Parks Commission

Montpelier Parks Commission Meeting Minutes October 18, 2012 7:30-9:15 PM Community Room, Police Station Commissioners Present: Emily Boedecker, Aaron Brondyke, Lyn Munno, Cara Robechek Staff Present: Geoff Beyer 1. Approval of Minutes of September Meeting The minutes of the September 2012 meeting were reviewed and approved. The minutes will be forwarded by Lyn to the City Manager. 2. Dog Survey Emily brought a paper copy of the dog use survey that she had typed up. Lyn recommended adding a question to the survey about dog poop: “Does it negatively impact your park experience?” Everyone agreed that the survey should also ask, “how often do dog walkers keep their dogs under control in the park?” Emily agreed to circulate a revised version to the Commissioners, along with a cover letter to the Bridge and the Times Argus and the World. Geoff agreed to make paper copies. Lyn will leave a stack of surveys at the library. Kip will make them available at Onion River Sports. Geoff will make them available at the annual Rec Department Ski and Skate Sale, and also at City Hall and at the Rec Center. Lyn will investigate the possibility of placing fliers at the Quirky Pet and Guys Farm & Yard. Eventually, Emily would like the results of the survey to be tabulated in Excel. She suggested that maybe a Department of Labor volunteer could be asked to enter the data. 3. Stone Sculpture Geoff agreed to request some sketch designs from sculptor Chris Miller. Geoff offered to walk possible locations for the sculpture in Hubbard Park with the Commissioners, in order to choose the best site. 4. Caretaker House Plan Geoff and his family anticipate vacating the caretaker’s house in Hubbard Park around March 1. Geoff still recommends that the City find someone to live in the house and perform some park caretaking responsibilities in exchange for rent. Kip, Lyn and Geoff met with Bill Fraser about this idea on Monday. Bill is open to this change. Bill recommended that this person be an employee of the City, with a salary, and that the person be responsible for paying rent as well. Needed from the Park Commission: 1) Rent. 2) Hours per week worked. 3) Hourly rate. 4) A means of compensating for on- call hours. The Commission must also develop a position description, and post it on the City website. Bill also asked to be involved in the interview process. The Commissioners estimated that the rental value of the 4-5 bedroom house is approximately $1,000 to $1,200 per month. They agreed that the proposed rent for the new position should be $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year. Geoff suggested that our  AmeriCorps volunteer might be able to house-sit for a while, if we don’t find an employee by March 1. Geoff circulated a more detailed draft position description, and broke down the position duties roughly as follows: 10 hours per week: Being a daily presence in the park. 5-10 hours extra: Doing the rounds. Occasionally leading volunteers on the weekends, making repairs to the house, etc. Cara advocated strongly for asking for what the Parks really need, including an increase in Geoff’s salary, to compensate him for the lack of subsidized rent. She stressed that the Overall Parks Budget is extremely low for the amount of work that gets done in the Parks each year. Everyone agreed. 5. Budget Geoff currently pays $300 per month in rent. The $1,000 per month proposed for house rent will net an additional $700 per month, or $8,400 per year. Meanwhile, after Geoff moves out, below-market housing will no longer be included in his compensation package. He will need to pay for housing at market rates outside of the Park. For this reason, and also for reasons of pay equity and excellent performance, the Commission proposed increasing his annual compensation by the modest amount of $3,500. The Commission recommended that compensation for the new part-time caretaker position be set at $15-20 per hour for 15-20 hours per week, and that annual compensation be capped at $16,500. After rent, this would leave $4,500 in compensation for the new position. Bottom line: The “Salary Increase” line on the Budget Submittal Table should read, “$20,000” ($16,500 + $3,500) and the “Rental Income” line should be adjusted to read, “$12,000.” Geoff will work all proposed changes into the budget, and then will email it to the Commission and Bill for review. 6. Bryndle LLC Tract Bryndle LLC owns 75 +/- acres on Elm Street. The owner of this property is currently marketing an 8-acre residential lot. The Commissioners agreed that the tract has outstanding values for conservation and recreation, and could make an excellent addition to the parks. Geoff proposed that we call the landowner and ask if he has any interest in selling the rest of the tract. Geoff agreed to talk with Beverly Pembroke Hill, who is related to the landowner. Lyn agreed to call the landowner, to see if he has interest in selling the larger parcel. 7. MCC Conservation Overlay work Geoff announced that the Montpelier Conservation Commission proposed a conservation overlay at the Tuesday meeting of the Montpelier Planning Commission. In the proposed Conservation Overlay areas, the recommendation would be 1 house per every 5 acres. Under MCC’s proposal, including more units per acre (sensitively designed) would require permission of the Conservation Commission for a density bonus. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 Submitted, Aaron J. Brondyke