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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRBMINUTES060308WUP Parks and Recreation Board M i t~~ JUNE 3, 2008 6:30PM CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM TYRE OF Monthly Meeting MEETING CHAIR Russ Schulze NOTE TAKER Mardi Turner ATTENDEES Russ Schulze, Janine Schueppert, Dave Agerton, Helen Talianchich, Mardi Turner, Tim O'Connor, Brian Fiegel VI~I S Ben Ballanfant, Ramsay Elder, Kathy Wright I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm by Chairman Russ Schulze. II. Citizen Comments: None III. Minutes: Mardi agreed to append an e-mail from Helen containing more details on questions that were raised during the May meeting to the minutes of the meeting. V. Parks Acquisition Subcommittee: No meeting was held this month. Janine inquired about getting letters out to the targeted group of homeowners. Russ said that this effort is on hold right now as we are concentrating on the development project. VI. Park Planning Subcommittee Dave said that he and Russ had had a conversation on whether or not there is a "mission statement" for Colonial Park. Russ cited the 2000 Parks Master Plan which included a citizen preference survey and an inventory and analysis of all of the parks. Because Colonial Park (some portions) were built with state recreation grant funds, the facility must be open to the public, but the Master Plan states that its objectives is to avoid attracting excess traffic to the residential streets. The Colonial Park designs presented in the 2000 PMP are similar to what PGAL has developed for our current effort - designed to serve a variety of users and to accommodate volume during peak seasons. Another objective of that plan was to acquire and develop the YMCA property. Russ explained that the subcommittee has presented our recommendation to City Council and has participated in two subsequent Council meetings and one Council workshop. Some changes have been made to the designs presented at last month's meeting: 1. The diving board and a deep well are back in at Colonial Park 2. An infant/toddler facility has been added to Colonial Park 3. The Rec Center layout has been reconfigured with the pool in the middle and the building on the south, closer to Bellaire Boulevard. 4. The deep well has been removed from the Rec Center design, but there will still be deep water within the pool. 5. We are revisiting the track encircling the playing fields. 6. A playground has been added at the Rec Center, to the west of the pool. Helen asked if the building could be moved close to Holcombe/Bellaire. Russ indicated that that change has already been made. Helen said that an earlier plan had two pools at Colonial Park, but that parking was an issue with that plan. If the pool is only for residents, how much parking is needed? Tim said that there are 103 parking spaces at Colonial Park and that no parking study has been undertaken. Helen also raised the issue of under-utilization. Has anyone done a study of parking needs? Dave reminded us that we cannot exclude non-residents because state funds were used to build Colonial Park. Janine said that may change if the rebuild is done with just city funds. Russ also said that there is lots of traffic at the east end of Colonial Park that wasn't there before, and that there is significant traffic from swim teams and swim lessons. Tim said that the teams have a 6 week season in May - June, and that there are three swim meets. Brian asked if there is still going to be a playground at the Rec Center? Tim said yes, and it will be shaded or covered. Tim is going to check with Texas Parks and Wildlife for details on the funding for Colonial Park. It may just pertain to the building and the playground. Janine said that there have been about 200 response e-mails and postings to myparks.com. About 80% are in favor of the current proposal and 20% are opposed. We have also been getting some feedback on the new Bellaire facility. Mardi asked if we could have a temporary swim fence at the west end of Colonial Park so that the park section can be open when the pool is closed for the season. Dave mentioned that the pool users he has spoken with want to be assured that there will be continuity of service, i.e. that there will be some place to swim during the construction period. Russ responded that the recommendation is to build the Rec Center pool first, but Council ultimately has to make the decisions on timing. VII. Staff Reports Tim submitted the April/May department update via e-mail on June 2, 2008. Janine asked if the climbing sphere was going to be included in the Weir Park redevelopment. Tim said yes and that Brian's family might make a donation for "monkey bars" (in current parlance: overhead climbers). Tim reviewed a handout covering winter month options for Colonial Park. Helen asked what temperature is preferred