Coralville Civil Service

Minutes Parks and Recreation Commission October 16, 2023 A regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Monday, October 17. Tawil, Graham, Mount, and Goulding were in attendance, as well as, Council Person Jones, and staff members Proud, Buhmeyer, and Balison. The Commission met at 6:15 p.m. to plant a tree of celebration in North Ridge Park to honor the service of Fred Fevold, former Commission member. Fevold served seven terms on the Parks and Recreation Commission for a total of twenty-one years. Fred chose a Triumph Elm for the tree to be planted in the park, of which he is a neighbor. Fevold provided this comment regarding his choice, “First, I would like to thank the Mayor, City Council, and Parks and Recreation Department for the honor of allowing me to perform this very rewarding service for our community in Coralville. I am so proud to hve worked with the wonderful people on the Commission and in the city who have made this journey such a joy. And so proud to have been involved with the great projects that we, as a city, have completed and still have planned.” “I chose an elm tree because I was a young man when Dutch Elm Disease decimated these majestic trees. I never got to appreciate them before they were gone. I hope that generations to come will have the pleasure in the form of this tree.” “Thank you, fellow Commission members, Sherri, and any other attendees for this honor. I have certainly enjoyed the twenty-one years of service that this tree represents”, Fevold concludes. At 7:00 p.m., Chairperson Tawil called the meeting to order and asked if there were any citizen comments. Jones had taken a phone call from a concerned resident about a trail conflict point at the intersection of the trail along First Avenue as it transitions down to the Clear Creek Trail. He felt the visibility of bikers coming under the bridge is not good and when the two trails intersect, it’s easy to have a conflict. Proud will have staff look into either mirrors or signage. Mount also mentioned that one may be needed at new section of Clear Creek Trail under I380. Proud will ride that area and take a look. Minutes were reviewed and a motion was made by Mount to approve. Graham seconded the motion and the minutes were approved. Proud introduced Grace Balison, Recreation Program Coordinator, for Camp Coralville ASP and SPARK (Summer Park and Rec Kids) Central Summer Camp. Grace also coordinates preschool programs at the Recreation Center and the gymnastics programs. Balison gave a tour of the spaces the program uses at Community of Christ. The city and congregation entered into an agreement for space use in 1999 when the north location was opened for Camp Coralville. The afterschool program meets Monday through Friday when ICCSD is in session and closes at 5:45 p.m. each evening. The program uses the lower level which includes an entry way area, a classroom, the fireplace room, kitchen, and gym area. The Commission also toured the upstairs which includes the large open space that the congregation uses for worship. Although the afterschool program rarely uses that space, the Coralville Center for Performing Arts uses the space for City Circle show rehearsals. Balison shared that the program is currently picking up students at Kirkwood Elementary (3) and Central Elementary (27). We have a 15 passenger van and a 24 passenger bus that is used for these pickups. The 24 passenger bus was used when purchased in 2014 and staff are exploring options for its replacement. The program fee per month is $245. Some new program implementations this year that the participants seem to be enjoying are the assignment of camper duties, a weekly Shine Award for good deeds and actions, and the use of personal white boards for the reduction of paper use. Snack is served daily and participants have two choices for snack. Daily routine includes announcements, gym and craft time, homework space, and opportunity for board games or other activities. The program regularly uses North Ridge park playground, the trail for their wheels days, and the hillside for sledding in the winter. Transportation is the biggest challenge with a need for six staff while in transportation but only need three staff once they get to the program. Transportation is also difficult due to need for chauffeur license designations and the expense of keeping vehicles in good working order. The vehicles are used in the summer by Trail Trekkers and SPARK South for bringing kids for a session of swim lessons. Graham asked what would we need to make the program thrive? Better transportation options or more drivers/easier to get drivers, and to be able to have ten to fifteen more participants on a regular basis. If we could get a driver for the 45 passenger bus, it would make pickups flow better. More scholarship money would also help as Camp Coralville often has a waiting list for after school program services. Commission members thanked Balison for her hard work and dedication to our local youth. During Council member report, Jones shared that this would be his last meeting for the Parks and Recreation Commission and November 14 would be his last meeting for City Council as his term ends immediately after the election on November 7. He thanked the Parks and Recreation Commission for their work and said he learned so much being a part of the Commission. He served on the Coralville Public Library board for thirty years and was always curious about the Parks and Recreation Commission during that time so he was glad to get to be a part over the last seventeen months. Commission members thanked Jones for his service. Buhmeyer gave an update on the Parks Division. Festivals were up this year with the addition of RAGBRAI and 150th events. He’s been trying to make sure his staff have had time off this fall to get rested and rejuvenated and that the division has been getting caught back up on all work that got suspended when focusing on the festivals. Parks staff, City staff and community members will be planting trees on October 26 and hanging winter lighting on trees. It takes about three to four weeks to hang all the lighting. The Timber Stand Improvement project had its final recheck and stump treat in October and has really improved access in the area. Director comments by Proud included thanking Jones for his service and praising all the staff who’ve jumped in to helping with RAGBRAI, 150th events, and keeping everything else running smoothly during an incredibly busy hear. The department supported nearly every 150th event with delivery of equipment, set up, programming, or in some other way. She also reported on the first community feedback session for the North Ridge playground project, comments centered around making it inclusive, having multigenerational play opportunities, having lots of tubes, tunnels, and slides, having a double zip line, and having rope climbers that challenge children to climb high. Proud also reported that the city sign project is underway with Confluence to create a master plan for new city facility signs. The West Land Use Park Master Plan will kick off in November and she invited the Commission to provide a representative. In November or early December, the Recreation Center and Indoor Pool Master Plan with predesign services will kick off and there will be an opportunity for Commission members to participate in this as well. Lastly, Proud reported that the Clear Creek Stream Mitigation Bank has now been approved for credits sales and construction plans will be released in November for the construction to take place in winter/spring of 2024. Under Commission comments, Graham commented that being a part of the 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee was a wonderful experience and the October 1 event at Xtream Arena had over 20000 people in attendance. It was a very diverse group both in age and in culture. She also thanked Coralville Parks and Recreation for being so involved and for doing a great job. Goulding had no comments to add. Mount had a citizen comment that Brown Deer Golf Club turf was really starting to look like it’s having too much play. Proud commented that staff were working on what needs to happen next spring and season to strengthen the turf. She’ll talk with Sean and share plans as they are decided. Tawil thanked all the parent volunteers who give their time to help with the youth sports programming. Meeting concluded at 8:25 p.m.