HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 07/25/2018Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 1
1. CALL TO ORDER
Rob Cagan called the meeting to order at 5:38pm
2. ROLL CALL
• Board Members Present
o Rob Cagan – Vice Chair
o Ragan Adams
o Jessica MacMillan
o Catherine Carabetta
o Mary Carlson
o Bruce Henderson
o Bob Kingsbury
o Sam Houghteling
• Board Members Absent
o Kelly Smith – Secretary (Excused)
• Staff Members Present
o Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks
o Bob Adams – Director of Recreation
o Colleen Bannon – Administrative Assistant/Board Support
o Matt Day – Park Planning and Development
3. AGENDA REVIEW
• No changes announced at the meeting by the Chair
4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
• No citizen participation
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF JUNE 27, 2018
Jessica approved minutes
Rob pointed out a spelling error on page 3 of the minutes
Jessica approves minutes as corrected of June 25th
Catherine second
Motion passed 8-0
6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
• Election of Officers
o Chairman – Rob Cagan (unopposed)
o Vice Chairman – Catherine Carabetta
Jessica MacMillan (2 votes) vs. Catherine Carabetta (6 votes)
Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 2
7. NEW BUSINESS
• Financial Overview – Lawrence Pollack, Budget Director
The City of Fort Collins Strategic Plan is aligned and focused on continuous improvements in seven Key
Outcome Areas:
• Neighborhood Livability and Social Health
• Culture and Recreation
• Economic Health
• Environmental Health
• Safe Community
• Transportation
• High Performing Government
Departments submit their offers, which are then reviewed by the respective BFO team. These BFO teams
consist of 7 staff members, and 2 volunteers from the community. The recommended budget offers are then
presented to the BLT, or Budget Lead Team. This team is comprised of Darin, Deputy City Manager, Chief
Financial Officer and all Service Area Directors. Offers are then ranked and funded from highest priority to
lowest priority. When funding depletes, offers remaining do not get funded. The recommended budget
needs to be finalized by Labor Day (September 3).
1P
st
P Council Work Session – September 11
Public Hearing – September 18
Public Hearing #2 – October 2
2P
nd
P Council Work Session – October 9
3P
rd
P Council Work Session – October 23
Adopt budget – November 30
Board: Can citizens give feedback before the 1P
st
P and 2P
nd
P reading?
Lawrence: Yes, people can give additional feedback
Board: Are the meetings just for Council?
Lawrence: You cannot participate in the meeting, but you can go
Board: What specific financial information are you looking for?
Lawrence: We are on target for 2018 projections, with a 3% increase in sales tax in ’18 and ’19.
Board: If revenue goes down, does that indicate an economic softening?
Lawrence: It correlates softly. Recessions occur every 7 to 8 years. We are at 9. No one is talking doom
and gloom for ’19 or ’20. We will go into recession again, it’s just unknown when. We have an insurance
Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 3
policy. We can take from the general fund reserve. This will give us a buffer while we plan
Board: Is it true that we don’t start a project until money is collected?
Lawrence: There was one year that we needed to borrow money, but we are very much about “pay as you
go”. We are in this budget season with 3 major projects:
Regional Police training facility
I-25 expansion – this was a commitment we signed up for along with many communities along the
front range
Interchange at Vine and Lemay
Board: How does Fort Collins compare percentage wise with bonding?
Lawrence: We have AAA rating. This bonding for Broadband will have 0 effect on credit rating. We are only
one of 3 or 4 cities that have AAA rating in Colorado. Less than 3% of cities have AAA rating.
Board: How does Broadband come into this?
Lawrence: Broadband was bonded for and voted to move forward. Q3 2019 will be the first introduction
Board: Just how far reaching will Broadband be?
Lawrence: From my understanding, just in the GMA
• City Park – Board Subcommittees
Suggested 2 or 3 board members tackle the issue. City Council wants a definition of what Refresh is, and
how we do it. Will also need a Strategic Plan.
Board will wait for direction from Kurt Friesen
Recommended at the August meeting to speak with Kurt as a committee to begin a definition of refresh, and
a strategy for refresh. Include metrics that the community needs a refresh, the level of change needed in-
order to be a refresh, and how we fund it.
Motion passes: 8-0
8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
No reports on committee activities, or events attended.
9. OTHER BUSINESS
Staff Updates
UParks Staff Update
Event season is in full swing.
Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 4
Our department is working hard with the trails getting older. We have been grinding trails – mostly focusing
on Poudre and Spring Creek Trails.
