Parks, Recreation & Forestry Advisory Board

Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – MINUTES Thursday, March 30th, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M. The meeting was held in the Council Chambers and is available at: https://vimeo.com/815118710 CALL TO ORDER: 7:31 ROLL CALL In attendance were Coburn, Dardis, Griffith, Neilson, Reth, Running, Weigel, and Clark. Also in attendance were P & R Director Ehnes, SRAC Facility Superintendent Rauterkus, Parks Maintenance Superintendent McDonald, City Attorney McDonald, City Administrator McFarland, Mayor Senden, and Administrative Assistant Heiting. Absent: Caldwell DECLARATION OF ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST No conflicts of interest were declared. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Neilson moved, Weigel seconded, and all voted to approve the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Dardis moved, Weigel seconded, and all voted to approve the February minutes. PUBLIC COMMENT Public comment was opened at 7:33 A.M., with no public comments received. OLD BUSINESS Director Items  Recommend a final skate park design and location. o Ehnes discussed that due to a better skate design, flow, and less congestion staff has agreed that Design 1 would be the best option. Looking over the results of the community survey, a popular comment stated that the skate park’s square footage was too large. By designing a larger skate park, we are building for the future not just for today. o Griffith opened public comment at 7:40 A.M. with the following comments received.  Kevin Jasper 706 E Illinois Street. He expressed his appreciation for the city staff’s continued efforts and the survey that was created. He would like to see some changes regarding the depth of the park design to accommodate the BMX riders. Griffith questioned which design would be his preference, Kevin stated design 2, due to being more bike-friendly. Next Meeting – April 20th, 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – MINUTES Thursday, March 30th, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M.  Nathan Arnet 115 Yukon Place, commented that he liked both designs, but due to the location of the sand volleyball court, he preferred design 1.  Kody Kline 410 Rainbow Road, discussed the square footage of the skatepark design presented. He suggests designing a skate park that is approximately 10, 000 square feet to allow skaters to spread out due to safety concerns.  Tom Deis 425 E Elgin St. expressed his appreciation for the survey that allowed the community to have input. Tom expressed his concern for Design 1, regarding taking away field space for youth activities, preserving green space within the community, parking, and proximity to the residential homes. Design 2 would allow users to park in the parking lot, as well as provide the most space between the park and residents’ homes, Deis believes that a 7,700 square-foot skate park should be sufficient for the community population.  Keith Rogers Saphier Lane, commented that due to the variety of users and ages, he liked Design 1.  Carlton Baird 720 3rd St, discussed his participation with the current skate park, as well as expressed his concern with building a smaller square footage park as well as the safety concerns due to congestion. He suggests that there would need to be some minor adjustments to the design due to cross-skating traffic. Design 1 will allow for an ample amount of space and believes that building a new park is going to be a huge community engagement center for the community. o Weigel commented on taking away field space. Ehnes stated that because the Sky Ridge Sports complex will become operational next year, there will be enough field space available for youth activities. There will be six regulation soccer fields and when broken down by age eighteen different fields in total. o Wegiel questioned if there was space available in the event the volleyball courts would need to be moved. Ehnes stated that there are other locations available, but the relocation would take away another open green space on city property. o Dardis questioned if moving the park closer to the dog park would cause any drainage issues. Ehnes stated that was the initial concern when designing a bowl-style park. Due to this design, the water should run off without a drain system in place. The other concern is placing activities right next to the dog park, as well as the concern of the main irrigation system. The main irrigation line runs along the dog park fence. Putting the park on the south end allows for the pipes to be cut and capped and re-routed instead of the main line being relocated. Next Meeting – April 20th, 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – MINUTES Thursday, March 30th, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M. o Neilson questioned if Design 1 would cause any conflict with flag football. Rauterkus stated that flag football does not require as much space as a regulation field, therefore if Design 1 was to be approved there would be enough space to