Coralville Civil Service

City of Coralville Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting November 20, 2023 Staff: Sherri Proud Parks and Recreation Director, Sean McCarty Head Golf Pro, Brown Deer Golf Course, Sarah Horning, Clerical Item 1: Meeting to order at 7:03 PM Item 2: Roll Call Present: Tawil, Gissendanner & Mount (via Zoom). Item 3: Citizen comments No citizens were present. Item 4: Approval of minutes from October 16, 2023 Meeting Motion to Approve: 1st: Tawil 2nd: Gissendanner Motion Carried: 3-0 Item 5: North Ridge Park playground design draft Director Sherri Proud shared a shared a computer-generated fly-through demonstration of the preliminary playground design for North Ridge Park, which was submitted by Playcraft Systems. Two community open houses were held to obtain input on the new design. Attendees were asked to pick their favorites of the proposed playground equipment. The top three choices were 1) Celebration Spinner 2) Dual zip line swings, including one harnessed line & one seated line 3) Community signage boards, including one for sign language and one for community information. Bright colors were favored (Mellow Sky & Citrus) over pastel or natural colors. The proposal also includes a poured in place surface (in place of engineered wood fiber), walkways around the playground, incorporating existing walkways with new, to save money, as well as musical instruments along the east side of the walkway for the public to play. Other equipment considered includes, ping pong table, sensory table and removeable umbrellas for shade. Total cost of the proposal shown is approximately $500,000 (initial proposed budget was approximately $250,000). The increase in the cost of supplies over the past few years has been the reason for the high estimate. Proud made several suggestions on how to cover the increased cost of the project, including a proposal that the playground be completed in stages, instead of all at once, ask for an increase in budget, and explore outside funding (outside Parks & Rec  budget). A fundraising letter has been mailed to the neighborhood that has raised about $2,200 so far. Commission members praised the overall plans, with Chairperson Tawil stating that the Northridge playground is worth the effort and expense, because of its high usage by residents. Commission member Mount commented that she would prefer the project be completed all at once as opposed to being done in stages. She stated that it can be difficult to keep track of what has been done and when in a project of this scale. Item 6: FY25 Budget discussion – Brown Deer Golf Club Head Golf Pro Sean McCarty was present to discuss the 2025 fiscal budget for Brown Deer Golf Club. McCarty stated that 2023 was a very busy year for the course with 37,000 rounds of golf being played well surpassed the original projection of 26,500 rounds for the fiscal year. He said that the course had multiple days that it was sold out and that there were no rain days during the season. Because of the increased usage of the course by the public and the scheduling of league golf, it was decided the number of group outings accepted would decrease since more revenue was made from open golf. The course also had to cut off the number of enrollees in the Youth Program to 83, which allows a parent and child access to unlimited rounds of golf and a bag of driving range balls for $650 for the season. McCarty stated that with the high demand all season, the staff was constantly having to reevaluate the course’s operating needs (maintenance, scheduling, equipment usage, etc.). McCarty also stated that due to the continued high traffic, an increase in prices for greens fees and cart fees were instituted to offset added expenses and noted that the fee increase did not seem to effect course usage as the number of rounds played remained high. The increase in fees helped pay for, among other things, the maintenance of the golf carts. The course currently has sixty carts and there was usually a shortage, usually due to them breaking down or slow play on the course. The course was able to extend the lease on the current carts for two more years, which allowed for the replacement of the old batteries with new ones. McCarty said that they will be starting the bidding process soon for new carts to be delivered in 2026 and are hoping to purchase carts with lithium batteries which will have two times the battery life of the current ones. In the area of staffing, the budget asks for starting wage for part-time maintenance positions to increase from $13.50 to $14 per hour. Part-time staff also are allowed to play golf for free. There is also an incentive wage increase of .50/ hour if the new staff member completes their online NeoGov training in the first 30 days of employment. Staffing hours were are also included in the pro shop so that employees have time for cleaning and maintenance of the shop. Maintenance issues were addressed by McCarty stating that the course needs some TLC to recover, and that revenue is at a level where the City is able to put money back into the course. Carty stated that some important needs include a new rough mower, more fertilizer applications and deep tine treatments for the fairways and greens. Commission member Mount suggested they designate some holes on the course as “Cart Path Only”, so that the turf could be better preserved. Senior volunteers also help by holding parties, which would help fill divots across the course to regenerate turf. Mount also asked if there was a plan to add trees to the  course soon. McCarty replied that the plan was already in place, but the money had to be diverted to cover unexpected maintenance expenses. Proud stated that Bunkers restaurant, under the new management of Beer Makers. LLC. grossed $602,000 which doubled the revenue projection of $300,000. The contract with Beer Makers LLC. runs through 2024 and splits revenue with a percentage to City. It also gives the operators use of the equipment on site (furniture, kitchen space, etc.). Any disposables or items that can be easily carried off site are purchased by the provider. Proud stated that the City has been covering the two percent credit card fee associated with restaurant purchases and suggested that in future contract negotiations with the management group that this cost be shared by both parties. Proud said that there is room for improvement in banquet and catering sales. She stated that a current contract with Lensing Funeral Home has helped open that market. She also stated that the City is very open to the idea of negotiating a contract extension with Beer Makers LLC. in the spring of 2024. It was noted that Bunkers has been a lot more successful financially under this management group than when it was run by the Marriott. Director Proud praised the overall operations of Brown Deer for the 2023 season and thanked the staff for their hard work and dedication during such a busy. Item 6: Director’s Report • The Parks & Recreation staff have been busy finalizing budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. • That a new sign concepts are complete, which will include new 6 ft x 6 ft limestone and brick Coralville signs for the major facilities. • A master plan is in the works to explore options for possible expansion of both the recreation center and the indoor swimming pool. • Park planning for the West Land Use Area has begun. Item 7: Commission Comments Gissendanner stated that he is eager to see how the North Ridge playground shapes up and Tawil shared that the holiday lights around Coralville look very nice. Item 8: Adjourn Motion to Approve: 1st: Tawil 2nd: Gissedanner Motion Carried: 3-0 Meeting adjourned at 8:19 PM