Parks & Recreation Board

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Parks & Recreation Board Chrissy Kaminski, Chair Kevin McGinn, Vice Chair Eric Miller, Secretary Sue Horn Jan Ross Ken Shepherd Donna Simmons Nichole Butler, Clerk Wednesday, June 14, 2023 7:00 PM Gahanna Senior Center 480 Rocky Fork Blvd. A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Kaminski, Chair, Called the June 14, 2023 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board to order at 7:02 PM. The Agenda was published on June 9, 2023. B. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Sue Horn, Chrissy Kaminski, Kevin McGinn, Eric Miller, Ken Shepherd and Donna Simmons Absent: 1 - Jan Ross Staff in attendance: Stephania Bernard-Ferrell, Director of Parks & Recreation; Nichole Butler, Clerk C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Shepherd, seconded by Simmons, that the May 10, 2023 minutes be approved. The motion carried the following vote: Yes: 6- Horn, Kaminski, McGinn, Miller, Shepherd and Simmons Absent: 1- Ross P & R Board Minutes 05.2023 D. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA E. HEARING OF VISITORS City of Gahanna Page 1 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Rob Thorn, a Gahanna Resident at 210 Creighton Court. F. OLD BUSINESS Project updates presentation Mountain Bike Trail Director Ferrell gave a presentation updating the board on projects happening around the department. Ferrell gave an overhead view of the location of the Mountain Bike Trail at Academy Park, highlighting special features within the mountain bike trail. Ferrell states that the department has submitted an application for a NatureWorks grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, with the help of a third-party grant writer funded by the Gahanna Parks and Recreation Foundation, for the development of a trailhead. Ferrell states that the trailhead would serve as not only a place for people to service their bicycles, and prepare for a ride, but is also situated in a location that would allow riders to then connect to the Big Walnut Trail to continue their ride. Price Road- Exploration Center Director Ferrell provided an update on the Price Road Exploration center. Ferrell states that like many of our facilities and parks the lower level of the building is in a floodplain which requires additional permitting and guidelines and does not allow it to be used for anything other than storage. Ferrell states that this site will be a great site for rentals, camps and year-round programming. Simmons asked how many square feet the department would have. Ferrell states that there is nearly 5,000 square feet of programable space. Ferrell states that there will be an additional parking lot on the east side of the facility that allows for a straight level entry to the program space. Ferrell states that parking lot approval will go to planning commission in July. The facility will be on a separate timeline with a grant deadline of completion of June of 2024. Ferrell states that she feels confident that the department will meet that timeline. Woodside Green Parking Lot Ferrell states that the Woodside Green parking lot paving was incorporated into the overall bid with the city’s asphalt program. Ferrell states that the timeline for this project is September/ October 2023. Ferrell states that the current parking lot is 55 spaces with 2 ADA spaces, the repaving and reworking will make for 77 spaces with 4 ADA spaces. City of Gahanna Page 2 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Ambassador Commons Playground Ferrell states that there was a survey sent out to residents within close proximity to Ambassador Commons Park as it is time to replace the playground. Ferrell states the survey is requesting what they would like to see in a new playground. Ferrell states that these results will be given to the architects to direct the design plans. Trapp Park Ferrell states that the trail was not done to the design and did not meet ADA requirements therefore the vendor was required at their expense to go back and redo it. Ferrell states that it was corrected however, because of the lack of the ability to grade, there was a significant decline so the sidewalk will be rerouted to allow for the appropriate distance. Ferrell states the project is scheduled to be completed before the end of this summer. G. NEW BUSINESS Fee waiver request- Leslie Schilling Butler states that a fee waiver request was made by a resident, Leslie Schilling on Venetian way. Butler states that Schilling was looking for a partial fee waiver or discount for the Hannah Park shelter rental for a charity event on September 9, 2023. Schilling states in her email that the fundraising event is to raise money for the CdLS Foundation (Cornelia de Lange Syndrome) and is a 501(c)(3) organization that brings education, advocacy, and a community for anyone touched by this disorder. McGinn states that the board could offer the standard 15% discount offered to non-profits as even though the resident is not a 501c3 herself, she is raising money for a 501c3. A motion was made by McGinn, seconded by Kaminski that the board approve a 15% fee reduction for the full day shelter rental. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Horn, Kaminski, McGinn, Miller, Shepherd and Simmons Absent: 1- Ross H. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS I. DIRECTOR'S REPORT City of Gahanna Page 3 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Ferrell states that the Citywide Capital Improvement Plan went before City Council on Monday June 12, 2023, in draft form. Ferrell states that there will be a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday June 21, 2023. Ferrell states that the pool membership has jumped significantly, since the pool opened, and they are on track to what the department would typically see with 627 memberships with an overall average of 720. McGinn asked if there was an easier solution for the long wait time at open time. Ferrell states that there are a few reasons why the wait was long in the beginning of the season. Each person and household is required to have a profile to enter as well as a waiver and a photo. Ferrell states that the department had promoted to pre-register before the pool opened however people may not be able to get to city hall to register during open hours. Ferrell states that as more people are registered this will get shorter and shorter and should help the line progress. Directors report 6.14.23 J. COMMITTEE REPORTS i. Bicycle & Trail Advisory Committee (BTAC)- None ii. Gahanna Active Senior Advisory Committee (GASAC) Simmons states that the board did meet, and that the next meeting is July 18, 2023, at 3pm. Simmons states that GASAC is agreeable to having One member appointed by the Parks and Recreation Board and that Isobel Sherwood is working on rewriting their by-laws to state as such. iii. Natural Resources Advisory Committee (NRAC) - None K. POLL MEMBERS FOR COMMENT i. Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation Miller states the Corvette Club made a $2,500 donation to scholarships bringing their total to $12,100. Miller also states that for this year for Hops and Vines, the Foundation purchased a program that would allow them to post silent auction items online and allow those that are not in attendance to still bid on those items. Miller states that Hops and Vines tickets are currently on sale and have sold over 100 tickets so far. City of Gahanna Page 4 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 ii. School District Update Horn states that the tennis courts are being removed at the old location and the new courts are completed out at Blacklick with 10 tennis courts. Horn states that there are approximately 700 students in summer school this year. Horn mentioned that the school district is working on their strategic plan and they will be looking for community input in the near future. iii. Veteran's Advisory Committee- None L. ADJOURNMENT APPROVED by the Parks & Recreation Board, this day of 2023. Chrissy Kaminski City of Gahanna Page 5