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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks Commission minutes - 01-13-16.docx Yakima Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes for January 13, 2016 Commissioners Present: Chairman Rod Bryant, Vice Chairman Sam Karr, Paul Williams, Roger Lewis, Jo Miles, Tom Hinman, Matt Tweedy, Rosana Bravo and Maureen Adkison, Yakima City Council Liaison Absent and Excused: 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 nd meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. at City Hall in the Council Chambers, 129 North 2 Street, Yakima, Washington. Election of Officers Paul Williams moved to re-elect Rod Bryant as Chairman, seconded by Tom Hinman. The motion carried unanimously. Tom Hinman moved to re-elect Sam Karr as Vice Chairman. Sam stated that will be moving and is not going to be living within the city limits. Maureen Adkison stated some boards and commissions do not require members to live in the city limits. The motion carried unanimously. Approval of the Meeting Minutes of December 9, 2015. It was Moved by Roger Lewis, Seconded by Rosana Bravo, to approve the Minutes as written from the December 9, 2015 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Yakima National Little League 2015 Annual Report Ken Wilkinson advised that Park Commissioner Paul Williams is also on the Yakima National Little League board and will be presenting the annual report. Paul stated that he served as the equipment manager and city liaison in 2015. He will be serving as president for the 2016 year. The former president and secretary are moving to Seattle. The 2016 season is under way with registration in February, tryouts and practice beginning in March and games starting in early April. Paul went over the 2015 Annual Report that is included in their packet. The report highlighted the number of registered players in each division. The fastpitch softball had a minor and major division for the first time. Paul stated that due to the amount of money raised from the fundraisers and raffles they did not have to increase the registration fees. He stated that the District Tournament was held at Kiwanis Park in collaboration with the City Parks and Recreation Division. He thanked the Parks staff for the hard work and condition of the fields. He stated that they have been very successful in working with local vendors to get discounted pricing and donated equipment for the league. Paul commented that there seems to be a reduced amount of vandalism at Elks Park over the past 9-10 months. Paul went over the 2015 budget advising there are some figures that are incorrect. The registration income is closer to $22,200 and the net income is closer to $4,800 for the year. He stated they did receive a grant from Legends Casino for improvements to equipment and repairs to the batting cages. Maureen Adkison asked how much the grant was from Legends. Paul advised it was $3,000. Maureen asked what that leaves for the beginning balance for the 2016 season. Paul stated they had a beginning balance last year of approximately $8,000 and are now at approximately $14,000. Discussion followed regarding the raffle and fundraisers. Rod asked how registration compared to other years. Paul stated that some areas were up and some were down and that they saw an increase in the younger kids registered for the summer season. Matt Tweedy asked if Elks is the only park used. Paul advised it is and that he is working with the Parks Department to hopefully expand to Kiwanis this year for the players to have the experience of playing under the lights. Matt asked about lights at Elks. Paul said there are not lights at Elks and that has been an ongoing issue, mostly because of the neighborhood it is in. Matt asked if there is anything the YNLL needs from the Parks Department. Paul stated that parking has also been an issue, but it is better than it was 5 years ago. Ken advised that there is money earmarked for paving the parking lot along Hathaway. Paul advised that he has been meeting with Ken and talking about restructuring the fields. Sam Karr volunteered to help teach fast pitch. Ken thanked the volunteers from YNLL. We appreciate all they do. Randall Park Improvement Project Update Ken stated that we continue to make progress on the project. He advised he has been in contact with Katrina Strathmann and they are working on the plans for the planting area around the pond. He received a call from an Eagle Scout looking to do a project and hopefully we will be able to have them do the planting. He will be meeting with Katrina next week to get the design work going and possibly get the plants ordered. Stormwater Division has applied for a grant through Department of Ecology to make improvements to the pond. They should hear back on that sometime next week. They did tell us there are a