Board of Park Commissioners

BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Monday. October 10. 2016 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. �IT-\' O�f: llllC'HI J'R 455 N Main, 11 th Floor City Hall, Park & Recreation Conference Room Members Present: Chris Clark, Hoyt Hillman, Troy Palmer Members Absent: Cindy Claycomb, Tori Deatherage, Ron Allen, Chris Highfill City Staff: Troy Houtman (Director, Park & Recreation), Elizabeth Harlenske (Assistant City Attorney), Penny Garding (Clerk), Matt Townsend, Troy Hendricks, Larry Hoetmer, Greg Olmer, Stacey Hamm, Evelyn Turner, Theresa Wells-Sjogren (Park & Recreation), Mark Manning (Finance) Guests: Pete Meitzner (City Council), Kurt Sjogren, Claire Willenberg, Barbara Hammond, Hazel Watson, Sheri Roland, Collie Roland Item Descrietion Call to Order: Hoyt Hillman, First Vice.President, called the meeting to order at approximately 3:00 p.m. Public Agenda: There were no comments from the public. 1. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: Due to there being no quorum in attendance, approval of the minutes of the.September 12, 2016 Board of Park.Commissioners Regular Meeting is•tabled until the November 14, 2016 meeting. 2A. CIP Project List for 2017 (Hoetmer/Townsendl Houtman stated when the.PROS plan was updated this past summer, we promised an annual review of the Capital Improvement Projects we worked on and some future plans for the upcoming year. Every single project that is of major funding goes to City Council for approval. The information presented by Mr. Townsend,is going to a Council Workshop_in December. Townsend discussed the establishment of.a PROS implementation plan for larger f policies and programmatic initiatives. Park and Recreation staf will communicate the status of the im1>lementation phases to the Park Board and City Council. PROS plan initiatives discussed included: citywide recreation services; increased brand awareness for Wichita Parks and Recreation (including Wichita Public Golf Courses); historical performance metrics; program improvements; and recreation opportunities in the Arkansas River and Downtown areas: He and Greg Olmer have taken a new approach and are using data more effectively in programming and class decisions. Hoetmer gave an update on Capital Improvements Program for Parks and Recreation for 2016. The projects included: Armory remodel for Forestry use; athletic court improvements at McAdams, Fairmount, and Friendship Parks; Buffalo Park improvements; Chisholm Creek Park South; various recreation, BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS MEfTING October 10, 2016 Page 1 of4  swimming pool, playground, and park facility improvements; golf improvements; Pracht Wetlands improvements; irrigation system replacement and upgrades; Crystal Prairie Lake development; park paths and exercise systems improvements; OJ Watson Park improvements; League 42 baseball fields at McAdams Park improvements. Additional projects slated for 2016 initiation are: playground rehabilitation and development; athletic courts; Linwood Park design; walking paths. 3A. Aquatics Master Plan.(Troy Houtman) Houtman stated in November the Park.Department is going to Council Workshop and will be presenting three options: 1) five pools with renovations and five splash pads; 2) three pools and seven splash pads; and 3) keep one pool (College. Hill) and add 13-14 splash pads. More community feedback is needed. Most responses are from older adults. Visits will be made to five schools, 2°• through 6th grade classes,to get.their feedback on what they like would to see. 4A. Recreation Update (Greg Olmerl Dimer stated September 17 was.the annual Play Day event at OJ Watson Park. 7,500 attended compared to 5,000 last year. Increased attendance is attributed to the nice weather. New options were added: food trucks, free miniature golf, train rides, pedal boats, disc golf, inflatables and a DJ. In 2017 we will h.ost Open Streets during that time and then in 2018 Play Day will be back. Wicked Island at OJ Watson Park is beginning in October. Plant Kingdom won the contract and this is their introductory year of a 3-year contract. Fall Festivals are coming up at our recreation centers. They are Friday evenings from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. They are free to the public and are generally Halloween the.med. 4B. Golf Update (Troy Hendricks) Hendricks stated rounds are.down 5% from last year at this time, Auburn Hills is down 2%, Tex Consolver is down 5%, Clapp is down 14%, MacDonald is down 10%, and Sim is up 1%. Revenue decreased 4%. Expenditures and encumbrances are up 4%. We had a 3% increaseJn labor costs. Net income is down 53% from last year. Rounds for the month of September are actually up over last.year. Revenue is down, because of the rains on the weekends. Our expenditures are down and we asked clubhouse staff to reduce seasonal staffing. Annual rainfall was 54" in 2008; so far in 2016 we are at 52.28", with 11.3" in September. In 2008 we had 12.96" in September. Hendricks added a.response to a question raised at the last.Golf.Committee meeting. What have we paid Fleet Maintenance for rental on tractors over the 15 years? When they traded them in it was an average of 186. months they were utilized. They are supposed to be traded after 120 months, so we overpaid Fleet Maintenance $174,000. BOARD OF·PARK COMMISSIONERS MEETING October 10, 2016 Page 2of4 4C. Golf AdviSO!:Jr'. Committee U11date (Hovt Hillman) Hillman introduced Mark Manning, Finance Department, who shared information on financing golf operations and Auburn Hills Golf Course. Manning stated he is here to·answer questions: (1) why is the.golf fund an Enterprise fund; (2) explain the TIF deal used to finance Auburn Hills and provide an update on how things worked out. Why the golf fund is an enterpriseJund: The Golf Fund has been an Enterprise fund since 1967:. The Enterprise fund is like its own business. They are used for things that generate revenue and pay their own expenditures. Explanation of Auburn Hills financing: Manning explained that City CounciLinitially approved $4. 7M to build Auburn Hills. It was anticipated that $2. 7M would come from the Golf Fund to be financed through golf revenues and $2M from a TIF concept plan, where the City fronted the money to build Auburn Hills hoping to increase property valuation and generate increased property tax revenues to pay back the $2M investment and create cash flowfor the future. The scope of Auburn Hills was expanded and actually cost the City $11.SM. The Golf Fund borrowed $7.255M and the City financed almost $3M. While increased property valuation has increased property tax.revenues and the bonds used to finance Auburn Hills have been retired, the Golf Fund still owes $5.7M on the $7.255M internal loan from the City. The Golf Advisory Committee has asked why we can't debt finance golf carts. Manning explained that City staff would notrecommend bonding golf carts based on ·conflict with our current Administrative Regulation. Administrative Regulation specifies that.the City does not issue bonds that have a longer term than the useful life of an.asset. Changing policy would be highly unlikely. The City Manager will not jeopardize our ne·ar perfect bond rating. Wewill be spending time with Finance to look a_t other ways to finance the golf carts. Houtman added the Golf Committee discussed _the lack of connection between Golf Advisory Committee to the Parks Board, and then from the Parks Board to the Council members .. We are going to make sure the Golf Committee information comes to the Park Board. 4D. Wichita Parks Foundation U11date (Houtman) Houtman stated the 8-member Foundation has been working on a lot of fundraising and sponsorship projects. They are finalizing the Fourth of July 2017 celebration. Board development activities are a priority for these young board members who are new to serving on a board. 4E. OJ Watson Park Committee U11date (Troll Houtman) Houtman stated the Haunted Island at Watson Park is the big thing right now. One of the Capital Improvement Projects we will be looking at for next year is irrigation. The biggest issue is the quality of the park. The following year's big project is a new rental facility. There is a great example at Sedgwick County Park. They have a rental spot that you can open garage style doors and have an BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS MEETING October 10, 2016 Page 3 of 4  indoor/outdoor feel. We will bring the designs to Park Board, Design Council and City Council. Hillman inquired if kayaks are out yet. Olmer responded we are waiting on a liability release from Law before we open to public and rental availability. 4F. Aquatics Committee Update (Troy Houtman} Houtman stated that, in the next month, the surrounding neighborhood will be notified that McAdams Pool will be closed next year. If splash pads are approved by City Council, McAdams will probably be the first place to get one. 4G. President Hillman stated he heard the State and our Law Department have approved the Ark River Coalition Request. Is there anything holding up sending that out? He is looking forward to communicating with the water board associations. 4H. Director Houtman shared he has been appointed to attend Leadership Wichita. Part of that curriculum is to do a police ride-along. It was an Interesting experience and he learned a lot. The Pawnee Prairie Park bicycle trails have come up as a discussion point again. He presented a draft master plan to the City Manager and Council member Blubaugh with ideas of people, bicycle, and horse trails. The draft plan will brought to the Park Board for more engagement. Members of the Park and Recreation Department went to St. Louis for the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) conference. The Park Department is now accredited. Accreditation is a great achievement and provides opportunities for more exposure, grants and financial resources. A lot of credit goes to Mr. Townsend, he was our point person, but it was a definite team effort. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday, November 14, 2016. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:12 p.m. �:tEsident BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS MEETING October 10, 2016 Page 4 of 4