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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 01/28/2015Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 28, 2015 Page 1 of 4 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Bruce Henderson call the meeting to order 5:34pm. Agenda Review & Items of Note: • The newly appointed P&R Board members; Kelly Smith and Kenneth Layton were introduced. • Craig Foreman shared a photo book showing some of his paintings and the easel he purchased with the gift card the Board gave him at this retirement. • Reminder that the Election of Officers will take place at the February meeting. Citizen Participation Danny Burdick with Fort Collins Disc Golf Association and Jon Boothe with Northern Colorado Disc Golf stopped in to introduce themselves to the Board and to show their support disc golf courses in Fort Collins and invite the Board to play. Approval of Minutes: Discussion: None Scott Sinn made the motion to approve the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of December 3, 2014, seconded by Brian Carroll – Minutes approved 5:0 (2 new members abstained as they were not present at the December meeting). Meeting Summary • Kurt Friesen, Director of Park Planning & Development presented the Board with the latest draft proposal for the Southeast Community park design which will be presented to the neighborhood meeting. The schedule for the process is for final design to be completed by September 2015 with construction to start in January 2016 for a grand opening in May 2017. The new design has addressed the neighborhood concerns and has incorporated a theme into the design that reflects the heritage of the land. • Melissa Hovey, Senior Environmental Planner shared with the Board the proposed new code language to the Health & Environment Codes to help control fugitive dust. "Fugitive dust" consists primarily of soil particles in the air caused by wind and human activities such as excavating, demolition, abrasive blasting, and other activities. Dust causes health problems; safety, visibility, and aesthetic issues; and is a nuisance causing damage to property and machinery. City staff responds to numerous dust complaints from citizens each year and current codes and policies do not adequately provide for the prevention and control of dust emissions or the protection of health and the environment. PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday, January 28, 2015 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Bruce Henderson, Chair 2014 bmhender6@gmail.com Council Liaison: Gino Campana – gcampana@fcgov.com Staff Liaisons: J.R. Schnelzer, 970-221-6301 – jrschnelzer@fcgov.com Kurt Friesen, 970-221-6618 – kfriesen@fcgov.com Bob Adams, 970-221-6354 – badams@fcgov.com Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 28, 2015 Page 2 of 4 Full Minutes AGENDA ITEMS: Southeast Community Park Plans Update – Kurt Friesen Kurt Friesen, Director of Park Planning & Development presented the Board with the latest draft proposal for the Southeast Community park design which will be presented to the neighborhood meeting. The schedule for the process is for final design to be completed by September 2015 with construction to start in January 2016 for a grand opening in May 2017. We feel that the neighborhood concerns of: • All parking located on south side of park • Parking not distributed around the park • Traffic concerns with park entrances on Kechter Road • Preference for park entrance off of Ziegler Road • Lighted ball and turf fields • Playground to close to Kechter Road • Unsightly BMX course highly visible from Ziegler Road Have been addressed with the new design; parking will now be interior to the park with access off of Ziegler, the ball fields will remain lighted; but the turf fields will not be lighted, the playground will also be more centralized in the park and the BMX course will moved to the northeast corner of the park off of Lady Moon just west of the ball fields. We wanted to keep the identity of the area which used to be a farm with an orchard, so some of the interesting elements that may be incorporated in the design will include: • The silos that will be removed from the intersection of Prospect & Timberline, which may be interactive in some way or may be a lighted feature • A large harvest table • An orchard • A trellis garden as well as a community garden • And the use of the creek as a water feature for play In addition, there will be the traditional elements of two ball fields and two multi-purpose turf fields, a dog park, a BMX track, and some open space areas left in a more natural way to allow for quiet areas away from play areas. Discussion Board – It really seems like you’ve addressed the neighborhood concerns in a creative way. Board – Another way to use the silos might be for music since the acoustics tend to be very good. Board – Designing with the heritage of the property in mind is great. Board – Keep pushing the envelope. Dust Control Manual/Municipal Code Changes Melissa Hovey, Senior Environmental Planner shared with the Board the proposed new code language to the Health & Environment Codes to help control fugitive dust. "Fugitive dust" consists primarily of soil particles in the air caused by wind and human activities such as excavating, demolition, abrasive blasting, and other activities. Dust causes health problems; safety, visibility, and aesthetic issues; and is a nuisance causing damage to property and machinery. City staff, in many departments, responds to numerous dust complaints from citizens each year. Current codes and policies do not adequately provide for the prevention and control of dust emissions or the protection of health and the environment. Staff in the Environmental Services Department has constructed a draft approach to address fugitive dust issues that currently includes the following proposed components: • Addition of a new section to the Municipal Code and minor changes to the Land Use Code • Council