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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/2004 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board (3) Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Regular Meeting Tuesday, March 9, 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; Curtis Bingham, Parks Operations Superintendent; Ross Albrecht, Forestry Superintendent; Peter Vanecek, Senior Parks Planner; Pamela Springfield, Staff Assistant. Board Members Present: John Nichols, Chairman; Larry Farnsworth; Ken Livingston; Don Allison; Glenn Schroeder (arrived late); Jodi Warner (arrived late); Gary Erwin, Alternate. Board Members Absent: Glen Davis Guests: Kendall Turton, Terry Nixson - College Station Little League 1. Call to order. John Nichols called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pardon ry possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meetina. Glen Davis had submitted a request for absence. Ken Livingston made a motion to accept the request for absence, and Larry Farnsworth seconded. Hearing no opposition, the motion carried unanimously. Jodi Warner and Glenn Schroeder would be arriving late. 3. Hear visitors. Hearing none, this item was closed. 4. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of minutes from the Regular Meeting of February 10, 2004. Don Allison stated that in item #8 regarding Draft Guidelines for Naming of Public Facilities, in the first line, the word "not" had been left out. The sentence should read ". . . the item which prohibited naming a facility for someone who was not deceased . . ." Larry Farnsworth moved to approve the minutes from February 10, 2004, with the change mentioned. Don Allison seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed unanimously. 5. Report, discussion, and Possible action concerning requests for naming of park facilities. a. Rock Prairie PTO: A letter had been sent by Ronda Raphael with Rock Prairie PTO regarding naming the track at Jack and Dorothy Miller Park in Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 1 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004 honor of Coach Carole Weldon. Coach Weldon had been instrumental in creating the Road Runner program at the school and the PTO wanted to put up a plaque. Staff had sent a letter in response explaining that the City's guidelines were being changed. Don A. commented that he felt this would be very appropriate. John N. stated that he would like to see a letter of support from the principal of the school and CSISD showing that they agreed with this. Policy requires a petition of at least 25 names and the PTO would be instructed on that. b. College Station Little League: Kendall Turton, President of College Station Little League, and Terry Nixson were both present to request the naming of one of the Little League fields at Southwood Athletic Park after Jodi Moore. Ms. Moore passed away in 2003, and they wanted to name one of the fields after her and put up a 2' x 8' sign under the scoreboard on field #4, in honor of her contribution to the organization. A petition with approximately 250 signatures in support of this move had been collected. Ken L. felt that College Station Little League should go back and look at other individuals who had made significant contributions in the past. Steve stated that typically when facilities are named after someone, a plaque with a brief biography of the person is installed. Terry Nixson stated that College Station Little League has already committed funds to that project, pending the Board's approval. No action could be taken under this item until the Draft Guidelines for Naming of Public Facilities was approved by Council and the department's policy was updated. Both of these items would be referred to the Park Naming Subcommittee, pending action by Council. 6. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding a possible Park Land Dedication request by Nantucket, Ltd. for South Hampton. This was the first dedication to occur in Park Zone 12. The developer was proposing a new addition of 62 lots. Since the land requirement would only be sixth-tenths of an acre, staff was recommending acceptance of the fee in lieu of the land which would be $34,472. Steve said that at some point in the future a site would have to be acquired for a park in that zone. John N. felt that some thought should be given at present as to where the best location would be. Glenn S. stated that Nantucket had some fairly significant common areas but they were located outside of the city limits. Don A. moved that the Board accept staff's recommendation to accept the fee in lieu of land. The motion was seconded, and hearing no opposition, carried unanimously. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 2 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004 7. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding February 26, 2004 Report to Council. Steve gave a brief follow-up regarding Council's direction based on the report he had given them. a. Intergenerational Parks Update - Council said to continue adding the amenities such as benches with backs, walkways, lights, landscaping, and drinking fountains. b. Neighborhood Park Status Report - Council expressed the desire to have improvements made in Eastgate, Steeplechase, and Woodland Hills. They requested an implementation plan based upon existing resources that looked at any areas where funding may need to be supplemented over a multi-year period. Glenn S. asked for feedback regarding what was wanted for Eastgate. Steve said the thought was to try and make it look more like the median at Texas and Walton Drive. c. Atheltic Field Status & Utilization Report - Staff was asked to present, within the next month or so, a development plan for consideration that would provide lighting for additional soccer fields over a four to five-year period. Steve stated that no plan had been developed as yet. John N. stated that he had attended the February meeting and had suggested that if there were additional funds available that could be devoted to development of these parks and the improvements mentioned, then perhaps all of the items should be considered together and a plan devised that weighed where the money should be spent. John N. stated that if staff needed the Board's endorsement of a plan to be brought back to Council, they would be happy to do that. Steve said that staff would have to look at the available dedication funds and decide what could be done and when, based on the priorities Council identified and other projects already in line. Staff was scheduled to report back to Council on April 8th, however it could be rescheduled to April 22nd in order to get the Board's guidance at the next regular meeting. d. Veterans Park & Athletic Complex Update — This update related to current usage, the potential for joint projects with A&M and the City of Bryan, and the planned schedule for development of the Phase II design process. The City of Bryan and their Council have given their permission to come up with a concept to link Veterans Park and the entire area with 95 acres that they own. This was an item on the City's Greenway Plan and would offer the opportunity to eventually have an extended greenbelt from Bryan all the way to Lick Creek Park. Eric P. gave a brief update on the status of the $300,000 for capital improvement projects received from the Bond Election. Handouts had been included in the packets with summaries of the projects that could be done and approximate budget amounts. Half of the bond money was available to spend in 2004, with the remaining half coming available in 2005. Staff's suggestion Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 3 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004 was to move forward with the projects for 2004, and to do them as one project that would bid out in the fall. Because the $300,000 had been added on to the Bond Election by Council at the last minute, some of the items on the list had already been done with other funds. This would leave money left over in 205 that would have to be spent on intergenerational features in either developed or undeveloped parks. This was an informational item only, and no action was required. 8. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding botanical gardens (Board Goal #7). Steve stated that one of the first steps would be to define what the focus of this would be. True botanical gardens are usually quite elaborate and labor intensive. The A&M Horticultural Gardens were the closest thing in the area to a botanical garden. Glenn S. thought that the idea behind this focus was to see more color in the parks. Steve stated that over the last several years a diversity of trees, shrubs, and ornamentals had been planted in the parks in order to create some color. Ross Albrecht took the floor. Some of the trees that go into newly designed parks include crepe myrtles, Chinese pistache, Mexican Plum, Redbud, and Bradford pear, which all bloom at different times of the year providing color throughout the season. It is difficult with our soil, the amounts of rainwater we receive, the amounts and types of visitors to the parks, and the current resources, to make it showy. Steve stated that the practice of planting these types of trees would continue. The other thing that could be done would be to do something special at specific sites - something above and beyond what would be done in a neighborhood park. If there was definite interest in a true botanical garden, then perhaps it would be possible to do something cooperatively (financially) with the University since they have an established site. After further discussion it was decided that a tour of their site would be helpful. Gary E., who acts as a volunteer there, would try to set it for the regular May 11th meeting. The meeting could be held at the conference room there and a tour could be taken early. John N. asked that this item be placed on a future agenda. 9. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Manual of Neighborhood Park Improvement Standards. Eric P. reported that a meeting had been held with the City's Legal Department regarding the Manual of Neighborhood Park Improvement Standards and the potential Park Land Dedication Ordinance amendments. Legal had made some recommendations and Eric wanted the Board to know that they would be reviewing both items again. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 4 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004 He stated that Manual of Neighborhood Park Improvement Standards were the guidelines within the ordinance that provide control over any developer that wishes to develop a park. It will be referred to in the Ordinance as Improvement Standards', but will not be specifically mentioned. This will allow the Board to make changes as they see fit, without having to go back to Council each time. He gave a short presentation regarding the different standard site furnishings that go into neighborhood parks (see attached). This was an informational item only, and no action was required. 10. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Proposed Neighborhood Park Site in Park Zone 10. The Fire Department was in the process of acquiring a site for fire station #5 on the north side of Barron Road, at the intersection of Alexandria and Barron Road. They had approached staff about the possibility of purchasing the remaining portion of the five-acre site for future park development. The fire station would only require about two acres and would have a community room in the station for use by neighborhood groups. The remainder of the site could be used as a mini-park site. There is a pond located on the property, but the property is not located in a floodplain. The cost would run between $50,000 and $70,000 for the three acres. The residents of this area have come before the Board on numerous occasions requesting park land. To acquire the site would take most of the remaining funds in Park Zone 10, so any development in that area would have to wait until more money comes into the fund or possibly through a future bond issue. During discussion, questions were raised as to whether the station's detention pond would be on the three acres and whether or not the existing pond would be left or filled in. Concerns were expressed about depleting the money in the zone fund, and also about buying a piece of property that did not meet the standard size requirement. Eric told the Board that over the next ten years this zone would generate property and probably a good portion of the cash that would be needed to develop most of the parks in the zone. Ken L. made a motion that staff pursue the purchase of the three acres, as long as the cost does not exceed $51,000. Don A. seconded the motion. Hearing no further discussion, a vote was called. The motion carried five to one. 11. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning status of the Arboretum. An update (attached) was given regarding the status of the bridge repairs that were underway. The other repairs had not started as yet. The bridge repairs should be completed within the next few weeks. John N. asked if any attempt had been made to contact The Society for Creative Anachronism. Steve said not yet. Ken L. asked about getting Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 5 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004 irrigation to support the area. Steve said that was a separate project that was being worked on through the city crews. This was an informational item only. 12. Report, discussion, and possible action regarding Fees Subcommittee Meeting. The first meeting would be held on March 10, 2004. Several issues for 2005 would be reviewed, one being the use of credit cards for registration for Park programs and how to handle the fees associated with their use. More information would be available at the next meeting. 13. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning the Capital Improvement Program. Staff had nothing further to report (see update in item #7). John N. asked to see the Eastgate Master Plan at the next meeting. 14. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Department Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Plan. John N. asked about the projects on hold in Zone 6. The project that had caused them to be placed on hold was still moving forward. If that project was cancelled, those on hold would be re-evaluated. John asked about the community needs assessment. Steve said this would be a determination about the types of uses for the Conference Center, but would not be done until the City found out about the new Conference Center going in. 15. Discussion of calendar, future meeting dates, and possible agenda items. a. Rescheduling of April 13, 2004 regular meeting to April 20, 2004: The Board had no problem rescheduling the regular meeting for April 20th. b. Citizen Committee Banquet on April 13, 2004: John N. said he would be out of town on this date and unable to attend. c. TMPA Regional Park tour on April 15, 2004: TMPA had confirmed the date for the tour. Everyone would meet at Central Park and leave at 4:00 p.m. A cook-out would be arranged for that evening at the TMPA site. John N. would be unable to attend the tour. 16. Adjourn. A motion was made to adjourn and seconded. Hearing no opposition, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Page 6 of 6 Regular Meeting of March 9, 2004