The Galveston Park Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a contract with Bob Randall for a beach pilot program that includes the construction, planting and maintenance of beach dunes south of the Seawall.

According to Park Board Chair Dr. Craig Brown, work on the dunes is expected to begin soon, with completion anticipated before the tourist season begins in the spring.

“This will provide a green space between the Seawall and the beach,” Brown said. Listen

The park board voted unanimously to approve a contract with Artist Boat for assistance in the beach pilot project.

The park board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution of support for the Texas Bottle Bill.  The bill, which will be presented for consideration by the State Legislature, would determine a refund amount for the return and recycling of aluminum, glass and plastic bottles.

The park board referred a contract for the leasing of vacant space in the park board’s building to the board’s Finance Committee.  The committee will work on structuring the lease for consideration by the board at a later date.

The park board deferred action regarding the Human Resource Manual.  Members of the board had additional questions regarding the manual.

The park board voted unanimously to apply for a grant from the Texas General Land Office for the reimbursement of funds for maintenance activities for the beaches on Galveston.

The park board deferred action regarding the renewal of a lease for Ashton Villa to the Galveston Historical Foundation.  Brown said the lease was deferred until the October 23 meeting to allow for research in determining the ownership of Ashton Villa.

“It was owned by the El Mina Temple,” Brown said.  “It was involved with the Shriner Group. They owned the temple and passed the temple over to the City of Galveston, but that was in the 70s, and we’re trying to track the record down from the 70s to the present time.”

The determination to be made is whether the city or the park board has ownership of the Ashton Villa.

“It’s in the charter of the City of Galveston that the park board does manage that structure, but it’s unclear if the City of the Galveston in the past passed ownership of that structure to the park board or they retained ownership,” Brown said.

The park board voted unanimously to refer to the finance committee a policy stating that “park board projects will not be approved without identifying a source of funding”.

The finance committee will provide recommendations on proceeding with the policy.

The park board voted unanimously to refer to the finance committee the goals and incentives for the executive director and finance director for FY2013.  The item was discussed in closed session.

All other items were approved by unanimous vote.  Park Board Trustee Clyde Steddum was absent.  Agenda