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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 10/22/2014Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – October 22, 2014 Page 1 of 5 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Bruce Henderson call the meeting to order 5:34pm. Agenda Review & Items of Note: None Citizen Participation: None Approval of Minutes: Discussion: None Scott Sinn made the motion to approve the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of September 24, 2014, seconded by Jessica MacMillan – Minutes approved 5:0 Meeting Summary • Chief Hutto spoke with the P&R Board for a “meet and greet” session. He gave a brief background on himself and what drew him to Fort Collins and then opened it up for questions. • The P&R Board asked Gino Campana, Council Liaison, to attend the board meeting to help explain Council’s redirection of the Southeast Community Center to an Innovation Center. The Board had concerns that the community desires were not being heard because the community feedback had shown a clear desire for a pool and community center with associated amenities. Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager, also attended and thanked the Board for the opportunity to explain and noted that the Innovative Center concept was a result of seeing an Innovation Center first-hand at a conference some of the Council members attended, and the excitement it inspired. The intent was to provide a Community Center with an innovative spin; not to disregard the desires of the community. Part of the urgency in redesigning without public input was to provide information on the new conceptual design in order to procure a funding source with BOB2. The “concept” needed to be above the line on the BOB2; but the details will be worked out with ample opportunity for public input prior to any final design being developed. • Tessa Greegor visited with the P&R Board regarding the Bike Master Plan. The Plan envisions a City where people of all ages and abilities have access to comfortable, safe and connected network of bicycle facilities, and where bicycling is an integral part of daily life and the local cultural experience. People want a safe way to get around on their bikes. The 2014 Plan focus on low- stress bicycling facilities including low-speed and low-volume streets with comfortable crossings, paved trails, and protected bike lanes. Providing a bicycle network that is connected, safety-focused, convenient and comfortable will help the City achieve all of the goals set forth in this Plan. • The Board reviewed the 2015 Work Plan and Meeting Schedule for final updates. Carol Rankin made minor changes to the document during the meeting for final draft. Motion: Michael Chalona made a motion for the Board to approve the 2015 Work Plan and Meeting Schedule as presented with the final updates made by Carol during the meeting requesting a follow-up email to the P&R Board members for final review. Seconded: Scott Sinn Vote: 5:0 in favor PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday October 22, 2014 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Bruce Henderson, Chair 2014 bmhender6@gmail.com Council Liaison: Gino Campana – gcampana@fcgov.com Staff Liaisons: J.R. Schnelzer, 970-221-6301 – jrschnelzer@fcgov.com Kurt Friesen, 970-221-6618 – kfriesen@fcgov.com Bob Adams, 970-221-6354 – badams@fcgov.com Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – October 22, 2014 Page 2 of 5 Full Minutes AGENDA ITEMS: Chief Hutto, Police Services Chief Hutto spoke with the P&R Board for a “meet and greet” session. He gave a brief background on himself and what drew him to Fort Collins and then opened it up for questions. Board – What is the relationship with the Park Rangers? Chief – There is a great connection between the Park Rangers and Police Services. Both Rangers, as you know, are former Police Officers and the relationships they have and their ability to connect with people provide a noticeable presence in the Parks. Board – What is your feeling on the safety in Parks and downtown after 10:00pm? Chief – Old Town Square has a completely different dynamic at 11:00pm, but Police Service has a solid presence in the area. Police also have a great working relationship with CSU which helps provide more consequence for bad behavior through their Code of Conduct rules, when something involves a student. Board – How late is Police Services on duty in the area? Chief – Actual policing is until 3:00am-4:00am; and then the Parks clean-up crew comes in around 5:00am-5:30am. Board – What about the safety in Parks and Natural Areas? Chief – We did have a community meeting at Laurel Elementary regarding Eastside Park. Transient migrate to the park, and they are on our radar; the Parks curfew helps. Board – What about schools? Chief – High school issues vary, but mostly we get nuisance calls. Every high school and junior high has an SRO which is helpful as that officer gets to know the students. Board – What about guns at schools? Chief – We follow up on any report. Board – Are there any plans to move the transients out of the parks? Chief – Every case is different, we try to provide resource information to find shelters, especially when it’s very cold, but it’s a complex issue. The Court recently developed a method of sentencing for minor crimes in an effort to help break the cycle. They offer the person ways to seek help and if they do ABCD; then the case is dismissed. Board – What about bicycle related accidents? Chief – It’s a perceived spike in incidents, but they’re more serious. Bicyclists do have the same responsibilities as a motorist to obey the traffic rules; but enforcement is limited to chronic issues; however officers can issue a citation. Board – What are your thoughts on Jefferson Street Park being converted to a parking lot? Chief – I know some people are upset about this, and it is easier for police to monitor the transient in this park. However, even if some do spill into other areas, they’ll probably come back into this area when it is a parking lot. We need to look for solutions to the transient situation beyond Jefferson Park as there are those that want to find help and change and we want to help these people. Those that don’t want to change typically move along. Board – How do you feel about body cameras for officers? Chief – I think they’re a wonderful tool, as everyone, police officers and public, behave better on camera. We worked on this technology early on to develop a Policy of Use which is very important to provide good checks and balances. 