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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 01/25/2017Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 25, 2016 Page 1 of 5 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Scott Sinn called the meeting to order 5:31pm. Agenda Review & Items of Note: None Citizen Participation: None Approval of Minutes: Bruce Henderson made the motion to approved the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of December 7, seconded by Ragan Adams – Minutes Approved: 7:0 Approval of Annual Report Mary Carlson made the motion to approved the 2016 Parks & Recreation Board Annual Report, seconded by Bruce Henderson – Minutes Approved: 7:0 Meeting Summary  The Board approved the 2016 Annual Report.  The Board enjoyed a presentation on Safe Routes to School, a national initiative seeking to increase the number of students safely walking and bicycling to school for improved health, academic achievement and the environment.  The Board was presented with a proposal to install Buddy Benches & Little Libraries at 6 pilot locations in Parks or at Recreation facilities in the summer of 2017 by a partnership of The Children's Speech & Reading Center, four Fort Collins Rotary Clubs and the United Way. PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 25, 2016 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Scott Sinn – 2016 scott.sinn@ymail.com Council Liaison: Gino Campana – gcampana@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 25, 2016 Page 2 of 5 Full Minutes AGENDA ITEMS: Safe Routes to School Program – Nancy Nichols & Dot Dickerson Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a national initiative seeking to increase the number of students safely walking and bicycling to school for improved health, academic achievement and the environment. The local goal is to get to 50% of K-12 students biking or walking to school on a regular basis. SRTS is housed within the FC Moves, has 2 dedicated staff members and contractual assistance for education/encouragement with Bike Fort Collins with 20 SRTS active instructors. Volunteers need about 10 hours of training and 15 volunteer hours to become staff. The program’s elementary and middle school rotation schedule allows SRTS to reach 14,000 kids/ 2,000 adults for bike education, etiquette, & encouragement, 8,000 students receiving bike-pedestrian safety education, and 100 adults receive train- the-trainer instruction. The program also works to include students with disabilities and to provide helmets to children who don’t have them. SRTS partners with many organizations from the state to community level, such as CDOT, Bike Fort Collins, the Poudre School District, Safe Kids Larimer County, Fort Collins Bike Co-op, and more. They also partner with the Parks to use various parks and multi-use trails for school rotation schedule, camps clubs & field trips, and with Recreation by publishing bike classes, camps for youth & free community events in the Recreator. Discussion Board – Do you openly seek volunteers? SRTS – We are always looking for volunteers. If you have any suggestions to connect we’d love to hear them. We’re thinking of using the city’s “Engage” system which allows city employees to sign up to volunteer. Board – Does the cost of helmets come out of your budget? SRTS – Yes. We spend on average $5k – 6k per year. We purchase a variety of sizes on HelmetRUs.net for about $8 a piece. FC Bikes program also distributes helmets. We purchase our stock together with the same size & color coding to make it easy to exchange them for the correct size. Citizen Participant – How much do you work with kids to review their route so they have a safe route to school? SRTS – We do work with them to learn that the safest route might not always be the shortest or straightest route. We teach them to take traffic speed into account, pedestrian safe crossing, crossing guards, low stress routes. Middle school PE teachers work with students to actually identify the best route and map it out. Citizen Participant – Is there a program to help low income kids buy bikes? SRTS – We did get a donation from Oscar Blues to give 1st graders at Irish Elem bikes. It’s mostly on a donation basis. There is also a community service program that can help kids earn a bike from the Bike Co-op. One school organized a bike swap so families could trade bikes kids had grown out of. Board – Thank you for all that you do! Children's Speech & Reading Center – Dave Boon & June Boon The Children's Speech & Reading Center (CSRC) & Fort Collins Rotary After Work club proposed to combine Buddy Benches (BB) & Little Libraries (LL) in 6 pilot locations in Parks or Recreation facilities in the summer of 2017. The