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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ( PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1994- 7:00 P.M. CENTRAL PARK CONFERENCE ROOM 1000 KRENEK TAP ROAD MEMBERS PRESENT: Marci Rodgers, Chairman; Gayle Schmidt, Vice Chairman; George Dresser; Ron Gay; Greg Taggart; Penny Said; Robert DeOtte; Barry Harding; and Nancy Crouch, Council Liaison MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Deborah Webb; Mike Winner; Carol Reynolds Steve Beachy, Director; Eric Ploeger, Asst. Director; Curtis Bingham, Parks Operations Superintendent; Bridgette George, Staff Assistant I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Marci. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were approved with one correction. The minutes were amended to read "Greg suggested using the land at the corner of 2818 and Business Hwy. 6", instead of "Hwy. 6", III. HEAR VISITORS: No visitors were present. IV. PRESENTATION BY MR. BERT HERMAN CONCERNING POSSIBLE PARKLAND DEDICATION IN ZONE 4: Mr. Herman did not attend the meeting, so Steve informed the Board of the conversation he had with him. Mr. Herman would like to donate a tract of land located between the Windwood subdivision and the Raintree subdivision. There should be about 100-120 dwelling units constructed adjacent to the land he's wanting to donate. Steve mentioned that he has not seen any plats yet, so he can't make any recommendations at this time. Mr. Herman has not depicted an exact location for this dedication. However, the general area is located next to an electrical switch station. Ron asked about the safety issue of a park being next to a switch station. Steve stated that there is a fence around that switch station but isn't sure how effective it would beat keeping kids out. He suggested asking the Utility Department for their recommendations. The Board discussed the possibility of kids hitting balls over the fence and then attempting to climb over it to retrieve them. The Board decided to request more information regarding the exact location of the dedication and would also like recommendations from the Utility Department as to whether this would be a good spot for a park. V. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: Steve mentioned that he and George met earlier and compiled a draft copy of some future possible capital improvement items. He stated that the cost associated with each item was an estimate only. They utilized information. from previous Board discussions and rankings. RECEIVED NO" 1 0 1994 Parks & Recreation Board September 1 3, 1994 Page (2) Steve mentioned that the draft needed to be prioritized by the Board and then submitted to the Citizen's CIPCommittee. George mentioned that the following items were the main CIP issues addressed in the draft copy: acquisition of additional park land and athletic facilities; completion of the Lincoln CenterlWayne. Smith Park Corridor (LC/WSPC); neighborhood parks; and Wolf Pen Creek. Steve mentioned that the Parks and Recreation Department should have about 3.3 million dollars to utilize from the upcoming bond election in 1995. The Board discussed putting softball fields at the LC/WSPC, instead of Little League fields. Steve mentioned thatthis would take care of the Junior Girls Softball program~ stated that the Littleteague organization ~ad expressed to him that they did not feel~~tting fields at LCIWSPC would solve their problems. He stated they would rather see additional fields constructed at Southwood. Nancy asked how many more fields could be built at Southwood. Steve mentioned that two smaller little League fields could be bui It on the three small soccer fields. However, the drainage isvery bad there and that issue would have to be addressed. Steve also mentioned that there is a17 acre tract of land on the east side of Southwood that is available. Nancy reminded the Board that citizens voted down a proposition to pun:hase that exact tract of land for additional park property on the last bond election. Nancy mentioned that the. landfill would be full and available within the next five years and could possibly be used for additional athletic facilities. Steve stated that the site will not be level and would poss.ibly be limited to certain construction. Bob mentioned that Amarillo has a park, with a lake and softball diamonds, that was built on a landfill site. The Board discussed the land on Hwy.30 adjacent to the Texas Instruments plant. It is approximately 150 acres of land that could be used for a multitude of athletic facilities. Nancy mentioned that the City of College Station would have to buy utilities from Bryan at that location. She also reminded the Board that that location was at the far north side of College Station and was . concerned whether citizens would want to drive the distance to get there. She thought maybe a si~ht further south would be better. . She mentioned that there was a 176 acre tract of land for sale between Greens Prairie and Sandstone that the City might wantlo consider. The