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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Joint Meeting of the Ames City Council, Ames Park and Recreation Commission, and Ames Community School District 01/07/2003MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL, AMES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION, AND AMES COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AMES, IOWA JANUARY 7, 2003 The Ames City Council, Ames Parks and Recreation Commission, and Ames Community School District met in joint session at 7:00 p.m. on the 7th day of January, 2003, in the Multi-Purpose Room at Ames High School, 1921 Ames High Drive. Those in attendance from the City Council were Mayor Ted Tedesco and Council Members Russ Cross, Judie Hoffman, Daryle Vegge, and Sharon Wirth. Council Member Goodhue arrived at 7:12 p.m. Ames Parks and Recreation Commission Members present were Chuck Glotfelty, David Dirks, and Susan Belcher. Representing the Ames Community School District Board of Directors were Jane Acker, Pat Brown, John Hascall, Mark Snell, Gloria Symons, and Allison Tyler. Mayor Tedesco called the meeting to order. He explained that this is the second in a series of meetings among these entities; the first meeting was held on July 8, 2002, when the proposed Master Plan for the Middle School and Recreation/Aquatics joint-use facility was introduced. W. Ray Richardson, Superintendent of Ames Community School District, advised that several dialogues with the community had been held concerning the possible construction of a joint-use recreation/aquatics facility. Tonight’s meeting is to serve as an opportunity for the entities to review the input received from those meetings. City Manager Steve Schainker explained that the ultimate goal of these agencies is to approve a Master Plan. The Plan had been unveiled at the meeting in July 2002, but it had never been formally approved. Parks and Recreation Director Nancy Carroll advised that Mr. Schainker and Mr. Richardson had been directed to conduct public meetings to inform and gain input from citizens about the proposed Joint-Use Facility Master Plan. In September 2002, four Community Dialogue meetings were held, with a total of 142 people attending. A Reaction Form was handed out at each meeting; 56 people completed that form. Ms. Carroll presented the City’s general assessment of the input received from the four public meetings. She advised that 89.29% of those surveyed indicated support for the City and School District sharing the same site for major facility development, and 76.92% stated that they supported the overall concept of the Master Plan. She specified what the survey respondents said they liked most about the Master Plan proposal and what they liked least. Carol Kenealy, Director of School and Community Relations, gave a summary of issues germane to the School District that arose from the dialogue meetings, i.e., enrollment, grade configuration, quality of new middle school, partnerships, community use, and funding. She named the issues specific to the City as aquatics features, gymnasiums, fees, plans for current facilities, phasing, and competition with private providers. Joint issues brought forth during the community dialogues were funding, efficiencies, site, environment, and quality facilities. Mayor Tedesco asked if there had been any consideration of taking the existing facility at the High School and upgrading it to make it the competitive swimming arena. Nancy Carroll said an independent consultant would need to be brought in to make that assessment. School Board President Jane Acker asked if any consideration had been given to the School District and City sharing library/media center facilities. City Manager Schainker stated that would need to be discussed with the Library Board and Library Director. He feels that any time there can be collaboration that would benefit both entities, it is worth assessing. Superintendent Richardson stated that it is important to explore all potential sharing opportunities well in advance of designing the new Middle School building. He said that it is his intent to have the Design Committee up and running soon. School Board Member John Hascall said that it appeared to him that the School Board was moving forward at a much faster pace than the City. He pointed out that the next step for the City is to have an updated feasibility/cost analysis for competitive swimming facilities, yet the School District is ready to start looking at designing the building. Nancy Carroll said she wanted to clear up a misconception that continues to surface concerning when the public would be allowed to use the facility. She emphasized that although the recreation/aquatics complex is proposed to be attached to the new Middle School, the recreation/indoor aquatics facility will be accessible by the public during the majority of the daytime hours, even while school is in session. Superintendent Richardson explained that the next step for the School District would be the creation of the Design Review Committee. He stated that there will be City representatives on that Committee. It is intended that a final design will be agreed upon by August 2003. It is the goal of the School District to move into the new Middle School by Fall 2005. In the very near future, the funding process will be presented to the Board with an explanation of how additional monies from increased sales tax will be used. As far as the City’s next step, City Manager Schainker explained that staff was recommending that the architectural firm of RDG be retained to assess the feasibility, related capital/operational costs, etc., on the following items: 1. Adding a second pool basin at the indoor facility. 2. Increasing the outdoor pool from 25 yards to 50 meters. 3. Increasing the proposed new indoor pool from four to six lanes. 4. Municipal Pool, Carr Pool, and the downtown Community Center: Assess what role each of these facilities would play in relationship to a new joint-use facility being constructed (service level, cost benefit analysis, etc.). 5. Provide a minimum of three rental/admission fee schedules for the Complex including hourly gymnasium rental rates. (This assessment should assist policy makers in determining the amount of tax support that would be required to finance the operation of this Complex.) 6. Cost to the taxpayers if the District and City do not construct facilities at the same time. 7. City staff will meet with the private fitness providers to better understand their issues/concerns. 2 Mr. Schainker said it is anticipated that this study would take three to four months to complete; RDG would report back to the City Council and Parks & Recreation Commission in May 2003. He advised that the cost of such a study would range from $15,000 to $30,000. The School District meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. as was the Parks & Recreation Commission meeting. Moved by Vegge, seconded by Cross, to authorize staff to negotiate a contract with RDG to complete an updated feasibility/cost analysis for swimming facilities associated with the recreation/aquatics complex. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. The City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. _________________________________ ________________________________________ Diane Voss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor 3