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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 09/23/2020 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Date, Time: Wednesday, September 23rd, 5:30pm Location: Zoom meeting 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER Jessica MacMillan called the meeting to order at 5:32pm. 2. ROLL CALL 1. Board Members Present o Jessica MacMillan – Chair o Catherine Carabetta – Vice Chair (left at 6:45pm) o Mary Carlson o Ken Christensen o Shari Heymann (left at 6:17pm) o Sam Houghteling o Bob Kingsbury o Mike Novell • Board Members Absent o Mike Tupa – Excused • Staff Members Present o Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks o Rob Crabb – Senior Manager, Parks o Francis Gonzales – Lead Park Ranger, Parks o Bob Adams – Director of Recreation o Aaron Harris – Manager, Recreation o Sarah Gagne – Senior Supervisor, Recreation o Kurt Friesen – Director of Park Planning & Development o Shanae Core – Business Support I/Board Support 3. AGENDA REVIEW • No changes to the agenda 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • Heidi Pruess, a former North Carolina Parks and Recreation Commission Chair member who has recently moved to the area. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Bob K. suggested the following edits: New Business – PP&D Building Schedule Updates: Change ‘Ridge’ to ‘Bridge’ Jessica accepts the change Mary makes a motion to approve the minutes from August 26, 2020 pending edits. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 2 Sam seconds Motion passes 8-0 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. P & R Master Plan Update on Council Finance Committee We presented to the Council Finance Committee last week. The consultant identified a gap in the operation and maintenance funds of $300,000. There is a gap in the Life Cycle area in total of 3.5 million to 5 million. There is also an unspecified gap right now due to work being done within the Refresh Program. The Committee had a good understanding of the gaps that we need to fill and seemed genuinely interested in just about everything that was presented. They did have questions about the Park Utility Fee, but that has already been reviewed. It is not usable for a variety of reasons and we have a legal opinion that backs this idea. The other suggestions that were given to us to look at districts, sales tax and philanthropic gifting gave us the ability to move forward with the Master Plan funding. These suggestions showcased their strong support towards our Plan. The only thing they did not support was sponsorships for buildings and fields, but this is not anything new. The next big step is to take the feedback and finalized documents to Council during the Work Session sometime in October. Board: Could a certain percentage from real estate transactions be collected to help support our ongoing projects? Was this looked at and considered? Staff: I do not believe this was an option that we specifically discussed, but it is certainly an option that we can bring up and consider its viability. 2. Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) 2021 Update We are waiting to hear back from Council about all offers. It was discovered that the Conservation Trust Funds can be utilized on capital investment projects, recreation facilities and parks/trails maintenance. The maintenance of these areas is funded substantially by General Fund sales tax dollars. With significant challenges to the economy, sales tax funding is at risk. This redeployment of lottery funds will help the City maintain these areas and reduce the need for General Fund sales tax funding. These funds were used in the past during and after the recession to help alleviate some of the pressure on the General Fund. Board: Should the Board write a letter or make an appearance in front of Council with a position? When would be the best time to do this? Staff: It is up to the Board to consider a position on the use of Conservation Trust Funds. The most appropriate time to comment in person would be on Tuesday, October 6th at the Public Hearing. A unified letter would be equally effective with the Council. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 3 Sam makes a motion to write an impactful statement letter that provides support to the Parks, Recreation and Parks Planning and Development Departments regarding their current budget needs. Jessica seconds Motion passes 8-0 7. NEW BUSINESS 1. Fun Quest Summer & Fall Programs – Sara Gagne Since 2018, the enrollment has increased over 300%. The Camp Fun Quest program is scheduled to become a licensed childcare provider in 2020. NACC closed March 19th due to COVID-19 and became a homeless shelter. In doing so, the program was unable to utilize that space for the Camp. However, they were able to partner with PSD to relocate the program to Riffenburgh Elementary during this time. The total enrollments for the summer was 902. The fall program began the week of August 31st. The projected total revenue for this program is around $50,000 with an additional proposed amount of $43,000 that would be provided under the CARES Act Funding source. 2. Ranger Program Update – Francis Gonzales This program began in 2013 and consists of 3 Park Rangers. The Park Rangers patrol 43 neighborhood parks, 7 community parks and over 44 miles of paved trails. The program mission is to address citizen concerns in these areas and to assist with safety trainings. Board: What kind vandalism are you seeing? Staff: We are seeing all types of vandalism. Things like turf destruction, fires in bathrooms, rocks being thrown through windows, paper being set on fire in the bathrooms, paint damage and damage to surveillance cameras. Board: Are you able to carry guns now? Staff: No, no guns. We carry batons and mace. 3. 