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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 11/28/2007PASO AND WMATION BOARD Minutes of RepW Meeting Novesalser 28, 2007 213 North Mason Street 5:30 pea. Council Liaison: Kelly Ohlson Staff Liaison: Craig Foreman, 221-6618 President: Michael Chalona Phone: 490-2335 (home) 472-8954 (work) Call Meeting to Order: Michael called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m. Agenda Review: No changes to the Agenda as printed. Citizen Participation: None Approval of Minutes: On a motion made by Bill seconded by Cathy the Board approved the September 26, 2007 Minutes: 8:0 Bicvcle Plan Update: Denise Weston, Transportation — Presenter In 1995 a Bicycle Plan was instigated, now in 2007 we're recommending updates to the Plan, to bring the City of Fort Collins to the "Platinum Level". D.K. Kemp is the full-time Bike Coordinator for the City. He is working on a plan that respects both sides, the motorists and the bicyclist. He is working on a `Be Seen" campaign, coordinating with CSU to help educate the students on bicycle safety and to increase bicycle parking. He is also establishing a Bike Advisory Committee teaming with community members and City departments to bring about awareness and a multi- faceted program where both motorists and bicyclist comply with, and understand, the laws. The idea of the Bicycle Plan is to bring a level of respect within the community both from bicyclers and drivers. There will be a new bike map coming out very soon. It shows all the trails and bike paths. There will also be a "Bike to the Lights" open house on Tuesday, Dec 11 from 4pm-6pm at the Gardens on Spring Creek. For more information, or to review the presentation made by Denise Weston, please see the attached power point presentation. Cultural Facilities Plan Update: Jill Stilwell, Cultural Services & Facilities Director We have never had a Cultural Facilities Plan. This will be our first attempt at adopting this Plan. We are presenting to various Boards first to get some feedback, and then we'll be presenting to the community. Our goal is to have a Cultural Facilities Plan in place by late spring 2008. When surveys are reviewed, one constant in that what makes a city "Best Place to Live" is the cultural activities offered. People feel it is very important to have art and culture available in their community. We feel that art and culture are part of the roots of Fort Collins. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes November 28, 2007 Page 2 On average a person will spend $17.00 in addition to the cost of the event, which is a great revenue source The Culture Plan Goals: 1) Working on developing facilities as well as programs. 2) Creating the "right size" facilities for Fort Collins. The consultant we are working with suggested a facility that could handle 1,500-2,000 people would be a "best fit". Building a facility that can handle 1,500-2,000 people would allow us to bring in larger productions to Fort Collins and keep revenue here instead of people traveling to Denver. The existing Lincoln Center would be downsized to handle 500-800 people, which would allow space for building production with smaller performances. Again, the Cultural Plan is in the planning stages. There will be a lot more discussion before the Plan is finalized. For more information, and to review the presentation given by Jill Stilwell, please see the attached power point presentation. Policy Plan Update: Chris Dropinski, CPRP - GreenPlay Consultant Craig Foreman gave some background as to the difference between City Code and the Policy Plan. Basically, any changes or revisions can be made to the Policy Plan (if they do not affect City Code). Changes to the City Code can only be made by City Council. Currently, as part of the Policy, there is a user fee collected from home owners in new developments, which must be used to fund new parks within 10 years of collection. The dollars go into one large fund that is used for the development of parks. Currently, the City attempts to fund parks in fast growth areas first and wait to build in slow growth areas, but committing to the 10 years may prove to be difficult. Craig is talking with the City Attorneys to see if the "within 10 years of collection" has any flexibility, especially during slow economic times. The City Code states how to collect the fees, but not how to use the money; the Policy Plan states how to use the fees. Moving out park development too far has it's own risks, because what can happen when there are limited park facilities in a particular area is over -use of existing parks, which typically increases the operation and maintenance of that park. Currently, with the existing Policy Plan there are 19 proposed parks to be built within the City limits including 3 community parks. Options to be considered by the P&R Board include: should some of these parks be eliminated from the Plan, combined in some way, leave the Plan as it exists, and/or extend the 10 year constraint. The reality of the fee collection with the current slow home growth is that the City does not have the projected budget available to fund all these parks within the 10 year limit. Ann, "Wouldn't it be common sense