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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/12/2000 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board CITY OF lirllSosmnoouEagTM:! ,.,:s•-,i:iSlr&ti ,4-CREATIONIBOARDAR;tozaoa'Nigag;ongoznnamz Regular Meeting IIIIIIIIIIIISMEONMISTuerdAYqSeOtethbie12n2000IEnreenBaeeoawsxganva gllurirfggoiginosig!Parks 1!plcrpc! :rwpgaozsNE,EnogeaenaoE IPSEIIIIIIIBEgaaasnanto1000;KteifekiTaOIR6adOgaEEMEEE'emeonzoonoat IIIIIIIISEIOEIEIIIIEIEEBEE"ag7:90 o"igogniasroe000gansgosoosis Staff Present: Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation; Kris Staitzman, Board Secretary; Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; David Gerling, Special Facilities Superintendent; Tony Scazzero, Recreation Supervisor; Curtis Bingham, Operations Superintendent; Lance Jackson, Lincoln Center Supervisor; Linda Waltman, Recreation Superintendent. Board Members Present: Chris Barzilla, Chair; George Dresser, Co-Chair; Glen Davis; John Nichols; Bill Davis; Glenn Schroeder; Laura Wood (Alternate). Board Members Absent: John Crompton; Jon Turton (Alternate). Visitors: Larry Farnsworth, 4012 Hunter Creek, College Station, Texas. 1. Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. Hear visitors: No visitors spoke at this time. 3. Pardon — Consider absences of members from meeting: Bill Davis made a motion to accept the absences of John Crompton and Jon Turton as excused. Glen Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. Approval of minutes from August 8, 2000: John Nichols made a motion to approve the minutes from August 8, 2000. Glen Schroeder seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding City Council Vision Statement#4 (Cultural Arts and Recreational Opportunities): • Strategy #2, Item A (Schedule periodic meeting between Council and Parks Board): Eric Ploeger said that included in the Board packets was a synopsis of City Council Vision Statement #4 and the six strategies related to it. He handed out a colored chart that listed all of the vision statements and strategies that relate to the City, as well as to the Parks and Recreation Department. He added that the Council Vision Statements guide the Department's work at this time. Eric reminded the Board that there would be a joint meeting on September 28, 2000, between the Parks and Recreation Board and the City Council. Page 1 of 5 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,September 12,2000 The Board discussed a memo (included in the August 8, 2000, Board packets) that John Crompton had drafted to present at the joint meeting. The memo was in reference to the acquisition of park land prior to development, which relates to City Council Vision Statement #4, Strategy #3. During the August 8th Board meeting, he had asked that the Board and PARD staff review the memo and give their input. After some discussion, Bill made a motion to convert the memo to a draft document entitled "Acquisition of Park Land Prior to Land Development." John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. The document will be placed on the agenda for the joint meeting between the Parks and Recreation Board and the City Council on September 28, 2000. • Strategy #4, Item C (Wolf Pen Creek Master Plan implementation): Glenn S. and George Dresser gave an update on the Wolf Pen Creek Oversight Committee meeting that was held on Monday, September 11, 2000. The meeting discussion centered mainly on changes within the Wolf Pen Creek Corridor due to the relocation of the hotel and conference center to Highway 60. This was a discussion item only, and no motion was made. (For more information on the Wolf Pen Creek Oversight Committee meeting, please see attached minutes from the September 11, 2000 meeting). * Strategy #5, Item A (Review fee structure and policy for possible revision in order to create funding for parks maintenance/upgrades): Eric stated that this item involves review of the Department's fee structure to dete ine if there is room for park maintenance upgrades. He went on to say that the City would hire a consultant to review the City's fees and compare them to fees of other cities. • Strategy #5, Item B (Review certain park maintenance service levels and identify options and associated costs to increase service levels): Eric stated that there were two parts to this item. 1) The first part dealt directly with parks maintenance issues. Eric said that the Department has asked for additional funding to cover major renovations and maintenance to three youth soccer fields, as well as funds for the maintenance of 14 other soccer fields. George D. asked if there were measurable maintenance standards that could be used to evaluate service levels. Eric responded that part of this strategy is to develop more defined service levels. He went on to say that he would have to research the Recreation, Park, and Open Space Master Plan and report back to the Board during a future meeting. 2) The second part dealt with an Urban Forestry Management Plan. Ross Albrecht took the floor. He stated that at the July Board meeting, he had been asked to gather information on what it would cost to produce an Urban Forestry Plan for College Station. Ross contacted Charlie Burditt, an Urban Forest and Natural Resource Consultant from Conroe, to put Page 2 of 5 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,September 12,2000 together some preliminary recommendations (These recommendations were handed out to the Board at the meeting). Ross stated that if the City follows the points outlined in the recommendation, the cost estimate for developing the plan would be between $20,000 to $30,000. The cost estimate does not incorporate an inventory of every park or street tree in the City of College Station. He went on to say that adding this inventory to the plan would incur a substantial cost. Ross stated that the recommendation also talks about liability issues. He said that liability should be a concern because the urban forest is a liability. He said that the Board's interest in developing an Urban Forestry plan fits well with the City Council's Vision Statements regarding park maintenance standards. During the July Board meeting, Ross had discussed the possibility of applying for a matching grant to help fund an Urban Forestry program. George asked Ross if he thought that there would still be funds available through this grant. Ross responded that there are still funds available, and for management plans, the grant opportunity could provide a maximum of $10,000. He went on to say that the Department would need direction from the City Council in order to apply for the grant. George also asked if the City would be required to do an RFP (request for proposals) or if they could contract with Burditt Associates. Ross said that he would need to check with the City's Purchasing Department and report back to the Board. Ross reminded the Board that there are other fl s that can perform this kind of work, but Burditt Associates is located closest. Ross suggested putting this item on the agenda for the joint meeting with the Parks and Recreation Board and the City Council on September 28th. Bill made a motion to put this item on the agenda for discussion and to submit the preliminary recommendations from Burditt Associates for the joint meeting. George seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 6® Presentation, discussion, and possible approval of changes to the Lincoln Center Advisory Committee by-laws: Lance Jackson took the floor. He stated that during Lincoln Center Advisory Committee meetings, some Committee members had expressed a desire to extend their terms. They had made several recommendations on how to do this, but would like some direction from the Parks and Recreation Board. John N. suggested that members just reapply for a second term and that the by-laws not restrict term limitations. After some discussion, the Board agreed that the by-laws should remain as written so that members could reapply to serve longer terms on the Committee. No action was taken on this item. 7® Discussion and possible action regarding a roller hockey or skateboard park: This item has been discussed during previous Board meetings. Laura Wood mentioned that she has heard of several different petitions circling around in favor of these kinds of parks. Glenn S. and Bill are concerned about the liability issue. Eric said that he would be able to research this issue through the National Page 3 of 5 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,September 12,2000 Recreation and Park Association's e-mail service (NRPAnet). Laura asked about the possibility of applying for a grant to build both a roller hockey and skateboard park. Eric suggested at one point having a public hearing to discuss this item. He suggested having it in November to give the Department a month to gather more information. Bill made a motion to schedule a public hearing for November after receiving additional information at the October meeting. John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 8. Discussion and possible action to set a date for a public hearing for a grant application for Lick Creek Park: Eric said that the Department is in the process of preparing a Parks and Wildlife grant application for site development at Lick Creek Park. The application is due January 31, 2001, and part of the application process includes holding a public hearing. Bill made a motion to hold the public hearing in October 2000. Glen D. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 9. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding a special venue tax: This item (whether the City should increase the hotel/motel tax rate by 2% to help fund Veterans Park and Athletic Complex) has been discussed during previous meetings. In order for the City to use this special venue tax, it has to be self- supporting without the aid of ad valorem taxes, although sales taxes can be used. Eric said that this item was presented to the City Council. The Council had some questions regarding estimates and projections for the complex that they would like PARD staff to research and report back to them about at a later date. Chris Barzilla stated that Council appeared a little leery about increasing taxes, but that they would also like to look into the feasibility of using this proposed tax for other areas, for instance, for a perfo ing arts center. This was an info ational item only, and no motion was made. 10. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding the Teen Center Report: Shannon Waddell took the floor. He stated that he had included the Youth Services goals for FY2000-2001 in the Board packets, along with an action plan on how to achieve them. Shannon gave the Board a summary of what Youth Services has accomplished and what they hope to accomplish in the future. Shannon stated that originally, the goal was to get 2,500 kids to visit the Teen Center. He went on to say that the final numbers haven't been calculated, but at the end of the first nine months, there have been 8,700 visits. He stated that Youth Services is looking into expanding their program base and there is room to grow. He stated that the Teen Center has dropped the yearly membership fee to $10/kid to be in line with the Lincoln Center's membership fee. Both facilities honor each other's membership. Bill asked about the possibility of using both the Teen Center and the Lincoln Center as school bus stops or running an activity bus from the schools to the facilities. Shannon stated that he had checked into this before and the cost was too high, but he could look into it again. Page 4 of 5 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,September 12,2000 Shannon stated that a student from Texas A&M University conducted a case study of the Teen Center as a class project. He went on to say that her recommendations are listed throughout the action plan. 11. Consent Items: Capital Improvement Projects Report: Eric stated that he had included a list of active capital projects and priority levels in the Board packets. He went on to say that the list would be kept updated. Glen D. would like the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Subcommittee to reconvene and to review the Recreation, Park, and Open Space Master Plan. Discussion of next meeting date and agenda: The next meeting/public hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2000. The Board would like the following items on the agenda: * Appointment of a replacement for Chris Barzilla on the Community Attractions Committee with the Chamber of Commerce. • Appointment of a replacement for Glen Davis on the Recreation and Sports Committee when his term expires. • Glen would like to discuss the FY2000-2001 Board goals during a future meeting. 12® Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Page 5 of 5 Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting Tuesday,September 12,2000