Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners 1.l�•e~ ,___,, � /' -. ' Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, November 13, 2017 3:00- 5:00 P.M. 455 N Main ·1 : ·1 ··n 0 ,I T V C' · c;, F City Hall 11th Floor ·w- -.·• c·-. ,,�u- 1· ' Park & Recreation Conference Room Wichita, Kansas 67202 " • Members Present: Hoyt Hillman, Troy Palmer, Bill Ramsey, Tori Deatherage, Eddie Fahnestock Absent: Cindy Claycomb City Staff: Troy Houtman (Director, Park & Recreation), Elizabeth Harlenske (Assistant City Attorney), Penny Garding (Clerk), Stacey Hamm, Larry Hoetmer, Shawn Mellies Guests: Tim Sutherland, Advocate Board Member and Skip Ward, Board Member,Veteran's Memorial Park, Inc. Item Descri2tion Call to Order Hoyt Hillman, 1 st Vice President, called the meeting to order at approximately 3:03 p.m. Public Comments - Calvin Cupp, WSU Rowing Coach. The team just finished the fall season and Wichita Rowing Association hosted the Wichita Frostbite Regatta, on the Little Arkansas River, on November 5. On behalf of them, he expressed appreciation for the support received from the City and the Park Department. There were 25 teams from 9 different states, 317 entries for the day (7:30a-4:00p). It is adult and youth (high school and college) teams. The out-of-state teams are contributing to the economy. The park and river at the Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center is a great location. Shocker Rowing did well, theywere entered into 17 events and won.10 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals. They did not place in every event, but in three of the events they placed two boats in the top three. Houtman stated this goes along with the economic impact of parks and recreation and how the amenities we have impact quality of life. 1 Approve Minutes Recommended Action: Approve, sign and file minutes ofthe October 9, 2017, Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting. Motion by Palmer, second by Ramsey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to approve, sign and file the minutes of the October 9, 2017 Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting_(S- 0). BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 1.of8 2A Douglas & Sheridan Sanitary Sewer Relocation - Hoetmer Hoetmer shared a sewer line project going through West Douglas Park. There is an existing line that is being replaced dueto its deterioration and age. We have been working closelywith. the Engineering Department. It is important because it goes along the alignment of Douglas Avenue on the north end of the park. There are a number of trees in the area. We. have had some site visits and walked with Gary Farris, City Arborist. We picked the alternative that was the least.disruptive to the park. This line is so old there are not any current easement records. Shawn Mellies is here from Public Works Engineering Department and can answer any questions. The plan displayed gives an idea of the alignment. There is a large Mulberry tree that will be saved_. We feel the alignment will save trees and have no impact to park amenities. Today we are asking the Park Board to grant the easement so there is something on record for the future. Hillman inquired if there is a sidewalk along the north edge. Hoetmer responded yes, there is. Palmer inquired if it will follow that sidewalk? Hoetmer responded more or less, it skews off a little in places. Houtman inquired about the size of the sewer pipe. Mellies responded it is eight inch. It is currently six inches and undersized. We would typically not maintain something that small. There is a large water main thatruns on the south side under the existing sidewalk. Due to KDHE regulations we have to stay so far horizontally off that. Hillman inquired if the drainage is to the east. Mellies responded yes, it will all drain to Sheridan. Hoetmer added in 2010 we. replaced an existing restroom in the park and discovered that that sewer line was not in good shape. Motion by Palmer, second by Ramsey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to accept the proposal (5-0). 