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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20 01 PRB minutesMINUTES JANUARY 15, 2020 6:30PM REC CENTER – CONFERENCE ROOM TYPE OF MEETING Monthly Meeting CHAIR Peter Billipp SECRETARY Mary McCulloch ATTENDEES Members Present: Peter Billipp, Will Bertron, Maryann Grahmann, Nina Pilson, Laura Turley, Mary McCulloch, Jeff Chen, Lindsey Swiger, Mardi Turner, Brett Bingham, Sami Morrison Members Absent: Nobody Staff: Susan White Council Liaison: Council member Lankford VISITORS I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm by Peter Billipp. II. Approval of December 4th Meeting Minutes: Laura made a motion to approve with Will seconding the motion. The minutes were approved. III. Citizen Comments: Aleda was present. Once again Aleda feels like she has been ignored about the parks and has a picture of Levi park’s dog park to show what a wonderful place it is for dogs. She believes dogs need to run and socialize and not be isolated. It is a simple design that takes up very little space. Friends park is about the same size and no one is there most of the time. The tax payers are paying for it and no one can use it. Aleda discussed the bathrooms, piano and children’s play space at Levi park. Why should the tax payers pay for crummy parks that are locked down, she asked. She described the tree lighting celebration saying it is ridiculous that the police were called regarding her being there on her way to the library. IV. Friends Update: Sami Morrison The auction is further ahead than typically at this point in time. The chairs are doing a fantastic job. There is still time to get in on a special room rate at the Hilton if you can stay for the evening. Father’s and Flashlights will be November 7th and 8th in 2020. Planning is already underway with 2 camels committed! V. Council Update: Lankford, Councilmember First meeting in the new year focused on improving the audio and some video components of the council room and adjoining room. Looking to scale down the initial presentation provided for this. Another big goal is on improving communications. VI. Parks & Rec Update: Susan White Appreciates the focus group participation earlier tonight. Exciting news – our parks and rec department is being awarded the state-wide gold medal reward. It will be presented in Galveston in February. 1) Whitt Johnson park – Wonderful feedback on the revisions to this park. The Gaga Ball court is especially well received. Friends had approved up to $160,000 and the project came in at just $149,000. 2) Numerous focus groups are being conducted with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, reaching out to a range of groups in the community. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 2 3) Judson Park – some minor vandalism at this park that we are hoping was an accident. 4) Colonial Park East – a new fabrication to fix the gate is in progress. 5) Colonial Park Pool – work is underway on replastering the pool and installing the slide supports. VII. Park Ambassador Assignments: • Colonial Park East (Will) • Colonial Park West (Nina) • Colonial Park Pool (Mary) • Friends Pocket Park (Sami) • Huffington Park (Maryann) • JEH Park (Laura) • Judson Park (Jeff) • Recreation Center Playground (Mardi) • Whitt Johnson (Brett) • Wier Park (Lindsey) No issues reported. VIII. FY 2020 Colonial Potential Park Improvements People want the sand and a seesaw. Musical equipment didn’t get attention either way. Update the play panels on the 2-5 structure. Also looking at a facelift for the older kid structure. Sami was concerned with the horn part of the music structure due to sanitary issues from kids putting their mouth on it. Nina said the music structure is in a location that gets run over a bit. Mary said the music piece is too tall for the target age group. Imaginative play areas have been suggested and designed to replace current wood features. A variety of seesaw options are being reviewed. Sand area does not need to be the same full space that it is currently. Having buried fossils in the sand might be a fun thing to include with an old-style digger. Maryann raised a concern about possibility of tripping on the fossils. Brooks explained it would be placed deep and in a low traffic area. Keeping sand at a desirable level would be included in park maintenance. Mixed feedback for the 5-12 year old section. Both Zip Krooz and Fit Core Extreme could fit in the existing area of the fence line. $65k for 2 ziplines installed but without the shade cover. (2019 pricing) Over $50,000 to add the shade cover. A diagonal line would need to be added for both items to fit. Laura expressed concern that it would feel a little crowded. Lindsay brought up potential safety issues. Multiple fitness course providers are available and being reviewed. This includes the option of a 13+ fitness course. A video was shown for this 13+ option that featured adults using it. Some concerns about a crowd outside of the neighborhood being drawn to this vs local users. The decision at hand is about: do we want to see options for both the zip and fitness structures or just one? Sami asked if we can do more fitness features if we eliminate the zip and Lindsay discussed finding a balance with enough for our community but not too many features that would draw in outside groups that crowd the new attractions. Peter talked about getting a tentative budget together for all of the functions (including ground type, maintenance, etc.). Sami suggested we eliminate the idea of the zip krooz and focus on the fitness (estimated at $145,000 with turf and installation) and a Gaga Ball court. All agreed. Susan said staff will now move forward with this and attain a tentative budget. Brooks made a note about the two uses of the fitness course – 1) kids climbing on an individual structure and 2) kids trying to use it Parks and Recreation Board Minutes page 3 as a timed fitness course. Sami wants to be ready for her board to ask what else is coming down the pipe. Huffington is next. Lighting: everyone in the user group liked the idea of improved lighting. Brooks commented on solar lighting as an option and thinks it would be good test opportunity. He is going to ask if after going with solar can we wire them at a later date, just to find out. Susan and Peter both think solar is a good idea as well. The ideal goal is ambient lighting for safety but not too big and bright. The current solar diagram is $30,000. Ongoing cost for batteries, etc. is minimal. IX. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Next meeting is scheduled for February 5, 2020.