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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 02/27/2002Call Meeting to Order: President Lance Freeman called the Regular meeting to order at 5:35 p.m Agenda Review: No changes to the printed Agenda. Items of Note: Board Member Ross Cunniff called to say that he would be out of town on a business trip and would not be able to attend tonight's meeting. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Mike Gavin, seconded by Mary Carlson, the minutes of the January 23, 2002 meeting were unanimously (7-0) approved. Sheldon Lake Improvements Craig Foreman reported that the Wilkins Trust donated $175,000 to the City for additional improvements to Sheldon Lake for construction of a boardwalk around the lake, shoreline improvements, and irrigation improvements. The Elks Club has also been awarded $125,000 for this project, which will pay for materials. A portion of the project funds will be allocated toward the purchase of paddleboats for the recreation boating program at Sheldon Lake. The Elks will assist City staff with the design and implementation of the project. The Elks will donate their time and labor to help construct the boardwalk. If there is money left over, the Wilkins Trust requested the extra money be used to upgrade City Park Center. Mike Gavin asked if the Boardwalk will be affected by the City Park Pool renovation? Craig said that will all be considered in the plan. He said the Boardwalk will be a good addition to City Park. Marty talked about pressure treated lumber and how we will build the decking with non -toxic material. A railing will be constructed around the boardwalk for safety purposes. Lance asked about the Master Basin Drainage Plan and how would that relate to the project at City Park? Craig said that the Canal Importation Basin Master Drainageway Plan on the Mulberry Corridor will impact City Park, Sheldon Lake and the golf course starting this fall (October). The stormwater travels down the irrigation canal, overflows the banks, and spreads out north and south Parks and Recreation Board Min, February 27, 2002 Page 2 of Mulberry. The project will build a detention pond at the 61h fairway on City Park Nine. This would include a two-phase project with Sheldon Lake dredging first taking the lake down 18 to 20 inches and then Phase 2 would be the project on the golf course. With a 100-year flood event, the water would drain off the golf course within 24 hours after the storm and drain into Sheldon Lake. This would eliminate flooding on Mountain Avenue and Oak Street. Originally, when Stormwater staff spoke to the Board (October 2000), it was thought that this project would not start until 2006- 2008, however, it has moved up on the schedule to this fall. Lance would like the Stormwater personnel to attend our Board meeting to explain the schedule and the impact on the park. Marty said he has reminded the staff to make sure the park is restored to its present state after the stormwater improvements are constructed. Paul Hudnut asked about the water quality of the lake? Marty explained that the aeration system is working and the water quality is improving. Poudre River Trail/LaPorte Connection Craig explained that the Poudre River Trail presently ends at Taft Hill. In the Parks and Recreation Master Plans (1974 and 1988), both plans showed the Poudre Trail connecting to the Foothills Trail. In the 1980's the rail line was abandoned and we have been purchasing property for the trail since then. We purchased most of the rail line right-of-way. Trail funding was used to help purchase the Hyde Natural Area, which was purchased with Natural Resources. We have now purchased the last piece of property that will extend the trail to Lyons Park (west of Overland Trail). This section of trail will be under construction this year and we will open the trail to Laporte by next year. The Laporte Planning Commission is very excited about this project. It has taken since 1985 to 2002 to acquire all the pieces of property. We received some grants and Lottery funding will be used for the project, which will cost approximately $750,000. The Youth Corp will assist by adding crusher fine gravel next to the concrete trail. Marty added that we have issues relating to the floodplain in the area near Lions Park that we will mitigate. Paul Hudnut said that the Natural Resources Advisory Board felt they were overlooked on this project. They want to look at the impact on the Hyde Natural Area. Craig explained the project to the Trails Subcommittee at a recent meeting. A field trip to the trail site is planned for this spring with NRAB members. Del asked what is beyond Lyons Park? Craig said that the County is planning a trail from Lyons Park to the LaPorte School and then to Watson Lake. Paul Hudnut said he is glad this is coming to fruition. Horticulture Center Update Jim Clark gave the Board an update on the project. EDAW won a national award, President's Award for Master Planning, for the landscape design and the vision of the project. Parks and Recreation Board Ates • February 27, 2002 Page 3 We have encouraging interest in this project from the Rotary Club through the Friends Group and have raised some individual donations. We have a grant application submitted to GOCO for $150,000. We need property from CSURF for Rolland Moore Drive and a small stormwater easement. CSURF is not willing to convey this property to the City so the project is delayed. CSURF wants the City to pay to upsize stormwater improvements on the Horticulture Center property to handle stormwater resulting from development of CSURF property. The City does not have to accommodate CSURF's developed flows. Our hope was to move the ditch prior to April 15. We will now have to wait until mid -September to start construction. We are asking for the right of way of Rolland Moore Drive without cost and are willing to upsize the pipes at CSURF's cost. It is complicated technically and legally. Del said the problem is the drainage coming off their property and we have to accommodate it. Del asked if we are receiving interest on this money? Marty said that the Finance Department invests this money and we will check with them. We will recalculate in the fall based on