Parks & Recreation Commission

PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING February 6, 2023 Maeck Education Center 12:00 Noon Members in Attendance: B. Combo, B. Lee, B. Nitschke, T. Hersh, M. Hill, J. Walker, C. White, C. Horsley, D. Pennock, R. Campbell, P. Lloyd, R. Abreo, L. Burtenshaw Members Not in Attendance: R. Foote Call to Order – B. Combo B. Combo called the meeting to order at 12:02 pm. Approval of Minutes C. White moved to approve the December 5th meeting minutes. B. Nitschke seconded. All were in favor. Director’s Report – P. Holm (absent, reported by C. Horsley) C. Horsley reported on the following: • P. Holm will be attending the February 6th Work Session with City Council to get approval on funding transfers. The Parks and Recreation Department wants to redirect funds from two Tautphaus Park Projects: the North Park Road and the Tennis Court Project to the Soccer Complex Expansion Project. This funding transfer request is because the bids exceeded the amounts funded for these projects. The excessive bids were due to the recent large increase in the price of concrete. As such, the department wants to reallocate the money to make significant progress this year on the Soccer Complex Expansion Project. • P. Holm will also address the work session regarding the Tubing Hill Project at Ryder Park and the agreement that is being proposed by Gateway Parks to Kelly Canyon. • C. Horsley asked the Parks and Recreation Commission to review the Parks and Recreation Department’s current policy on soccer field permitting. He gave the commission some background on how the department has managed to reserve fields for the various area private leagues and school district leagues. He explained the  difference between “historical user groups” versus “new user groups” and the criteria that needs to be met for the fields to be fairly allocated to the different organizations. C. Horsley explained that a new organization’s contact has recently requested to reserve our fields and does not agree with our department’s policy on field permitting, thus, the request for the Parks and Recreation Commission to review the policy and determine if it is equitable and fair. The Commission discussed at length, and it was determined the current policy is fair, however there should be a few considerations and language changes in the current policy including: 1. A league should be considered “historic” after establishing itself for five years. 2. At least sixty percent of the league’s participants should be Idaho Falls residents. 3. The number of participants in the league should be a consideration. The Commission agreed that the priority for scheduling fields should be “historical usage” followed by “residency”. C. Horsley will revise the policy and return to the Commission for final approval. Golf Advisory Report – T. Hersh • T. Hersh reported that the Sand Creek Pro shop has been renovated. • The golf pro shops had a good season with Christmas sales. Bonneville County – J. Walker • The groomers are busy with the snowmobile trails after twelve inches of new snow. Between the Bonneville County and Bingham County network, four hundred miles of trails are being groomed. School District 91 – P. Lloyd • The district had a successful basketball season. • The spring sport schedule has been sent to C. Horsley. Shade Tree Committee – M. Hill • Arbor Day Celebration will be held at Ryder Park this year. The date is TBA. They plan to plant 20 to 30 trees with the assistance of older school kids. • There will be some spruce trees removed from Central Park due to a beetle infestation. • The Emerald Ash Borer Beetle Management Plan is being finalized and will be presented to City Council once it is completed. Adjournment at 1:13 pm. Next meeting will be held March 6, 2023 Recorded by: Tracy Sessions, Clerk, Parks & Recreation