BB program promotes friendship, helps reduce bullying, and encourages empathy & inclusiveness by providing a safe location for kids who are looking for a playmate. Funding for the proposed Parks and Recreation pilot were provided by a child volunteer following the introduction of BB at Poudre School District (PSD) schools. A partnership of all 4 Fort Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 25, 2016 Page 3 of 5 Collins Rotary clubs, CSRC, and PSD originally installed BB at 6 elementary school playgrounds, with 19 more benches to be installed this spring. Additionally, United Way has made 12 LL available for organizations. CSRC would like to install them near the benches to not only allow children the opportunity to make new friends, but encourage them to read. Ideally, the program is seeking 6 high use Parks or Recreation locations near playgrounds, preferably in “book scarcity” areas. Some of the concerns are ease of maintenance, ease of access, vandalism and keeping the LL stocked with books. Discussion Board – Which Rotary Club? CSRC – The Fort Collins Rotary Club, formerly the Downtown Rotary Club Board – What are you looking for from us? CSRC – Permission, locations & refer to the right staff member to speak with. Board – Can we do this in parks? Staff – I don’t see why we can’t. I think we should talk about how it fits into the playgrounds & design. I like the idea of working with the Library district to work on identifying areas with a higher need. Currently working on a project with Eagle Scouts on areas that are adjacent to fire departments and it has been successful so far. I think it worth investigating further. I think the purpose of Dave & June joining us today is to get the board’s input. Board – I think the Little Library should be a little lower to allow a person in a wheel chair access. CSRC – Good point. Board – Do they have to be in Parks? What about putting them on some of the multi-use trails? Staff – We’d be open to that. Unfortunately, I don’t want them to become needle drops. We just need to train people and plan for maintenance to prevent that from being an issue. CSRC – The Little Library website recommends a well-lit, high-traffic, area close to a home that allows it to be observed and cleaned, which is why we’ve been thinking of Parks or Recreation facilities where families would be and staff can keep an eye on it. Board – Another concern would be irrigation. Wouldn’t irrigation systems cause the Little Library to deteriorate? CSRC – That is why we had thought playgrounds or parks like Roland Moore with concrete areas would work better. Board – We also have to keep safety zones in mind within playgrounds CSRC – Which is exactly why we came to discuss with staff. We will only install with staff supervising. Motion – Ragan Adams made a motion to encourage staff to proceed with the Buddy Bench & Little Library pilot project. Seconded – Kenneth Layton Vote: Approved, 7:0 STAFF UPDATES: Park Planning Updates  Park Planning & Development welcomed Colleen Bannon, Administrative Assistant, to Park Planning on January 9th. Colleen lives in Fort Collins, and previously worked for an occupational therapy education company. Colleen is a welcome addition to the team!  Park Impact Fees analysis – studied 3 parks, neighborhood & community to review costs to determine a methodology to update impact fee. Fees will increase by 40-100%. The council will be discussing in a work session on 2/14  Twin Silos - Cold and wet weather this month has slowed site activities for exterior site work. Progress, however, is still being made on both restroom interiors as well as some foundation work on seat and retaining walls within Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 25, 2016 Page 4 of 5 various areas of the park site. The creek work within the park is on hold due to delay in acquiring the US Army Corps of Engineers IP 404 Permit. The US Army Corps plans to update the City on the permit status in late January to the first part of February.  Tunnel boring began the week of January 16th and is projected to continue for 4-6 weeks, as long as unexpected conditions are not encountered. Property acquisition for additional Right-of-Way (ROW) along Fossil Creek Drive is being explored to accommodate the trail. Real Estate Services is in the process of contacting landowners to discuss the feasibility of acquiring an additional 10’ along the frontage of 4 properties. Acquisition of additional ROW would allow the trail to be located 10’ off of the edge of the pavement, providing better separation between trail users and motorists. Phase 2 project scheduling will become dependent on property acquisition, as well as extensive floodplain modeling requirements.  