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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/14/2002 - Regular Minutes - Parks BoardJUN 1 8 2002 **MINUTES** College Station Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2002, at 6 :00 p.m. Parks and Recreation Department Conference Room 1000 Krenek Tap Road College Station, Texas Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Peter Lamont, Recreation Superintendent; David Gerling, Recreation Superintendent. Board Members Present: Chairman John Nichols; Don Allison; Larry Farnsworth; Glenn Schroeder; Bill Davis. Board Members Absent: Glen Davis; Jon Turton; Laura Wood (Alternate). 1. Call to order: Chairman John Nichols called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. 2. Pardon — possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meeting: Glenn Schroeder made a motion to accept the absences of Glen Davis, Jon Turton, and Laura Wood as excused. Larry Farnsworth seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 3. Hear visitors: There were no visitors present at the meeting. 4. Discussion, and possible approval of minutes from the regular meeting of April 9, 2002, and from the Park Tour that was held on April 30, 2002: Glenn made a motion to approve the minutes from April 9 1n and 30` , 2002. Don Allison seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Departmental Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Issues: Steve Beachy said that the Department is making good progress on its goals and strategies. One of the goals that the Department is falling behind schedule on is the revision of the Recreation, Park, and Open Space Master Plan because of current Capital Improvement projects. He added that the Department hopes to get back on schedule during the summer. Steve said that the new City Council has scheduled a strategic planning retreat on May 28` and 29 The Council will review the current Strategic Plan, and make amendments to it as needed. He added that Council has emphasized that they would like to streamline the Strategic Plan and focus more on key priorities. Steve will provide the Board with an update from the retreat at the June meeting. This item was intended for discussion only, and no motion was made. 6. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning the current Capital Improvement Project Report: Glenn Schroeder asked what the status was on the acquisition of the property adjacent to Woodway Park. Steve said that the City's Land Agent has been negotiating with the owner of that property. He added that the City is also in the process of trying to acquire the Jones Butler Road extension that is adjacent to the park. Steve said that he hopes that both of these land acquisitions will occur within the year. However, if they do not, there is a possibility that the City will proceed with developing the acreage that they have for Woodway Park and adding on to the development at a later time. Bill noticed that the Oaks Park Bridge Project had cost more than what was budgeted and asked if there was a way to prevent this problem from happening with other bridge projects. Eric Ploeger said that the project went over budget due to several unanticipated problems and safety concerns. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2002 Page 1 of 3 This item was intended for discussion only, and no motion was made. koo 7. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning the future Capital Improvement Program: Steve said that there were no new developments on this item. Glenn Schroeder asked what the timeline was for the appointment of a citizens' committee to review the list of potential projects. Steve said that the City Council would be appointing the committee during the summer, and that the bond election would take place in the spring. John Nichols suggested developing a bulleted list for the citizens' committee that illustrates five of the major Capital Improvement projects that have been completed during the year to show what the Department has accomplished with funds that were allotted to Parks from the last bond election. This item was intended for discussion only, and no motion was made. 8. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding a letter of support for a trails grant request to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Steve said that this item had been placed on the agenda to request the Board's support of a grant application to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. If approved, the grant funding will be used to develop an interpretive program with signs that will run along the Wolf Pen Creek trail system. These signs will tell a story about the history of the corridor and educate visitors on the flora and fauna, and the importance of wetlands. The grant has a $100,000 maximum and a 20% local match - -the grant request is approximately $76,100. The grant is being submitted by the Public Works Department, and they are asking for support from groups and organizations such as the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Brazos Greenways Council. The funding for the grant's match would come from the Wolf Pen Creek Tax Increment Finance Fund. Steve added that the City Council recently approved a construction contract for the first phase of the Wolf Pen Creek trail system. Glenn S. made a motion to authorize Chairman John Nichols to sign the letter of support. Bill Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Kris Lehde will forward the signed letter to the City's Greenways Coordinator to include with the grant application. 9. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding a recommendation for the Parks and Recreation Department's 2003 User Fees: Peter Lamont presented the proposed Parks and Recreation Department's 2003 fee recommendations. He said that after the City had conducted a fee study last year, staff realized that there were some fees that were being charged that had not been included in the fee schedule which needed to be added. The Fees Subcommittee of the Board met on March 19, 2002, and had made some recommendations. Those recommendations were included in the Board packets. Bill Davis made a motion to approve the Parks and Recreation Department's 2003 user fees. Larry Farnsworth seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Peter said that the Department has also revised the non - league user fee agreement for youth softball traveling teams. In addition to a $75 surcharge fee, these traveling teams will be charged $125 for 30 prepaid daylight field rentals or $225 for 45 prepaid daylight field rentals. Don Allison asked if staff had met with coaches and softball representatives to discuss the agreement. Peter responded that those groups had proposed the method for determining the fees. Glenn asked if there was a similar agreement for competitive soccer teams. Peter responded that the College Station United Soccer Team has joined with the College Station Soccer Club. The City has a user's agreement with them, in which they pay the City $5 per participant, per season, and are allowed one night of practice per week on the game fields. After some discussion, Don Allison asked staff to reevaluate the agreement it has with soccer during the next review cycle to ensure that there is equity between softball and soccer. The Board was in consensus on the request. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2002 Page 2 of 3 10. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the Board's Fiscal Year 2003 budget issues and priorities: Steve said that this item was placed on the agenda as a follow up from the March 2002 meeting where the Board was asked for their input into the Fiscal Year 2003 budget process. He added that service level adjustments would be requested by the Department relating to several of the Board's goals and objectives, including additional funding for Senior programs, park maintenance, and funding for the installation of batting cages and backstops at Bee Creek Park. Bill D. asked if there was a law that prevents bikes on sidewalks. He said that currently, children are bicycling to school and using the sidewalks instead of the streets. He asked if research could be done to determine: 1) what the actual law is; and 2) if that law could be waived for school children in a bike route -type situation. Steve said he could research the request. John Nichols asked if the Department had been contacted by the College Station Independent School District (CSISD) or the South Knoll Parent/Teachers Organization (PTO) regarding participation in a potential project at that elementary school. Steve responded that he had not been contacted. John said that he had been contacted by a representative from the South Knoll PTO asking for the City's participation in rubberizing an oval jogging track at the elementary school. John invited the representative to make a formal request to the Board. Steve said that an interlocal agreement between the City and Texas A &M University to replace the playground equipment at Hensel park has been forwarded to the University for review. If City staff does not hear back from the University soon, they may have to wait until the next budget cycle to start on the project. This item was intended for discussion only, and no motion was made. 11. Discussion of next meeting dates and possible agendas: The next regular meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June I V but due to several scheduling conflicts, the Board requested that the meeting be rescheduled to Thursday, June 13` The following items are scheduled to be on the June agenda: - The proposed Urban Forest Management Plan. - The Texas A &M University's Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Class presentation regarding a feasibility study of a nature center at Lick Creek Park. - Discussion of a potential jogging track project with the City, CSISD, and the South Knoll PTO. - An update from the Council's Strategic Planning Retreat. - Committee member nominations. Glenn suggested discussion of a policy pertaining to skateboards and scooters in ballparks. He would also like a staff report concerning some concessionaire issues that have occurred at parks. Bill would like to discuss the possibility of City participation in developing a plan for development of a nature trail that would be supported by the Kiwanis Club and the Eagle Scouts. 12. Adjourn: Glenn made a motion to adjourn. Larry seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 14, 2002 Page 3 of 3