Coralville Civil Service

Coralville Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes September 21, 2020 Call to Order Commission Chairperson Fred Fevold called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. at Vesta Restaurant Outdoor Patio after the members toured the IRL Wetlands Park, future Riverfront Park space, and completed the IRL Sculpture Walk. Present were Commission Members Kyle McEvilly, Marti Mount, Dhuha Tawil, and Alex Taylor, Council Member Jill Dodds, and Parks and Recreation Director Sherri Proud. Citizen Comments No citizen comments. Approval of Minutes Commission Member Taylor made the motion to approve the July meeting minutes with comments noted. Commission Member Mount seconded the motion; unanimous approval. Council Report Council Member Dodd shared that the ribbon cutting occurred for the Xtream Arena. She reminded members to spread the word about the City Council election being held 9/29/20. Information about the precincts was shared. Dodds commended Commission Member Tawil for her presentation to the Council about urban chickens in Coralville. Tawil is now interested in learning tips and tricks of raising chickens and fostering eggs. Parks and Recreation Director Report Parks and Recreation Director Proud updated the Commission on the most recent projects being completed by the Parks Department: completing the archery range, adding an additional screen, securing netting, completion of the tower. Signage should be arriving relatively soon. Proud shared information about the Iowa Mountain Bike Festival. In addition, a special event featuring entertainment, vendors, and seminars at Creek Side is scheduled October 17. Craft activity packets will be handed out to kids. At the beginning of September, the Streetscape contract was assumed by the Parks staff except for the Iowa River Landing. This will be a stretch to manage but Proud felt it a better choice than losing two full time parks positions. In a staffing update, Proud noted that there are several positions which remain unfilled including seasonal parks, lifeguards, lesson instructors and BASP staff. Proud reviewed the social distancing and programming options during COVID. A new program, Nests (Nurturing Every Student Together Safely), features all day programming for students enrolled in the ICCSD hybrid standard learning model as well as, programs for a few hours a day that will help with homework or offer after school activities for social, emotional and recreational support. Support has been applied for from the state to fund these programs. Additionally, twenty scholarships have been offered for the full day program. These programs aim to nurture every student together successfully focusing on the most vulnerable families. Resources include child care, educational support, social emotional needs with community access to the food pantry and mental health alliance. Sites include Life Church being ran by the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, Genesis Church at the Big White House collaborating with programming provided by the Iowa Children’s Museum and Parks and Recreation and at the Iowa Children’s Museum with scholarships for some of their programming. Additional news from the department includes that staff is working a bid for the parking lot repair for Dovetail Recreation Area/Agudas Achim parking lot to repair cracks with fill and seal the whole lot. The ash trees on 12th Street between 2nd and 6th Streets will be replaced with a streetscape project bid. Proud provided an update on the thirty-three year old indoor swim pool and highlighted the broken pipe placement. Proud reported that Native Vegetation Specialist, Josh Worrell resigned to accept the Assistant Superintendent position in Iowa City. Commission Comments Commission Member Kyle McEvilly No comments. Commission Member Marti Mount Commission Member remarked that Kiddie Coral looks great. Proud shared that rubberized surfacing will be laid this week around the structure. Hopes for some kind of ribbon cutting event is being planned. Commission Member Dhuha Tawil No additional comments. Commission Member Alex Taylor Commission Member Taylor noted that the west boardwalk on Camp Cardinal Trail looks really nice. He complimented the City for the quick tree removal after derecho. He remarked that the sycamore tree on the southwest side of the bike trail survived the storm. Council Member Dodds reported that bulldozing started almost immediately after the storm was over to clear roadways. IDOT assisted with three rounds of tree and brush removal across the city. Commission Member Fred Fevold: No comments. Adjournment Commission Member Taylor made the motion to adjourn at 7:42 p.m.; Commission Member Mount seconded the motion; unanimous approval.