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Park Board Minutes 2006 11-09-06 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE YORKVILLE PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT BOARD MEETING Parks & Recreation Administrative Office Riverfront Building Thursday, November 9, 2006 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order by Clods Rollins at 7:01 p,m. ROLL CALL: Chris Rollins, Ken Koch,Van Truman, Gary Golinski, Debbie Horaz, and Kelly Sedgwick GUESTS/CITY OFFICIALS/STAFF: Dave Mogle, Director of Parks and Recreation Sue Swithin, Superintendent of Recreation Scott Sleezer, Superintendent of Parks APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The fifth paragraph on page four states the following, "The consensus of the Board is ( that Parks and Recreation will function within the confines of the current agreement and policy with regards to only city-controlled fields. Suggestions can be made to the Forest Preserve District on how it uses the Harris Field, but all agreements, policies, and recommendations are for city fields only." The minutes from the Board Meeting of October 26°i was amended to remove the second sentence of the stated paragraph. As a follow up to the minutes, Staff and the mayor are discussing alcohol sales for Hometown Days. The beer vendors from this year will be reminded of their promised donation to the city. Alcohol sales will be different next year. As amended, the minutes from the Regular-Park Board Meeting of October 26, 2006 were approved on motion by Van Truman and seconded by Gary Golinslti. The motion was unanimously approved. BILLS REVIEW: Cask Analysis & Bills List Chris Rollins read a memo from Jennifer Milewski regarding a correction transfer. A check was issued for Parks and Recreation acct (3 00667)to the GF (18430) in the amount of$21,675.04 for the following bank rec items: "Due from GF to Parks and Recreation: $1,842.00—Ck 202812 posted as $60,020.00 to Parks, $1,842.00 to Public Works Capital (Fund 21,to be paid out of GF) but$61,862.00 was paid completely out of Parks and Recreation's account 300667 $37.68 –Ck for payroll reimbursement should have been for$60,415.45, but check cut was for 60,453.13 for the month of April 2006 $7,000.00–Ck 202799 was posted to Public Works Capital (Fund 21, to be paid out of GF) but was paid out of Parks and Recreation account 300667 $44149 –Ck 202853 was posted to Public Works Capital (Fund 21,to be paid out of GF)but was paid out of'Parks and Recreation account 300667 Due Parks and Recreation to GF ($30,744.90)–Payroll PR040106 was never issued to reimburse GF ($252.31)– Special Payroll run for terminated seasonal employee. Money was not transferred to GF (PR081006). ($21,675.04)Net difference due from Parks and Recreation to GF" Ken Koch motioned to approve the cash analysis and bills list. The motion was seconded by Kelly Sedgwick. Roll call vote: Chris Rollins–Yes, Ken Koch—Yes, Van Truman– Yes, Gary Golinski—Yes, Debbie Horaz—Yes, and Kelly Sedgwick- Yes. The motion was unanimously approved. OLD BUSINESS: Post Board Retreat Issues The objectives and action plans from the Board Retreat need to be finished in the near future. If the Board and Staff did this together, a special meeting is needed. Dave Mogle also reminded the Board that discussion at the Board Retreat was held concerning a special meeting to tour parks. Chris Rollins thought touring the parks would be in preparation for the master plan update which would require an additional special meeting. Because of time it would take to torn so many parks and attend special meetings for the master plan and the Board Retreat follow up, Chris suggested that Staff'could finish the objectives and action plans from the Board Retreat in a more timely manner. Especially with the holidays approaching, there will be difficulty of coordinating dates. Dave Mogle recommended that Staff have Lorrie Gibson(Board Retreat Facilitator) meet with Dave, Scott Sleezer, Sue Swithin, Joe Gatlin, Tim Evans,Angie Alwood, Laura Haake, and representatives from Scott's staff and with the Board's retreat input decide on the objectives and action plans. 'The Board will be given a summary from Lorrie before the regular board meeting so Board Members are prepared and ready to discuss ideas at the meeting and give the final approval. Van'IYuman reminded Staff that it is a 3 -5 year process for accomplishing the guidelines. The top priorities should be the focus such as the master plan and the relationship with the school district. The Board agrees with this plan of action. Some of City Council's 2006 goals related to Parks and Recreation including a youth center, an additional city signature event at Riverfront Park that would replace the void left from Hometown Days when it was moved to Beecher Park, and cultural arts programs. Dave Mogle questioned the Board for their response to those goals. Chris Rollins believes a new city survey would speak to the need to get the master plan updated, which may differ some from Council's goals. The survey would inform us of the community's priorities and help the Board plan. Ken Koch stated that City Council is interested in the com ed easement trail. This year's budget will be examined and adjustments made to find money for the survey. It would cost rougliy$10,000. The inventory of parks will be updated in the master plan. The high school soccer program will be added. The master plan needs to have recreation programs included. Staff will continue to work on the objectives and action plans and share them at the regular Parks and Recreation Meeting on December 14°' for discussion. A regular Board Meeting is scheduled for December 28°i as well. Some will be out of town on that date, but there will be a quorum. Debbie Horaz asked if there is a checklist for the parks each Board member is responsible for checking. No there is not. Notes can be written on the loose leaf copy of the Parks and Recreation master plan with the park descriptions. Kelly Sedgwick shared input from kids regarding the Grande Reserve skate park. One kid said he saw numerous people skate off the jump and miss the landing ramp. The new grinding rail is slightly higher than the original and some have trouble getting up on it. Dog Pai*Design Treads A DVD was shown on dog park design. This was part of an educational session held at the National Recreation and Park Association Conference in October that Dave Mogle and Laura Haake attended. The slides show the progression of dog parks in a county in eastern Colorado. There are certain amenities that can better dog parks such as separating small and large dogs, providing water, and having a bull pen in the entry so dogs can't escape when new dogs arrive. The average size of a dog park is 4 acres. Water serves as good recreation for some dogs. A floating barrier is used so dogs don't go too far out. Turf is worn out in high traffic areas so pea gravel was then used. Later it progressed to the use of concrete pads, which was the most beneficial surface to prevent wear and tear. To save money of chain link fence, this county used wood fences with wire on the inside. A bottom wooden rail kept small dogs inside. The Board liked the idea of a vinyl coated fence like at the arboretum. Benches were inside the fence, but were quite worn. They were then put on concrete pads. Poop bags and shade should be provided. An example bag dispenser that uses recycled plastic bags was made of PVC pipes with caps. Ken Koch mentioned that this could be a Scout project. The DVD showed samples of different gates, latches and springs, trash cans for dog waste, and signage. A concrete entry prevents eroding. The Board agreed when different dog water fountains were shown, that the public dog bowl was a bad idea. No puppies or young children should be allowed in a dog park. A membership so dogs are registered might be a good idea. Dog owners would have to accept responsibility for pets and know the risk of dog parks. Pet statures, names in bricks of donors, and pet memorials were other dog park possibilities. �. If'a body of water was incorporated in the park, rock or pea gravel could be used. The Board is interested in working with the Yorkville Police Department in developing and raising money for an agility course to be used for police dog training as well as for dogs owned by the general public. The DVD ended with frequently asked questions regarding water, trees, benches, little dog parks, donating money, plastic bags, and lighted dog parks. Following the video presentation, the Board discussed the materials for fencing,big street- size planters, and trees that tolerate dog urine. 'Ilse Colorado dog parks in the presentation were county funded„ Possible dog park locations in Yorkville are Crawford Park on the river, Hoover, Prairie Meadows Park(4.4. acres) with no water, or Jaycee Pond which is not currently owned by the city. At Jaycee Pond fishing and dog recreation could both co-exist. Yorkville's first dog park would have to be large to accommodate high usage. To rest the grass, two sections at a time would be used, while two sections were closed. NEW BUSINESS: Updated Park Matrix and Map The new matrix and map was distributed to Board members. It is projected that with the current rate of growth, there will be 60 parks. Sue Swithin will email the PDF file to Board members in color. Grande Reserve Park B and D are not added in the matrix. Sue is changing the matrix to reflect that the Beecher recreation room cannot be used, sand volleyball isn't available and other changes she will pass on. For,the catalog, Sue wants ( the school parks and amenities listed and a note stating that these are not owned by Parks and Recreation. This will help residents know what amenities are available. Individual park assignments were distributed to the Board. Grant Projects Status Report Of the four grant projects, Cannonball Ridge Park is complete. The process of reimbursement is started. The other grants are open and the status is listed on the memo. The Grande Reserve Bike Path Grant ($200,000) has 80% of the trail done and will be finished by spring Construction bids for Whispering Meadows Park are not complete. That park will be done by December 2007 and Prairie Meadows by December 2008. Raintree B and Hoover could be Oslad grant parks for the 2007 grant cycle. The license agreement should be done for Hoover before the grant cycle deadline. The community survey should be back and needs and wants appraised so the plans for Hoover can be given to the State by the grant deadline of'July Is` For Hoover, Park and Recreation should coordinate grants with the County. Raintree will have a school site by Fall 2008. The park can be built in conjunction with the school. Lighted tennis courts are in the plan. 'These courts may double as basketball courts and a wall for practicing tennis or handball. REPORTS: Recreation Report Our full time coordinators described their programs well in the recreation report distributed. Angie Allwood is doing the preschool and tot classes. There is a 2 year old introductory preschool. A Grande Reserve teacher is teaching classes after hours and doing a fantastic job. Changes to the Halloween Egg Hunt for next year include more eggs, reduce the limit of eggs per person, younger kids go first and for a longer time, and older kids gather eggs later, during the program Staff would drop 1000-2000 more eggs to restock. Next year there will be two police cars with lights in Town Square Park and a fence at the sidewalk. The concession report will be given soon. The stand is closed and winterized. The Regional Concession Stand will be equipped next year. The Polar Express event was filled within 2 hours with 100 people registered. Next year we may offer it for two weekends, Softball ended with six teams and will be offered in the spring catalog. Seventh and eighth grade girls' basketball began. Boys can register now and basketball teams start in.January. Bitty Basketball starts in January for 1"grade through 6°i grade.. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS: Park Videograpby Van Truman presented a sample DVD program in which he used 3 neighborhood parks close to his work in Naperville. He included each park's address, acreage, park amenities, and photos. He suggested that between the Board members, interactive media could be created individually of Yorkville parks. Yahoo and Google maps provide satellite images. This media could be a promotional piece for the community. With Quick Time piece, the park information could be on CD for pennies or on the website. Van used Power Point, Apple Loops was used for the background music. Virtual tours of parks could be provided on the internet, The Board was impressed with this presentation and would like to move forward with this project. Every 3 -6 months, people could take photos of their designated parks and update images or provide various seasonal pictures. Webean:for Riverfrout Park Dave Mogle said the DNR webeam would show the dam construction in real time. The agreement would be that Parks and Recreation purchase the camera and the State would reimburse the City, Parks and Recreation would own the camera, but the State would have access to it at their discretion for monitoring dam construction, river conditions, and public use of the bypass, The City is interested in the public safety benefits, and the PR aspect of having it on the web for public access. PDQ Links, who has an agreement with the City will provide DSL by December. Kelly Sedgwick asked if the video would be recorded in case of an accident. Dave Mogle will check on this. -The Park and Recreation Department's handling of maintenance on the camera will be part of the agreement. A climatic control box for the cam will be included and protects to -20 degrees. Plaquev,for past Board Members The Board wants to recognize Tammy Spock and Heather Fiala for the service on the Parks and Recreation Board. The mayor suggested doing this at a City Council meeting, The agenda for the next City Council meeting went out yesterday, too late for the November 14°i meeting. Cell Phone Usage The cell phone issue was brought up at City Council. A policy has been proposed that sets the amount of minutes for various employment levels from 400 to 1000 monthly minutes, depending on the position. Kelly Sedgwick said that it shouldn't matter how much the phone is used, but how it is used. Dave Mogle defended some camera phones for Parks and Recreation. Scott Sleezer compiled pictorial examples of the importance of the camera phone in his department. He said these phones document unsafe conditions and vandalism. They help with problem solving. Photos are used for audits after new parks are built. It is clearer for the park installers than text descriptions. Besides a clear phone policy, proper training is needed. Many were not aware, for example, that the direct connect feature is free. The more this feature is used the more savings we realize. Phone providers should train for flee. WD Directory Gary Golinski requested that Dave Mogle call IAPD. Gary was left out of the directory. ADJOURNWNT: The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. following the motion by Ken Koch and seconded by Debbie Horaz, The motion was unanimously approved. Minute Taker—Eileen Lesak f