Board discussed whether citizens would support a proposition to acquire just land, or if they would support it more if the proposition included acquiring land plus athletic facilities. Nancy stated that if the Board felt that additional land and athleticfacilities was the most needed item, then that is what could be put on the bond election. Ron stated if that was done, then all the other issueS. discussed by the Board, such as existing park renovation, LCIWSPC, etc., would have to be put on hold because it would take all of the allotted parks funds to pay for the land and construction of athletic facilities. Nancy stated that another alternative would be for private enterprises to run athletic leagues. Steve mentioned that the ones he knows of up north, areiH larger communities that can support it better. He mentioned that it is big business there. They actually videotape the games .and replay them in rooms whereyou can watch yourself play while enjoying beverages, etc. I \ Nancy informed the Board that funds for Wolf Pen Creek could be attained through possible drainage funds. She stated that the City Council had discussed a possible fee that could be added to the utility bill, based on what percent your particular property contributes to drainage, based on square footage. These funds can be used for overall drainage ditch projects, greenbelt purchases, etc. She stated that city staff have been authorized to continue their study of this process. Parks & Recreation Board September 1 3, 1994 Page (3) After further discussion the Board prioritized the CIP issues listed on the draft copy. Ron motioned to make the first priority to Continue the Implementation of the Lincoln Center/Wayne Smith Park Corridor,. and the second priority to be the Acquisition of Additional Park Land for future Athletic facilities. Gayle seconded. The motion passed. Nancy asked if the acquisition .of additional park land included land for neighborhood parks. The Board stated no. The Board decided to prioritize the rest of the issues even though all the estimated bond funds would be spent on the first two items. Ron motioned for the third priority to be Provide Additional Athletic and Recreational facilities. Bob seconded. The Board approved the motion. Ron motioned to make the fourth priority Facility Upgrade and Renovation, and the fifth to. be Implementation of the Wolf Pen Creek Corridor. Greg seconded the motion. Bob was concerned with one item under facilityVpgrade and Renovation. He mentioned that the Board had previously discussed not putting ADA items on the CIPlist. Bob made a motion to amend Ron's motion by removing thellrenovation of the Adamson Lagoon bathhousell. After some discussion Greg seconded the amendment. The amendment passed by. a four to three vote. The aforementioned motion for the third and fourth priority passed. Pennyasked if any C::ollegeStation parks had emergency phones. Steve stated that the larger community parks have phones in whi.ch citizens can utilize the 911 feature without a quarter. He stated that Southwood used to have .one but it was vandalized often, so it was removed. Ron. stated that most neighborhood parks are in close proximity to houses so phones are not needed there. Gayle asked if ADA compliance projects were paid thl'oughgeneral budget funds or through a bond election. Steve stated that the department has already done some compliance with general budget funds. He also stated that Southwood Pool would be renovated in the near future with general budget funds. Barry stressed that he would like the department to bid out similar projects, such as walks, bridges, etc., at the same time. instead of one at a time, .. He stated that this should help lower the cost of the bids. He also asked about whether the parki ng lot at Lick Creek Park could be all crushed stone instead of partly concrete. Steve stated that it certainly could be. George mentioned that the department would have to comply with current city ordi nances. VI. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM REPORT: Ric reported on the current CIP projects. He stated that the Lincoln CenterlWayne Smith improvements were going well. Progress has been a little slow because of the rain but most of the walks are in and the bridges should be installed within a few days. The Oaks and Thomas improvements are being funded from the last bond election. That project wi II go out to bid the next week. Ric should receive preliminary design plans for the WPC Amphitheater rest room building within the next ten days. Those plans will then be forwarded to the City's Building Department for inspection. Then they'll be sent to the State for further review to make sure they are ADA compliant. Ric sees no problems with it passing State inspection. Marci was concerned because the Board never saw the designs for that project. Steve reminded her that a schematic was presented to the. Board at a previous meeting. Ric retrieved the plans for the Board to see. The Central Pond renovation is almost completed. The digging should