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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/10/2004 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004, at 7:00 •p.m. EXIT Teen Center 1520 Rock Prairie Road College Station, Texas Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Curtis Bingham, Parks Operations Superintendent; Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Pamela Springfield, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: John Nichols, Chairman; Glen Davis; Larry Farnsworth; Ken Livingston; Don Allison; Glenn Schroeder (arrived late); Jodi Warner (arrived late); Gary Erwin, Alternate. Board Members Absent: All members were present. Guests: Jane Kee, City Planner, Development Services Visitors: Texas A&M University students: Michelle Bynum Jared Bishop Dave Baird Jennifer Jobe Maria Grijon Bubba LaMolinare Rebecca Braud Joe Dalton 1. Call to order. John Nichols called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pardon N possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meeting. There were no absentee requests submitted. 3. Hear visitors. Hearing none, this item was closed. 4. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of minutes from the Regular Meeting of January 13, 2004. Glen D. moved to approve the minutes from January 13, 2004, and Ken Livingston seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning updates to the Park Land Dedication Ordinance. Jane Kee, City Planner, gave an update on the changes made to the Park Land Dedication Ordinance, based on the two changes recommended by the Board at the January meeting. • One of the new items being added to the ordinance would allow the Director to make a determination on the smaller park land dedications. The acreage had been changed from five down to three acres. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 1 of 5 Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004 ■ The other change dealt with clarification about when the improvements had to be complete. The wording was added that the improvements needed to be complete within two years or at the completion of the development, whichever came first. Glen D. made a motion to approve the changes to the Park Land Dedication Ordinance as reported, and Larry F. seconded. All were in favor and the motion carried unanimously. The next step would be to bring the revised ordinance to Planning and Zoning, and then to the City Council. Steve thanked Jane for her hard work throughout the process. John N. asked how long it would be before the Neighborhood Park Improvement Standards were ready. Eric P. stated that an item could be added to the agenda for the next meeting to go over the standards. 6. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding intergenerational park projects, neighborhood parks, athletic field equity, and Veterans Park & Athletic Complex. Staff had been asked to report to City Council at the February 26th workshop on several specific topics. All of the topics were related to the Council Vision Statements and were tied to the Strategic Plan, as well as department and Board goals and objectives. Steve briefed the Board and provided handouts on his planned presentation. ■ "Intergenerational Parks Update - February 2004" (Attached). Staff uses the report referenced in this update as a guideline when designing or doing improvements in parks, and intergenerational features are routinely included as part of the design process. Staff is now looking at ways to incorporate intergenerational participation in programming activities. ■ "Neighborhood Park Status Report" (attached). The Park Land Dedication Ordinance has proved to be an effective tool for providing neighborhood parks, however, there are areas (Woodland Hills, University Park, and Steeplechase) where additional funding would need to be sought in order to develop the parks. The dedication ordinance and fee basis are reviewed and updated on a regular basis. Community street and sidewalk systems are a key element in neighborhood park visibility and accessibility. ■ "2003 Athletic Field Status & Utilization" (attached). This report related to the inventory of competition fields in the system and the equity of fields in the system by use - particularly lighted fields. Demand on these facilities will continue to increase as the community grows. The best place for potential lights for youth soccer fields would be at Veterans Park by lighting the back side of the existing poles, lights could be installed on the outside two fields. The estimate to do that is approximately $180,000. Joint use of the facilities is a key factor and demand will necessitate communication and coordination between the different user groups. ■ "Veterans Park & Athletic Complex Fact Sheet" (attached). Steve stated that staff was working on the possibility of cooperative programs with Texas A&M to include trail linkages, and use of the park site for educational Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 2 of 5 Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004 programs, research, and athletic events for the University. They are also looking at eventually connecting into the greenways with Bryan to the north, Carter Creek to the south, and the greenways of south and east College Station. The selection of a design team for Phase II of the park will take place in FY 2004. The money for the design starts in FY 2005 and plans are to have that selection complete so that Council can award the design services in October of this year. The design process could take up to one year, with the project bid out in fall 2005. Construction could take between one to two years. The question arose as to whether staff was being asked to readdress these items as priorities and how they fit in with the Parks Master Plan. John N. stated that he would be happy to attend the workshop on February 26th when the report was presented to address any questions that arose. This was an informational item only and no action was needed. 7. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding the Arboretum. Curtis Bingham provided a detailed handout with his presentation (attached) that addressed the problem areas in the Arboretum, along with possible solutions. Parks Operations would be picking up ground litter weekly, however various service groups would also be used to pick up ground litter and clear trails of fallen brush. Of the solutions presented, the pond renovation and vegetation identification markers would be the most costly. He briefly outlined upcoming projects that would affect the Arboretum. Steve mentioned that as part of the light replacement project at Bee Creek ballfields, on the backside of two of the outfield poles there would be light fixtures oriented toward the Arboretum parking lot and shelter area. Hopefully this will reduce some of the vandalism there. John N. stated that he would like to see the Society for Creative Anachronism approached about their weekly use and care of the park. Curtis would be looking into having the clean-up of the park as a project through the Big Event. Discussion regarding the pond renovation followed and it was suggested that a renovation not be done until the drainage situation in that area was fixed. Glenn S. stated that he would not like to see a Cy Miller type of pond - he felt that it should be managed in its more natural state. It was suggested that the area along Texas Avenue be manicured, with the back side left more natural. John N. asked that the Board be updated on this issue again in the fall. Curtis stated that the pond was not listed in the maintenance standards as a pond because it wasn't controlled, but he would make sure that the Arboretum was included in the maintenance standard surveys for Bee Creek. Larry F. stated that, since there were natural trails at Madeley Park, Lick Creek, and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 3 of 5 Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004 Arboretum, perhaps a maintenance standard should be developed for natural trails. Curtis stated that this could be done. 8. Draft Guidelines for the Naming of Public Facilities. Steve said the item which prohibited naming a facility for someone who was not deceased had been removed. This draft would go before Council for approval within the next month or so. John N. asked if the Parks policy would need to be revisited. Steve said that the Parks policy would probably be revised to become the procedures. The consensus of the Board was that they were in full support of the revised guidelines and would like for staff to proceed so that the Board could move forward with developing the procedures. 9. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning the Capital Improvement Program. a. Park Land Dedication Project List (Attached). Ric stated that staff had picked up various landscaping design projects from Public Works. Glen D. asked about a cost estimate for potential lighting along the west side of the Jack & Dorothy Miller jogging track. Ric stated it would cost approximately $50,000 to light the entire jogging path to normal standards. There should be approximately $70,000 left in park zone dedication funds after the current project in that park is complete, however that amount would be enough to do some initial development in Steeplechase Park. An item would be placed on the next agenda for a report and discussion regarding the $310,000 from the 2003 bond election for park facility upgrades. b. Current Capital Improvement Project List (Attached). One of the members asked about the cemetery land acquisition. Steve gave a brief update regarding the status of this project and the possibility for an Aggie Field of Honor, which would be discussed at the February 12th Council workshop meeting. c. November 2003 Bond Election Projects. There was no discussion. 10. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Departmental Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Plan. Steve stated that all of these were updated regularly as items were completed and then forwarded to Council. Glen D. asked that an item be added to the next agenda in order to discuss and receive feedback about incorporating a botanical garden into one of the parks. Glen stated that he had some information but he would like to see some ideas. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 4 of 5 Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004 John asked that anyone who had resources direct their information to Glen D. or staff. John N. stated that he would like an update on greenways once a new coordinator was hired. There was nothing new to report on Northgate or the Urban Forest Plan. Don A. asked when that might be visited again. Steve stated that since the match for the grant had not been approved to do the survey, this project was on hold. 11. Discussion of calendar, future meeting dates and possible agenda items. ■ The next regular meeting would be held on March 9, 2004. ■ A Fees Subcommittee would be scheduled in March and then a report made to the Board in April or May. Since there were several issues that needed to be reviewed and discussed, it could take more than one meeting. ■ The City's fee policy was up for review regarding the three levels of support. It was on a Council Workshop agenda for review. The Workshop agenda would be sent out to the Board prior to the meeting. ■ The Woodway Park Public Hearing would be scheduled. An e-mail would be sent with several dates to choose from. John N. felt it would be best not to do it the week before or the week of spring break. ■ A joint tour of the TMPA Regional Park site would be coordinated with the City of Bryan sometime. Steve reported that Dr. Shafer and Dr. Crompton had met with the Grimes County Commissioner's Court and received their support for this project. A representative from the Houston Wilderness had come up in January and was very impressed with the site and may be able to help. ■ Steve said the "icebreaking" for the new full-sized ice hockey rink was scheduled for February 19th at 4:00 p.m. by Fire Station #1. He added that this was the first of several things that the owner wanted to do in the Wolf Pen Creek Corridor. 12. Adjourn: A motion was made to adjourn and seconded. Hearing no opposition, the meeting adjourned at 9: 10 p.m. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 5 of 5 Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2004