Coralville Civil Service

Coralville Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Call to Order Commission Chairperson Fred Fevold called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Present were Commission Members Eve Casserly, Alex Taylor, and David Thayer, Council Member Laurie Goodrich, and Parks and Recreation Director Sherri Proud. Citizen Comments None Approval of Minutes Commission Member Thayer made the motion to approve the meeting minutes from February 23, 2015 with noted corrections. Commission Member Taylor seconded the motion; unanimous approval. Introductions Aaron Tinnermeier, aaron-tinnermeier@uiowa.edu, UI Practicum Student, introduced himself to the Commission and briefly reviewed his recent activities with his placement with the Recreation Department. Logo Presentation for Clear Creek Greenbelt Mara Cole, mara_cole@yahoo,.com - Graphic Designer, introduced herself to the Commission. Proud had shared the general comments from the minutes from last month’s Commission meeting with Mara resulting in the inspirations for the varied concepts and designs. The logo will be utilized on marketing and onsite featuring events and signage of the Clear Creek Greenbelt. Cole presented her collection of designs and documented Commission comments provided related to preferences, proposed changes, and initial reactions for the next revision of logos. Cole will plan to share the revisions with Proud and via email or at the next meeting. Trails Update Parks and Recreation Director Proud reviewed current trail projects and an additional grant that was awarded for the Iowa River Trail. Additional trail projects under construction or being completed this year include: connections between First Avenue and Wells Fargo/Iowa Reality, wider sidewalks and sharrows on Fifth Street, completion from Biscuit Creek to 5th Street, and securing a design consultant for the trail from Deer Creek Road to Tiffin. Proud also shared that the bridge over Clear Creek and the former Crandic Trail has been renamed to Iowa River Corridor Trail and has been incorporated into the larger 17 mile trail that runs from Terry Trueblood Park to north of Iowa City. Funding continues to be secured for this project with federal monies being awarded through the MPO TAC committee in 2019. Proud shared Meg Bailey has been completing a Coralville trails and hard surface map to provide to local hotels and to have in general for the community. The mapping will include color coded loops showing mileage and points of interests. Proud also discussed the additional opportunities for educating trail users on etiquette, sources of trail funding, and other related topics. Although an app was discussed, it was determined internally that current apps like Run Keeper and Map My Run/Ride and the internet services like Google Maps provide the service desired. Proud also shared that MPO is encouraging RAGBRAI to utilize the app Strava which will provide the related mileage, points of interests and provides statistics related to users. Director’s Report Proud announced that the City has approved the budget. Proud shared how the new position and current open positions are being reviewed to determine how to best meet City needs related to work schedules and targeted facilities. The Park Coordinator III Grounds Maintenance position will include weekend hours to provide coverage for the ball fields and tournament play, tell help with weekend snow removal, to run garbage routes and shelter and trail checks, and to support weekend volunteer projects.  Proud reviewed her upcoming schedule of travel to the Iowa Parks and Recreation Conference in Davenport. In addition, Proud will generally be sharing her time with Parks and Recreation in the mornings and the Center for Performance Arts in the afternoon. Proud reported that the reviews of applications for Center for Performance Arts Director has started. Process will include approximately eleven phone interviews with three to five onsite personal interviews. Commission Member Thayer volunteered to review the applications. Proud noted that the Arts Commission Members are also reviewing the applications. Council Report Council Member Goodrich shared that the City has completed the application to the state of Iowa for a new area in the Iowa River Landing. Original funding would be required by the state redistricting funds, city, and outside funding which may include private sectors. Goodrich indicated that this project is being reviewed as to how it would best meet the need of Coralville and the Coralville residents. Goodrich reviewed some of the amenities which could be included or relocated to this site. Some of the features on site could include fitness and sports performance institute, relocation of the Johnson County Historical Museum and the UI Hall of Fame Museum, potential events via Global Spectrum such as concerts, UI events, as well as other possible options. Commission Members discussed the current locations which are partnerships, which are solely Coralville, and the addition of this proposed site. Concern was expressed about the expected tax revenue which may result from this endeavor. Commission Comments Commission Member Fred Fevold No additional comments Commission Member Eve Casserly Commission Member Casserly remarked about hearing that our contractor for hort and turf has used subcontractors at other locations. Casserly reported concern with that this may happen with our contract. Proud provided information that any sub contractors must be approved by the department and generally are not allowed. Commission Member Alex Taylor No additional comments. Commission Member David Thayer Commission Member Thayer reported that the Thayer Conservatory needs to be mowed. Adjournment Commission Member Casserly moved to adjourn at 8:28 p.m. Commission Member Thayer seconded the motion; unanimous approval.