Parks, Property & Streets Committee Meeting

1 PARKS, PROPERTY & STREETS COMMITTEE MINUTES 2 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2025 3 (Approved) 4 5 6 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 7 February 2, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee was called to order by 8 Committee Chair Louise Howson at 1:00 P.M. 9 10 Committee Members Present: Committee Chair Louise Howson and members Jerry Ahrens, Denise 11 Bhirdo, Nate Bell, and Mike Laszkiewicz (via Zoom). 12 13 Staff Members Present: Village Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Parks & Streets Director Erik 14 Linczmaier, Megan Barnes Utilities Director (via Zoom), Julie Thyssen Village Clerk (via Zoom) and 15 Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges 16 17 Public Present: Ellie Soderberg-Guger, Erin Peddle, Terry Kelly, Steve Strucely, Katelyn Jeraro, Steven 18 Jarzombek, S. Gullick, Via Zoom: Jennifer L. REL, Chris Schmeltz, Laurel Harff, Karen Berndt, 19 “Ipad(2)”, Johnson 20 21 2. Approve Agenda 22 Motion by Bell , second by Howson, to approve the agenda. Motion carried – all ayes. 23 24 3. Approve Minutes: December 2, 2025, Regular Meeting 25 Motion to approve the minutes from December 2, 2025, as presented, by Bhirdo, second by Ahrens. 26 Motion carried – all ayes. 27 28 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 29 Mr. Steve Jarzombek was in attendance but indicated his comments pertained to the pickleball 30 policy agenda item. 31 32 5. Discussion/Action Items 33 a. Current Administration Building; Impact on Road Reconstruction Project 34 Andrews presented information regarding the administration building and its impact on the road 35 reconstruction project. He explained that following the December 6, 2025 Village Board decision to 36 move the administration building to the Mill Road site, the Parks Committee now had the 37 opportunity to provide input on the road reconstruction project. 38 Bhirdo noted that the committee had already made a decision on this matter and forwarded it to the 39 Village Board. Andrews confirmed that he had executed a contract for an appraisal of the current 40 administration building as directed by the Board, with results expected in 3-4 weeks. The committee 41 discussed the timeline, noting that the appraisal would likely not be ready for the February Board 42 meeting but would be available for the March meeting. 43 After discussion about the procedural approach, the committee determined the matter should be 44 postponed until March when the appraisal would be available for consideration. 45 Motion by Bell, second by Howson to postpone the item until March or later when the appraisal is 46 received. Motion carried - all ayes. 47 48 b. Future Administration Building; Mill Street 49 Andrews presented information on the future administration building at the Mill Road site. He 50 outlined the roles and responsibilities of village staff, committees, and the Village Board in moving 51 the project forward.  Minutes of the February 2, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 The committee engaged in a lengthy discussion about requirements for the new building. Bell 2 expressed concerns about the previous process that established the building requirements. Howson 3 emphasized the need for flexibility in the interior design to accommodate future changes in village 4 operations. 5 Committee members debated whether staff input or committee direction should guide the space 6 needs assessment. Ahrens suggested the committee should focus on high-level needs rather than 7 specific office configurations. Bell stressed the importance of incorporating public input early in the 8 process to avoid issues that impacted the previous administration building project. 9 Andrews recommended establishing a strong foundation for the project by clarifying the building 10 needs before engaging an architecture and engineering firm. The committee discussed the timeline 11 for the project and the need to solicit public input. 12 Motion by Howson, second by Bell to instruct staff to include a public informational meeting as part 13 of the March 2026 Parks Committee meeting regarding the future administration building. Motion 14 carried - all ayes. 15 16 c. Robert E. Lee & Associates; Bluffside Area Road Design; Driveway Widths 17 Andrews introduced the item regarding non-compliant driveways in the Bluffside Area road design 18 project. He noted that at the November 3rd meeting, the committee had decided to send letters to 19 property owners within the construction area to get their input on driveway compliance options. 20 Most property owners had responded, with a few responses still coming in. 21 Jennifer from Robert E. Lee & Associates joined the meeting to provide additional information. The 22 committee reviewed the responses property by property, discussing each driveway situation and 23 confirming decisions about which driveways would be narrowed to be compliant and which would 24 remain with rolled curbs to allow continued access. 25 The committee reviewed responses from property owners and made decisions on each property: 26 ● 10627 North Bayshore Drive (Lure Restaurant): Owner preferred to remain non-compliant, 27 though concerns were raised about their unscreened dumpsters. 28 ● 10631 Bluffside Lane: No response received, committee decided to follow the same approach as 29 with other properties - installing rolled curbs that would allow access while technically bringing 30 the driveway into compliance with village standards. 31 ● 10636 Bluffside Lane: Owner agreed to narrow driveway to 24 feet. 32 ● 2370 Parkview Drive: Owner requested to leave driveway as is at 36 feet, committee decided to 33 narrow to 24 feet with rolled curb on sides. 34 ● Parkview Lane: Owner wanted to leave the 26-foot driveway as is, committee decided to narrow 35 to 24 feet with rolled curb on sides. 36 37 d. Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program; Encumbrance Resolution Options; Parking Lot Appraisal 38 Andrews reported that the village had received the appraisal for the parking lot parcel next to the 39 Dorr Hotel on January 8, 2026, with a value of $730,000. The committee discussed whether the 40 entire parcel needed to be addressed or just the portion (three parking stalls) that was out of 41 compliance with the Knowles-Nelson encumbrance. 42 The committee reviewed minutes from a previous meeting where Luke from the DNR had explained 43 that the village would need to provide replacement land that equals or exceeds the original parcel of 44 0.6 acres. The committee discussed potential options, including using the current administration 45 building site. 46 The committee directed staff to contact the DNR to clarify the lot size and value requirements based 47 on the appraisal, and then report back with options. 48 49 e. STH 57 Trail; Robert E. Lee & Associates; Proposed Amendment No. 2 50 Andrews presented information about Proposed Amendment No. 2 for the State Highway 57 Trail 51 project. The amendment included additional requirements associated with Transportation 2  Minutes of the February 2, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 Alternative Program (TAP) funding: wetland delineation, hazardous material assessment, right-of- 2 way plat preparation, and an additional curb ramp crossing. 3 Jennifer from Robert E. Lee & Associates explained that some of these requirements were not 4 included in the original contract because they could only be determined after design work began. 5 She also noted that the additional crossing near the planned aquatic center came from public input 6 at an informational meeting. 7 The committee discussed concerns about the significant increase in costs, with the project going 8 from approximately $68,000 to $122,000, plus an unknown amount for easement acquisitions. 9 There was also discussion about whether the DOT would approve the crosswalks on Highway 57. 10 11 f. STH 57 Trail; Robert E. Lee & Associates; Proposed Amendment No. 3 12 The committee discussed Proposed Amendment No. 3 for the STH 57 Trail project, which covered 13 real estate acquisition services through Moss & Associates at a cost of $6,100. These services would 14 be needed to secure the necessary easements for the trail construction. 15 After discussion of both amendments, the committee took action on them together. 16 Motion by Bhirdo, second by Howson to recommend approval of Amendment No. 2 and Amendment 17 No. 3 for the STH 57 Trail project to the Village Board at a total cost of approximately $48,500. 18 Motion carried – all ayes. 19 20 g. Pickleball Policy 21 Mr. Jarzombek from the Door County Pickleball Club addressed the committee regarding the 22 pickleball policy. He provided information about the club, which has 550-600 members, including 23 many Sister Bay residents. The club maintains equipment, provides nets and balls, offers instruction, 24 organizes tournaments, and performs court maintenance. 25 The club has historically reserved courts at the Sister Bay sports complex three days a week 26 (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) from 9-11 AM during the summer season. Jarzombek expressed 27 concerns about the increase in fees from $10 per court per day to $20 per court per day. 28 The committee discussed the policy, which would limit reservations to recognized clubs for Tuesday, 29 Thursday, and Saturday mornings, with the remainder of the time being first-come, first-served. The 30 committee amended the draft policy to specify the days as Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 31 rather than Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as originally proposed. They also discussed 32 adding language requiring clubs to be nonprofit organizations. 