Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation

Summary Minutes of the Meeting of the Zionsville Park and Recreation Board May 14, 2014 The Zionsville Board of Park and Recreation met Wednesday, May 12, 2014 at 7:00 PM. Phil Howard, Steve Bullington, and Dorothy Hitchins were present. Also present were Matt Dickey, Superintendent and Roger Burrus, Park Board Attorney. Minutes Phil Howard made a motion to approve the April 9, 2014 regular board meeting minutes as presented. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Public Comments/Presentations Mssrs. Anthony Canon (Zionsville resident) and Junar Gwinn (Lafayette resident) gave a brief presentation to the Board regarding skate parks. Mr. Gwinn presented a video to board members about area skate parks and their popularity. Mr. Bullington asked a question about layouts of the parks and if bikes were initially considered in the design. Mr. Gwinn replied in the affirmative for the one in Lafayette. Mr. Gwinn wanted to allay fears that the current skate park at Mulberry Fields is too small to accommodate bicycles. Mr. Dickey stated that as it was explained to him from 3 sources present at the time, the original design purposely did not include bike use due to safety concerns expressed by the public during the original design and public input meetings. He noted the original designing consultants indicated there would be a very different skate area in place had bicycles been intended to be included from the start. Mr. Howard noted the size of the skate area is small and adding bicycles at this point might be too difficult. Ms. Hitchins asked if bikes and skateboards could use the skate park at the same time. Mr. Gwinn answered in the affirmative for some of the other parks he has visited and reported there have been no incidents. Mr. Canon stated his desire to ride his bike at the skate park and to be able to join his friends. He noted users are willing to take turns and don’t get in one another’s way. He would like to be able to grow this sport and have others get involved in BMX. Mr. Howard asked if the Board could visit the local parks noted in the presentation. Mr. Bullington inquired about if bikes pose any different liability issues vs. skateboards. Mr. Burrus stated his belief that there is no difference in liability between the two. The question was also raised as to if a change in usage now would cause increased liability because the skate park had not been designed with BMX bicycle usage in mind originally. Further research would be necessary to answer this last concern. 1 Mr. Bullington stated he would visit a couple of the parks (Indy and Noblesville) and make notes for Board members’ information. Mr. Dickey will survey his colleagues for design and policy details. Mr. Bullington invited Mssrs. Cannon and Gwinn to return to next month’s Board meeting. Staff Reports The reports from the Superintendent of Parks & Recreation and the Assistant Superintendent for Maintenance Services were part of the Park Board packet and available for review. Mr. Dickey began his report discussing programs: “Pull for Parks” garlic mustard pulls, tree plantings, ZGreenFest, bike rodeo, and a few outside events utilizing park facilities. Mr. Dickey also reported he has received an inquiry from a gentleman interesting in so- called “pick-up” soccer games. The anticipated schedule would be 2 nights a week for 6 or 7 month season. Matt discussed the potential of forming a league and what would be involved in doing that. Mr. Dickey will keep the Board informed if this progresses. Mr. Bullington thanked Matt for all his extra work time the past 3 months (weekends/evenings) and programming, as he covered the many normal tasks and the increased load due to the rather sudden departure of the naturalist. Mr. Bullington asked about the “new-to-the-parks” lawn mower. Matt stated the mower has fewer hours than expected which was a pleasant surprise. Also because it was a demo-model with only 23 hours, the golf course staff was able to use the cost savings to acquire a long needed utility cart (also a used model) and get two necessary pieces of equipment for the price budgeted this year for the single larger piece. Mr. Burrus began his report by noting he had looked up the state statute on extreme sports liability. Free-style and mountain bicycles are included in that statute. Mr. Burrus continued his report by noting he has done quite a bit of work on the consolidation of Zionsville and Perry Township in regards to park issues. He stated there is an upcoming meeting on the 20th on this topic. He is working to insure important park powers (bonding, grants, etc.) are protected in the new ordinance. New Business Mr. Burrus spoke regarding the Midland Trace trail corridor in Zionsville. Friends of Boone County Trails have accepted ownership of the property, but are unable/unwilling to deal with paying back taxes. Mr. Burrus noted there is some slim danger that someone will acquire the property by paying the back taxes. Mr. Bullington asked if the Parks Board could take title. Mr. Dickey noted that could pose a problem for certain grant moneys that could be used for development. Keeping the title with the non-profit organization would extend the timetable for using the land value as a local match. 