HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks Commission minutes - 03-08-17.docx
Yakima Parks and Recreation Commission
Meeting Minutes for
March 8, 2017
Commissioners Present: Chairman Rod Bryant, Vice Chairman Paul Williams, Jo Miles, Tom Hinman, Matt
Tweedy, Rosana Bravo, Josette Gonzales, Stacy Hackenmueller and Dulce Gutierréz, Yakima City Council
Liaison Absent and Excused: Roger Lewis
Staff present: Ken Wilkinson, Parks & Recreation Manager and Jenise Sanders, Administrative Secretary
for Parks & Recreation
Call to Order
Welcoming everyone in the audience and viewers watching on YPAC, Chairman Rod Bryant called the
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meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. at City Hall in the Council Chambers, 129 North 2 Street, Yakima,
Washington.
Approval of the Meeting Minutes of January 11, 2017. It was Moved by Tom Hinman, Seconded by
Josette Gonzales, to approve the Minutes as written from the January 11, 2017 Parks and
Recreation Commission Meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
Rededication of Lions Pool to Include Betty Edmondson Discussion – Spud Edmondson
Ken stated that Lions Pool is dedicated to a past Park Commissioner, Mer Edmondson. There is currently
a plaque at the pool showing that it is dedicated to Mer. Mer’s son, Spud, called Ken back in November to
propose rededicating the pool to both his parents, Mer and Betty Edmondson. Ken gave a brief overview
of the criteria of naming and dedicating parks. The resolution establishing the policies and procedures
relating to the naming of public parks and Park and Recreation related facilities was done back in 2005. It
must be: A) neighborhood, geographic or common usage of identification, B) a natural or geological
feature, C) a historical figure, place, event or other instance of historical or cultural significance, D) an
individual or group living or deceased who has made significant land and/or monetary contribution to the
park system or who has had the contribution made in memoriam and when the name has been stipulated
as a condition of the donation, E) an individual who has contributed outstanding civic service to the City of
Yakima primarily in the area of Parks and Recreation and who have been deceased for a period of at least
one year. Ken stated that this proposal does fit our criteria and if the Park Commission chooses to we
would take this to City Council with the recommendation to rededicate Lions Pool to add Betty Edmondson.
Ken invited Spud Edmondson to speak about his mother and the contribution that she made to this
community. George “Spud” Edmondson introduced himself and his wife Gay Edmondson. He reiterated
that his family would like to rededicate Lions Pool adding his mother’s name to the plaque that is already
there for his father. He stated that his parents met at Franklin Jr. High and his father was the first lifeguard
at the old Lions Pool. He was also one of the first swimmers and coaches for the Yakima swim team and
ran many of the tournaments at Lions Pool. Spud stated that his father was a big part of the Park District
and when the “new” Lions Pool was built it was dedicated to him. Spud commented that while he was
visiting the pool he noticed that the plaque was in need of repair and he thought this would be a good time
to talk to the City about adding his mother’s name. He reported that back when his mother passed in 1997,
he had a discussion with Dick Zais about finding something to name in honor of Betty. Spud stated that he
felt that this would be a good opportunity to ask if the City would consider rededicating Lions Pool in honor
of Mer and Betty Edmondson. Spud advised that Betty served on City Council and was very proud of the
fact that she was the first female mayor of a Class “A” city in the state of Washington. Betty was very
active in many different clubs and groups within the community. Spud stated that she was instrumental in
helping to start the first Senior Citizen Center in Yakima which was later run by the City Parks and
Recreation Division and has now morphed into the Harman Center. Spud commented that his father was
also very active with the Arboretum. Spud stated he has come here to ask for the Park Commissions
recommendation to support the request to change the dedication to Mer Edmondson and Betty
Edmondson. He said that the Edmondson Family would incur the cost of the new plaque. Tom Hinman
commented that his father served as Assistant Mayor under Betty and stated that this is a wonderful idea.
Tom moved to approve the request in support of adding Betty to the dedication of Lions Pool. Matt Tweedy
seconded the motion. Discussion followed. Ken stated that it is important to recognize those that give up
their time to serve on City Council and other committees that work to make life better for the community.
Ken said that he also recommends that we rededicate the pool to honor both Mer and Betty. Stacy
Hackenmueller stated that it is nice to hear about a really strong woman on International Woman’s Day.
The motion carried unanimously to recommend in support of the rededication. Ken stated he will begin
working with legal to prepare the documents that will be presented to City Council in late April or May. Rod
Bryant thanked Spud and Gay for bringing this to Park Commission.
Yakima National Little League – 2016 Annual Report – Paul Williams
Paul Williams presented the 2016 YNLL report that was included in their packets. Paul stated that the
numbers were fairly consistent with the previous year. They are continuing to see fewer numbers in
participation with the older kids, down about 15 kids in majors. He stated they were up in minors and farm
league, about the same in T-ball and juniors had exactly the same number of kids. He reported that they
raised more money in their fundraiser and raffle. They also maintained their sponsorship level. In 2015
they received a grant from Legends that they used for scholarship opportunities to help cover the cost and
allow some kids to play that may not have been able to. He advised that they were also able to purchase
new uniforms for the All-Star teams. He said that they have not had new uniforms for about eight or ten
years. He stated there were two Davis students that worked as the field crew and plan to be back this
year. Paul advised that the winter was tough and they have been out the last 3 weekends clearing snow
from the fields by wheelbarrow. They also started a new website and are able to post schedules on it.
