Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation

Summary Minutes of the Meeting of the Zionsville Park and Recreation Board October 10, 2012 The Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation met Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. Phil Howard, Steven Mueller, Steve Bullington, and Neal Clements were present. Matt Dickey, Park Superintendent and Roger Burrus, the Park Board Attorney, were also present. Manda Clevenger was absent. Minutes Neal Clements made a motion to approve the September 12th, 2012 regular board meeting minutes. Steve Bullington seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Public Comments Joe Mayes and Kevin Osborne from Rundell Ernstberger presented the final bid documents for Heritage Trail Park to the board. Mr. Mayes noted that these were the bid documents for Phase 1 and pointed out several add/alternates to consider if the bid came in lower than expected. Those add alternates included: 1. A second inner loop trail to complete the circle in the center of the park, 2. A trail along 875 connecting the rail trail to the park entrance, 3. Acceleration and deceleration lanes along 875 (which would require input from Lance Lantz, Street Department Superintendent and may not be required based on the initial number of parking spaces), and 4. A smaller trailhead and plaza on the south side of the park along the Rail Trail. Mr. Mayes also suggested that, to save funds, the Board purchase the park shelters and play equipment separately and have the chosen contractor install them. Mr. Howard asked if the garden plots were part of the Phase 1 bid. Mr. Dickey replied that they were not in Phase 1, but would be in the later expansion. Mr. Bullington inquired about the number of parking spaces and Mr. Mayes responded that there were 9 with a handicap space. Mr. Bullington asked if the issue with the power company had been resolved. Mr. Mayes reported that the location of the easement had been resolved and a revised document had identified the conflict; he added that they were still in discussions with Duke Energy regarding the placement of the proposed shelter. Mr. Dickey asked if it was accurate to assume the easement issues in Phase 1 had been addressed. Mr. Mayes responded that there were no easement conflicts on the base bid and only one potential issue on one of the add/alternates. Mr. Burrus asked Mr. Mayes to comment on the changes from the connection at the Rail Trail, crossing 875 at the West side of the park. Mr. Mayes reported that Mr. Lantz had recommended a perpendicular crossing to the Rail Trail at the south east end of the property. Mr. Bullington asked about the current staggered railing at the end of the Rail Trail. Mr. Mayes indicated that the railing would be removed and a collapsible balustrade would be added to prevent vehicle access. Mr. Dickey mentioned that a lock box for the balustrade should be included to provide Fire Department access if needed; he also noted that he had asked Mr. Lantz to look at the addition of an S-curve to slow down traffic at the site. Mr. Howard added that he liked the idea of a curve. Mr. Clements asked about the permanent location and parking for the garden plots at Heritage Trail Park. Mr. Dickey responded that they would be located at the north end of the park and were shown as #14 on the design and that permanent parking would be expanded; he also added that a temporary gravel lot currently served the garden plots. Mr. Howard asked whether the garden plots will stay there until the fire station is added. Mr. Dickey advised that the fire department would like the plots moved when the parking lot was expanded. Mr. Howard asked if Mr. Mueller had any questions or comments. Mr. Mueller asked where the department was on the budget. Mr. Dickey noted that they were a little under budget and that the stormwater issue was included in Phase 1 design. Mr. Mueller asked what would be the additional cost to re-implement the garden plots. Mr. Mayes responded that cost would be very minor with the addition of soil, but no grading. Mr. Mueller next asked how much additional capital would need to be realized when the fire station is built to add the restrooms and would the town or parks fund that. Mr. Dickey responded that the restrooms would be available to the public, so the responsibility would be mostly the Parks Department. Mr. Bullington recalled that some traffic furniture would be involved in this plan at the 875 crosswalk. Mr. Mayes responded that solar signals, that had already been purchased, would be installed. Mr. Howard asked if there were any further comments or questions. Seeing none, Mr. Howard asked for a motion to authorize the bid. Mr. Bullington made the motion to authorize the bid for the revised 99% Phase 1 design plans for Heritage Trail Park. Mr. Mueller seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Staff reports Mr. Dickey began his report by thanking the Board for the concerns about the staff. Mr. Dickey continued by discussing an issue that has arisen at the Zionsville Golf Course regarding the Boone County Board of Health’s change in interpretation of the sink basins needed for the Course’s limited food prep. Originally, the Board of Health noted that the sink only needed to be changed to 3 basins if the property was sold, the Board of Health is now indicating that the 3 basin sink is needed along with a separate hand wash sink. The Board of Health will allow a 2 basin sink with a tub for sterilization, so there is no rush on the 3 basin sink. Along with the changes to the sink, Mike Maguire, the Golf Course manager, would like to replace some cabinets. Mr. Dickey also explained that the ongoing project for the replacement bridges in Starkey Park is moving forward. An Eagle Scout and his father have offered to build the smaller of the two boardwalks using a purchased kit and some recycled decking that the Parks Department already has on hand. Mr. Dickey added that he had met with the Eagle Scout and hoped to have the project under construction by end of November. He explained that he had another Eagle Scout project involving a tree disc at Turkeyfoot and hoped to have additional information regarding that project at November’s meeting. Finally, Mr. Dickey mentioned that the Golf Course fuel tanks were going into place and fencing was to be installed around them. Mr. Howard asked how the ZYFL Punt Kick Pass event went. Mr. Dickey replied that about 50 youth had attended the 3 hour event and that the group was happy with the turnout, especially considering that only website marketing had been done. Mr. Howard