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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPARKS AND RECREATION BOARD - MINUTES - 09/25/2024 Park and Recreation Board Meeting September 25th, 2024 Northside Aztlan Community Center – 112 E Willow St 0 9/25 /2024 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER Nick Armstrong called the meeting to order at 5:39pm. 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present Nick Armstrong – Chair Meghan Willis – Co-Chair Ken Christensen Marcia Richards Lorena Falcon Mike Novell John Mola • List of Board Members Absent Josh Durand Paul Baker • List of Staff Members Present LeAnn Williams – Director of Recreation Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks Jill Wuertz – Sr Manager, Park Planning & Development Kendra Boot – Sr Manager, Forestry Rachel Eich – Business Support III Kendra Benson – Executive Admin Assistant 3. AGENDA REVIEW • No changes to the agenda 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • Community members living in the Huntington Hills neighborhood with concerns on the potential outdoor pickleball complex at Fossil Creek Community Park. o Cited the noise level policy from Larimer County Ordinance 97-03 with concerns about who will be policing the sound from the proposed pickleball courts o Citizen expressed that the 2nd and 3rd options would be preferred to the location chosen o Expressed concerns for the wildlife and birds that migrate through the Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 9/25 /2024 – MINUTES Page 2 pond are. o Citizen requested the City to reconsider the pickleball complex at Fossil Creek Community Park due to the desire to preserve the natural elements of the park. o Questions: o Board member, Ken Chrsitensen, asked staff what the noise considerations are when investigating sites for new facilities ▪ City project team studied noise at a high level to understand the noise levels and potential mitigation (fencing, berming, vegetation, etc.) ▪ More research will likely be conducted to determine how topographic and elevation differences impact sound o Board member, Ken Christensen, requested to see what is being done for noise abatement and mitigation. ▪ Staff will plan further study with noise mitigation techniques • Fort Collins Hockey Representatives o Fort Collins adult hockey representatives met with City staff to discuss potential solutions to the concerns previously raised regarding adult hockey ice time at EPIC. o Hockey representatives asked what a good approach would be moving forward to continue to work toward a solution with the City Recreation team. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ken Christensen moved to approve the minutes as written at 6:16pm, Marcia seconded, all in favor 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Emergency Response Update o Executive team met and recentered the organization for moving forward with emergency responses o Emergency levels: ▪ Yellow: normal operations while informing user groups (may not include larger community level communication ▪ Orange: Emergency Operations team involved ▪ Red: Increased orange level responses ▪ Purple: Impacts to the larger community; regional response o Debrief scheduled with Police, Safety & Risk Management, Parks, and Recreation teams concerning previous incident near City Park and Grand View Cemetery • Adult and Private Hockey League Ice Time Allocation Update Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 9/25 /2024 – MINUTES Page 3 o Ice is scheduled similar to other programs at all facilities: internal programs get first priority o Scheduling team has to take different criteria into account for different organizations ▪ Female league has to have a certain number of hours to be a sanctioned team o City Recreation Department was struggling with large waitlists for youth programs, so staff started to examine how to expand current youth program opportunities. ▪ Learn to Skate, Junior Rams, etc. o City staff is working with Larimer County to understand why the County has not built their additional sheets of ice yet. o Next steps: Recreation Director recommends the Fort Collins Hockey Club begin monthly meetings with the Ice & Aquatics staff • Board and staff toured the newly remodeled childcare wing of Northside Aztlan Community Center • Urban Forest Strategic Plan Update – Kendra Boot o Presentation of an overview of the final draft of the plan o Most recent version of the plan is available on the Our City webpage o Meghan Willis moved to support the Rooted in Community: Urban Forest Strategic Plan letter of support with edits at 7:46pm, Marcia Richards seconded, all in favor • BFO Letter to City Council o Ken Christensen moved to approve the letter of support as edited at 8:03pm, Mike Novell seconded, all in favor 7. NEW BUSINESS • 2025 Work Plan Development o Board members began initial development on the 2025 Work Plan. o Edits to be reviewed and approved at the October 2024 meeting 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • Marcia Richards and Meghan Willis attended the Volunteer Engagement Summit on 8/29. • Thanks to staff from board member for fixing the pickleball courts at Spring Canyon Park • Nick Armstrong and Meghan Willis will both be attending the STP Northern Colorado Trails Summit (9/26). • Nick Armstrong attended Leadership PSD. o Graduation rates are at 87% for the last few years Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 9/25 /2024 – MINUTES Page 4 o PSD ranked #4 among all regional schools o Emphasis on graduating with a degree in integrity • Meghan Willis attended the Pickleball Open House on 9/18. • Ken Christensen discussed experience with E-bikes. • John Mola discussed recent trip to Japan and their impressive parks system. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • Recreator Article o John Mola finalizing draft for Recreator article due on October 4th • Recreation Update – LeAnn Williams o Adaptive inclusive group hosted a golf event at Collindale Golf Course with 50 families in attendance, launching an Adaptive Golf Program o Fall sports have begun o Recreation software: Team completed process improvements with FC Lean ▪ Implemented changes to the way registration occurs with staffing ▪ Will be launching an app and moving to Paytrack o SE Community Center: Department will continue to bring monthly updates to the board ▪ Interviewing contractors to be brought on board at the end of October ▪ Will be discussed at Council Finance the 1st Thursday of December o Mulberry Pool Feasibility Study: Recreation team will be meeting with CSU leadership in Athletic Department to review the feasibility study before determining next steps ▪ CCIP will be key to replacing the facility o Finalizing costs and narratives for CCIP – Council Finance in October • Park Planning & Development Update – Jill Wuertz o Schoolside Park: Progressing at 75% CDs ▪ Met with PSD regarding agreement for easements o NoCo Trails Summit will take place on Thursday, September 26th o Hosted a table at the 2024 Open Streets event o Attended the Senior Advisory Board to discuss the STP update o Poudre River Trail: Section under I-25 almost complete and construction is underway for additional phases o Pickleball open house was one of the highest attended events PPD has hosted o Sport court improvements and replacements are continuing throughout the system o Moving forward with improvements for the interactive pump controls at the interactive fountain at Spring Canyon Community Park Parks and Recreation Board TYPE OF MEETING – Hybrid Meeting 0 9/25 /2024 – MINUTES Page 5 o Working on design and installation of a new sign at the Veterans Plaza at Spring Canyon Community Park. • Parks Update – Mike Calhoon o EPIC parking lot improvements complete o Tennis courts at Edora Park complete o Winterization of splash pads began after Labor Day weekend o Continuing to monitor the Japanese Beetle infestation (particularly at City Park) o Hosted a successful tour of the downtown flowers and horticulture program with City Council o Received the new showmobile o Harvested the orchard and hop yard at Twin Silo Park ▪ Over 200 pounds of fresh produce taken to Larimer County Food Bank o Sold 960 trees at the Community Canopy Program o Aeration occurring at the golf courses o Hosted a concert and fireworks show at Southridge Golf Course in coordination with Ag Day on September 6th o Parks Managers Meeting scheduled for December 11th • 6-month Planning Calendar Review 10. ADJOURNMENT Nick Armstrong adjourned the meeting at 9:24pm.