Board of Park Commissioners

Board of Park Commissioners Annual Retreat Minutes Wednesday, December 9, 2020 cano, 3:00- 5:00 P.M. WICHITA https://youtu.be/3nNOt3cBITw Members Present: Eddie Fahnestock, Dale Goter, Hoyt Hillman, Alejo Cabral, Ty Tabing, Tori Deatherage, .Members Absent: Troy Palmer City Staff: Troy Houtman (Director, Par1c & Recreation), Penny Garding (Clerk), Reggie Davidson, Troy Hendricks, David McGuire, Emma �Wormington !II!!! DescriDtlon call to Order Eddie Fahnestock, President called the meeting to order at approximately 3:04 p.m. 1 Golf Hendricks stated we just dosed month, we had a good month on rounds. We are at 10,995 rounds, we have to go back to 2002 to find a year that exceeded 10,000 rounds in November. Financially we will be in better shape than a year ago. Tentative numbers show we will be at about $470,000 net profit through the first 11 months. Goter stated the $470,000 is up quite a bit from what was announced last month. Goter stated those are things we will discuss in the regular Park Board meeting. He has some things to talk about in the wake of the City Council meeting yesterday and how our actions interact with the Council. Fahnestock stated there has been discussion of First Tee taking over the management and operations of Golf. Houtman stated about 3 weeks ago they had a meeting with The First Tee and discussed some of the points they were interested in. They shared some of their ideas for investments into the golf courses and what they want to do as their business plan. From that they developed some offering points and we received those about a week and a half ago. The City Manager and he have talked a little about them and have provided some responses. He has a meeting scheduled with them tomorrow to discuss more about what those negotiating points are. Goter stated he watched the Council meeting yesterday and the Mayor asked for an update. This is a lot more than what was provided to the Council; why is there a difference? Houtman respond yesterday he told them we are looking at all options. Goter stated that wasn't really an answer to his question, what you just said here is the answer to his question. There seems to be reluctance to engage a public perspective on this. The bigger picture question is where do we fit in? He doesn't understand why Council was not brought up to date with the information Houtman just talked about. Is there a reason not to do that? Houtman responded he gave them an honest answer. We are lookini at options. We are talking to First Tee. The Mayor knows we are talking to First Tee. He has been briefed. Houtman does not know what else could be provided. Fahnestock asked if there is a timetable that this is going to take place. Is there any possible way it is going to happen first quarter of next year or is it going to draw out over a longer period of time with legal involved and everything else? Houtman responded right now we are still very much in exploratory in how they are going to manage, if they are going to manage what the BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT ME£TIHG Oecembef- 9, 2020 Page lofll  expectations are and whatttie�expectations are ofthe.City and the Goundl_. Cfhere is no tirr\elihe and he.has,no,deadline'to m�ke.anything_h�ppE!n: ltjs preliminary on what these expectations are �ndwe ryaye,t_o,put thatdown first before there:is any moveriient,forward. As we put.those forward.we will be looking at.What.our Legal requireme_nts are and things we ,need to,m�ke:sure,we are n·ot steepfng,out:of boun.d�.on,whether i(is peff!lifting; ��xes, financing., There are a lot'of'thingsto·be answered. Falinestock:stated.:is·.sour\ds like-·we·are v,ery eariy in the-process: Gote;stated he-still hafni;q-tiestion ofWhere do we fidn;this prcicess. Houfman,respon·ded after We.get a ·few things finalized and after-1,V_e get a foundation of an agreementlhenwe bring thaf to the GolfAdvisory Committee and·to the Pa_rk il_oarq�as well. Geter asked if atthat point there would be a formal proposal with all the details attached. There are a lot of.operatin·g questions that need.to be;ada�essed> What.do. you:expect:trom the Park Board? 11\/hat'is our r,ole; go '"!.E!,haye veto:pov.teJ, are we ah �<!"isoiy:rple,,wh�t,�9 Yl ll:see for lJs, Hou�man, responded,definitely ad\iisor;y,ith'at is'.Why. we want to bring iHo the GAC'as'well as:the·-Park Board. Coimcil\viii':take,a lot ofinterest into wfiat the,Golf Advisory Committee:shares:andwiiat their'opinions·.irE! a�wJ!Uas-what the Park.lio.ard thoughts ancl idea_s a_re as well. It is,important that-we put a foundation together before we have ah-offer in place becatise'there are so ·many pararr\eters'that have· not o·ee·n•ans·wered yet Things are stiil'.in concept'and some not attainabJe.,so_ we need to gei those:answered first Tabi11g 0a.ske,d,iffrwou_ld 1:>e;fa_irt_o,say this could'be.a minor outsourcing -e>_r to-lhe ·extreme end .a,full: privatiiatiori,with :Firs(Tee'leading'that1operation. ls'.thatthe range',We are talking aoout".jni:J sohi'ewhere in between:is wHere;we most Hkely:will e_nd1 up? Ho_utmanresponded it is most li_kely,going to be a1sitt1�iionwhere Fir�fTe11•is managing,the dayct_o_-d,ay operations of the golfcourse, 'That'is whatthey put together:ih theidirst offering points: However we·will.still iieed'to have a·very:iriiportant,partthat'ihcludes,the,�ark Board and-staff regarding long range,vision and operationiof the gcilf_course. E�e11 tho_ugh we,are in the.black we are stiUmillions of dollars-short in-investments in infrastructure,takirig care of the golf courses. Gbt�f�ikedif'tli�tmHliohs of:dolla·�,.obligatibn,is'still outthere,is itthe expec:tation,that:First,Tee'wfi rileetthose[obfigatioilf, i-iout111an:rE!