Park Planning and Utilities met with ELCO to discuss water options for the park. Maple Hill is the first park in the ELCO district and a strategy is needed to provide irrigation water during the early and late months of the growing season when Baker Lateral ditch water is not available for the park site. Discussion Board – Will we see a proposal before it is brought to the council? Staff – Not before their work session Board – Is that a one-time new home fee? Staff – Yes it is a fee for new construction. Staff – Consider too that this includes the large increase in water expense. Board – It would be helpful to have more detail in this so that we could provide input and support. Could we have more detail at the next meeting following the work session? Staff – Yes, we’ll include more information following their work session at the next P&R board meeting. Board – I don’t think it’s very fair that the home builder has to pay the impact fee and the next owner doesn’t have to. I think that the fee should be charged on every home sale. It becomes a burden. Would council be interested and able to include in city property taxes? Staff – We have talked about adding a fee to utilities to cover Park development. Or resale impact fees to Refreshing. New sale impact fees into Development. Board – Does this impact the timeline and cost for Twins Silos? Staff – Yes, it may. Our contractor may have to release his subcontractors. We are reassessing the project without that portion, but we cannot do it in the Summer due to the creek. It would be far to expensive to do when water is high. Board – Could we get more detail on ELCO/Maple Hill Project? Recreation Updates  Spring Recreator –Day Camps are featured on the cover this year to promote Summer Camp registration open in the Spring. Also updated the facility map to make it easier for citizens to find facilities. Also includes the new refund policy & information on the $1 and $2 recreation reserves fee.  Sliver Sneakers – Senior Center, EPIC, FAC, Mulberry Pool. Free admittance, but must scan their pass. 70% discount on Fitness & Aqua fitness Classes  Club Tico renovations started this week. Adding a deck area, updating the catering kitchen and restroom areas.  Completed action items will be postponed until next month. Discussion Board – The EPIC grand re-opening was beautiful. The pool looks fantastic. The pump room was exquisite. Parks Updates  Parks Management Retreat – All 4 divisions including cemetery & golf.  Ranger working with emergency sheltering program with Social Sustainability for extreme weather conditions.  Head gate installed at Fossil Creek Park Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 25, 2016 Page 5 of 5  Forestry – Another set of large trees (cottonwoods) needed removal on East side of Shields  Successful Christmas Tree recycling rate. Will bring report next month on diversion rate.  Pause for Safety – Forester went by a Facilities truck without a harness on. Circled back around to provide a training session with that department. Discussion Board – Any update on the Emerald Ash Borer Staff – No updates right now other than our planning as it approaches from Longmont & Boulder. We’re planning for a staged decline. Board – When do the lights come down. Staff – February 14th, including the Skating Rink. Also meeting to discuss a partnership for the future of the Skating Rink Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update  City has reapplied for the community designation. Previously received the highest level, platinum. Diamond is now the highest level. Application form is in process. If you’d like to provide feedback contact Tessa Gregor.  Bike Share – Turning a year old April 1st. If you compare Fort Collins’s vendor (Zagster ) compared nation-wide (listen to tape.) 29.9 members per bike. New Business  Gardens on Spring Creek are looking at doing the Great Lawn & Stage & naming the stage the Bob & Joyce Everett stage. Jessica contacted George Lundeen sculpture studio. Helping to raise fund for a bronze statue on a bench, that will be placed as a part of the audience in the Great Lawn. Schedule of Articles/Calendar  Reviewed due date & topics. Will assign at next meeting for 3/10/17 Bullet Points  Annual Report Approved  Safe Routes to School Program  Buddy Benches & Little Library project Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 7:23pm Respectfully submitted, Coleen Elliott Board Attendance Board Members: Ragan Adams, Rob Cagen, Mary Carlson, Bruce Henderson, Kenneth Layton, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn Staff: Bob Adams, Mike Calhoon, Kurt Friesen, Wendy Williams, Coleen Elliott Guest: Robert Kingsbury – Observing Presenters: Nancy Nichols, Dot Dickerson, Dave Boon, June Boon