Parks & Recreation Commission

TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 1 CONVENE: 7:03 p.m. PRESENT: Vice Chair Bill Kallappa II and Commissioners Amy Hargrove, Shane Harrington, and Kelly Von Holtz. Excused Absence: Chair Erin Carrier and Commissioners Mike Culley and Stacy Brown. Staff: Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Denney, Parks and Facilities Manager Stan Osborn, and Recreation Manager Todd Anderson. Others: Mayor Debbie Sullivan CHANGES TO A program update was added to the agenda. AGENDA: APPROVAL OF Consideration of the November 17, 2021 minutes was deferred because of MINUTES: the lack of a quorum of members attending the November meeting. NOVEMBER 17, 2021 & JANUARY 19, 2022: MOTION: Commissioner Hargrove moved, seconded by Commissioner Harrington, to approve the minutes of January 19, 2022 as published. A voice vote approved the motion unanimously. PUBLIC There were no public comments. COMMENT: PARKS Director Denney reported many issues related to COVID, supply chain PROJECTS issues, and staffing capacity slowed many park projects. He updated the UPDATE: Commission on the following projects:  Preserve Park - One large project moving forward is the Preserve Park, a two-acre neighborhood park located in the Preserve subdivision south of the airport. The City Council approved ordering all park amenities and staff has contacted the playground manufacturer to select colors for the equipment. The project will be released for bid next month for a contractor to complete site work.  Park Restrooms - Within the next several weeks staff is scheduled to release bids for the restroom projects at Barclift Park and Tumwater Hill Neighborhood Park. The pre-fabricated buildings were ordered in October 2021. Because of supply issues, the buildings require six to eight months to manufacture and deliver. Staff anticipates receiving the restrooms at any time. The contractor will extend utilities, install the pad, and improve the site TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 2 to enable installation of the restrooms.  Tumwater Hill Park Trail – The trail has been in progress over the last 2-1/2 years. Staff completed a geotech study for slope stability and several design iterations of the route for the trail because of the steep hill. Director Denney displayed the route of the trail and the location of the Tumwater Hill Elementary School. The Tumwater Hill Neighborhood Park encompasses approximately 35 acres to include the area of the trail. The trail system includes five trailheads for access to the trail with two of those assesses at the top, one trailhead located off Ridgeview Loop, and two trailheads in the lower area enabling trail users to access the trail and the park from all sides except from the west side. The new trail will be located off Crosby Boulevard and will include a series of switchbacks because of steep topography. The segment will connect to an existing trail to complete six trailheads on Tumwater Hill connecting from all neighborhoods to both the park and the school.  Trails End Park Meeting – A community meeting is scheduled on May 18, 2022. Local neighborhoods surrounding the Old Trails End horse arena site have been invited to attend the meeting. The City owns the property and plans to construct the new Public Works Operations and Maintenance Facility in addition to a neighborhood park. Some neighbors are not supportive of the new maintenance facility because of noise and other issues that are perceived to impact neighborhoods. The meeting will cover the proposed layout of the site, impacts of a public works facility, and what components comprise a neighborhood park. The City plans to hire an architect and schedule additional meetings with the neighborhoods with involvement of the Commission as the City works through the process to design a park meeting the needs of the neighborhoods and the City.  Community Center Design – The largest project is selecting the design of the new community center. The community center was included in the package presented to the voters to form the Tumwater Metropolitan Park District (TMPD). As all community members have their specific opinion as to what a community center should include, staff plans to work with a design company experienced in designing community centers. Once the designer is hired, a larger community conversation will be scheduled to discuss desired features of a community center. Following development of conceptual design, the City will seek property to purchase. Approximately 10 acres would be required located centrally within the City. 2022 PARKS AND Director Denney advised that the City is moving toward resuming in- RECREATION person or hybrid meetings. The Council held its first hybrid meeting the COMMISSION previous evening with several Councilmembers electing to continue TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 3 MEETINGS: participating virtually. The Board has the option of resuming in-person meetings or participating virtually. The hybrid meetings are possible but are somewhat more difficult for staff as it involves coordinating two meetings; the zoom meeting and the in-person meeting. Chair Carrier is supportive of attending an in-person meeting. She works in a hospital is aware of the current status of the pandemic. Vice Chair Kallappa said he would be comfortable attending an in-person meeting. Director Denney advised that prior to the next meeting, staff will contact each member on their meeting preference prior to the week before the May meeting. PARKS AND Director Denney reported the Commission’s budget is $20,000 remaining RECREATION from 2021, which rolls forward to 2022 and combines with the 2022 COMMISSION budget for a total budget of $40,000 to spend by the end of 2022. Staff has BUDGET: prepared a list of potential expenditures that has not been finalized as a proposal for the Commission to consider. He asked Commissioners to consider potential items to purchase for parks and/or programs. Upon the completion of the Tumwater Hill Neighborhood Park trail system, improvements are warranted to signalize and improve each of the six trailheads to include a map and a bench. Those improvements would likely be on the list for items to consider for funding. Commissioner Harrington referred to the discussion in January regarding the condition of Pioneer Park and a proposal to consolidate the proliferation of park signs. He asked about any progress to consolidate signage and whether the signs would be funded from the Commission’s budget. Director Denney advised that no progress has occurred on consolidating signs as it speaks to a design issue. The department lacks a sign template for all parks resulting in various styles of signs in City parks. The next step is developing a sign standard for parks. The expenditure would not necessarily be funded from the Commission’s budget. The Commission dictates what items to purchase from its budget. MEET & GREET Director Denney reported former Mayor Kmet visited the Commission WITH MAYOR each year and provided an update on City activities. Mayor Sullivan is DEBBIE continuing the tradition of meeting with the Commission annually. SULLIVAN: Mayor Sullivan thanked the Commission for inviting her to the meeting. Although former Mayor Kmet often presented his updates through a PowerPoint presentation, since assuming the role of mayor much of her interaction with board and commissions has involved introductions and