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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-08-2009MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING January 8, 2009 PRESENT: Commissioners: E. Singer, M. Smith, G. Anderson, D. Anderson, A. Vanderwall, P. Knight, N. Carroll Staff: E. Blank, D. Evans, D. Sankey Planning Commission Liaison: J. Davis City Council Liaison: B. Stein ABSENT: 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Singer called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Council Chamber. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Vanderwall and seconded by Commissioner G. Anderson to approve the November minutes with revision noted. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion carried. Commissioner Carroll arrived after approval of minutes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None b. Staff: Superintendent Evans spoke on recent events and activities taking place in the Parks and Recreation Department. Commissioner Knight asked how the New Year's event was advertised and why it grew quite a bit this year. Evans said it was cancelled due to weather in 2006 and has started to grow again, especially with non-residents. Events coming up include the Little Sweetheart Ball on February 6, Fire & Ice on February 7, the Banner Competition, and Parkers Lake Red Bull Pond Hockey. The Millennium Garden is rented every Saturday in 2009 - 39 weddings. There are 43 receptions scheduled in the Plymouth Room and six bar or bat mitzvahs. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. CIP Chanaes — Delav of Hilde and West Medicine Buildina Proiects: Director Blank explained that at the December 13 City Council meeting, it was decided to delay a number of projects, including the Hilde project to 2010 and the West Medicine Lake building to 2012. b. Approve 2009 Budget: The 2009 budget was approved. Commissioner Carroll asked how Plymouth was affected by the state budget. Blank said we absorbed the lack of a second payment of $500,000 in 2008. Councilmember Stein said it was PRAC Minutes/January 8, 2009 Page 2 taken from Street Reconstruction Budget. Future budgets will be affected by upcoming cuts. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Update — Zachary Park Building: Blank said he is very impressed with the progress. The group is essentially duplicating the Greenwood building for $100,000 less. Painting and trim work and details in the concession area are left to do. There will be a big grand opening sometime in May. b. Update — Zachary Parking Lot: Blank reminded the commissioners that this is the issue involving the tennis court maintenance. The parking lot maps were actually drawn in 2005. He is comfortable with leaving the tennis courts where they are for refurbishment. We will be able to expand the parking lot — options are there. Commissioner Smith asked about sharing the parking lot with the church. Blank explained that there is a joint powers agreement for overflow parking on Sundays for the church and using their lot for our overflow on other days. c. Update — Greenway Land Acquisition: Blank announced that a six acre parcel has been purchased for $410,000, which is about $69,500 per acre. Now there is only one gap between Lake Camelot and Vicksburg Lane. We should be able to close that gap in the next six months. The economy is actually helping with land acquisition. We have been contacted about a 40 acre parcel across from the high school and two parcels on the east side of high school. We are in negations with Craig Schurber about a parcel at the corner of Dunkirk and County Road 47 for a potential athletic complex. We may be able to make a major acquisition. Commissioner G. Anderson asked about the probability of acquisitions happening in 2009. Blank pointed out that taxes are due on May 15, and the limited tax credit is coming off. Owners are coming in and offering to sell their land. Developers are starting to walk away from land. We have $6.2 million left of the $9 million Open Space fund, plus $2.2 million in park dedication fees. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Approve Park Facility Fees: Superintendent Evans reported that the last substantial change in rental fees was in 2006. We have talked to neighboring communities and checked utilities and other costs to determine the changes needed to become current. We are trying to increase fees to a reasonable level to maintain services and facilities. Commissioner Vanderwall asked if the changes for baseball and soccer field usage are for sports organizations. Evans said they would apply for tournaments outside the normal scope of use of the organizations. Commissioner Knight asked why we did not raise the rates for canoe racks and school district use at Parkers Lake building in 2006. Evans said we wanted to keep the Parkers Lake fees matching with what the school district charges us for the use of their buildings. It did not seem necessary to raise the canoe rack fees at that time. Chair Singer said she likes a larger gap between resident and non-resident fees. Commissioner Vanderwall asked if the margin is consistent with other departments in the area. PRAC Minutes/January 8, 2009 Page 3 Evans said that we didn't check on that issue, but we are following Council suggestions on the gap. Director Blank said that since 30% of our revenue comes from non-residents, we will want to be careful to keep a balance between these rates. Motion was made by Commissioner Vanderwall to recommend approving the suggested rental rates. Commissioner D. Anderson second. 