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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/08/2000 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board CITY OF COLLEGE STATION: I PA s &REcREATluNBoA Tuesday,February8,200o Parks & Recreation Department Conference Room i000Krenek Tap Road 7.00 p.m° Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Dir ect or of Parks and R ec r eati on; Eric P 1 o e g er, Assistant Director; RossAlbrecht, Forestry Superintendent; CurtisBingham, parksoperations Superintendent; peteVanecek, SeniorPark Planner; KrisStartzman, Board Secretary. Chair; John Nichols; Board M Glen Davis; Sarah Biricholds Bill Davis; John Members Present: Chris Crompton, Alternate. Cindy Services, . Development Board Members Absent: George Dresser, Co-Chair; Susan Allen; City Engineer, ® . StePhan O'Malley Engineering; M University; Association;Bob Mosley, Associ Bobchmidt, Sciences, Texas A8L Peaslee, Brazos Lodging Tourism University. Valley Lodging of Recreation, Park, and . i Alen, Brazosh Lodging .Association, . 84etivite Thompshon, Brazos Association; Sara Nicholls, Department Department Alston Thorns, Texas Engineering Experiment Station, TexasjaAn Visitors: Larry K. Farnsworth, 4012rriHunter ac, clCollege South, gol Creek,euegtshet,Station,College.:Ciao oot ni College eng, Station, Texas 77840 s7777884400 LStae-jve P-ursley, 2511 s Mardick, Katy Station, 110_ . DexterMeDrive Drive East, Texas 77840 Robert Oldfather, 430100 oyett, Co Texas 77840 tes, 712 Jeannette Thomas, . llow Loop, -845 * Texas University77840 Luis Cifuenx, s 77840 Tim Lomax, College Station, Ridge, College -77840 Station, Texas / 1214 HWadidox, College Station, Texas Howell, 151513. Pine eoad#89, College Laura Harvey Station, Brad Mason, 505 L Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. golf course. Steve Hear visitors: disk . . 2. on to a park asked possible addition are no Mr. Mason there course as a currently, -- • Brad Mason - considering the toe). He said that curre at this time, that the City is 1-% replied (at the old landfill site).l explained that the Board the status of the phase. Steve South ..,........ Beac-y ,way 6 project is one of site on Highway the park— .s would have to be plans to develop the park. develop He m, r to do this project, no funds to there areit is in the conceptual priorities, but current projects.but the Recreation Board's f it would have ° inexpensive, and Recrea relative d be fairly in order to thatthito priority - park would eCollege Station,Texas 77 what kind 0 portion of the it determined golf ined disk mentioned that thethParks Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,FebruaryR-,2000 Page 1 of 6 parking, restrooms, and other facilities that would be required would add considerably to the overall expense. Mr. Mason asked about the possibility of putting the golf course at Lick Creek Park, where there is parking already available. Steve replied that Lick Creek has a Master Plan that does not include recreational activities. It is intended to remain as a natural area. Katy Mardick — Ms. Mardick represents a group called the "Park People," who are concerned over the approximately 20-30 trees that were cut down at Gabbard Park. She discussed some of the concerns the group had and requested the following (see attachment): The Park People would like the Parks and Recreation Department: • to explain why each tree was cut, especially a large willow and some hackberries; • to create a Hazardous Tree Management Program to document hazardous trees appropriately; • to notify residents near the park via news media, of its intentions for future tree removal; and • to give residents reasonable time to oppose any removal of trees. Ms. Mardick urged that if there is no immediate hazard to park visitors, then the tree removal plan should be te inated. Steve said that the Department would need to prepare the answers to the concerns raised. He went on to say that there would be no additional tree removal at the park until the Department has had an opportunity to present the information as to why the trees were removed. The Department will distribute fliers, to the homes surrounding the park and at the park itself, stating when a public hearing would be held. 3. Pardon — Consider requests for absences of members from meeting: John Nichols made a motion to accept the absences of Susan Allen and Sarah Birkhold as excused. Glen Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 5-0. 4. Approval of minutes from Regular Meeting of January 11, 2000: John N. made a motion to approve the minutes from Regular Meeting of January 11, 2000. Bill Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 5-0. 5. Discussion and possible consideration of a proposal by the Brazos Lodging Association to develop a playground in College Station: Steve said that the purpose of this proposal by the Brazos Lodging Association is to provide leadership and fund raising for, and coordination and development of a unique playground for the community. Steve recommended that the Board consider the proposal. He mentioned that a location had not yet been determined where a playground structure could be built, nor its theme, but he feels that it would be a great opportunity to partner with the Brazos Valley Lodging Association. Steve recommended that the Board appoint a subcommittee to review the Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,February 8,2000 Page 2 of 6 proposal and determine an appropriate location and theme for the project, if the Board is in favor of the proposal. Cindy Peaslee presented the Brazos Valley Lodging Association's proposal to build a large playground structure in College