Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation

Summary Minutes of the Meeting of the Zionsville Park and Recreation Board January 8, 2014 The Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation met Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 7:15 PM. Phil Howard, Steve Bullington, Manda Clevenger, and Dot Hitchins were present. Also present were Matt Dickey, Superintendent and Roger Burrus, Park Board Attorney. Beginning of Year Actions Election of President. Phil Howard made a motion to nominate Steve Bullington as President. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Election of Vice President. Phil Howard made a motion to nominate Dorothy Hitchins as Vice President. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Election of Secretary. Phil Howard nominated Manda Clevenger as Secretary. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Park Board Attorney. Mr. Roger Burrus distributed a standard retainer agreement. He noted it is the same as last year. Phil Howard made a motion to accept the retainer with the board president to sign. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Confirm regular meeting schedule. Phil Howard made a motion to confirm the second Wednesday of each month as the regular park board meeting. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Minutes Phil Howard made a motion to approve the December 11, 2013 minutes as presented. Dot Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Public Comments/Presentations Mr. Mark DeBruler with the Town’s engineering firm spoke regarding a proposed sewer route that could affect some park sites. It has long been on the Town’s sewer plan to use the Rail-Trail Corridor as a route for the sanitary sewer facilities. In the previous month’s presentation, the Park Board was told by the Sanitation Department personnel that the sewer main would pass under Starkey Road. Now that has changed, and according to Mr. DeBruler, the ~18”-dia pipe is being proposed to breach out of the ground and travel alongside the trail for quite a distance as it crosses Starkey Road. Phil Howard asked why the change was routing under Starkey Road as opposed to along the bridge. Mr. DeBruler noted that construction for the sanitary project is easier if the existing force main under Starkey Road is avoided, also this under the road would add an air check valve taking the nearby number form one valve to two. So the proposed route for the new sewer line would now cross Starkey Park bridge. The bridge is 35’ wide and the path is offset to the east. Pipe will be freestanding on west side of bridge – and self-supporting above the ground, clearly visible to trail users. Steve Bullington asked if the pipe could 1 be covered with a mound to alleviate vandalism. Given how high the pipe will likely be above the actual deck – 2-3 feet, mounding would probably not be practical. It was noted this will be quite a visual impact to park uses into the future, perhaps even if a new bridge is later constructed and certainly until that point. It will also make the eventual replacement of the Starkey Road Pedestrian Crossing more difficult and costly. Next, Mr. Mike Maguire, Zionsville Golf Course Manager, was present to give an annual update. Mr. Maguire shared that the season started poorly. He noted the course was unable to open until March 23rd due to weather. Course was up and running well until the flood. The flood event caused 2 weeks with no play, but everyone worked hard to get the course back in shape. Overall the course was closed about 60 days due to weather and that had a big impact on total revenues. Mr. Maguire estimated a $40,000 deficit plus expenses for flood repair. He thanked golf course, park department, and fire department personnel for all their work on getting the carts back in shape. For last year, the course was open and playable for 165 consecutive days and provided very good gross revenue figures for the days it could be open. Also good league play. In addition, our course hosted various youth tournaments in 2013 – and we are planning to do so again in 2014. Mr. Maguire stated he is trying to develop even more junior golf play for 2014. Regarding the possibility of off-season, non-golf use of the course, Mr. Maguire also stated it might be a good idea to place markers for the occasional cross county skier so they don’t get on the greens. Board members and staff thanked Mr. Maguire for his work and dedication to Zionsville golf over his many years of service. Phil Tevis and Chris Tomsic from FlatLand Resources began their presentation with a brief history of land resources in the state from pre-settlement time. He continued with specific background of the Eagle Creek watershed study he recently conducted regarding land uses and their effect on water and soil resources. Chris then spoke specifically about Starkey Park and how Eagle Creek channel had prior to Park ownership been channelized and straightened at some time in the past. This has caused the water to move through that stretch too quickly and without enough dissipation of energy. As the stream strives to return to a more natural state, it has migrated over time and is now impacting park trails. Chris noted the park is losing close to 300 tons of sediment annually through erosion at just this one 500-foot+ arc of bank (of the 4 sections of bank studied). All told, along the 4 sections of the west bank that were studied in Starkey Park, there is close to 892 tons/year lost (or about 45 dump truck loads). One consideration is to relocate the trail, which would not address the stream bank loss, sedimentation, and overall health of the water resource. Another potential is to install a concrete channel or riprap, which is least costly on a materials basis but would have a very limited lifespan and would be very artificial looking (the most extreme familiar example might be the Los Angeles River). 