Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission

PARK BOARD MINUTES Public Works Facility Conference Room 1400 NE 16th Avenue - Oak Harbor, WA 98277 Monday, May 10, 2021 11:30 AM  Tom Tveit, Chair  K.C. Pohtilla  Judy Wagner  Daisy Sapida, Vice Chair  Rosemary Morrison  Vacant  Joel Servatius, City Council Ex-Officio Member (Alternate Member) 1. Call to Order Tom Tveit called the meeting to order. Members in attendance were Tom Tveit, Daisy Sapida and Judy Wagner. Rosemary Morrison and KC Pohtilla were excused. Joel Servatius, City Council Ex-Officio Member, was also in attendance. City staff members in attendance were Talmon Hucke, Lisa Felix, Cac Kamak, Sabrina Combs and Gideon Cauffman. Emily Gilbert was also in attendance. 2. Approval of Minutes MOTION: Moved by Daisy Sapida, seconded by Judy Wagner the Park Board unanimously approved the minutes from the April 12, 2021 meeting. 3. Public Comments Daisy Sapida noticed that the flag at Windjammer Park is badly frayed and asked staff to replace it. Tally stated that the City currently has some flags on hand and will get it replaced as soon as possible. Daisy also noted that the base of the monument on Pioneer at Windjammer Park is getting corroded. She would like to see if it could be cleaned up to make it more presentable. Tom explained the look of the monument is meant to be rustic. Tom questioned whether the Parks Division should clean it or if Richard Nash should be commissioned to clean it, as it was originally his project. Tally explained that the cleaning would need to be conducted very carefully. The metal directly contacts the concrete so the problem will continue to exist. Discussion on solving the issue continued. Tom suggested contacting Richard Nash. Tom asked staff about the mowing around several parks, noting that the current mowing is leaving clumps of excess grass on the lawns. He asked if we could possibly use the City’s ‘grass catching’ lawn mower. Tally explained that due to short staffing it is difficult to use the ‘grass catching’ mower as it takes additional time. Staff is currently focusing on the ballfields first so the community can use them. Tom asked Tally where staff is with the Rotary Lagoon Bridge. Tally explained that staff is on schedule and they are currently working on the planks. He added that concrete forms are built and staff is moving forward. Tom asked if the planks were intended to be cleaned. Tally stated that the intention is to replace the planks rather than cleaning them. PARK BOARD MINUTES Monday, May 10, 2021 Page 2 Tom asked if there was a cleaning scheduled for the lagoon, as swimming season is starting to pick up. Tally explained that typically, staff from the Clean Water Facility conduct the under water evaluation. He will contact the CWF to see if they would be available to do so again this year. Sabrina noted that the City is working with other agencies to ensure that our water facilities will be able to be safely opened, as we still need to follow the Governor’s phases during COVID. Tom explained that he has seen people use the lagoon to swim and he just wants to make sure it is safe. 4. New Business a. Dog Park Expansion Update Tom asked if the expansion was scheduled to be completed this year. Tally explained that there are other projects that have been scheduled as a priority at this time. b. Windjammer Phase II Update Tally explained that Phase II is still in process. Sabrina added that staff members met and discussed several items and would like to come back to the Park Board at their next meeting with a detailed list. Cac also explained that currently, resources are being utilized on several other projects including the rotary bridge, the irrigation reclamation project and several art installations. Tom asked if community input was still planned for Phase II. Sabrina explained that once staff has compiled a comprehensive list, factoring in the budget and the timeline, community input will be solicited. Staff is also planning a website that will include updates and upcoming steps. c. Alternate Park Board Member Update Lisa stated that the new board member, Alexa (Lexi) Ochoa, was appointed as an alternate at the May 4th City Council meeting. She also stated that staff attempted to contact an absent board member and was unsuccessful. Daisy suggested that if the absent member is unable to attend, it might be in the board’s best interest to replace that member. Judy concurred. MOTION: Moved by Daisy Sapida, seconded by Judy Wagner, the Park Board unanimously approved to recommend to City Council to remove KC Pohtilla from the Park Board and begin the process of appointing another member. d. Parks Operations Manager Update Tally stated that interviews have been conducted and the process is still ongoing. e. Prowler Memorial Site Gideon shared the proposed site, next to the flagpole at Windjammer Park, for the Prowler Memorial. He stated that this piece is intended as a memorial and is not actually an art piece, so the new proposed location is better suited. Councilmember Servatius added that the new location was a quiet place for reflection. MOTION: Moved by Daisy Sapida, seconded by Tom Tveit, the Park Board unanimously approved to recommend to City Council to accept the proposed site of Windjammer Park, next to the flagpole for the Prowler Memorial, in recognition of the lives of the pilots who were lost. PARK BOARD MINUTES Monday, May 10, 2021 Page 3 5. Unfinished Business a. Naming Resolution Update Cac explained there are no updates to the naming resolution. This will be tabled until the June Park Board meeting. b. Harbor Heights Update Cac stated that a traffic study had been conducted, showing impacts and issues, determining which entry would be most suitable for the first phase. Sabrina noted that the Mayor would be presenting City Council with a memo, providing the results of the traffic study. The plan then would be to move forward with the recommended entry of the traffic study. Cac further clarified that the Gun Club Road is owned by the County and access might not be available in the pending timeline of Phase I. Tom asked if altering the access point would affect the parking area of Phase I. Cac explained that it was clear during discussions that parking was a key point, and it will be included in the designs of various phases. Tom asked if the Elwha access point would affect the ballfields. Sabrina explained that Phase I was always intended to include two soccer fields and 50 parking spaces. Councilmember Servatius clarified that council had approved concept two, with the northern soccer fields, closer to the parking lot. Tom asked if the Elwha access point would alter the decision to build the north two soccer fields in favor of the south two fields. Cac responded that some of the decisions will be determined by the traffic study. Sabrina added that concept two was adopted, and the traffic study will determine the next step. She further explained that the design of the sport’s complex has always included plans to have three access points, and that notifications have been provided to the residents of Elwha. Cac specified that it has always been the City’s long term plan to connect these roadways. 6. Announcements a. Councilmember Servatius extended gratitude to Tally Hucke and the entire Parks Division staff for balancing all of the projects in addition to their day-to-day operations and recognized their hard work in light of challenges including budget and staffing restraints. Daisy also expressed gratitude to Tally for filling in for the Parks Operations Manager in that person’s absence. 7. Adjournment MOTION: Moved by Daisy Sapida, seconded by Tom Tveit, the Park Board unanimously approved adjournment of the meeting.