�pon�ed}hats \,I/hat we, are trying to pin•down: G_otE!r as_kedwhere:do:ih11y·h�ve'the,moneyto do-that .Houtman responded',that is what we·are.trying.to pin doWri'..Cabral asked if-thisJs somethingthat heedsto be open to others to stibmit proposals,as ·well. Houtman responded that is.above him, but the City Manager ha� �iscussed,and .\Nai:it_s;fo;see w.hatt_his·offer•is going to be and figur_e CJutif that,isthe direction we want.to:go, Geter sfated:thatgets oadi:tothat process que·stio'n -itWould have beeh useflilfor this concepttoliave been.nm by:park,board,in beginning, That undermines;hkconfidence,in ihha'twe weren'i•involved i� it.from the • • • ' ' ., -• • '' • "•· • ,. • ' <-· ' ------ •• • . .- · ·•· - - , - • • , • . •• • , - -- • · ··~' - beginning..l,A{!]ere;does the park;Board'fifiin? -If ifs'the,final•draft,cthat:is•not verfsmart. a There are a:lot ofpeople,who haite,insight.into;the'opefations of golf; fr'beyond this group, in the community. And to, ignore:those thathave:ib_,i,information, yo·u,do,ttiatare your pe;il., There are some troubling questionsthat need to be addressed and shoula be avoiiled. His gut.is for, the pres�rvatioh cif�ublic golf. He.doesn't care·about'sustafriing:First Tee or maklrig,Kemper,wealthy,,his concern is sustafning a·,quality, affordabl.e i:iu.blJc golf syst_em. He .\,1/.CJuld- like to see,tha� on"th�•tatile:before:going down a road looking1for,ah answer that f you've:actually looked,the iiece!ssa y parameters. Houtman respond.ed,:he;ls.glad they are on. the;same:page, his goa[is'to pr,eserve,a quality:goffsysfem for ihis co1111)l_un,ity: Geter stajei:l this,itJst may no! bet�e time �Cl talk•abotit it;,we don't,have anything tbtalk•about. Although,.the question of process froubles,him. Th-e'other pointraised,at tliE!;meeting, the Mayor·asked ·�. . what happened.toJhe - ·t - - _ _ Park- Board'6'l,vote • - .... • ,. - to recommend • - ·-· • " -- the-curtailmentof --- ' -.-- . • - JheJ.u!Joughs has never,goqo the Council. The Park·,Board re·commended·a $1 increase cart rerifal;fee,,th-at;never weht to the Council. What.use arewe!if the;a_c_tioil.sjwetake:never get ,,to;the Coundl? 'Houtman responded'he,did take ,bcith,of those,to\the.GityManager and he BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT,MEETING: DE!cei'nbe'r 9,"_2020 ··page·2:oi 1i  shared it with Council. The City Manager's thinking is $1 increase he wants to waitto see what happens _ with First Tee. Once we get a little more background information we know better which way we should go. He also shared the furloughs with the.City Manager and you shared it.wit_h your council members. The direction tie received.was that we need to make sure ple11ty,of.�eservesfa place. _Goter stated his concern is thatthere is $243,000 of golf revenue thatgoes to pay the salarie_s of the City Manager, H_un:,an .Resources, the Finance Department, the City Clerk, all those people's salaries are partially paid by those golf revenues,b_ut they don't-share in the burden, it is all placed.on the.21 employees of the Golf Division. Thatis patently unfair. He cl_oes not,understandJ11hy that is not brought forward. Is that not"a concern to the Park Board as Well? These are unfair practices that make no fin_ancial s�n_se and,n_o moral.sense. These are troubling aspects and-the com·mon theme is the Park Board-is largely'ignor_ed,and largely mute on essential questions that affect the future.of public golf. Cabral asked if the Park•Board will be able.to see financials through December for 2019 to 2020. lsn'Fio2o the year we officially transitioned from five courses.to four courses and added•th"e subscription piece? This year llas been.a transition year for the City's Golf Department and all our-courses. I would.caution us to.make any decisions before we see what the results are of changes we put in place in 2020. Houtman responded this is like what we discussed with budgetadjustmenfs yesterday, this is difficult year to make comparisons . .We are normally open for·l04'-weeks•with all four courses and'this year we were close_d for 20 weeks, Vl/e·alsoihad.situatiohsWherewe decreased the,amoui\tof tee times to spread things out_, COVID"has,been a huge impact on all this, The closing;of ciapp has had a positive irrij:Jactregarding overhead and expenses. It has been hard to compare apples to apples. Cabral state-d.the reason he brings it up, First Tee appioa·ct,eci us: \vould this.be the best year for us to even consider that or do we look at end of 2021. 2020.has been big transition year for our golf system and this is not·a good year to compare what has_ happened this year to what has happened'in the past. He wouldjust caution that we think-twice before we say we w�n_tto allow First Tee to run·ourgolfcourses, based off 2020. Houtman stated he agrees: That is part of what we.are exploring. They have�made,�CJme negotiating;points on how they.want.to invest in the,golfsYstem. Is that enough. Even.though we.are in the�black we.are,stjll-mlllions;short,regard.ing ihvestments into·the.'golf,syste"fh:, We are,working-with .. outdatecliequipn:ient; sub-standard:irrigation systems;the list"goes on. We have to upgrade bridges-and cart paths. We are trying,to find out if First Tee is a'2,I� to.do that or not. Goter stated that is"an excelient point. It was asked at the council meetini fif resurgence of golf a f one of or is,it-sustainable. One.thing to _consider is we were closed for six weeks during the prime revenue time. We probably