99% of the time an officer will be doing exactly what they should be doing and the 1% they are not; there needs to be accountability. Board – What about the riots and affected neighborhoods? Chief – I’m not sure why, but CSU is unique in rioting. I came from a university city in Texas and don’t recall any riots. However, the community knows that the blame lies on a few causing the problem. The officers are pretty good a de-escalating using a soft approach walking through the crowds and asking folks to go home. Staff – Wanted to commend Police Services with the help they provided along with the Park Rangers during a funeral at Grandveiw which involved a gang member, and there had been threats. The funeral remained a quiet, family event without incident. Southeast Community Center – Gino Campana, Council Liaison and Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager The P&R Board asked Gino Campana, Council Liaison, to attend the board meeting to help explain Council’s redirection of the Southeast Community Center to an Innovation Center. The Board had concerns that the community desires were not being heard because the community feedback had shown a clear desire for a pool and community center with associated amenities. Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager, also attended and thanked the Board for the opportunity to explain and noted that the Innovative Center concept was a result of seeing an Innovation Center first-hand at a conference some of the Council members attended, and the excitement it inspired. The intent was to provide a Community Center with an innovative spin; not to disregard the desires of the community. Part of the urgency in redesigning without public input was to provide information on the new conceptual design in order to procure a funding source with BOB2. The “concept” needed to be above the line on the BOB2; but the details will be worked out with ample opportunity for public input prior to any final design being developed. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – October 22, 2014 Page 3 of 5 Discussion Board – The new plan seemed to have a lot of “meeting maker” space; but it seems there is a lot of available meeting space around the community; it seems like a lot of wasted space. Board – The southeast community’s biggest concern is if they want to go to a public indoor pool they have to travel quite a distance; and it seemed that the Council disregarded what the citizens were asking for which seemed like a waste of time and money. This was not the first time this was done by Council and it seems to be a trend, so we wanted Council to know they are representing the community and our job, as Board, is to help keep Fort Collins great; and although innovation is great, you still have to give the people what they want and Council needs to recognize that what they came up with is not what the community wants. Council needs to listen. Jeff – Sometimes timing is the issue; and Council needed to make a decision. If BOB2 moves forward we will have more public input. Board – I think this feedback gave us what we needed. Jeff – The Southeast Community Center is not traditional, but with a pool will be very unique and give Fort Collins a great facility. Board – There’s still a lot of work to be done on this and I’m assuming we’ll see the plan again with budget numbers? Staff – Yes, we are working with Operation Services staff and Barker Rinker to review designs and budget; but we do feel we’re in the ballpark with a $14M budget. The intention is that it will be designed in a way that it can be added to in the future; but some of that depends on the final location. It also depends on if BOB2 gets passed. Board – From the Council’s perspective on the innovative piece does the design meet the needs? Gino – During our trip to Seattle we went to Maker Innovation Centers and after touring these we were asking the question, can we find a way to add this to the Community Center to have places for people to be more creative. I think we’re at a place where we can have both. Based on the last few meetings by adding the pool we have more buy-in. There is some push-back on the leisure pool with more support for lap lanes so we feel a combo of this makes sense. We feel that if the Clubs can fundraise for the lap lanes, we can add the pool. If others help pay it does creates more buy-in. Board – Operation and Maintenance is always an issue so community education is important. Board – The Board would rather support items that need maintenance in order to keep them at a high standard than support new “stuff”. Jeff – Maintenance and keeping things to a high standard are important but this funding should be part of the budget process. BOB2 tax should be for new things; like the Community Center. Board – What percent of meeting maker space is part of the design? Staff – The meeting maker space is more than just space; they can be workshops that teach metal work, wood working, and technical/computer labs, etc. They’re spaces that help to capture creative and innovative thinking and exploration. Board – To have a space that recaptures students’ interests would be a great opportunity. Board – Is the Council thinking of asking for support from other City partners? Staff – Programing will be a challenge, we need private industry for collaboration and donated time. Board – Since a maker space is about thinking big, why not think really big and ask Microsoft to donate equipment or money? Board – This is good information that needs to be communicated broadly to the community. Staff – If this gets passed through BOB2, then we’ll get into the specifics of the design and we feel the community will step up and help fund the lap lanes. Bike Master Plan – Tessa Greegor, Bikes Program Manager The Bike Master Plan envisions a City where people of all