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, July 12, 2023 7:00 PM Gahanna Senior Center 480 Rocky Fork Blvd. A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Kaminski, Chair called the July 12,2023 meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. The agenda was published on July 9, 2023. B. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Chrissy Kaminski, Kevin McGinn, Eric Miller, Jan Ross, Ken Shepherd and Donna Simmons Absent: 1 - Sue Horn Staff in Attendance; Alan Little, Projects Manager Parks and Recreation; Nichole Butler, Clerk C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes 6.14.2023 A motion was made by Miller, seconded by Shepherd, that the Minutes be Approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Kaminski, McGinn, Miller, Ross, Shepherd and Simmons Absent: 1- Horn D. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA City of Gahanna Page 1 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 12, 2023 E. HEARING OF VISITORS Timothy McClurg, 935 Leaflock Ct. Gahanna, OH 43230 , expressed he would like to join the senior center however he would like to see classes available after five o’clock pm as he states he is not available to take time off work to do activities. Mr. McClurg states he has an issue with the rules at the pool this summer, and he would like to attend the pool with his family or friends whom are non residents but with the current policy is not allowed to do so unless he was a member. Mr. McClurg states he also wanted to bring up the lighting at the water fall at Creekside Park. Mr. McClurg states that he had brought this up at a prior meeting but it had not been addressed that he would like to see color changing lighting installed in the waterfall so that we can use it for multiple seasons. Mr. McClurg states his last concern was regarding the bike trail section that will go over Hamilton Road to Tech Center Drive, to make it easier to get over 270. Mr. McClurg states that he is concerned of the path that is currently planned and would like to see some type of bridge to connect more safely. McClurg states that he does not feel its safe enough utilizing a walk signal or crosswalks. Kaminski states that she has taken some notes to send to Director Ferrell and allow her to respond. Alan Little, Project Manager, states that safeguards are being considered and that the first slip ramp south on Hamilton to 270 Northbound will be tunneling underneath the ramp, additionally the trail is protected by a safety wall to separate vehicles from pedestrians. Rob Thorn, 210 Creighton Ct. Gahanna, OH 43230, states he is member of the Columbus Audubon Society, and they have tasked him with keeping an eye on the Board. Mr. Thorn states that he is concerned about the bike crossing as well on trail section eight at Hamilton Rd. Mr. Thorn suggests that the city look at forming a standalone bridge from the Crescent development. Alan Little responded, stating that he would be willing to sidebar a conversation with Mr. Thorn to try his best to answer any questions regarding this issue. Mr. Thorn stated he was concerned that the department was practicing tree felling on trees in Academy Park when as stated in last meeting there are going to be trees removed at Price Road. Mr. Thorn stated he was unsure why we didn’t practice on trees that were already scheduled to come down, rather than healthy black walnut trees. Kaminiski stated that the Parks Board does not handle the organizational rules of procedure for the department but that they would pass his concern to Stephania. Mr. Thorn questioned the existence of NRAC (Natural Resources City of Gahanna Page 2 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 12, 2023 Advisory Committee) and wanted to know if they were still active stating that if they were active, why are they not more involved. Mr. Thorn stated that the last five or six meetings that he had been in attendance for discussed removal of trees rather than replacing them and feels that NRAC should be more involved and that a policy for tree replacement should be made. F. OLD BUSINESS Parks Master Plan Little states that Leon Younger from PROS consulting will be in town August 14, 2023 to answer any remaining questions that council has for him. Butler states that the plan is to hopefully have an adopted parks master plan by the end of August. Capital Improvement Plan Little states that Citywide Capital Improvement Plan has gone before council for review. Butler states that the request for adoption of both the Citywide Capital Improvement Plan and the Comprehensive Parks Master Plan will be requested on July 31st at the council meeting. G. NEW BUSINESS Ambassador Commons Playground Little States that the Ambassador Commons playground is slated to be replaced this year. Little states the neighborhood survey went out to help gather feedback on what the residents would like to see. Little states that these survey results were then sent to the architects, and they were to design around that plan. Little states that one of the biggest things that came out of the survey was that the residents were looking for shade to be included in the playgrounds. Shepherd asked how many residents were able to fill out the survey. Little states that 1100 residents were sent, and 104 residents responded, 95% competence, and a margin of error of 9.2%. Little states that the budget is $200,000 with $165,000 being playground and the rest being shade. Little showed some of the designs that companies had presented with options and states that the department will guide the final design to fit within the budget and needs. Little states that dependent on the design, parts of the old playground City of Gahanna Page 3 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 12, 2023 may be able to stay open while the new playground is being constructed. McClurg asked if the playground was going to be accessible for those with ADA. Little states that there will be some ground level play but not all of our playgrounds will be able to be fully accessible. Horn asked what the decision timeline will be. Little discussed that the next steps will be to sit down and go over the options and weigh them to see what would be best for the price and the community. Little states that currently there are 3 companies that came back with designs and pricing, one of which has built 16 of the departments 17 current playgrounds. Little states that he will take the designs to the Superintendents and Director Ferrell. H. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS I. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Little spoke on the Trapp Park project and updated the board that the concrete grading should have been completed today. Little explained that there are many projects listed in the Directors report and offered if the board had any questions about the report. Shepherd asked what the cost of this year’s fireworks were. Butler stated the cost for the fireworks was $40,000 up from $30,000 last year to keep for the additional volume of fireworks. Little states that fireworks contract stated the show was scheduled to at least 20 minutes. Director's Report 7.12.23 J. COMMITTEE REPORTS i. Bicycle & Trail Advisory Committee (BTAC)- None ii. Gahanna Active Senior Advisory Committee (GASAC) Simmons states that GASAC will be meeting on July 18,2023 for their next meeting. Simmons states she will bring up the concern regarding evening programming at the senior center to GASAC. Simmons mentioned that the committee is working on rewriting their by-laws and will work on finalizing a submission to the Parks Board for their approval and adoption. Simmons states that she was pleased that the members are very active. City of Gahanna Page 4 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting Minutes July 12, 2023 iii. Natural Resources Advisory Committee (NRAC)- None K. POLL MEMBERS FOR COMMENT i. Gahanna Parks & Recreation Foundation Miller states they did not meet. Miller states volunteer spots are open and that ticket sales are doing well. ii. School District Update Horn states that while its summer the construction projects are well underway. Horn states that they will not be replacing the tennis courts taken out at the high school, however they will be improving the courts at Gahanna Middle School West to potentially include Pickleball courts. 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