forfeited at least a half-milli_Ofl.dollars in revenue. Had we stayed.open like.every other publit· course in the area did We would probably be $500,000 or $600,000:ih the black; and thatis_a much better position. If.you ne·ed millions of dollars and you are making $500,000 every year you are in a:much better position. ·We have no plan, whatis tlie hu"fnber one irrigatio·n,priority that needs to be.addressed and put that on the agenda: it'you have.a similar year,nextyear and you operate,the·sameway logic is you will have a cu��ioo in place to wor� "'!ith, Cabral stated this may not be the meeting but maybe at the meeting ori Monday, that may be a motion we can,make, that we recommend the City pause consideration of that. He.does not know if that is appropriate.or not, we are just exploring, he YJOUld just not.want.us to get down the road with First Tee and then say we really just wanted to hear What you h·ad to say we are not going-to let you operate our courses...i-lewould not.consider it b_ecause 2020 is-not a comparable _ .ye·ar to other years and would like to seewhat2021,lookslike before we_.start exploring who operates our course_s and whether.we are makihg'drastii: changes after-we have already macie:two big changes to our system. •Goter added nobody thinks this is the thing to do rigtit-now. It is a matter of BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEETING December 9, 202� Page 3 of 11  timing, something needs to l\e!done. He comme_nds the M�n.ager o.n thinking_of som,ething, f bufheis cif base on th,e proc.e_s�.• lhese are four public coursesthat,need·to be handled with i c.a�e, First Tee has said they,are1going to take.$1:4'millioh ciunifti e system over 16 years as. ttfeir,cuL .PiJttiiiWit!ofUo,tt\e:next;Board meeting might !Je·the t.hing to do. Gabral,s.ti\teq that1Houtman andIHenqricks-i\rE?.dQing,an exceptii:ma:1 joll ru!1D.Lng1 our courses: ,With the sc_arce rf'?sources you,are doing an:excellerit job. Tabing.asketfitit'is'possible to haVe:a report back on.resolution's we pass. So if City.Council isn'tsupj:>ortive of the•position we take we:_at ,-least have some I resolution ofthe conversation and discussionwe h,ad,_ Goter raises a_ g!lod poi!lt-on what,becomes· ofsome,ofthe.positions we take. Hinitma·n responded wh·at he does after meeting.if.there is a reqiiest,fromthe Park.Board he;siiares,irwitti the Citd111anager, Regarding the two most:recent cases on furloughs and card fe.es, he shared t_hat ,,•,iith tbE! C:ity M_a_nager and he discus_sE!s i_t wit� Gou_ncil, he.is.notpart,ofthe•process but he gets feedback omwhat·direction·to go. The City Manager·directed'.tiim ttiatwe .will continue with'ttie Jurltiughs: 'The':City'Mahager·directed him'that weflareiri9tg0Ing.to,putthe•$1,fee u,crease ip front;of. Gouncil·untiLwe get more resolution on:thE!'OptlC>!l_s:regi'!rc!)ng First Tee: Goter,stated th(! IJE'?!ception•from thatis ttiat'.the-Manager goes,to the.Council.ahd,getsthe,conserisus:anil ·thefrtakes action. That would.be ih'violation ofthe'fopen me·etings·act. The,Council caljpot take action by a serial vote by,ma]<ing phone.calls on_e to anothe_r\ The Manager mig�fb� talking to one or two. There'is no consensus from the Council .. The way that is done:iify'ou take.a vote:at the bench:you doh'.t have a private cmeeting:withthe,Managerand'take·public policy.out of the hands of the,pubiic: This:is not how._itworks. A�la formal action, m,!ybe we. make•a recomrne11datiorr'I_�_atwe,be takeryseriously, Gciter.:asked. if,th'e:board,takes�ar\y action, riiake•reconimend:atio_ns or doesjt,go ·to.� P_ar� Board Meeting, :t=te•asked'Hfllm.an;h!lw it was IJand!e_cl aitfr:{2018 rne.eting. Hillman responded he reviewed the:2018 minutes•and one outccime'\i.tas'as a•group decided it Was appropriate, the Park DepaitmenUurns.in wee�ly'report·to the city Manager. Anhat,itvtas: decided the Park Board should get weekly follow'ups on.w_hafisgoYng on. ·May�etho_se - • • . - s_hould start·up aga_ih, Geter stated that would,be a useful thing to-have a regular forriial communication from.the:Mariager-through.the:Council . in. recognition :of the actions,the)\ark' BOard takes, Fahnestock asked"Houtman if he.has a sta_nqing w�ekly meet_ing v{itlJ tt_ie Manager- that you ..... · - '" •• -· ·- -- - cantake·some • -, ·- _,.�-- notes·on. - - -· . Houtman°responded,he does:not,:theymeet - . oii a case.,by•case basis,on,topics'.thatare·hotaHhat.time: Gciter1stated'.isri't there.a Department Head m·eeting:every'Monday. ,Houtman responded\es,• GoJ.er:stated isn't(thata.n opp_ortunity fo pass alongfn�_ri:i youf'adviso1ygrQup:·:you'are,the,only one that is burdened n with an advisory,group. lsn'.t,that an opportunity for you to comi uhicate.regularly'With him and'the rest'ofthe Departmerit'Heads what you:'have;hl;!ard from the,board? Houitnan responded yes that'co-ul� be an opportunfty. Hil)ma11_statedjhafwould be a good'form of fe.edback: Goter.stated let'.s talk about this at the Park:Boai'd meeting oh.Monday. Fahnestock-stated.we.don't know·liowfong these,negotiations are going_to .take. He, aJ WE!II <1s many others;'have bee11Jn.volyed'ir, negotia,!iol]s;th,at t_iave.Jaken a year and a halrto:two ,years ·odonger. Goter,,stated .tie:has,talked With peOple:who tia\ie,falked with FirstJ)ie'.ahd tlieV afe iooking at anrend'qf,Yearresoiution. cahraf;asked)ft�·ar:is;e_nd;of,20_2() of:26ii. . G ·o_ter responded:2020: �.tio.esiock',asked. if thabmea-�s;t,,hey·�re expecting ,to have •aifo rma I offer, in,hand by the end of,2020: Geter responded:that'is whafthey.. are,commuhicatihg: Expect-it to.be a broad brllsh:cohcept that Couricii woulcj endorsewith details.to b,e.