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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 - Parks And Recreation Board - Annual ReportPARKS AND RECREATION BOARD 2005 ANNUAL REPORT The City of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held 11 Regular Meetings in 2005. Board Members were Mary Carlson, Ann Hunt, Cathy Kipp, Mark Lueker, Jessica MacMillian, Greg Miller, Scott Ohm, Walt Peeples, Jon Sinclair. Annually in February the Board elects its officers, and Jessica MacMillian was elected as Board President, along with Greg Miller elected as Board Vice President. Board Members, Ann Hunt and Mark Lueker's terms expired on December 31, 2005 and they were both reappointed. Kelly Ohlson served as City Council Liaison to the Board in 2005. Marty Heffernan, Executive Director of Cultural, Library, and Recreational Services, served as Staff Liaison to the Board, with Kelly Moore, Administrative Support Supervisor, and Dawn Worth, Administrative Aide, providing staff support to the Board. Grocery Tax Repeal The Board was presented with handouts showing different scenarios of budget cuts for the potential repeal of the Sales and Use Tax on food. They were informed that it would affect the City's General Fund by up to $6 million dollars and potentially $2 million of that could be from CLRS. Each manager in CLRS that receives General Fund money had to come up with a percentage of the $2 million and it was broken down to about $700,000 from Park Maintenance, $464,000 from Recreation, a similar amount from the Library, and approximately $150,000 from Cultural Services (Lincoln Center and Museum). In order to hit the target in Recreation it was decided that the Youth Activity Center would be closed. The Board was informed of the Campaign Finance Act and its penalties. The Board sent City Council a letter supporting Council's opposition and they also made a formal motion opposing the repeal. The issue was defeated at the April 5, 2005 Election. Buildine on Basics (BOB) Capital Project Recommendations The Board made a recommendation for the Building Community Choices Capital program. The Board recommended: • Community Park Improvement • Neighborhood Park Improvements • Recreation Center at Fossil Creek Community Park • Second Phase at Gateway Building Community Choices (BCC) Projects The BCC projects for 2005 were: Regional Trails, Community Park Improvements, and City/PSD Joint Projects. Regional Trails: There is approximately $1 million left for Trails. Community Park Improvements: The improvements consist of putting sidewalks in the Community Parks. The project was put on hold in the summer because of the hurricane situation and the shortage of concrete. City/PSD Joint Projects: This agreement was put together in the 1990's. Its purpose was to make specific school fields open to the public. Those fields are: Rocky Mountain ballfields and soccer field, Blevins and Webber ballfields, Preston ballfield at Harmony Park, Poudre High School ballfield, a skate park at Northside and Edora Park, and an in -line hockey rink at Edora Park. All are currently built with the exception of the in -line skating rink at Edora. It was determined that the skate park no longer fits in Edora Park because of the number of activities already held at that park. It has been discussed that the money be spent on redoing the skate park at the Northside Aztlan Center. Downtown Ice Rink: The rink opened in Old Town Square in December. This project was provided through a partnership among the City of Fort Collins, the Downtown Development Authority, and the Downtown Business Association. Budgetine for Outcomes (BFO) This year the City chose to engage in a new budgeting process called Outcome Based Budgeting. The Board received a memo from the Budget office requesting their thoughts and recommendations on budget issues that related to Parks and Recreation. They recommended: • Frozen positions to be filled, three in Parks, one in Cemeteries, two in Forestry, and one in Recreation • Operation and Maintenance dollars to operate the new Northside Recreation Center • Operation and Maintenance for new parks, trails and forestry • A parks maintenance fee • Operation and Maintenance of Picnic Rock • Maintain existing levels for all parks and recreation facilities Children's Garden A grant from GOCO was awarded for the construction of the garden. This garden will be located at The Gardens on Spring Creek. Construction started in early November and the projected grand opening is July, 2006. Northside Recreation Center The design for the new facility was presented to the Board in July. The current building will remain open during construction and will then be torn down after completion of the new facility. Construction will begin in the fall of 2006, with completion anticipated for mid 2007. Oak Street Plaza The project is being coordinated with the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and downtown businesses. The Board was presented with the new design of the Plaza in February. The design was changed from a whimsical design to a more classy and artistic design. The Board viewed the final drawing in November. Bidding began in December 2005 and the project is expected to be complete by May 2006. Spring Canyon Community Park The Board was updated on the Park through 2005. A $200,000 GOCO grant was received to help construct the Shane's Inspiration Playground, a fully accessible playground for all children .The Colorado Eagles adopted the park as their project and are donating up to $250,000. The project went out to bid in December 2005, the contract will be awarded in February 2006, and construction will take place in March, 2006. The opening of the park is set for fall of 2007. Neighborhood Parks Provincetown: The 6.5-acre park is located on the north side of Benson Pond southeast of the College and Trilby Road junction in the Provincetown community. Construction was due to start in 2006 through 2007, however during the BFO process the project was pushed back to 2008. Rabbit Brush Park: The park is located in the Waterglen subdivision on East Vine and I-25. Construction took place in the summer. The play ground is in, and the grass will be put in during the spring of 2006. Stewart Case Park: The park is located on Vermont Drive behind Fort Collins High School. Park Planning reviewed the current Master Plan with the Board and the Board provided many suggestions. The second phase of the park started in December 2004 and should be complete by the end of summer 2006. Trails The Board was updated throughout the fall on the design of the Fossil Creek Trail Underpass at Highway #287. Construction of the project will start in 2006. The Board reviewed in September the plan for completing the trail system and closing gaps in the system.