be finished by Thursday. The Department will overseed with rye grass on the berms. The existing stage will be converted into a handicap fishing pier with a ramp. Steve mentioned that a pump Parks & Recreation Board September 1 3, 1 994 Page (4) system will be installed to help aerate the pond, Water will be pumped from the big pond to the small one in a fountain type setup. The small pond will then flow over into the large pond. VII. DISCUSSION OF PARKS AND RECREATION MASTERPLAN: Steve stated that staff had nothing to report on the master plan. VIII. OTHER BUS.INESS/BOARD CONCERNS: Barry was concerned that the Vince Vance concert was not advertised enough. He would have liked it publicized better. He was concerned with the low turn out. ( Marci mentioned that she heard some negative comments regarding the Barney concert. She mentioned that one complaint was about waiting in line a long time to enter the amphitheater. Steve mentionedthat this was a very unique event for the department. He stated that. restrictions were placed on the department by both KAMU and the Barney people as to how. soon people could come into the amphitheater. Steve reminded the Board that the tickets stated "gates open at 12:30 p.m.", however, people started lining up at 10:00 a.m. One reason citizens were not allowed into the amphitheater early was because Barney wason stage rehearsingwithout his costume on. Also, KAMU didn't want the gates opened early becauseltheywanted customers to. participate in the activities and entertainment they provided on Holleman Street, which lasted from 12:00-1 :30 p.m. However, a lot of people dicl~'tparticipate because they were waiting in line. Steve informed the Boardthat 14,000 ,tickets were sold for the two shows. It was the largest event held since theamphithea~eropened. He stated that they finally convinced KAMU representatives to open the gates early because of the long line. It took approximately an hour to get all of the peoplej~side the gates once they were open. Steve would have rather had the games andent~rtainment on Holleman begin at 10:00 a.m. and the gates opened as soon as Barney fini~hed rehearsing. He also stated that the first performance ended at 3:00 p.m., so as the firsLset of people were leaving and trying to get their Barney books, others were waiting in line to get in for the second performance. Marci asked about the drink issue. Steve stated that there was not an adequate supply of Coke trailers to handle the cro,^,o. He stated that initially they were going to move the one from Holleman to the amp~i~heater when the gates opened. However, the concession supervisor was unable to do that because there were so many people still waiting in line and outside the gates that th~y,^,ere purchasing drinks while they were waiting, so he couldn't c\osedown the trailer to move it. There were two trailers for the first performance, and threeforthei second. Penny stated that she purchased drinks three separate times and only waiteclabout 10 minutes each time. She also reminded the Board that the tickets stated what tinieseating would start and what time the games would start, so people should .not have been complaining about those issues. Steve mentioned that he received one complaintregarp;il"'lg seating. One customer was upset because there were no seats at the amphitheater,s? 'she asked for a refund. . Barry suggested someone writing an article for The Eagle expre~sin~ the "growing pains" that the amphitheater staff is going through while learning how to qperate the unique facility. Maybe it would curb some of the negativity that is going on; 'Barry mentioned that people are confused as to whether they can or can't bring chairsf ice chests, etc., to events since it's always changing. Steve mentioned that no two events are alike and that some events willallow those items and some won't. He stated thatt~ese issues are always advertised or printed on the ticket and everyone in attendance sho\.ll.idknow these rules. Signs are even posted outside the amphitheater gates stati ng those; rules. . ( Parks & Recreation Board September 1 3, 1994 Page (5) Gayle asked if the audience, that Barney performed for, was happy. Penny mentioned that the other parents she spoke to expected what they see on television, especially since Barney was only making five appearances this year. . They expected to see the Backyard Gang, Baby Bop, their normal setting and backdrops, etc. It was a let down because only Barney performed. She also mentioned that the heat contributed to the frustration. She felt that it should have been at another time of the year or even another time of the day, not the middle ohhe afternoon. Penny did mention that all of the staff members she came in contact with were very friendly, even though they did not know who she was. Bob asked if more information could be acquired on the landfill. Steve stated that he would ask Mark Smith, Public Services Director, to give a presentation on possible landfill uses at a future meeting. IX. ADIOURN: The Board adjourned at 9:34 p,m.