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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 08/26/1992• CITY OF FORT COLLINS CULTURAL, LIBRARY, AND RECREATIONAL SERVICES PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD CITY COUNCIL LIAISON TO THE BOARD: Councilman Gerry Horak STAFF SUPPORT TO THE BOARD: Jerry P. Brown, Assistant to the Director, and Jackie Rael, Administrative Aide II MINUTES: Regular Meeting -- August 26, 1992 President Bob McCluskey called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Board Members Elery Wilmarth and John Barnett called to say they would not be able to attend tonight's meeting. AGENDA REVIEW: No changes to the printed agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the regular meeting of July 22, 1992 were approved unanimously on a motion by John Barnett, seconded by Roger Tarum. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: Former Parks and Recreation Board President Chuck Solano addressed the Board on the recent racial incident at EPIC. He asked that the Board recommend to City Council that the person at EPIC who was accused of making the racial comment be removed from the City payroll. Board Member Cathy Mulcahy said that she wanted to bring this up at the meeting tonight. She feels something should be done. Board Member Mary Ness was also asked to bring this matter up to the Board tonight. Recreation Manager Jean Helburg advised Mr. Solano and the Board that the administrative investigation with the employee and Jaime Mares, Employee Development Director, was nearly complete. She said at this point this will be discussed with the City Manager, Employee Development, and the City Attorney. She said the Recreation Staff and Employee Development are working to strengthen procedures and the orientation for the Recreation staff to be implemented immediately. Bob McCluskey said employees need to understand that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. However, all employees deserve the chance to be heard through the investigation. Mary feels that as a Board we are not an investigative board and cannot make such a recommendation to Council. Poudre R-1 Representative Dave Danielson said that the City is going through the due process. Cathy Mulcahy agreed, but asked that staff keep the Board informed on the investigation. The Board thanked Mr. Solano for bringing his concern to the Board. PUBLIC SERVICE POWER LINE AT PINERIDGE OPEN SPACE Park Planning Manager Randy Balok spoke to the Board about the Public Service company relocating the overhead power lines across Pineridge open space. Civil Engineer Craig Foreman and Public Service Representative Jim Slagle explained the process. Public Service will abandon some of the power line which crosses the open space and Dixon Reservoir. The power line running west over the ridge will remain in place to serve customers near Horsetooth Reservoir. A new section of Parks and Recreation Board Minutes August 26, 1992 Page 2 line will be installed near County Road 42C and requires an easement on the City's property. The cost to underground this new line would be about $13,000. The City would have to pay for this work. Funding would be from the Conservation Trust Fund. Jim Slagle indicated that future road work on County Road 42C and Centennial Drive will require adjustments to the area power lines. Staff recommended we grant the easement for the new power line along County Road 42C. The removal of the line across Dixon Reservoir is a significant safety and aesthetic improvement. Roger Tarum said overhead lines should not be allowed on City's open space property and that a policy should be written to this fact. Randy Balok said that the City has owned Pineridge since 1971 and at that time there were several utility easements on the property. Unless the City is applying for a Federal Grant, we do grant easements across our properties and whenever possible the underground lines are utilized. On a motion by K-Lynn Cameron, seconded by Cathy Mulcahy, the Board voted unanimously (6-0) to recommend that Council accept this easement. The Board did not recommend undergrounding the new line along County Road 42C due to the cost, the scaring of the land, and possibly the opportunity to remove the power lines on the Pineridge Open Space when the County road work occurs. Public Service must then be able to cost effectively combine lines and avoid the open space area. This work may occur in 5 to 10 years. COMMUNITY POOL UPDATE Recreation Manager Jean Helburg brought the Board up-to-date on the community pool project. She displayed blue prints of the project and showed the Board color swatches of the carpeting, tile, and seating. The project is on schedule and should be open for business the first of January. She hopes to have the November/December Board meeting at the site. She informed the Board that the address of.the pool will be changed to Mulberry and that next month she will be bringing the