\,\/o_{l<ed _out iater,,buta•formal cC>mmitrne·ntto going cjowfflhat•pith. He•and others·are,interested ·in putting a hold on this and.giving itsome-time to think it.through. You had a good year,'{ou mighthave a. better year next year, Are you going to retain all.these new golfers? T_ti_e ,me-mbership plan seems to·be attracting some,.betfer marketing might help that. But:it BOARD OF PARKCOMMlss10NERS RETREAT!MEET1NG ,oece'rnber 9,ii2020 • - +-p�g��·�iil  might change. The time is not good right now, but if it is a good idea it will be a good idea next July. Houtman stated they have missed all windows to get anything this year. Mr. Goter is correct, we need to work on holding all of o ur golfer that have come back to us and still work on bringing in new go lfers. It will .be interesting to analyze this past year. The silver lining is because of <::OVID we have more golfers �oming to the golf courses. Are they new golfers or thosewho a�e coming more than they used to? Whatever it is,,it is the responsibility of the golf.staff to make sure we retain those golfers and keep those numbers high. Whether we go a different direction or not, the direction he is giving Mr._Hendricks is we need to keep working as if we are going to operate these golf course for the next 10 years. We are nowhere d ose to finding a_nd negotiating a deal with First Jee yet. Cabral asked what do we want to accomplish as a Park Board as it pertains io golf. Is the retention .of 80% of the golfers something we_.want to address;0 is it better engagement of the GAC? He wants. to make sure as a;�§lrkBoard we have some d i[ection on what wewant to get done. Fahnestock stated initially as the GAC and PB we want to be heard and make sure o ur voices count. He is not sure a.residual number can be put-on the retention of golfers. Is that something we can track? Hendri_cks responded.hewill have to look into the POS system, he thinks they can run a,report on h_o w many new people_have joined the tee time system compared to a previous time period. We don'tcapture 100% of names. He will look at running a report o f 11ew peo ple in _the systern:in 2020. Goter stated he asked at ho w many rounds he has played this year. They showed,188:transactions and said that is signing in to play and if he rents a:cart-that is a separatetransaction. It should be fairly easy to track repeat .players. Fahnestock stated there might be a few instances of missed but overall we are probably capturing 90--95% of that data. Cabral asked how can we be an asset to Houtman and Hendricks and make �heir job easier. Houtman responded he app_reciates what you are doing and understands the frustration. He, shares interest and goals that you a.re.taking about with the City Manager. The extra step the group took to inform all.of the council members about the furlough,si_tuat)OA"'!'as hugely irnpactfu_l. He appreci�te� that, he wants to take care.of our staff and make sure they get good paychecks. It is having a stronger impact on community. It is being recognized that we are providing great services. The more exposure we get the more effectiv_e we can be on providing our services, Which in turn gives.us more funding and more flexibillty. Because of what we have done in the past we have been more.successful in our capital improvement projects and increasing our programming. It is your continued interest _amj advocating for, not just golf, but for al(tlie:things we.do in Park ar\d'Recreation. He unders_tands it as passion and i_nterest in,helping,us.tie successful., He tries to channel•all the information up the chain of'command. Goter stated Cincy Claycomb asked yesterday if we had made a.debt service payment and the answer is no. That is an embarrassment There is a lot for sale next to the 9th tee box at Auburn Hills for $350,000. The lot nexuo it has a probably $3 milli on house going up on it. The,property tax.taken in by Auburn Hills has eclipsed tliat $5 million debt. That needs to be addressed. The City of Newton is payingf or its go lf course with the property tax valua tions fr om the adjoining ho using area. The sec ond po int is the Administrative Fees - the $243,000 central Administrative Fees taken out of golf revenue that aren't a line item, they simply go to the department to p�y the salaries of people Mr. Ho utman, Mr. Layton."$47,000 of golf money went to pay the City Manager's salary this year, but he didn't share i_n the furloughs. $10_0,000 went to pay the.salaries of people in Finance, Treasury and General Accounting. They didn't share in the furl oughs. $40,000 went to Human Resources,to pay their salaries, they didn't share in the furloughs. And by comparison there are 21 employees in the Golf BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEETING December 9, 2020 Pages of 11  Division, Human,Refource·s i:nilrges us'$41;oooto:oversee them. 'TransiJ,h_as)SO en1ployees arid,j:>ays $11,000. Whathe,w.ouid like to think, 1as _ayar,kJBo_a_rd,. this !�the,kind of issue we woufd:sit down. in'a Cj:i_u_ncffWofkshop,and saythis!is,ilot right: lt,isrso,ciut of-whack, Fah11estock•stated golf'istrer\ding•Upward natioriailfthisyear. Over:past·coupfe•years,:in lahie part,to these-Top'Goif sojjening around the natiorfand,worlawide, "Re �-opes that if Wichita ever gets a Top G_qlf or a Top Golf. conce!)t; th_at we woulct:be operi'to partnering with th_em:fn some fashion. Goter stated Newton Sana:cre·ek riietits annilal revenue goal the ffrst week,of October: Long Term Plarining- CIP•Projects 5103 Houtman stated•the, past five,years have beeri.very'successful ,on,ailot!of our CIP·programs .. f An:�;a�ple'this)ea - is t�ilr\is'With supplemelitaifunclirig from ,_USTA"as v.