Board of Park Commissioners

BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING MINUTES City Hall, 11th Floor Park Conference Room 455 N. Main July 15, 2013 3:00 p.m. Present: Bryan Frye, Hoyt Hillman, Tom Roth Absent: Ron Allen, Cindy Claycomb, Michael Ackerman Also Present: Doug Kupper, Director of Park and Recreation, Elizabeth Harlenske, City Assistant Attorney, Christina Butler, Clerk, Lisa Klaassen, Recreation Supervisor, Gary Farris, Arborist, Andy Solter, citizen. The meeting was called to order at 3:00pm. Frye welcomed Hoyt Hillman to the Board noting that he would replace Andy Solter. He had been appointed by Councilman Clendenin. He thanked Solter for his service on the Board and presented him with a plaque in appreciation of his work. Solter stated he will be around for the District III activities. He stated that Hillman is poised well to represent the district and has been instrumental in the district. PUBLIC AGENDA None. REGULAR AGENDA Item 1A: Approval of Minutes Motion by Frye , second by Roth, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to approve, sign and file minutes of the June 17, 2013, Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting (3-0). Frye noted there was a misspelling for May minutes spelled “Doty” instead of “Doughty”. Hillman asked what qualified as a quorum. Frye responded that three was a quorum for the Board due to vacancies on the Board. Item 2A: New Issues for Consideration None. Item 3A: Riverside Park Request (Cody Beard) Frye noted that at the May Board meeting Beard had asked for permission to buy or acquire the 1 of 7 property 20 feet south of his property as part of his land. The item was tabled in the May meeting due to the board being unfamiliar with the area and it was determined the Board would review it again at the July meeting. Hillman asked what Beard was willing to pay for the land. Frye responded that it did not go that far. Hillman asked if the Board could establish how much you would need for the land. Kupper noted the Board has sought Legal’s assistance. Frye stated there had not been a request to find a value for the land. Kupper used a request for land at Clapp Golf Course as an example and no one on the Board even entertained the idea. Frye stated that he felt they should deny the request based on not having anyone on the Board showing interest in the request. The Board had considered it and does not want to get into the habit of selling vacant lots as this could set a bad precedent. Roth noted he may be willing to entertain a specific offer from Beard, but nothing had been offered. Motion by Frye to deny the request by Beard as it currently stands. If Beard wants to come to the Board with a number or something more specific, the Board may consider it at that point. Beard wanted to fence off the area and take care of it restricting it from public access. That is simply not good enough. Frye asked for public comment. Solter stated he would support the Board considering these types of requests very carefully in the future before denying the request. Second by Roth, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to deny the request by Beard as it currently stands (3- 0). Item 3B: Golf Update Kupper stated that Hendricks was dealing with a drainage issue at Clapp Golf Course therefore was unable to attend today’s meeting. There was a leaking pipe at the adjacent school and it exposed a major sanitary sewer line. He was meeting with Stormwater. Kupper stated that Hendricks is the official Interim Golf Division Manager. They were updating and revising the job description to more suit the Golf Division Manager position. They would need to have Human Resources ratify the new job description and he felt confident the position would be posted by the end of the week until the end of August. He noted the position will be advertised on the PGA, LPGA, NRPA and KRPA websites. He also noted they had received several letters of inquiry from several sources including some in Kemper Management. 2 of 7 Kupper stated he would distribute the official numbers for June when they became available. He noted that rounds were up 300 over last year’s first 14 days of July, but revenue was down 2.5%. They felt this could be due to the advertised specials. The Afternoon Special for $21.50 was run last year and had 319 golfers. This year there were 514 golfers. He noted there was also advertising pushing MacDonald and Clapp Golf Courses and 114 golfers had taken advantage of this special this year. He stated he thought July would continue to be a good month. Frye added that they had a Golf Committee Meeting on June 25, 2013 and it had a lengthy agenda. There was discussion on pace of play, use of gps, construction and related issues at Clapp and Tex Consolver. He noted that Hendricks received some great ideas for monitoring pace of play. Kupper noted there are signs up at Auburn Hills stating the PGA rated 4 hours and 30 minutes as an average time to play the course. These signs were the first step to help pace of play although some committee members think this is too long and they would like to see the timeframe shortened. A committee member said it does no good to have the signs if there is no one to enforce it. They will work on marshal training and recruiting volunteers. They considered exchanging a round of golf for marshals. Hillman asked how they are doing on sod replacement for greens. Kupper responded they are focusing on the fairways rather than the greens and