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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/10/2000 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board CITY OF COLLEGE STATION RECREATION Public ;!!;!! Tuesday,October og-!IRTT!egCtiar MH!:!!een;7--- " City Rail Council Chambers 1101 Texas Avenue Staff Present:Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation-' Eric Ploeger" Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation; Pete Vanecek, Senior Park Pla,i-!,,!!!ero, Kris Stattz!!-I!.!n, Board Secretary. Board Members Present: Bill Davis- G1eSchroeder- John.Nichols; Jon Tuiton; Laura Wood(Alternate). Board Members Absent: ChrisBarzilla, Chair; George Dresser, Co-Chair; Gle !!!! Davis- _0hnCrompton(Alternate). Guest: Kimbrough Jeter, College Station Soccer Club Jack Collins, Student, Texas A&M University Phillip Latham, Student, Texas A&M University Nathan Perry, Student, Texas A&M University Visitors: Tracy Klusacek, 801 Llano, College Station, Texas 77840 Gabrielle Hodges, 1802 Medina, College Station Texas 77840 Judy Do,„!,!!!,s, 1101 Southwest Parkway#1205,Station, Station, Texas7877840 Kelli Campbell, 1317 Chenault Lane #12 C1 io111.5e,ge Station, Texas 7 Heather Li 301 Holeman Drive#E, College Station Texas77840 Mary Troell, 2s4t°01.'Welsh#503, College Station, Texas 77845 1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. 2. Hear Visitors: No visitors spoke at this time. 3. Pardon made requests for abso ences of members from meeting. John Nichols e a motion to accept the absences of Chris Barzilla' George Dresser, Glen Davis, and John Crompton as excuse .d Laura Wood seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. Presentation, discussion, and public hearing regarding site development o Lick Creek Park: Eric Ploeger took the floor. He stated that the City of College Station would apply for a matching grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TP!!!!;!!!!11!) to carry out the Lick Creek Park Master Plan and to complete the development of the park. One of the requirements from TR!' ! when applying for this type of grant, is tohost a public hearing to give the citizens Page 1 of 5 Parks&Recreation Board Public Hearing/Regular Meeting Tuesday,October 10,200 a chance to give their input regarding the plans for a park, especially if the park has wetlands. Lick Creek Park has wetlands that the City will protect with the project. He stated that there is an approved Master Plan for the park and went over the budget for the project. Pete Vanecek took the floor. He talked about some of the features that would be included in the project: • Redoing some of the trails for future bicycle and equestrian use; • Adding a concrete or gravel trail that is handicap accessible; • Adding another parking lot for horse trailers; • Building a visitors' center for educational/classroom purposes; • Building an outdoor amphitheater with wooden seats for educational purposes; • Building pedestrian bridges; • Building a small residence area for an intern to possibly stay at, and watch over,the park; • Adding signage to the park that would give directions to sites, as well as explain different species of plants. Steve said that the Lick Creek Park Master Plan would maintain the natural habitat and setting of the park, and in f e, would open up the trail system. Kimbrough Jeter - Mr. Jeter asked what the total acreage of Lick Creek Park was. Pete responded that it has 515 acres. John Nichols asked if the draft of the plan would be sub *tted for funding. Steve said that it would be submitted, but it would probably be May or June 2001 before the Department would know if it has received the grant. John N. asked if anyone had any questions or co ents. He stated that this item was a public hearing and that the Board would not be making any decisions during the meeting. Since there were no more co ents from the citizens or the Board, he declared the public hearing closed. 5. Approval of minutes from September 12, 2000: Bill Davis made a motion to approve the utes from September 12, 2000. Gle Schroeder seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 6. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a proposal from the College Station Soccer Club: Steve said that this item was a follow up from the August 8, 2000 meeting where * brough Jeter, the President of the College Station Soccer Club, was asked to prepare a letter from the Soccer Club to the Parks and Recreation Department responding to a misunderstanding of the Spring 2000 surcharge. Laura Wood stated that there have been complaints that the soccer fields are in poor condition, and the College Station Soccer Club is only reimbursing Page 2 of 5 Parks&Recreation Board Public Heari egular Meeting Tuesday,October 10,200 approx. ately half of what they would have generated with the spring 2000 surcharge. The money not reimbursed is money that would have gone toward the maintenance of those fields. She asked Kimbrough if there was anything that the College Station Soccer Club could do about the situation. Steve said that the only way that the Soccer Club could remedy the situation would be to impose a fee on users now to have to pay for the users who were using the fields last spring. (There is no guarantee if you would be charging the same users). He went on to say that in his opinion,the Soccer Club is making a good faith effort now. Bill made a motion to accept the letter from Kimbrough Jeter as good faith recognition of the problem and its solution. Gle seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Kimbrough gave the Board a brief history of the Soccer Club's registration numbers and the age groups of the kids playing soccer. He stated that one of the concerns of the Soccer Club is having the facilities to store their equipment and uniforms. They currently have