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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/11/2004 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 11 2004, 5:30 p m. TAMU Horticulture Gardens Hensel Drive off Texas Avenue College Station, Texas Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Peter Vanecek, Senior Parks Planner; Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Curtis Bingham, Parks Operations Superintendent; Peter Lamont and David Gerling, Recreation Superintendents; Sandy Wegman, Horticulture Crew Leader; Nina Stanley and June VanDyke, Forestry/Horticulture Workers; Pamela Springfield, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: John Nichols, Chairman; Glenn Schroeder; Ken Livingston; Don Allison; Jodi Warner; Glen Davis; Gary Erwin, Alternate. Board Members Absent: Larry Farnsworth Guests: Professor Don Wilkerson, Director TAMU Horticulture Gardens; Garry McDonald - Research, TAMU Horticulture Gardens 1. Call to order. John Nichols called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Tour of TAMU Horticulture Gardens. John N. explained that the Board wanted to get some idea of the concept and the effort involved in having a public display of gardens. John introduced Don Wilkerson, the Director of the facility and Professor in the Horticulture Department, who gave an overview of the facility and operations. Professor Wilkerson stated that the facility was unique as far as arboreta and botanical gardens were concerned, in that it was more of a plant collection than a landscape. Their mission was about teaching, research, and extension. Two courses were taught there, which is why there was such a diversity of plant materials. They were involved in a lot of research activities but they also do new plant introductions and evaluations, as well as conducting a variety of outreach programs for horticultural professionals and home gardeners. They have one, half-time staff position provided but receive no operating budget from A&M. Their operating budget comes from charitable gifts, contributions, and donations, so they are very involved in fundraising and in looking for opportunities for fundraising. The facility is not maintained by A&M, but by student workers and about 30 volunteers. Professor Wilkerson explained that they did not start off with a well defined Master Plan which had been a mistake. It would have been a key element that could have helped as far as development and maintenance issues were concerned. The Cashion Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 1 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004 family has been their principal benefactor. It is easy to build a garden but you have to provide the maintenance in perpetuity. The garden had been a color garden at one time, but it had been extremely difficult physically to maintain. They did not have the resources to deal with tours. Their volunteer group had originally been formed to deal with tours, but that never worked out, since most of the volunteers want to work in the gardens. He suggested that perhaps a tour could be combined with tours of local attractions, such as the future Barbara Bush Arboretum going in around the Bush Library, to become a destination site for tourists. The cost to develop the gardens to its' present state was probably close to $1,000,000. Professor Wilkerson gave suggestions for drought tolerant plants and trees that would provide color in the various park settings. The suggestions made would still require maintenance and the look would not be a traditional one. In most cases, arboreta or botanical Gardens were not operated and maintained by municipalities alone, but in partnership with other entities. At 6:05 p.m. the meeting adjourned to take a walking tour of the gardens and have dinner. The meeting reconvened at 6:55 p.m. 3. Pardon N possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meeting. Larry Farnsworth had submitted a request for absence from the meeting. Glenn Schroeder moved to accept Larry's request for absence and Ken Livingston seconded. The motion was voted on and carried unanimously. 4. Hear visitors. Hearing none, this item was closed. 5. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of minutes. There was one change to the minutes under item #6 on page 3, concerning the Park Land Dedication request for Edelweiss Gartens. The word 'Gartens' needed to be added to the third sentence, to read "There would be good connectivity between this area and the existing portion of Edelweiss Gartens, creating a total park of 13.7 acres." Jodi Warner moved to approve the minutes with the change mentioned, and Don A. seconded. The motion was voted on and carried unanimously. 6. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Park Land Dedication requests. ■ Williamsgate N Park Zone 15: The proposed development was for 82 lots in Park Zone 15 where no dedications had as yet taken place. There was only one other property available in the area where future development could occur. Jodi W. made a motion to accept the fee of $45,592 in lieu of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 2 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004 land dedication. Glenn S. seconded. The motion was voted on, and carried unanimously. ■ Woodland Estates Replat of Lot 1-R N Park Zone 2: This was a replat of one lot which would be divided into two. The back lot would be sold as part of the Grand Oaks subdivision. Glenn S. made a motion to accept the $556 cash in lieu of the land dedication and Glen D. seconded. All were in favor, and the motion carried unanimously. 7. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding 'College Station Athletic Facility Priority of Use Policy' (attached). A 'College Station Athletic Facility Priority of Use Policy', which clarified the priority of field use and helped with the allocation and utilization of fields, had come out of the Fees Subcommittee meetings that had been held. Glen D. stated that the subcommittee was recommending that the Board adopt the 'College Station Athletic Facility Priority of Use Policy'. Glenn S. seconded the motion that the policy be adopted. The motion was voted on, and carried unanimously. 8. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding 2005 User Fee recommendations. Glen D. stated that the Fees Subcommittee had reviewed the existing fee structure and had asked for justification from staff for any increase in fees for 2005, due to increases that had taken place in recent years. Field rental fees and the $5 Redevelopment Fee, which was not being charged unilaterally to all users, had also been discussed. The subcommittee was recommending to the Board that the fees for 2005 remain the same, with the amendment of the $5 Redevelopment Fee being charged to all organized participants using the fields. Once the fee has been paid, the team will have access to fields based on the 'CS Athletic Facility Priority of Use Policy' just adopted. Steve B. added that the fees would be assessed per season and that the number of seasons each group played would have to be determined. Implementing this policy would reduce field rental revenue by a small amount, but it would be partially recovered by collecting the $5 fee. Peter Lamont briefly explained that staff had been trying to come up with a way to reduce fees for the adult softball program due to resistance from the teams to pay the $390 fee. The season would be changed from an eight- game guarantee in the fall for $345, and ten games in spring and summer for $390, to a nine-game guarantee for $340 for all three leagues. Weekend tournaments would be included as part of the regular league night play. The Fast Pitch league would also be changed to this format for $380 per season. This would be an increase for the fall league. Revenue on the slow pitch league would actually increase due to the reduced costs for umpires and staff weekend work. This would free up the fields on weekends for rentals, as well. Glen D. made a motion to approve the proposed Fee Schedule for 2005 as presented. Jodi W. seconded. The motion was voted on and carried Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 3 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004 unanimously. Glen D. added that the subcommittee agreed that the $5 Field Redevelopment Fee probably needed to be increased, but would be researched further, along with a few other issues. Don said he would like to see the $5 Redevelopment Fee per head in place by fall. Steve said that once a process was in place, the fees could be assessed since the price wasn't changing. The hardest part would be identifying who the teams were. 9. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Naming Subcommittee recommendations. Meeting notes had been included in the member's packets. Three items had been tabled pending further information but the subcommittee had four specific recommendations (see attached): a. Jack and Dorothy Miller Park Track: The letters from the School District superintendent as well as the principal that had been requested at the last regular Advisory Board meeting had been received. The school district will not name anything after a person and, although the track is in a city park, the subcommittee had decided to go along with their policy. The PTO was asked to provide verbiage for the sign to be considered for approval. Jodi recommended that the track at Rock Prairie Elementary be named the 'Road Runner Track'. The recommendation was seconded by Glen D. Hearing no further discussion, the motion was voted on and carried unanimously. b. Zone 10 Neighborhood Park: Jodi made the recommendation to the Board that the Zone 10 Park be named 'Southern Oaks Park' because the park is located on Southern Plantation Drive and because of the native oak trees that are there. The recommendation was seconded by Glen D. Hearing no further discussion, the motion was voted on and carried unanimously. c. Little League Baseball Field: A letter along with signatures had been received requesting that one field at Southwood Athletic Park be named in honor of Jodie Moore. Jodi made the recommendation that one field be named 'Jodi Moore Field' at Southwood