ages and abilities have access to comfortable, safe and connected network of bicycle facilities, and where bicycling is an integral part of daily life and the local cultural experience. People want a safe way to get around on their bikes. The 2014 Plan focus on low-stress bicycling facilities including low-speed and low-volume streets with comfortable crossings, paved trails, and protected bike lanes. Providing a bicycle network that is connected, safety-focused, convenient and comfortable will help the City achieve all of the goals set forth in this Plan. Fort Collins has become an exemplary bicycle friendly community due in part to the many education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation programs that are operated by the City and community partners. In addition to the numerous programs that exist today, the City has additional programs in the planning stages. There are over 40 existing and planned efforts related to bicycle programming in Fort Collins today. City departments such as FC Bikes and the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) lead many of the existing programs. Others are run by local organizations, such as Bike Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, or by individual schools. Discussion Board – What determines a low-stress street? Staff – Traffic volume, speed, lights and width of bike lanes. We are working to have 80% of low-stress streets networked as routes by 2020. Board – Way-finding will be a critical piece so people will know how to access these routes. Board – Will they be color-coded to match the stress levels? Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – October 22, 2014 Page 4 of 5 Staff – That’s an interesting idea, we can look into that. Board – How will this be implemented? Staff – It will be a phased approach, funding will come from a variety of sources; i.e., fund-raising, grants, BOB2, etc. Board – What are the next steps? Staff – Public Comment through Nov 5, with a final draft plan ready for Council on December 2 (recently postponed to Dec 16) Board – Is the green on Harmony a test area? I like it because it directs cars and bikes. I would suggest adding areas on Lemay and Timberline be painted green. Staff – We’re still testing the green paint. We wanted to elevate awareness and feedback has been positive. In the future, we are looking at putting the green to raise awareness in conflict zones. Board – I like the low stress focus, I feel more likely to try some routes especially if the way-finding stands out. 2015 Work Plan Review The Board reviewed the 2015 Work Plan and Meeting Schedule for final updates. Carol Rankin made minor changes to the document during the meeting for final draft. Motion: Michael Chalona made a motion for the Board to approve the 2015 Work Plan and Meeting Schedule as presented with the final updates made by Carol during the meeting requesting a follow-up email to the P&R Board members for final review. Seconded: Scott Sinn Vote: 5:0 in favor 2014 Annual Report Update In an effort to save time, it was decided that Bruce Henderson would end out a draft of the 2014 Annual Report to the Board Members and they would update their portion with appropriate “items of note”; and email those changes to Carol to consolidate for final review at the December 3 meeting. STAFF UPDATES Parks Updates • Jefferson Street Park is NOT owned by the City of Fort Collins. It is owned by the BN&SF Railroad and the land is leased to the City. The railroad decided to sell the property to a private organization and that organization plans to develop the land into a parking lot. • Parks is working with Poudre School District to GPS shared park/school property to determine ownership of shared space. • The DBA will be finalizing a design for the Old Town Square hoping to start construction in January/February of 2015. • Council will be discussing the Smoking Ordinance to include a ban on smoking in Parks, Trails, venues like Lincoln Center, Special Events and Golf Courses (not including the course) at their work session on November 25. Recreation Updates No Updates Park Planning Updates • The changes to the Southeast Community Park are due to designs elements that didn’t work and new opportunities with silos being moved which will provide vertical pieces in the park. This is still a work in process and will be brining future design to the P&R Board for review. Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update No Update Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – October 22, 2014 Page 5 of 5 Board Work Plan Items Discussed and assigned members to various work plan items. • Budget – Bruce Henderson – Progress continuing with BFO and BOB2; however, the Assistant Director for the Gardens was taken out of the budget during first reading. • Communications – Jessica MacMillan & Dawn Theis - No Update • Sustainable Practices – Scott Sinn - No Update • Parks – Michael Chalona – No Update • Trails – Mary Carlson & Brian Carroll – No Update • Recreation – Dawn Theis - No Update • Other Projects/Programs o Natural Areas – Brian Carroll & Mary Carlson – No Update Schedule of Articles/Calendar Dawn – Article on Northside Aztlan Center Bullet Points • Chief Hutto spoke with the P&R Board for a “meet and greet” session. He gave brief background on himself and what drew him to Fort Collins and then opened it up for questions. • The P&R Board asked Gino Campana, Council Liaison, to attend the board meeting to help explain Council’s redirection of the Southeast Community Center to an Innovation Center. • Tessa Greegor provided the P&R Board with a final update on the Bicycle Master Plan. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 8:55pm Respectfully submitted, Carol Rankin Carol Rankin Administrative Supervisor Parks Board Approved Minutes 12/03/14 - 5:0 – 3 members abstained who were not at the October meeting. Board Attendance Board Members: Michael Chalona, Bruce Henderson, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn, Dawn Theis Staff: Bob Adams, JR Schnelzer, Kurt Friesen, Carol Rankin, Bill Whirty, Mike Calhoon, Tessa Greegor, John Hutto, Marty Heffernan, Jeff Mihelich, Gino Campana Guest: Courtney Meredith, CSU Journalism Major