Park Commission

Minutes of a Regular Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting April 5, 2022 A regular meeting of the Blue Springs Parks Commission was held on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at the Fieldhouse. The Chairman called the meeting to order. Jon Burke -- Absent Parks Dept. Staff: Dennis Dovel Kathy Richardson – Absent Parks Dept. Staff: Justin Stuart Keith Hannaman -- Present Parks Dept. Staff: Mary Herrington Gabriel Mejia – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Matt Asikainen Ken Horrell – Absent Parks Dept. Staff: Kelly Finke Nick Brummel – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Jayla Coleman Tony Lopez – Present City Council Liaison: Susan Culpepper –Absent A motion was made by Tony Lopez and seconded by Gabriel Mejia to accept the Consent Agenda. It passed unanimously. Visitors/Correspondence: None Program/Activity Spotlight: Kelly presented on the Spring Break Camp and Summer Day Camp. Spring Break Camp was held March 14th-March 18th with registration being $140 per participant. There were 32 participants and five counselors. Some changes for next years spring break camp are to have more guest speakers, add in theme days to the week, and increase number of participants as there was a two-page waitlist however, to stay in ratio with the number of staff we could accept more. Kelly then discussed the upcoming Summer Day Camp program. One of the biggest updates she has made is reducing the before and after care hours as there were not enough participants that come early/stay late. The Parent Handbook was also revised and can be found on the city website, along with registration forms. There will not be the Counselor in Training (C.I.T.) program this summer due to previous issues in the past. Final change was to do a rotating schedule for staff and participants that will provide an easier understanding of where each grouping is. Kelly has planned some fun field trips throughout the summer that the participants will enjoy including Powell Gardens, Gage: Bump City, Shatto Milk Farm, Wonderscope, Rink Ratz, Science City, and Burr Oaks, and Museum at Prairie Fire. Finances: None. Staff Reports: Staff reviewed their reports. Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman’s Report: None City Council Liaison Report: None Old Business: Dennis presented an update on Park Sales Tax. The Rotary Park Gazebo has been demoed and the new footing installed. It is anticipated the new structure will be complete and useable prior to Memorial Day weekend. 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 has started back up at Keystone Park. The old surface has been milled and the new surface will follow the week of April 5th. Over the next month several areas in our parks around town will receive new paving. The Ward Park Pickleball Courts and James Walker Park Basketball Court continue to be in holding patter until the temperatures are warm enough to coat the surface and line the courts. Dennis then discussed an update on the Blue Springs Aquatic Center. The Aquatic Center has completed the Design Development stage and has moved into Construction Documents. McCown Gordon issued the RFQ for the Aquatic Contractor with four firms submitting. Once the RFPs are received, the design team will select the Aquatic Contractor who will construct the pool portions of the project. The Construction Document phase should be 1 completed around July. New Business: Dennis presented on new policies for how all the different city boards will be ran moving forward. Vacant spots in districts will be filled with whomever is available to be a participant on the commission. There will be term limits for the chair and vice chairman spots. The attendance policy will change to no more than two absences within a year, or the commissioner will be terminated. Visitors of meetings will have no more than 5-minutes to speak on the issue they are presenting on and must fill out a Speaker Appearance Form. Lastly, Sub-committees are abolished and if staff would like to have a sub-committee meeting then it must get approved by city council. Miscellaneous: None As there was no further business, a motion for adjournment was made by Gabriel Mejia and seconded by Nick Brummel. 2