HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks Commission minutes - 06-10-15.docx
Yakima Parks and Recreation Commission
Meeting Minutes for
June 10, 2015
Commissioners Present: Chairman Rod Bryant, Vice Chairman Sam Karr, Jo Miles, Roger Lewis, Morgan
Pualani, Matt Tweedy and Maureen Adkison, Yakima City Council Liaison Absent and Excused: Paul
Williams and Tom Hinman
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 5:44 p.m. at City Hall in the Council Chambers, 129 North 2 Street, Yakima,
Washington.
Approval of the Meeting Minutes of May 13, 2015. It was Moved by Roger Lewis, Seconded by Jo
Miles to approve the Minutes as written from the May 13, 2015 Parks and Recreation Commission
Meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
Miller Park Early Child Learning Center proposal
Ken Wilkinson stated that a drawing has been submitted and Brett Baba is present to speak about the
project. Miller Park is the location of one of the old outdoor pools and currently has basketball courts built
on top of the shell of the pool. The old bathhouse is still there and needs to be removed. Brett Baba of
Graham Baba Architects advised he is representing Cliff Plath. He stated that Cliff has a desire to open a
preschool for up to eighty 4 year olds that would be run by the YMCA. He said that Cliff has had
conversations with Tony O’Rourke and others from the City to possibly lease some land at Miller Park for
this project. He said they had met with City employees about a month ago. It was decided that the
preferred location for this to take place would be at the SE corner of the park where the old bathhouse
stands, the reason being primarily to preserve the trees, green space and water feature within the park.
Perhaps a couple of the basketball courts could be sacrificed. They also discussed using the parking lot on
the site to satisfy the zoning requirements. Brett discussed the footprint of the project. The building is
approximately 6,500 sq. ft and there are a lot of requirements by the State in terms of this being a
preschool. One of those requirements is an adjacent enclosed play area. They also feel there needs to be
a secure drop off area and some handicapped parking besides the current parking lot and street parking.
The total space with drop off area and enclosed playground will be 22,000 ft. They are hoping they would
able to preserve the two existing trees on the south side. The fencing would be similar to the preschool
across the street. Maureen Adkison asked about removing the two basketball courts. Discussion followed
regarding removing two full courts. Matt Tweedy questioned our responsibility for replacement when park
property is used for another purpose. Ken advised that staff has done some research and it does not
appear that State funds were used to purchase or develop Miller Park. Maureen commented that the
neighborhood could use an early child learning center and this is an amazingly generous gift to the City
from the Plath Family and Washington Fruit. Jo Miles stated that it is public property and questioned what
the taxpayers are getting out of it. He asked whether it is a preschool or daycare. They advised it is a
preschool for 4 year olds. Cliff stated that they have spoken with the YMCA and the school district about
running it. Jo asked if it would be open to the public. Cliff advised there would be (4) twenty student
classrooms and one of the four would be designated to Washington Fruit employee’s children. There will
need to be an application and screening process for the other three classrooms. Brett reiterated that the
bathhouse building would be removed which would be a benefit to the city. Jo asked if they would be
leasing the land. Brett advised that has not been worked out yet. Matt voiced his concerns that it would
only be for children of Washington Fruit employees and what the reason is that it needs to be built on
public property. Discussion followed regarding open lots within that area. They stated it is a great
partnership opportunity. Rod Bryant asked about the cost to attend the preschool. Cliff stated they will be
looking into applying for state and federal funding, like ECAP and depending on how this works they may
eventually build more centers in the future. Maureen asked where this goes from here. Brett stated they
were advised to bring it to Park Commission first and then go before City Council. Jo stated a red flag he
sees is the basketball courts being taken away. Maureen asked about putting the courts somewhere else.
Discussion followed regarding the usage of the basketball courts. Matt asked what the other Washington
Fruit building at the north end of the park is being used for. Maureen advised it is the YPAL (Youth and
Police Athletic League) building. It is home to the GFI (Gang Free Initiative) program along with the YPAL
boxing and wrestling programs. Discussion followed. Sam asked what the preschool building will be used
for during the summer months. Discussion followed. Matt asked if there is a profile for the building. Brett
advised the drawings they provided are basically what they have so far. Matt asked if the proposal would
be dead if they are not able to build on public land. Cliff advised not necessarily. It all depends on the cost
to tear down the old building and build on this site. Brett stated it will be a challenging building site due to
the old pool. Matt asked what timeline they are looking at. Cliff stated they want to have kids in there in
September 2016. The building will be funded by Washington Fruit and the ownership is still to be
determined. Discussion followed. Sam stated that we will be giving up a half acre of the park. Maureen
commented on the positive atmosphere for 4 year olds before they start school. Discussion followed about
the daycare facility across the street that the YMCA already runs. Jo commented that the negative is that
children older than 4 years old in the neighborhood are losing the basketball courts. Discussion followed.
Rod stated he supports early child learning and that the City Council will need to address the concerns
about removing the basketball courts. Ken advised that the City Council has asked for recommendation
comments. Discussion followed regarding the time frame. Cliff stated they need to get started as soon as
possible if they are going to get in there by September 2016. Park Commissioners stated they would like
more time to discuss this issue. Ken advised Park Commission could have a special meeting before it
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goes to City Council. It will not be able to go before Council until July 7 at the earliest. Jo stated he
appreciates it being presented to Park Commission first and would like to be able to make a
recommendation. Discussion followed regarding options for the Special Meeting. It was agreed upon to try
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and hold the Special Meeting at Public Works on June 24 at 5:30 pm. Discussion followed about the old
bathhouse previously being used as storage.