9-11 Demonstration Update – Mike Calhoon We had a group that asked for a special event permit from our City Events Coordinator, Jan Sawyer. They asked us for an allowance to hold an event at Old Town Square. The OTS is a part of the DDA and the DDA declined their request due to the event size. This group then approached Parks with a request. We sent them an application and advised that they would need a variance from the County. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 4 This group declined to submit the variance request to the County, so we were unable to accommodate their special event request to hold the event within our Parks. A few weeks later, we got a call from their sound tech requesting that the sprinklers be turned off. We were able to arrange a meeting with them. They alerted us that they were going to hold the event in the Park without gaining prior approval. They agreed to not put the stage on the turf areas. We also put barricades on Sheldon drive and the Utilities Department worked with us to do line locates. This group did break City ordinances and Colorado law. However, the City chose to take a non-confrontational approach to the situation. Luckily, nothing bad happened. To their credit, it did not appear that they were interested in damaging the property. There was one full trash can and not a piece of ground litter on the ground at 7AM the next morning. They did commit to us that they would go through the proper channels if they should host another event like this in the future. The neighbors did have quite a few concerns about this event. However, the City has chosen not to cite this group. We want to treat everyone equally. Our main goal here in these situations is to ensure citizen safety and to protect the public’s infrastructure. 4. Article Assignment – Winter Recreator – Bob Adams The Winter Recreator P&R Advisory Board article was completed by Shari and is now in production. The Spring Recreator P&R Advisory Board article has a TBD deadline in November. Mike Novell offered to write this article assignment and chose the Camp FunQuest Program as the subject. 5. Horsetooth Outlet Project/Cameron Peak Fire Impacts – Mike Calhoon There is a mandatory water restriction that goes into effect on October 1, 2020. This was once a voluntary water restriction but changed to mandatory due to the addition of the Cameron Peak Fire. It is a compounded issue now that we have both this project and the fires. Luckily, only 20% of our Parks is on potable water, so it does not affect us entirely. If you would like more information about these impacts you may click on this link: https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/horsetooth-outlet- project/ 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • FC Bikes – Mike Tupa No report. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 5 9. OTHER BUSINESS • Recreation Update – Bob Adams The participation is still down by 70%. We are still attempting to recover ongoing costs and these funds are coming out of the Recreation reserves. We will need to cut expenses down and the truth remains that the numbers may not come back. In the future, we may be forced to ask for assistance from the General Funds Subsidy. The virtual fitness programs are still doing well. The EPIC facility is still doing well with the ice and aquatics programs. The Fall youth and adult sports registration is holding, and families appear to be following appropriate social distancing requirements. The Lee Martinez Farm continues to approve on daily attendance. Board: Have you received many complaints about the pool closures? What is the public view on this? Staff: We have not received that many complaints. People seem to be understanding of where we are at with COVID-19 restrictions. The Senior Aquatic Fitness Program has been taking place at the Mulberry Pool. We have increased the temperature settings of the pool to make it more comfortable for our senior citizens who are participating. • Park Planning and Development Update – Kurt Friesen The Eastside Park ribbon cutting will be taking place on September 30th. There will be a very limited crowd for the event, but they are making a media showcase to alert citizens of the opening. The City Park restroom is currently under construction. We are working on a fundraising campaign to add 343 paving stones to Spring Park. Each stone represents a firefighter that was killed on 9/11. The groundbreaking is tentatively set for September 11, 2021. • Parks Update – Mike Calhoon The Rolland Moore Park basketball courts are at the beginning stages of a much- needed renovation. The HOP impacts are in full swing and Parks is preparing for those irrigation changes. You will see the holiday lights being installed downtown beginning next Monday, September 28th. This will look different than years past, because we will not have the large lighting ceremony to avoid large gatherings. We are working on signage at Twin Silo and City Park for the Pickleball courts. The City of Fort Collins is under a fire ban which mimics the County fire ban. We have taped and removed the charcoal BBQs at our shelters within the Parks to comply with these bans. The Forestry Department has been busy doing corrective pruning after the September 8th snowstorm. It caused quite a bit of damage to our urban forest. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 09/23/2020 – MINUTES Page 6 • 6-Month Planning Calendar o 09/22 – Work Session o 10/06 – Budget Public Hearing o 10/13 – Work Session o 10/27 – Electric Scooter Bike Share Program o 10/27 – Tentative Master Plan for Parks o 11/04 – Reading of the 2021 Budget o 11/17 – Second reading of Second Annual Appropriation for 2021 o 11/24 – Tourism and Improvement District Update • Work Plan Prep for October Meeting Jessica advised all attendees that the next meeting of October 28th will include the review of Board functions, communications, and all collaborative efforts. As well as a review of the Work Plans for Parks, Recreation, and Trails. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:48pm.