-e)l,�siMti Con1 elly, ttfose two organizations·put'in close.to $500;000,on;�'.$15 n,illion,·proj�ci, Every year we go through apro_cess. of ev_liuatiQg; looking_at-priorities; addressing,safetyccihcerns and put that into a·package forstaf frevie·w before.it goes to Council. Because•of COVID•aiotof the·2021 projects have.been push eel back 4-5 years. :rh� big tRings we want to finishJhe Aquatics 'Master Plan and ·a..co_uple�sheliers we areworking,onaswell. We want to make,sUre we -con_tihue improving,the'inner parts of.the city whidi is'part of. the Parks Master pianto 'irnprove'what,we:already haVe,,addressing the mafntenance defaults,we have, Whether we get'funding.for that is stJf1�a qtJesfion.: \Ne,',Vill always putoutreq�;sts fof those, hdt�iily our s1Nim_ming pools-and parks but our recreation centers: Cabral asked ifthereKa iist'of those ·and timeline. Houtman responded ,on the web page'there is a list•of:all C:IP projects on the Finance:page. •Park.is working·on putting up a :list gf aU of our CIP projecfs !!.n.d their status in the new year. Ta bing stated Houtman mentione·d a Park Master P_ian. Do CIP tie into a part of the master plan? Houtman responded we have aOl!ROS/Park;:Recreation �nd Ope_n �pac�-master plan ·that was created in'2di-2 and updated:in:2016 and1 we plan,on updatinj'l;itin,2021. Tabing o a;kediif that is �ls�-6� ttu:i-�eli sit;: Houfman resp ilded'yes it is: Gote(askeci:if.there is a mechanism to use the Foimdation·and:private don.at.ions towork hand:in h�n.d. l:je gets asked•a'lot,at the dog p,ark/why can't we get rnore benches. I want'to give money to buy. a 2 ll�rich. lsthere·a process-to improve thatmigtit'·enc:olirage:privaterdonations? Houtman responded he.wants'tomake sure'elieryone understands we want to:sel)arate the private donations:and fundraisl_ng activiti_es we,ha_ve,. !'f""�I be leveraged �nd'incCJrporatedwith CIP do[l_ars and noi,in pl_ace of. ·He keepcthose,dollarsveiy,separate: Our inimb·er·one'toolfor tlfatis'theiPark'Fou'nda'tion. Their.goai is.to;'.fun8raise•for the;par�s:, Th e.y,are also now getting mone/from Plates for Parks·, lfa group wa.�fs;toJund�aise; t_l}er�;is·already a!SOi(c)3 g�oup they can wo�k ""it_h-to_ help with ttie banking; fund raising, riiai\agementof the .funds, sci when there are enough dollaritraised we·can·puttiiattoward the'projett they•are interested iii. Hillman staied whilewe are discussing long.term.agreements, where are we with baseball? H·outman clarified tn;iar'e;:taikihg ab;oufthe Wiifd Surge. Thatis riot ih tiis realm; but he does'know. It souhds:Tikl! more than likely they,v.-_ill l:le:playing in. Do4.bl_elA, l�.s!ead of the Florida Marlins,we will be•associatedwith;the Minnesota Twins:, Oherof,theiaifferences b�tw�en;Triple,A•;hd'D�'Util�:A is<that Double.A p[av,s·20 less games'"and a·re more region_aL We,wili be.part.of the.Texas League which is.Te,>eas; Arkansas and. kansa_s. Gciter a.ske.d if fhe_re;are budget_o!JJig<!tionswith the ball park•that•are still outstanding ttiat the'City has to meeHhat might be in com·petition with Park ancl Rec dollars. Houtman responded his understanding'is no. TRe·only thing Park hacl obligations w!th is rt1_aybe,some landscape m_aintenance."th_afwe,w()_l'ked,out. Going back- to capital dollars; we did have $9M set aside fof,Crystal.Prairie•l:ake Parl<'ttiatwe,used for the,basehall stadiumi That)s'one of tlie capital projects lle,keepS;askirig1for and will.continue to ask for dollars, The,mining'is almost dbne 1 BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT: MEETING1 oeceriibei.9/2020 Page'iiof ii  and will become ready to start being developed in a year or two. We lost those capital dollars to the ball field. Goter asked if that is similar to Clapp. At one time you had $10 million, has that been usurped by the ball field as well? Houtman responded we never had any dollars budgeted or line itemed for that. We want to have an outstanding park and want to spend those dollars wisely but also impactfully. His dream was to spend $10M, but the reality is I'll get what I get. As of now he does not have dollars.for that but will keep asking. Goter what is the short term, long term plan for Clapp, just.a vacant area where people hang out? Houtman responded we have done.some things,there:already to improve it into a park and will continue to add little things. The master plan is almost completed. We hope to have it back to you by February or March and approved by Council later in the spring. That will give us a better idea of what dollars·needed for that. He will also be looking for grants and other types of funding like donations:and sponsorships to meetthat-funding goal. Goter stated Clapp was closed because it was a financial drain on the,system. Some of us would like to see-a line iteni, specific cost accounting of whatever we are spending on Clapp, starting at the clo_se, .It-would be nice to.know if we really,ciffsefthe loss by closing Clapp. Houtman-responded we.are absorbing the maintenance cost as part of the overall park budget. Most of thatis probably mowing and we can get tha_t contract information to you. Hillman stated Glapp.had some pine trees that were dying. The.overall City budget for replacing trees has·�een,cut considerably. He hopes in 2021 we.have a goal of planting more trees that we did last-year. Houtman responded it is a_lways our goal to plant more trees and as we are looking at•opp·ortunities to save money, that was one thing.we used this year for savings instead of furloughing