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Park Board Minutes 2007 06-28-07 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE Apme Parks and Recreation Department Board meeting Administration Office—Riverfront Building,201 W.Hydraulic Street Yorkville,H. 60560 Thursday June 28,2007 Call to Order Chris Rollins called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. . Roll Call Chris Rollins,Ken Koch,Van Truman,Debbie Horaz and Kelly Sedgwick(arrived at 7:17 p.m.) Introduction of Guests. City Officials and Staff Director of Parks and Recreation--David Mogle; Superintendent of Parks—Scott Sleezer; and Park Planner—Lara Haake; Tim Evans,park and recreation staff; Ryan McReynold, park and recreation department intern; Shay Rosborough,park and recreation intern; Joe Plocker, Alderman Ward 2; and Drew Daniels, Sexton Development. Public Comments Park and Recreation Department interns Ryan McReynold and Shay Rosborough were introduced to the board. McReynold is in charge of the car show at Hometown Days and Rosborough is organizing the pet parade. Both of the college interns also have other responsibilities in the department. Director of Parks and Recreation Dave Mogle said both interns have worked hard and the department is very appreciative of their work. Approval of Minutes Minutes from the June 14, 2007 Park Board meeting were approved with one change. On Page 2 under Old Business Mogle said the words "in lieu of should be changed to "in exchange for"under the beverage contract section. Ken Koch made a motion to approve the minutes. Van Truman seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by voice vote. Presentations Drew Daniels with Sexton Development presented a plan regarding the Rob Roy Falls development. Daniels said the plan has evolved since it was first brought to the city several years ago. The current plan is the"latest and greatest,"he said. It features a mix of commercial and residential development. The project would be built in several stages. The commercial area along has more than 1 million square feet of space. Daniels sees that being built in 5-7 year increments lasting three phases. Although the development will take place in stages,Daniels said the entire site will be mass graded once building begins to put the detention area in place. Daniels said the project engineers have a good handle on where everything should be placed. The orange lines on the provided maps are considered trails and walkways. Daniels said there are quite a bit of them in the proposed senior housing area. Daniels then added that all of the parks planned in the development are private. Chris Rollins said the retail development looks like there are three good-sized stores. He asked if there were any restrictions on whom the end users would be or if the developer had targeted certain stores. Daniels said that those three big boxed will drive the rest of the commercial development. Although nothing is set yet, they're hoping to attract a clothing store, a home improvement store and a store that sells a variety of items. Koch asked about the nature of the senior housing. Daniels said it will feature a variety of housing types including duplexes and ranch homes. Daniels said the senior housing section won't have any children. He said Sexton Development has done a fiscal impact study for the schools. Ninety eight percent of the development is in the Plano School District. And the impact to the Yorkville School District should be zero, Daniels said. The Rob Roy Club portion of the development should bring about 50-70 children. The club is more of a targeted community. Daniels said it's being described as an equity-free club. Residents would put a down payment to get into a unit and they would pay monthly to live in the homes. "It's a unique product we think might work out here,"he said. Truman asked what types of amenities were planned for the development. Daniels said the amenities would feature putting greens, a pool and standard amenities in the senior complex. He added the length of the 300-acre detention pond is such that it could host water skiing events. There are only a handful of facilities in the country able to host such events. Truman said he likes the water sports idea. He added that any spectator area wouldn't have to be a hard surface. The developer could berm the sides of the detention pond and make a picnic area for spectators. Rollins asked about the plans for Rob Roy Creek. Daniels said the brush would be cleaned up to make the waterway look nicer and it would follow a conservation design. Park Superintendent Scott Sleezer said typically the Park District would ask for a 20-foot path along the creek. And while the trail would need to meet city requirements, the city doesn't necessarily need to own the pathway. While on the topic of trails, Rollins said there would be no reason for the city to own any of the trails in the senior housing portion of the development since the trails aren't intended to connect to any of the regional trails. Rollins asked what the characteristic of the creek would be with all of the proposed changes to the land around it. Daniels said that the developer isn't allowed to discharge anything into the creek and that improvements would be made to the area around it. Good trees on the property would be saved when possible. Rollins said that at this point he is just asking for coordination with the Park Board. Regarding connectivity of trails, Sleezer said the Park Board would like to see the trails connected to the south side of Route 34 at traffic-controlled intersections. He said he'd prefer to see a connection at Sycamore rather than at Diehl Farm Road. Also ideal locations would be at Cobblestone and Beecher