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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks And Recreation Board - Minutes - 03/23/2016Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – April 6, 2016 (Rescheduled March Meeting) Page 1 of 4 BE A GOOD STEWARD: Protect & Respect your Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities Call Meeting to Order: Scott Sinn called the meeting to order 5:31pm. Agenda Review & Items of Note: None Citizen Participation: Pickleball Ambassadors Mary Lou Gallup & Jay Readinger Pickleball is a 50-year old sport similar to badminton, ping-pong or tennis, with a 34” net and the court is 1/3 of the size of a tennis court. Information about pickleball can be found at www.usapa.org. Pickleball is a fast growing sport in North America with players ranging from novice/recreational players to pros. The USAPA helps to make pickleball a recognized sport and develop players. We have been working with staff and would also like to work with the Parks and Recreation Board because currently Fort Collins does not have a good name with the sport. Discussion Board – Why does Fort Collins have a bad name? Ambassadors – There are no dedicated outdoor courts for pickleball and with the limited indoor courts, players compete for the court space and become frustrated with other players causing mistreatment among players. Board – How common across the County is it to have too many players and not enough courts? Ambassadors – It’s common, but Fort Collins is behind the curve. Loveland has 4 courts and Windsor is talking about adding 4 courts. Those courts will always be overcrowded. Board – Do you have any official statics that provide this type of data or a GAP analysis? Ambassadors – You can find information on USAPA web page; but we can get you information. Board – How many outdoor courts does the City have for pickleball? Ambassadors – 18 courts, but they’re mixed-used courts and we have to provide our own nets, paddles and balls. Board – Is the issue about courts or nets? Ambassadors – It’s about both and we need lit courts. Portable nets are very delicate and expensive. Board – We need more data on pickleball needs before we could recommend if it was in the best interest to take away from one sport and provide for another. Approval of Minutes: Discussion: Minor change to correct spelling of Scott Sinn’s name within the minutes. Jessica MacMillan made the motion to approved the Parks & Recreation Board minutes of February 24, 2016, seconded by Bruce Henderson – Minutes Approved: 8:0 Meeting Summary • The Board encouraged the Ambassadors to refine their presentation and make it clearer to the Board what they want and their priorities; providing impacts and solutions. Once they have a clearer message the Board would like to invite the Pickleball Ambassadors back for another presentation. • Kurt Friesen provided the Board with information on Refreshing Parks; which would be a new component in the Park Planning process. • Mike Calhoon provided the Board with a refresher on the process involved in Budgeting For Outcomes (BFO). PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday, March 23, 2016 (Postponed due to weather – April 6, 2016) 5:30 p.m. Board Chair: Scott Sinn - 2016 scott.sinn@ymail.com Council Liaison: Gino Campana – gcampana@fcgov.com Staff Liaisons: Mike Calhoon, 970-416-2079 – mcalhoon@fcgov.com Kurt Friesen, 970-221-6618 – kfriesen@fcgov.com Bob Adams, 970-221-6354 – badams@fcgov.com Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – April 6, 2016 (Rescheduled March Meeting) Page 2 of 4 Full Minutes AGENDA ITEMS: Refreshing Parks – Kurt Friesen We will be presenting the concept of Refreshing Parks to City Council on April 26 at their request. Fort Collins Parks are aging and in need of improvements in order for them to adequately meet the needs of today’s users. Currently, there are two programs in place for constructing and maintaining parks, the Park Build Out and Park Life Cycle programs. These programs provide funding for construction of new parks in the city, and replacement or restoration of existing park components. Both of these programs are underfunded. Currently there is not a program in place for adapting parks to meet the changing needs of park users. There are numerous reasons to refresh parks; and these include keeping pace with changing trends in recreation, adapting to changing community needs, providing equitable park experiences city wide, connecting people with nature, and replacing and improving antiquated infrastructure. A proposed process for refreshing parks has been identified, and is currently being implemented at City Park. The steps for this process include: • Project Goal Identification • Preparation of Initial Concepts • Gathering Community Input • Master Plan Development • Phase I Project Identification • Phased Construction (based on available funding) The focus of the Park Refresh program would be on community parks, as these typically are more programmed than neighborhood parks. It is estimated that approximately 50 million is needed to refresh 4 aging community parks. There are numerous benefits to parks, including economic benefits as illustrated by studies completed by the National Recreation and Parks Association and Trust for Public Land. Discussion Board – How quickly are parks falling apart compared to needs? Staff – Safety is, of course, the primary driver but as an example, we currently have 42 playgrounds in our parks and we have enough lifecycle funding to potentially replace one playground per year which means it could be 42 years before a playground is replaced. Board – What about Trails? Staff – Refreshing is only referring to parks. BFO 101 – Mike Calhoon The Budgeting For Outcomes (BFO) process is designed to create a government that works better and costs less focusing on results and priorities which emphasize accountability, innovation, transparency and partnership. The seven outcome areas have remained the same with a slight change to Neighborhood Livability by including Social Health. The seven outcome areas are: Economic Health, Environmental Health, Neighborhood Livability & Social Health, Safe Community, Culture & Recreation, Transportation, and High Performing Government. The process includes sellers and buyers. Each program/service sells an offer to an outcome area and each buyer (results team/outcome area) ranks the offers per the objectives of the outcome they represent. Offers that typically rate best are Restricted Fund offers that do not require General Fund support such as Golf; or offers that produce revenue that offset the General Fund support such as Recreation and Cemetery; or Restricted Fund offers that require minimal General Fund support such as Trail Maintenance. Offers that have a more difficult process are those that rely heavily on General Fund support such as Park Maintenance. After the offers are ranked from high to low they “land” on the drilling platform for that outcome area. After vetting of all the offers through the BFO process, those that are above the platform are funded for the 2017/2018 budget. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – April 6, 2016 (Rescheduled March Meeting) Page 3 of 4 The BFO process goes through several steps before the budget is adopted; and we’re currently in the Sellers First Round Offers. The estimated schedule for the process is: • Set desired outcomes - March by Council • Forecast revenue - March by Finance • Results Team Finalized - March • Sellers 1st round offers - April 22nd • Public engagement - May • Sellers final offers - June 10th • Outcome Teams final drilling platform - July 1st • Budget Lead Team deliberations - July • Recommended budget - September 2nd by City Manager • Public hearings (2) Work sessions (3) - September/October • First Reading - October 18th • Adopt budget - November 1st We will be providing the P&R Board with information on our offers throughout the BFO process and will look to the Board to develop letters of support for various offers as necessary as we come to the public hearing process in September/October timeframe. Discussion Board – When you’re developing a Park, is the ability to maintain the parks a higher priority than adding amenities? Staff – It’s a blend of both, we develop a park for ease in maintenance, but we also have to provide the community with the amenities they are requesting. Board – Forestry talked about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and the cost of preventative maintenance of approximately $300/tree Staff – Yes, I believe Forestry is working on an offer for this. STAFF UPDATES Parks Updates • There is a new staging area on the northeast side of the City Park Nine Golf Course featuring a rain garden and utilizing pavers from the Old Town Square renovation. • Four of our Forestry staff including Tim Buchanan spoke at the Pro-Green conference regarding arboricultural practices and the need for diversity of tree species in an urban setting. • A new columbaria and rock garden have been built at Grandview Cemetery which has added 94 new burial sites. • Parks is “firing up” for spring with irrigation assessments, sport field preps and events. • Parks is taking the approach of compassionate enforcement of the City Code as it pertains to camping in Parks and along Trails. Recreation Updates • Introduction of the two new Recreation Managers – Jason Chadock and Stephanie Munro. Stephanie manages EPIC and the other pools, Jason manages the Senior Center. • Foothills Activity Center is open; March-April 17th is free admission. If the Board is interested in a tour, please contact Bob Adams. • The Senior Center applied for reaccreditation and it sounds like the Senior Center will be recommended for reaccreditation by mid-May. • The bulkhead at EPIC will be replaced during the shutdown which will take place May through October. • The lobby at EPIC will be remodeled at the same time, if the City Council supports the $410,000 appropriation. • Recreation will put a BFO Offer in for the PSD after school program; working toward a stronger partnership with PSD. • Nice article by P&R Board Member, Kenny Smith, in the April Recreator. Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – April 6, 2016 (Rescheduled March Meeting) Page 4 of 4 Park Planning Updates • There was a City Park refresh meeting in March, and Park Planning is still accepting feedback from the citizens. • Bids are in for the Southeast Community Park construction and they came in at our predicted estimated costs; but there are some cost overages we still are addressing. • A new community garden will be going into Rolland Moore Park at the request of the surrounding neighborhoods. • We will be creating a 9/11 memorial at Spring Park, through fund-raising, which will showcase the World Trade Center beam that was given to PFA. • We have a resolution from the railroad and an easement has been secured for the Fossil Creek Trail underpass; which will connect the trail from College to Shields. Board Work Plan Items: The Board decided to refocus the agenda item from Board Work Plan Items to Listening Session Topics. The Board will discuss topics to share their Council Liaison, Gino Campana, to use at his listening sessions. Bicycle Advisory Board Liaison Update: No Update Schedule of Articles/Calendar: Next article due June 14 for the fall edition Bullet Points • Board thanked the Pickleball Ambassadors and players for their presentation. The Board encouraged the Ambassadors to refine their presentation and make it clearer to the P&R Board what they want and their priorities; providing impacts and solutions. Once they have a clearer message the Board would like to invite the Pickleball Ambassadors back for another presentation. • Board was introduced to the new Recreation Managers, Jason Chadock and Stephanie Munro. • Kurt Friesen provided the Board with information on Refreshing Parks; which would be a new component in the Park Planning process. • Mike Calhoon provided the Board with a refresher on the process involved in Budgeting For Outcomes (BFO). Adjournment: Meeting adjourned 8:00pm Respectfully submitted, Carol Rankin P&R Board Approved Minutes – 6:0 Board Attendance Board Members: Ragan Adams, Brian Carroll, Bruce Henderson, Kenneth Layton, Jessica MacMillan, Scott Sinn, Kelly Smith, Dawn Theis Staff: Mike Calhoon, Bob Adams, Kurt Friesen, Carol Rankin, Stephanie Munro, Jason Chadock, Steve Lukowski Guest: Pickleball Ambassadors and Players