or laying off staff. We will coritihlie looking at that and see how we can continue planting trees·but ensure it is a balanced approach. Tabing stated we;getreports on Recreation from Reggie every month. Parks is more than Golf and Recre�tJon, is it possible to have information shared about Forestry? Because of the COVID related challenges there were a lot of cuts includingr, owing and tree trimming. It seems importantthatwe monitor that in'light of the cha·riges made to the budget. Houtman responded we didn't,move forward with purchasing contract, tree planting as well as tree maintenance and piuning contracts. That was the majority of our savings and didn't have to furlough or lay off.staff. We'shared those. budget savings back in April. He can have Forestry provide·a presentation with more detail on what they do every day and ,how that budget impacted them. The majority ofii is vacancies that we didn't fill and those contracts were a huge impact. He will a·sk the Forestry staff to do a presentation in January. Goter stated going forward he would like to have reports on.foresti'\t and dog,parks too. Houtman stated about a year ago•�e _di.d a_n-extensive,presentation on dog parks and can present that again if there is an interest: Gciter. stated every month just an updated, .what problems are incurred, what challenges there are and how you want the public to help out. Director's 2020 Overview Houtman stated COVID really dominated everything that we d_id. We had to do rapid closings, furloughing'of staff, cancelling of major programs, activities and special events. Staff get a lot of credit for.. being resiiient and ,coming up.with creative ways to continue our programming. The other part was to continue themaihtenance of our parks, which got more extensive use. we·are.starting to slip and things are startingfo fall through the cracks of our 3 fine-tuned standards. That is a challenge and something we will have to address next year. After discussing with the City Manager and the Budget office we might have to reduce our standards in order to meet our budget obligations. The other part of 2020 was reopening and getting things back to normal. We came up with innovative ways fo,make sure everyone was safe and following proper protocol which BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEETING December 9, 2020 Page 7 of 11 require;a,lofinore'cleaning'and communication. We;ve,spen(a ibt more.,tim!!,y.,orking,with staff sharing thoughts, idea·s ancl:suggestions to m�ke,sure wE!:are,safe. The rest of-2020, we've beenfoitunate with our CIP projects, That has dominated our work ·and kept us:busy. The Aquatics Master Plan, the Tennis•C:enterjustJo·name,a fe1,11_, We have severaloth.�r GiP projects ihat h,!Ve0 kept,us busy. Another part1was1planilingifor,2021,.niaking,ch.anges'to;our programming. �eggie, ha.s spent f a.lot of.time,with his:staf and looking at how,we manage,ourfootball·program anifhow we manage O!J.[ core programs asweli. Even ttiough We-,chaffged,directicins, we've made good with-wtiatwe·haiie and become more effident-on·howwe plan'and execute.for th�·futlJre .. We're excited about 2021 an'd"onte \Ne.get_past GOVID,our programming i� going'.to double again fro111.\Nhat it was six years �go. Fahnestock.asked if there is.anything as a!board:that can be dbne.fo.help with.the·ch'allenges,You face: Ahd also prom·oting cthat new<and existing pfogr(frnfning, whether it.be;soc:ial media outlets or:o.ufinJh� �OTTl_munity. li9uJ111_an respondeil,,the,importani t_h\Dg is. 111e:d911't.want,to,slip·in 1our,standards anil :offerings. 'The adv�c_ating;,ihis is 1a bigger pictufe:buta.microcosm,ofwhat.We've been tall<ing,al/bUt golf. We warirto advocate for goif'to ma'ke,sure itis:·getting·all there·sources'ifcan get. 'roe.things Mr.,Goter isJalking about; sfa_ff has.ta_lked about untifth-ey,are'bhJe,in the face;wariting to get ttio_se-resourc�s, not,justfor golf but,for the'whole Park arid.Recreation.Department. So advocating,to make sure we,have the resources to continue:to.operate at a very higflevel. That is the goal, the reality isw_e are·operating,a(a;111!!diocre level. His f�_�r is thatw!! will be opera_ii11g.at a.b.e_low IJ1edi_ocreJevelwith,the budget,we,are.looking at iri the·. furure, The great thirig.aboutC:OVID:is tlia6ve've.seen that}iarks anci:recreation is essential.. For about foUr.we·ei<s we:had park staff th.at was'fllrlQughed, iiwas',l[ery,apparent'h_oVv i111P,_or:tar:,i they really'are;ahd tbe differe11ce they;make in the community;_and the rec staff.as well. Asan organization:! don'tthihk we ·will.make thatmistake·ajiain. lt.is'important for the Park.Board to advocate. Find ways to let.ill'eir'council.mem6ers a.nd•other leaders.in the co!Tlml!nity how important parks and recrg�t!O!l is. That•we .1}1ake sure the community knows,what our purpo_se'is and the things we,impact. It is.unbelievable if:yoii drill down, how many things we db in th'e community: Goter stated;ohe thing,,ti\at concerns him is:that the Park:Board,has no agendaiitself, Deferringto; st�ff'f9r;eve r,ything raiSef t� q u_esiion_ are ,there' mi n�s ,on the board\hatJliirik_outof"the boxCJr:do·we.always dowhafotaff brir\gs:tothe taole?-Jn1.th·e,year he's be ori the board he has-·notheard ah independent perspective. Oh aspect mfght be subcommittees where peopleJook anhe budget,and g�hnto (he details:_and:pilr:t�ipate, If we are,going to'be leaderswe can't,be constantly echoing whafstaffsays. That!s,been the c�;e 1.vith the GACfor•th� list iieveral years, butit'.s differentnow, Does the. Park Board want to be scimething'other than justan echo cif staff and how doe_s that h�ppen. Tt,!!way.it is now u_nderserves our constitu_erits,�ng \t,e pub_ljc. Hillman,stated'in,Oklahoma City there is· some,people,who•really stepped,ciut ancfproinoted arfd,a'dcie_d,a ½C;salestax.JustJor."parks, Maybe we;need toa�vo�ate"[strcingly·tor someihihg,11�!'