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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 08/26/2020 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Date, Time: Wednesday, August 26th, 5:30pm Location: Zoom meeting 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER Jessica MacMillan called the meeting to order at 5:3 3pm. 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present o Jessica MacMillan – Chair o Catherine Carabetta – Vice Chair o Mary Carlson o Ken Christensen o Sam Houghteling o Bob Kingsbury o Mike Novell o Mike Tupa • Board Members Absent o Shari Heymann – Excused • Staff Members Present o Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks o Rob Crabb – Senior Manager of Parks o Bob Adams – Director of Recreation o Kurt Friesen – Director of Park Planning and Development o Shanae Core – Business Support I/Board Support 3. AGENDA REVIEW • No changes to the agenda 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • No citizen participation 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Catherine Carabetta makes a motion to approve the minutes from July 22, 2020 as written. Mike Tupa seconds Motion passes 8-0 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 2 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. P & R MASTER PLAN UPDATE – DEBRIEF WORK SESSION – MIKE CALHOON The Board reviewed information that was presented to Council. Staff is seeking feedback on the presentation regarding the work session specifically regarding the level of service, new classifications, and framework of both the Parks and Recreation Divisions. Board: Does this drastically change anything that we are already currently doing? What are the big opportunities of the plan that you see with the Parks and Recreation moving forward? Staff: Moving forward, we will be in the refining stages. The plan is not complete and last night’s work session exposed several things. Specifically, it exposed how beneficial it would be to include special facilities or one-off facilities. Places that were not addressed previously like bike parks, running tracks, etc. The plan does not address those at high level as it should. The plan needs to reflect a bigger, holistic vision of our City. The current reality is that we do not have this as a City— not yet. It is an indication that our system is maturing and that w e are thinking in terms of growth. That is the big move that we are making here. As well as the new classifications and the policy framework being more broad than existing frameworks. It is a deep and richer plan. Board: Did you get any pushback from Council on anything? Staff: We received a lot of encouragement. There were a lot of thoughtful things brought up regarding interdepartmental and private partnerships and the importance of those. They encouraged us to continue to think that way and to continue to work and dream big together. Council also made suggestions that we look at partnerships with transit and stormwater and ways to integrate special places within our city with these areas. 2. BUDGETING FOR OUTCOMES 2021 UPDATES The City creates a biennial budget every two years using the BFO process, but due to the economic uncertainty related to COVID-19, the City will create a one-year 2021 recommended budget for City Council to consider this fall. Community input is extremely valuable, and we encourage everyone to participate. You may do so here: https://ourcity.fcgov.com/2021budget?tool=forum_topic#tool_tab This page gives an opportunity for citizens to provide input at their own pace. PARK PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT: There are three offers that are ongoing, and one enhancement offer. The three ongoing offers include the Recreation Trail Development, Neighborhood Park Development and Communi ty PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 3 Park Development. These ongoing offers add up to about 8.1 million with an additional enhancement offer of $85,000 for the Oak Street Plaza Renovation. The primary project for the Trail Development offer will be the Poudre Trail across from I25. The two primary projects for Neighborhood Park Development will the development of Bucking Horse Park located near the Bucking Horse neighborhood and Lilac Park which will be located south of CSU near the Gardens on Spring Creek. The Community Park Development project will primarily focus on the new maintenance facility near Drake & Ziegler which is currently under design. The enhancement offer for the Oak Street Plaza Renovation comes from the General Improvement District. This is an important renovation for the City and the DDA as the Plaza brings a lot of activity and vibrance to the downtown area. Board: Trail Development offer drops significantly by 500 thousand when looking forward to year 2022. Is that a revenue issue or is that due to projects not being identified? Staff: That decrease for 2022 is a preliminary number and will continue to drop if the economic status turns around. We typically direct about $400,000 to the Parks maintenance, but for the year 2021 we have directed 1 million. It is important to note that this is not unusual to request that we slow