Board suggestions for a new name for the pool. Mary Ness asked if Poudre R-1 will still be practicing at the indoor pool and questioned if there will still be swim meets there? Jean said that they will practice there, however, the plan is to move all high school competitive swim meets to EPIC since EPIC was designed for competition. Poudre R-1 Representative Dave Danielson said in the past two years that he has been the Athletic Director, he has worked closely with EPIC Manager Jeff King. He said Jeff has done a great job of working with Poudre R-1 and has strived for a mutual intergovernmental cooperation. INTERIOR COMPOSITION OF THE NEW SENIOR CENTER Jean Helburg referred to a memorandum she had sent to the Board asking them to review the spaces to be included in the senior center as recommended by the Building Team. The Board wants to request that Council set aside enough money for operation and maintenance of this new facility. Jean said that Council is • Parks and Recreation Board Minutes August 26, 1992 Page 3 appropriating enough funding for the 1993 budget, and that hopefully our revenue projections are conservative enough that the actual revenues will be greater than anticipated. On a motion by Mary Ness, seconded by Cathy Mulcahy, the Board voted unanimously (6-0) to recommend to Council to adopt the resolution requesting staff to proceed with the plans as presented in their resolution to Council at their meeting of September 15 to include the following spaces in the senior center: lobby, reception area, lounge, public restrooms, offices, multi- use room, kitchen, classrooms/meeting rooms, media center/library, billiards/pool room, fitness center, jog/walk track, 4-lane lap pool and spa, locker rooms, wet crafts room, and storage. The total interior space would equal 40,000 square feet. PARKS AND FORESTRY RENOVATION AND REPLACEMENT PLAN Mike Powers reiterated staff's presentation to City Council last night (August 25) at their work session. He discussed the plan for renovation and replacement of our Parks and Forestry infrastructure. At their work session, staff explained the funding options to raise $406,000 annually for this project. The most logical options would be raising property taxes by .15 mills; institute a real estate transfer fee; or parks utility fee. Cathy Mulcahy said she would favor using two pieces of this plan for funding and would prefer the property tax and real estate transfer tax. K-Lynn Cameron said the County is looking at their infrastructure and applauds Parks and Recreation for their futuristic planning. Roger Tarum said we need to look at the logic behind raising this tax for Parks and Recreation. And the logic behind this is that people are willing to pay for the leisure services the City provides. Bob McCluskey said we need a good base and the real estate tax and property tax are good funding sources, however, the utility tax would represent a fairness to all users. NATURAL AREAS POLICY PLAN Natural Resources Director Tom Shoemaker gave the Board an overview of the Natural Areas Policy Plan. He had previously sent the Board a final draft of the plan for their review. This policy was on Council's work plan, and the Natural Resources Department has worked on this plan for two years and is now asking the Parks and Recreation Board for their approval. He discussed the concept of multiple uses of multiple lands. Within the urban setting of Fort Collins, there are many natural areas that provide important habitat for conservation of plants and animals and their associated ecosystems. Because of the nature of this plan, there are several areas that would be attractive for Federal funding. K-Lynn said that this policy has been in the implementation process for two years and has had input from several organizations. On a motion by K-Lynn Cameron, seconded by Roger Tarum, the Board voted unanimously (6-0) to accept the Natural Areas Policy Plan as presented by staff tonight. Bob McCluskey acknowledged the time Natural Resources has put into this project. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes August 26, 1992 Page 4 BOARD MEMBERS COMMENTS Jerry reminded the Board that the Boards and Commissions workshop has been rescheduled to September 30 (the date the September Board meeting had been rescheduled to). After discussion, the Board voted unanimously to move their September Board meeting to Monday. September 28, in the 281 North College Conference Room. Staff will make sure Board Members John Barnett, Elery Wilmarth, and Marilyn Barnes are notified of the change. On a motion by Mary Ness, the Board meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. j Respe`ptfully mitte Jackie Rael, Admini rative Aide II Meeting Attendance BOARD MEMBERS STAFF GUESTS Bob McCluskey Roger Tarum Mary Ness K-Lynn Cameron Cathy Mulcahy Diane Thies Mike Powers Jerry P. Brown Randy Balok Jean Helburg Craig Foreman Tom Shoemaker Jackie Rael Chuck Solano Jim Slagle, Public Service