Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, April 8, 2019 3:00 - 5:00 P.M. C IT Y O F 455 N Main WICHITA City Hall 1 st Floor Board Room Wichita, Kansas 67202 Members Present: Troy Palmer, Bill Ramsey, Hoyt Hillman, Alejo Cabral, Tori Deatherage, Ty Tabing, Eddie Fahnestock Members Absent: City Staff: Troy Houtman (Director, Park & Recreation), Penny Garding (Clerk), Elizabeth Harlenske (Assistant City Attorney), David McGuire, Reggie Davidson, Troy Hendricks Guests: Lashonda Garnes, Cindy Renard, Dale Goter, Candia Smith, George Theoharis Item Descri�tion Call to Order Troy Palmer, President, called the meeting to order at approximately 3:02 p.m. Announcements There were no Announcements. Public Comments There were no Comments. lA Approve Minutes Recommended Action: Approve, sign and file minutes of the March 11, 2019, Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting. Deatherage stated on page 8 the quote should be corrected to reflect annual revenue up to $135,000 Motion by Deatherage, second by Fahnestock, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to approve, sign and file the minutes of the March 11, 2019 Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting {7-0). 2A Officer Elections Nomination Committee - Palmer The Nomination Committee will be Bill Ramsey, First Vice President and Tori Deatherage, Second Vice President. 3A Clapp Presentation Houtman stated we don't have a formal presentation. We have a couple board members that are on the committee. You saw the presentation last month. We've been sharing that presentation to groups in the community. We wanted to give you an opportunity for questions or concerns. There will be a presentation next month with the rest of the recommendations. Palmer inquired if this report has gone to the public or just to the Park Board or the PGA. Houtman responded that is a different report. Fahnestock asked where we are in terms of community involvement. At the last meeting we talked about they were going out to every DAB and presenting. Houtman responded they have gone to six or seven meetings including Neighborhood Associations, DABs and other special groups and they have received a lot of input. They also received social media input BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 1 of 13 and email ideas. We had the Transformation committee engaged and talking to people as well. We have a list of all the different ideas that have been generated. The committee is going to put together their response and go back out to these groups and share what they have heard and learned and what we are moving forward with. The plan is by May 7 Council meeting they will make their presentation on what those recommendations could be. Palmer asked if the board will see that prior to the board meeting. Houtman responded yes. Tabing stated the process he and Hillman have been involved in is such that they are recommending ideas without a lot of budgetary constraints initially. The budget piece will catch up with the ideas later. It is going well and there is a lot of engagement via email and there is good representation from the committee here. Houtman apologized and stated we do have a presentation today. This will expedite the steps by one month. Lashonda will share all the ideas they have collected. Lashonda Garnes, Public Policy and Management Center (PPMC). They have been working with the Park Board and the Transformation Committee on a community engagement series around the future use of Clapp Park. They were brought on board to assist with engagement and help prepare a recommendation that will go to the Mayor and Council on how to transform the future use of this park. Today we want to gather feedback and share the process that was completed as well as give some information on the preliminary recommendation that has been developed by the committee. We had a total of nine activities. Of those, two meetings were at the Planning Commission and the Park Board where public comment was not allowed. However, the other opportunities allowed us to connect with approximately 220 participants, as well as when we posted the social media engagement. During the community engagement process we asked three very specific questions: what amenities would you like to see in the park; what programs would you like to see; and what type of developments. From those conversations we learned that there was a strong desire for some form of golf to remain in the park as well as ensuring that whatever we brought in, it was not only just about a destination place but that there were affordable activities that the community as a whole could take part in. Some of the amenities they discussed were an amusement park, bicycling, disc golf, a dog park or area for dogs to play, garden uses, paths and trails, a water feature of some sort, a watercraft rental, zip lining and a trampoline park. Some of the ideas they explored from a theme perspective were around adult fitness, educational programming, entertainment, golf programming, arts in the park, paint and sip, seasonal festivities that talk about the culture of Wichita and celebrate the diversity of our community, as well as doing things like Final Friday and bring them back into the neighborhood. The community also expressed preferences for quality food and low impact shopping options, particularly looking at pavilion type spaces that offer multi-use. Again, the amusement park, aquarium, restaurants. They were very clear about not wanting fast food, but having a dining experience, food trucks and temporary stands, public spaces and rental facilities as well as the pavilion idea for shops, swap meets, farmers market or low-impact commercial. When we did the Social Media Town Hall we were on three sites: Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor. We had a total reach of 34,000 and engagement of a 1,057. Engagement means someone liked the post, shared the post, or commented on the post in some kind of way. That is how we count total engagement in that activity. It was a two-hour period on a Thursday afternoon where we asked the same three questions. From Facebook we heard mountain bike trail, pump track, library, climbing boulders, children's science center, community center, outdoor aquarium, as well as a gathering place and they specifically used Tulsa as an example. Other feedback was a skate park, a merry-go­ round, paddle board pond, net-city, hide and seek tag arena, golf cart racing and a retail space for local mom & pop shops. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 2 of 13  On Twitter we heard a public library, a regular park, private development, open air music venue, a dog park, walking/biking path, pickleball, multi-use court, picnic, splash pad, fishing pond, all ability playground, natural plants and grasses, and a 9 hole-system. They also stressed not over-developing the land. From Nextdoor we were able to gauge what neighborhoods engaged in the activity. We engaged with 41 neighborhoods. The feedback from that platform included pickleball and racquet ball, obstacle courses, basketball goal, outdoor tables with windproof umbrellas, new fountains, roller skate or skateboard courses, a systematic trash destruction system, an observation tower, farmers market and a community food education center. Others described this park to look like a smaller version of Sedgwick County Park, walking paths with mile markers and places to buy snacks and drinks, dinner on the river, go-karts, and an area flea market for local businesses. They did not want any low-income housing and wanted to ensure we cleaned the creek and created a park like setting similar to Riverside. They shared all the information received through facilitated discussions and the social media town hall with the Transformation Committee. They asked them the same three questions but added a fourth around vision. They wanted the committee to provide what they thought the vision should be for the transformation of this park. Today is the draft form. The committee will continue to meet before the May 7 Council Meeting and provide a final recommendation. Clapp Park will become a vibrant community asset and a destination offering unique settings and opportunities for both community residents and visitors. This will be done by maximizing Clapp's waterways, flood plains and greenspaces as natural recreational amenities. It will be done by embracing compatible use, development and programming to promote ongoing activity and engagement throughout each day and season, as well as creating a family friendly environment to drive and promote full utilization of Clapp Park in harmony with nature. The amenities they are exploring at this time are: ■ Prioritize enjoyment by all abilities • Rental facility with warming kitchen ■ Disc golf and/or miniature golf • Educational facility ■ Walk/bike trails & connectivity ■ Unique playground area ■ Sky Trail features or zipline ■ Fire pits ■ BarK and/or indoor/outdoor dog park concept ■ Pavilion & amphitheater for gathering and meeting space ■ Outdoor learning environment ■ Artistic - celebrating Wichita ■ Parking lots Other programs they are considering include: • Outdoor exercise and yoga ■ Senior & ADA exercise options ■ Youth nature excursions ■ Concerts, art, music theatre • Challenger at WSU Tech ■ Stargazing/space education • Horticulture ■ Gardening Some of the development ideas include: • Aquarium • Coffee shop or snack bar ■ Top Shot • Equipment rental • Artesian retail space ■ Four-season (splash pad/ice rink) • Rental and multi-use venues ■ Aerial Tram ■ Pavilions for food trucks or flea market • Public-Private Partnerships to generate revenue BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 3 of 13 They have shared with the District Advisory Board as well as the Planning Commission and now here. The committee will come back together on April 16 to review and make their final recommendation for presentation to the Mayor and Council on May 7. Ramsey stated so we have decided we want it to be a park and we want stuff in it. That is not very specific. Garnes responded the idea the Transformation Committee is working on is how do we make this a destination place and how do we make it useable. What goes in there will take more conceptual work to get done. This committee is tasked with setting vision and providing the Mayor and Council with amenities, programs and development that could go into the park. Houtman added this was an envisioning exercise; what could go in there. Once we nail down what those ideas are and specifically what will support the vision for that community we will sit down with architects and engineers and put those together to see what feasibility is in all that. Then decide what budget is needed and we will work with Council to see where the budget is to make that happen. There are a lot more steps, but the first step is to get a vision from the community and have that engagement discussion with all the stakeholders. Cindy Renard, 1110 Royal Road, stated her concern on this discussion about the transformation of Clapp is that we are not discussing what it is now and the heritage of it. It has been a golf course for 86 years and part of the fabric of our community. In these talks that has been excluded. We are told we cannot talk anything about golf. We are missing the opportunity to preserve our heritage. The big opportunity would be to integrate both these ideas with biking, running, dog walking, picnicking, music and golf. We could have a true community park. If we retain a minimum of 9 holes, we could have a place worthy of all kinds of leagues. We could have youth leagues, senior leagues, tournaments, events, themed tournaments. We should build on the strengths