to store these items in the garages and living roo of the coordinators. The Soccer Club would like to participate in a joint venture with the City of College Station to build a facility to be located at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. The proposed facility would have restroo , a snack bar, and an office for the Soccer Club. The total budget for the project would be approxi ately $200,000, d the Soccer Club would be responsible for co ° g up with half of that amount in cash or in-kind from its vendors. Steve stated that at this point, the project is still in conceptual discussions. He went on to say that the Department currently has money budgeted for a restroom facility. The idea is to take that money and match it with the money that the Soccer Club raises to build a larger facility to serve both the Parks Department and the Soccer Club. John N. suggested reviewing the proposal during a Veterans Park and Athletic Complex subco ttee meeting. This was an informational item only, and no motion was made. 7. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding City Council Vision Statement #4 (Cultural Arts and Recreational Opportunities): Steve stated that these strategies were ongoing and would be included as a standing item on future agendas. When the Department has information on the Co cil Visions and Strategies, they will update the Board during the Board meetings. • Strategy #1 (More Emphasis on Making Parks More Intergenerational): Steve said that the Department has developed an action plan that has specific steps and dates for completing the strategy. He plans to have an action plan for each of the six strategies. Steve said that the Department is also seeking information from the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences Department at Texas A&M University to help with the Intergenerational Park Study. Page 3 of 5 Parks&Recreation Board Public Hearing/Regular Meeting Tuesday,October 10,200 • Strategy #2 (More Interaction Between Parks Advisory Board and Planning and Zoning and Shared Vision with Council): There was no discussion on Strategy#2. • Strategy #3 (Continue to Update Comprehensive Plan Regarding Parks System): There was no discussion on Strategy#3. • Strategy #4 (Connectivity Between Greenways and Parks): There was no discussion on Strategy#4. Strategy #5 (Continued Emphasis on Parks Maintenance to Quality Standards through the Budget Process): Steve said that the Department sent a letter to the Brazos Magic Soccer Organization and the College Station Soccer Club. The letter was an update on what was approved in the FY2001 budget pertaining to the renovation of three soccer fields at Southwood Valley Athletic Complex, the ongoing maintenance cost of 13 soccer fields in the Department, and a schedule. Steve said that the Department would also be evaluating the maintenance standards for the entire park system. John N. asked if the Department could measure maintenance standards for neighborhood parks as well. Steve said that neighborhood standards could be included in the evaluation. • Strategy #6 (Develop Programs and Facilities for Senior Citizens): There was no discussion on Strategy#6. 8. Discussion, consideration, and possible appointment of Parks and Recreation Board member to serve on: • Community Attractions C mmittee (to replace Chris Barzilla): Gle S. made a motion to appoint Laura Wood to serve on the Co unity Attractions Co ittee to replace Chris Barzilla. Bill seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. • Recreation and Sports Committee (to replace Glen Davis): Bill made a motion to appoint Jon Turton to serve on the Recreation and Sports Co ittee to replace Glen Davis when his term expires. John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 9 \ Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding a roller hockey or skateboard park: Steve said that new information regarding roller hockey and skateboard parks had been included in the packets. The Department has discussed this topic with the City's Risk Management staff who have provided some guidelines from Texas Municipal League (T I ), the City's insurance carrier. T 1 has indicated that they would be interested in participating in the design process of a roller hockey or skateboard park if the City builds one. Dr. John Crompton has some students researching this topic on a statewide basis. They will conduct on-site visits and interviews, and their report will be complete Page4Qf5 Parks&Recreation Board Public Hearing/Regular Meeting Tuesday,October 10,200 in December. Staff is reco ending postpo * g the public hearing til January 2001. This would give staff t* e to review the report and investigate other infor .tion. Laura took the floor. She stated that she had invited three boys—Jack Collins, Phillip Latham, and Nathan Perry—that have been involved with the project to the meeting. They presented a video sho g some skateboard parks in Texas. John N. asked if there was enough co ercial interest to where the City could find a private partner to r a facility and manage it. Steve said that this question could be explored. The Board discussed possible locations for a facility. Steve stated that finding a site for a facility would be 1* ited to an existing park site and that it would also depend on how much open area the Department has. This was an informational item only, and no motion was made. 10® Consent Items: Capital Improvement Projects Report: Steve went over the Capital Improvement Projects Report and explained the priority rankings for the projects. — Discussion of next ieeting date and agenda: The next Parks and Recreation Board meet* ig will be held on Tuesday,November 14, 2000. H. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m© Page 5 of 5 Parks&Recre' n Board Public Hearing/Regular Meeting Tuesday,October 10,200