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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRBMINUTES100400MINUTES WEST UNIVERSITY PARKS & RECREATIONAL BOARD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS OCTOBER 4, 2000 Members Present: Will Bertron Evans Attwell Renelle Cadena Marcela Chennisi John Graf Mike Hood Guests / Others: Linda Gray Linda Lewis Call to order. Meeting was called to order at approximately 7:40 p.m. Approval of Minutes. September 4, 2000 minutes were approved. III. Mayor's Report. a. YMCA. The YMCA is asking $5 million and testing the price on the open market. The City appraisal is $1.9 million. The goal is to keep the negotiating door open. The City's appraisal is based on looking at what a developer would have to spend on improvements to the property (streets, lights, etc.) which makes financial sense. The Mayor agrees that this is a rare opportunity for the city, but you have to put a justifiable dollar amount on that. The Council is exploring different options. b. Edloe Linear. Jim Patterson is working on designs. Approximately $500,000 has been put in the 2001 budget for this project. The bridges are under design by the county. The utility poles will remain above ground, but will be moved at no cost to the City. People are complaining about having to slow down to drive around the "bubble outs." c. Sidewalks. The Mayor is for sidewalks, but said that she voted against the bond election because the taxes are raising in the next few years, and this would raise them more. If the bond election does not pass, the Mayor wants to pursue an idea with Council of the City redoing sidewalks and splitting the cost 50/50 with the homeowner. d. Streetlights. There is a budget item of $200,000 for the next 6 years to replace the streetlights in the City (approximately $1000 each). A sample of the current selection is on display between City Hall and the Police station. It has been the favorite of the Police and the citizens. This will increase visibility for the Police, drivers, and pedestrian at night. These could be used in the parks too. e. Gateways. Jim Patterson presented drawings to Council which were approved for gateways to the City. The are approximately $10,000 each and will be placed at both ends of Buffalo Speedway and at Weslayan & Bissonnet. More are planned in the future. The size can be adjusted in size for use as gateways to the City or as park signs. IV. City Center Meeting Report - Mike Hood. There was a meeting on September 30. They reviewed the School Master Plan, discussed locations of batting cages, and Eldoe Street. The State is giving $860,000 toward the improvement of the City Center. Next summer, work will begin on Eldoe Street to add head-in parking on the west side and "shift" the street slightly to the east to accommodate it. The Wilsons have purchased JMH and are planning to continue to run it as a grocery store. There is discussion of adding a median on University between Edloe and Auden. V. Friends of WU Parks Report - Linda Gray. Linda passed out a "Fact Sheet" about the 2001 Park Lovers Ball. The previous top underwriter level was $7,500. They are reviewing adding $10,000 and $15,000 levels this year. Sponsors could possibly get their name on a WU Park for a year. VI. Bill Hall Memorial Report - Christi Quinn Will reported for Christi that things were moving slowly on the project. VII. Whitt Johnson Sidewalk Project Report - Renelle Cadena Will reported that it was discussed at the Friends meeting to look at replacing the crushed granite area with pavers or something other than the "customized" sidewalk. This is an area of the sidewalk has heavy traffic and needs to be durable and safe to travel on. We will look at doing a customized, decorated sidewalk for a different project. VIII. Crosswalk Committee Report - Evans Attwell. The Committee is reviewing the needs for clearly marked crosswalks in the city. The Police are doing an informal survey. The Committee is also talking to residents. They will gather information and then make a proposal to Council. IX. Chairman's Update. a. Master Plan. The 8 1/2" x 11" version looks better. There will be a copy to review in approximately one week. It will be passed around for review. John Graf offered some assistance in making the Master Plan available in a web format. b. ARF Facility. Karen Guerriero sent a letter to Will with an update. The letter stated that she does not currently have time to pursue the project, but had the people to contact to move forward on the project. Will is going to contact her for another meeting. c. Colonial Park - Grice residence. The property has been purchased and once Mark Mailes is back, they will proceed with tearing down the house. d. Whitt Johnson Tree. The tree that was moved has died. We need to look at replacing it. Mark Mailes and Ness say that is was properly watered and taken care of. e. Colonial Park Tree. A large dying tree was removed from the park. It was not maintained well in the past few years. It was discussed whether we need to hire a tree company to maintain the trees on city property. X. Adjournment. Meeting was adjourned at 9:50 p.m.