of what this park is at present. The City and staff have said they want a revenue generating park. Clapp is a revenue generating park. It has generated $500,000 annually for a number of years. We can make that break even. With our meeting with Troy Houtman the discussion was about taking Clapp out of the Golf Enterprise Fund, alleviating the burden of administrative fees. That would open the possibility of a private/public partnership, but it supports the Golf Division. The Golf Division could contract for the maintenance. Clapp is a feeder course for the other courses. With the First Tee program coming in at Mac, this would be an ideal opportunity for them to have their own place to do all kinds of things. Hate to see us just throw golf out the window. Recent players are impressed with its good condition. Since 2011 it has operated under the shadow of doubt, closure. Many think it is closing or closed already. There is a loyal base of players. With proper marketing we could integrate a community park with the golf course. We could make golf fun and engaging. This concept is not new, it is the trend across cities across the country and world. They are finding different ways to make golf more fun, more playable, faster and to engage people that are not playing now. She encourages the conversation to keep golf at Clapp with these other ideas and make it a true community park. Dale Goter, 2625 W Cornelison, part of the ad hoc committee. Appreciates the work Lashonda does. What remains in our mind is the idea that perhaps this is still ill timed. We are talking about disposing of a community asset, one of our five golf courses. It mirrors the discussion we had about MacDonald Park. It was the best of intentions but seemed to be lacking a comprehensive analysis of the current system. Clapp is a viable functioning golf course. Turning it into one of these other ideas is a great idea, but you have an asset right now that is a golf course. To dispose of that and take a chance on other activities seems a bit ill-timed. Houtman shared with them that the PGA study was completed. It is a first step at looking at whether the golf division as a whole is at its maximum performance. We are short BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 4 of 13  of that yet. It seems that something like this could be put on hold until that assessment is complete. If someone like the National Golf Foundation comes and does an assessment of our five golf courses and proves you cannot support five courses under any circumstance, we are behind that 100%. They don't think the due diligence has yet been completed. Played Clapp last Friday, it is in remarkable shape. Played MacDonald on Thursday, it is in terrible shape. It seems we are not where we need to be in our operational model. Cindy is willing to make the concession that a 9-hole course is better than closing it completely. Before you do that would like see there is a comprehensive assessment of the business model before disposing of assets. Candia Smith, 3427 Elmwood, speaking about being one in the district close to the course. Through this process she was not on the Transformation Committee, but has a better attendance rate than some of the committee members. She attended every community engagement meeting except for the Georgetown meeting. When the presentation was given, it first came out at a DAB meeting on March 6. There were over 60 people there. They had their white boards and we were asked questions when we walked in the door. It was the same three questions: amenities, development and programs. It was so much golf programming, keeping everything we have. Then they come up with presentation given at each the community engagement meetings. It starts with Clapp Park will be closed, there will be no golf. Then you are told "no." So don't decide without speaking about that, let's think big. Don't think about money or cost, let's hear your ideas. It was like you were being steered to don't go there but let's think about other things. She understands about wanting other ideas, but what the community asked for can all be perfectly combined and still keep some golf. That was real frustrating when the social media results came out. This was four neighborhood meetings. That was maybe 20 at one, maybe 40 at some and some of those were the same people who attended before; you are getting a very small amount of input from the people living around there with concerns. The idea of a destination park was not something she relished. Some of the nice things like adding an amphitheater that works good with everything else would be fine, there was no zip line interest. With the creek there, there are very few options. It is still the best deal to at least give it a chance. We are talking about a 10 year plan to get through this whole deal. Why not keep what we have, we can't get it back later. Work a plan around it and bring in these other things if we can. Another thing about discrepancies, on her the Nextdoor comments there were at least 15 posts that were pro golf; there were 38 total. Anytime anyone mentioned anything about golf then there came a comment from City Hall that would say Clapp will not be a golf course, answer the question what other amenities do you want. That was how this whole thing has gone. That is not fair. The best post was what does the west side have that the east side does not. A couple golf courses. Let's think about keeping the east side and the quality there. George Theoharis, 3603 E Skinner, President, Grandview/Meadowlark Neighborhood Association, where Clapp Park sits. One of the biggest problems is that we are losing money, let's say a quarter of a million dollars. Some of these ideas are going to cost $10 million. That's 40 years. You said we have a fiduciary responsibility. The biggest loser over there is getting water. It is $200,000 per year. You could put a pump over on Hillside, under the road, into the Dry Creek and run water to it and it would save you that $200,000 every year. We should look at that and we are not. 3B CMB Ordinance - Harlenske Houtman stated there have been changes to the state laws regarding alcohol and CMB. Elizabeth Harlenske has been doing a lot of work on that and has a presentation to share. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page S of 13  Harlenske stated we talked about it at the last meeting and you voted to recommend to the Council. Your meeting fell between the two readings to the Council. The Council did pass the ordinance and it went into effect April 1. The golf courses, Stryker and South Lakes were included. It was brought to her attention that the Tennis Center was missed and they need to be exempted as well. That will require another ordinance. The ordinance amendment had to include parks, because 6% beer which is now allowed to be sold, is by definition alcoholic liquor. There is a prohibition in state law against consumption of alcoholic liquor on any public property unless the property is exempted by the governing body of the city or county where it sits. City Council had to pass an ordinance that exempted the golf courses, Stryker and South Lakes from that prohibition. We limited it just to the 6% beer and didn't make it to serve all kinds of alcohol. What we have heard from the beer distributors is that CMB is really difficult to get and probably won't be available. Most of them are sold out. There has been a lot in the newspaper about it. It is allowed now, the ordinance is in place. Palmer asked if we need to motion to add the Tennis Center. Harlenske responded it is going to have to go in front of Council. They will ask what the Park Board thinks about it. Harlenske clarified that it is not Park Board land. They will still want to know what you think. Houtman stated like other Park initiatives, the Council will ask if the Park Board supports it. It creates revenue and an opportunity for social activity after playing tennis. Staff is very supportive and asks for the Board's support and motion. Hillman inquired why not just open it up so that anytime the Parks & Recreation Director can approve a venue as needed. Harlenske responded that would still require a city ordinance change because of the state law. Houtman added for special events and special occasions on a case by case basis the director has the authority to issue a one-time permit. Hillman stated not a blanket, but a special event situation. Houtman responded he does that now. This situation we are talking about is for a location for 365 days a year. Harlenske stated the downtown parks are that way, they are exempt when there is a community event permit issued. Not every event requires a community event permit, there is an attendance limit and if it requires a permit then Mr. Houtman can grant permission if it is a Park Board park and the City Manager can give it along with Mr. Houtman when it is a city park. That is just for downtown parks. Ramsey stated he would move to support the recommendation to have the tennis courts included in the exemption and allowed to sell 6% beer. Hillman second. Unanimous. Motion by Ramsey, second by Hillman, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to recommend including the tennis courts in the exemption to be allowed to sell 6% beer (7-0). Houtman stated one clarification, it is the Tennis Center, not all tennis courts. 3C Tobacco Free Ordinance - Harlenske Houtman stated last month there was a great presentation on Tobacco Free Parks from the Mayor's Youth Council. What was brought forward was a question to continue the discussion and what would a Tobacco Free Park Ordinance look like. There was discussion on whether it should be a policy or an ordinance. After talking to the Wichita Tobacco Free folks and what their intent was more an ordinance. An ordinance means there is some authorization behind upholding laws. If it is a policy the Police Department would never enforce any of our policies because it is not an ordinance. We brought together a sample of what it would look like as a draft and presented it to you today. If there is additional discussion or question on how to manage, what are the pros and cons, we have audience members who are experts as well as Harlenske and himself. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 6 of 13  Palmer stated looking at, we just got it today and have not had a chance to go through it, it certainly feels a lot different than the conversation at the last meeting, especially when we start talking about minimum smoke or vapor. It is appearing you are trying to look like a big government. When you talk about electronic vaping and such, it's like we are overstepping bounds. Ramsey stated there is no way he could vote to support this. If we are concerned about litter, wipe out fast food in parks too. Houtman stated for this purpose we put on what would be the strongest ordinance, what are things you would want to see added back or is there a conversation point you would want to work with them. Palmer responded when we are talking about ordinance vs policy and the police won't respond for a policy, is this the best use of our police resources. He understands the intent, although it is an open air place, it is an outdoor park. You probably won't find data that will say outdoor smoking kills 41,000 people. Fahnestock stated based on the last meeting he felt like they would be happy with signage or funding for signage. We were happy with a privately funded signage system saying please don't smoke and litter in the park. Palmer added signage would be fine but when you start talking about police officers ticketing people for smoking in the open air.... Cabral added what he understands of the ordinance is it gives police officers the