2B Vacation of street right-of-way (4100-4601 N West.St) - Hoetmer Hoetmer shared a road right-of,way vacation which was discovered workingwith PublicWorks Environmental Services section. These right-of-way road dedications date-back to the late lS00's. He displayed the right-of-ways along north West Street that go through Brooks Landfill. There are two properties, Brooks Landfill is titled under the Board of Park Commissioners and Crystal Prairie Lake Park is titled under the City of Wichita. There are two different right-of-way requests to vacate this. A survey was provided by Public Works. There. has been a lot of discussion with KDHE on how we are proposing to deal with the off-site drainage from the Brooks Landfill. We do not want a right-of-way going through lake of our new park. By leaving it in place, it leaves the door open for future utility companies to want access to the site. We do not want that. We presented this to the Subdivision Committee last Thursday and we will be presenting to Metropolitan Area Planning Commission this Thursday. We are making a provision for Westar because they have upgraded their power in this location where the office is currently. Due to the sand mining operations and the location of the dredging they had to upgrade their electrical requirements to run the large equipment. There is also power to the methane production within Brooks Landfill. We will pursue an individual exclusive easement with Westar to continue what they are doing. There is no water or sewer to any of these locations. Cornejo brings in their own bottled water and port-a-pots. Their only utility is electrical. We are seeking your approval ofthat request. BOARD OF PARK COMMTSSIONERS REGULAR MffTCNG November 13, 2017 Page 2 ofB  Houtman stated. staff has reviewed it and is .in favor. Palmer inquired if we would ever want to have sewer and water to the park? Houtman responded yes, but it will come from the other side. Hoetmer added we want to be able to manage this when we plat the new park development so we will have more control over where the utilities go. At this time we want to clean up what is on the records so we don't have any utility requests for open access. Hillman inquired if Brooks is going to want to maintain West Street for now. Hoetmer responded we have had discussions with the Public Works Department. They will continue to keep the road improved since they operate the landfill. Hillman inquired if itwould be. a Park owned road and not public owned. Hoetmer responded it is going to be used for current operations. Houtman added it is not available to the public now. Hoetmer added it is for the.sand mining operation and the landfill. Ramsey added we are only vacating anything within the yellow borders on the displayed graphic. Hoetmer responded yes. Motion by Deatherage, second by Ramsey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to accept the proposal (5-0). 2C Veterans Memorial Park Improvements - Hoetmer Hoetmer introduced Skip Ward and Tim Sutherland from Veteran's Memorial Park Inc. Today we are talking about the area adjacent to the Korean Memorial and Vietnam Memorial. This area has always had drainage issues. They came to us asking to see if there is something that could be done to improve the area in a way that eliminates the drainage problem and also redevelops the walkway with brick pavers and a new design. The veterans groups maintain the upkeep of these memorials. Our objective is to have nice integrated design that also maximizes the amount of bricks they can sell. The sale of the bricks would. be for a maintenance fund for the entire park. They have done a good job at being self'sustaining, Tim Sutherland shared a picture of brass medallions representing all five branches of the military. They will be put into circle and the new medallion commemorating the 50th year of the Vietnam War will be in the center. The sidewalkwill go all the way to the asphalt sidewalk. The goal is to fix the area and give Vietnam Veterans an opportunity to have their names engraved. We will open it up to all service members, all the way back to WWII or whatever. If anyone wants to buy a brick in memory of a person or family member that has served, we want to give them the opportunity to place a brick in this walkway. The area indicated on the displayed graphic will be strictly Vietnam vets and the continuation will be all the rest .. The next area indicated will be dedicated to the Korean memorial if anyone wants to be associated with that. The caretakers of the Korean memorial have given them permission to replace the un-engraved bricks with engraved ones for Korean vets. We will share part of .the proceeds with them. The goal is to fix the problems there and also to put enough money into the fund to maintain Veterans Memorial Parkfor a long time. We anticipate when this project is finished we should be able to put at least $250,000 into the maintenance fund. BOARD OF PAR� COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page3 ofB  Palmer inquired how much the bricks are sold for. Sutherland responded they are $100 each. Hoetmer added Sutherland mentioned that prior to this project the WWII Kilroy Memorial had so many requests they had to turn some of them away because they did not have space. There is a lot ofinterest. Ward added there was only supposed to be 500 total bricks sold, they ended up with 1,600. They had to. put branches going out in different directions. We still have people approaching