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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/14/1999 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board CITY OF COLLEGE STATION Parks &Recreation Board Tuesday,December 14 1999 Parks & Recreation Department Conference Room 1000 Krenek Tap Road 7:00 p.m. Staff Present: Eric Ploeger, Assisant Director of Parks and Recreation; Linda Waltman, Recreation Superintendent; Tony Scazzero, Athletic Supervisor; Pete Vanecek; Senior Park Planner; Kris Startzman, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: George Dresser, Co-Chair; John Nichols; Bill Davis; Glen Davis (arrived late); John Crompton, Alternate. Board Members Absent: Chris Barzilla, Chair; Sarah Birldiold; Susan Allen. Visitors: Ray Holliday, member of the College Station Soccer Club. Bob Schmidt, O'Malley Engineers. ® Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. 2. Hear visitors: No visitors spoke at this time. ® Pardon —Consider requests for absences of members from meeting: Bill Davis made a motion to accept the absences of Chris Barzilla and Susan Allen as excused. Jonn Nichols seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0 (note: Glen Davis was not present to vote on this item). 4. Approval of minutes from Regular Meeting of November 9, 1999 and Special Meeting of November 17, 1999: John C. made a motion to approve the minutes from Regular Meeting of November 9, 1999. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0 (note Glen Davis was not present to vote on this item). Jonn N. made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Meeting of November 17, 1999. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0 (note: Glen Davis was not present to vote on this item). 5. Adoption of the annual report submitted by the College Station Recreation Sports Association on October 12, 1999: Bill moved to accept the annual report submitted by the College Station Recreation Sports Association. John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0. Page 1 of 4 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,December 14,1999 6. Report and discussion concerning tournament and bid awards for the Amateur Softball Association: Linda Waltman passed out a list of the tournaments that the College Station Parks and Recreation Department has been awarded for the year 2000 (see attachment). She talked about the bidding process. She said that the Department has a good reputation for the game of softball at both the state and the national level. She went on to say that softball has been added to the 2000 Games of Texas, scheduled for the summer. Linda mentioned that the Department's Athletic Supervisor, Tony Scazzero, had received an Award of Excellence in Dallas for hosting the National Softball Tournament, based upon a survey. George Dresser asked if the City prepares news releases to announce information such as this. Linda replied that the City does. George recommended posting future tournaments in the business and sports sections of the newspaper to give citizens an appreciation of the economic impact that tournaments bring to the City. 7. Discussion and possible consideration of Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Master Plan and approval process: Eric Ploeger passed out a tentative schedule of events that will take place during the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Master Plan approval process (see attachment). He mentioned that the schedule is subject to change. He went on to say that the Department has selected an engineering fi O'Malley Engineers from Brenham, to do the design work for the Master Plan. Eric learned from the Development Services staff that construction of parks is allowed in any zone, therefore the Parks and Recreation Department would not need pe ission from the Planning and Zoning Commission or need to obtain a Conditional Use Permit to build the park. Eric said that the Development Services staff has been instructed by the City Council to conduct a land-use study of the northeast corridor of the City, due to the new development in that area. The Pla ing staff would also like to include the Parks and Recreation Department and the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Master Plan subcommittee in their discussions. Eric introduced Bob Schmidt from O'Malley Engineers. Bob talked about the preliminary Master Plan for the park. He said that there is an area that is being reserved for a veterans memorial. This plan also includes nine softball fields with 300 foot fence lines, 13 adult-sized soccer fields, a pavilion, batting cages, a playground, basketball courts, restroom facilities, volleyball courts, a water feature, a natural area, and large spacing for parking. Bob mentioned that there had been discussion on cut-through traffic in the park. The Board had concerns about the possibility of a street connecting Highway 30 to Highway 60 through the park. Bob said that it is very probable that there would be cut-through traffic, if there is a street that connects the two highways. He mentioned that "traffic calming" techniques, such as speed bumps, could be used to slow traffic down in the park. Page 2 of 4 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,December 14,1999 There was discussion on the number and type of soccer fields that would be built at the park. Bob mentioned that in the Master Plan, the subcommittee tried not to crowd the fields, for aesthetic and drainage reasons. The Board agreed on the Master Plan concept. There was no action taken on this item. 8. Discussion and possible consideration on potential agreement with CSISD for joint tennis court projects: Eric said that there were two separate parts to this item. The first part is to inform the Board of a request from the CSISD (College Station Independent School District) to help fund the construction of four lighted tennis courts to be located at Willow Branch Junior High School. He said that there is $125,000 