Created on 01-24-2013

 
(c)  
Waiver. By written order, the County Commissioners Court may waive or all or a 
portion of this Policy as to any facility or any portion of any facility. 
 
 
(d)  
Other Rules. The provisions of this Policy do not negate or impact the 
implementation of any other duly instituted laws, rules or ordinances which apply to areas also 
included in this Policy. Applicable City of Austin ordinances, and other municipal ordinances, 
will apply within the jurisdiction of those municipalities in addition to the more stringent 
provisions of this Policy. 
 
57.006  
Effective Date. This Policy will be effective ______________. 2012, and will 
replace any other related policies and procedures in place prior to this Effective Date. 
 
 
 
 
Created on 01-24-2013

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#_______________ 
 
TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS’ COURT AGENDA REQUEST 
 
 
 
Voting Session: July 1, 2008 
Work Session: ___________   
 
 
 
 
I. 
   A.  Request made by:  Joseph P. Gieselman, TNR  Phone #    [phone] 
 
B.
 
Requested Text: 
 
Discuss and take appropriate action regarding proposed new park hours and a new 
park rule prohibiting tobacco products at youth events. 
 
 
  C.  Approved by:  _________________________________________________________ 
 
 
Gerald Daugherty, Precinct 3 Commissioner
 
 
II. 
A.  Backup memorandum and exhibits should be attached and submitted with this Agenda 
Request (Original and eight copies of agenda request and backup). 
 
B.  Please list all the agencies or officials’ names and telephone numbers that might be 
affected or involved with the request.  Send a copy of this Agenda Request and backup to 
them: 
 
 
Charles Bergh, TNR Parks 
Robert Armistead, TNR Parks 
854-9437 
854-9437 
Kurt Nielsen, TNR Parks 
854-7275 
Dan Perry, TNR Parks 
Dan Chapman, TNR Parks 
263-9114 
263-9114 
 
 
III.  Required Authorizations: Please check if applicable: 
 
Planning and Budget Office (854-9106) 
 
_____Additional funding for any department or for any purpose 
 
_____Transfer of existing funds within or between any item budget 
 
_____Grant 
Human Resources Department (854-9165) 
 
_____A change in your department’s personnel (reclassifications, etc.) 
Purchasing Office (854-9700) 
 
_____Bid, Purchase Contract, Request for Proposal, Procurement 
County Attorney’s Office (854-9415) 
 
_____Contract, Agreement, Policy & Procedure 
 
AGENDA REQUEST DEADLINE: This Agenda Request complete with backup memorandum 
and exhibits should be submitted to the County Judge’s Office no later than 5:00 PM on Monday 
for the following week’s meeting.  Late or incomplete requests may be deferred to the next 
subsequent meeting. 
Created on 01-24-2013

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TRANSPORTATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES 
 
 
 
 
JOSEPH P. GIESELMAN, EXECUTIVE MANAGER
 
411 West 13th Street 
Executive Office Building 
PO Box 1748 
Austin, Texas 78767 
[phone] 
FAX [phone] 
 
June 19, 2008 
 
MEMORANDUM 
 
 
TO: 
 
Members of the Commissioners’ Court 
 
FROM: 
Joseph P. Gieselman, Executive Manager, TNR 
 
SUBJECT: 
Discuss and take appropriate action regarding proposed new park hours and a new 
park rule prohibiting tobacco products at youth events. 
 
Proposed Motion: 
 
A.
  Discuss proposed new park hours and take appropriate action. 
B.
  Discuss a new rule prohibiting tobacco products at youth athletic events and take 
appropriate action. 
 
Summary and Recommendation: 
 
Park Hours 
Our goal is to establish simplified and consistent park hours throughout our system.  We 
understand that some of our facilities require different hours of operation due to special needs, 
but we would like to minimize system variations. 
 
The majority of our parks currently have four time changes per year for day-use closing. (See 
attachment 1 for current park hours.)  This system of changing hours four times during a year is 
confusing to the public and is difficult for staff to manage.   
 
This problem has become accentuated with the shift of the beginning of Daylight Savings time to 
early March and shifting the end of DST to early November.  Thus, park staff are trying to close 
parks when there is still up to an hour of daylight remaining.  This is a disservice to those visitors 
who want to either enjoy the added daylight and/or view the sunset, and often puts our staff in 
confrontational situations when trying to close the parks at the approved time. 
 
 
Created on 01-24-2013

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To standardize, as much as practical, system hours and to accommodate our visitors by adjusting 
for the changes in Daylight Savings times, park staff propose the new park hours outlined in 
attachment 2.  These changes would result in the majority of our parks closing at civil twilight. 
For clarification purposes, below are listed some commonly accepted definitions: 
Twilight: The time before sunrise and after sunset where it is still light outside, 
but the sun is not in the sky.  
Civil Twilight: The time period when the sun is no more than 6 degrees below the 
horizon at either sunrise or sunset. The horizon should be clearly defined and the 
brightest stars should be visible under good atmospheric conditions (i.e. no 
moonlight, or other lights). One still should be able to carry on ordinary outdoor 
activities.  In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening 
after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on 
ordinary outdoor activities.  
Generally speaking, civil twilight begins approximately 30 minutes after 
sunset, and ends approximately 30 minutes before sunrise.  
 
We propose changing the Tom Hughes Park off-season closing schedule. Currently, the park is 
closed on weekdays during October, November, and February, and is closed altogether during 
December and January.  We propose closing the park altogether from November 1
st
 through 
March 31
st
.  Historically, Tom Hughes experiences extremely low visitation levels during these 
months, and it is confusing to visitors to have the park open different days during the week. 
 
Currently, sport facility hours are 8:00 AM - 10:30 PM; however, many sports events organizers 
have requested an earlier start time, and we have determined that events are ending earlier.  To 
accommodate this, staff proposes adjusting sports facilities hours to 7:00AM - 10:00PM. 
 
Also, to better align sport field closure dates with the dormant season, staff propose extending 
field closure by two weeks.  Currently, fields are closed to play from December 15
th 
through 
February 15
th.  
 Staff proposes changing the closure dates to December 1
st
 through February 15
th.
 
 
New Park Rule 
Staff proposes implementing a rule prohibiting the use of tobacco products at youth athletic 
events.  A concerned constituent whose son plays little league baseball at one of our facilities 
brought the issue to staff’s attention.  Upon investigation, staff determined that a majority of 
municipal youth organizations have a rule prohibiting the use of tobacco products at their 
facilities.  The new rule would read “The use of tobacco products are prohibited at this facility 
during youth events”.  
 
Budgetary and Fiscal Impact: 
We do not anticipate any financial impact as a result of these changes. 
 
 
Background: 
Created on 01-24-2013

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