Station. She said that the main idea for the project's proposal was to give something back to the community. She went on to say that the Brazos Valley Lodging Association is a hospitality-based association that represents hotels, restaurants, car rental agencies, and any business that has anything to do with welcoming business and visitors to the community. Cindy mentioned that volunteers and fund raising would be provided, but they are asking the City to provide the property to put the structure on, and future maintenance and operational costs. John N. asked about the cost to build the structure. Cindy responded that there is a similar playground structure in Corpus Christi that cost approximately $300,000. The estimate for this one would cost approximately $200,000. Steve told members to keep in mind that the playground structures are made primarily of wood, so maintenance would be required. However, if properly maintained, the life span of these structures is approximately 20-25 years. Cindy said that the Association would like this structure to be as centrally located to the co unity as possible, and to be built in a park with established parking. She said that most of the funding would come from local businesses. One suggestion had been to build the structure at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. John C. made a motion to have the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Master Plan Subcommittee explore the potential of building the playground structure, proposed by the Brazos Lodging Association, at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 5-0. 6. Report and discussion of GIS study: Sarah Nicholls is a Ph.D. candidate in Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University and is interested in working with GIS (Geographical Info : ation Services). As a class project, she looked at the College Station parks and at how accessible they are to, and equally distributed they are among various income groups (see attached handout with findings of how she used GIS to measure levels of accessibility to the parks in College Station). 7. Discussion and possible adoption of the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Master Plan: Steve said that there were two parts to this item: 1.) The preliminary report from the archaeology study of Veterans Park and Athletic Complex show that there have been several archaeological sites identified that will require additional work, time, and expense. The additional time required for the study will probably affect the schedule by approximately a month. Dr. Alston Thoms is the Archaeologist working on the project. He said that the southwestern edge of the property is a continuous Indian archaeological site, which is approximately 1,000 yards long and 100 yards wide. He is recommending some additional backhoe work in this area, in addition to digging about four to six small archaeological test pits, to Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,February 8,2000 Page 3 of 6 insure that there is not an important component buried there. Dr. Thoms said that the additional work would probably take about nine to ten days to complete, and he feels that the additional expenses would not exceed $15,000. (Note: if the additional expense is over $15,000, it would need to go back to the City Council for approval). 2.) Steve said that since the Special Meeting/Public Hearing which was held on February 1, 2000, Parks staff have worked on two alternate plans to determine the feasibility of adding an additional soccer field at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. He mentioned that the Department does not yet have the full analysis of whether the plans are economically feasible. Steve briefly went over the alternate plans. He said that Alternate Plan "A" shows one softball field being eliminated, and one soccer field being added. Alternate Plan "B" shows nine softball fields, in addition to an additional soccer field. Steve said that the alternate plans were sent to Bob Schmidt at O'Malley Engineers, who had some concerns with Alternate Plan "A" (see attachment with list of concerns). Luis Cifuentes suggested that the Master Plan Subcommittee discuss the alternate plans with the Soccer Foundation. Steve said that this item was an info ational item to update the Board and recommended dete ining the feasibility of the plans before making any decisions. The subcommittee will meet again and come back to the Board with their findings. No motion was made on this item. 8. Discussion and possible appointment of members to the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee: John C. made a motion to appoint Eleanor Williams, Mabelene Robinson, and Debra Thomas to the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee, with A.C. Clark as an alternate. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 5-0. 9. Update and discussion of the College Station Bike Loop Project: Bob Mosley gave an update on the project, which had been requested by the Board in January. He mentioned that Brett McCully is the Project Manager but that he was unable to attend the meeting. Bob said that this project has been a frustrating one, due to the fact that it was split into three phases: Phase I — On-Street Bike Lanes (pavement markings). Plans for this phase have gone back and forth to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) in Austin four different times, but should be ready to bid on by March 1, 2000. He said that the construction schedule is expected to take about nine months. Phase II - Off-Street Bike Pass. This phase covers the area through Lemontree Park, Bee Creek Park, up to the Bee Creek pavilion, and some interior loops through Central Park. The first submittal of this phase to TXDOT is expected to be made by March 1, 2000. Phase III. This phase covers the area from the Bee Creek pavilion to the underpass under Texas Avenue, and across to Krenek Tap Road. The Engineering Division has the design and FEMA approval, but it is now tied up with the Corps of Engineers. Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,February 8,2000 Page 4 of 6 10. Consideration for endorsement of resolution for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (John Crompton): John Crompton recommended that the Board endorse the resolution for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (included in the February 8th Parks and Recreation Board packets) and forward it to the City Council for their endorsement. Glen Davis made a motion to endorse the resolution and forward it to the City Council. John C. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed 5-0. (See attached resolution). 11. Report and discussion of duckweed problem at Gabbard Park: Curtis Bingham addressed this item. He said that Gabbard pond has had a duck weed problem for many years. He went on to say that duck weed no ally dies after a hard frost, but due to the fact that there have been mild winters in the last couple of years, the problem has only gotten worse. The first method to treat the problem was to use a product called "Diquat". This product worked well, but unfortunately it killed all of the aquatic vegetation in the pond, though not the fish. The second method of treatment was to manually remove the duckweed from the pond. The manual method consisted of several workers getting into the water and on the banks of the pond and using a trash pump to suck up the water and debris. This method turned out to be very time consuming. Curtis recently heard of, and will purchase, a product called "Sonar". He mentioned that the Mississippi State University Extension Service has done some work with this product and has had good results. The only downfall is that it is expensive (the cost is $565/quart). To treat Gabbard Park would initially cost around $1,200. The product will kill the duckweed for a while. Then, every year, it would only need to be retreated with about a pint. The cost to retreat the pond would be around $250 - $500/year. Curtis said that the Department would post fliers info ing citizens when the pond is treated. 12. Discussion and consideration of date for dedication of Edelweiss Park: Steve said that the construction of Edelweiss Park is complete. He recommended delaying the dedication date until later in the spring, or until some of the grass has had a chance to grow. Glen asked if the department had accepted the park as complete. Eric Ploeger confi ed that it had. Glen asked if the penalty fee for the delayed completion of the park would go back into the park. Eric responded that it would either go back into the park or the park zone it is in. No dedication date was set during the meeting. 13. Discussion and possible consideration of potential joint projects with CSISD: Steve said that he, City staff, Tom Brymer (College Station City Manager), Jim Scales (CSISD Superintendent), and CSISD staff met on January 21st during a CSISD quarterly meeting. Several topics were discussed during the meeting. • The Willow Branch Tennis Court Project is going forward. The School District will build four lighted tennis courts at Willow Branch Junior High School. The School District will bid and construct the tennis courts, and the City will reimburse them under its interlocal agreement. Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,February 8,2000 Page 5 of 6 • Additional lighting at A&M Consolidated High School tennis courts was discussed. The School District has no objections to the proposal. Currently, the City does not have funding for this project, but intends to request funding during the fiscal year 2001 budget process. • The potential development of a gymnasium, recreation center, and park site at the new elementary school, south of Barron Road, was also discussed during the meeting. This was an info ational item and no motion was made. 14. Appointment of a fees subcommittee: Steve said that every year a fees subcommittee is appointed by the Board to work with Park staff regarding fees. A recommendation from the subcommittee will be made to the Board and used as part of the Department's budget preparation for fiscal year 2001. He mentioned that the subcommittee would need to meet and report back to the Board no later than May 2000. Glen Davis, Bill Davis, and John Crompton volunteered to work on the subcommittee. No motion was made. 15. Discussion of FY00 City Council Mission Statement: Steve said that City Council has revised their Mission and Vision Statements. He said that each department has been asked to update the Council periodically on what is being done to achieve the statements. During the March Board meeting, Steve would like to discuss the Strategic Plan for the Parks Department and how it relates to the City Council Vision Statements, the Parks and Recreation Board's goals, and whichever projects the Board would like to accomplish during the FY01 budget process. 16. Consent items: Capital Improvement Program Project Report: There was no discussion over the Capital Improvement Program Project Report. — Discussion of next meeting date and agenda: The Board will meet on Tuesday, March 7th at the Lincoln Recreation Center (a week ahead of the regularly scheduled meeting). 17. Adjourn: Bill made a motion to adjourn. Chris seconded the motion. All were in favor and the meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,February 8,2000 Page 6 of 6