Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 01/24/2018Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 1 of 6 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Scott Sinn called the meeting to order 5:37 PM. Agenda Review & Items of Note: Discuss Keep Fort Collins Great during 6-Month Agenda for City Council Citizen Participation: • FoCo Roller Derby Non-Profit – Tracey Bjick (President) & Jayne Niemann (Treasurer) – Growing community of women athletes operated by volunteers. Participants must be 18, but the average age is 35. Currently at 50 members. We currently practice at Rollerland and play at The Events Center; however, they are looking to not be in the business any longer. We are desperately seeking another venue for our events and a practices space, particularly gymnasium space within the city. We’re reaching out to you for help to see if we what we can do to test out a partnership with our organization. Currently we have 4 days of practice a week for 1-2 hours split between 2 facilities. Our games are an hour long, but we do need time for setup and tear-down of the track. Discussion • Board - Are there YouTube videos? • FCRD – Yes! We’ll email you some. Approval of Minutes: Ragan Adams made the motion to approved the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of December 6, 2017. Seconded by Jessica MacMillan – Minutes Approved: 5:0 Approval of Annual Report: Bruce Henderson made the motion to approved the Parks & Recreation Board 2017 Annual Report. Seconded by Jessica MacMillan – Minutes Approved: 5:0 Meeting Summary • The Board welcomed a new member, Catherine Carabetta. • The Board approved their 2017 Annual Report • The Board supported the renewal of the Scout House Lease by the Fort Collins Youth Baseball • The Board would like to extend fond wishes in retirement Tim Buchanan. He will be greatly missed. PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 24, 2018 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Scott Sinn – 2017 scott.sinn@ymail.com Council Liaison: Ken Summers - ksummers@fcgov.com Staff Liaisons: Mike Calhoon, 970-416-2079 – mcalhoon@fcgov.com Kurt Friesen, 970-221-6618 – kfriesen@fcgov.com Bob Adams, 970-221-6354 – badams@fcgov.com Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 2 of 6 Full Minutes STAFF UPDATES: Park Planning Updates • Capital Expansion Fee Audit – As an outcome of the fee working group established to review policies related to the use of capital expansion fees, an audit was conducted of all capital expansion fee expenditures over the last 5 years. Of approximately $56M in fees expended over the last five years, approximately $3.5M are in question and require further explanation. Of these $3.5M, approximately $2M are neighborhood park impact fees, including $1.6M of administrative costs. The remaining $400,000 are project related expenditures, of which Park Planning is providing rationale. A report summarizing the rationale for the questioned expenditures will be provided to the working group sometime later this year. • Future Water Strategy – Park Planning and Development is investigating the services of a water resource consultant to assist in developing a water supply strategy and management plan for future parks (7 neighborhood parks & 2 community parks). Raw water costs have escalated significantly for future park sites; the 7 park sites located north of the Poudre River are in areas which are outside of historic ditch supplies owned by Parks, and also outside of the City of Fort Collins municipal water service area. Water costs (potable and/or non-potable) will be very high for the future parks. The goal of the plan is to identify costs and availability of water supplies at each park site. • City Park Refresh – A design consultant team has been selected, and schematic design has begun for City Park Refresh. The design team is collaborating closely with the Forestry Department as well as a Technical Advisory Group with representatives from multiple City Departments as the design ideas progress. A Contractor Manager / General Contractor (CM/GC), as well as a Playground Designer and Manufacturer, will be selected through separate proposal processes by the end of January 2018. The CM/GC will work closely with the design team to give input and provide valuable cost estimating services at key design milestones for the project. Design is planned to continue throughout 2018 with construction of a first phase starting in 2019. • Fossil Creek Trail – Shields to College – Two of the 4 property owners have consented to sell additional Right of Way which will allow the trail to remain separated 5-10’ from Fossil Creek Drive, allowing a safer trail user experience. Acquisition negotiations are still in progress with one private owner, and an HOA. The total acquisition costs are estimated to be approximately $66,300 now, plus approximately $9,000 paid to Real Estate services for their work in negotiations and closings. These costs were not included in the original project estimate. The property acquisition negotiations, revised floodplain modeling and subsequent trail redesign to prevent 100- year flood flows from entering the new tunnel caused a delay in construction this past fall. Construction of the project is estimated to take approximately 4 months, allowing a late summer/early fall trail opening. The GOCO grant requires a December 2018 project completion. • East Community Park – Park Planning and Development is working with the adjacent landowner towards an acceptable solution for the mitigation of current groundwater problems. The underdrain on the park property, which was constructed in March 2017, needs to be extended to the adjacent property to maintain sufficient drainage. No estimate or schedule has been determined yet for extending the underdrain to the west. Proposed floodplain issues at the park site are still unresolved, and the finalization of the remapping of the Poudre River floodplain by the State of Colorado is expected in 2019. Local floodplain conditions due to potential ditch spills onto the property are under review by the City of Fort Collins’ attorney’s office. • Long View Trail – Construction of the Long View Trail remains on schedule. Castle Rock Construction Company has cleared the trail