Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Park and Recreation Commission Meeting 09/16/2021AMES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES DATE: September 16, 2021 COMMISSION PRESENT: Jeremy Bristow, Sarah Cady, Nicole Fannin, Sarah Litwiller, Duane Reeves, Nathan Shimanek ABSENT: Jacob Ludwig STAFF: Keith Abraham, Joshua Thompson, CALL TO ORDER: 4:00 PM APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Reeves, with a second by Bristow, to approve the August 19, 2021, and September 9, 2021, meeting minutes. No discussion. No opposition. Motion Approved PUBLIC FORUM No Public Forum STAFF REPORT ON THE INSTALLATION OF AN AGILITY COURSE IN THE PARK SYSTEM Thompson presented the Staff Report concerning the installation of agility equipment in Carr Park to the Commission. This report included photographs of agility equipment and reviewed the criteria that were set by the Commission during the May meeting. Public feedback has shown that Ames residents want Parks and Recreation to diversify playground equipment in the park system instead of repeating the post and deck pieces that are typically installed. Thompson stated that this project is part of the department’s commitment to community and park equity. Cady asked Thompson to explain what he meant by community and park equity. Thompson said that community equity is to spread amenities throughout the city, such as placing the splash pad in Daley Park on the west side of town. Park equity is to place amenities in parks that have little or no amenities instead of crowding parks that already have multiple amenities. Thompson then reported on concerns that were expressed in the public information sessions held via Zoom and at Homewood Golf Course. Safety, Injuries, and Liability: The City of Davenport has had no injury reports on the course they installed in 2019 . This amenity is so popular that they are considering a second course. Thompson stated the City’s insurance carrier was contacted and this would not be an insurance liability for the City of Ames. Increased Traffic: Thompson stated that while Staff does hope that such an amenity would attract users to the park, we would want these individuals to obey the speed limit and traffic laws. Staff has been in discussions with the Ames Police Department. The Police will respond to calls but based on data there is typically one officer at a time on regular patrol for this area and this has not been a problem area. Delinquents: Thompson stated all parks close at 10:30 PM. The police will come and ask people to leave if necessary. Increased Maintenance Costs: Thompson stated that all playground equipment is inspected in-house by a staff member who is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector. The department has the budget available to maintain equipment. Carr Pool Bathhouse: Currently, maintenance staff removes any graffiti on the outside of the building and the Police remove people from inside the building. Originally the building was to be repurposed, however, the costs were prohibitive, and the building is set for demolition. Costs will be provided to the Commission in October. Aesthetics: The equipment is made by the same company as the Miracle Playground. There are plans to build a restroom and shelter in the 2023/2024 CIP. The shelter will have security lighting. There is no lighting planned for the equipment. Additionally, City Council has approved adding 14 additional gardens in that area. Parking: The hard surface parking lot from when Carr Pool was in the park remains and will continue to be utilized. When the pool was open, there were enough spaces for multiple users in the area at the same time. Staff would prefer people utilize the hard surface lot. People may decide to park legally on the street. Neighborhood vs Community Park: Neighborhood parks do not have sports fields or tennis courts. Carr Park has always been a hybrid park due to its accessibility to other parks (i.e. North and East River Valley Parks) and the history of having a community swimming pool. Disruptive to Nature: Thompson stated that the area proposed for this development is turf and was, in the recent past, a swimming pool. He informed the Commission that it is the staff's job to make sure park use is appropriate. The proposed area is not a nature preserve. Cady asked if Staff had considered swapping the agility course and the shelter. Abraham said there has been a suggestion to add a walkway and a deck expanding the view from the shelter. He stated that technically, yes, they could be flip-flopped. However, Staff feels this is the best configuration. Cady asked if some passive designs could be done to slow traffic. Thompson informed Cady that street design and traffic control are handled by Public Works and we will check with them. Reeves asked about what age the users for the site would be. Thompson stated that most of the equipment is for individuals 13 and up. Davenport did report individuals as young as 8 to 10 have also used their equipment. Reeves asked about the demographics of the neighborhood. Thomson informed him that we received comments from multiple people in the neighborhood stating they would use the equipment. Bristow stated that his opinion is that people would travel to use this equipment so it would not be limited to the demographics in the neighborhood. Cady feels Carr Park is already a destination for people as they go there to garden, use the trails, and cross-country ski as well as being the location of a community pool in the very recent past. Thompson asked the Commission for direction and next steps. Shimanek stated upfront that he uses Carr Park daily as he lives at 20th and Maxwell. He explained that he really likes the idea of equipment being placed in this location as there are no other structures that serve the adolescent population who need this simulated dangerous play for their cognitive and physical development. This is a perfect example of a new structure that encourages this development. He appreciates the staff’s work on this and the comments from the neighbors good and bad. Shimanek also stated that as a police officer, crime prevention through environmental design is vital. The key components of environmental design are visibility and interaction. The more people you have using the park, the less crime you have. He feels it will be very