Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

The Olympia Center City of Olympia 222 Columbia St. NW Olympia, WA 98501 Contact: Jonathon Turlove Meeting Minutes 360.753.8068 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Thursday, April 17, 2014 6:00 PM The Olympia Center, Room 200 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m. Present: 8 - Chair Jim Nieland, Vice Chair Gerry Hodge, Committee Member Barbara Benson, Committee Member Timothy W Burns, Committee Member Robert Dengel, Committee Member Joel Hansen, Committee Member Alicia Seegers Martinelli, and Committee Member Brian Tomlinson Absent: 2 - Committee Member Jesse Dwyer, and Committee Member Noah C McCord 1a. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) welcomed new members Alicia Seegers Martinelli and Tim Burns. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 14-0152 Approval of December 15, 2013 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 14-0369 Approval of February 20, 2014 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT James Reddick, PARC Foundation of Thurston County, stated that he is looking for volunteers for various action committes identified at the Regional Park Board Meeting: trails, collaboration, funding, regional fields and recreation planning. Next Saturday is the Splash Bash in Tenino to raise money to open the Tenino Quarry for the summer. City of Olympia Page 1 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes April 17, 2014 Committee Tickets for the Oly Centro raffle will be available soon. Money raised at the raffle will be split between the Park Departments of Lacey, Tumwater, Olympia and Thurston County. Bob Jacobs, former member of PRAC, thanked the Committee for being advocates of parks. He stated that funding for parks is always at the end of the funding line and that over the last several years, the parks budget has gone down 20%. Mr. Jacobs stated that the consultants report on the Senior Impact Fee Exemption reads like a case study and only addressed one survey in one park in Portland. He recommended to not use it, or use it on an interim basis while a local survey is done to survey random parks in Olympia. Darrel Hoppe stated he was a new member with the Planning Commission and was interested in being the liaison to PRAC. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS Upon the request of the LBA Woods Coalition, Jonathon Turlove distributed a report from the coalition. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 6a. Rules of Procedure and Ordinance Review (Cathie Butler/Tom Morrill) Communications Manager Cathie Butler stated that she has been working with the State Attorney's Office to provide regional training on how to conduct public meetings. The training will be held on June 4 at the Washington Center. Ms. Butler also handed out the 2014 Advisory Committee Regular Meetings List, roles and expectations handout, and rules of procedure. Tom Morrill, City Attorney, gave a brief summary of areas of the law pertaining to advisory committees, and reminded the committee to be mindful of the requirements for open meetings and notices to the public. Mr. Morrill discouraged the committee from using reply all when sending emails, so as not to create discussion or decision making via email. Q1 - What is the requirement for subcommitte meetings? The meeting must be less than a quorum and be clear on the scope of the subcommittee, don't take testimony from the public, and keep copies of reports. Q2 - If members resign during a term does the quorum change? Yes, the quorum is based on active members. Q3 - If PRAC members attend a public meeting, does public notice need to be given? If a quorum will be attending or if a quorum is anticipated to be attending, a notice should be issued even if decisions will not made. City of Olympia Page 2 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes April 17, 2014 Committee Ms. Butler stated that the City implemented an online survey system called Oly Speaks. The City will be looking at creating a plan for using this tool later in the year. 6b. Heritage Fountain Condition Report and Recommendations Review (Kip Summers) Parks Project Engineer Kip Summers gave on overview of the Heritage Fountain Evaluation Report done by ORB Architects. Kip reviewed the background of the fountain and process to hire a consultant. The report identified action items, both immediate and necessary upgrades. The action items were then organized by priority. The top priority items will be started in 2014 with Condition Assessment and Major Maintenance Program (CAMMP) funds and the remaining immediate action items will be done next year. Funding has not been identified to address the necessary upgrades to the fountain. 6c. Status Update of the Proposed Leased Dog Park Site in West Olympia (Dave Okerlund) Planning & Design Manager Dave Okerlund stated that the City has identified a site in West Olympia for a temporary dog park. A draft concept plan has been created and the department will be meeting with neighbors and will hold a public meeting this summer. Mr. Okerlund stated that he will come back to PRAC for a formal recommendation to Council after the public meeting. 6.d 14-0365 Senior Impact Fee Issue Paper - Recommendation to Council Associate Planner Jonathon Turlove presented a Powerpoint presentation regarding the Senior Impact Fee Exemption. The current ordinance states that housing intended for 62+ is fully exempt from Impact Fees. The current discount proposed by the consultant is 46% for 55+ with assisted living retaining the full exemption. PRAC discussed the exemption at length. The discussion centered around the fact that grandparents bring their grandkids to the park, longer life expectancies, fees for parks needs to be equitable, and exemption should only be for nursing/assisted living or advance care facilities. PRAC will make a formal recommendation at the June meeting. Jonathon Turlove will discuss with Legal staff the proposed wording. A motion was made and seconded to recommend removing the park impact fee exemption that is designated for 62 years or older, except for those developments that are designed expressly for the infirm, advanced care, or other uses where the residents are not likely to make an impact on the park system, pending legal review. The motion passed unanimously. 6f. Elect new liaison to the North Capitol Campus Heritage Park Development Association City of Olympia Page 3 Parks and Recreation Advisory Meeting Minutes April 17, 2014 Committee Alicia Seegers Martinelli volunteered to be the new liaison to the North Capitol Campus Heritage Park Development Association. 6g. Elect new liaison to the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Joel Hanson volunteered to be the new liaison to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. 6h. Discussion on Whether to Change Meeting Day from Third Thursday Council Liaison to PRAC Nathanial Jones has communicated that he has a conflict with meeting on the third Thursday of the month. The committee discusssed other date options, and decided to return to the first Thursday of the month. 7. REPORTS FROM PROJECT LEADS Committee Member Dengel reported that the Urban Forestry Subcommittee submitted a report to Council with recommendations that include the need for department coordination, definition of roles, maintaining street trees, and to recognize parks as a canopy cover. The City was awarded a grant from the Department of Natural Resources and will use the funds for more strategic planning. Chair Nieland stated he had recently attended a Community Economic Revitalization Committee (CERC) meeting. CERC is a visioning group looking at the Isthmus property, identifying opportunities and potential problems. A consultant will compile all the ideas and present to a upcoming public meeting. Parks, Arts and Recreation Department Director Paul Simmons stated that staff is compiling information on Recreation and Conservation Office grants and the use of park impact fees to make sure we are transparent with funding requirements when presenting development ideas for the property. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. UPCOMING The next meeting will be May 1, 2014. City of Olympia Page 4