roads. Sleezer said he'd also like to see a trail connection from the senior living area to the commercial area without having to go to the far southern trail and he would encourage a second access across the creek. Daniels then asked if any land/cash credit could be given for any amenities at Rob Roy Club. Rollins said if it's a private club, then no credit can be given. He said the board tries to strictly abide by the land/cash rules and regulations already determined. That policy has served the board well, he said. Developers make free choices about their product offerings and use what they build to attract people. Those decisions impact the city, Rollins said. The city's goal is to balance recreational activities. Daniels said that he believes a senior housing development would be good for the city. Rollins said that while it is good, there are drawbacks as well. Senior citizens generally don't vote for recreation issues when they come on the ballot. Rollins then asked if the developer had given any thought to a performance place in the commercial area. That is something that the Park Board might be willing to talk about. Daniels said that there are approximately 8 acres in the development set aside for a police station. However, if that land isn't used for a police station, it could be used for some type of an arena. But those 8 acres couldn't be relocated closer to the commercial development. Kelly Sedgwick asked if the developer would put more homes on those 8 acres if the police station doesn't go there. Daniels said that is something they'd have to work out. Mogle added if the police station doesn't go in that location, it might be a good site for a recreation center. Truman said the bottom line is that the Park Board needs to know what the land/cash value is of the development and more details about the trails. Sleezer said once that is figured out,the developer can come back to the board. Bills Review Truman said he noticed there are three bulbs out at the ball fields. Sleezer said he would check it out. The bulbs are supposed to be under warranty. Mogle added that bills from the Red Cross are coming to the board again because they needed to be split up. Last month the bills were approved under one amount, but they needed to be separated. Sedgwick made a motion to approved the cash analysis and bills list. Debbie Horaz seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Koch, Rollins, Horaz, Sedgwick and Truman voted yes. Old Business Bike trails follow-up: Mogle said there's a strong desire by Mayor Valerie Bard to have linkages to the downtown area and she would like to see it happen as quickly as possible. Mogle said the intent is to have updated maps by the end of the summer and to get public feedback in the fall. Rollins said the many years ago when the city first embarked on a comprehensive plan for trails someone from the Chicago Area Transportation Study came to help the city determine how to position the trails. He said it might be a good idea to have that group return. Everyone agrees it would be nice to have trails go downtown. However, he said the trails need to be considered as part of an alternate transportation system. That dictates how the trails develop. The city needs to look at how the community is developing when deciding where trails go. Ideally, the trails need to go everywhere, Rollins said. They need to go to the schools and by the new library. It's important to keep it in balance and not to focus on any singular place. The current trail map takes all of these things into consideration, he said. As for speed, Rollins said the conceptual trail map outlines where the city would like trails to be and as property develops, those trails are added. It's a timely process and it takes a lot of patience,he said. Ward 2 Alderman Joe Plocker said that his main concern is that the downtown be considered a central point in the community. Rollins said if the downtown is exciting and becomes an area where people want to go, then a trail would be natural. Current trail plans include trails for people to get to parks downtown. Koch said if the city could get an agreement with ComEd, there could be a trail connection to the riverfront park from Route 126. Haake said she recently sent letters to ComEd and the Illinois Department of Transportation. Once IDOT grants permission for the trail to cross at grade, then the project could move forward. Meanwhile, Haake said the department is working with Kendall County,the Kendall County Forest Preserve and surrounding communities regarding regional trails. Park Board members said the trail map is hard to read because the colors of the public and private trails are too close. Whispering Meadows construction bid results: Mogle said he has nothing new to report. A bid in writing hasn't been submitted, but one should be forthcoming. The bid should be ready in time to go to the July 10 City Council meeting. Park and Recreation Department vision and mission statements: Mogle presented the updated vision and mission statements. He said the vision statement is long, but it is word-for-word what was discussed at the board retreat. The department staff got together and composed the mission statement. He said the mission statement is short and sweet and more meaningful than the previous one. The board gave unanimous consent in support of the mission statement. Meanwhile, board members were directed to review the vision statement and email any comments to Mogle. Park and Recreation public survey by mail: Mogle said the telephone survey proposal was perceived as intrusive and the City Council decided to go with a mail survey. A representative from the Northern Illinois University Public Opinion Laboratory came back to