Randall Park Improvement Project Update
Ken updated the commissioners about Randall Park improvements. He stated we have not received
official word from the State regarding the grant as the Legislature is still working on the budget. Ken
reminded them that the grant is for $500,000 matching funds and we already have our $500,000 committed
for the park. We are hoping to put $1.1 million into this project. He advised that he spoke with Southwest
Rotary about doing a new basketball court. They just finished the wildlife observation deck. Bill Gilmore is
the incoming president and has chosen the basketball court as his community project. We will begin
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meeting with them on this after the 1 of July. They also did the one at Kiwanis Park and we will be looking
to do some of the same for this one. Sunrise Rotary wants to do one picnic shelter to replace the one that
was removed and may be able to do two. Downtown Rotary has agreed to replace the playground with
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one costing $110,000. That has been ordered and the community build is schedule for July 25. The
volunteers, most of which will be Rotary members will come in and build the playground in a day. The
posts will be set by a contractor. We are working on our permit through Dept. of Ecology. We have also
been working with Katrina Strathmann from Mid Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group on the replanting
plan. Included in their packet, the commissioners received a drawing that shows the replanting to be done.
We did have to remove some trees and we will need to replant in those areas. The observation deck is
finished, just need to do some earth work once we receive our permit from Dept. of Ecology. The pond
work will be done by Stormwater in an effort to use the pond as a retention area during a large storm event.
Stormwater is working with the engineering firm of AHBL. Sam commented about the observation deck, a
cherry tree back in the nature area and disc golfers from all over the country using the course at Randall.
Ken introduced Lee Stream. He is retired from the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and would like to help with the
re-vegetation plan that Dept. of Ecology will be reviewing. Ken spoke about an event that took place at
Randall Park. Sadly one of the geese was killed recently, we believe on purpose and people were very
upset. The Legal Division will need to approve the signs that will be posted in the park regarding the
ordinance which deals with harming animals and birds in the parks to hopefully prevent this from
happening again. The signs will advise people of the penalty involved with this type of behavior. We have
been in contact with Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the police dept. regarding this incident but we are not
sure who did it and will most likely not be able to prosecute for this offense. Rod asked how many signs
there will be and where they will be placed. Ken advised there will be at least two and they will be placed
around the pond. They will be about the size of a speed limit sign. Ken introduced Barbara Altera, a
Randall Park neighbor. She spoke about the protection of the wildlife at Randall Park and stated she
represents a Facebook community of supporters of Randall Park. She commented that the wildlife is one
of the things that make Randall Park unique. She also presented the document containing the 10 Rules of
Randall Park. There are no signs that show the ordinances of the park. These are 10 things that
frequently happen in the park and she is hoping to get some signs placed in the park showing these rules.
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She also spoke about no sidewalk on 44 Ave. She stated the park is not easily accessible and would like
to encourage putting in a sidewalk. She suggested more signs, like at least 4. She commented on the
observation deck and how children walk on the outer ledge. Rod asked about leash laws and smoking
laws within the parks. There is a leash law within the parks and smoking is not allowed in the parks where
there are large groups and around children. Discussion followed regarding rules within the parks. Ken
advised that the grant from the State is very specific and can’t be used for a sidewalk but could be used for
a walkway. Lee Stream spoke briefly about the re-vegetation plan and access points to the pond. He also
suggested having a kiosk at the park for educational information as well as posting rules and regulations.
Discussion followed regarding parents being responsible for their children’s actions. He advised that along
with the Cherry trees in the nature area, there is a row of Aspens that are classified as “Unique”.
Discussion followed regarding the water and nature area.
2015 Summer Program Guide Highlights
Ken stated that their packet includes the 2015 Summer Program Guide. He thanked Tami Andringa and all
the staff for making it happen. The Movies in the Park will be held at Chesterley not Gilbert this year. The
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concert series will begin in July at both Franklin and Miller. The Strawberry Social will be held June 18 at
the Harman Center from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. Ken thanked the Streets Division for the all the work that
was done at the Fisher Park Golf Course parking lot. Ken stated that we were able to mail the program
guide to most city residence. It does cost $5,100 for us to mail them and we will be looking at offsetting the
cost by selling ad space within the program guide. Discussion followed regarding the Viva la Musica
concerts. Matt commented that the program guides are very well done. Discussion followed.
Manager’s Report
Ken stated that we are working with transit again this year for free bus rides to and from the pools. He
thanked Jason Zeller, our Aquatics Specialist, and his staff of lifeguards and cashiers. We opened the pool
this weekend from 12:30 – 4:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday due to the heat and did not charge
admission. The official opening was today at 12:30 pm. Discussion followed
For the Good of the Order
Matt asked about the status of the Chesterley Park mitigation. Ken advised the State is requiring a lot of
information from us before we can even get a decision from them. Some of the things they are requesting
are alternate sites, a site plan and a cultural resource review on the proposed site. Legal may need to
provide some of the information also. Discussion followed regarding the next step for the review
committee. Discussion regarding the parks they would like to go to next month on the park tour. It was
suggested that we go to Randall, Miller, Fisher and Chesterley. Discussion held regarding the tournaments
at Kiwanis/Gateway. Sam asked about the shutdown at Lions Pool. Ken advised that we do that every
year for necessary maintenance. Sam asked how many acres Miller Park is. It is 3.96 acres. Discussion
followed. Ken advised that Morgan’s youth commissioner appointment is up at the end of June and due to
her age she is not eligible for reappointment. He thanked her for her service.
Adjournment
The next Parks and Recreation Commission meeting will be June 24, 2015. The meeting adjourned at
7:16 p.m.