corridor of trees, shrubs, stumps and rubbish, and will be installing piers and abutments for Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 3 of 6 the 5 trail bridges over the next month. The portion of trail located in Fort Collins will feature 2 of the 5 bridges. Installation of the trail’s concrete is estimated for early April, weather permitting. Trail construction is on track for June completion. • Park Planning & Development Annual Retreat – On January 30, Park Planning and Development will hold their annual Team Retreat. Directors from peer departments have been invited to sit in on a portion of the retreat at which time the Park Planning and Development team will present highlights and challenges from 2017, and discuss their work plan for 2018. This will offer an opportunity for early collaboration with these departments on upcoming projects. Parks & Recreation Board Members are welcome to attend this portion of the retreat, from 12-1:30. The retreat is planned to be located at Tamasag, in Bellvue, 4825 W. CO Rd 52E. Lunch will be provided. Please email Colleen Bannon at cbannon@fcgov.com if you are interested in attending. Discussion Board – You mention toward the end of the Future Water Strategy that water costs will be very high for future parks. I’m wondering how you’re going to handle that? Staff – There has been a shift in the way that we are handling water for parks. There are two reasons for that shift, the cost issue and the location of our future parks. In Northeast Fort Collin’s it’s a different ballgame due to where the ditches deliver water, well water, etc. I’m working with 3 developers right now on ways to share water, as well as partnerships with the Poudre School District. Utilities may also be able to sell or share portions to us. We’re trying to plan effectively and make sure we’re doing what is best for us. But still, it will be expensive. Board – What is this under-drain at East Community Park? Staff – When the reservoir was constructed it greatly changed the ground water in the area. One of the area was our park site. We have to drain it so we can buy water elsewhere, legally. There is a developer that we’re working with that has adjacent land. There is standing water and it needs to be reclaimed to its original condition. If it is an established wetland, we must mitigate for it. We’re working an engineer to figure out where it can go. There isn’t much top soil either, so we’re considering working with Natural Areas to build the top soil once the water issue is corrected. Then we have issues with the flood plain, but we’ll get there. Some of the hardest works with getting parks developed is the pre- work. Board – If we can’t make the Park Planning Retreat, will the work plan be available? Staff – Yes, I will bring it to the board. Board – The Capital Expansions Fees working group is on pause, is that because of Broadband? Staff – Is more due to questions that from the audit that resulted from the working group. Of the Capital Expansion Fees there is only about $3.5 million being questioned. Several questions are related to administrative costs and if that is appropriate use. We’re sorting through that with lawyers. Outside of that, there are questions related to $400,000 for neighborhood park fees regarding water and electric fees, which appear to be ongoing costs rather than development costs. There is this gray area regarding when the expense should be transferred to Parks as operational expenses, rather than construction fees for neighborhood parks by Park Planning & Development. There are also questions regarding improvements to existing parks compared to replacement of existing equipment. Board – Will that effect City Park Refresh then? Staff – No, that has its own Capital Tax. We’re trying to build a whole project for $1 million, especially when you’re impacting 5 or 6 different existing structures. There will be things that are there today that won’t be until we get additional funding. We will be asking for that in this BFO cycle. Board – Will you be at the City Park Neighborhood Association Potluck this Saturday from 5-6:30 PM to answer questions about City Park Refresh? Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 4 of 6 Staff – I’m not able to go, but I’ll see if I can find a representative to go talk about City Park Refresh from Park Planning & Development. But I will say that we don’t feel that we’re at a point in the process to do that. I’m willing to go to listen, but where were at the process we’re not able to provide answers. Parks Updates • Fort Collins Youth Baseball lease of the Scout House – Fort Collins Youth Baseball, a non-profit, leases of the Scout House at City Park as their administrative office. The City Manager can lease a property to an organization at a lower cost if it is for the common good. Recreation doesn’t provide Youth Baseball program because of the great program operated by Fort Collins Youth Baseball. The lease is $25 per year. The administrator, Thad Anderson, for the organization has a great relationship with the city. Jessica MacMillan has made a motion to support the renewal of the Fort Collins Youth Baseball lease of the Scout House. Seconded by . Motion approved 5:0 Discussion Board – Has the league reached its max capacity based on the city facilities available? Staff – We don’t have a shortage of fields, but a scheduling issue since everyone wants to play at the same time. But we have a good relationship with Thad that helps to resolve problems and quickly resolve issues. Board – Are there any other city buildings that are used for this purpose? Staff – CSU Hockey does rent to use locker rooms at EPIC. La Familia also has had a partnership, but outgrew their ability to meet state certification requirements for childcare. The Archery club does lease a shed space. Swim Teams use the city swimming pools. • Code Updates for Exceptions – Code Updates pertaining to authorizing exceptions, slacklining and drones in parks. We’re trying to take Wendy’s title out of the code for exceptions for codes in Parks and Natural Areas due to the administrative backlog it has generated. We are planning to change this to the departmental directors. o The issue with the Drones is due to FAA regulations. Our current code states