if economy slows, the fee can be stretched?' Chris, "That depends on if that 10 year limit was challenged". Cathy, "should the Plan say something to the affect that so many homes have to be in a development before a park will be considered?' Chris, "It's best to stay as flexible as you can with the Plan, remember, the economy is slow everywhere so other City's are having some of these same issues. And, things can change, a couple of years from now the economy could be great. You need to be sure to keep these things in mind when making Parks and Recreation Board Minutes November 28, 2007 Page 3 changes." Craig, "We could look at developing a park every other year instead of every year, and see how that affected the budget." Jessica, "There just seems to be too many parks on the map." J.R., "that's why the Policy needs to be revised." Jessica, "Does the fee include maintenance?" Craig, "No." Craig handed out Park Level of Service Options spreadsheets for the P&R Board to use. Using a + (positive); - (negative); N (neutral); will hopefully illustrate how the P&R Board views the level of service of build out options. Cathy, "People have expectations of a park in their area if they've paid the fee." Jessica, "A logical person, after looking at the numbers, would say why are we building more parks when we don't have the money to maintain what we have." Craig, "We also can look at getting more park maintenance revenue money to the general fund. " "A Park Maintenance Fee/Tax, and our costs could be covered. " "Delaying parks and stretching the 10 year constraint can help." "This goes back to the spreadsheet in determining the level of service at the parks with the existing fee." Mark, "10 years shouldn't even bean issue." Cathy, "If you take out something like the 10 year constraint, then you need to add in something about so many houses, roads, etc. It's not as flexible, but maybe it makes it work better." Jessica, "A Park Maintenance Fee/Tax seems more appropriate because the original home owner pays the current fee, the new home owner hasn't paid so a Park Maintenance Fee/Tax would include all owners and all parks." J.R., "We could impose a fee, but it would have to go to voters. You would need to be a bridge to the political groups, the 'banner carriers' as a united front so we can provide a good Policy Plan recommendation." Chris, "Communities struggle with level of service/quality of life issue in Policy Plans, and looking out 10 years, things can change. So really looking out 5 years for a Policy Plan is more realistic." Chris, "Using the Chart that Craig provided is a good tool to see what works best to get us through the next 10 years." Craig, "Look at the Chart and think about what will work best for a recommended Policy. If we could get more revenue, it would help, could we just delay, do we need to eliminate some parks... what works?" Ann, "Could we combine/refine delay and add a fee ... just a thought." Jessica, "Why is the City using reserve money?" Craig, "Perhaps we can bring Mike Freeman here regarding the City budget so he can explain that better." For more information, and to review the presentation by Craig and Chris, please see the attached power point presentation and hand-outs. Review of 2008 Work Plan Schedule After reviewing the 2008 Work Plan Schedule, it was suggested to perhaps change the Nov 26 date to Dec 3. Jessica motion to adopt the 2008 Work Plan with the Nov 26 date moved to Dec 3. Bill seconded. The Board approved: 8:0 Proiect Updates Power Trail closed for 2 weeks. Platte River Power Authority will be replacing the overhead power lines — sent out news release notices. Watercraft Course The course is being designed at the Power Plant. The consultant is looking at the design to provide area where kayaks can come in and spin around ... it will be a world -class course when it's completed. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes November 28, 2007 Page 4 Glade Reservoir The EIS is due in December. Should bring to January meeting for comments. In a typical run-off period, Poudre goes on bell -curve (April -July). Glade would take water off at peak time. John Stokes will be presenting at next meeting. Mike, "Maybe a sub -committee could be created to give comments on Glade." Other Business When there are letters to the editor regarding Parks & Recreation, who should respond? The City always responds to comments, sometimes publicly and sometimes privately. It was suggested that the P&R Board Members respond in the paper. It was decided that this issue will be on the agenda for the next Board Meeting for further discussion. Correspondence None Adiournment Cathy moved to adjourn and Jessica seconded. The Board unanimously agreed to adjourn at 8:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carol Rankin Administrative Support Supervisor Parks Department Board Attendance Board Members: Michael Chalona, Bill Pickering, Walt Peeples, Jessica MacMillan, Greg Miller, Cathy Kipp, Arm Hunt, Mark Lueker Staff: Craig Foreman, J.R. Schnelzer, Carol Rankin, Jean Helburg Guests: Chris Dropinski, GreenPlay Denise Weston & Ryan Mounce, Transportation Jill Stilwell, Cultural Services & Facilities Director aw) o-tej G mn /2 3 5 : l Cm& j OA,_,Lsd,A