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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/12/2001 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board ***MINUTES*** PA sCaRECREATION OF COLLEGE STATION CREATION ADVISORY BOA I Regular Meeting Tuesday,June 12, 2001 Central Park Conference Room 1000"(-renek Tap Road 7:00 p.m. Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Pete Vanecek, Senior Park Planner; Kris Lehde, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: Chris Barzilla, Chair; Jon'Fulton; John Nichols; Glen Davis; Glenn Schroeder; Bill Davis; Laura Wood, Alternate; John Crompton, Alternate. Board Members Absent: George Dresser. Guests: Billy Lay, Senior Advisory Committee Chairman. Visitors: Larry Farnsworth - 4012 Hunter Creek, College Station, Texas. 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 — Consider requests for absences of members from meeting: Glenn Schroeder made a motion to accept the absence of George Dresser as excused. Glen Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 4. Approval of minutes from Regular Meeting of May 8, 2001: John Crompton made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of May 8, 2001. Glenn S. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Presentation of service awards to out-going Parks and Recreation Board members: Steve Beachy presented Chris Barzilla with a recognition plaque for andR his four years of service with the Parks Recreation Board. John Crompton was also presented with a recognition plaque for his past five years of service with the Board. Steve added that GeorgeDresser would also be receiving a recognition plaque for his past three years of service at a later date. 6. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning appointments of members to the Senior Advisory Committee: Steve stated that the Senior Advisory Committee was established by the direction of the City Council and has been an official Committee under the Parks and Recreation Board for one year. Bill Lay, Chairman of Committee, presented the nominations for new members to replace the five members whose terms had expired. Glen D. made a motion to appoint Suzanne Reynolds, Gerald Jordan, Neal Nutall Jr., Haskell Monroe, Jr., and Laura Holmes to the Senior Advisory Committee. Glenn S. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Lay stated that the applicants had been contacted and all had agreed to serve on the Committee. John C. suggested that Steve give the Committee some guidance pertaining to a Senior Facility during the next bond issue. 7. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning petitions for: Naming of the College Station Bike Loop: Steve stated that this petition came from a group who would like to name the College Station Bike Loop in memory of cyclist Wayne Bryan. Mr. Bryan was killed while cycling on August 10, 1997, when the driver of a car fell asleep at the wheel and struck him from behind. Steve stated that the petition had been verified through the Council office. He went on to say that Park staff is in favor of the petition and recommends approval by the Board. John C. stated that he is also in favor of the petition. He said that Mr. Bryan was an excellent role model. John N. asked if there had been any previous plans to name the Bike Loop. Steve replied that there hadn't been any definite plans, but for about a year, there have been several recommendations from individuals trying to name the Bike Loop in Mr. Bryan's memory. In accordance with the Parks policy, Steve asked for the Board's recommendation to bring forward to the City Council. John N. asked if the recommendation was for the entire Bike Loop. Steve replied that it was, but that markers and signs would have to be considered before any recommendations could go to the City Council. Bill D. made a motion to support the petition as submitted and recommended that the College Station Bike Loop be named the Wayne Bryan Bike Loop, and that the petition be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. John C. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Street and Facility naming for Veterans Park and Athletic Complex: Steve stated that this petition is to support the Veterans Park and Athletic Complex Subcommittee's recommendation for naming the streets and facilities at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex. He said that the Department had not received the required number of signatures according to the Parks policy at this time. (The Parks policy requires 25 signatures, and there were only 21.) John N. asked if Board members were eligible to sign the petition. Steve replied that they were. John Nichols, Bill Davis, Jon Turton, Laura Wood, Glenn Schroeder, Glen Davis, and John Crompton signed the petition and brought the total to 28 signatures, which met the required number for the Parks policy. Eric Ploeger went over a map of the Park with the proposed names. Chris B. asked if the Veterans Memorial flag would be incorporated as part of the signage at the entrance of the park. Steve responded that the Department had discussed it, and would like to incorporate it into the entry area. Bill D. made a motion to support the petition with the proposed names for Veterans Park and Athletic Complex streets and facilities and forward it to the City Council for consideration. John N. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 8. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning a park land dedication for Sun Meadows Phase II Development: Steve stated that this item is a park land dedication in the area that is immediately to the south of Southwood Valley Athletic Park (in Zone 5). Eric P. went over a map of the proposed development. He stated that a portion of the development has already been built. The developer has already dedicated $115,000 and does not wish to give any park land in the proposed dedication. Instead, the developer wishes to dedicate additional cash in lieu of land. Department staff have figured the rest of the dedication owed to be approximately $43,872. The neighborhood that is being developed would have good access to Southwood Valley Athletic Park, which has neighborhood park amenities, so an additional neighborhood park in that vicinity was not recommended. The dedication funds could also be used to put some enhancements in the existing park as well. Eric went on to say that the Department is anticipating that some of the neighborhood parks in the same zone could also benefit from these funds (i.e. Edelweiss Park and Jack and Dorothy Miller Park). The Board had concerns with the connection from the Development to Southwood Athletic Park. The Board asked when the developer's proposal would go to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Eric responded that the final plat would be presented to them on June 21, 2001. John N. made a motion to accept the cash dedication in lieu of land for Sun Meadows, Phase II, with the provision that the access from Schaffer Road to Arnold Road, and potentially into Southwood Valley Athletic Complex, be maintained. Glenn S. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Glen D. requested a park land dedication balance sheet for the next meeting. 9. Discussion, consideration, and possible action concerning City Council Vision Statement #4 (Cultural Arts and Recreational Opportunities): Steve updated the Board on the City Council planning retreat that took place on May 14, 2001. He passed out a list of the Council's eight vision statements and strategies (see attached). He stated that the City is in the process of working on implementation plans for the strategies that would be presented to the City Council on June 28, 2001. Once those implementation plans are approved, there will be projects that the Board will be asked to work on (for example, coordination with the Planning and Zoning Commission and park land dedication issues.) Steve added that the implementation schedule for Veterans Park and Athletic Complex would be moved up to a possible five-year time frame. There is the possibility of building portions of the park by using funds from a mini bond issue. John C. suggested asking for additional staff to help the process move along faster. Steve stated that it would probably be difficult to get additional staff with the financial forecast (a shortfall in sales tax revenue, which drives the general fund). Council has also asked that the issue of playground safety be addressed, and the Department has asked for additional funding in the fiscal year 2002 budget to address this issue. This was an informational item only, and no motion was made. 10. Consent Items: Capital Improvement Projects Report: John C. asked what the status was on the Lick Creek Park Trails Grant. Eric replied that it is on the Department's work schedule for fiscal year 2002. The money for the trails is available, but the matching bond money will not be available until fiscal year 2002 (starting October 1, 2001). Chris B. asked what the status was of the high school tennis court lights. Eric stated that he has talked to the construction manager, Bill Savage. There is apparently a problem with broken concrete on the courts. Mr. Savage indicated that the School District would like to do the repair work on the courts and add the additional lighting at the same time, which could possibly be during the fiscal year 2002 budget year. Eric stated that he could encumber the City's portion of the money until that time. John N. asked what the Parks Department's involvement was with the medians on George Bush Drive. Eric stated that the Texas Department of Transportation is rebuilding the roadway and putting in raised medians all the way to Texas Avenue. There may be some landscaping required on those medians, and that is where the Parks Department would become involved in the project. John C. asked what the status was on the Community Park purchase. Steve stated that the City Council had authorized the purchase, but he is not sure if the City has actually closed on the property and received the title to it. Jon T. asked when the City will take possession of the landfill. Steve stated that the time line keeps changing, because the life of it keeps extending. He believes that the City will probably take possession within six to seven years. Discussion of next meeting date and agenda: The next regular Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 10, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. Steve stated that there might be some special Board meetings scheduled during the course of the summer. Glen D. asked for an updated Veterans Park and Athletic Complex time line from the Engineers (O'Malley Engineers). John C. asked what the status was of the departmental fee study. Steve stated that he had recently received the report, but had not had a chance to review it yet. This item will be on a future agenda. John N. would like to invite the Greenways Coordinator, Judy Downs, to a future meeting (between now and September). John C. would like to have some figure discussion on hiring someone to do a class dissertation concerning the history of the Parks and Recreation Department. Laura W. would like a discussion of a potential"Bark Park." Jon T. had concerns about the effectiveness of the Parks and Recreation Board. He stated that he h.It heard a lot of reports during the meeting, tut didn't feel that the meeting was very productive. He asked what the actual role of the Board was. Steve stated that this was a valid point. He said t I.t the Parks and Recreation Board is appointed by the City Council and serve as advisors to the Council. He went on to say that some meetings would be more troductive thin others, but that the loard would have an active role in establishing joint priorities with the Planning and Zoning Cornmssion and working on City Council issues and priorities within the next year. The Board also has authority in certain park land dedication issues as well. John C. added that there are a number of thngs that the Board c.n accomplish that staff cannot by going directly to the City Co el He named several recent accomplish lents of the board: Greenways bond issue; revision of the park land dedication ord' nce; skate park; additional lighting at the A&h Consolidated High School tennis courts; the Recreation, ®� and O.en Space Master Plan; an Urban Forest Management Plan; and Playground Safety. 1L Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.