Yakima National Little League has a large presence on Facebook too. Paul reported that up until 2017 all
registrations have been done in person. Since they are now able to do online registration, they only held
two in person registrations this year and about 85% of all registrations were done online. Paul stated that
they are still making improvements to the concession building. He advised that they did not have to go into
reserves at all this last season, all funds spent was money they brought in. Paul thanked the Parks staff for
all the help and support they give. Paul stated that tryouts will be held this weekend and they start playing
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in April. Tom asked when their Breakfast will be. Paul advised it will be April 15 along with Opening Day
Ceremonies. Matt asked what the relationship is with the City. Paul stated that YNLL does not pay rent
but they do pay their own electricity and maintain the facilities at Elks Park as much as possible. He stated
that the City does remove the garbage and mows the grass. YNLL does maintain the fields themselves.
Ken stated that it is a great partnership between the 2 organizations to provide Little League to children of
all ages in the community. Ken stated that YNLL has had to pay staff in the past to help with maintenance
and also relies heavily on volunteers like Paul. Matt asked if the other parking lot has been paved. Ken
advised that we have not paved it but that it is still on the to-do list. Matt asked if the parking lots at Elks
and Gardner were 2017 projects. Ken advised that they were on the list as hopeful 2016 projects but we
had to defer them. They are still on the list of things that we would like to get done but not sure that we will
get to them this year either. Paul stated that he was surprised how well the gravel parking lot held up this
winter. He also commented that the amount of snow we received this year seemed to help reduce the
amount of vandalism to the park, field and buildings. Discussion followed regarding YNLL being a great
program and the positive impact YNLL has on the community. Matt asked if Kiwanis is for softball only.
Ken stated it is not, we are also able to play fast pitch baseball on those fields. Matt asked if there are
leagues other than Little League that play there. Ken advised that many baseball tournaments are held
there and we also have our softball league, high school softball teams and some other groups like the
college use our facility at times. Ken thanked the YNLL organization and all of its volunteers.
2017-2022 Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan Update
A. Mission Statement Discussion
Ken stated that we have been working on the Comprehensive Plan for just about a year. Part of that is the
Mission Statement and he advised their packets include the top three finalists. Ken read the three
missions statements that he would like them to pick from. A vote was taken by a show of hands; there was
one vote for #1, four votes for #2 and three votes for #3. Ken read the winner by a majority vote; “Provide
beautiful places with quality recreation opportunities that enrich the well being of our community”.
B. Draft 2017 – 2022 Capital Plan
Ken stated that one of the major components, along with the community survey is capital plan. This is
where we list all the things we want to do moving forward. It is great because we see all the potential, the
vision down the road. The bad part is that we know there is only a certain amount of money and time for
things that we want to get done. Ken advised this is a list that we have compiled of things that we would
like to see done if money were no object. This report separates the parks by district showing what the
parks cost for maintenance, the revenue, the capital improvements that have been done over the last 15
years and finally the planned capital improvements over the next 5-10 years. It is a 5 year plan but
anything that does not get done will just carry over to the next plan. Ken stated that we have tried to take
everybody’s suggestions into consideration when forming this plan. This will be a major chapter in our
Comprehensive Plan. Ken commented that he has enjoys working with our partners and donors that have
made great things happen. This capital plan is what we share with the individuals and groups that come to
us and want to know what we need and are willing to help us get it. Tom asked about Gilbert Park and
Allied Arts rebuilding the Warehouse Theatre. Ken advised that it is a possibility that the Warehouse
Theatre is looking to rebuild at Gilbert Park. Tom asked if it would be rebuilt in the same spot. Ken stated
that is one of the possibilities being discussed. Ken commented that he does not have a lot of details but
apparently they have a large donor that helped get this discussion started. Ken advised that since we were
not able to meet last month, Tom Sparling, President of Southwest Rotary, was not able to come and
present their donation of a new playground for Chesterley Park. City Council approved it last night and that
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is set for the community build on May 6. Stacy stated that she liked what we have in the report for MLK
Jr. and SE Community parks.
