Park Commission

Minutes of a Regular Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting March 8, 2022 A regular meeting of the Blue Springs Parks Commission was held on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at the Fieldhouse. The Chairman called the meeting to order. Jon Burke -- Present Parks Dept. Staff: Dennis Dovel Kathy Richardson – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Justin Stuart Keith Hannaman -- Present Parks Dept. Staff: Derek Mayden Maureen Johnson – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Mary Herrington Gabriel Mejia – Absent Parks Dept. Staff: Jayla Coleman Ken Horrell – Present City Council Liaison: Susan Culpepper –Present Nick Brummel – Present Tony Lopez – Present A motion was made by Maureen Johnson and seconded by Ken Horrell to accept the Consent Agenda. It passed unanimously. Visitors/Correspondence: None Program/Activity Spotlight: Derek presented on the Park Mainentence Spotlight. He explained some of the maintenance changes that he and parks staff have been working on. For mowing there is a new contractor who is able to mow new areas more frequently. There is also a tracking method to stay within budget and track frequency of how often areas are mowed. There is now a full-time employee on staff who will have a primary focus on sanitation. This employee’s hours are accommodating to park usage, so there is now weekend coverage. Derek then explained that getting tasks done around the parks has been a Team First effort. Maintaining a team approach to everything has shown positive feedback and the team is taking constructive criticism well. Finances: None. Staff Reports: Staff reviewed their reports. Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman’s Report: None City Council Liaison Report: Susan explained that Mayor Carson Ross has been apart of so many changes and advocated for many updates in the City of Blue Springs and she feels that it is time to discuss options of naming one of the new projects after Mayor Ross. Dennis answered that there are many accomplishments Mayor Ross has been a part of and contributed to in the progression in the city. He explained that staff can start working on names to present to the commission at the next meeting. Old Business: Dennis presented an update on Park Sales Tax. The Rotary Park Gazebo has been demoed and the new gazebo will begin to be installed in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting. The Woods Chapel playground continues to be on hold until the weather becomes warm enough to install the new surface. It requires 10 days in a row with temperatures 40 degrees or warmer through the night for the binder to cure correctly. Paving work at Pink Hill Park for the new retaining wall along the west side of the baseball fields. The wall had to be replaced prior to curbs going in and paving work beginning. Dennis then discussed an update on the Blue Springs Aquatic Center. The Aquatic Center has moved into the Design Development stage. It is anticipated this phase will be completed by the first week of April. McCown Gordon will be issuing an RFQ for the Aquatic Contractor in late March, with selection anticipated to be in May. Once Design Development is completed, we will move directly into Construction Documents. Staff anticipates doing a couple of early release packages for the Tilt-up Concrete Panels, Aquatic components, and other long lead time materials in the next couple months to ensure the project stays on the established timeline to open Memorial Day 2024. Dennis then discussed that staff attended the annual state conference in Springfield last week. Delaney Jonson was recognized with the Young Professional Award for the Sports Section at the conference. Her work over the last year has seen increased participation in many of our youth and adult sports programs. The honor was well deserved. 1 New Business: Dennis presented on the Youth Sports Associations – Facility Use Agreements. Dennis explained that the city provides many accommodations for these associations including clean restrooms and restock, trash removal – cans and parking lots, mowing and trimming of fields and surrounding areas, fertilizations and weed control, and capital improvements/repairs. The associations responsibilities are to pay for electricity related to use – based on kilowatt usage for field lights only, pay for 33% of water bill, conduct background checks on volunteers, and set fees and charges for program participation. When comparing other communities’ fees and agreements there were many differences that those associations for the surrounding cities are required to provide versus the city. There are a few potential parts of our city and sports association agreements that we are looking into changing including but not limited to player fee paid to City for individual registration for recreational leagues, if Competitive Teams or complete teams are registered, a team fee is charged, and Rental/Admission fees for tournaments to be paid to the City. Miscellaneous: Maureen Johnson announced that March parks commission meeting would be her last meeting as she will be moving out of Blue Springs. As there was no further business, a motion for adjournment was made by Jon Burke and seconded by Maureen Johnson. 2