by the lap swimmers. Tim: 80 - 82 degrees Dave: Some like it warmer. Helen asked if we could lower the temperature to save money. Tim: 86 degrees is pretty warm, but is needed for some who are swimming for therapy Dave had several points regarding winter use: We can repeat what we did in 2007-2008 - keep the pool heated and open. We could look buy a pool blanket. The swimmers could buy wet suits. We could increase fees for use in the winter to defray costs. We could dose the pool in the coldest weeks. We could reduce pool hours in the coldest months. Tim pointed out that 20 to 25% of the lap swimmers are non-residents who are paying higher fees anyway. Russ requested that this item be put on the agenda for the July meeting for further discussion and a recommendation from the board. VIII. Board Reports Weir Park Brian asked when trash cans are emptied. Tim's response: Monday - Friday. Brian said that the trash gets pretty bad on weekends at Weir and Colonial Parks. Tim said that the pool staff is responsible for emptying trash twice a day at Colonial and that he could see about adding more trash receptacles at Weir. Helen said that the weekend that we worked at Whitt Johnson, the trash was pretty bad. I suggested that our group (scout project) was probably responsible. Helen asked if Public Works could pick up the trash on weekends. Tim didn't think that was possible, but said he would check. Brian told Tim that the wind screen around the tennis court is coming loose. Colonial Park Dave asked about the chiller system and indicated that seven of 20 nozzles are missing. Tim said that the system is functional, but he will follow up. Dave inquired about the availability of funds to cover unforeseen maintenance items. Tim said that funds are generally available. Dave reported that the ladders in the deep end of the pool are broken: the one on the west side has been removed and the one on the east side is "taped" off. Helen asked what the protocol was for situations like this. Dave indicated that it had just happened and that he had not checked with Brittany on the status. IV. Friends Board Report Joni reported that John Lamond has donated $1000 in funds remaining from his scout project to Friends. The Friends have two new board members, Elizabeth Karkowsky and Stephanie Roman. Debra Connally is being proposed as well. The letter for Fathers and Flashlights is in progress. She asked that we encourage hotels, restaurants, etc that we patronize to make donations for Park Lovers Ball. Brian wanted to know how should be contacted by a friend who wants to donate a paver for Whitt Johnson Park. IX. New Business/Discussion Russ reviewed the Council workshop that was held on Wednesday. Dave wants to know if we can incorporate solar power into the design for the new buildings. Tim said that that kind of detail will be dealt with later in the planning and design process. Janine said that we do want LEED certification for both buildings. Dave suggested that we should be focusing on selling not just the bond issue but also the concept of "wellness". Tim indicated that "wellness" has been incorporated into the Parks and Recreation programs, especially those for seniors. Helen: If you have a good plan, do you need to sell it? Janine: We need to inform the public. Russ: We need to build awareness of programs. Tim: The program base is already huge, and in need of both space and equipment. Dave: Maybe we could bring someone with physical therapy expertise into the design process. Tim: The architect is responsible for ADA compliance in the design. Ben Ballanfant: There are very low cost loans available for solar panels on city properties. And you can sell the excess power. Tim: We are working with Centerpoint on some energy programs. He will send out the information. X. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm. The next meeting will be on July 9, 2008. Helen's 3 June 2008 email Hi Mardi Re Questions • In the previous plan it was determined most efficient and cost effective to have 2 pools in the same location. What was the thought process that changed this? Response - underutilization of rec center and parking • How much parking is currently available at the Rec Center and Colonial Park? Response - available parking 103 @ Colonial Park, 96 @ Rec center. By the way you could increase parking substantially at Colonial by having additional pull in parking without impacting any green space. • What % of voters wanted a reconstructed Rec Center? - 28.3% Whereas 36.7% wanted it renovated "as is" and 25.3% wanted the structure removed. Only 19.3% wanted any type of indoor pool. According to PGAL the survey was valid • What % of voters wanted to spend $100 or less? 71.8% • According to Walter Thomas, city only ever uses 20 year bonds, thus 15 mill borrowed would increase taxes to $173/year That's all i can think of for now. Thanks Mardi Helen T