33 Motion by Howson, second by Ahrens to approve the Sister Bay pickleball court reservation policy 34 limiting reservations to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings from 9-11 AM for nonprofit Door 35 County Pickleball Club, with the remaining times available first-come, first-served. Motion carried – 36 all ayes. 37 The committee directed staff to develop new signage reflecting the updated policy. 38 39 h. Facility Rental Fees; Pricing for Non-Profit Organizations 40 Andrews presented information about facility rental fees for non-profit organizations. The 41 committee discussed current practices, noting that different non-profit groups were paying different 42 rates, with some paying nominal annual fees rather than the published daily rates. 43 After considerable discussion, the committee reached consensus that non-profit organizations in 44 Door County should pay an annual fee equivalent to one day's rental fee for the facility they use. For 45 example, if the daily fee for the Village Hall is $200, a non-profit would pay $200 per year to use the 46 facility for their scheduled meetings. 47 Staff was directed to draft this policy for approval at the next meeting. 48 49 i. Village Hall Rental Agreement; Shane Krueger 50 Andrews presented a rental application from Shane Krueger for an event at the Village Hall that 51 would include music and vendors. The committee discussed several aspects of the request, including 3  Minutes of the February 2, 2026, meeting of the Parks, Property & Streets Committee – Approved 1 the need for liability insurance, compliance with noise ordinances, and potentially extending the 2 pavilion rental policies to the Village Hall. 3 Since the applicant was not present at the meeting and additional information was needed, the 4 committee directed staff to follow up with Krueger regarding the requirements for renting the 5 facility. 6 7 6. Staff Report, Board Update 8 Parks & Streets Director Linczmaier presented his report, which included: 9 ● Information about bench options and costs for replacement of aging park benches 10 ● An update on the parks staff move to the new facility 11 ● Information about plans for tree planting in Waterfront Park and the sports complex 12 The committee requested additional information about the tree planting plans, including a sketch 13 showing proposed locations relative to infrastructure and the pancake tent used for Marina Fest, as 14 well as photos of the proposed tree varieties. 15 Bhirdo requested that a future agenda include discussion of new reflective fire signs being 16 implemented across Door County, noting that the article mentioned Sister Bay would be responsible 17 for installing them independently. 18 Bhirdo also requested a future agenda item to establish a volunteer service day in honor of Chris 19 Hecht. 20 Howson mentioned several follow-up items for future meetings, including: 21 ● Mill Road landscaping plan 22 ● Status of e-bike rental request 23 ● Potential walking tour 24 ● Resident drop-off site for branches 25 ● Research on parks districts for regional facility collaboration 26 Laszkiewicz requested an update at the March meeting from Miles regarding the Friends of the Ice 27 Rink progress and operating agreement. 28 29 7. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 30 ● Follow-up on reflective fire signs being rolled out across the county 31 ● Establishing a volunteer/service day in honor of Chris Hecht 32 ● Update from Friends of the Ice Rink on their progress and operating agreement 33 ● Bench policy review and design standards 34 ● Tree planting locations with detailed maps and photos 35 ● Flower Pot Angels – Invite Sharon to join the next meeting via Zoom to discuss the gift card 36 matter. 37 ● Staff to draft a formal policy for non-profit organization facility rentals reflecting previous 38 discussion for consideration at the next meeting. 39 ● Staff to contact the DNR to clarify the lot size and value requirements based on the appraisal, 40 and then report back with options. 41 ● Staff to include a public informational meeting as part of the March 2026 Parks Committee 42 meeting regarding the future administration building 43 44 8. Next Regular Meeting 45 The next regular meeting was confirmed for March 2, 2026 at 1:00 P.M. 46 47 9. Adjourn 48 Motion by Howson, second by Ahrens to adjourn the meeting at 4:55 P.M. Motion carried - all ayes. 49 50 Respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant. 4