7 ayes. Motion approved. Chair Singer asked when these new rates would be approved and implemented. Evans said probably by early February. b. Review Draft of 2009 Work Plan: Director Blank introduced a work plan for 2009, pointing out that our two largest work projects have been taken off the schedule for this year. There are no big projects for 2009, so the workload will be less than a typical year. We will work hard on buying land. We will recommend a 5 year CIP to the Council, possibly in August. The Commission will review options for trails to recommend to the City Council. Staff is studying the area from Dunkirk to Lowes regarding a trail. The trail could assist in getting to a water control device in the pond. We could go back and amend the CIP if this trail is approved. Beach improvements will be considered. A park tour will be held. Phase II construction will continue on the Millennium Garden. By July, we must set rental fees for 2011 for the garden because they book 18 months out. We will need to consider instituting user fees for use of the fields. We now know there will be significant financial strains on the City for 2010-11, a shortfall of about $2-3 million. User fees for athletic associations are a possibility. Staff is looking at budgets associated with soccer, baseball and softball using the parks. We are meeting with the presidents of the associations to lay out the options. Our department will have cuts, so associations will need to know the options available. Documents will be provided next month or the month after. We have been working under a policy developed many years ago by a citizens' tax force under Mayor Davenport for park user fees. The current policy is that for everyday use, there should not be a fee. For extraordinary use, such as tournaments, there will be a fee charged. We will look at this document again. Blank said he feels there will be a fee. Hockey pays a fee, and soccer pays to use the dome. Chair Singer said it will be a challenge. Blank said he agrees. Right now we provide high quality service, and the associations will have to decide how much of this service will be continued. There are miscellaneous projects in the CIP which will come up this year. Grand openings will be scheduled at several of the new parks. The winged sculpture will be dedicated at the Millennium Garden. Blank pointed out that things may be added or subtracted from this list by the Council. Commissioner G. Anderson asked about the trail crossing at Cheshire Lane. Blank said a concrete tunnel will be built by the developer, probably within the year. Commissioner Vanderwall asked when user fees will be discussed. A meeting with the athletic associations will be held the end of February or early March. Blank said that with the budget, we are doing something that has never done before. Every program in the city is being analyzed from top to bottom. The programs will be weighed in priority. Some items are mandatory by law, but discretionary things will be prioritized. When the Council starts talking about the upcoming budget, they will PRAC Minutes/January 8, 2009 Page 4 have a menu with which to work to assist in making cuts. Alternately, the cuts can be made up by increasing revenue. Chair Singer said that she is not a fan of the word "miscellaneous." Can we rename that item "Park Upgrades?" Blank said that was a good suggestion. Commissioner Smith asked whether the Cheshire Lane project is a railroad crossing. Blank said that no, it is just a tunnel. Smith asked if now was a good time to work on smaller projects. Blank said this could be considered. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION: a. Chair Ellie Singer's term expires: Chair Singer said she has purchased a new home in a different city, which forces her to resign from the Commission. This was a hard choice, but it is a good choice for her family. She will miss coming to these meetings and serving as she has for the last nine years. She wishes the commission luck. She suggested they listen to staff, keep an open mind, and keep the vision of managed growth and responsible fiduciary decisions. Blank said that we have had a string of very good chair people in the last 29 years, and Ellie has been one of the strongest. Her leadership and guidance will be greatly missed. He wished her the best of luck in her future. Council will be appointing a new commissioner to bring PRAC back up to 7 members. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION: a. 2009 Meeting Schedule: Blank explained that we could probably accomplish all we need by meeting every other month, and he asked for opinions. Commissioner D. Anderson said it is a staff call because staff knows what is needed. Blank announced that today Diane Evans was recognized with a special award from MRPA. During 2006 and 2008, she chaired the annual meeting. She also chaired a leadership academy designed to train the next generation of department leaders to become ready to step up. 9. ADJOURNMENT Chair Singer entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner Smith and seconded by Commissioner Carroll. Vote: 7 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 p.m. The next meeting will be held on February 12, in the Council Chambers. Donna Sankey — PRAC recorder