The Galveston Park Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to appoint a task force to meet and bring recommendations forward for the promotion of events for beach parks managed by the Park Board.
Park Board Chair Dr. Craig Brown said one example of a concept for promoting events would be to hire a promoter that would represent the park board in management of those events. Listen
The board appointed Trustee Reneé Adame as chair of the task force, as well as Marie Robb, Joyce Calvert McLean, Buzz Elton and any other park board members who wish to participate.
The task force will schedule and hold a meeting, which will be open to the public, to discuss possible concepts for promoting events, according to Brown.
The board voted unanimously to award a $23,000 incentive bonus to Park Board Executive Director Kelly de Schaun following a review of her performance in executive session.
The board also voted unanimously to approve a $15,000 per year salary increase for de Schaun.
The board voted unanimously to re-elect Brown as chair of the board, and re-elect Melvin Williams as vice chair.
Brown appointed Dr. Jens Figlus, a professor at Texas A & M University at Galveston’s Maritime Systems Engineering Department, to the Beach Maintenance Advisory Committee to replace Dr. Tom Linton, who will serve in an advisory position to the committee.
Brown also named McLean to the BMAC.
The board voted unanimously to approve, on first reading, a change of the board’s by-laws to require that the chair of a standing committee be a park board member. The board will consider a second reading of the change during its September 25 meeting.
The board received an update from the Louis Berger Group, the park board’s consultant concerning FEMA projects, concerning the remaining projects funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The park board has completed 80 percent of all of their projects, and has received payment from FEMA for these,” Brown said.
The remaining projects, which account for 20 percent of the FEMA projects, total $8 million.
The board voted unanimously to direct the Louis Berger Group to work with FEMA to obtain partial funding for the Seawolf Ticket Booth project, and to designate the remaining funds for an alternate project. The alternate project would be brought to the board for consideration.
The board received an update regarding the master plan for the East End Beach Parks. Michael Gaertner, a consultant architect, and David Hoover, director of Galveston’s Economic Development Department, gave a presentation concerning the master plan.
The lands include Stewart Beach Park area to the Apffel Park area.
“The park board is looking at a master plan for those lands so that they will have a plan that will promote their growth for tourists and locals alike, and will be a productive economic engine for Galveston,” Brown said.
All other items were approved by unanimous vote with Trustee Adame absent. Agenda