HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/08/2002 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board (2) •_••
College Station Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
Tuesday,January 8, 2002,at 6 00 p in
Parks and Recreation Conference Room
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—-
Staff e
Presnt: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Peter Lamont, Recreation
Superintendent; Curtis Bingham, Parks Operations Superintendent-' Peter Vanecek, Senior Park
Planner;Marci Rodgers, Senior Services Coordinator;Kris Lehde, Staff Assistant.
Board Members Present: John Nichols, Chairman- Glenn Schroeder; Glen Davis; Don Allison; Bill
Davis; Jon Turton;Laura Wood(Alternate).
Board Members Absent: Larry Farnsworth,
Guests: Bill Lay, Chairman of the Senior Advisory Committee.
Visitors: Lou Hodges, Department of Recreation,Park, and Tourism Sciences(TA.'„1'
).
Workshop Meeting
Call to order: John Nichols called the workshop meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
2. Pardon — consider requests for absences of members from meeting: Glenn Schroeder made a
motion to accept the absence of Larry Farnsworth as excused. Glen Davis seconded the motion. All
were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
3. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Departmental Goals and
Objectives andCity Council Strategic Issues: Steve Beachy said that an update of the Board,
Departmental, and City Council Strategic Issues was included in the Board packets that went out. He
added that the Departmental goals support the Boardgoals and that the Board Goals support the
Council's Strategic Issues. He went on to say that each Park Supervisor has personal goals that relate
to the Departmental and Board goals, as well as to the Council's Strategic Issues.
Board Goal: "Planning and coordination for the next bond issue." Glen Davis referred to this goal,
and asked what the Board should do to accomplish it. Steve said that the Department has developed a
preliminary capital improvement project list for future park facilities. The next step the Board should
take is to look at the list and determine if projects need to be added. He added that in February, the
Board should look at the preliminary cost estimates and determine project priorities.
Jon T. felt that this goal should be the Board's top priority. Glen D. asked what the Board needed to
do to accomplish the goals within the budget year. Steve said that the Board goals are linked to the
Council Strategic Planning Calendar. He added
ded that additional steps will be added to the Boar d's
goals if warranted. Jon T. said that Departmental, Board, and Council Strategic Issues should bein
sync with each other to ensure that the Board is working on the "same page" as the Council.
Board Goal: "Implementation of the approved Capital Improvement Program (Madeley Park site
review)." Steve said that there would be a joint meeting and public hearing with the City of Bryan
and College Station Parks and Recreation Advisory Boards on Tuesday, February 19,
2002,
at
7:30 p.m., concerning the development of the Madeley Park site. Kris Lehdewill send out additional
meeting information and an agenda once it is available.
Board Goal: "Review and update the Recreation, Park, and Open Space Master Plan." Steve
reviewed a proposed schedule,that was included in the Board packets, to accomplish this goal. The
Board was in consensus that the Master Plan Subcommittee should be utilized to review the plan, and
bring recommendations back to the fall Board for approval. The members on the Subcommittee are
John Nichols, Don Allison, and Glen Davis.
John N. suggested adding a public review period to the schedule. Steve agreed that would be
essential to the process.
4. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning the current Capital Improvement Project
Report: Steve reported on the following Capital Improvement Items:
• The Hallaran Pool Filter Project is complete.
• Oaks Park Bridge is under construction.
• The Veterans Park and Athletic Complex construction project is going very well. The Veterans
Memorial Committee has received 204 pledges totaling$323,475. The deadline to submit names
to be included on the memorial for the dedication on November 11, 2002, is April 30th.
• The Department is waiting for the Legal Department to draw up the interlocal agreement for the
jogging tract at Jack and Dorothy Miller Park. The Board asked for an update on the status of the
agreement. Steve will check the status and update the Board.
Jon T. said that he is concerned about the safety of the children that play at Anderson Park, and feels
that that there should be an iron fence (similar to the one that was recently installed at Pebble Creek
Park) installed on the south end of the park, along Holleman. Steve said that Pete Vanecek could
come up with a cost estimate.
5. Discussion,consideration, and possible action concerning potential future Capital Improvement
Projects: The following are the Board's concerns and suggestions for potential future capital
improvement projects:
• Bill Davis is concerned about providing shade structures for park playground equipment. Steve
said that this concern would be added to the list under Item V, "Park Improvements."