We have installed VelopA’s – multi-level bike racks
We are also working with the Farm to move the tractor to put in a new playground tractor what meets safety
standards. The old tractor can then go on display.
We are working on Twin Silo Park. The grass is growing in nicely. We are in the 2nd round of over-seeding
and another round of native area seeding.
ISA tree climbing competition was last weekend
4th of July celebration – this was the 1st time we had to initiate an evacuation after the 1st act because of
lightening
URecreation Staff Updates
There were 54 entries into the 4P
th
P of July Parade. A new route was used as well. The City is working with th
running group that does the Firecracker 5k
Thank you to the Parks staff for the help on 4P
th
P of July
Pouch Plunge is August 26P
th
P from 4pm – 6pm
Mass Registration is on August 9P
th
On page 12 of the Recreator there is an article called Take Root, Grown, Flourish
A new Recreator is out which includes Lincoln Center events. Fees will go up this year due to the increase
in minimum wage and the compression of hourly staff and other ongoing expenses (article on pg. 48 of
Recreator)
1P
st
P meeting with Council about KFCG was last night. If we don’t pass this tax, we will have a reduction in
services. The programs supported by KFCG, such as Mulberry Pool, will have an information board
discussing how this money is used at that facility
An Operations and Maintenance lifecycle replacement discussion for Parks and Recreation should be
discussed with future funding
UPark Planning & Development Staff Updates
Matt Day from Park Planning & Development presented on Crescent Park, which is in construction and the
final design of the Downtown Whitewater Park. Project updates attached.
UCrescent ParkU:
Staff: Operations and maintenance for Crescent Park are funded by KFCG.
UWhitewater ParkU:
Board: Is there a safe place for children to play?
Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 5
Staff: Yes. There is a cut-out space to make a safe spot for children. The Poudre Trail will be diverted for
quite some time due to park construction. The trail will be diverted from Willow to cross College, and get
back onto the trail at the Discovery Center
Board: Cheers to Natural Resources. Shields to College and Shields to Taft Hill are mature now
Staff: The goal was to eliminate overflow on College Ave. in a 100 year event.
Board: Will this help prevent the trail from being flooded?
Staff: The trail location is set by railroad height. This work will not affect the trail until the Lee Martinez reach,
but no promises. Businesses north of Vine will be out of the floodway. Natural Areas, Stormwater, and the
General Fund helped to make this a reasonable project. It is hard to clean up the river especially with
permitting.
Staff: There is no time limit on these funds. Next step is to find out what a “Refresh” is, and what public
outreach method should be used. We also need to find another way to fund a refresh. Refresh should be
used for Community Parks, and Lifecycle needs to be used for Neighborhood Parks.
Board: Phasing can’t be stretched over a 6-year period. If you have to close the park for a year to get it done,
then do that. Staff seems to be up against a wall. If the project is contentious, we need to be supportive of
the department, and their work.
6-month Council Calendar
• Council will be discussing a topic or issue relating to Parks, Recreation and Park
Planning and Development between now and the end of the year. It has been
suggested board members either attend or watch the Council meetings
o August 14: Review BFO Assumptions and Major Themes of the 2019/10 Budget
o August 21: Updates for title 32 metro district – Montava
o August 21: NISP comments
o September 4: Setting the 2019-20 Budget Public Hearings (consent)
o September 4: Montava Metropolitan Districts Consolidated Service Plan
o September 4: Waterfield Metropolitan Districts Consolidated Service Plan
o September 4: Water’s Edge Metropolitan Districts Consolidated Service Plan
o September 11: 1P
st
P Budget Council Work Session
o September 18: 2019-20 Budget Public Hearing
o September 25: NISP
o October 9: 2P
nd
P Budget Council Work Session
o October 16: 3P
rd
P Budget Council Work Session
o October 30: Park Refresh
o November 6: 2019-20 Budget and Annual Appropriation Ordinance (1P
st
P reading)
o November 20: 2019-20 Budget and Annual Appropriation Ordinance (2P
nd
P
reading)
Appropriate Board Member Actions (Process and Procedure)
Board members to look at current workplan. If a topic or item is of interest, report back and give a brief
presentation.
Parks & Recreation Board
Parks Maintenance Shop
TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR July 25, 2018
07/25/2018 – MINUTES Page 6
Some topics to keep in mind:
- Trails
- Financing – how we finance parks
Encourage Board members to attend Council hearings regarding BFO process. The board typically walks
up to the microphone together as a group. This has a huge impact on Council.
10. ADJOURNMENT
Meeting Adjourned at 8:05pm