lot of applicants and less money than they hoped for, so we are not real optimistic. The Streets Division will be removing the old basketball court and Southwest Rotary has agreed to replace it with a new one. The demo work will begin possibly in February, site prep in March and the new court will be built in April. Southwest Rotary will be doing the concrete work and Parks Division will be purchasing and installing the nd goals. The agreement will be going before City Council on February 2. Ken advised that there needs to be a formal motion to accept the agreement. Jo Miles asked if there is a specific dollar amount attached to the agreement. Ken stated there is, he believes it is up to $35,000, but it is basically for time, labor and materials. Ken advised that Bill Gilmore is the President of Southwest Rotary and he will be at the Council meeting to get the formal approval. It was moved by Jo Miles, seconded by Roger Lewis, to accept the donation from Southwest Rotary for the new basketball court at Randall Park. The motion carried unanimously. Ken commented on what great partners the service clubs are to the City Parks and Recreation Division. Ken stated that the CXT restrooms have been ordered. Rod Bryant asked where the restrooms will be placed. Ken advised that one is for Randall and the other is for Milroy. They should arrive in late March. Roger Lewis asked if they are pre-fab. Ken advised they are a pre-fab concrete structure with stainless steel sinks and toilets. They are vandal resistant and easier to clean. Matt asked if they burn. Ken stated they do not. We did have a portable bathroom next to the one at Kiwanis that someone set on fire and the window broke out but that was the only damage done to the CXT structure. Matt stated that the Eagle Scout project is moving forward and should be able to get started as soon as the snow clears. Matt asked when Randy Murphy, Park Maintenance Supervisor, will be retiring. Ken stated th he is retiring June 30. Ken advised that Matt is working with him and an Eagle Scout troop on the overgrown path in the nature area on the north side of the pond. Tom Hinman asked about grass at the Dog Park. Ken advised that grass has been planted and the irrigation is in. He also stated there has been some vandalism to the gates and latches so those are being repaired and replaced. Triumph Actuation Systems also planted 10 trees within the Dog Park in September. Ken stated that we are also looking at purchasing a shelter to match the two shelters that Sunrise Rotary has agreed to purchase and build near the pond. Discussion followed regarding disc golf at Randall Park. 2016 Harman Center Trips and Tours Ken advised their packet includes the Trip and Tour Guide for 2016. Clair Powell, Seniors Inc. trustee, is present to give an update on the Harman Center. Ken stated he wants to stress how much we appreciate what Seniors Inc. does. They raise money through events that goes back into the Harman Center. He advised that Rod wrote a Thank You in our latest program guide. Seniors Inc. purchased an $8,000 copy machine and put in $6,000 towards new chairs. The copy machine is something that they also use and the other half of the cost for the chairs will be paid for out of Parks Capital. They also replaced the carpet in the computer room. All of these things they help pay for saves us money to put toward something else. Clair advised that the new copier and the new carpet are in. She stated that one of the issues with the old copier was that everyone had access and was able to use it. The new copier requires a code so only authorized people will be able to use it. She advised at the next board meeting, they will be discussing enclosing the front porch to create a vestibule with sliding glass doors, which will be safer than the doors that swing open. She reported they had 279 volunteers for 4,600 hours last quarter. This equates to $46,000 added back into the budget and in turn increases the quality of life in the City. She informed the commission about upcoming events being held at the Harman Center. The Valentines Potluck dinner will thnd be held on February 11 at 5:00 pm and the Spaghetti Feed will be February 22 at 5:00 pm. She advised that the Yakima Valley Seniors Inc. also has trips and tours that are separate from the Parks and Recreation Trips and Tours booklet. They offer casino trips and also have baseball trips with the Pippens. Ken stated that he has contacted KDF regarding the vestibule. Discussion followed regarding the upcoming events at the Harman Center. 