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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/13/2005 - Regular Minutes - Parks Board Parks and Recreation Advisory Board REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, September 13, 2005, 7:00 p.m. The EXIT Teen Center 1520 Rock Prairie Road College Station, Texas Staff Present: Steve Beachy, Director; Ric Ploeger, Assistant Director; Pete Vanecek, Senior Park Planner; Ross Albrecht, Forestry & Urban Landscape Manager; Marci Rodgers, Senior Services Coordinator; Peter Lamont, Recreation Superintendent; Trey Fletcher, Staff Planner – Development Services; Pamela Springfield, Staff Assistant Members Present: Jodi Warner; Jeannie McCandless, Glenn Schroeder; Gary Erwin; Gary Thomas; John Crompton; Kathleen Ireland; Harry Green Members Absent: Carol Blaschke Guests Present: Joe Schultz, Joe and Janet Johnson – Williams Creek Subdivision; Greg Taggart, MDG – The Woodlands of College Station; Shay Lynne Stone, Bryan Salge, Louis Villalba, Jamie Edden – TAMU Recreation, Parks & Tourism Sciences 1. Call to order. The meeting was called to order by Jodi Warner, Chair at 7:02 p.m. 2. Pardon ~ possible action concerning requests for absences of members from meeting. Carol Blaschke had submitted a request for absence. Kathleen I. moved to accept Carol’s request. Gary T. seconded and the voted was called. All were in favor and the motion excusing Carol’s absence passed unanimously. 3. Hear visitors. Hearing none this item was closed. 4. Discussion, consideration, and possible approval of minutes from Regular Board meeting of August 9, 2005 and the Williams Creek Subdivision Site tour on August 25, 2005. Glenn S. moved to accept the minutes from the two meetings as presented, and Jeannie M. seconded. All were in favor and the motion to accept the two sets of minutes passed unanimously. The minutes from the joint meeting with the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) would be approved by P&Z. 5. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Park Land Dedication requests for: Williams Creek Subdivision ~ Park Zone 14: Ric stated that the board had ? th toured the proposed park site on Williams Creek on August 25. The proposed dedication was for 1.25 acres and a 1.8-acre detention area that could be accepted. The property was fairly flat with good street access. There will be a couple of parks in the area to serve this subdivision, but none were neighborhood parks within walking distance. Staff was recommending acceptance of the property. The building is wheelchair accessible. Handicap parking spaces are available. Any request for sign interpretive services must be made 48 hours before the meeting. To make arrangements call (979) 764-3517 or (TDD) 1-800-735-2989. Glenn S. moved that the board accept the land dedication in whatever amount was required to complete Southwest Park and that the street frontage requirement that is in the Park Land Dedication Ordinance be met. John C. seconded. Hearing no further questions, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. 6. Report, discussion and possible action regarding Senior Advisory Committee member recommendations ~ Marci Rodgers. Marci was present to ask for approval from the Board for two individuals – Dorothy and Jack Hernandez - to serve on the Senior Advisory Committee. The terms started in August however, she was hoping that they could still be added. The Senior Advisory Committee by-laws state that they can have up to 21 members but not less than 12, and this would give them 17 members. Glenn S. moved approval Kathleen I. seconded. The vote was called and the motion carried unanimously. 7. Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding Colorado Landfill Park Report ~ Ross Albrecht. Ross gave a report on the recreational opportunities for the BVSWMA Rock Prairie Road Landfill site, based on his site visit to the David A. Lorenz Regional Park in Denver Colorado (copy attached). The timeframe for the current landfill is closure within the next five years, with the new landfill opening in the spring of 2009. There will be some overlap as far as use. It will probably become part of the park system within the next five to ten years. No action was required this was an informational item. 8. Report, discussion and possible action regarding proposed FY2006 Parks and Recreation Department User Fees. This was a follow-up on one additional issue regarding a proposed increase in the redevelopment fee. Also, on page four of the handout there were athletic fees that had not been included in the previous review of the fees in August. The increase in the redevelopment fees was to do replacement items such as soccer goals fences, irrigation systems. The $100 per day cost for field rentals was done to adjust to a more uniform price for fields. Kathleen I. moved acceptance of fees as scheduled, Gary E. seconded. Hearing no further discussion, the vote was called. All were in favor and the motion carried unanimously. 9. Update, discussion, and possible action regarding Hurricane Katrina disaster response. Steve stated that this was not a formal report – he wanted to take the opportunity to recognize the Parks employees who had worked many long hours during the response. Lincoln Center had been the first shelter that opened on nd September 2 and the last person had just been placed. The center had housed 110- 120 people maximum and it had been manned 24 hours per day. The programs continued to go on. The Lincoln Center kids were moved to the Kids Klub program and the Teen Center closed for a couple of days because staff was utilized. The local neighborhood response had been wonderful with helping the evacuees. He added that our community disaster plan calls for this area to house 15,000 evacuees and we struggled with 500, so there were some gaps that need to be filled. There will be a number of new residents in the community that will stay. He finished by stating that this had been a good exercise - in the event something happens in Houston, it will be even more complicated. No action was required, as this was an informational item. Some