ability to do something. It is not to say that we are going to have patrol officers in every park standing around watching for cigarette smokers or vaping. Palmer stated how many people already report our police officers never showed up to my house because of the dog barking, etc. Cabral responded he does not know that number. The way it was presented to us is to discourage smoking in the park. Ramsey stated that is not what he reading. Cabral stated if you are going to have a sign up that says no smoking but there is nothing that is going to stop you from actually smoking. Palmer stated he doesn't think they are asking for a no smoking sign, he thought they were being conscientious of the people around you. Cabral stated they are trying to make this having parks as no smoking parks. Houtman stated he talked with staff about Pawnee Prairie Park, while they were out there with Police looking at what our ribbon cutting was going to be. While they were there, some people were riding bikes in locations where they are not supposed to, and the police wrote them a ticket. They were not there looking for that, they just happened to be there. This is kind of the same situation regarding enforcement, there is not going to be officers on a dedicated patrol looking for people smoking in parks. But if there is a situation where they are there, an officer can write them a ticket. Without this being an ordinance there is no way to enforce or encourage people not to smoke. Tabing asked if there is a penalty proposed. Harlenske responded the penalty is referenced in section 9.03.540. That is your general penalty for all park violations, it is not written out in there. That is a misdemeanor with a fine of not more than $500. Tabing asked Houtman if he has information on national context and trends throughout the country on no smoking initiatives. It is clearly a national trend. Houtman responded he recently read an article that over 70% of municipalities across the country are working on this or have adopted this type of ordinance. It is pretty prevalent across the country. Ramsey asked if there is an ordinance on littering already on the books. Harlenske responded yes. Ramsey asked if we enforce that. Harlenske responded yes. Ramsey stated why don't we just use that. They can't throw the butts on the ground, that's littering. Harlenske responded this gives the added step to ask them to leave the park if they don't wish to comply. That is something you could do in the policy. We have had a no smoking policy in the youth fields for several years, she does not know how that has been enforced. Are employees enforcing that or are people complying. A lot of times people see a sign and they comply. What you can do with a policy is if a person does not do what the sign says, you could ask them to leave. If they don't leave then at that point it becomes a trespass and you can call the police department. People tend to obey police. This was taken from the sample ordinance from the group that spoke at the last meeting. The preamble sets forth the reasons why you want to do the ordinance, which is BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 7 of 13 important on an ordinance like this. They talked about asking people to leave. It's not about getting a ticket or a $500 fine, it's removing them. They have a lot of emphasis on secondhand smoke and setting examples for children. There is also another department in the City that has wanted to talk about smoking on the grounds, they were sent a 4 page list of other cities in Kansas that restrict smoking in open rec areas. Some by policy, some by ordinance. Cabral asked if this is just for the green space, can someone smoke in the parking lot. Harlenske responded this on all property owned and operated, leased or controlled by the City. The parking lot, in her opinion, is included in that. It also includes restrooms, spectator areas, playgrounds, athletic fields, aquatic areas and concession areas. Deatherage stated the two biggest reasons they gave were underage kids getting ahold of the products and littering, both of which are illegal. Is this the best use of city staff time? She also does not want to tell golfers they can't smoke a cigar while on the course. Harlenske stated golf courses are exempted. Palmer stated when it was said we are trying to set an example for our kids not to smoke, so what about fat people sitting out there drinking a big Coca Cola. When are we going to exempt that? Are we trying to be Big Brother? Ramsey stated it is not our job to legislate morality. Tara Nolen, Tobacco Free Wichita Coalition, 7570 W 21st Street N. She is going to address some of the comments and questions. The first one is the safety issue. When we are trying to pass policy like this it sets the standard for young people. The more they see it the more likely they are to do it. The number one used tobacco product by young people today is electronic cigarettes. It also sets an enforcement issue which bans smoking and still allows electronic cigarettes. We don't want to waste the use of police resources. We want to go ahead and include that. As far as litter goes, tobacco products are the number one item in the United States. All of the pictures shown last month were collected within an hour at each park. There were lots more we didn't get to. Those are a danger for young children. They were in the sand by the swings, slides and where they were playing. If you are within 20 feet of someone smoking you will get second hand smoke, it doesn't matter if you are inside or outside. The signage that was brought up, we talked about the ability to get some free signage from the state. It would help the City try to offset some of the costs. This is a growing trend, there are quite a few municipalities in Kansas on the list that have done this. It is also a recommendation by the National