the development of trails an d redirect funds to the Parks maintenance during difficult economic times. The most recent use of the GoCo money in this same manner was during the 2007 -2009 recession. When the economy turns around, we anticipate the budget to reflect that with the reallocation of funds. Board: In the past, we have spoken about Park Refresh projects on a periodic basis. Are we going to have a chance to put in an offer on Park Refresh projects to build up escrow? Staff: We do not currently have any dedicated funding sources on Park Refresh projects. The dollars listed on the BFO offers are not eligible for Park Refresh and can only be used for new parks. We did have some Refresh offers prepared but given the current financial situation those would be considered enhancement offers and they would not be eligible this offer season. We are very optimistic to identify a more stable funding source for Park Refresh in the future. Board: Has there been any other discussion about City Park? Staff: We are going to move forward with the new restroom facility at City Park and we will be breaking ground in the next few weeks. With that comes sidewalk enhancements, the movement of one picnic shelter and a few other small items, but beyond that we are currently not looking to fund other City Park improvements. RECREATION: The facility hours have significantly been reduced and most PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 4 programs are seeing a 70% reduction in usage. The Recreation Department receives $500,000 from general funds as a subsidy and the rest of the income accumulates from user fees. Virtual programs remain very popular with users and will hopefully continue to grow in popularity as the winter weather a rrives. The in- person programs that have since been brought back from the March 15 – June 6th shutdown must be 100% cost recovery at this point. During the time of the shutdown, the Recreation department furloughed 450 staff members and were only able to bring 150 of those back. Many of those staff members work less than 10 hours a week, so that leaves a massive gap to fill when running these programs. Currently, a significant amount of the Recreation classified staff members are being pulled to different areas to absorb other duties and to assist with reductions in hourly costs. The staff and morale have been amazing. Everyone seems to be in high spirits, motivated and happy to have a job. Board: How is Epic doing? Are you seeing a 70% reduction in users of that facility? Staff: We are seeing good use at the Epic facility, but it is still nowhere close to where it used to be. Typically, we would see around 1,000 people on any given day around this time of year, but the attendance rates for Epic are down 50%. The swim lesson program will be starting up in September and we maintain solid relationships with our renters. The attendance and revenue are still nowhere close to where it used to be. PSD did change their start and end times for the high school students, so this might have impacted the facility usage, as well. PARKS: There are eight offers that are ongoing, including, Urban Forest Management/Tree Replacement, Community Parks and Facility Grounds Maintenance, Neighborhood Parks Maintenance, Hard Surface Trails Maintenance, Parks Asset Management/Replacement Program, Downtown Landscaping/Amenities, Parks Ranger Program, & Streetscape Maintenance. There are also four enhancement offers. Specifically, two of those offers should be considered static and pertain to the EAB Infestation Management, there is one enhancement offer of Maintenance for the Downtown Renovated Spaces near the Linden Street Alley. As well as an enhancement offer for the Horticulture/Streetscapes Crew Chief that will be fulfilled using the Engineering Capital Money Funds to assist with street projects at their request. These BFO offers and reductions equal to around 14.3 million in total. Board: Will there be lights in the downtown area this holiday season? Staff: We will be doing the lights downtown, but you will not see a lighting ceremony. We do not want to promote an event that would encourage citizens to socially gather. Board: What are we missing out of this budget? PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 5 Staff: We will not be as effective with our snow removal operations, especially with the off hours due to limited staff. The detail work within our Parks will not be up to our usual standards. We eliminated our memorial bench program. We are doing a lot of internal cost reductions by way of conferences, trainings and meals being cut out, no clothing approved if it is not safety related, botanical care will see a decline in certain areas, power washing will be reduced significantly and an hourly administration position will be removed. It is a delicate line to walk, but we are doing our best. 7.NEW BUSINESS 1.PP&D BUILDING SCHEDULE UPDATE – KURT FRIESEN The Parks and Recreation Master Plan is underway. The Poudre Trail at I25 is at 60% design level with a few challenges trying to secure easement. Working closely with Natural Areas to incorporate a parking lot for the Trail Head project. Also, working