of the members were opposed to the acceptance of the proposed dedication because of the size, feeling that it could be a maintenance issue in the future. John C. felt that the neighborhood should pay for the cost of the park. Discussion followed. Glenn S. stated that the ordinance was a very clear way in which to go about accepting land, but felt that sticking to an absolute of five acres (the minimum stated in the ordinance), was not realistic because there were many different issues that need to be addressed. He also felt that it was unrealistic to expect the neighborhood to pay for the park and was very supportive of the staff recommendation. Hearing no further discussion, Glenn S. moved acceptance of the park and development fees as recommended by staff. Jeannie seconded. Jodi called for the vote. The motion failed 3-5. The cash dedication would be accepted in lieu of the land. Richards-Hampton Estates Subdivision ~ Park Zone 3. Pete stated that this ? was for eight, single-family lots off of Sterling Street. There being no discussion, Glenn S. moved approval of the cash dedication and Gary E. seconded. The vote was called and the Board voted unanimously in favor of accepting the cash dedication of $4,448. The Woodlands/Dovetail Development ~ Park Zone 6. This was for 545 multi- ? family dwelling units with possible commercial development in front of it, to go in at the corner of Wellborn Road and Harvey Mitchell Parkway. No specific development plans had been seen at this point. Southwest Park site (4.77 acres) lies to the left of this and the staff recommendation was to complete the park as it has been envisioned for almost thirty years. It was the understanding of staff that Christine Lane would be closed to traffic. The city was also interested in a greenway. A letter had been sent that week by the Director of Development Services to the development community about a variety of issues, including Christine Lane, but basically requesting a dedication of 4.36 acres in a certain area of Dovetail’s development to complete Southwest Park. This would make the park just a little over nine acres. Based upon a proposal from Dovetail (attached), they are reluctant to dedicate land in excess of the requirement stated in the Park Land Dedication Ordinance, and would require the city to reimburse them in the amount of $322,445 to make up the difference based upon their land cost. They also plan to build a private road from Southwest Parkway down to Christine Lane with the city being granted some type of easement and access to the park, but they are also calling for a fifteen acre buffer between the road and the park. Christine Lane would be abandoned and whatever access the city has at that point would be lost. (The city’s response letter to Dovetail is attached.) Steve stated that if for some reason the city did decide to accept the proposal, there was no money in that park zone and it would require authorization from the City Council to get it done. Greg Taggart with MDG - the engineer on the project - was present to answer any questions and seek direction from the board. After some discussion, the Board felt that the city should try to get the land to complete the park and that negotiating was not their charge - the 4.36 acres should be the required dedication. It was also agreed that reviewing and updating the amounts for cash dedications in terms of land value should be revisited soon. 10. Review, discussion, and possible action concerning Board and Departmental Goals and Objectives, and City Council Strategic Plan. st Steve stated that Congressman Edwards had been briefed on August 31 and he ? was very supportive of the regional park initiative. Shortly after the beginning of the fiscal year the Board goals will be revised for ? 2006 and will probably be on the October agenda. The Program and Facility Needs Assessment had a 45% response rate. All of the ? work had been done and the final report should be forthcoming. The Park Land Dedication Ordinance revisions had gone to P&Z but not City ? Council. The wording regarding the appraised value of land for the developer still needed to be done. Hearing no further discussion this item was closed. 11. Report, discussion, and possible action concerning the Capital Improvement Program. The Park Land Dedication Project list had been included in the members’ packets. ? Jodi said she had been approached by someone with the Edelweiss Homeowner’s Association about the protocol for putting new swings in at Edelweiss playground and the HOA wanted to either help with the cost or put them in. Steve said that the HOA just needed to send a letter to Parks Department and have them send the money they want to give and it will be deposited into that park zone. The Parks Department would do the project. The current Capital Improvement Project list had been included in the members’ ? packets. John C. asked about the status of the city’s receiving a matching grant in ? approximately 2001 from a federal agency for greenways. He stated that he had never heard what it had been used for. Ric said he would find out and e-mail the Board with the information. Ric stated that the CIP projects were proceeding well. Veterans Park and Athletic ? Complex Phase II would bid this fall; the Lincoln Center water park would go out to bid soon; Steeplechase Park construction is out to bid; and, the Jack & Dorothy Miller Park basketball court cover is almost complete. In October the Department will have a whole new set of projects to add to the list and the projects that are completed will fall off of the list. 12. Discussion of next meeting dates and possible agenda items. Future Senior Center Public Meeting ~ Thursday, September 15, 2005, ? 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of College Station International Student Picnic at Central Park ~ Thursday, September 29, 2005 ? October Regular Meeting ~ October 11, 2005 ? Recreation Center Report at October regular meeting ? 13. Adjourn. Kathleen I. moved to adjourn and Gary E. seconded; Jodi called for the vote. All were in favor and the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.