us for bricks, but there is no more room. This new one will give everyone the opportunity, no matter what era they served in, to get into Veterans Memorial Park. Sutherland added there will be a joint ribbon about every 20 feet and at each one of these there will be a bronze plaque with a military quote..Hoetmer added at.the Korean Memorial there is an existing theme and we are trying to keep in Iine with what is already there. Hillman inquired if there will be any dirt work.. Sutherland responded yes, their group will be bringing in. dirt to do the work with. Hillman expressed concerns over the type of dirt being brought.in and what is beneath the surface that is prohibiting good drainage. Hoetmer responded there used to be a bridge through this area and there is a lot of debris under the grass and trees. Ramsey stated as a veteran of the United States Navy, thank you for work out there. He has a lot of family memorialized outthere. Motion by Ramsey, second by Palmer, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to accept the proposal (5-0). Houtman added staff has reviewed and supports it as well. Ward stated they spenifa lot of time there and·there are a lot of visitors to the park from outside the city. Most of the people that come through indicate this .is the finest park in the Midwest, there is nothing close to it.. It is 4.5 acres.and there are 14 memorials. We are working with the City and a couple of the larger hotels to draw more Unit gatherings to the city. Ramsey inquired if the group is a 501{c)3. Sutherland responded yes. Ramsey encouraged them to go and request funds from the Wagonmaster's Good Life Grant and to check with the Wichita Community Foundation. 3A Naftzger Park - Houtman Houtman stated we are.going on two different tracks, the design track and the redevelopment plan with the developer. One needs to move forward with the other. We have not finished the agreement with developer yet. It is going to City Council on November 21. Once that happens we will be able to move forward again with the design and more public input in the park design. 4 Recreation Update (Stacey Hamm) Hamm.stated she is highlighting the some of the bigger events in September and October. • Open Streets - Sunday, September 24 -Attendance was about 18,000 - great turnout and positive response from the community from several surveys - Next year's event will be Sunday, September 23, 2018. Hours will be extended to 12:00 -5:00 pm, along the same 4+ miles of Douglas. • Wicked Island - Last weekend of September through Halloween at OJ Watson Park. This isthe second year that Watson has partnered with Plant Kingdom. This year's attendance was over 3,000, .that is an increase over last year. Palmer BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 4 ofB  inquired ifwe rent the island to them. Houtman responded no we don't charge them a lease or rental,.we get a percentage of the revenue. • Fall Festivals o Evergreen - Friday, October 20 - approx. 220 in attendance o Linwood - Friday, October 27 -262 in attendance o McAdams - Friday, October 27 -approx. 200 attendance o Edgemoor - Friday, October 27 - Halloween in the Park, 8th year to partner with Wesley. Attendance was down with approx. 1,000, partly due to delayed promotion by Wesley • Recreation did first their Trick or Treat at the Ball Park on Saturday, October 28. Approximately 2,500 people attended at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. The Wichita Wingnuts helped recruited 20 vendors with Halloween themed activities and candy. At the ehd of the evening there was a huge candy hunt in the outfield using flashlights. • 3'd Get Fit Wichita Series -Saturday, October 21, Partnership with Genesis @ Botanica -Zumba Group Groove dance class -40 attended. Next Get Fit Wichita will be at Genesis Health Club on January 27. It will be a Boot Camp Fitness Class • Lynette Woodard - Friday, November 3. Partnered with BSR Productions and eight local Christian rap groups to hold a Neighborhood Fun Night -approx. lS0 attendance • Lynette Woodard -Saturday, November 4 - Free Basketball Clinic -45 kids attended. Partnered with Lady Blazers basketball team. • Recreation Center Programs o Colvin Recreation Center met with the USTA to discuss Colvin Elementary School to be a location for their new Net Generation Program. USTAwill provide tennis to kids ages 5-18 with a particular curriculum. It is all instructed through volunteer instructors. It would give Colvin a big opportunity for grants. Mo Connelly will be in talks to provide grants for this program. It should start mid-spring to early summer. o Athletics -football season ended October 29. They had almost 600 league games with about 45,000 in attendance. Eight teams were crowned champions. o Boston Recreation Center is now