!,t_hat. 'C:i li�al stated ad11_o_cilfi,ng.is. essentW l:>ut Goter is r:ight, YJ_e b_ave·got to figure o_ut,what it is:we are gciing,t6 'bWn a·nd what we are going to do to iniprmie ouYpirk.systenis: Tabing stated one thing fcWcohsideration that we,could,advocate:on is to reenergize the effo_r,t on'the Riverfront Legacy rv,a_ster Plan. r,io_\N'is a go9d time t9 pJa_n·for Jhe future especially when.the convention industry ·mightibe changing, Maybethe.rhastef plli'n might need fo. be'tweaked to reflect some:oftherchanges that,are},_eing consider�d in the convention .inqustr,y.goii:,gforward. Go!e.r si:at!!d t�atjis:a grea't;t_h_ougb.t i;Jow do,you geJ !O it]. Fahnestock'stated it would be a,gobd.initiative to reenergize b·eca Use it,seems, Ii �e:.it: ha sJost steam,, at:1e·a·sun'. t�e pu Siic. eye,. He•has ihad conveisatfons with.Jason Gregory;and they are still'.talking,w,th the•architects on ihat'and -�qA.�.0 OF P.ARK COMMISSIONER;S RETREAT MEETING oecerriber 9, 2020 Page 8 of 11  looking at it. Using our platform and reenergizing the public on this would be a great effort. Geter stated he has a big concern about the budget process. He.would like to see going into the future a budget subcommittee that looks at that on an ongoing basis. There are decisions made that we have no idea they took place. Cabral added one thing we could start with is a better understanding ot'timelines and when certain functions are.supposed to happen. As·a corporate entity you are•wrapping up budgets at the end of.the year for the following year. For the city, we are looking atbudgets a lot_earlier that most people are. Often.times when we are looking at budgets we are late to the game. Maybe we need to map out,what the year looks at and what milestones we need to be.aware of so we can property effect change in.those respective areas. Fahnestock·stated he wants to commend the entire staff. This year has been exceptionally challenging and he's heard nothing but good things from the community. You've don't a tremendous job all year, with changes almost every hour. Review of 2020 Goals· Geter stated he didn't know theV had goals. Houtman sta·ted in past meetings we put together goals that were directed from the Park 4 Board and what the Park Board wanted to accomplish. Some:h_ave been obtained and some have slipped through cracks. This year we didn't focus on anything. This is a great opportunity to renew that and put a vision and focus for the Park Board and look at the future andJocus on 2021 Goals and what you want'to accomplish as·a Park Board. 2021 Goals .Fahnestock·stated we have a baseline so far with reenergizin"gtl\e,River Front Legacy Master Plan, setting up a budgt:!t committee to look at the budget dynamicaUy throughout the year. Whafare.some otherideas thatyou wa·nt to see next year and into the future. Geter stated a goal would be the Park Board in a timely fashioiifollows the budget process and weighs in on the budget priorities before it goes to a public.hearing. Last year he asked about this and Mr. Houtman informed him he was not involved'in ita(that point. Finance was driving it. That is not-acceptable. So working with Finance thatthere is timely and relevant information. that comes to the Park Board to sign off on. There are decisions being made with ·resources and as a matter of process we have a chance to look at it. Hillman stated.tie would like to know how we are going to constrain ourselves in the first half of 20i1 so we can have fun participation in second halr'(Open Streets, a fate Riverfest, etc.), and other things we ought to be doing to draw attention to parks. Fahnestock stated we have really cool legacy project at'Clapp. He wants to make sure we 5 finalize that properly, .the master plan. Then significant CIP discussions and fundraising. That is a project- that . needs. us to push - it alon. - . g and advocate consistently. Tabing stated this is sometimes a hard goal to manage-but.some of the higher profile projects like Naftzger Park. There were a couple times when Park Board members would read about things in the,newspaper. It might noqlways be appropriate for us to be involved in those discussions. A goal.to avoid that happening in the future. Deatherage stated:she is glad commu·11ications mentioned. That has been an issue over the last couple years. 1.s there an email'update that can be sent? It does.not need to be as complex and detailed as the golf course updates. Also what w.e can take back to council members. How' we can best be utilized as Park Board member and also serving our council members a.nd connect all of those dots. Geter stated as a formal goal he would like to see golf addressed so that we end up with an affordable, sustainable quality public golf system thatputs public interest first. Communication has been the missing thing. Hillman stated the City Manager does put out regular reports. BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEmNG December 9, 7020 Page 9 of 11  Cabral stated he\.vouid like for the Board totake·owne.rship pu(oyr .n<!f!le as tile Park Boar� on:on!! or two,prcijed:s next year, Whet_he.r that is the execution ofClapp orto,feighite the, conversations around the River Front Legacy.MasteYPla·n . .Ahothef..ttiihg1is:for us.to:have focu·s-�nil'.iht�iitiohal meetings, There ar� things,we need to:say yes,9r,' �o io an�·m,age .recommendations..Oftentimes we•get'i_�to corive.rsations arounci' Y!'hilficould have,been or what•shou_ld'.h.ave 11appened'instead,ofwhatare,we goirig,to do:· He;would like to be the Board•that aadresses·challenges instead chalking about.what should have been.. Fahnestock asked Houtrnaii i f it is feasible to takeion Ol)e or. two_projects next•ye_ar [n terms of the budget Or do 1,Ye h.ave to get creative intermsrof funding. Houtman respo�ded we can pick .two or three projects that need:fundihg 'ifnd,geMhe Park Board irivolved'with that.and .ensure there:is· good communication through the other departme.nfs;cespecially·Finance arid the City,Ma_nag/r's office, If t_llere i�·a11_vtmpactwitl1 those·folk�,it,is making sure your voice. L is _11ejlrd to,the. City Manager. That is g6irfg to c6rne\iiith;regllaridialog_not necessarily just when.you make a motion and,he?plissesthat up. He'will ask for,written response to fake back to the Park Boa·rd. Whether'lti_s,gcifr1g to councjl rreeting a!lcl!sriea�ing to a cert11in project or f11a_l<ing sur,e yqur councilmember is knowledgeable.and involved iri some•of these projects"' A g66d example is Clapp, esjiecially with ·dlfficultsituatioh currently in that district right now. We.need to find out ways to rnake'sure that communityfe.el_s represenJed. Gote.r-as�ed)f)t,would be useful as a_go�l'.to improve the way we enflage the public in this process .. He suggested a couple hieetiifgs'backiabout.starting:a Facebo.ok page on dog:parks, He is going-t6'\iiork the same:arigle on the gol(issue,and creafe a'pu�lic �or�m to e.ngage the. golf,pubnc so ttwv-11�\/e!a way tO•\YeJgh;i!i:, .M�-cl.oes;not,see that,thereiis a,way for people.to get on line see•an issue,weigh'.irnori•ari.issUe and!heljJ us decide' what,ttie'pulilic's 1priorities are. Fannestock'stated•yo'u personailycouid,start·that·Fai:eboci'k page;,ho�ever; he•wou_ld caution'.to·not use any city b�ij_ndjng. i>ers_onallyyou ca_n sta,r:tit�n.sJ h�ve that forum so we can feedback.and staf fcan get feedback. He is not sure there'are,resouri:es at.City-Hall to manage a f�·r;;m:Ukethat. Houtman adde·d we,_typically try to gerfeedback,as we· go'through the projects, With ('lapp we had.1S'.2Q:comrnu�ity engagementme�tj,ngs. We. did things onHne, w,e did surveys,:we did'town hall meetings. It's mostly focused oii getting that feedback on certain projects and situ·ations. Right now we don't have:a budgetfor dog parks and that's ii.thy wejare;not goingthatdirection: 'W.e. have a r,a_st�r ril.�n;btit;don'.thave anything to execuie it with)haVswhywe are notdooking.for that,feedbai:k.right,now. It's: not thafwe d�n't,v,;a�t it, w�,n�ed it.as'wJ areCtackling:different'projects. ltis difficult.for us to manage's6 many ciifferent areas and different inte�ests. lf you,finc/,ways to get feedback and put'in si}ua_tion \II/here l.l[e c_an �bso_rb .a.n.d usE!, we wouli:l use i(t() our benefit Geter �tated sometime we benefit from the experience bfothers, Oklanoma City has had remarkable success with its MAPS program. We should ttiink abo.uthowwe could emulate that model.. A.s a·goal we cou_ld'looJ at.ho.w to emulate't_hose C0!12_11JU.nitiesJhaf are more successful than us: Fahnestock stated MAPS'is.dktated or\ public vote. The','started,it.back .in.2000 �ntiji·p�ssed cin a ..ver,Y:n�arrow,vote. Its margin of victory.h�as increased over tim_e, people haye:.bo.ught it,. b�i thattak�s•tir:rte: _!(eople [�Wichita. 1,Y)!I (totvoie for a tax hike. 'Goter added:our pulilicis notwacko conservative. If you'give,them,a,re,fson and. itis1valid h'e has good:expettations that.we can wiriJhe ptJ13'1ic's.trust. Hou_t�ah:stat!!d'he has:studied ·MAPS•ani(what it is au about. ·1n:<)klaho_n1a City ih,e. process)s s_o c_ool'tllatthey have awhcile dep�_rt,ment that manages the MAPS projects. It-would be nice to.have:those types of resources:. Orie,otm·ost difficult things:we have is going through the chaffenges:of not having th.e:_resour.ces.,to take the next step, The yi,sjon is grea,t an.cl yo�ca.[l have all the,vision.in.the. 1Norli:l:but'ify9u don't,havethe right:people to step u·p.ahd exteria those resources and p'ut ,them;ih:the'.fighfpeople's.iiands,itis difficult to.get to'the next le11eJ, Eabral asked,.what would you•say;are'the'fop functions of the MAP.S department? Houtman responded to BOARD OF.PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEETING Oeceinbef 9: 2020 - Page 16 of it  develop the need through engagement with the community, then put together what the projects could look like, educate everybody on what the projects are, then they go out to vote on it, once it is passed they have a team of project managers that execute those capital projects, and then turn it over to the department to manage once it is completed. Goter stated the comment about not having resources is true to -a p-oint. He could identify a million dollars in the City budget that goes toward messaging throug_h the Comrnunication Department or through the access,of those folks who have the opportunity to make the case. The.·resources are.there, if you leave it in the hand of bureaucrats that iswhere it stays. There are'ample resources to conduct a communications campaign on anything we might decide;you just redirect.resources. Adjourn. 6 There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:51 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be a virtual meeting held on Monday, December 14, 2020. Isl Eddie Fahnestock Eddie Fahnestock, President BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS RETREAT MEETING December 9, 2020 Page 11 of 11