• Jon T. identified the need for a Pony League ball field, possibly at a community park. Steve said
that a new "South" Community Park is planned under Item IV, "Community Facilities." Glen D.
said that when the master plan is done for the park, it should include a Pony League ball field.
• Jon T. asked if there were plans to build a community swimming pool south of Southwood
Valley.
• It was suggested that the Lick Creek Park, Phase II and the Luther Jones Landfill projects should
be moved from Item I, "Neighborhood Park Development,"to Item IV, "Community Facilities."
• Gle S. asked if any joint projects were pla ed for the new high school. He suggested adding
potential tennis court lighting and/or a covered tennis court project to Item IV, "Community
Facilities."
Steve said that once cost estimates are determined, the Board would then need to prioritize the
potential projects on the list. He added that a special meeting is planned for Tuesday, February 5,
2002, at 6:00 p.m., to discuss the project list. Kris will mail the cost estimates and project
descriptions to the Board prior to the meeting.
6® Discussion, consideration, and possible action concerning the skate park report to the City
Council on December 20, 2001: John Nichols requested that Workshop Item #6 be moved to the
Regular Agenda, following Item#12. The Board was in consensus on that item being moved.
7. Hear visitors: No visitors spoke at this time.
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Meeting of January 8,2002
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Regular Meeting
John Nichols opened the regular meeting at 7:20 p.m.
8. Discussion, and possible approval of minutes from regular meeting of December 11, 2001:
Glenn S. made a motion to approve the minutes of December 11, 2001, pending an amendment to
Item #7 stating that "Park Zone 7" (instead of the "proposed site for a potential development") is
bordered by George Bush Drive, FM 2818, and Wellborn Road...." Don A. seconded the motion.
All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
9. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning recommendations for Senior programs
and facilities (City Council Vision Statement#4, Strategy 5.b): Steve stated that this item is a City
Council Strategic Issue. He said that a draft report (refer to the draft Senior Programs and Facilities
Report) would be presented to the City Council on January 24, 2002, pending the Board's approval of
it. (Note: This meeting has since been postponed to February 28, 2002.) He introduced Marci
Rodgers and Bill Lay who presented the draft report to the Board.
Marci said that two (2) groups of the Texas A&M University's Eisenhower Leadership Development
Program have been studying the Senior facilities and programs and have come up with short-term and
long-term goal recommendations for these programs. She added that the Committee would need the
Board's approval of the report before it could be taken to the City Council for their consideration.
She added that as a result of the report, the Senior Advisory Committee does not feel that a Senior
Center needs to be built at this time, and that the existing facilities that the City has should be used to
their full capacity. Once the programs outgrow the existing facilities, the potential for renting
meeting space had been discussed as an option. She said that the ultimate goal of the Committee
would be to have a Community Center that the whole community could utilize and benefit from.
Marci added that the Committee has requested that more awareness and campaigning efforts be made
to promote the Senior programs, as well as the possibility of partnering with other organizations and
groups. She added that the issue of transportation to programs would also be addressed. John N.
asked what marketing techniques and resources would be used to promote the programs. Marci
stated that a lot of the marketing would be through word of mouth. Steve added that any marketing or
transportation issues that would require additional funding resources would be brought to the City
Council during the budget process.
Jon T. asked what age groups were surveyed in the report. Mr. Lay responded that the group
surveyed were ages 65 and older, although, he added, needs may be different with other age groups.
Steve said that the existing programs the Department offers will be reviewed to determine if Senior
programs can be incorporated into them. Mr. Lay went on to say that the Committee is recommending
that the study continue and be done as a gradual process, so as not to jump into anything.
Glen D. made a motion to endorse and support the draft report. Glenn S. seconded the motion. All
were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
(Note: The Senior Advisory Committee meets on the last Monday of every month, at 10:00 a.m., at the
"Exit"Teen Center.)
10. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning the First Quarter Fiscal Year 2002
Park Maintenance Standards Performance Report (City Council Vision Statement #4, Strategy
2.a): Steve said that a lot of time went into the development of the Park Maintenance Standards.