information about her background. One of her first goals as mayor was to meet each City employee within the first 100 days, which she achieved TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 4 with a few days added. Mayor Sullivan said she was raised on a horse ranch in Montana and understands and appreciates hard work, land, the environment, and animals. In 1986, she moved from Montana to assume a position as a real estate appraiser in Western Washington. She eventually moved to the Phoenix area working as a property tax support specialist. After deciding the desert was not to her liking, she returned to Washington. She has been a business owner, was employed by one of the largest corporations in the world, Intel, and worked for state government for 10 years. She understands the needs of small business owners, the needs of large corporations, and the disconnect that can often occur between business and government. She served 10 years on the Tumwater Planning Commission serving as chair for seven years. She served eight years on the Council and now serves in the administrative position of Mayor. She expressed appreciation to all members of the City’s boards and commissions as it entails contribution and much work by each member. She invited Commissioners to share their respective backgrounds and reasons for serving on the Commission. Commissioners individually provided self-introduction and described their personal and professional background and reason for volunteering to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mayor Sullivan shared that she recently attended the annual Easter Egg Dash. The event was very successful and was well attended. She is looking forward to participating in some upcoming community events. Information was shared on a large oak tree located behind the restroom at Historical Park, which fell and damaged a corner of the restroom roof. The tree has been removed and the area has been cleared. Staff is working with the insurance adjuster to replace the restroom roof. Mayor Sullivan said she has received many positive comments about the new trail at Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls. Several people have mentioned a future family bike event from the trail to Olympia. PROGRAMS Director Denney shared a short video of the Easter Egg Dash in April. The UPDATE: event featured 20,000 eggs requiring an extensive amount of time by staff to stuff the eggs. The event is funded by several volunteers and community sponsors. The event requires several hours to set up. Once the dash begins, it is typically over in five minutes. Manager Anderson reported this week is National Volunteer Week and in recognition, the department sponsored an event for all volunteers because it has been nearly two years since the City’s Volunteer Program was transferred to the Parks and Recreation Department. The department TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 5 annually sponsors an appreciation event for Tumwater Youth Program volunteers with a dinner and awards. This year, it was important to recognize volunteers for the basketball program. The basketball program included 140 coaches who served nearly 6,000 volunteer hours over the course of four months. A lunch was held for the volunteers in appreciation for their service at Tumwater Historical Park. Approximately 30 people attended the event. The department plans to host a volunteer appreciation event each year during National Volunteer Week as a small token of appreciation for the services volunteers provide to the City. Last year, despite COVID, the value of volunteer service was $250,000. The Volunteer Program continues to expand with the addition of the Stewardship Program with community members adopting Historical Park, Overlook Park, Isabella Bush Park, and the Preserve Park. Several volunteers have agreed to serve as trail stewards. This year, the City is recognizing Earth Day and Arbor Day in a combined event on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at Tumwater Historical Park from 9 a.m. to noon. Of the 50 people registered to participate in Earth Day, most are students. The school with the highest number of student volunteers will receive $500 for the school’s ASB with $200 to the second place winner. Volunteers will be working on the park to remove weeds, place bark, and pick-up trash. A tree planting is scheduled at 11 a.m. The Arbor Day event begins at 10 a.m. at the picnic shelter. The event features free tree seedlings and giveaway gift bags. Following the end of both events, a lunch will be hosted for all volunteers. The first Saturday in June is National Trails Day. This year, the focus will be a cleanup along the Jim Brown Trail. Manager Anderson reported the Washington Recreation Parks Association and the Association of Washington Cities offered grant funds for parks and recreation departments to create programs for inclusion of children not currently being served. The City received over $30,000 for the department’s day camp and teen camp to provide 10 scholarships to children who are underserved, as well as adding two weeks to the teen camp focused on outdoor activities and recreation. Director Denney encouraged Commissioners to contact him if they are interested in volunteering or would like more information on the department’s programs and activities. Commissioners will be contacted about participating as a parade judge during the City’s 4th of July Parade. All 4th of July activities will be held traditionally in addition to the fireworks show at the golf course. On August 20, 2022 the City is hosting its annual Brewfest at the golf course. Funding is available through the TMPD to hire a half-time Arts Coordinator to initiate work on establishing an Arts Program. The City TUMWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING April 20, 2022 Page 6 advertised the position and selected seven candidates to interview. Six of the seven candidates accepted an invitation to interview on Monday, April 25, 2022. The TMPD also funds a new Recreation Coordinator position. Hiring was delayed over the last several years because of COVID-19. The position has been advertised and hiring is scheduled later in the summer. Vice Chair Kallappa commented on the potential collaboration between the Nisqually Indian Tribe and the City’s Art Program. The Tribe is working with the Tumwater School District to ensure Tumwater High School retains the name of Thunderbird because its use has not been derogatory. Collaboration with the City’s Art Program would focus on the history of Thunderbird through art or carvings to tell the story of the Thunderbird in conjunction with the school district. Mayor Sullivan shared information on her efforts to collaborate and work closely with the tribes to ensure the tribes are represented in the City through community art and programs. Vice Chair Kallappa shared information on the story surrounding the Thunderbird, which was created as a god-like figure where winds, clouds, and the climate are generated in partnership with the ocean, prairies, and Mt. Rainier (Tahoma). In partnership with the Tumwater School District, the tribe is working to develop the story about the Thunderbird for the students of the Tumwater School District. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Vice Chair Kallappa adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Prepared by Valerie Gow, President, Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net