Youth and Rec

YOUTH AND RECREATION Tuesday, January 6, 2026 – 6:35 p.m. Council Chambers – Olean Municipal Building Present: Members: Chairman Forney, Vice Chairman McCall, Alderman Robinson, and Alderman Anastasia. Others: Alderman Bennion; Mayor Amy Sherburne; Lens Martial, City Auditor; James Sprague, Director of Public Works; Eric Maurouard, Fire Chief, and Tiffany Taylor, Managerial Confidential Administrative Secretary. 1. Roll Call Alderman Forney called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. and asked the record show all committee members were present except Alderman Crawford, who was excused. 2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Committee Meeting (Tuesday, December 16, 2025) A motion to approve the minutes of the December 16, 2025 committee meeting was made by Alderman Forney, seconded by Alderman Robinson. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. 3. Unfinished Business a. Capital Fund #203 – Franchot Park Beautification Project Director Sprague explained they have made some progress. He explained he took the proposed plan and went through it with parks maintenance staff to get their input, and explained he has been asked where we start and how we spend most efficiently. He explained we currently have $50,000 in the capital fund. He explained there are some things we can proceed with immediately. He explained the staff reports the basketball court is in very good shape and was resealed 3 or 5 years ago. He explained it is probably time to reseal it, so we can fill the cracks, reseal the court, repaint the lines and replace the net. He explained he also feels we can move on the trail maintenance quickly. He explained there were three sections that were reported to be basically lost at this point, and we will have to remove everything in those areas and backfill with an engineering product underneath for structural support before we replace the asphalt. He explained for the rest of the trail we need to determine if we seal it like a parking lot, or overlay with 1 or 1 ½ inches of new asphalt. He explained he will be able to offer a final recommendation when the snow is gone and he can really look at it. He explained the staff really felt a majority of the trail is in good shape so we don’t have to remove the whole thing, but we may need to completely overlay it so that it is uniform all the way around. He explained the three bad portions are the northern part going through the trees, at the largest pavilion in the southwest corner of the park, and on the eastern edge where we have already accomplished a lot of tree removal. He explained the third part we can get to quickly is the safety enhancements for the playground, and explained we already have a tree removal contractor queued up to do multiple tree removals in the park. Director Sprague explained he is confident that all three of these things can be done within the $50,000, although he does not have a solid number on the trail maintenance as we don’t have a good handle on it until we have firm quantities. He explained going through the rest of the plan he got a lot of questions from staff, which he will provide to the Council to contemplate so we can discuss this more. He explained we have to have a conversation about the entrances and how they coordinate. He explained looking at the pedestrian entrance on Greene Street, the situation is an issue from a public safety standpoint as it gives a spot where someone can be trapped due to the fencing surrounding the entrance. He explained we might want to take that one out and do enhanced entrances someplace else, but that is a bigger conversation. Director Sprague explained in terms of lighting improvements, to our knowledge, nothing is going on in the park after it closes as dusk anymore, while there used to be a basketball league and horseshoe leagues that necessitated the lighting that is there. He explained he would suggest removing the lighting and would not recommend putting a lot of lighting into the park. He explained this is a conversation he has to have with the Police Department to see what their thoughts are about lighting in the park and how that will help with enforcement in the area. He explained it was suggested turning the horseshoe pit into a dog park, but the existing fence is probably not tall enough. He explained a good part of the horseshoe pits is one of the perennially low areas in the park, so if that was a dog park, it would be a very muddy dog park that dog owners would not like. Director Sprague explained the staff do have other things they would like to see done including the roofs on the pavilions, Franchot Parkway leading into the park, and the existing parking lots. He explained looking at the mapping readily available, there are some concerns as part of the road seems to be on the levee property. He explained he thinks that is a legal problem we will have to work out unless we already have documentation in place that he is not aware of. Alderman Robinson explained he really appreciates looking into these things to do immediately. He explained the Council felt the City could start doing some of the things in the plan that are easy, simple things. He explained money was originally set up for a sign and new entrance, but since then the Council decided to repurpose the funding for improvements within the park. Alderman McCall explained when she and Alderman Forney met with residents they were able to come up with a list of things that would improve the park. She explained we also need to have signage for consistent rules throughout all of the parks in the City. Alderman Robinson explained Director Sprague raises a great point with the grading aspects for the potential dog park. He explained we do have one at Oak Hill Park and will have one in Marcus Park, so that is a start. He explained as far as lighting, he feels we should have lighting in the park for safety reasons. He explained if there are issues with the pavilion roofs, there should be maintenance funding within the budget unless full replacements are needed, which would require a capital project discussion. He explained fixing the main entrance and parking lot has been overdue for some years, and we should consider how to achieve this, possibly with CHIPS funding. Alderman Bennion asked about shade sails, and Alderman Forney explained a shade structure was purchased with funding from the Magnano Fund. Alderman McCall explained it was requested that additional structures be purchased. Alderman Bennion explained he is unsure if you can use CHIPS funding on this portion of the street as it is an unimproved street. Director Sprague explained CHIPS funding is for street resurfacing or small drainage improvements, not for full blown reconstruction. He explained he is not sure if the street has to be an improved street, and he will look into the CHIPS rules. Alderman McCall explained we need to ensure we have funding in the budget for the restroom situation in parks come spring. Alderman Anastasia asked if we could reuse millings when other streets are resurfaced, and Director Sprague explained that would help. He explained there are a few issues on that street and with the parking on the levee area. He explained some heavy trucks park in the levee area. He explained we need to come to an agreement as to what will be on that street, and explained if heavy trucks will be on the street then the answer is very different than if this is just the entrance to a park. Alderman Bennion explained large trucks parked there when a local business was doing a construction project, but they no longer park there now that the project is complete. He explained in the summer months there are a lot of cars that use this entrance and explained the parking lot is full and people will park along the levee as well, so we may need to discuss something more substantial to handle the wear and tear and drainage. Alderman Forney explained she appreciates the work and comping up with priorities that we can get to. She explained she thinks people will be happy to see movement in the spring in that area. She explained she would be happy to have more conversations about this with Director Sprague. Alderman Bennion asked about getting a grant to take the street from an unimproved to an improved street, and asked if a sidewalk would need to be added down the levee side. Alderman Robinson explained there is difficulty putting a sidewalk on the levee side due to setback requirements, and explained there was discussion about expanding Walkable Olean but there were issues due to the levee. Alderman Bennion explained we could look at a sidewalk on the other side. Director Sprague explained we should follow up on this with a capital project discussion during the budgeting cycle. He explained if we are talking about upgrading a parking lot or street, it is a pretty substantial number.  4. New Referrals for Consideration None 5. Committee Reports None 6. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Forney, seconded by Alderman McCall. Voice vote, ayes all. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.