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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 10/28/2020 PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR Date, Time: Wednesday, October 28th, 5:30pm Location: Zoom meeting 10/28/2020 – 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 o Mary Carlson o Ken Christensen o Shari Heymann o Bob Kingsbury o Mike Novell (arrived at 5:40pm) o Mike Tupa • Board Members Absent o Sam Houghteling - Excused • Staff Members Present o Mike Calhoon – Director of Parks o Bob Adams – Director of Recreation o Kurt Friesen – Director of Park Planning & Development (arrived at 5:50pm) 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 • Mary makes a motion to approve the minutes. Shari seconds. Motion passes 7-0 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) 2021 Update – Mike Calhoon The total budget for Cemetery, Forestry and Parks come to around 15.5 million dollars. Specifically, the Parks department took $350,000 worth of reductions for this budget cycle. Most of our reductions were taken in from our fertilizing application program and within our community park maintenance, downtown and forestry areas. We will be asking for these funds back in a reinstatement offer for 2022 if the economy rebounds. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2020 – MINUTES Page 2 It was also discussed that the Conservation Trust Funds can be utilized on capital investment projects, recreation facilities and parks/trails maintenance. We are scheduled to get 1.6 million dollars in 2021 from this funding source. The Park Planning and Development Department will get close to $800,000 for the trail development program. The Recreation Department has the same reductions as last month. The largest reductions were within the hours of operation and program areas. The biggest concern and high priority discussion focuses on the deficit spending due to the lack of revenue to cover the cost of the full-time staff. This will need to be addressed by performing monthly reviews throughout 2021. 2. P & R Master Plan – Work Session Update – Mike Calhoon The plan was very well presented and prepared by the consultants and Mr. John Stokes. The Council received it well and is fully aware of the financial gap in the Parks, Park Planning & Development and Recreation Departments. There are still quite a few ideas about how to close the gap and these talks have opened the door to consider an increase in existing sales tax, new tax on services, resale property fee, park utility fee and philanthropic giving. There were some minor changes that were suggested to the plan, but permission was given to move forward pending those edits. This approval allows us to move toward the adoption of the plan to close the funding gap in a more sustainable way. Board: Can you tax specific things like alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs, etc.? Staff: That is a very creative idea, and we appreciate the suggestion. We can reach out to the City Attorney’s office to see if this is something that we can consider as a viable option. • Bob K. makes a motion that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board offer support, acceptance, and approval to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as written with an emphasis to help address the need to find a permanent source of ongoing Park Maintenance funding, which will be used as a guideline for the next 20 years. Ken seconds. Motion passes 8-0 3. Cameron Peak Fire Impacts – Bob Adams The Cameron Peak fire is currently 65% contained. The Parks & Recreation Departments created an air quality policy several years ago. You can view the detailed information here: https://www.fcgov.com/recreation/files/20-22393-air-quality-event- guidance-v3.pdf?1597423226 The purpose of this policy is to provide information on what is considered to be unhealthy levels of air pollution so that individuals, event planners and decisionmakers within organizations can determine when they should consider limiting outdoor activities, moving, or cancelling outdoor events due to poor PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2020 – MINUTES Page 3 outdoor air quality. We would also like to recognize Mike C. for his efforts in rallying the troops and coordinating efforts to assist with a camping and resting area at Hughes Stadium Area. This area was intended for our hardworking firefighters to use during their resting periods. Mike C. assisted with the mowing operations and the testing of the hydrant drinking water supply. He worked closely with the Utilities, Streets and Natural Areas Departments to help provide a haven. These efforts show a great unity within the City and showcase our ability to collaborate and come together when the needs arise. Board: Is there a way to make the information about the air quality more widely known to the citizens as a resource? Staff: Typically, we have this in the Recreator, but we did not do a Summer Edition due to the pandemic. We will be sure to push this information out on our social media pages and at the front of our website. If you use an Apple device, you may also find air quality information on your Weather app. 7. NEW BUSINESS • 2021 Work Plan Development – Jessica MacMillan • Board and Staff discussed and developed the 2021 Work Plan. The work plan is attached and will be uploaded to the Board’s webpage. Jessica made a motion to approve the Work Plan, pending formatting corrections. Motion passed 8-0 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • FC Bikes – Mike Tupa The primary discussion point of the most recent meeting circled around the crossing at the Power Trail at Harmony Road. Currently, Power Trail users use neighborhood streets on both sides of Harmony, crossing Harmony at McMurry Avenue. The project goals are to improve