Recreation and Park Association, that parks and rec lead the way in prohibiting tobacco use in our park and rec system. Cabral stated Troy mentioned earlier about percentage of parks in the nation that have already banned this, do you know what that is. Nolen responded she doesn't but can get it. Palmer asked Harlenske, if it was a policy could you put signs up that say it is a tobacco free zone. The ones that pay attention wouldn't smoke, but if someone calls the police, they probably are not going to show up because they don't have enough resources. All that is going to happen is a complaint against our police officers. If it is a policy we could put signs up as a suggestion. Harlenske stated there is a provision in the Park Regulations that allows the Director to adopt policy regulations that are not inconsistent with the regulations. The only requirement is that they be in writing and on file in the office of Park & Rec so if wanted, a citizen can get a copy of them. A policy could be drafted, you would have to decide what you want to do if they don't comply. Houtman could decide how he wants his employees to react and who should be the one to go up to the person and ask them to put out the cigarette BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 8 of 13  or leave. Then, if they do not leave after that, as part of the policy, you could then call the police. Palmer stated you could still have them enforce policy and not have to do an ordinance. Harlenske responded yes. Ramsey asked if we could do something along the lines of making a barrier, no smoking within 20 feet of children's playgrounds, or something to that effect. Harlenske stated the best thing would be to do like they do outside buildings, no smoking beyond this point. Cabral asked, could you say "in the parking lot?" Ramsey stated we have very large parks where the children's equipment is over here, in this massive park. Harlenske stated you are going to have to post a lot of signs. Ramsey added you are going to have to put up around children. Nolen added the signs the State has are very specific. They have two different kinds, one that says young lungs at play and one that says tobacco free parks with room for your ordinance and logo on them. They are not tailor made to say what you want. Palmer added but we could. Nolen agreed but the free signs are not. Fahnestock stated no one is condoning underage smoking and tobacco use. If you are of age, tobacco is still legal. It is not our duty to tell people you can't smoke here or you can't smoke here, or vice versa. Where does the line stop, where do we draw the line? Do we draw it at picnics because food causes obesity? We are reaching a little bit on this one. He is going to have a tough time supporting the ordinance that is in front of him. Tabing stated he would be more comfortable if there was more information about national trends. The reality is for a lot of people looking at the City, it is archaic to say that we firmly support our smoking in our parks. To have this discussion and then end up on that policy position, it certainly doesn't indicate Wichita is a progressive city. Some of these in the enforcement piece, on the ground at a park, a lot of this is messaging to the outside world. He does not share the same opinion as everyone else who has shared. I think the message we should send from a public health perspective is that we should aspire to be better rather than getting into this discussion about Big Brother and what is that fine line. Cities around the country and the world are doing exactly what we are considering right now. Palmer stated when you get those statistics he would be curious to see how many are policies, how many are ordinances, how many of ticketed, arrested. He appreciates what Ty's saying, nationally the thought behind the country is we all need to feel better about ourselves. But, if you are concerned about your kid smoking, go somewhere else. Ramsey added we have a responsibility too, to teach our kids not to smoke. Harlenske stated keeping in line with state statute the City of Wichita has a non-smoking ordinance and when the stated adopted it, we decided to let the state law cover the city, that is smoking inside. Police have to enforce that. Our public housing system went smoke free about six months ago. Hillman stated maybe we could get this additional requested information over the next several weeks before the next meeting so we could have a more definitive answer. Nolen stated she would be happy get it to Troy so he could share with the board. Houtman stated the intent today is discussion and to find out if you have questions and what to look at as options. Deatherage stated she is okay with signage discouraging smoking, but as far as City staff time and resources, not making an actual ordinance. 4 Recreation Update (Reggie Davidson) Boston Rec Center held spring break camps on site and had 64 people register. That brought in $1,600 in revenue. Boston also partners with the cooking school and offers cooking classes. We had 57 registered for that program and generated $1,650 in revenue. Edgemoor Rec Center is one of the locations that has a lot of pickleball participation. They are averaging 25 participants at each open gym session. On March 19 the Spotlight was on Alan Taber, Center Director, celebrating his 40th anniversary at the center. He is our second longest tenured employee; the longest is at McAdams Rec Center and he has been there 42 years. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 9 of 13  McAdams Rec Center Larry Dennis, Center Director, has established working relationships with community organizations. He works with Wichita Workforce to pay two people to come 20 hours per week to help with on-site facility cleaning and maintenance. This has saved about 168 hours per month, equaling $3,000 in free services. On March 2 League 42 registered 43 teams for the season starting on April 15. This is their fifth season. We made some upgrades to fields. We recently had a theft on-site, the community came out and provided a lot of support in replacing a lot of the stolen equipment. On March 12 the Golden Age Club celebrated their monthly birthday lunch, they had 96 people participate. Tennis Center is continuing to look at offering a variety of different programs. One of the emphasis they are working toward is getting more youth involved. They have started doing some drop in play times in conjunction with the school district, doing some drill time. For Social Play Days, we received a $500 grant from the United States Tennis Association for a free program for more people to come out and learn about the game. This will continue through May. We are continuing to do some repairs of cracks on the courts. Lynnette Woodard Rec Center because of their relationships with the community, they do a good job getting volunteers to offer youth and tot programs on site. One of the new ones is Piano for Tots. They have a good turnout on a regular basis. Through their partnership with K-State Research and Extension Office they offered a Youth Lawn Mowing Clinic. Twenty two youth learned how to put together a good business plan, how to perform maintenance on lawn mowers, and also got business cards. They learned how to generate funds for themselves. This past month was one of the all-time highs for the center. They had full capacity at 12 classes. 5 Golf Update (Troy Hendricks) On the Rounds Report for the end of March, rounds are down system wide 39% compared to last year. Revenue decreased because of the weather. Also included with that is the Rounds Report from February along with National Golf Foundation's report on February rounds around the nation so you can see where we fell in with that. It is interesting the Kansas/Nebraska area is down 34%. Looking around the county, the resort type areas in Florida and California are also down. Palm Springs is down 9% and in Palm Beach and Naples those areas are down 3-4%. It seems the weather has affected everyone across the country. In an article on April 2 on the Golf Oklahoma website they interviewed some of the golf pros in Tulsa. They talked about playable days in March and only had 17 playable out of 31 days in the month. They are saying the weather affecting Oklahoma is the worst start of the year since 1970s. We started some new specials this week. It is our afternoon special. We did a lot of looking at tee sheets last year and the times that are most available for players but the least used are between 2:00-4:00. We started an Afternoon Special, on Monday-Friday you can play for $25 at any of the City courses and play for $30 on Saturday and Sunday. The offer is available through the mobile app. If you have the app, through your offer locker, all you do is bring it in, open it up to be able to tap your round for that day to that get the special. What we are seeing is that since we started doing this on April 1 we have had 73 impressions through Facebook. The video has been watched over 11,000 times. This first week on weekdays we had 43 people play and on last weekend 21 people played. Palmer asked if any of those numbers were at Clapp. Hendricks responded he did not look at that he just pulled total rounds. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 10 of 13  Last week at Clapp, (showing a picture of the stormwater pump in the basement) one of the gentlemen stepped on to the metal plate. It broke and he fell into the pit up to his hip. It did not break anything, he had to be off work for a few days. We are working with Park Maintenance to come in and put a different type of grate over it so we don't see that happen in the future. He provided an aerial map of MacDonald Golf Course where he marked three things. He marked #9 which is the irrigation pond, that spillway leaks. When the pond get up to a certain point the water runs under the spillway rather than over the top. We would like to get a cost to put a weir in to raise it up another foot to store more water. On #18 that is a drain valve that was put in during the remodel in 1995 along with the one marked as #11. Both of those are galvanized pipe that goes down vertically, then goes horizontally and has a valve they turn to let water out. Both of those are leaking around the valve. The ponds on #11 are leaking bad. It is seeping through on #18. We met with Wildcat Construction to get quotes to fix these three areas. To repair #18 would be $26,500; #11 would be $24,500; to repair the weir at #9 is $35,750. Together it totals $86,000 in repairs. We are trying to figure out a way to keep making improvements to keep the system moving and save the water to reduce the amount of city water. We've got to figure out ways to come up with the money to pay for some of these things as well. We are off to a good start this month with our specials. Hook A Kid On Golf we had one young lady that we posted a picture on Facebook. When they went out to play their three holes, on #2 at Mac, she hit it for 130 yards about 6 foot from the flag. She is a beginner and never played golf. She was so excited. Palmer asked if when they get promotion numbers if they can break them out by course. Hendricks responded yes. Goter asked for an update on the season pass. Houtman responded they are doing a Council Workshop in a couple weeks after they posted it at each of the golf courses. There will be a presentation to Council in two weeks giving them the pros and cons, what the concept is, the philosophy and how to implement it. Goter asked for those who are due to renew now, what happens if they adjust that. Houtman responded they do not have a plan for that yet. Once he gets more direction from Council he will have a better idea on what decisions to make. Ultimately this is a Council decision, this is just the first step. We will have to take it again to an actual Council meeting to get a vote. Goter asked what would be the earliest date it might be implemented. Houtman responded it depends on when they take it to Council. At the Workshop they will get a lot of feedback and direction. From there he will either answer their questions, or if it is positive move forward and try to get it to a meeting to get it passed. 