what we have available at that time. Community Park Capital Projects Marty explained that Building Community Choices funding allocated $450,000 for improvements to existing community parks. We presently have about $300,000 in this fund for improvements to our community parks. Staff has developed a prioritized list of improvements needed at each park. The following is a list of the most critical needs in our community parks. Rolland Moore Park — $100,000 The tennis court complex at Rolland Moore Park is the site for major tournaments. The asphalt courts were installed in 1984 and are now in need of renovation. The large cracks in the courts create safety concerns and impair play. The six practice courts will be resurfaced and should have a life of 15 to 20 years. Work on the courts is scheduled to be completed in early summer of this year. The two championship courts at the tennis complex will be replaced with post -tension concrete with a thin asphalt surface. This should give the courts a new service life of 30 to 40 years. Parking is very limited in Rolland Moore Park during softball season. We are proposing a parking lot south of the road and just to the east of the playground, near the irrigation ditch. City Park— $35,000 A basketball goal located in the parking lot at the ballfields was removed to allow for parking lot improvements in 2000. Basketball players expressed a concerned about the loss of the court. Outdoor basketball courts are heavily used at all parks. The project involves constructing a new court that will be separate from the parking lot and will meet our current design standard. Lee Martinez Park — $25,000 Parks and Recreation Board Min February 27, 2002 Page 4 The ballfields at the park are not accessible for persons with disabilities. The project would install a sidewalk from the parking lot, near the tennis courts, east to the ballfields and on to the sidewalks near Cherry Street. The new sidewalk will also provide access to bleachers and the restroom near the ballfields. Paul Hudnut said we are spending 2/3 of the money to put more concrete in the parks. He is not a fan of taking our parkland money to add more concrete. Basketball and tennis court upgrades are understandable, but the rest of it could be achieved with offsite parking such as parking at the Senior Center for Rolland Moore. Marty further explained that the next round of improvements staff would like to make include: Parking for The Farm for the east side of Lee Martinez — $165,000 City Park Theme and dress up the park with the theme of the park to unify it. We would also study taking out the through roads in the park allowing for a pedestrian area in the center of the park. Mike Gavin expressed the need to have emergency vehicle access through the park from -the fire station and explained how we could have emergency vehicle access only. Marty further explained that we are looking at taking out the soccer field east of City Park Nine Golf Course and making it into a parking lot. Mike Gavin is concerned about taking away a soccer field at City Park to put in a parking lot. Marty said there is a critical need for the parking and it is only one small field. Rolland Moore Lights Renovation $50,000 — Marry explained how the lights in Rolland Moore were installed in 1984 and could be upgraded to have less obtrusive lighting. Del Price asked if the reason we are resurfacing the tennis courts is because they are falling apart? Marty said yes. Marry explained that the four top projects: Rolland Moore Park Tennis Court Improvements, Rolland Moore Park Parking Lot Addition, City Park Basketball Court, and Lee Martinez Park ADA Sidewalk Improvements will be taken to City Council on March 19 for approval. Staff would like a recommendation from the Board tonight on these four projects. Paul Hudnut said that if there is a limited funding could we use it towards the replacement of City Park Pool? Marty said the ballot language reads that this money must be spend on community park improvements. This money is meant for improvements to our current infrastructure and the pool renovation is beyond the scope of the Building Community Choices funding. We are going to give the Board a full report on City Park Pool later this evening. On a motion by Mary Carlson, seconded by Mike Gavin, the Board voted 7-1 to recommend that City Council approve the top four projects for Building Community Choices funding, with Paul Hudnut opposing. City Park Pool Marty explained to the Board that the City conducted an audit of our four public pools: EPIC, Mulberry Pool, the pool at the Senior Center and the outdoor pool at City Park. The audit found Parks and Recreation Board Abes . February 27, 2002 Page 5 some minor problems at the indoor pools, which were quickly remedied. However, the audit found significant safety problems with the outdoor pool at City Park. These problems include: • An entrapment hazard created by having only one drain located on the wall at a five-foot depth. The standard is for at least two drains located on the bottom of the pool. The suction from the drain could trap a small child and cause them to drown. • An entrapment hazard created by the installation of a clean water discharge pipe around the wall of the deep end of the pool. There is a gap between the pipe and the wall where swimmers could get their feet or hands trapped, which could result in a drowning. • The slope of the pool leading to the deep end has a sudden drop off. This causes some swimmers to get in over their head unexpectedly. • The ledge in the deep end changes rapidly from a one -foot depth to a ten -foot depth. This again causes swimmers to enter deep water unexpectedly. • The filtration system is substandard. This creates poor water clarity and prevents lifeguards from seeing the bottom of the pool in the deep end. It also means there is not nearly enough filtered, chlorinated water circulating in the deep end, which creates an unsanitary condition. • The slope of the pool under the diving board is not deep enough and creates a risk that a diver will hit bottom. • The chlorine rooms are not airtight, do not have alarms, the fans don't work, and the rooms are located too close to, and vent into, areas where swimmers congregate. • There are not nearly enough skimmers or water returns. Based on these findings, the consultant strongly recommended that the pool not be opened until all these safety issues were resolved. The general condition of the pool structure and infrastructure is poor. Sheldon Lake leaks into the pool and thousands of gallons of fresh water are lost because of the poor condition of the piping system. Maintenance costs for the pool are very high because of its poor condition. The average life of an outdoor pool is 20 to 30 years. Our pool is approximately 50 years old. After receiving the safety audit report City staff from Recreation, Risk Management, Operation Services, and the City Attorney's office met to determine the appropriate course of action. We spoke with the safety consultant to determine if there was an affordable way to address the safety concerns and make the pool safe. The consultant advised that a major reconstruction or overhaul of the pool was needed to fix the safety issues and the pool should not be opened until this was accomplished. Parks and Recreation Board Min February 27, 2002 Page 6 To make sure there was not an affordable option to address the safety concerns the City hired a local pool construction and design firm familiar with our outdoor pool and one with many years of experience in designing and building pools. This consultant concurred with the findings of the consultant regarding the safety issues. He suggested the safety issues could be addressed by installing a new concrete shell inside the existing pool with a safe shape and depth, stabilizing the subsurface and upgrading the mechanical systems, at a cost of $1,000,000. The consultant felt the pool has outlived its usefulness and could not be operated safely unless it was renovated. City staffs from all Departments involved in addressing this situation agree that the pool should not be opened until it is renovated or replaced. The Recreation Division can still operate the large wading pool and the paddleboat program, even if the main pool is closed. The outdoor pool operates three months each year, from June through August. The most popular program at the pool is the Learn to Swim classes, with nearly 700 participants. The Recreation Division will be able to offer all these classes at the indoor pools if the outdoor pool is closed. This may require some reduction in the public swim hours at EPIC in the mornings. People who just drop in to swim at the outdoor pool will still be able to swim at the indoor pools if the outdoor pool is closed. What will be lost is the outdoor swimming experience. Fortunately, younger children and their parents can still enjoy outdoor swimming at the wading pool at City Park. Mary Carlson said she sees this as a public relations time bomb. Is John Fischbach going to recommend removing the pool or is he going to have some replacement plan? Would it be a priority? Marty said our recommendation is to build a new pool. The existing site could be used for a shelter picnic area next to the lake. Are there any other locations recommended? Marty said staff is working on it right now. Lance said that the next chair of this Board should make this pool replacement a priority. Marty replied that staffs recommendation is to find enough money to fill it in and turn it into a picnic area. Mike Gavin asked about the impact on the Senior Center pool? Marry said that would be the least impacted pool. On a motion by Paul Hudnut, seconded by Del Price, the Board voted unanimously (8-0) to recommend to the City Council to close the outdoor pool because of the significant safety issues. They further recommend that the City publicize the pool closure to inform citizens of the situation. The Board also requests that Council examine all funding alternatives to renovate or replace the outdoor pool as soon as possible. Park Planning Projects Updates Craig Foreman gave the Board an update on the Park Planning projects as follows: Parks and Recreation Board Stes • February 27, 2002 Page 7 Gateway Park — Access Road has been constructed. The restrooms will be delivered next week and installed. We will landscape and seed in April/May. Homestead Park — Staff will bring more renderings to the Board. The project is being bid; construction will begin this summer and will be completed this fall. Fossil Creek Community Park — The second phase is out to bid. We will award the contract the last week in March and start the project the last week in April and open 2003. Building Community Choices Ballfields — Construction is underway at Webber, Blevins, and the Poudre High School. Our next project will be the inline hockey rink at Edora this fall. Soft Gold Park — Staff will revisit with the neighborhood in May, design through the summer, and start construction in 2002 and open 2003. Taft Hill Project Spring Creek Trail — The box culvert is in and the trail construction -will be completed this summer. We will host a celebration for completion of the Spring Creek Trail for the community this fall. Mary Carlson asked if there is any liability on the City if the rafters put in or take out on City property (Gateway Park). Marty said liability is limited by governmental immunity as long as we make sure there are no defective conditions. Election of Officers Paul Van Valkenburg was unanimously elected as President; and Mary Carlson was unanimously elected as Vice -President. Other Business Presentation to Council on the Northside Aztlan Community Site for $100,000 for design for the site next Tuesday. It would be appropriate for Paul Van Valkenburg to attend this meeting. March 19 Community Park Improvement with BCC money will go to Council for approval. Also donation of a small park 1.5 acres, that will bridge across to the Waterglen neighborhood. Board Members Comments and Reports Paul Hudnut gave a report on the trails subcommittee. They talked about the trail extension and they also have been working on a matrix of trails inventory. They talked about the issue of paved trails through natural areas. After the matrix is completed, this group will meet on an as needed basis. We need to let this group be aware of updated trail projects. 0 Mary Carlson and the Board members wanted to thank Lance for his efforts as Board President.