Recreation Advisory Board

Minutes for the Mee�ng of the Recrea�on Advisory Board Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 7:30-9:00 AM Call to Order: A special mee�ng of the Recrea�on Advisory Board was held on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at the Community Center, 715 E. Main Street, and remotely via Google Meets. McKenzie Lyle called the mee�ng to order at 7:31am. Roll Call: Members in atendance were McKenzie Lyle, Luke Urbine and Marcus Trustee. Also in atendance, Recrea�on Director Shane Basford, Special Events Coordinator Annie Carlson, Town Administrator Brian Berger and Trustee Devin Rowe. Approval of the Agenda: Luke Urbine mo�oned to approve the agenda as writen. Mo�on was seconded by Marcus Trustee, and the mo�on passed unanimously. Approval of the Minutes: Luke Urbine mo�oned to approve the November minutes as writen. Mo�on was seconded by Marcus Trustee, and the mo�on passed unanimously. Public Comment: No one was here for public comment. New Business: I. Town Administrator Brian Berger Introduction a. Brian Berger introduced himself to the Rec Advisory Board, he has been with the Town three months now and previously was the Town Administrator for the Town of Poncha Springs and was involved in every facet of town operations there. He sees his role as a conversation facilitator and is working to create overlaps between all departments with the hope of cohesive town operations. b. McKenzie brought up a few discussion points – i. McKenzie Lyle brought up the ongoing conversation the RAB has been having about Parks and Rec departments merging. Brian mentioned he wouldn’t pursue a conversation until after summer, to get a better feel for how the departments operate. ii. There was a discussion about the major developments/subdivisions the RAB has been asked to comment on. Brian talked about developments in the last 1-2 years being a bit rushed. Ideally, we would embed expectations and requirements in the land use code which also helps developers when bringing plans to the table. One of the main concerns for the RAB is continuity across town especially with trail connection and right of way design. 1. Shane talked about a recent meeting the Rec department had with Planning to gain understanding on what’s going on with developments, in preliminary planning and in final  developments. Planning directed the Rec department to create a one-sheet with our standard recommendations for developers. iii. There was discussion of the upcoming Comp Plan and a desire for a bike lane and trail plan to be included. Brian mentioned that the Comp Plan is a higher-level plan with each department contributing a more detailed zoomed-in plan. Bike lanes fall into the transportation plan which was last updated in 2004. The Comp Plan would come first with recommendations and a request that the transportation plan be a high priority. iv. McKenzie mentioned the Boys & Girls Club and the RAB desire to be involved in the discussion and in the loop on development progress. Brian mentioned that groundbreaking is now Spring 2025 with more money still needing to be raised. The site plan is coming quickly which gives Town a year to review and make recommendations. II. Disc Golf Course Tree Clearing a. Luke brought this discussion to the board; He as well as others have noticed that trees have been cut way too drastically. He noted that obstacles are a normal part of disc golf and cutting trees back to help your game is not the purpose of this space. Brian mentioned that any cutting of trees on town property requires a permit and there are ecological risks of cutting back trees whenever people want. The plan is to have a discussion with Parks the Disc Golf group about planned improvements and the maintenance process. The Rec department also plans to update the MOU with the Disc Golf group to get on the same page and be in better overall communication. b. There was also a brief discussion of the Rec department being awarded a grant for the construction of the Walton loop/Tater tots trail which will be a beginner single-track trail. This trail and the golf course will coexist. III. Rec Board Open Positions and Reappointments a. Jan Johnson has resigned from the RAB, which leaves us with 3 open spots. The Rec department continues to advertise on social media but there was a discussion of recruiting as well as reaching out to Trails Advisory Board applicants that didn’t make it. Ongoing Business: I. Recreation Staff Report Discussion a. Billy Cordova Memorial Park Updates i. We currently have $140,000 still to fund for the park. We did not receive a large grant (80k) but are continuing to investigate other funding options/grants. The plan is still an April-May groundbreaking and September opening. A community workday is tentatively August 24th. b. BV Rec Staffing Updates i. Catelin Miles put in her two weeks in December. We currently have two positions posted – Program Coordinator and Admin Assistant both full time and year-round. The application deadline is January 8th.  II. Budget & Fee Schedule Approved a. Everything made it into the budget including the trailer/bus wrap project. The painting and carpet in the Pinon Room were changed to ADA doors for the Community Center but still made the budget. III. Future Funding for Recreation Capital Projects a. The RAB has met with Jeff Parker in the past about Rec tax options as a funding stream. As previously discussed, there’s only so much threshold on taxes. The Comp Plan, once completed would create a list of priorities that would make sense to put tax funds into. IV. Board Pulse a. Luke Urbine brought up the fact that adventure travel/tourism is down throughout the United States with revenue being down 30%, however rafting on the Arkansas River remains steady and saw a revenue dip of 10%. This helps to explain the flat lining sales tax we’ve seen in Town. b. McKenzie Lyle recently spent time at the Huck Finn Ice Rink in Leadville and mentioned that it is a great place for teenagers to go. She brought up the fact that there is nowhere for teenagers to hang out in BV especially in the winter. c. Devin Rowe mentioned that there will be four Trustee spots up for election in April. January 20th is the deadline to apply. Adjournment: McKenzie Lyle adjourned the mee�ng at 9:00 AM. Next RAB Mee�ng: January 17, 2024, 7:30-9:00am Respec�ully submited: McKenzie Lyle, Chair _____________________________________ Annie Carlson, Recrea�on Department _____________________________________