6 Golf Advisory Committee Update (Eddie Fahnestock) Fahnestock stated the Golf Advisory Committee meets tomorrow at 4:00 pm. We got the PGA of America review back he found it insightful and interesting, but nothing we don't already know. They have some interesting ideas. Palmer asked if the Golf Advisory Committee has seen the report. Houtman responded it was sent to the Park Board as well as the Golf Advisory Committee. The GAC shared it with some of their stakeholders. Houtman added he has not received any comments. Staff has discussed and had several conversations about items in the report. Talking with the visitors, they debriefed as they left. A couple things he got out of it is in their opinion there are not enough capital dollars spent on our golf course. We need to spend more time working on engaging non-golfers to come into our golf courses reaching out to beyond our normal golfers, bringing other golfers into our system. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 11 of 13  They were considering working with the YMCA as a partner, seeing if they would be willing to help us promote. He has not had much success with that in the past. Other things included the time the Golf Pros spend doing administrative work as opposed to giving lessons. We expected to see more data behind it. Last year we put $1M into golf carts. Costs to other programs came out of Forestry as well as other projects. We do need to spend more dollars on our infrastructure, it is just a matter of where and how much. Goter stated his group reviewed the study as well. It is a good start. They are concerned there is a conflict of interest. The PGA is an organization created for player development but it is too close to home. An arms-length assessment is still something they want to see going forward. We shared some of the National Golf Foundation's study with Troy and he is looking at that. We appreciate the fact they did what they did. They were here for a very limited amount of time and talked to a limited number of people and did it for free. You get what you pay for. 7 Wichita Parks Foundation Update (Troy Houtman) Houtman stated they are finalizing Fourth of July plans. The Plates for Parks program is going well, he saw plate number 385. They are the correct color. If you do not have the correct color, there is an opportunity to get a replacement for free. 400 plates is the mark for the breakeven point. We are close to that. Hopefully the Foundation will be able to send a $20,000 check back to the City to cover the set up cost. After that the rest of it will be for parks. They are working on a Dinner at the Wave as a fundraising effort for scholarships. We will do that in September. Tickets will be $25 each. Cabral asked about the 400 plates, is that just a one-time check to the City or is it every year. Houtman responded it is a one-time fee to cover the set up costs for the plates. 8 Pawnee Prairie Park Update (David McGuire) McGuire stated we are on the downhill side. We need to be because people are already using it. It is confusing, we were trying not to open the park until the construction was done, but there are so many people using the bike path, we decided to take the signs down. We have the Ribbon Cutting set for April 27 at 10:00. We have activities planned. We are making and effort to get it where people can use it and it is not confusing. Some of the signage shows pedestrian crossings. We have signs up in the kiosks that explain that the chipped path is for bicycles only; the dirt trails are for equestrian riding; and the concrete path is for pedestrian walking. Eventually everyone should get it figured out. We are working on painting the green stripe and striping the parking lot. We have put the water fountain in at the far end of that. They are working on getting the chicanes that slow traffic down at 3-way intersections done. At some point hopefully everyone understand yields and the hierarchy of etiquette. We've got the rules on kiosks. We are putting in the emergency system, placing all of the wayfinding markers for emergency response use. Pracht Wetlands Ribbon Cutting is May 11 at 9:30 am. The boardwalks have been built out over the wetlands area. Palmer left meeting 4:37 9 OJ Watson Park Committee Update (Troy Houtman) Houtman stated they have finished the renovation of the concession stand. 10 Aquatics Master Plan Update (Troy Houtman) BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 12 of 13  Houtman stated we are working with the designer as well as local artists and finishing up the last renderings on the conceptual drawings for the splash pads as well as the pools. We are still on schedule for next summer. If all goes well we will have three pools renovated and three new splash pads. We are looking going back to Design Council in June. Hopefully we will have 90% construction documents done. At that point, we will go back to Council for approval of going out for bid for those projects. 11 President's Update (Troy Palmer) None 12 Director's Update (Troy Houtman) Houtman stated things are good. We have lots of balls ln the air. We are completing five projects this spring, Including Harrison Dog Park and a couple other projects. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:39 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday, May 13, 2019. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING April 8, 2019 Page 13 of 13