HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 06 PRB MinutesWUP Parks and Recreation Board
MINUTES JUNE 6, 2018 6:30 PM REC CENTER – CONFERENCE ROOM
TYPE OF
MEETING Monthly Meeting
CHAIR Peter Billipp
SECRETARY Nina Pilson (via Jeremy Veld/Susan White )
ATTENDEES
Members: Brett Bingham, Stephen Damiani , Maryann Grahmann, Spyros
Maragos , Mary McCulloch , and Mark Prescott
Staff: Susan White and Jeremy Veld
Council: Kellye Burke
VISITORS A lida D r ew es and Dick Yehle
I. Call to Order : T he mee ting was called to order at 6:3 2 pm by Peter Billipp .
II. Approval of May 2, 2018 Meeting Minutes : Motion to approve the m in utes was made by
Brett Bingham with a second from Stephen Damiani . Motion passed unanimously.
III. Citizen Comments : Comments by Alida Drewes . Expressed concerns that m oney wasted
in this community is ridiculous and t oo many thousands of dollars are spent of a park that is
a lot full of grass. Money needs to be spent more wisely by leadership, and she is thankful
that there are term limits.
Council Update: Council M ember Kellye Burke. Council M ember Burke reviewed recent
issues with the AT&T building and zoning process. Currently AT&T has four lots that are
zoned for single -family and AT&T has applied for a zoning change to change the
classification.
IV. Staff Update: S usan White
1. Staffing Update – Colonial Park Pool is officially open seven days a week. Staffing has
improved. There have been a handful of complaints about the safety breaks. Staff
needs to work on educating everyone when the safety breaks occur. It was also brought
to our attention that there was a dress code issue. These i ssues will be addressed on a
case by case basis .
2. Hughes Park – On May 14 , Council approved the site plan for JEH Park , which
include d the shade structure at the corner of Sewanee and Pittsburg. Invitations for the
groundbreaking ceremony on June 13 were sent out. Construction is scheduled to begin
on the 18 th and scheduled to be completed, weather perm itting, by the end of September with a ribbon cutting around mid -October.
3. Subcommittee updates:
Programming - P roviding feedback, most recently on selections for the Dive -In Movies,
Wall -E, Cars 3, and Despicable Me. They also have been providing the feedback on the
Outdoor Event Series and the Ice Crea m Social. They’ll be working this summer
providing their input via email on other events and working with Brittany on the
comprehensive assessment of our programming, which is another Council goal.
Recycling: M eeting with the recycling board chair and representative from Tri -Sports
on June 11. One of the Council’s goals is for Tri -Sports to improve recycling efforts.
The recycling committee has been working with Tri -Sports to accomplish this goal . An
Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 2
HGAC grant was received for the purchase of new cans on the ball fields, and the
PARD goal is to goal is to utilize a similar system for a consistent look and feel within
our parks to increase recycling efforts.
4. Misc Updates – Wier Park; Ten of the black playgro und boarders that hold the safety
surface in place are scheduled to be replaced. Staff is looking into repairing the seam
on the artificial turf. Currently the manufacturer d oes not hav e an installer in the area.
There is no safety concern with the turf , just an aesthetics issue.
Party on the Patio – The first Party on the Patio Concert is set to kick off this Friday.
The featured band will be Dee Dee and Mike and the Moondance Band. Dee Dee is a
West U resident. The Friends of West U Parks ob tained the sponsor Jones Day for this
event.
5. Non -Resident Class Fee Structure – N ot part of the fee schedule. The programming
committee will be reviewing the non -resident fee “add on” pricing structure. N on -
resident participation is necessary to be abl e to hold a majority of the classes offered ,
retain quality instructors, and support new programming. Susan mentioned that as
contracts have come up for renewal, we have added that all of the non -resident portion
goes directly to the city and not part of the percentage that is split with the co ntractor .
Susan cautioned we want to avoid optics of price gouging by upping certain NR class
fees just because we know there popular classes. Stephen asked if we have evidence of
that we would have NR drop outs. Brittany is preparing the comprehensive class list
for the programming committee’s review, and updates will be available in the near
future.
V. Fee Committee : The fees recommended by the fee subcommittee were approved by the
Parks Board at the May 2018 meeti ng. The fees were also presented to the Friends Board
and Senior Board at their May meetings, and the information was distributed via email to
all Board members for review and for feedback by those unable to attend the meetings.
Staff received feedback from 3 individuals after the Senior Board meeting, which was
shared with the fee subcommittee . The fee subcommittee reconvened to review concerns.
Jeremy Veld reviewed the concerns which were related to t he senior waiver, transparency ,
cost recovery goals, difference between senior complimentary ages at Colonial Pool and
Rec Center, and West U Baptist Church’s use of the Community Building.
The committee felt it was important to keep the waiver as it c urrently is, a no questions
asked waiver, and agreed that it shouldn’t be classified as a hardship waiver to avoid any
undo embarrassment. I f you’re a senior and you want the waiver, just because you feel as a
senior you deserve it , and then with “no quest ions asked ” they would receive the waiver .
With the cost recovery we first wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that when we
are talking about the ~ 70% cost recovery we are just talking about the Rec Center and
Colonial Park Pool operations, not t he entire Parks division. The committee also suggested
improved marketing so people have a better understanding about the increases and the
advantages for having lifeguards around the clock - open s more hours for families and kids
to swim. Regarding the transparency issue , everyone was in agreement that efforts for
transparency have bee n on the forefront. The fee committee information has been provided
requesting feedback from the Parks, Friends and Seniors boards. The reasoning for the
complimentary se nior age of 65 at Colonial as opposed to 75 at the Rec Center is that the
majority of complimentary users at C olonial are tak ing their grandkids to the pool, and not
utilizing it themselves. Whereas at the Rec Center , there are more opportunities for seni ors
to participate from the fitness pool, weight room, and racquetball courts. Lastly, the fee
committee stated that the agreement with the Baptist Church is no t part of their purview.
Individuals concerned with the Memorandum of Understanding agreement between the City
and church should issues and they can bring this up with City Council when the time comes
annually .
Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 3
Jeremy also proposed the question to weigh in if they felt the fees are too high. The
committee didn’t think the prices were too high since when you look at taking your family
to Splashtown or the movies you’re going to pay a lot and with our membership s you’re
getting a lot more out of it than a onetime use.
The fee subcommittee was thanked for all of their efforts and the Parks and Recreation
Board did not make any changes to the original fee recommendation s for approval.
VI. Friends Updates: Friends Board Chair, Mark Prescott : Mark highlight ed the Friends
spon sorship with Jones Day for the Party on the Patio Concert Series and appreciation for
their involvement. At the last Friends Board meeting , there was recognition of the Park
Lovers’ Ball chairs and we voted on and approved funding for Hughes Park.
VII. P ark Ambassador Reports and Advisory Remarks :
Mary McCulloch mentioned that the Colonial Park Pool and how the deck seemed slippery
and dirty in areas. Brett observed fire ants in the toddler section at Whitt Johnson Park.
Susan will have staff address both issues.
Peter a sked how the concessionaire was doing at Colonial Park Pool and Susan reported
that they have been well -received.
All other pa rks were good/no reports.
VIII. Order of Business : Chair Peter Billipp
New Business: None
IX. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 7:47 pm