safety and convenience for users and to reduce the number of pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Harmony Road at grade. The City and design consultant are moving forward with a preliminary design of a pedestrian underpass between the railroad tracks and Innovation Drive. The Design will include completing the missing Power Trail segments north and south of Harmony Road. The cost range for these additions would be in the range of 7 to 10 million dollars. There was a lot of pushback on this estimate, so they are looking to compare this project to a previously completed project that is similar in design to assist with a better idea on costs. This project would have an estimated completion date within the next 5 to 10 years. Board: Tessa from FC Moves is due to give us an update on the E-Bike Trial Program to discuss the Class 1/Class 2 bikes for the trial program. Can we get that scheduled for the upcoming meeting? PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2020 – MINUTES Page 4 Staff: Aaron Iverson is the Interim FC Moves Senior Manager, and we will be sure to get that scheduled for the next meeting. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • Recreation Update – Bob Adams The Recreation programs are being affected by the rise in COVID-19 cases. The State issued a new order which puts Colorado in a Level 3 Response. The County issued that we are currently at a Level 1 Response, but this will most likely increase in the next week or so. The Level 1 Response allows us to have 75 people within our recreation facilities and 25% capacity within each individual room. The Level 2 Response would drop the number of participants allowed within our facility to 50 people. If we were to reach Level 3, all facilities and programs would be required to go virtual. Board: Will the City still carry on with the Halloween festivities of Treatsylvania? Staff: Yes, the outdoor event is currently allowed of up to 250 people with all social distancing guidelines as a requirement. Board: What about ice shows and swim meets? Staff: If we reach Level 2 or Level 3, we would be required to limit the number of participants at these type of events. We are only allowed 50 people in the ice rink area. The ice show does not take place until May. We are currently holding auditions for that show and we will wait to see how things unfold with the pandemic. Board: Will you have a printed Recreator? Staff: We plan to do a live print on January 12th for the Winter Recreator Edition. Mike Novell will be reaching out to Sarah Gagne, Senior Supervisor at the Recreation Department, to write a piece that showcases the Fun Quest and reductions of the rate on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. If the pandemic is still an issue, we will do a virtual Recreator Edition. • Park Planning and Development Update – Kurt Friesen The Eastside Park had a small event for the ribbon cutting on September 30th. The event was limited with participants due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, it was a big success. You may learn more about this project here: https://www.fcgov.com/parkplanning/eastside-park-improvements We are excited to showcase the efforts on this project by way of video. We believe this gives us the opportunity to reach more individuals on a larger scale while maintaining the social distancing guidelines. The City Park restroom is moving along. We have had some challenges with tree roots and the sanitary sewer system, but overall, it is going well. We are projected to have this project complete by the end of 2020. The 9/11 Memorial, located at Spring Park in midtown Fort Collins, is a project that has PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2020 – MINUTES Page 5 been in the works for a few years. We are working on the fundraising campaign. We need about $600,000 to $700,000 with a goal to have it fulfilled with by private funding from now until September 11, 2021. The groundbreaking is tentatively set for September 11, 2022. We are receiving an award for Twin Silo Park from the Colorado Chapter of Landscaping Architects. This is a very competitive state full of wonderful and innovative projects, so winning this award means a great deal to us. We have several raw water agreements underway. There are a lot of challenging things when it comes to irrigating parks in the North East part of Fort Collins due to location and high salt content, but we are looking at our options. • Parks Update – Mike Calhoon We have moved into our fall operations, now. We completed the response to the HOP requirements by completing the blowouts. We are nearing completion with the installation of the holiday lights. There will not be a lighting ceremony this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but you should begin seeing lights on at night during the first week of November. The Forestry team has been busy responding to a lot of tree removal and pruning requests from the strong windstorm on October 11th. We are beginning to brainstorm ideas for options to assist lower income level homeowners who might have EAB impacts. The Recreation Department’s Reduced Rate Program is being evaluated for compatibility for this need. • 6-Month Planning Calendar o 11/04 – 1st Reading of City Budget/DDA Appropriation Budget/GID Budget o 11/17 – 2nd Reading of City Budget/DDA Appropriation Budget/GID Budget o 12/15 – 1st Reading of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for adoption o 01/12 – Visit Fort Collins Destination Master Plan o 01/26 – Reimagine Boards of Commission Update The next meeting for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will be held Wednesday December 2nd, 2020 at 5:30pm via Zoom call due to the holidays. The details will be out on the next Agenda. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:04pm.