accommodate flag football. o Coburn discussed the congestion that is happening at the Skate park in Lead, SD due to the lack of park square footage and parking conflicts. He suggested that because of the space needed, design 1 would allow appropriate square footage and would help prevent congestion and allow for future growth. In the future, if parking became an issue, the opportunity to remove the sand volleyball courts would be an option and add parking in that location. o Ehnes stated that at this time, the designs presented are only concept designs, as the project progresses, construction plans will be drawn and will allow the team to determine sidewalk locations. Ehnes discussed an increase in parking on the side of the street due to the skatepark. Parking is available on the side of the street due to it being a public street and public parking. o Griffith questioned the difference between parking on the side of the street for a soccer or football event or for those who wish to go to the skatepark. Ehnes stated that soccer or football games are periodic, by adding the skatepark to that location, it is thought that there would be more consistent traffic. o Reth and Weigel informed the board that a sub-committee is being formed to start fundraising to cover any gaps in the overall cost. Fundraising options will start in the Spring and Fall of 2024. Reth discussed that there is a lot of support in the community that has reached out personally and is willing to hold events to achieve the subcommittee’s goal. o Weigel questioned if Design 2 was selected, where would the sand volleyball court be relocated and what would be the cost? Ehnes stated that he has not received a final price for relocation but a rough estimation of $30,000.00-$40,000.00. Possible relocation options would be Lions Park, City Park, or the lower section of Spartan Park. o Ehnes discussed the next step in the approval process. The Park Board’s recommendation will go to the city council on Monday, April 3rd, 2023. The construction design will be completed in 2024. Construction will happen in the Spring of 2025 and the park will be available to skate in 2025. o Ehnes stated that the skate park project is dependent on grant funding, if the city would be 100% responsible for the cost, there is no guarantee that the council will approve the project. Next Meeting – April 20th, 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – MINUTES Thursday, March 30th, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M. o Wegiel questioned if it would make a difference if the fundraising committee can raise enough funds to help supplement any lack of grant funding, Ehnes stated that depends on the funds raised. o Reth motioned, Neilson second, and all voted to recommend the approval of Skatepark Design 1 located on the lower field of Spartan Park. Board Items  Question and answer session on the March staff update. o Ehnes discussed the update on the Rec Path and announced that the $600,000.00 grant has been awarded. The Rec Path project has now received $1.5 million in grant funds. o Neilson questioned if the playground located at Sky Ridge will be open before the fields are completed. Ehnes stated that the park will be open once the area is no longer an active construction zone. o Field usage has been postponed due to delayed seeding of the fields. Fall of 2024 or spring of 2025 is the anticipated timeframe for opening the complex. o Griffith discussed the playground design for Evans Park. There have been three proposals submitted. The technical review committee will be scoring the designs this month and a recommendation will be brought to the board at the April meeting. o Weigel expressed appreciation to Superintendent McDonald and the Parks Department for the recent improvements to the entrance of Lookout Mountain. NEW BUSINESS Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Items  Consider fee changes at the City Campground. o Superintendent McDonald discussed the fee increase due to an increase in operating costs. Expenses have increased 15% year after year. Since the campground is an enterprise fund and does not rely on tax dollars, it is imperative that the campground raises rates and stays competitive with the local market. The campground is bringing in new rental equipment. Fees for equipment will go through a fee resolution in April. Included in the new rental equipment are pedal carts which can be ridden on the rec path and throughout the campground. o Weigel motioned, Dardis seconded and all voted to recommend the approval of fee changes at the City Campground. FYI ITEMS  March 31st-American Legion-sponsored skate night Next Meeting – April 20th, 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers  Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – MINUTES Thursday, March 30th, 2023, City Council Chambers 7:30 A.M.  Annual Easter Egg Hunt-City Park-April 8th, 10:00 AM  Waterpark passes ½ off until May 1st ADJOURNMENT Reth moved, Dardis seconded, and all voted to adjourn at 8:34 A.M. Next Meeting – April 20th, 2023, 7:30 A.M. Council Chambers