Athletic Park. Glenn S. seconded. This would not be setting a precedent, as fields had been named for others in the past. The motion was voted on and carried unanimously. d. Zone 7 Neighborhood Park: This was the park being called Woodway Park, which was located in a predominantly student area. In the past there had been discussion regarding naming something in recognition of Dr. John Crompton, in honor of the efforts that he has made at the community, state, and international levels. Glen D. made a motion to name the Zone 7 Neighborhood Park the 'John Crompton Park'. Ken L. seconded. This recommendation fit under the guidelines of the new City policy and would go to the City Manager and then to the City Council. The Park Guidelines had been superceded by the new policy. Hearing no further discussion, the motion was voted on and carried unanimously. Dr. Crompton was not aware that this was being done. This item was tentatively set to go before Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 4 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004 Council at their June 24th meeting, where Dr. Crompton would be present to give a presentation on the regional park site. e. Eastgate Park: The name being considered for this park was historical in nature and might be renamed as a plaza. Some of the members expressed that they would prefer to leave the name Eastgate Park. It was suggested that perhaps 'Eastgate' could be a part of the plaza name. More information would be brought back to the Board on this issue. Jodi stated that for future reference, the policy from the city suggests that, when feasible, the naming of a public facility should occur within twelve months after deed acquisition. It was suggested that in the future, the goal be to have the name in place before the public hearings are held. 10. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning the Capital Improvement Program. ■ There was a lot of uncertainty regarding the Southwest Parkway property and whether that development would take place. ■ The Lincoln Center contract would be going to Council for approval on May 13, 2004. There would be a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, June 3, 2004. There was the possibility of developing a splash park there with Community Development funds in 2005. ■ Don A. asked if there was money to do lights at the Jack and Dorothy Miller Park track. Steve said this was in the same park zone as Steeplechase, which had not been developed and was one of the parks identified by Council as needing to have something done. Even with the dedication funds available, there would not be enough money to completely develop the park. Council had asked for a joint meeting with the Board to discuss soccer field lights and neighborhood parks. This had been scheduled for the June 10, 2004, Council Workshop. Steeplechase would be one of the items that would be discussed at that joint meeting. Since the Board had heard from more people wanting parks developed than from people wanting soccer field lighting, the suggestion was made to add soccer field lighting as an agenda item for discussion at the next Board meeting. 11. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Department Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Plan. Glen D. asked about the funding of the bond money for the next phase of Veterans Park. Steve stated that the design money would be available October 1, 2004, with the construction money coming available October 1, 2005. The selection process for the design services would be completed over the summer so that the contract could be awarded in October. If all goes well, the construction bid would be done in the summer of 2005. A brief update was given on the progress of the acquisition of land for a new cemetery site by Steve B. A decision would be made by Council by Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 5 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004 June 1, 2004 as to whether they wish to purchase the 107 acres south of Wellborn that is being considered. 12. Discussion of calendar, future meeting dates, and possible agenda items. ■ National Trails Day at Lick Creek Park on June 5, 2004 N Steve asked John N. if he would be available to speak at the National Trails Day event on June 5, 2004. John N. said he would be available to speak. John added that he had been out to Lick Creek Park and wanted to make staff aware that the equestrian groups were not using the equestrian entrance. They were using the same entrance as everyone else, which was a safety issue. Steve B. asked Curtis Bingham to look into the issue. ■ Joint City Council Workshop meeting on June 10, 2004 N Information would be sent to the Board prior to the meeting. ■ The next regular meeting would be held on June 8, 2004. Possible agenda items for June 8th regular meeting: - Lights at Jack & Dorothy Miller Park jogging track - Soccer field lighting 13. Adjourn. A motion was made to adjourn and seconded. Hearing no opposition, the meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 6 of 6 Regular Meeting of May 11, 2004