Curtis Bingham said that when the standards were created,the Department had estimated that 83% of
the standards were being met. He went on to say that the goal is to meet 90% of the standards within
five (5) years. To track this process, the Department created the Maintenance Standards Survey from
the maintenance standards. Curtis reviewed the process that the Parks Operations Supervisors use to
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conduct the surveys. He added that, at certain times of the year, some standards may not be
applicable, and that some standards would weigh more than others. Standards for the survey could
also be added and/or amended if warranted to "fine tune" it. Curtis said that overall, the Department
is currently meeting 77% of the maintenance standards for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2002.
Glen D. added that any changes to the standards would require approval by both the Board and the
City Council. John N. suggested that any changes be referenced in the survey for tracking purposes.
John asked how the Operations Supervisors are trained on the survey grading process to ensure that
they are grading consistently with each other. Curtis replied that the Operations Supervisors have
attended Turf Management Training. He added that all of the three (3) Operations Supervisors are
responsible for grading their own area of responsibility, so the scores are based on judgement. John
suggested cross training the Supervisors, and having them grade the other areas of responsibility as
well, or have them grade in teams with each other.
Glen D. said that he thought the report was a good starting point, and added that it would be a work in
progress. Steve said that the results of the survey would be included in the Departments' quarterly
performance measure reports that are submitted as part of the budget process.
This was an informational item only, and no motion was made.
11. Presentation, discussion, and possible action concerning a proposed park land dedication for
T.C.C. Subdivision (Park Zone #7): Peter Vanecek stated that the proposed development is located
on FM 2818, approximately half a mile from Woodway Park. He said that the total park land
requirement would only be .69 acres, and added that some of the land has greenway on it, but most of
the land is in the floodplain or is densely wooded (refer to Project Review Checklist). The developer
is requesting, and staff is recommending,the dedication of the fee in lieu of land.
Glen D. made a motion to accept the dedication of the fee in lieu of land for the T.C.C. Subdivision.
Glenn S. seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously.
Glenn S. suggested adding the location of the proposed development, along with a site map, to the
Project Review Checklist in the future.
12. Discussion, consideration, and possible action concerning possible Board support for an ice
skating rink at the new Brazos County Expo Center: John N. asked for the Board's thoughts on
this item. Jon T. said that he is a member of the Brazos Valley Ice Coalition. There appears to be the
possibility that an ice skating rink will be built in conjunction with, and adjacent to, the new Brazos
County Expo Center. He suggested that it may be appropriate for the Board to state their support of
any recreational activity that comes to the community. John N. said that the Board should be specific
with their support, and would like to know how supporting such a facility would benefit the
community, and also how the operation of such a facility would impact the City's Recreation Staff
Bill D. said that if an ice skating rink could be built in conjunction with the Expo Center, and it would
benefit the community, he would be in favor of the Board supporting efforts to include a rink at the
Expo Center. Steve said that if the Board is in support of endorsing the idea, a resolution should be
prepared on behalf of the Board. After some discussion, it was decided that no action would be taken
on this item at this time.
Workshop Item#6: Discussion, consideration, and possible action concerning the skate park report
to the City Council on December 20, 2001: John N. said that in order to become more sensitive to the
Council's vision, he and Steve would try to obtain better feedback before future projects are presented to
the City Council.
John N. asked Steve if Staff had been given direction from Council at the December 20, 2002, meeting
when the Skate Park Report was presented to them. Steve responded that he recalled that consideration
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Meeting ofJanuary 8,2002
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might be given should there be a private venture that wants to construct such a facility, but that Council
did not want the City to incur the liability.
Glen D. felt that this topic was a "dead issue." He recommended that the Board allocate more of their
time to their other goals and objectives. The Board was in consensus.
This item was intended for discussion only, and no motion was made.
13. Discussion of next meeting dates and agendas: There will be a special meeting on Tuesday,
February 5, 2002, to discuss possible future capital improvement projects, a regular meeting on
Tuesday, February 12, 2002, and a joint meeting with the City of Bryan Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board on Tuesday, February 19, 2002, to discuss the future of Madeley Park. Kris will
send out additional information once it is available.
- Jon Turton asked for an update of the status of user contract agreement renewals with the
Parks and Recreation Department.
- It was requested that discussion of the interlocal agreement for the jogging tract at Jack and
Dorothy Miller Park be brought to the Board for discussion if an update has not been sent to
the Board prior to the meeting.
14® Hear Visitors: No visitors spoke at this time.
15® Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Parks&Recreation Advisory Board
Meeting of January 8,2002
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