Park Commission

Minutes of a Regular Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting June 7, 2022 A regular meeting of the Blue Springs Parks Commission was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at the Fieldhouse. The Chairman called the meeting to order. Jon Burke -- Present Parks Dept. Staff: Dennis Dovel Keith Hannaman -- Present Parks Dept. Staff: Justin Stuart Gabriel Mejia – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Derek Mayden Ken Horrell – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Mary Herrington Nick Brummel – Absent Parks Dept. Staff: Matt Asikainen Tony Lopez – Present Parks Dept. Staff: Jayla Coleman Almitra Buzan - Present City Council Liaison: Susan Culpepper –Present A motion was made by Ken Horrell and seconded by Jon Burke to accept the Consent Agenda. It passed unanimously. Visitors/Correspondence: None Program/Activity Spotlight: Dennis explained that the department has recently added many new full-time personnel and this park commission meeting was a great opportunity for them to introduce themselves to the commissioners. Marlene Schulte is the Fitness Supervisor for Fieldhouse. She oversees fitness attendants, personal trainers, and group instructors. She also handles fitness programs and other special events for parks. Brandon Hallier is a student at Northwest Missouri State University. He is working in obtaining his bachelor's degree in parks and recreation. As a requirement of the program, he needs to complete an internship and special project. We are glad to have him on the team as our summer intern. Alec Gathright oversees Adult Sports. He also handles Little All-Stars Programs and other special events for parks. Payton Funk is the Building Supervisor for Fieldhouse. She oversees building attendants and after office hours all Fieldhouse attendants. She also handles other special events for parks. Brian Spano oversees marketing and other special events for parks. 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 completed. The new steel structure replaces the old wooden structure and provides a larger stage for the concert in the park series. The new wheelchair swing being installed at Rotary Park is close to completion. The swing has been installed and the new safety surface around the structure is scheduled to be installed on Friday June 3 and Saturday June 4. The Woods Chapel playground has been completed and opened to the public. The Ward Park Pickleball Courts and James Walker Park Basketball Court have been completed and opened to the public for use. The new restroom buildings for Blue Springs Park and Wilbur Young Park have been ordered. The buildings will not be installed for 7 to 8 months however, due to lead times at the manufacturing plant. Ken asked if signage could be provided to the public that would show more information on cleaning schedules. Dennis answered that staff will take this suggestion into consideration. Dennis then discussed an update on the Blue Springs Aquatic Center. The Aquatic Center continues to move in a positive direction. Currently the design team is at 50% Construction Documents with a target date of July 15 for 95% and bidding taking place beginning July 15th. On September 19th it is anticipated the request to release bons will will be on the City Council Agenda. A groundbreaking ceremony will be scheduled for late October to early November. Construction is anticipated to begin in December 2022. Dennis explained that it is important to start looking at naming the recreation center and naming the aquatic center. A few names were presented just to get the 1 commissioners thinking about different options. A decision would need to be made by the August park commission meeting. Justin then presented on Youth Sports Association Facility Use Agreements. It has become increasingly apparent that the arrangement the City and the Associations have operated under for mare than 10 years is a broken system. The associations currently collect all fees and pays nothing to the Parks and Recreation Department other than a portion of the water and electric fees used by each group. Back in February, staff informed Park Commission of the structure of the current Facility Use Agreements. The Commission agreed that this was not a feasible model. The suggested changes are to be considered a starting point for discussions. Some items may be negotiable depending on the association. It is our desire to implement these changes for the 2023 seasons. Park Commission will review the changes and further discussion will be had at the next meeting in July. New Business: Dennis presented that the park commissioners would need to review the Rules of Procedures/Attendance for being on park commission. A few key things were discussed with the commissioners. Attendance will be heavily monitored with disciplinary action if a certain amount is missed. Items not listed on the agenda will not be discussed and more so added to the agenda for the following meeting. Visitors are limited to 5- minutes of time per person to speak during meetings. Miscellaneous: July park commission meeting is moved to July 12th due to the 4th of July holiday. As there was no further business, a motion for adjournment was made by Ken Horrell and seconded by Jon Burke. 2