adoption of a Dust Control Manual that includes dust control measures for specific dust generating activities Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 28, 2015 Page 3 of 4 • A modification to internal Administrative Policies to require compliance with the Dust Control Manual on City projects • Training of existing inspection and code compliance staff • Public outreach and education For more detailed information about the Code language and the review the Dust Prevention & Control Manual visit: http://www.fcgov.com/airquality/fugitive-dust.php. There is also a survey you are welcome to take. Discussion Board – When will this being going to Council? Staff – It was scheduled for March 3, for the first reading; but has been now put on the unscheduled work session agenda. Board – Does this have an impact for Parks with their maintenance? Staff – To some extent with our leaf blowing and removal; but we’re looking at new equipment. The downtown maintenance will be a challenge as we look at ways to conform; since we blow off corners at 4:00am. Board – What if you did this a pilot for one year to allow people/organizations to get new equipment in order to meet compliance? Will there be a grace period for compliance? Board – It seems that you may want to wait for a Code change and work on education and outreach so people/organizations understand what it is and there is some “buy-in” of the need for the new Code language. STAFF UPDATES Parks Updates • Parks is working on a waste reduction program as we work toward zero waste. With that Parks is providing more recycling options in the parks and has “Recycling Zones” at each of the shops. • The pavers in Old Town Square will be removed and available for anyone to take; with a minimal fee for stacking and moving. Recreation Updates • ARO – 20 year anniversary celebration to be held on February 4th at the Senior Center from 5:00 – 8:00 PM • Columbine/UCHealth and City of Fort Collins Partnership Report o September, October, November o Total Participation: 970 2013: 1468 o Variety of wellness services provided: 16 2013: 10 o Total Revenue: $7,532.00 2013: $18,177 • Park Planning, The Gardens and Spring Creek and Recreation staff hosted the Senior Center Community Gardens Open House on February 14. • This morning at the 8th Annual Breakfast of Champions hosted by CHAMP (Character in Athletics Make it a Priority) one of our former employee and supporter of Parks and Recreation Keith Griffin (Griff) was the award recipient for the Sonny Lubick Coach of Character Award. • Foothills Activity Center has broken ground and plans to be open by mid-November. • Mike McDonnell’s Retirement Party will be Thursday, February 26. Invites will be sent out. • The Recreation Area Manager position has been announced. • Operational Plan Action Item updates where presented at the all staff meeting last Friday, January 23. o We identified 58 actions for the next 3 years. o 2015 – we have 30 actions we are trying to accomplish o Key Highlights  All teams are meeting to discuss action items.  Create a plan to begin a review of the organizational structure of the Division to address current silos, impending retirements, workloads, cross functioning teams and succession planning. Park Planning Updates We have 30 active projects, but a couple to highlight are: • I-25 Pedestrian Bridge - Park Planning recommends foregoing the construction of the I-25 pedestrian overpass, and instead working with CDOT to construct the trail crossing at the Poudre River Bridge at the time of the bridge replacement. GOCO grant money for the construction of the overpass may be used to construct a portion of the Poudre River Trail through the Arapahoe Bend Natural Area instead. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – January 28, 2015 Page 4 of 4 • Avery Park Residence Meeting – There is a meeting scheduled for February 29 regarding the lighting in the area of Avery Park for safety concerns. • Fossil Creek Trail Underpass at Trilby – This project will be completed within days. Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update Explained the P&R Boards participation in the BAC. Board Work Plan Items Discussed and assigned members to various work plan items. • Budget – BOB2 items that focus on P&R are: Gardens on Spring Creek Visitor’s Center Expansion, Southeast Community Center Outdoor Pool, City Park Train, Club Tico Renovation • Communications – No Update • Sustainable Practices – No Update • Parks – No Update • Trails –Visited Land Conservation Meeting, so much marries with what P&R does it was an interesting discussion. • Recreation – Working on the article on the history of Parks &Recreation gave me an opportunity to read “An Anecdotal History of the Parks & Recreation Department of Fort Collins, CO”, which was written by Jean Helburg, retired Director of Recreation. I would recommend the Board read her article as it was so interesting http://www.fcgov.com/recreation/pdf/anecdotal_history.pdf • Other Projects/Programs – No Update Schedule of Articles/Calendar Dawn will get the schedule of dates/articles out to the Board. March – Archery Range April – The Farm at Lee Martinez May – City Park History Bullet Points • The Board was updated on the Southeast Community Park Design – Open House February 15 • The Board was updated on the Dust Control Manual & Proposed New Code Language and the Board felt there needed to be more thought on implementation strategy. • Introduction of new Board Members Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 8:070pm Respectfully submitted, Carol Rankin Carol Rankin Administrative Supervisor Parks Board Approved Minutes 2/25/15 - 8:0. Board Attendance Board Members: Ragan Adams, Brian Carroll, Bruce Henderson, Kenneth Layton, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn, Kelly Smith, Dawn Theis Staff: Bob Adams, Kurt Friesen, JR Schnelzer, Carol Rankin, Craig Kisling, Mike Calhoon, Jeff Mihelich, Marty Heffernan, Gino Campano and Melissa Hovey Guest: None