

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Friday, October 13, 2023 at 5:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.      Approval of Minutes from last meeting/hearing

5.      Public Forum

6.      Old Business

a.       Financial Report

b.      Director’s Report – Lisa Palisi

7.      New Business                                                                                                                                       

8.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, November 21, 2023

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555, describing the assistance that is necessary.

   St. Tammany Parish Recreation District #11                                                                 22519 Highway 36, Abita Springs, La. 70420  

    Rd11director@abitasports.com, 985-888-6547

                                                                                    Brandon Harrell, Board Chairman                           Alfredo Soler, Secretary                                                                                             

                                                                   Scott Newton                                                         Bart Soileau                                                                                                    

                                                                   Lisa Palisi, Director

Notice of Public Board Meeting

Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 7:00 P.M.

St. Tammany Recreation District #11 Gym

Multi-Use Facility – Conference Room

22519 HWY. 36 East, Abita Springs, LA

Notice Posted:  Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at 4:00 P.M.

Agenda:

1.      Call to Order

2.      Pledge of Allegiance

3.      Roll Call

4.      Approval of Minutes from last meeting/hearing

5.      Public Forum

6.      Old Business

a.       Financial Report

b.      Director’s Report – Lisa Palisi

7.      New Business

8.      Executive Session                                                                                                                                       

9.      Adjournment – Next monthly regular Board meeting –Tuesday, December 19, 2023

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Park Director Lisa Palisi at 985-871-7555, describing the assistance that is necessary.