well with CDOT regarding the Poudre River Bridge that will require replacement which is key before moving forward with the trail project. The latest from CDOT is that the trail will be built in 2022 on the preliminary schedule. PP&D does have a GoCo grant that will expire at the end of 2022. They are hopeful that no extension request will be required with this grant. There are a few modifications being made at the Rossborough Park at the cyclo- cross skills training course. They are expanding the sand pit and making the barriers removable. The course will remain as it was last season and is currently open. After the season, they are also hopeful for better signage. The improvements at Eastside Park are nearing completion which have been made possible by the donation from United Methodist Church. The improvements involved taking out an old playground feature, adding a new soft surface path, easier vehicle passage and bench additions. There will be a virtual ribbon cutting targeting end of September. The City Park restroom project is on track and will be under construction in just a few weeks with much of the work being completed by the end of 2020. The planting and artwork are projected for completion by Spring 2021. Bucking Horse Park and the new maintenance facility designs are underway. PP&D stated that the architect is the same for both projects they are projecting the designs to finalize in 2021 with construction completing by 2022. Poudre Trail Lancer Drive is a new trail spur that is ¾ mile long that goes along towards the front of the Lincoln Middle School. There was great teamwork to get this project and all bikeway improvements completed. The Sugar Beet Park will have a Plaza addition that will house a Bronze Sculpture PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 6 which represents the Hispanic community who once tilled the sugar beet fields. This space is currently in the concept and design stage. The sculpture w ill reside in the Northeast corner of the Park to help discourage children from climbing on the piece. The Crescent Park will be expanding the storage house for Parks maintenance crews over the next few months. 2. UPDATE ON RECREATION’S REDUCED RATE PROGRAM – BOB ADAMS The Fall FunQuest Program with Remote Learning is seeing 25% of participants who receive a reduced rate. The Fall Registration program showed that they had nearly 200 reduced rate registrations of 10.8% with over 78% of participants us ing the online format. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 1. FC BIKES – MIKE TUPA The Laporte Roadway and Bridge improvements from Sunset Avenue to Fishback Avenue are underway. An interesting note is the roadways are being widened to include the bike trail and sidewalk. They are looking into how to separate those two items. They offered solutions that allow a four-foot rise curb from the roadway to the bike trail that would carry a pedestrian smoothly. In terms of budget, they are looking at fixing two bridges that are no longer safe. The next project from Jefferson Street to Walnut Avenue detailed some nice illustrations that explain how the plans change the parking from diagonal to parallel. Discussions are also underway regarding how those areas will be connected from the alleys to the parking structure. There is a “Bike to Wherever Day” event coming up on September 22nd. This event will replace the “Bike to Work Day” and celebrates bicycling and other mobility modes. Board: If they change the spaces diagonal to parallel how many spaces will they lose? Staff: The plan states that no spaces will be lost. This might mean looking into including parking spots in the adjacent structures elsewhere. 9. OTHER BUSINESS 1. RECREATION UPDATE – BOB ADAMS Last year, the Recreation Department had over 1,700 applicants and sold nearly 4,100 passes. Over 40,000 pass visits of which does not include program participation. Currently this year with COVID-19, they are seeing a 65% PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 08/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 7 decrease in pass sales, however, they are hopeful for an increase once the weather turns and if the COVID-19 numbers can stay under control. The mass registration on Thursday was 65% down from 2019, but on a positive note they had over 1800 people sign up for programs. The Winter Recreator is in full swing, as well. 2. PARK PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT UPDATE – KURT FRIESEN No additional updates to add. 3. PARKS UPDATE – MIKE CALHOON The playground at Golden Meadows Park is being surveyed. We will be renovating the basketball surface at Rolland Moore. 4. 6 MONTH PLANNING CALENDAR REVIEW o 09/01 – Recommended Budget Meeting o 09/08 – 2021 Budget – Work Session #1 o 09/15 – 2021 Budget Public Hearing o 09/22 – 2021 Budget – Work Session #2 o 10/13 – 2021 Budget – Work Session #3 o 10/27 – Parks and Recreation Master Plan o 11/04 – Annual Appropriate Ordinance (First Reading) o 11/17 – DDA Annual Appropriation (Second Reading-consent) o 11/24 – Visit FC Destination Master Plan & Tourism Improvement District Work Session 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:22pm.