2 The Staff from FlatLand Resources went over some of their specific numbers in their preliminary findings. Since these will be included in their final report in March, and in more depth and more accuracy, the preliminary numbers are not reproduced here. Dorothy Hitchins asked if the ripples need regular maintenance. Chris answered yes, but it is mainly keeping stream water flowing by removing large debris piles (not individual chunks of debris). The J-hooks themselves do not. Mr. Dickey followed the FlatLand presentation by speaking about the LARE grant potentials. He explained some of the technicalities regarding grant caps and contingency funds. Matt asked the Board to consider Site A vs. Site C in regards to cost and access. Site C might offer the best cost/benefit ratio when comparing to the total individual LARE grant caps and potential and factoring in the current impact on the park’s recreation infrastructure. Site D&B could be combined into a single application, perhaps in 2015 if the 2014 application is successful. Similarly, if the other sites are already grant-funded, Site A could be submitted starting in 2016, perhaps in 2 separate applications so with the second half in 2017’s grant cycle. In general the Board had consensus with this approach as it maximized the potential to leverage budgetary assistance from outside Zionsville’s coffers to help mitigate this ongoing problem. The Board was generally pleased with the Park Staff’s initiative in identifying resources that may help address these issues and in getting the original $32,000 LARE grant that is completing the individual study and designing the construction work for each of the 4 repair areas. FlatLands noted permitting may be done for more than one reach at a time. A few citizens were in the audience most notably Todd Settle and Chuck Brinkman who both gave their supporting input for the Park Staff’s and FlatLand’s efforts. Chuck Brinkman, asked if FlatLands or the park board had talked with the water company. He feels they would be interested in keeping this sediment out of Eagle Creek Park and reservoir. Mr. Dickey commented that another viewpoint might be that if the company was concerned enough about it to spend money at the source, the water company has had decades in which something could have been done before now, but will make some calls to try and determine their interest level. Mr. Howard asked if parks fixes their side but property owners on the other side do nothing, will there still be diminished movement of sediment. Chris answered that, yes, the amount of reduction of sediment loading from our stream bank’s previous contribution(s) would still be just as large and beneficial, and inaction on the other side would not lessen our benefits. Chris elaborated that nothing the Park Department would do on their side of the stream would exacerbate (or mitigate for that matter) the stream bank mechanics that are going on (and will continue) along the eastern banks. If that landowner wanted to participate, it would require several more tens of thousands, if not well over a $100,000 for them to fund their side. Phil Howard made a motion to apply for a LARE grant for Site C. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. 3 Staff Reports The reports from the Superintendent of Parks & Recreation and the Assistant Superintendent for Maintenance Services were all part of the Park Board packet and available for review and questions. The Interpretive Naturalist’s December report was not submitted for the board packet this month. Mr. Dickey began his report by informing the Board that staff has been keeping up with snow removal and keeping an eye on potential flooding on the course. Mr. Roger Burrus noted he has been spending time being deposed on an old court case involving Lion’s Park and the YMCA. He was originally, in the first round years ago, more involved because he was an attorney with the Lions Club at that time (and a Lion). Depending on how this gets resolved, this may have some park implications Mr. Burrus asked board members if he needed to get them any more information regarding the ZYFL field use agreement. Steve Bullington mentioned he thought the Board had not yet seen the corrected version with the Board’s and Roger’s notes all accounted for in the document. Mr. Burrus related he would get that right out. Mr. Dickey asked Mr. Burrus if the Park Board/Department should have yet heard something regarding the FOIA request that the Town fulfilled back in the previous autumn. Mr. Burrus noted the citizens involved have up to 2 years to make a decision regarding their next approach. Mr. Bullington asked about the hole in Canterbury Stables. Mr. Burrus has followed up with the developer. Roger Burrus related there is another developer who might be looking at using part of Canterbury’s area for provision of fill. It was also mentioned that project is unlikely to move forward at the currently requested density so this project’s future is uncertain. The hole might remain unfixed for the near future. New Business It was mentioned the “Thrive” & “Get Back on your Bike” discussion would be brought up under the Recreation Committee’s section following soon. Old Business None identified Citizen Advisory Committee Reports Land Resources – Phil Howard. No report. Finance/ Funding – Dorothy Hitchins. No report. Communications –No Chair. No report. Recreation –Steve Bullington. No committee report. Mr. Howard spoke regarding a potential for the recreation committee to consider. It is a Get Back on Your Bike Program. It is a six-week 150-mile challenge that had used one of the Town’s trails for one of their fitness rides. Phil participated in this ride and met Mr. Carl Bruhn, who is heading up the program. To run a similar program for Zionsville, the cost would be about $1,800 (or $365 for each sponsor). This would be an opportunity to tie into the Park’s 4 Bike Rodeo. Phil Howard made a motion to support the Get Back on Your Bike Program for an amount up to $1,825. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Matt also made a request for Park Board support of Zion Nature Center’s typical request for $1,000 for speaker fees. While the Center had not yet made the yearly request, and the Naturalist was unable to make the recent Park Staff meeting to confirm; it is likely that they would want the funds again this year. The request needs to be made yearly since the State can reduce our budget in any particular year and this is typically not know until January of that year or later (and in some years on particular programs, the Friends of Zion Nature Center has declined the Board’s fiscal assistance). Phil Howard made a motion supporting up to $1,000 in speaker fees should it be requested. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Facilities– Manda Clevenger. No report. Other Board Related Items Manda Clevenger made a motion to appoint Phil Howard as the representative to the Pathways Committee. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Claims Phil Howard made a motion to approve the claims. Manda Clevenger seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was then adjourned with a motion made by Dorothy Hitchins and seconded by Manda Clevenger at ~9:15PM The next regular Park Board meeting is scheduled for February 12th at 7PM. ______________________________ ____________________________ Manda Clevenger, Secretary Steve Bullington, President 5