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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks Commission minutes - 11-9-16.docx Yakima Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes for November 9, 2016 Commissioners Present: Chairman Rod Bryant, Vice Chairman Paul Williams, Jo Miles, Roger Lewis, Tom Hinman, Matt Tweedy, Josette Gonzales, Rosana Bravo and Stacy Hackenmueller Absent and Excused: Dulce Gutierréz, Yakima City Council Liaison 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. Approval of the Meeting Minutes of October 12, 2016. It was Moved by Roger Lewis, Seconded by Tom Hinman, to approve the Minutes as written from the October 12, 2016 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting. The motion carried unanimously. 2017-2022 Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan Update Ken stated he will be giving the update on the survey and would like to defer the second item listed on the agenda, the Mission Statement discussion, to the next meeting in December. He advised we are not ready with the information for the mission statement and he believes the mission statement in the current Comp Plan is not clear enough for who we are and what we do. Ken began the PowerPoint presentation on the survey results data. Ken stated that these results are from approximately 500 of the 700 surveys returned and the remaining surveys will be entered within the next couple of weeks. Ken commented that he really doesn’t want to sell advertising space in the program guide but may need to, to offset the costs. Ken stated that many people within the community do not realize that the Tahoma Cemetery is owned and operated by the City of Yakima Parks and Recreation Division. We have had some irrigation issues that seem to be getting increasingly worse and we are currently working on making improvements. Rod stated he thought at one time we were looking at a different pump or filter system. Ken advised that we are looking at a different filter system again and they are rather expensive. Just the equipment alone could be $15,000 and there are some challenges with that also. We are continuing to discuss the issue with the irrigation company. Ken returned to the PowerPoint. Matt asked Ken why he thought the Latino returns were low. Ken stated that we found this last time also. He said he thinks that doing the focus groups will help us to reach out and get the feedback from the community. Matt asked if the Latino population is not getting the surveys to begin with. Ken advised that we looked at the random mailing of the survey and it appeared to cover all parts of the city quite well. Ken commented that we believe many picked up a paper copy of the survey or completed them online. The data from the paper and online surveys are not included in these results. Jo commented on the fact that people would like to see more swimming and he wanted to clarify that later in the survey they were able to specify indoor or outdoor and he would like to see that data. Ken advised that will be in the final results report. Matt suggested that in the future we separate swimming pool from water parks. Ken stated that if there is anything going forward for outdoor swimming in the future there should be a very specific survey done based on those questions alone. Discussion followed. 2017 Budget Reduction Update Ken reported on the request he had spoke about at the last meeting. Staff had been asked to put together a 1.5% and 2% reduction of our $5.6 million budget. Ken stated he presented to City Council last Thursday morning and the Council voted 6-1 to have no cuts to Parks and Recreations budget in 2017. Ken advised that Dulce advocated strongly ensuring there were no cuts made. Discussion followed regarding the motion that Parks and Recreation Commission voted on to object to cuts made to the budget. Ken advised that the Council will be meeting again tomorrow for further budget discussions. Ken stated that the bigger concern was the passing of the initiative to increase minimum wage. Parks and Recreation runs on an army of temporary summer staff, part time employees and seasonal employees. Many of them are paid $9.47 per hour and will be increased to $11.00 per hour in January. After running a report and figuring all the numbers we believe it will be a $65,000 to $70,000 increase in our budget just to stay status quo with the number of temp employees that we have for 2017. This will have a significant impact on our budget going forward. Rod asked if Ken had any ideas on how we will try to make that up. Ken stated that we can always look at raising our fees, but he is never in favor of that. The economic principle is that you raise the prices and fewer people participate and possibly get less revenue. It is counter to the Parks and Recreation mission for serving the community. Paul asked what other division’s numbers were for temporary employees. Ken advised that they are very minimal. There are a couple of divisions that use a few but nobody uses the number of temps that Parks does. Randall Park Improvement Project Update Ken reported that Logan Williams, an Eagle Scout in our community, completed an Eagle Scout project in Randall Park last Saturday. He and his fellow Scouts and their family members and volunteers planted 900 plants along the pond edge. This concluded the portion of the improvements to the riparian zone along the pond edge. We are still working on draining and dredging the pond. Ken stated that Chip Rognile, David Flory and Brad Schneider worked with the volunteers and we also had Katrina Strathmann from Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group do the design work and help instruct the volunteers on the planting. Martin Luther King Jr. Park Presentation Ken stated that he did the presentation on Miller Park last month and was asked to do one for Martin Luther King Jr. Park also. Ken began his PowerPoint presentation on MLK Jr. Park. Matt asked if the concrete apron was removed along with the old pool house. Ken stated that we did remove some, but not all of it and it is now all part of the spray park. Ken continued with the presentation. Ken advised that City Council did not approve the change to allow camping overnight. Ken stated he will be sharing this presentation with City Council next Tuesday night in memo form, not as a PowerPoint presentation. Jo asked if the park improvements for MLK Jr. are in the Parks Capital budget for 2017. Ken stated that he does not believe any of the proposed improvements for this park are planned for 2017. Gardner and Cherry Parks and Lions Pool are on the list for 2017. Matt asked what the purpose for these two reports was, just to be made aware of them. Ken stated that he thinks that they just want to draw attention to these parks and make the parks more attractive to the families. Discussion followed regarding parks raising the quality of life, standard of living and property values in a community. Ken advised that he and Dulce met at Miller Park yesterday and he was able to show her that we are currently working on making the safety improvements she requested. Ken stated that we also took Stacy on the new commissioner park tour. Manager’s Report Ken advised that Hogback, Stephens & Sons, and Russell Landscaping will be working on the th improvements at Rosalma Garden Club Park on the corner of 16 and Tieton. Park Maintenance was able to get the site prepped and the work will begin either this week or maybe next. Dulce had asked for a recommendation for YMCA fees. Ken advised that Jo pulled some information and there is also some information that Diondra Brown was able to find in their packets. The arches for the Japanese Garden at the cemetery have been put up. Ken acknowledged Lon Inaba, the driving force behind the Japanese Gardena and Ike Simonian, builder of the arches. For the Good of the Order Rod recognized the Boy Scout Troop present at the meeting to observe and take notes. They advised they are Troop 123 out of West Valley and are funded by the Knights of Columbus. They were attending the meeting to get merit badges. Rod explained to the troop what the Parks and Recreation Commission’s purpose is. Adjournment The next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting will be December 14, 2016. The meeting adjourned at 6:36 p.m.