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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/20/2004 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, April 20, 2004, 7:00 p.m. EXIT Teen Center 1520 Rock Prairie Road College Station, Texas Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Peter Vanecek, Senior Parks Planner; Scott Hooks, Parks Operations - West District Supervisor; David Wood, Parks Planner; Kristan Clann, Greenways Coordinator; Pamela Springfield, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: John Nichols, Chairman; Larry Farnsworth; Ken Livingston; Don Allison; Jodi Warner; Glen Davis; Gary Erwin, Alternate. Board Members Absent: Glenn Schroeder Guests: Rhonda Raphael, Rock Prairie PTO; Steve Arden, Land Owner; Fred Anderson, Land Owner; Joseph and Janet Johnson, Developer; Mike Hester, Engineer; Alton Ofczarzak, Developer; Garrett Roy, TAMU Student; April Conkey, Woodway Subdivision Resident 1. Call to order. John Nichols called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. Pardon N possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meeting. No requests for absence had been submitted. 3. Hear visitors. Hearing none, this item was closed. 4. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of minutes. Woodway Park Public Hearing - March 3, 2004. Don Allison moved to approve the minutes from the March 3, 2004, Public Hearing. Ken Livingston seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Regular Meeting - March 9, 2004. Gary Erwin moved to approve the minutes from the March 9, 2004, meeting. Larry Farnsworth seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. Proposed TMPA Regional Park Site Tour - April 15, 2004. Gary Erwin stated that he had one correction to the minutes. His name had been left off of the list of those attending the tour. Jodi Warner made a motion to approve the minutes of the site tour with the change mentioned. Don A. seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 1 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004 5. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Woodway Park Plan. Eric Ploeger briefly discussed the history of the Woodway Park site and the public hearing that had been held on March 3, 2004. A concept had been created which incorporated items based on the input from citizens at that hearing. Peter Vanecek described the concept for the park, which included: a jogging loop/trail system (1/2 mile), a 50-space parking lot, a rentable picnic pavilion that would hold approximately 80-100 people, restrooms, a standard size playground (not a tot playground), volleyball and basketball courts, a small shelter, a nine-hole disc golf course, and three or four picnic units in the more heavily wooded area of the park. The pond, which would need some renovation, would probably include a fishing pier. The disc golf course would be separated from the areas of higher activity in the park. The walkways would be lit. April Conkey asked whether the jogging path would be concrete or a rubber cushioned surface. Peter stated that perhaps a smaller loop could be done using rubber cushioned surfacing, but the remainder would be concrete. Ms. Conkey also asked if the disc golf area and the area around the pond would be left wooded. Peter responded that some thinning would probably be done for the first couple of holes for the disc golf course and for better visibility by the Police Department. John N. added that he would prefer to see the sidewalks set back from the street. This request would be forwarded to the Public Works Department. The project should go out to bid in the fall. It would cost approximately $600,000 to construct the park, plus the land acquisition costs. The pond work was the biggest unknown factor. Don A. made a motion to adopt the concept presented as the Master Plan for Woodway Park, and Gary E. seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 6. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Park Land Dedication requests. ■ Horse Haven Estates N The proposed subdivision of 22 lots required only a .22 acre land dedication. Staff was recommending acceptance of the fees of $12,232, in lieu of the land. Connectivity to nearby Windwood and Raintree Parks would be an issue to consider in the future, as the remaining property in that area is developed. Discussion with the developer and the engineer followed regarding different options for connectivity. Glen D. moved to accept the fee in lieu of land subject to the developer putting in a dedicated sidewalk easement from Horseshoe Drive, towards Switch Station Road, in order to provide access to Windwood Park. (The street name on the developer's site plan presented to the Board was shown as Horseshoe Drive, but this had not been approved by 911 and could Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 2 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004 change.) The motion was seconded by Don A. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ■ Edelweiss Gartens, Phase 6-11 N The proposed dedication of 6.03 acres included some detention area that would be configured for use as an open play area or practice facility. The required dedication of 3.16 acres would be located outside of the detention area. There would be good connectivity between this area and the existing portion of Edelweiss Gartens, creating a total park of 13.7 acres. Staff recommended acceptance of the land dedication. Glen D. moved to accept the dedication of the 6.03 acres of land. Don A. seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ■ Williams Creek Subdivision N Approximately 110 single-family home sites would be developed, resulting in a required dedication of little more than an acre. There was the possibility for future phases. Staff had not come up with a recommendation, but may want to discuss with the developer the future of the entire piece of property. The tract has 70'-80' differences in elevation, the likelihood of Navasota Ladies Tresses, and streams that are under the jurisdiction of the US Army Corps of Engineers, so the developer is limited as to what can be done. The owners would have liked to dedicate land, but had not considered any specific location. After lengthy discussion, Glen D. moved to accept the fee in lieu of the land dedication, with the stipulation that the developer work with staff to determine if it would be feasible to establish a park in future phases. Don A. seconded. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 7. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning requests for naming of Jack & Dorothy Miller Park jogging track. Rhonda Raphael with Rock Prairie PTO was present to request that the track at Jack and Dorothy Miller Park be named in honor of Coach Carole Weldon. Since the discussion at the April meeting regarding this, the City Council had approved the proposed "Guidelines for the Naming of City Facilities", and a petition with 28 names in support of the request had been turned over to staff. Staff recommended that this issue be turned over to the Facility Naming Subcommittee to act on, and then make a recommendation to the Board. It would probably be fall before this could be approved and a plaque created. A meeting of the Facility Naming Subcommittee was then scheduled for May 7, 2004, at noon. The Board asked for a resolution from the Rock Prairie PTO Board showing that they were in support of this project. Ms. Raphael said she would try to get this prior to the May 7th meeting. A letter from the principal of Rock Prairie Elementary was also requested. 8. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding potential park and greenway joint project with the City of Bryan. A possible Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 3 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004 cooperative project was being considered that would develop a linkage between College Station park property (Veterans Park & Athletic Complex) and the adjacent Texas A&M property, with 90 acres of Bryan park property through greenways and trails. Future connections could potentially go south to Lick Creek Park and north to the Brazos Center. This was a conceptual thought only and no proposal had been developed or specific land tracts designated. There was a lot of floodplain involved, but if developed, it would create a pedestrian and wildlife corridor between the sites. Steve introduced Kristan Clann, the City's new Greenway Coordinator and explained that this would involve greenway types of projects. This concept was shown on the Greenways Master Plan as part of the greenways system. This was an informational item only and no action was required. 9. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Eastgate Park Master Plan. City Council had recently elevated this project on their list of priorities and would like for it to create more of a gateway going into the neighborhood. Peter V. stated that this park had gone through a few different designs, however, the new conceptual plan included major landscaping behind the commercial buildings with raised planter beds, flowering trees, evergreen shrubs, walkways, and possibly a sculpture fountain area in the middle. The brick pavers used would match those in the islands on Texas Avenue. The park was not big enough to put in a playground or ball fields. Keep Brazos Beautiful would be contributing approximately $40,000 to help do part of the landscaping and additional funding would be requested to do the remainder of the project. This would be part of the follow-up report to City Council on April 29th (see item 10 below). The total cost for the project would be approximately $180,000. In addition to Council's desire to see improvements in Eastgate Park, improvements for Eastgate had also been requested in a small area plan that had been conducted two or three years earlier. Some of these improvements had been included in the recent bond package as a result of that small area plan. Glen D. made a motion to accept the concept presented as the Master Plan for Eastgate Park, subject to a special request for funding outside of the normal budget process. Don A. seconded. Discussion followed regarding the funding of the project. Hearing no further discussion, the motion was voted on as stated, and carried five to one. 10. Follow-up report, regarding recommendations from February 26, 2004 Park Issues Report to City Council. Steve had been asked to present to Council at their April 29th meeting, a proposal to light soccer fields over a five- year period and address some neighborhood park issues. Handouts were distributed summarizing the three different options for the soccer field lights. Ten existing soccer fields had been identified as appropriate - four fields at Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 4 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004 Veterans Park, three at Central, and the three new fields to be built at Veterans Park. (See attached handouts for details of the options.) Council would have to authorize debt authorization to pay for this. If that is done, then it would probably be best to group those projects as described in Option 3. The Neighborhood Park Proposal (attached) dealt with improvements to four parks - Eastgate, Steeplechase Park, Woodland Hills, and University parks. The proposal phased the improvements out, doing Eastgate and Steeplechase first. University Park would be eligible for Community Development Block Grant funds. Once Council makes a recommendation as to how many of these projects they want done and how soon, staff can move forward. This does not utilize any existing bond money or affect any other existing projects. Glen D. asked if the soccer clubs had been asked to help with the lighting project. Steve said no, they had not been asked. John N. stated that he felt both the Lighting Proposal and the Neighborhood Park Improvement Proposal were equally important. Glen D. felt it was important to explore all avenues of revenue generation in the lighting process, such as grant applications for user participation. Glen D. made a motion to endorse the general concept and the priorities as listed. Gary E. seconded the motion. No further discussion being heard, the motion was voted on and passed unanimously. 11. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding Fees Subcommittee meeting. There had been a meeting of the subcommittee and one of the items worked on had been a draft 'Athletic Field Priority of Use Policy'. The subcommittee needed to schedule another meeting to go over the draft and discuss a few other issues. Another meeting was set for Tuesday, April 27, 2004, at 4:00 p.m. Glen D. said he would like for the subcommittee to come back to the Board at the May meeting with a recommendation on 2005 user fees. 12. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning Second Quarter Park Maintenance Standards. This report had gone out in the Board packets. Steve explained that as part of the budget process, additional funds would be requested to increase the Replacement Fund from $75,000 to $100,000 per year. This would help with replacing items such as playgrounds, court resurfacing, and drinking fountains on a timelier basis. This was an informational item only. 13. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning the Capital Improvement Program. Eric P. stated that nine bids had been turned in and opened for the Lincoln Expansion Project. Six were within budget, including alternates. Approval for the contract would go to City Council at Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 5 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004 their first May meeting and construction would start shortly thereafter. A groundbreaking ceremony would be held mid-May. Glen D. asked if the money for the Jack & Dorothy Miller Park exercise equipment had come out of Park Land Dedication funds. Eric said that $40,689 had come out of that fund, with the remaining coming out of the Replacement Fund. 14. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Department Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Plan. Hearing no discussion, this item was closed. 15. Discussion of calendar, future meeting dates, and possible agenda items. ■ Presentation by Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Department regarding conceptual plan for TMPA Regional Park N Dr. Scott Shafer had done concept plans for the park site and would be presenting them to the Brazos Valley Council of Governments on May 3rd. A notice would be sent out to the Board as a reminder. ■ Regular meeting on May 11, 2004 N The May meeting would be held at the TAMU Horticulture Gardens. There would be people there to answer any questions posed by the Board and to do a section by section overview of the Gardens and what it takes to keep them maintained. The board would meet at 5:30 p.m., at the site. 16. Adjourn. A motion was made to adjourn and seconded. Hearing no opposition, the meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 6 of 6 Regular Meeting of April 20, 2004