offering pickleball. It is a $2 Drop In Open Gym on Mondays & Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm. • The department's Mobile Recreation Station got a new wrap to help promote Barry and the department. It will be used at our Barry's Crew activities and our Mobile Recreation Station activities anhe parks. • Barry's Crew went well this year, we just finished up our Crew Celebration at Orchard. We have one coming up at Linwood this month. Our last big event for all of the Barry's Crew Members will be at Night with Santa. We will hand out a gift of a Barry the Bison ornamentto. crew members. Planning for 2018 is almost finished. We have expanded Barry's Crew to include some ofour partners, Wichita Public Library, Kansas Aviation Museum and Cowtown to hold some exclusive crew member only events, We d.id not partner with the Sedgwick County Zoo, but since they let us in to take pictures, we will promote them in the calendar as well. It will roll out on Monday, December 11 for2018.registrations. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGUlAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 5 ofB  • Houtman added one thing we were working work is cross-marketing,and cross­ promotions with other groups around. the City. 5 Golf Update (Troy Hendricks) Rounds report -the last five months (June -October) of the year improved over first five. At the end of May down 7% in rounds, currently we are down 3% at the end of October. Revenue has also improved. At the end of May we were down 2%, now we are only down 1%. Year-to-Date • Sim -down 5% • MacDonald -down 11% • LW Clapp -down 7% • Tex Consolver -flat • Auburn Hills -up 5% Overall rounds and revenue percentage is up over 2016, about 70 cents per round in revenue. At the last meeting there were questions regarding the cart.fleet. Since the first of April through the end of October, cart revenue up $3,400 over lastyear. The number of carts sold is up 2,800 over last year. Palmer inquired how long we have had the new carts. Hendricks responded almost a full year. Houtman stated with direction from the Golf Advisory Committee, there has been discussion about increasing rates. It was brought to the Park Board, and was supported. A presentation will go to City Council.next week on November 21. They have requested to have someone from Golf Advisory Committee and the Board of Park Commissioners at that meeting. Hillman will be representing the Golf Advisory Committee. Fahnestock responded he will attend on behalf of Park Board. 6 Golf Advisory Committee Update (Hoyt Hillman) No updated provided, 7 Wichita Parks Foundation Update (Troy Houtman) No updated provided. 8 OJ Watson Park Committee Update (Troy Houtman)- Houtman stated there are upgrades being made to the restrooms, What we are currently using is a meeting room. There will,.be a new shelter in the park on the west side. There will also be some upgrades to the irrigation system. We will be pulling water from the other side of the river where there is ground water being pumped out and into the river. We will reuse that water for irrigation. It has been a year-long process. Hillman stated the railroad guys are gearing up for Polar Express. 9 Aquatics Master Plan Update (Troy Houtman) Houtman stated in January we are hoping to go out for RFP/RFQ for design of the splash pads a.nd pools. We have gone to a lot of the DABs and got feedback on splash pad themes. We hope to finish up in summer. There are still a. lot of moving parts. There has been no decision on where the $4M that was added to District I will go. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS.REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 6of8  We have scheduled the splash pad for McAdams in 2019. If they want to have the pool there, they could combine the splash pad dollars with new pool dollars to put in something atthat location, or go to so.me 0th.er plan. Some of the money will be uses for demolition of pools as well. 10 President's Update (Hoyt Hillman) Hillman reported on the nominations committee that because of the change in election times and lack of appointments in District I, the recommendation would be to hold off on elections until February. Maybe we make a slate in February and have the election in March. Hillman stated in the past we have donated money out of our pockets to sponsor Christmas trees for Night with Santa. Trees this year are $75 each. Ramsey asked for clarification. Houtman responded every year we have Night with Santa, it is a huge event with about 4,000 in attendance. With the donated money we purchase and decorate trees. They go to families who don't have trees at home.. Families who attend receive raffle tickets. There are usually 15-20 trees.. Atthe end of night they raffle the trees and the families get to take them home. They are decorated and displayed, along with allthe other games and activities going on. They also have pictures with Santa. We rely on donations to purchase and decorate the trees. Ramsey inquired if this is the Park Department and the Park'Board together. Houtman responded it is a Park Department event. Other companies ahd businesses donate as well. It has been tradition that the Park Board provides a donation of at least one tree. Ramsey inquired about the normal amount of the donation. Houtman responded it is $75 for a tree, and typically it is one or two trees. Usually if there are six or seven members on the board, at $20 each that usually gets us right around $150. 