un-manned craft cannot fly more than 500 feet, but FAA regulations state 200 feet. We plan to update the code to reflect FAA regulations. We do offer exceptions, but one must apply for them. We must even get applications for an exception for other city departments, such as Kites in the Park for Recreation and the Twin Silos Lumination video for Park Planning & Development. We will have folks coming in soon to discuss model rocketry permits. Discussion Board – With all these special interest groups, do they need special areas of a park to participate in their activity? Does that infringe on use of the park for other users? Staff – Yes, that is a part of our discussion regarding the passive user in this process. We do our best to provide reasonable accommodation within policies that apply to the public, with the consideration of safety and infrastructure protection. • Tim Buchanan’s Retirement - 4:30 PM at the Lincoln Center is Tim Buchanan’s retirement party. His last day will be in February 1st. He has been the forester for the City of Fort Collins for 40 years. • Annual Ditch Board Meeting – Dead Man is carrying 79% of average. Joe Wright carrying 129% of average. Discussion Board – I’ve noticed there are still extra frisbee golf baskets at Edora Park. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 5 of 6 Staff – We’re staying on the same side of the park, but we’re having issues with the re-vegetation at the recycling center so we’re trying again before we move it back. Board – Are we going to lose the Frisbee Golf course by Hughes? Staff – It does depend on who develops it and what their plans are for how that storm overflow area at the Aggies Greens will be used. Recreation • Spring Recreator - Public distribution was last week o Kelly’s article on Art in the Parks o New board member is listed on page 2 o Directors highlights - We’ve made changes to the city summer camp program to operate all out of Northside. The new farm will have the baby animals soon. Twin Silo Park’s amenities. Winter Olympics are a big boost to our ice programs, including Hockey and Curling, which we have on our Green Rink. EPIC Therapy & Instruction Pools are open again. We do have some water puddling issues on the pool deck due to the tile that need to be worked on. o Spring Registration on February 8th, Senior Center early registration is on February 6th • Recreation’s New Rental Fee Methodology – We had issues with some “handshake” agreements that lead to inconsistencies in our rental rates. We were pressured into analyzing our fees and set a methodology for our rental fees to get approved by the City Manager and City Council between our last & this meeting. Our fees were no consistent between Northside, Senior Center, Club Tico, etc. We previously had facility supervisors that operated independently, but we now trying to work towards consistency in the department across the city to provide the best customer services. We looked at other municipalities and peer cities to see how their rental pricing is structured. We also wanted to set specific definition of our user groups, specifically commercial, community, intergovernmental agency (City and Poudre School District) & non-profit. We used the community rate as guidance, as well as a method using square footage of room. Some rates went up, some rates went down based on this methodology. We are working with CPIO on a marketing package, including a virtual tour, to improve our facility rentals. As a part of Plan, Do, Check Act I’ll come back to present the results of these changes. Discussion Board - Recreation was mentioned at an event at Salud last night regarding the Reduced Fee Program and the dignity retained by users who need the help can receive the help to stay healthy. Review City Council 6-Month Agenda • Yesterday - Update on the I-25 Express lane update. This could impact the Archery Range • Feb 6 o Natural Areas – Request to purchase 606 square foot property of Pine Ridge that is adjacent to resident’s property. Could impact parks in the future. o Amending the City Code related to special events. Alignment to the current law, processes & procedure. o Consideration of the locker proposal at the Mennonite Church near Library Park o Whitewater Park – asking for funding • Feb 13 o Update to City Plan • Unscheduled/Upcoming o Keep Fort Collins Great 2020 sunset and future of funding the City’s current level of service. Discussion Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 24, 2018 Page 6 of 6 Board - We may need to educate our City Council member on the value of Keep Fort Collins Great, because he has said it needs to sunset. Consider what Colorado Springs looked like in 2008 when they were shutting down city pools, they stopped managing street medians, communities had to work with their neighbors to get streetlights, etc. We were the only city in the state that voted to increase their taxes. Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update • 18,000 people participated in the Winter Bike to Work Day. There were 44 stations active. • They are considering piloting a protected bike lane on Mulberry from Shields to Overland Trail by City Park. Schedule of Articles/Calendar • Summer Recreator Due Date February, will publish in April New Business Board – I wanted to bring up the issue of bushes and trees in medians on North College & West Harmony obstruct driving. Staff – We’ve discussed with engineering about the design of those medians and they have thinned some going forward, or more mature trees that are taller so there are better sightlines. I will be coming to this group to ask for an offer for a Horticulture & Median program. Bullet Points • Welcoming Catherine • Approval of the Annual Report • Scout House Lease by the Fort Collins Youth Baseball • Fond wishes in retirement Tim Buchanan. You will be greatly missed. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 7:30 PM Respectfully submitted, Coleen Elliott Board Attendance Board Members: Ragan Adams, Rob Cagen, Catherine Carabetta, Bruce Henderson, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn, Kelly Smith Staff: Bob Adams, Mike Calhoon, Coleen Elliott, Kurt Friesen Guests: Tracey Bjick, Jayne Niemann – FoCo Roller Derby Bob Kingsbury – Observing Althea - Observing Presenters: