Park Board

Park Board Meeting Minutes June 8, 2021 Park Board Members Present: Ray Boksich, Jim DeHerrera, Carrielynn O’Reilly, Ron Brunk, Frank Sweeney, Melissa Hartman Park Board Members Absent: Terri Dunn Guests: Greg Harms City Staff Present: Maria Butts and Jennie Bradford A. Call to Order: 6:00pm B. Approval of the June 8, 2021, Agenda: Amendment of the agenda to add swearing in new Park Board member Melissa Hartman. Member Boksich moved to accept the amended agenda. Vice President DeHerrera seconded. All ayes. C. Approval of the May 11, 2021, Meeting Minutes: Member Boksich moved to accept the minutes as presented. Member Sweeney seconded. All ayes. D. Public Comment: None. E. Melissa Hartman sworn in as a member of the Park Board. Member Hartman signed the oath. All ayes. F. Committee Reports a) Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee: Vice President DeHerrera reported the committee met 6/7/2021. He reported most of the meeting was John Phelps going over a draft position paper to document the Bike Ped recommendation to bring the Riverbend bike path forward to City Council and the Park Board. They would like the project to move forward. Voerman/Trailview bike path should be done by the end of the month. DeHerrera asked if the underpass is complete. Director Butts reported it is close, but there are a few tasks yet to be completed, such as electrical. b) Tree Advisory Committee: There was not a meeting last month. c) WFSS Board: President Brunk reported he missed the last meeting, and the next meeting is tomorrow (6/9/2021). He reported the schedule is full this summer, and there are a few mechanical issues to resolve. d) WAG Board: Member Boksich reported there was a broken water pipe and a valve that was not working, resulting in the water fountain being inoperative, but these are now fixed. Member Sweeney asked if the board received any feedback on the dog park being closed for a month. Member Boksich commented it had a positive impact on the park, provided staff time to do tasks that needed to be done, and grass an opportunity to regrow in bare patches. G. Presentations: Request from Whitefish Sports Facility Foundation to increase fees for public skate. Whitefish Sports Facilities Foundation General Manager Greg Harms requested the option for fees to be increased during periods of high demand. Specifically, Mr. Harms is requesting the option to have public skate sessions increase from $7 to $10 and rental skates increase from $3 to $5. He reports this new fee schedule would be comparable with other regional averages and assist in covering expenses. Member Sweeney asked what type of survey was used to assess other regional rates. Mr. Harms reports he contacted rink managers throughout the state and region, and the consensus is rates will be increasing. Member Sweeney asked if consideration had been given to increase the user group ice rental rate. Mr. Harms responded the rate has been $145/hr for the past few years, and it will gradually increase over time. Director Butts confirmed there would be a clearly defined fee schedule that would inform the public of the rates for each session. Mr. Harms responded the increased fees would only be applied to peak dates and hours from approximately Thanksgiving through February. Mr. Harms reports communication of increased rates will be posted in October, using a banner as well as social media. Member Boksich inquired as to how the facility handles those wanting to skate who cannot afford to do so. Mr. Harms reports the occasional person has approached him, and he has allowed them to skate without charge. Member Sweeney mentioned the Wave has a scholarship program and recommended Mr. Harms take this to his board to consider. Mr. Harms replied they do offer scholarships to user group programs, such as learn to skate and beginner hockey. Member Sweeney made a motion to approve the request to increase public skate rates and recommend it to City Council. Seconded by Vice President DeHerrera. All ayes. H. Public Hearings: None. I. Old Business: None. J. New Business: a. Consideration to move City Beach from a Tier 2 park to a Tier 1 park. Director Butts reports in 2016 a fee schedule was developed to categorize our parks, and as City Beach had aging restrooms and there was little demand for special events at the beach, it was categorized a tier 2. Director Butts states since then, the restrooms have been renovated, we now have seasonal concessionaires offering more amenities, and we are experiencing increased demand to use the beach for events. As such, Director Butts requested the Park Board recategorize City Beach from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1 park. Vice President DeHerrera asked if this change applied strictly to special events and not a gazebo rental, and Director Butts confirmed it did. Member Boksich asked if Kay Beller should also be moved up in the tier categorization given it is the  only park in Tier 3. Director Butts mentioned Kay Beller does not have a restroom or water fountain and cannot recall any requests for special event use at that location. Member Sweeney motioned to approve moving City Beach to a Tier 1. Seconded by Member O’Reilly. All Ayes. Member Sweeney added that in general our park fees are low and requested Director Butts to create a revised rate structure. President Brunk added that rates could be incrementally increased over the next few years. b. Consideration to require commercial launch permit license for commercial use of Whitefish River from public parks. Director Butts shared an inquiry she received from an individual wanting to launch kayaks from Riverside Park into the Whitefish River for the purpose of guided tours. Currently, the City of Whitefish has a Commercial Boat Launch Permit program for businesses wanting to launch boats into the Whitefish Lake from the City Beach boat launch. Director Butts asked if the Park Board would like a commercial permitting process for launches from other parks as well. Following discussion, Member Sweeney made a motion to deny further commercial launch permits at this time, with a recommendation to revisit this later. Member Hartman seconded. K. Other Items: None. L. Items from the Parks and Recreation Department a) Administrative Report – Director Butts asked the Park Board if adding an exclusive use fee to special events is an item they would like added to a future agenda. Director Butts explained exclusive use would be an event that renders a park inaccessible or unusable by the public. Member Sweeney proposed the exclusive use fee be added to the refined park fee schedule. b) Recreation Coordinator Report – No comment. c) Maintenance Report – No comment. d) Community Services Report – No comment. M. Correspondence: None. N. Items from the Park Board Member Boksich inquired as to the status on the letters for Depot Park. Director Butts shared we have been unsuccessful reconnecting with the company in Missoula, so we have reached out to AcuTech, who will create new letters. O. Adjourn Member Sweeney made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Member O’Reilly No opposition. Meeting adjourned at 7:48pm