11 Director's Update (Troy Houtman) Houtman stated he is recruiting and trying to hire some positions. The Recreation Superintendent position is one of those. The other two are the Naturalist at the Great Plains Nature Center. Jim Mason is retiring on December 31. There is a going away party on January 11. We would like to see everyone there. He is one of the best Park & Recreation employees we have liad. We are going to do a proclamation at Council for him as well, sometime in December. Three candidates are being interviewed next week. The other one we are working on is replacing our Tennis Director. We have applications and will be reviewing those next week. Interviews would be the following week. Deatherage inquired about why we received a bunch of emails last week. Houtman responded Clark is very popular and has a lot of followers, He was removed from the position. Houtman can't discuss personnel issues and details. There are serious issues and we take these matters seriously. It was reviewed by the Law Department, HR, City Manager and himself. Clark has rallied a lot of supporters. The other position is the Recreation Superintendent position. We are working really hard to get a good return of 'resumes on this one. Instead of just posting, we are going out and recruiting. He asked HR to put together a flyer that talks about the department, challenges, specific information about the position, what the ideal candidate looks like, how to apply and some employee information. It also includes ·a link to the Park.and Recreation video. We are going BOARD OF !)ARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 7 of8 to be actively recruiting. We've never done anything like this before in the City, even with our executive positions. Penny will email the recruiting flyer and a timeline for all the activities we are doing at Pawnee Prairie Park. It is a sketch of when we are doing the design, implementation, etc. Some things we have already done are the water line, the parking lot, some permanent signage is up for the concrete sidewalk as well as the prohibition of bicycles in the rest of the park and the prohibition of horses on the sidewalk. Once we get the trails in place there will be the prohibition for those and the allowance of bicycles on those trails. We are working on the design for the playground. We are trying to finalize the design on Stryker. Naftzger Park is ready to move forward once the developers and Council are on board. Deatherage inquired about from the time of approval how long will it take until the park is complete? Houtman responded if we get approval at the end of this month, we could have design in December and January. Potentially go to bid in February. We could maybe start to move dirt in April and May. He met with the NCAA committee this morning, we are anticipating the park is going to be the way it is for the March tournament. Some of this is out of our hands, we are working with a third party, the developer, who is helping us with the design as well as bidding out the construction contractors. They will be overseeing the construction and we will be overseeing them. Ramsey inquired about the bicyclist in Pawnee Prairie Park and the rider that got thrown. Has there been any contact back to the equestrians, or what happens in that situation. Houtman responded they posted it on their website. We did not know about it until KSN contact him. The incident happened on the concrete sidewalk where horses are prohibited. He has not received any formal communication from the equestrians or that rider. From the story he doesn't know who the rider was. Since then we have posted on our website and Facebook page that currently there is no bicycling allowed in the park until we get the trail in place. We have installed some permanent signage. Hillman inquired about the Brooks Landfill and what do with it when it gets capped? Houtman responded there is still a lot of capacity. Public Works operates it. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was :13 p.m. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2017 Page 8 of 8