Parks, Recreation & Forestry Board

Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Advisory Board July 17, 2020 Minutes Members in attendance were Chairperson Tom Rennick, Roman Jefferson (Excused Absence), Kenneth Quigley, Alan Klein, Councilmember Arlina Yazzie, and Director of Parks and Recreation Dean Palmquist. James Alexander was a guest in attendance. Chairperson Tom Rennick brought the meeting to order at 7:08 AM and welcomed everyone to the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Advisory Board Meeting. Minutes from the June 19, 2020, advisory board meeting were approved. Old Business A. South Neighborhood Park Project Status – Dean shared that he still needs to send out an email blast to the neighborhood residents, use social media, and have a poster or two on-site with the current status of the project listed. Dean said that he will try to get out the messaging about the project status within the next two weeks. B. Veterans Park Dedication Ceremony – Dean shared that he is looking at holding the Veterans Park dedication ceremony on Patriots Day, Friday, September 11, 2020. The County Veterans’ groups have been contacted and notified about that date. C. Allocation of Tree Care Funding in the 2021 Budget – Dean shared that Mark Boblitt, park superintendent, and he have placed $5,000 in the Parks Maintenance Division Budget for tree care, including tree treatments or safety pruning. D. Other Old Business – Ken Quigley stated that he has been using the Cortez Recreation Center along with his granddaughter and has felt completely safe in using the facility. Dean shared that he will be passing that information along to the recreation center staff who take great pride in the cleanliness of the recreation center. New Business A. Cleaning and Disinfecting in the Parks Update – Dean shared that the City Council had approved use of Federal CARES Act Funding at the Tuesday, July 14, 2020 Council Meeting for cleaning and disinfecting all of the park playgrounds and park shelter picnic tables. Dean mentioned that one of the City Council members had brought up about the questioning of disinfecting park playgrounds in regard to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dean brought up that the park maintenance staff has been reduced in size this year, and they are not able to do normal routine cleaning of the park playgrounds, as the CDC guidelines suggest to do. Also, the CDC guidelines do encourage targeted use of disinfectants on outdoor  hard surfaces and objects frequently touched by multiple people. Dean shared that CARE Cleaning and Restoration was awarded the service contract and would be using an organic disinfectant through the end of October of this year. B. Communicable Disease Policy Discussion – Dean shared his desire to get a communicable disease policy or procedure adopted by the City, as other governmental agencies have either done so or are in the process of doing. It would give City employees are clearer direction on what to do than just relying on the Human Resources Department to handle the situation. C. 5 Year Parks & Recreation Capital Plan – Dean handed out a five year capital plan for the advisory board members to review and come back with their thoughts at the next meeting. Some discussion was held about the future of the outdoor swimming pool and the importance of meeting with stakeholders to determine its future. Also, Alan Klein mentioned about developing a Friends of the Geer Natural Area group to help address future capital improvements at Geer Natural Area. D. Other New Business – None. The next regular meeting will be held on Friday, August 21, 2020, at 7:00 AM at the Montezuma Park Performance Space. Adjournment—8:30 AM