looking at a renovation of the irrigation systems at the courses. He stated they are looking at all possibilities to reduce water usage. Hillman asked if the Golf Committee meetings are open to public. Frye responded yes and the next meeting is in August although he was not sure of the date and location. He stated he would get the information to Hillman. Item 3C: Recreation Update (Lisa Klaassen) Kupper introduced Lisa Klaassen as the Recreation Director at Linwood and Colvin Recreation Centers. Klaassen stated she would be discussing the various summer camps offered by the Recreation Division. Summer of Discovery (SOD) Camp is offered at Orchard, Edgemoor, and Linwood Recreation Centers from 7am-6pm Monday through Friday for children ages 6-13 for $95 per week or $85 per week for a 2nd child It is a KDHE licensed with a different theme each week. There are field trips, programs and presenters ranging from swimming at a City pool to a cooking program with sponsorships from Butler Community College to a presentation from the Kansas Humane Society. Revenue was just over $200,000 for both 2011 and 2012 for all three sites. There is grant funding available through the Kansas Health and Heart Association for $50,000 that funded programming for gardening, cooking, and healthy food awareness. Registrations averaged 85 per week at Edgemoor, 90 per week at Orchard, and 75 per week at Linwood. Summer Activity Camp (SAC) was offered at Colvin, Evergreen, and Lynette Woodard Recreation Centers. It is an eight week program and the hours vary by location. There is a $10 initial registration fee for each camper and a weekly fee of $27 for Colvin and Evergreen and $12 for Lynette Woodard. It is a KDHE licensed camp for children ages 6-14. Campers have one swim day weekly and take one field trip related to the theme of the week. Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funds are used for camp scholarships. Funds from the 21st Century Learning Grant in conjunction with USD 259 3 of 7 were used for scholarships, curriculum that USD 259 presents, transportation and materials. This is a five year grant for $68,000. There are many partners that make presentations to the campers including Wichita Police and Fire Departments. Registrations have increased for the most part with a slight dip at Colvin. Hillman asked if they had considered asking McConnell Air Force Base to present because they are trying to push their staff to do those types of things. Klaassen responded that they had not and thanked him for the good lead. Frye asked how campers find out about the summer camp options. Klaassen responded mostly by word of mouth, but also through the Activity Guide, facebook, public schools and the website. She added that Stacey Hamm, Marketing Director, had also beefed up advertising on radio and television. She noted that USD 259 offered a summer latchkey program at a discounted price that could be affecting registrations. However, there were many returning camp participants. Kupper added that they run 95-98% complimentary on the customer surveys for both camps. Frye asked if the camps were at capacity. Klaassen responded that Orchard had been maxed out, but they did a licensure revision to take 50 more campers. They did not hit maximum capacity this year, but they could. They must maintain a 1:15 staff to camper ratio. Frye asked if there were other issues that the camps face. Kupper responded there were some budgetary constraints and they would like to find more partners. He noted that it is questionable as to whether or not the CSBG grant money will be available next year. Frye asked about cost recovery for the camps. Klaassen responded that for SOD, the cost recovery was approximately 115%. She noted that SAC was a little different this year because Evergreen had decided to only offer SAC instead of SOD. Item 4A: Updates from the Director and President Solter asked if someone could call Jerry Warren (former Park Board Commissioner) about getting the hard copy of the plans for Crystal Prairie Lake. Frye noted they would try to contact Warren. Kupper introduced Gary Farris, arborist for the City, to discuss the damage from the storm of June 28, 2013. Farris stated they had logged over 1,500 man hours dealing with the storm damage including broken limbs and hanging limbs. He noted his crews had hit over 820 different locations as of Friday, July 12, 4 of 7 2013. They have hauled over 400 tons of debris with just a couple of trucks to do the hauling. He noted that the Public Works Department had done a lot more, but they only had to haul. He stated the Forestry crews were trying to stay ahead of the Public Works crews on their sweep of the City picking up debris so double work is not done. The Forestry crews pile debris on the current piles so Public Works can haul debris away instead of having to use the Forestry trucks to haul. He predicted that his crews could be working on this event for another month to 6 weeks if there is not another storm causing more damage. He added that this is only street trees and does not include trees in parks where there is still a lot of work to do in the parks. Kupper stated the Forestry Division had agreed to stick with Public Works for the initial clean up until the streets are safe. Hillman asked if there was a priority. Kupper responded that pathways and parkways would be next. Farris added that the southeast and west sides of Wichita were hit hardest. Frye asked if it was worse due to the drought