C. Public Meetings – Comprehensive Plan Review
Ken reported that we held three public meetings last month. The first one was at the Henry Beauchamp
Center, second at the Harman Center and the last one at City Hall. Ken advised that he went over the
PowerPoint presentation of the survey data that he had previously shared with Park Commission. Ken
stated that staff was present at the meetings, Brad Schneider, Park Operations Supervisor, Tami Andringa,
Recreation Supervisor, Jenise Sanders, Parks and Recreations Administrative Secretary and Diondra
Brown, Public Works Office Assistant. We shared the data from the survey and then took questions from
those that attended. Ken advised that Stacy attended the meeting at the Henry Beauchamp Center. We
had four attend that meeting, eight at the Harman Center and five at the City Hall meeting. We did invite all
the people that said they wanted to be contacted on the survey. Ken read the 6 questions that he asked
those that attended the meetings. The response data will be presented in the Comprehensive Plan. Jo
Miles asked if there were burning questions or issues that came up in the meetings. Ken stated there were
a few questions about the Plaza, the Soccer Complex and the YMCA. He said that we received some
compliments and some criticism. One thing that we heard was that we are not doing enough programming
for the late 20s – 40 year olds. Matt asked if there were any suggestions on what type of things they would
like to see. Ken said not really. Stacy suggested that we may already offer programs we just need a better
way of marketing them. Discussion followed. Ken stated that is sometimes difficult because we are putting
the money into the programs and facilities and not the advertising which can be very expensive. Matt
commented that we do put out a very nice Program Guide three times a year. Stacy stated that may be
where we could utilize social media a bit more. Matt asked if the Parks and Recreation has a Facebook
page. Ken advised that we do and Harman Center has one also. Discussion followed. Josette Gonzales
asked if we have an email list that goes out to share upcoming events. Jenise advised that we do have an
email list that has anybody that has participated or rented a facility and has provided their email address.
We send out a quarterly newsletter that includes any upcoming events planned. Matt asked that the Park
Commissioners be added to the list and if there could be somewhere that people could sign-up to be added
to the list, possibly on the website. Discussion followed regarding Facebook. Ken advised that all social
media is subject to the Public Disclosure Laws and can be a bit of a challenge. Stacy stated that it is time
consuming to maintain a Facebook page. Ken advised that we do have a recreation staff member that
does that. Discussion followed. Ken advised that we need to finalize the Capital Plan at our April meeting.
Adopt a Park Program Discussion
Ken reported Council Member Avina Gutierréz had asked at one of the Neighborhood & Community
Building Committee meetings last year that we consider an Adopt a Park program. Ken stated that he has
discussed with Avina what type of program she was envisioning. Ken stated that he has included in their
packets a picture of a sign that he found in Hillsboro. It is for their Adopt a Park program and he stated this
was the type of program he was envisioning. A sign in the park letting people know that the park has been
adopted by some particular organization, church, business, service club or even a family. They would
adopt it for a period of one year. We are looking for that group to spend time in that park on a regular
basis, not sure yet how often. We would require that organization spend at least two times or two days a
year in that park working on a service projects such as; painting picnic tables, fixing vandalism, painting out
graffiti or maybe planting flowers. We would also encourage them to host a community outreach event.
We would require that they have one person within the organization be the contact person. We would also
offer them the use of the park for their organizations event, like a family picnic. Ken advised that we are
still in the brainstorming stage and would like input. Stacy stated she is an advocate of this program but
has a couple questions or concerns. She wanted to know if we have checked with others that have this
program to find out what kind of staffing this will take. Ken stated that he has not but that is one of his main
concerns also. Stacy also conveyed her concern that it needs to be a positive experience and if not
properly staffed it may turn negative. She also suggested that a service club may donate toward the funds
needed for an additional staff person to run this program. Ken commented that volunteers are great but we
would definitely need a staff person or two that would be dedicated to this project. Discussion followed.
Stacy stated this is a good opportunity for smaller groups to get involved, that may not have the funds to
donate the large things like playgrounds and shelters. She questioned how we could go about marketing
to those groups to get the word out to them and not redirect our current donors and service clubs to this
program. Discussion followed.
Manager’s Report
Ken reminded the Commissioners of the email that he sent out inviting them to the study session planned
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for March 28 at City Hall at 10:00 am to discuss improvements to Miller Park. He stated he has been
working on the plan for making improvements. Dulce Gutierréz explained that she has asked for some
estimates on conceptual plans for improvements needed for Miller Park. This will be the first study session
on a park and she and other Council members would like to have Miller be the model on how you can
improve a park to help is better serve its neighboring area. Dulce stated that one of her main goals is to
have the park and the facility working together instead of as separate entities. Ken advised that this is our
annual shut down week at the Harman Center and we are doing a lot of deep cleaning. Our 9 month
seasonal staff just returned back to work last week. The Gardner Park restroom has been ordered and will
be here mid – late April. The Cherry Park playground is here and ready to be built and will be installed on
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April 22 along with help from the Together Church. It is a supervised community build, which means that
the staff from the playground company will be there to help. The Neighborhood Community Building
Committee has asked for some information regarding the cost for a performance area at MLK Jr. and SE
Community parks, like the one we did at Miller. Ken advised that he will be presenting that to them next
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Thursday, March 16. Ken advised that he has also put together some information regarding the City’s
agreements they have with Perry Tech and YYSA for youth soccer. Matt asked who runs the YPAL
program. Dulce stated that Joe Willis is the Director and they are looking for partners, and have locked
down a partnership with the Yakima School District. Matt asked if she has a list of current activities. Dulce
stated that she does and just asked for a summary. She stated she receives updates all the time and will
provide the list for the Study Session.
For the Good of the Order
Nothing to report.
Adjournment
The next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting will be April 12, 2017. The meeting adjourned at 6:42
p.m.