Parks, Forestry, & Recreation Committee

PARKS, FORESTRY & RECREATION COMMITTEE Minutes Monday, February 16, 2026, 5:00 PM Meeting will be held in person. North Conference Room, City Hall, 75 N. Bonson Street, Platteville, WI Committee members in attendance: Cody Bochenek, Bob Gates, Kecia King, Debi Sigwarth, Kris Wright, Maureen Vorwald Committee members excused: Molly Zuehlke City Staff present: Bob Lowe Members of the public: A. Call Meeting to Order: 5:00pm. B. Approval of Minutes: January 19, 2026 Motion Kecia, second Maureen, Approved C. Citizen Comments Received positive comments that Pickleball nets are up. Bathrooms won’t be open until there is no threat of frost. D. New Business a. Introduction to different aspects of the Parks Budget Review of 2026 line item budget accounts for Parks, Recreation, Senior Center, Forestry, Pool, Broske and others. Draft budgets are created in July, reviewed and adopted in late Nov/early Dec Recently changed the reservations for Parks Shelters from 2 year to 1 year reservations. Park Impact Fees - Ordinance. New housing developments must pay park impact fees. Can Equity Accounts be invested in a savings account? Parks Fees can be spent on Park improvements in any of the parks. Youth Football will be run by the City Recreation Staff this year. b. Membership Parks, Forestry and Recreation Committee Circle back with Council to see about extending term limits for committee members. Are there any applications on file? Can current meeting details be added to the application process, to ensure applicants are available at the current meeting times to attend. Onboarding for new members recommended, specifically handbook orientation and budget review. Reviewed draft language from March 2025 Reviewed the term ending limits for current committee members. Committee voted to resubmit request to council to consider term limits: “The committee would like to respectfully request that committee members, should they choose to be reappointed, may serve two successive terms, before the mandatory break of one year be imposed. In reviewing the current language and reviewing other city boards and committees sections of code, adding the word "second" to the third sentence, noted below in red, should allow committee members to serve two successive terms. "3.44(b)2 - The members shall be appointed by the President of the Common Council on the second Tuesday in May, subject to confirmation by the Common Council, for a term commencing on June 1. Vacancies for an unexpired term shall be filled in the same manner. A member of the Committee, upon completion of the member’s second term shall not be eligible for reappointment until at least a period of one year shall have intervened between said terms as a Committee member, but this provision shall not apply to persons who fill an unexpired term of a previous member or whose initial term was less than three years, or to the appointment of an alderperson" c. Restrictions and guideline development policies for Memorials and Legacies in City Parks Review current parks. Location for benches. Thoughts on a policy. Ask Bob L to share the latest version of the Brochure that has trees removed. Are there benches that need to be replaced that aren’t memorials? d. Senior Center Usage data Funding for more activities, upgrades to space. E. Old Business a. City Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Report b. Aquatic Center Updates c. Broske Center Updates d. Downtown dog park F. Staff Updates G. Next Meeting: March 16, 2026 The next meeting date was discussed as it will fall during spring break. After discussion, committee approved Monday, March 23 as the next meeting H. Adjournment Motion 6:14pm Debi, second Bob, approved.