HomeMy WebLinkAbout18 12 PRB minutesWUP Parks and Recreation Board
MINUTES DECEMBER 6 , 2018 6:30 PM REC CENTER – CONFERENCE ROOM
TYPE OF
MEETING Monthly Meeting
CHAIR Peter Billipp
SECRETARY Nina Pilson
ATTENDEES
Members : Maryann Grahmann , Mary McCulloch , Jef f rey Chen, Nina Pilson ,
Sami Morrison, Scooter Lerner, Maryann Grahmann , Tracy Larson , Stephen
Damiani, Spyros Maragos,
Staff: Susan White
VISITORS Alida Drewes. Council Member Kelly e Burke
I. Call to Order : T he mee ting was called to order at 6:3 4 pm by Peter Billipp .
II. Approval of November 7 2018 Meeting Minutes : Minutes approval deferred pending
finalization.
III. Citizen Comments : Alida Drewes: The minutes do not include anything that was said in
last meeting . The Christ mas party was a disaster and a scooter was stolen . The police were
more worried about me than the citizens and the security of our cars and houses.
IV. Council Update: Kelly e Burke present. The big focus of Council is the executive search of
City Manager. Approving budget items and hiri ng/firing Cit y Manager. Chris Peif er
(Susan’s boss) is retiring in January. This process can be tedious. It’s a national search with
challenges because we are residential (not a commercial focus). We have w hittled it down
to 6 candidates. West U Council is on 2 yr term s and turn over all at the same time… most
other councils have an overlap. It’s a unique opportunity to hire this person and a big aspect
of the job. Peter asked if Chris could extend his time during this search. Kelly explained
that there were 3 options: Dave is our interim manager and becomes full time, Dave is our
interim manager, and the 3 rd is a hiring an interim manager until finalized. Scoo ter asked
why the search takes so long and Kelly explained why it took so long (several retirements
and delays).
V. Staff Update: Susan White
1. Social Media Request – Dog Park (historical review): Mardi asked Susan to discuss the
issue since there was a r ecent NextDoor post about the desire for a dog park. In 1999 and
2005, task force s were appointed and there was a search for a dog park site. The 1995
recommendation was off S outh Braeswood at the Waste Water Management building site.
This site was deemed not appropriate due to the odor s , high traffic location (not safe for
escaping dogs), and lack of proximity for residents . IN 2005, the recommenda tion was to
utilize the lot off Community at the West U Rec C en ter , but the neighbors were against it,
as no one wanted this in their backyard. This continues to be a cyclical conversation…
Former Council Member Danny Jackson was friends with Commissioner Rad ack , who
created the Danny Jackson Family Bark Park. There are a lot of maintenance expenses
involv ed with a dog park, such as sanitary issues, maintenance crew, etc. Kelly e pointed
out the challenges of creating a people park (JEH) and then making one for dogs. It ’s
highly unlikely that a dog park will happen in West U.
Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 2
2 . 2019 Fees – The Winter guide arrived with the newly approved fees. The blended
membership holders are being notified that this will no longer be an option .,. In 2018, there
were no increases for seniors , as there was not appropriate time for review.
3.Front des k remodel. Susan shared the rendering of the new desk which will wrap around
closer to the main entrance. Dave Beach (Director of Public Works ) worked with a
contractor and got a quote of $120,000A fter presenting to the Friends Board , staff has been
asked to obtain additional estimates . Sp y ros mentioned a check to ensure there was an exit
plan with F ire D ep artmen t due to change in front desk placement. Sami asked if other ideas
have been considered along with renovation such as access cards, turnstiles, etc. Susan
stated that Friends made a $1 million donation to Recreation Center initially , and that she
should have rough budgets by January. Jeff also asked about having a specified “Check In”
area sign to help clarify where peop le need to go?
The Chris tmas tree lighting event went off well. It was our 30 th year anniversary and had
just one minor issue (Santa was a little late) due to traffic issues , which will be fixed next
year.
VI. Parks Redevelopment Plan Discussion: Updates to The Park s Master Plan include a new
order for redevelopment with Hughes Parks added and Colonial East and West specified,
along with the removal of dates. The d ay before Thanksgiving , some board members
toured four parks (Whitt Johnson, Coloni al East, Huffington, and Judson) to evaluate the
highest priorities so Susan and Brooks can get vendor quotes started. Brooks Smith (Parks
Maintenance M anager ) is focused on checking the size for areas before select ing specific
play equipment , then he wil l get quotes. Steve asked if we can pick/design an obstacle
course? It was mentioned that the cost of replacing the mulch at Colonial Park would be
very high due to the large footprint, so it is unlikely this will occur.
VII. Friends Update: Chair Sami Morrison: She is w aiting on numbers for the new desk
renovation so she can present to Friends Board to vote on that project. The Park Lovers
Ball is well underway with many great auction items this year. Susan mentioned that the
donations in honor of DeDe Bertron’s parents (Will Bertron is a former chair of the Parks
and Recreation Board) will allow for the replacement of the Colonial Park spring toys as
well as a new bench.
VIII. Park Ambassador Reports & Advisory Remarks :
No issues reported
• Colonial Park East (Jeffrey)
• Colonial Park West (Maryann)
• Colonial Park Pool (Mary)
• Friends Pocket Park (Spyros)
• Huffington Park (Scooter)
• Judson Park (Nina)
• Recreation Center Playground (Steve)
• Whitt Johnson (Brett)
• Wier Park (Mark)
IX. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 7:4 6
Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 3