2 Mr. Burrus recommended the Board consider paying the back taxes owed. Ms. Hitchins asked if the Parks would be required to maintain those parcels. Mr. Howard gave his thought that the back taxes should be paid and those properties secured, and to take title. Mr. Dickey stated his preference not to take title at present. Mr. Bullington stated his concerns on potential encroachments. Mr. Burrus stated he could draft an agreement with the Friends of Boone County Trails to give the Board the ability to enter the property and to accept title at any time at the Board’s convenience. Phil stated his concern about “corporate memory loss” and the necessity of keeping this issue clear for future Boards. Ms. Hitchins made a motion to allocate funds to pay up to $3,000.00 to the County for back taxes owed on the Midland Trace property, with a recommendation for a long term agreement with Friends of Boone County Trails. Phil Howard seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Old Business Mr. Dickey presented some informational regarding the Quail Run project. Discussion centered on some of the commitments made by Buckingham regarding maintenance of the new trails and connections being built as part of this project. Buckingham is still most interested in making the southernmost link. Mr. Bullington questioned the design details for the trail. Mr. Dickey will confirm that Buckingham will use Zionsville’s construction specifications. Mr. Burrus noted he has been working with the Plan Commission attorney to ensure both entities have their interests protected as much as possible. He noted he has seen a copy of the final version of the commitment document. Matt will continue to monitor this project. Mr. Bullington next spoke about the Recreation grant and a possible contribution to an outdoor classroom and recreation area on Sullivan-Munce property, behind the buildings. There are a few agencies (Rotary, Boy Scouts,), which would partner on this project. Mr. Bullington believes there is approximately $6,900 left in the fund that would be available to use (before this might be awarded). Some Board members voiced questions as to how this grant fit within the Recreation Grant award guidelines and there was considerable discussion on this topic. Phil Howard made a motion to approve the grant request, as submitted, to the Sullivan- Munce program with the contingency that they receive their other expected funding. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dickey distributed information to the Board regarding minor modifications proposed for the Naturalist’s job description. Some changes are only formatting but a few are a bit more significant. One is to work to develop budget and another more clearly management activities. It was noted during discussion by/with the Board members that all of these reflected the way this postion had functioned in the last half decade or more and that it 3 was really a case of updating the old pre-2006 or 2007 document to reflect the way the position primarily functioned. Phil Howard asked about the day-to-day facilities operations/maintenance activities for this position. Once he noted that “Nature Center Manager” was included in the title line, he felt that his concerns on that subject had been addressed. Mr. Howard made a motion to incorporate the suggested changes. Dorothy Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dickey distributed three quotes for HVAC for the nature center, passing on Al Smith and the Staff’s recommendation that the low bidder – Control Tech –receive the award. Ms. Hitchins made a motion to award the project to Control Tech, with a maximum amount of $5,000. Mr. Howard seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Mr. Dickey thanked Al Smith for his work on this item. Mr. Bullington next presented the topic of recognizing Orlin Coleman’s years of service to the golf course. He presented a proposed plaque to be installed near the first tee. Mr. Howard noted the Board approved this same idea last year. Mr. Howard made a motion to fund the recognition sign through the golf course proceeds. Ms. Hitchins seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Citizen Advisory Committee Reports Land Resources – Phil Howard. No report. Phil did report the Pathways Committee got an Honorable Mention by the Bike Friendly Communities, so at least there is positive progress being made. The Walk Friendly submission was unsuccessful. Mr. Howard noted about 1500 kids participated in Bike to School Day. Mr. Howard also reported on the Bike Challenge for this year. There were some insurance questions that needed to be addressed because both the Town and Dow AgroScience are involved. There will also be a waiver process in place for each ride – weekly starting June 4th at 6PM. There will be an additional fun ride beginning at Dow AgroScience. Finance/ Funding – Dorothy Hitchins. No report. Communications –Manda Clevenger. No report. Recreation –Steve Bullington. Covered earlier in the meeting. Facilities–Mr. Bullington noted he is reestablishing this committee and is considering members and hopes to have the first meeting next month at the nature center. Mr. Bullington noted he had included in the Board packets a general article about challenges municipalities are having with workout groups conducting activities in parks. Other Board Related Items None Claims Mr. Howard asked for clarification regarding a state road tax included on the fuel claims. 4 Dorothy Hitchins made a motion to approve the claims as submitted. Phil Howard seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was then adjourned with a motion made by Phil Howard and seconded by Dorothy Hitchins at 9:00PM. The next regular Park Board meeting is scheduled for June 11, 2014 at 7PM. ______________________________ ____________________________ Manda Clevenger, Secretary Steve Bullington, President 5