mentioned that he had seen the usage numbers for the ZYFL at Mulberry fields estimating 13,000 attendees for the season. Mr. Dickey noted that the attendance spanned 95 games. Mr. Howard asked whether parking had been an issue this season. Mr. Dickey noted that it had been a challenge and he did see some cars parked on the sidewalks and the prairie. He added that ZYFL did send a letter out to its members and that he had asked the police to ticket a couple times hoping that would curb the problem. Mr. Howard next asked about the St. Vincent Walk of Hope. Mr. Dickey reported that 800-1200 were in attendance and that the event went well; there was concern about Rail Trail crowding, but other than a few large groups, the event moved smoothly. He also acknowledged that he had received a number of comments about how nice the course was. Mr. Howard expressed his hope that the even would return next year. Mr. Mueller mentioned that the Nature Center held a ten year celebration on September 16th. Mr. Dickey mentioned that the event got some good press. Mr. Dickey also noted that there was some nice press coverage regarding the Zionsville Golf Course. Roger Burrus began his report by summarizing the projects he has been working on since the September Board Meeting. He mentioned that his work on the easements at Heritage Trail Park did lead to some information the will be helpful in the extension of the Rail Trail. He continued by reporting his work on the bid process, which included reviewing the bid documents and booklet. He went on to describe some requests from the Town Planning department regarding property on Starkey Road and some surveying discrepancies. He also described his plans to go over some discrepancies in the engineering plans for the Eagle Creek Trail. New Business Mr. Howard began new business by stating that there would be potential Board action on Town owned land adjacent to Oak Street, running along the Rail Trail. The town wondered if the land could be sold to an adjacent property owner or did the Park Department have a use for it. Mr. Dickey added that the property was titled to the Town, and the question was whether the Park Department wanted it for access to the Rail Trail. Mr. Howard explained that he had presented this to the Pathways Committee, knowing that access to the Rail Trail from Oak Street was a priority for the committee and that this land would give them that access. He also noted that there are several accesses in close proximity-by the Town Hall, the Church, Manchester Square, Pine Street and Laurel Street. Mr. Howard questioned if an access directly from Oak Street was needed and was there a better access area or could an easement be created on the existing land. Mr. Bullington asked if there was a current buyer. Mr. Howard indicated yes and Mr. Dickey added that it was the home to the east. Mr. Clements asked if the buyer was going to build and Mr. Dickey said that that had not been communicated. Mr. Bullington asked if there would be a liability, Mr. Burrus responded that he did not think so. Mr. Howard asked if there was enough space for pedestrian access or a ramp. Mr. Dickey responded that space constraints may create ADA issues. Mr. Howard commented that he had no issue with selling the parcel, but would like and easement from Rail Trail to Oak. Mr. Burrus noted that 10-15 feet would be needed for a pathway. Mr. Howard concluded the discussion by declaring there would be no vote on the issue at this meeting, but that he appreciated the Town asking the Park Board about the land. Old Business Mr. Howard began old business by summarizing the recent Master Plan stakeholder meetings. Seventy-five stakeholders were invited and forty participated. He added that the board would tabulate the results at the November 3rd Board retreat. Mr. Howard gave a brief summary of the main takeaways from the Stakeholder SWOT analyses. He noted that the top strengths mentioned by 4 or more groups included pathways, natural assets, and a perceived amount of good undeveloped land. The top weaknesses included: funding, the need for more active parks and programming and the desire for more trails. He continued with the top opportunities from the groups: partnerships, perceived land available, and programming. He finished the SWOT summary with the top threats mentioned by four of more of the groups as funding, land costs and loss of land. Finally he mentioned land acquisition as the top item that stakeholders wanted to bring to the Boards attention. Mr. Bullington noted that there had been 308 responses to the survey so far and that there was a lot a data to work with. Mr. Mueller mentioned that he had experienced trouble when completing the survey and had heard anecdotal comments from others who had also experienced issues. Mr. Bullington explained that he had changed the settings on the survey and that 100 additional surveys had been completed since the previous meeting. Mr. Bullington noted that the survey could not be taken multiple times from the same computer. Mr. Mueller agreed and noted that he was unable to take the survey multiple times. Mr. Howard finished old business by informing the board of the additional general public input meeting on October 25 at 6pm. Mr. Dickey added that trails probably needed its own table based on the number of comments received. Mr. Howard reported that he, Mr. Clements, Mr. Bullington, Mr. Dickey and, potentially, Ms. Clevenger would be present at the session to facilitate. Mr. Dickey explained that there would be 5-6 tables set up and that Jody Dickey would also attend to assist with the facilitation. Mr. Howard thanked the Board members that were willing to help and added that after November 3rd the Board would have a clearer picture of the Master Plan and hoped to have the first draft complete prior to the holidays. Citizen Advisory Committee Updates Land Resources-Mr. Howard had no update, but committee members were encouraged to attend stakeholder meetings. Communications- Mr. Mueller had no update Finance- Mr. Clements had no update, but noted that a copy of the BCSWD grant was available for Boar Members to look over. Recreation-Mr. Bullington had no update Facilities- Ms. Clevenger was not present. Claims Mr. Clements made a motion to approve the claims, Mr. Mueller seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned with a motion by Mr. Bullington and a second by Mr. Clements The next regular Park Board meeting is scheduled from November 14, 2012 at 7pm. ______________________________ ____________________________ Steve Bullington, Secretary Phil Howard, President