2017-2022 Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan Discussion Ken stated that we are starting to work on the Comprehensive Master Plan and we have a guest that would like to speak. He introduced David Chaplin. David stated that he is from the Yakima area and works as an administrator for the Yakima School District. He would like us to consider Bicycles when doing our master plan and the benefits of recreation and physical fitness and how the community could utilize at least one park as a center for cycling. He stated there are currently two bicycle clubs in Yakima, the Chinook and Mt. Adams cycling clubs and both are quite active hosting three events per week from April – October. He would like to see us have a base park in which they can leave from for a ride and return to after the ride. He advised there are five different disciplines in cycling: Road, Mtn. Biking, Cycle Cross, BMX and Track Cycling. He stated his dream would be to have an indoor velodrome with wood floors. He would like to see a park designated as the bicycle park with perhaps an outdoor velodrome made out of concrete and rides would begin and end at that park. He stated there are a lot of out of area riders that come here to ride. Matt asked what park he would like to see as the designated cycle park and what amenities aside from a velodrome. He stated Chesterley Park would be his preference and would love to have a track to ride on. Rod asked about organized activities that would bring people to the area. Dave advised there is currently a group starting a youth Mtn. Biking team that would host rides here in the area. Ken stated he will keep in contact with Dave. Rod thanked Dave for bringing this information to the Park Commission. Ken stated that their packets include a copy of the survey from the last Comprehensive Master Plan. He would like to revise and eliminate some questions. He would like them to review and get back to him on suggestions. Ken would like to mail the surveys out in May. He would like to send them to 4,000 homes in hopes of getting at least 1,000 returned. He said one of the things that helped is that we pay for them to be returned by sending a stamped return envelope. We also gave them $2.00 off 4 rounds of golf coupons and free swim pass for a family of 5. This time he would like to do the fee swim, a free round of golf and a $5.00 off coupon for a shelter or larger program. Jo has offered to help with the survey. We will have to give a deadline so we can process the data. We will also offer it online for those not selected randomly. Ken advised that he would like to also send out letters to 100 random homes for a face to face interview. If we could get 20 to 25 people willing to meet with us to probe a little bit further than just the survey questions that would help with quality data to use for the next 5-10 years. Once we process the data we can format it in a way to share it with the public and then create a master plan from there. Ken advised that we will be looking at breaking up the plan by District. The last one was done by Census Tract. Maureen asked if the survey is anonymous. Ken advised that it is. She suggested that there be a question on the survey that asks if they would be willing to be interviewed. Ken stated that we will take that under advisement. Ken stated that it is due to the State on April 1, 2017. Sam asked if adults were most of the respondents. Ken said that moms w/ kids were the largest group to return them and he believes that seniors were the second largest group. Sam suggested one of the questions could be “how do you get to the park?” Discussion followed. Matt asked what State agency receives the Comprehensive Master Plan. Ken advised it is the Dept. of Natural Resources and we have to do it to be eligible for grants. Sam suggested that there be a question about using the website or registering online. Paul asked if they could get the goals and objectives just to refresh their memories. Ken advised he will get copies for them. Manager’s Report Ken advised that Central Washington Mountain Rescue has been using Franklin Park to do some of their training. We are formalizing the agreement with them and that will be going to City Council in February. We are also sending out notification letters to those that live along the Powerhouse Canal Pathway from thth 25 Ave. to 40 Ave. The Water/Irrigation Division will be doing brush clearing and root removal. Miller and MLK Jr. pool buildings are being inspected for asbestos and Engineering is preparing those to go out for bid for demolition. The MLK Jr. building houses the electrical controls for the spray park so that will need to be relocated. A copy of the Use of Facilities form and Special Event form are in their packet for review. Mary Mendoza and Heidi Tollackson, Department Assistants, have been working on updating these. Jo asked if the fees are the same. Ken advised they are. Discussion followed. For the Good of the Order Rod thanked Clair and Dave for coming to the meeting. Adjournment The next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting will be February 10, 2016. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.