the city with a new proposal for a mail survey. The survey will include three mailings and is about$1,000 cheaper than what the phone survey would have been. However, it will take about 2 to 3 months to get the results. Rollins said he would have preferred the phone survey because the results would have been available faster. But he understands that the City Council had its constituents in mind and didn't want the residents to be bugged by the phone survey. Mogle said the bottom line is that the survey needs to be done. Truman wondered if the university could provide preliminary results once enough returns have been tallied to consider the survey statistically accurate. Mogle said he would check into that. Koch made a motion to approve the $9,963.80 payment to NIU to conduct a mail survey. Horaz seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved in a roll call vote. Rollins, Koch, Truman,Horaz and Sedgwick voted yes. New Business Edwards Hospital Fitness Center: Mogle said Edward Hospital has contacted the city about a partnership regarding the operations of a fitness center. Mogle and Superintendent of Recreation Sue Swithin met with a marketing representative from Edward and the head of the fitness center. He said they're interested in forming a partnership with the city to operate a fitness center on the proposed Edward campus. The city would operate the fitness center with its own staff or hire a third-party administrator. If the city isn't interested, then Edward will seek a private company to operate it. Also, he said the facility could house more than a fitness center. It could house a gymnasium and program rooms, Mogle added. While the hospital would own the building and lease it to the city, the city would be involved in the design of the building. Edward also intends to do a business plan whether or not the city is involved. Rollins said the proposal has great potential, but the city would have to have some protections built into any agreement. Mogle said that there's a similar arrangement in the Homewood-Flossmore community, but that community owns the building. Truman said Edward is pursuing a similar agreement in Plainfield to the one proposed in Yorkville. Basically, he said Edward is outstripping its capacity for development. It's growing too fast. That is why the hospital is proposing these types of arrangements for its fitness centers. Mogle said he'd like to call Edward back with some questions and to get more information. Rollins said the fitness center market is very competitive market, but there's always room for a really nice facility. He also said there's a shortage of gym space in the city. Horaz said it also would be an advantage to have the fitness center tied to the hospital. Mogle said a the proposed partnership would be controversial in that private fitness centers might object. Truman said the bottom line is whether the Park Board is interested in an arrangement with the hospital and it seems that the board is interested. Mogle said he, Swithin and Sleezer would like to brainstorm some questions to have answered in a business plan. Truman said some of those questions should include, how long it would be before the city would break even; subleasing;the lease term; and start up costs. Hiding Spot Park RFP results: Mogle said he needs formal action by the Park Board so that he can take the bid proposal to the City Council for approval. Haake said Gametime offered a flat price and then came up with equipment that exceeded the $30,000 bid. But, the company will honor that price. Haake said the equipment is very nice and unlike anything else proposed. The product line isn't on the market yet and the Yorkville park would the first in the nation to feature the equipment. Truman made a motion to accept the $30,000 playground equipment bid from Gametime. Sedgwick seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Koch, Rollins, Truman, Horaz and Sedgwick voted yes. Reports Director Report: Mogle said the Raintree ribbon cutting would be on Friday, June 29. He asked board members to come if possible even if only for 15 to 20 minutes. He added the dedication for Bridge Field would be July 3 at 6 p.m. He said he was asked to go to the Administration Committee meeting to discuss travel expense concerns. He said the Park Board only spent 75 percent of its allotted travel budget for 2006-07. Also, he said only one vendor asked for a liquor license for the upcoming Hometown Days. So the city is trying to get the other license and to have a service organization such as the Moose Lodge operate the stand. Tim Evans, park and recreations staff in charge of the festival, said the city doesn't actually have a liquor license so all of the details still need to be worked out. Rollins said that initially the city held a lottery for the two licenses granted at the festival hoping to garner more than one vendor. Evans said he went to every business that pours liquor and gave them an application. Just the one business, The Big Easy, applied for the license. Parks Report: Sleezer said Fox Metro Sanitary District is planning to dig up a sewer line hook up that has a leak. The pipe is located behind the baseball fields. The process should take one or two days. It won't cost the city and it won't impact the ball fields. Koch gave an update on the baseball tournament held the previous weekend. He said everything went well. He suggested signs be placed on roadways to direct people to the ball fields. Sleezer said an 18 x 24 foot sign has been placed on Kennedy Road. Horaz made a motion to adjourn at 10:14 p.m. Truman seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved by voice vote. Next meeting: July 12, 2007 Minutes respectfully submitted by Dina Gipe