budgeted for this project in Zone 6 of park land dedication funds. Eric went on to say that the original request from the School District was that the City help fund the construction of two lighted tennis courts, but they have since determined a need for an additional two. He said that the City's attorneys have written an agreement stating that the City will contribute up to $125,000 for the project, if the School District will handle all of the engineering work, design, and construction of the courts. If CSISD consents to the agreement, then it will be forwarded to the City Council for approval. The second part is to ask for contingency funds to light the remaining six tennis courts at A&M Consolidated High School. Eric said that the School Board Superintendent, Jim Scales, appeared to be in favor of this, and will put it on a future School Board agenda for discussion. Eric mentioned that the topic was also brought up to the City Manager, Tom Brymer, who suggested asking for funding during the next budget cycle, instead of asking for contingency funding during this fiscal year. Mr. Brymer will include this information in his monthly newsletter to the City Council, info ing them of the Board's request. 9. Update and discussion of College Station Bike Loop project: Eric said that he has had discussions with the Project Engineer, :NU McCully, who is working on the Bike Loop project. He said that there are only two cities in Texas (including the City of College Station) that have submitted Bikeway Project Grants, and that none of the grants have been approved to this date. He went on to say that there have been four different reviews of the project by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, staff. Each review has been conducted by a different person, and each review comes back with different statements on what needs to be corrected. George requested that Eric ask Brett McCully, along with a representative from the Texas Department of Transportation district office in Bryan, to attend the next Parks and Recreation Board meeting to discuss this project. Page 3 of 4 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,December 14, 1999 10. Discussion and possible consideration on roller hockey programs for College Station: Bill made a motion to table this item to a future Board meeting. Glen seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0. 11. Discussion and possible consideration concerning Madeley Park: Eric said that this item was placed on the agenda to discuss the future of Madeley Park. He said that the property was donated for the purpose of being made into a park. If nothing is done with the property within five years, it will become the property of A&M Methodist Church. Bill said that he would abstain from taking action, due to the fact that he is a member of the church. Eric said that Steve Beachy was going to contact representatives from the City of Bryan to see if they would be interested in utilizing the property and putting an entrance in at Sunny Lane. John C. mentioned that this is a beautiful site for a park, and he does not want to lose it to the five-year time period. He would like to initiate talks with the City of Bryan to try to make this into a joint project. No motion was made. The Board agreed to place this item on the next Board agenda for an update and discussion. 12. Report and discussion of GIS study: George made a motion to table this item to the February, 2000 agenda. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 4-0. 13. Discussion and possible consideration on requests from the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee for: a. Additional parking b. An extended covered walkway c. A fitness room d. Expansion of the game room e. A small conference room Eric said that the Department had met with a member from the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee and representatives from the Community Development Department. He said that the Parks and Recreation Department is in the process of designing a new maintenance building in the Lincoln Center area, that will leave additional space available. The City will need to dete ine what to do with the additional space. There had also been discussion with Community Development about putting out a Request for Qualifications, in order to hire someone to conduct a "needs study" of the Lincoln Center area. He said that these requests from the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee would be part of the study. This was an information item only, and no motion was necessary. 14. Consent items: Capital Improvement Program Projects Report: John C. asked about the status of the land acquisition on Rock Prairie Road. Eric replied that the Department has a meeting in the first week of January with the Public Works Department, to review updated plans of the current landfill to try to determine what its future park use would be. John thinks that the Department should move with urgency on this item. Page 4 of 4 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,December 14, 1999 Glen asked what date Edelweiss Park is expected to be complete. Eric responded that the completion date was supposed to be November 6, 1999. He said that the Department has been charging the contractor $100/day since November 6th, for liquidated damages. George asked if there would be a dedication for the park once it is completed. Eric said that the Department does have a dedication for neighborhood parks. He will talk with Steve to find a date and report back to the Board. Discussion of next meeting date and agenda: • Update on the exploration of the special venue tax to build sports facilities. ® Report on the duck weed problem at Gabbard Park. ® Update on placing rubberized surfacing on the Dorothy Miller jogging track at Rock Prairie Elementary School. , 15. Adjourn: Glen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. Page'5'f4 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,December 14, 1999