Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission

Bristol Tennessee Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 5, 2019 6:00 p.m. Slater Community Center Present: Caden Meyers Curt Rutherford Susi Chandler Justin Hutchison Ronda Baker Clyde “Butch” Downs Kate White Bennett Cowan Lance Tudor Mahlon Luttrell Staff: Terry Napier Jennifer Sheffield Absent: David Akard Sherry Willinger I. Call to Order- The Parks and Recreation Commission meeting was called to order at 6:02pm by Vice Chairman Curt Rutherford. II. Introductions- As there were some absences of current board members for the August 1st meeting, all current board members introduced themselves. III. Approval of August 1, 2019 Meeting Minutes- Bennett Cowan made a motion to approve the minutes. Clyde “Butch” Downs seconded the motion. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. IV. Old Business A. Nature Center Expansion Report- Received funding for the Kid’s Space. The space will contain vinyl and removable magnets in which will provide interactive play for children. Terry stated that he would like to complete the project within 30 days. Burwell Construction is continuing work on the outdoor class room. B. Bee Project Update- After a thorough check by Bennett Cowan, he reports that the bees are doing fine. Terry stated that they are looking into starting a second hive. C. Beaver Creek South Greenway Progress Report- Terry stated that the engineers are working away and he will hopefully have something to review soon. D. Disc Golf Course Addition Report- The baskets are set and the course is now open although not finished. The signage is still in need for completion. Terry stated that “The Woods” course is designed to be family and age friendly with benches along the way. There is a Momma deer and her 2 babies that are reported to not be afraid of people and have become friendly to all who visit. E. Pickle ball Courts/Patterson Park- Terry touched on a few goals for this year which consists of converting the 2 existing tennis courts into 6 pickle ball courts. Renovation will start with resurfacing and repainting. Terry stated that pickle ball rentals on Saturday mornings this winter could fund staff cost for the Patterson Park Pickle ball Courts project. V. New Business A. End of season  1. Doggie Swim- Terry stated that Doggie Swim at Haynesfield Pool is a very popular event. Susie stated that she went and that it is a social event for dog owners that bring back the same people and dogs every year. 2. Final movie was at the Splash Pad- The movie “Aquaman” was played at the Splash Pad on the middle field and was ran by a generator. Terry stated that he is looking to bring back movies at the Splash Pad next year. It was a lot of fun for the kids and their entire families. 3. Train & Boats/weekends only- The boats will only run through this month and the train will run through October. The boats and train only run on weekends for the rest of the season as the park loses summer staff. B. Fall Activities 1. Santa Calls- Terry said that last year was the first year that there was a Spanish speaking Santa. Everyone involved has a lot of fun with Santa Calls and kids look forward to them every year. 2. Youth Basketball- starts in January. 3. Pumpkin Palooza- there are usually 300- 400 pumpkins purchased for the kids. Terry stated that we usually coordinate with the vendor’s downtown for this event. C. Maintenance Activities 1. Disc Golf Course- Johnson City is having a tournament so the Glow tournament at Steele Creek is postponed until next Friday the 13th of September, 2019. Green and red lights were put on the baskets. Innova is one of our sponsors for this event. 2. Dog Park- Preliminary work begins next week. Fencing is going in. Terry stated that he would like to have the dog park done by winter. There is currently no funding for the restrooms but actively looking. D. Trail Maintenance- The plan is to divert the mowers into the woods for trail maintenance. Reroutes of trails are in the plans to prevent problems but with over 25 miles of trails, Terry stated that “It will take time but we will get there.” VI. Board Comments: Ben mentioned that bicycle touring is growing. He mentioned that a lot of cyclers tent and do not stay in hotels and asked if we have a place for cyclers. Terry replied that this is something that we can discuss. Ben and his wife Ann just completed a tour across the U.S. Ben said that looking at the Mendota trail, it comes close to us but not through Bristol. Terry replied that was something that we can figure out as well. Kate suggested that bike rental options would be good for the Greenway. Suzi pointed out that the Eastridge Trail needs pressure washed and that it is half covered in soil. Terry responded and said that he would figure out a diversion for the run off. Ronda said that she is really excited about pickle ball and also asked if people can bring in their personal kayaks to Steele Creek Park. Terry answered saying yes they may. Curt said thanks for everything and that the city does a good job. Kate added that the Lake Ridge Trail has a lot of ivy on the trail and feels that it makes it dangerous. Mahlon stated that he was glad to be back and asked how much it would cost to redo the pickle ball courts. Terry replied stating that there are 6 courts in which 24 people can play at a time. It would cost $50,000 brand new and refurbished out of the operations budget it would cost around $15,000-$18,000. Suzi asked how often the courts should be redone. Terry replied by saying that it should be resurfaced every 5 years but tries to stretch it to 7 years. He also said that it is something that maintenance is learning to do themselves. Lance said that he was excited to be a part of this his senior year. Butch asked if the city could develop a cycling camp and suggested that Steele Creek would be perfect for camping. Terry thinks that it is very doable. Terry also pointed out that the Golf Course loses $70,000- $100,000 and is getting ready to request to council to replace equipment so the Golf Course may be an alternate option site for camp space. Justin said that he would love to see more people out at Steele Creek and wants to have a photographer group out to the park. Terry replied stating that “we would love to host photography groups.” Terry went on to say that the next plans involved refurbishing Haynesfield Courts with pickle ball courts. Terry made the comment to the board to “Let us know of issues and thanks for the support”. VII. Next Meeting Date: November 7, 2019 at the Nature Center VIII. Meeting Adjourn: 6:52 P.M.