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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRBMINUTES010709WUP Parks and Recreation Board _u _1 I 4'`°3 JANUARY 7, 2009 6:30PM CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM TY IT' E 0F Monthly Meeting r.. I-FETING CfIAIR Russ Schulze NOTE TAKER Mardi Turner Russ Schulze, Janine Schueppert, Mardi Turner, Tim O'Connor, Brian Fiegel, ATTENDEES Charles May (by teleconference), Helen Talianchich, Dave Agerton, Robert Schultz Michael Ross, Jeff Garber (PGAL), Phat Nguyen (PGAL), Teresa Edmondson, VISITOP.S Jaou Huang, Linda Driskill, Frank Griffin, Marco Rasi, Chuck Guffey (Council), Scott Hamrick, S. R. McDonald, Bob Fry (Council), Dianne Wells, Ramsay Elder, Janet Parisi I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:32 pm by Chairman Russ Schulze. II. Citizen Comments Linda Driskill: Recommends that the pool not be put on the south (Bellaire Blvd) side of the property due to safety, health and privacy concerns. Teresa Edmondson: Agreed with Linda's recommendation. Frank Griffin: Suggested that the pool be as far from Bellaire Blvd as possible. Marco Rasi: Agreed with all of the previous comments. Jaou Huang: Indicated that there is an exponential reduction in C02 the farther away from the street you get. Scott Hamrick: Agreed with the others regarding health issues, ambience, and aesthetics. Janet Parisi: Agreed that the pool should be at the north end of the lot and said that people are drawn to Colonial Park pool because of the aesthetics and that we should try to emulate that environment. IV. Conceptual Plans Jeff Gerber presented several sets of layouts for the property, beginning with the baseball fields, the batting cages, and parking. The site has now been officially surveyed and is somewhat smaller that was originally thought. This forces us to place the ball fields at diagonals to one another. Jeff then presented a new layout option with the building and the pool at the north end of the property. This placement has the joint benefits of maximizing the area available for parking and placing the pool as far away from Bellaire as possible. The batting cages will be placed at the southwest corner. Dave asked whether the ball fields need to be the same size. Tim has been working with TriSports on this aspect. There appears to be some flexibility on the field size. The field area is also not quite large enough for a full length soccer field. Tim indicated that the neighbors on Ruskin would prefer everything to be as far south as possible. Helen then suggested that we offer to provide a buffer zone of trees on the property line. Jeff also said that the building could be designed to eliminate clear windows on the back side facing the neighbors and that the lighting for the building and the parking lot can be directed to minimize the impact on the neighbors. Janine said that she would like to get feedback from the neighbors on Ruskin regarding this change of plan. Brian asked what the timeline is for a response from City Council regarding the purchase of the two Westpoint properties. Michael indicated that Council will consider the matter next week and that he is asking for a commitment that the lots will ultimately be part of the site so that we can plan in that direction, even if they do not immediately proceed with the purchases. Janine asked if TriSports was willing to have one regulation field (200 feet) and one practice field (180 feet). She also requested that the new layout options be put up on the city website since they are radically different than what was presented prior to the bond election. Russ moved that we recommend the following to City Council: 1) The batting cages will be located in the southwest corner 2) The ball fields will be oriented with home plates at the northwest and southeast corners on the west section of the property. 3) The pool will be as far away from Bellaire as possible. 4) The two Westpoint lots should be purchased and included in the site. Dave suggested that we allow the affected residents a chance to provide feedback and perhaps to meet with us and PGAL. Mac McDonald expressed concern about adequate room for spectators at swim meets. Michael Ross reported that Tellepsen has been selected as the development contractor. They will proceed to a guaranteed price of $13.8 million. He also said that asbestos and lead abatement in the existing Rec Center building should be completed by the end of this month. Council has passed a reimbursement resolution so that staff can pay bills in advance of the bond issue, which is anticipated for March. III. Minutes: The minutes of the December 3 meeting were approved as written. V. Friends Board Report: The Friends Board report was distributed with the materials for the meeting. VI. Recognition of Lewis Family donation Russ reported that Linda and Phil Lewis would prefer to have their names on a plaque at the new facility as opposed to naming any structure in their honor. VII. Update on Recreational Facility Re-Development Project: (see item IV above) VIII. Colonial Park Winter Operations Tim reported that the new heater is holding the pool temperature at 82-83 degrees and that he considers it a great success. There has been no negative feedback regarding the St Johns swim team's use of the pool for practice. They have paid $5,400 for usage. IX. Huffington Park Renovation Update Helen reported that the interest group has met twice. They agreed that the west side of the park is underutilized and that we should put swings on that side. Janine indicated that some of the palm trees will be removed to open the park up a bit, visually.