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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/09/1995 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1995 - 7:00 P.M. CENTRAL PARK CONFERENCE ROOM 1000 KRENEK TAP ROAD MEMBERS PRESENT: George Dresser, Chair; Carol Reynolds; Greg Taggart; Bob DeOtte; Barry Harding; Michael Manson; and Nancy Crouch, Council Liaison MEMBERS ABSENT: Ron Gay, Vice Chair STAFF PRESENT: Steve Beachy, Director; Eric Ploeger, Asst. Director; Ed Hard, Transportation Planner; and Bridgette George, Staff Assistant VISITORS: Fain McDougal, McDougal & Company; Ronald Carter, C.S. Little League; Roland Ruffino; Joe Fazzino; Jim Manhart, 2910 Pueblo Court; Windwood Subdivision: Kurt Galey, 2601 Brookway Circle; Misty Gibler, 2605 Brookway; and Dan Bordah, 2609 Brookway Circle; Government Class: Cortney Loveless, Nicole Speck, Katy Canter, Jon Scoggins, Todd Fry, W. Wilton, and John Polansky I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes were approved as submitted. III. HEAR VISITORS: Ron Carter, College Station Little League, informed the Board that Little League has been in operation for 24 years, with 1995 having the largest participation with 1,217 players. In 1994 there were 1,034 players. Normally their is an increase of 8-10% each year. However, in 1995 the league increased by 18%. Currently the league plays 50 games Monday-Friday, and 46 games on Saturday at Southwood. A few games will probably be played on Sunday in order to get the required number of games played by the season tournament time. In order to accommodate the additional 19 teams this year, the league moved the t-ball games up two weeks in March. Mr. Carter was requesting some relief for the 1996 season until the Lincoln Center fields were opened up. Mr. Carter asked if more fields could be made available for temporary usage. He identified the soccer fields located at Southwood saying that backstops could be put up, and also mentioned Sandstone Park. Mr. Carter also informed the Board that the big league division was going to be opened this year after being dormant for several years. This league includes 16-18 year olds. He said that because College Station does not have a facility for these kids they are going to go to Bryan North to play. Mr. Carter also mentioned that several College Station girls play in a little league softball program and they were notified that these girls would not be allowed to play in the Bryan league after the 1996 season. He also requested the use of softball fields for these girls. Mr. Carter would also like to see a board of youth athletics, consisting of members from various youth organizations, organized that would help the Parks Board keep up to date with the youth league growing pains. Steve referred back to the fact that Bryan is not allowing residents from College Station to play in their leagues and asked if Little League was initiating that same type of action for non College Station residents. Mr. Carter stated that Iola has teams that play, but stated that they have to have Parks & Recreation Board Regular Meeting May 9, 1995 Page (2) a sponsor. Steve also asked if the girls softball program was slow pitch or fast pitch. Mr. Carter stated that he believes 9-10 are slow, and 11-12 are fast. Steve mentioned that College Station already offers a girls softball program that is run through the Amateur Softball Association. Kurt Galey is a new resident in the Windwood subdivision and has been asked by several residents to represent them at the meeting. Mr. Galey stated that Windwood Park has no lights located on the premises and that there has been some activities going on at night that worry some of the residents. The Police Department has been called out several times but they have stated that they can not do surveillance on the park because it is too dark. Ms. Gibler stated that there are a lot of trees, shrubs, and yaupon in the park and does not want to see them thinned out because they provide a lot of shade. Mr. Bordah stated that he would like to see the light put in as soon as possible in order to discourage the unwanted nightly activities. George mentioned that there was an item in the bond issue requesting funds for neighborhood park lighting, but it did not pass. He informed the residents that the Board would look into providing light for that park. IV. DISCUSSION OF BICYCLE ROUTES AND PLAN: Ed Hard, Transportation Planner, informed the Board that in October 1993, the City Council adopted the Bikeway Master Plan. Just after that, the State authorized funds for projects such as the Bikeway Master Plan through the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The city submitted an application for those funds and out of 252 applications, the City of College Station was ranked 5th, and was awarded one million dollars. The Council then approved the local match at $275,000 to be used on the project. Ed showed a map of the proposed bikeway plan and explained some of the routes. He mentioned that a consultant will have to be hired to develop the actual construction plans. The State will then be responsible for bidding out the project and overseeing the construction. Ed said that it will probably take about 2-3 years to finish the project once it is started. Mike asked if the bikeway plan included a bike route to Lick Creek Park. Ed stated that it has not been included in the bike loop but was identified on the map. He stated that no funds have been earmarked for a route to Lick Creek. Mike stated that he would like to discuss the possibility of putting mountain bike trails at Lick Creek Park. George asked Steve to get Veronica Morgan to attend future meetings to discuss the bike trails and sidewalks portion of the bond issue, so that she could keep the Board updated on the progress. V. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED PARK IN ZONE 3: Steve showed a map depicting the proposed parkland dedication. The land is located between Texas Avenue and the bypass near the Crystal Plaza. Mr. McDougal explained that the owners want to know if the Board is interested in accepting this land for a park. He stated that it is 13.9 acres and he does not envision many improvements, but rather left in its natural state, much like the arboretum. He suggested clearing out some of the underbrush, leaving the large trees. This land is flood prone during heavy rains and could not be develop as anything else. Currently there is a trailer park adjacent to the land. Mr. McDougal stated that they are in the process of platting the land and need to know if the Board is interested in it. This request exceeds the required dedication amount. Steve stated that there is currently no park in that area to serve those residents, so accepting the land for a park would be a positive issue. However, he stated that both visibility and accessibility would be a primary concern. He also stated that the Engineering Department would have to look closely at the drainage issue before a decision could be made. Steve told Mr. McDougal that he would need to address some of the previous concerns discussed prior to the Board