conditions. Farris responded that he would say yes, but that is without scientific evidence. Trees are stressed now because dehydration of the wood makes them more brittle and weak. Frye asked if the City should have different trees. Farris responded that he had looked at the recommended tree list for the City and it is a pretty solid list for this area. Harlenske asked if the list is on-line. Farris responded that he was not sure if it is on-line, but if it is not, it will be. Frye stated that getting the information on the website will be good. Kupper discussed the drought situation and noted that the Park and Recreation Department had reduced water usage by 50% compared to last year using 12 million gallons this year. He stated they are watering to sustain life, rather than keeping things green and they had shut down watering some areas completely. He stated that his department had been required to reduce expenses by $140,000 in water bills per year for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Hillman asked if the department is using water from water center Kupper responded yes. Hillman asked if there was a plan to hook up and accommodate piping water from other places. He stated they could capture the water to water the parks. 5 of 7 Kupper responded that there are eight wells in Sim Park and also a well at Sim Golf Course. He stated they have to stay 100 feet away from the wells for Botanica. Hillman stated that the Greenway Alliance was chartered by Marty Miller of Botanica to find water sources for Botanica. He stated the Greenway Alliance had identified the backwash from cleaning out tanks at the Water Department was highly potable water and goes straight out to the river. They were working with Larry Hoetmer, landscape architect for the Park Department, to see if they can use this “grey water” or processed water. They could re-circulate the water. But he noted they have a water storage problem. Kupper agreed there is a water storage problem and noted that the points Hillman brought up are valid things that need to be pursued at a cost. Hillman stated that Botanica is looking at paying $30,000 a month for water. Frye stated they would still have costs involved in storing water and wondered how soon there would be a return on investment. Kupper added that it becomes a capital investment question as well. Frye stated that the Board should continue to help to pursue new ideas and that there is a lot of interest in where the CIP dollars are to be used going forward. He stated that with the sales tax talk there could be some funding for several projects, be it water, or some other project. Hillman stated that water is a number one topic right now and it should be pushed now. Kupper reminded the Board that the Grandparent’s Park Dedication would be Saturday, 7/20, at 9am (instead of 10am) on the south side of Kellogg between Estelle & Volutsia. Frye added that the Lincoln Street Dam & Safe Boat Passage Dedication was scheduled for Saturday, 8/10, at 10:30am. Hillman stated that the floating dock sign for placement at Gander Mountain regarding the project should be in by that time. He stated there was a need for a parking area at the northwest corner of Lincoln and the Arkansas River for staging boats and for boat trailers. Kupper stated Dondlinger was in charge of the project and sodded the area as they did not anticipate having the launching facility there. Hillman stated he is still looking for $500 worth of Round-Up to kill the grass from Harry to the railroad tracks. He has used grant money for the Round-Up in the past. He would like it to be on the August agenda. Kupper stated that the City Council had agreed to convert approximately 400,000 acres to wildflower. He noted they may be getting more financial assistance and he was trying to get a more definitive answer on the wildflower explanation that was given to the City Manager and the City Council. It could 6 of 7 be $120,000 a year ($300/acre). He stated they would also get assistance for Kellogg to the John Mac Bridge. Frye stated that the Board was at six appointees. Harlenske corrected him by saying they were down to five now due to an appointee living outside the Wichita city limits. Frye stated the Board typically holds the retreat and elections in September. He was hopeful they would have a full board in place by that time. The September meeting was currently scheduled for 9/16/13. Motion by Frye, second by Hillman, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO move the September Board of Park Commissioners’ meeting from 9/16/13 to 9/21/13, location to be determined (3-0). Frye stated he would look at pushing to get Board members in place. He stated that Roth was on the nominating committee and once there is a full committee they can start the election process. Item 5: Issues on the Horizon Hillman asked how much advance notice was needed in order to suggest items for the next Board meeting. Kupper responded he preferred to have them by the Wednesday prior to the meeting. He stated that the next meeting is scheduled for 8/19/13. Hillman stated that plants have been removed and the light pole would be removed for placement of the steer. Kupper added it should hopefully be in place by Fall 2013. Frye asked for an update on the steer to be on the August agenda. Item 6: Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:40pm. ______________________________________ Bryan Frye, President _____________________________________ Christina Butler, Clerk 7 of 7