making a decision on accepting the land. Mr. McDougal stated that quite a bit of the land is not in the flood plain. The Board agreed that this issue was worth investigating further and would like to get more information regarding the previous concerns mentioned. Parks & Recreation Board Regular Meeting May 9, 1995 Page (3) VI. DISCUSSION OF BOARD'S 1995 GOALS: This topic was postponed until another meeting. VII. DISCUSSION OF NEIGHBORHOOD PARK LOCATIONS: Steve displayed a map showing the two locations being offered as park land in the Shenandoah subdivision. One area is owned by the Home Owner's Association (HOA) and is located next to their private pool complex and tennis courts. The members of that association would have to approve of the donation of the land to the city. The second area's dedication requirement is for the next phase of construction and is less than five acres. The Board could inform the Planning and Zoning Commission that they would prefer cash in lieu of land, if that's what they decided to do. Steve stated that he would not want to accept both parcels of land. The HOA's land is more readily available and accessible. Also, there are no funds available in that zone to proceed with park development on the other land, if accepted. Greg stated that the HOA property needs to be regraded, the detention pond cleaned up and resodded, but is a better choice because it could be used immediately. George asked staff to follow up with the HOA and see if the members would approve the donation. He would also like for the Engineering Department to take a look at the detention pond and see what it would take to stabilize it and make it safe. Steve stated that the negotiations to purchase the additional land in Zone 7 were not successful. The 4.3 acre parkland was then put on the last city election authorizing the City Council to sell that land, if they chose to do so. Steve pointed out another section of land just northeast of the site, and stated that the owner might be interested in swapping some of that land. The city could then purchase additional land adjacent to it, making a 7-8 acre park. George mentioned that there is a major study going on, currently funded by the Department of Transportation, to look at alternatives for the Wellborn Road Corridor. Public Hearings will be held within the next couple of weeks to get a consensus plan for the corridor by the end of this year. George stated that without knowing what the specific proposals are for Wellborn Road he would be leery about making decisions about that parcel of land right now. The Board agreed to hold off making a decision about the land at this time. VIII. DISCUSSION OF 1995 BOND PROJECTS: Ric passed a list of the bond issues and the approved timelines for the utilization of those funds. He stated that the athletic park acquisition was moved up to FY97-98. The funds will be available in $500,000 increments for three consecutive years. Ric also mentioned that the $200,000 that was approved for ballfield improvements, will be used at Central to improve the balifields, as well as erecting new fences and a new shade structure at the Bee Creek softball complex. Some of the funds may be used to clean out the arboretum. George encouraged the members to keep aware of any land that could be used as an athletic park, stating that funds could be attained if Council approved borrowing funds from the Utility Fund. IX. .CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM REPORT: Ric stated that the Thomas and Oaks improvements have been completed. The Wolf Pen Creek rest room building is going well. This project should be finished by the end of this month. The facility is usable, it's just lacking a roof. The contractor is waiting on the wood for the roof which must be fire retardant. The Southwood Pool renovation project is still in negotiations with the second company. The first company refused to sign the contract due mainly to the indemnity clause. The Sandstone Park design is ready to go. Staff is just waiting for a parking lot design from the Engineering Department. It will then go out to bid. Parks & Recreation Board Regular Meeting May 9, 1995 Page (4) The Wolf Pen Creek concrete additions have worked out very well. Willie Nelson parked two of his tour busses on the new addition on the driveway. Also, near the parking lot entrance a concrete pad will be established with a dedicated electrical service to be utilized by vendors, such as Taco Bell. Carol stated that she would like to see more trash cans located at the amphitheater. Ric stated that there have been some problems with people rolling the trash cans down the hill, so staff has had to bolt the trash cans down. The Brother's Pond area light will be installed this month to help curb some of the vandalism going on at the playground. Ric also mentioned that the dredging should begin at Wolf Pen Creek beginning in June. X. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE MEETING DATES AND LOCATIONS: George asked when the new board members would be appointed. Steve stated that Council normally appoints them in May. XI. OTHER BUSINESS/BOARD CONCERNS: Mike would like to talk about the bicycle issue at Lick Creek Park at a future meeting. Steve mentioned that included in the packets was the latest HOK report. No new park items were identified. He also informed the board that HOK would be holding their first public hearing on May 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Conference Center. They will be showing what they have accomplished thus far and will be asking for ideas and questions from the citizens. George stated that he talked with council candidate Mr. Maloney and explained to him about Wolf Pen Creek. Mr. Maloney admitted that he did not know much about Wolf Pen Creek and that George was probably right, but he had already, put his campaign together and wasn't interested in changing it. Barry stated that he feels the Board should still pursue educating the public about the issue. Greg received a complaint from David Alexander, who was complaining on behalf of the Camellia Court residents, about the Willie Nelson concert. He stated that the citizens could hear the concert with their doors and windows shut, as well as the air conditioner running. Mr. Alexander called the Police who stated that they had received several calls regarding the concert. George was at the concert and stated that he sat down on the cement right in front of Willie and could comfortably talk with the person seated next to him. He stated that the music was not very loud and was surprised about the complaints. Steve stated that decibel checks are done at several locations around Wolf Pen Creek, and if the level exceeds the approved level the music is turned down. Greg stated that he would give the man's address to Bridgette so that Steve could respond to the complaint. George asked who did the advertising for the events, he felt like some events were not promoted enough. Steve stated that promoter's advertise for their own events, whereas the City will advertise for any city-sponsored events. XII. ADIOURN: The Board adjourned at 9:44 p.m.