nice and compliment the area. It is his opinion that the Commission has a responsibility to make sure that we are getting people out to use our facilities. He knows from the comments some neighbors don’t want to increase the number of people using the park, however, he feels that people using the structure is a plus. Fanning complimented Thompson on a great job with this report. She said she has read all the emails and comments. Fanning commented that she has seen these structures in other states, and they are busy. She feels it is great and for a different demographic. Reeves asked Thompson if there was another park in the city that he felt could be tweaked and be a better location. Thompson said the parks that were not included in the criteria have other plans in place. Litwiller asked about the life of the equipment. Thompson stated that the typical lifecycle of playground equipment is 20 years. The top surfacing layer will need to be replaced in 10-12 years. Litwiller asked if people would get bored with the equipment if it is not changed. Thompson replied to Litwiller that the same statement could be said about every playground. Abraham stated that you could have people using equipment 15 years from now that have not yet been born. Students cycle through every three to five years. One individual could get bored and another individual use it weekly. John Sogandares (1703 Meadowlane Ave) Sogandares informed the Commission he lives across the street from Carr Park and feels privileged to have that park across the street. He enjoys seeing foxes, deer, and birds. He stated that the pool was closed before he moved to his current home, and he does not want to see anything that will attract people to the park. He states that people go behind to bathhouse to use the restroom and they are still going to use that area as a bathroom once the bathhouse is torn down. Abraham stated that a portable restroom could be placed in the area. There is one at Gateway Park for the disc golfers and one at Roosevelt for the concert series. Tracy Sogandares (1703 Meadowlane Ave) Sogandares stated that she did her own patrolling u p and down the street and her neighbors agreed with her opinion that they do not want this in the neighborhood. They feel that the history of Carr Park is being ignored. Cady stated that she came to Ames before the Carr Pool demolition when this same neighborhood was filled with “Save Carr Pool” signs. Cady remembers a lot of collective grief in the neighborhood regarding the demolition of the pool. She feels there is a dissonance between the neighborhood wanting to preserve that space as a community recreation space then and not wanting a community recreation space now that we are proposing to repurpose the area. Cady does not feel an agility course will be as heavily attended as a pool in July. Sogandares stated that for the neighborhood , it is more of a concern about the crime aspect. She understands what Cady is saying. She admitted the neighbors were very mournful about the pool but are not thrilled with this. Bristow stated it is his opinion that more activity in the park would decrease crime. Cady does not think an agility course is going to attract a criminal element. She feels that if there is crime happening there, then it should be addressed. Cady stated that Ames is lucky to have incredible urban wooded areas including areas of Carr Park across the river. In her opinion, the proposed area that was a pool for 50 or 60 years, and then not a pool for 12 years is not the natural area of the park. Reeves asked Sogandares if the individuals she spoke with had attended the neighborhood meetings and had an understanding of what this may look like. Reeves stated that Staff was "pretty beat up" about the Miracle Park, which is now one of the most fantastic places in Ames. Sogandares stated that there were quite a few people that did come and quite a few that didn’t. It was her opinion that the meeting at Homewood was well attended. Abraham informed Reeves that there were two meetings. In the first meeting, John and Tracy Sogandares were the only people from the neighborhood who attended. Abraham also stated that because of Tracy’s efforts, Staff began to receive emails, and therefore a second meeting was scheduled. Fanning asked Sogandares, what type of things were mentioned by the people she spoke with instead of the agility course. Sogandares said she didn’t know how to express it but maybe a place where kids could learn. She didn’t know what that would look like. Sogandares also stated her opinion that, as far as park equity goes, she does not believe there needs to be playground equipment in every park. She would like to see benches overlooking the river. Abraham asked the Commission if there were specific things that they would like to have or if there was a need for more information. Reeves asked about the design of the equipment. Thompson stated that if the Commission directed Staff on this location there would be multiple designs submitted and the neighborhood would have input on the design and colors. Abraham stated most of the manufacturers have different things that are natural-looking pieces, such as the pieces look like logs, but the pricing can be 20-30% higher. Fanning asked about the timeline for the equipment, shelter, and restroom. Abraham answered that the shelter and the restroom are in fiscal year 23/24 so as of July 1 of 2023. The money for the agility course is available right now and Staff would like to get it done before July 2022. Cady appreciates the work that Thompson has put into this project. Bristow thinks Carr Park checks all the boxes as there is already a parking facility, and the site is fairly level, which will keep the costs down. He states the manufacturer did such a great job on the Miracle League playground and he has no doubt that they can do it again. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (FISCAL YEARS 2022-2027) DISCUSSION Abraham went over the CIP 2022-2027. He reminded the Commission that only year one of the plan is funded by the Council. He also stated that both department staff and public input are gathered year-round. Abraham asked the Commission members if there was something that speaks to them as a whole. There was an agreement among the members that items regarding safety and accessibility were a priority, so people can use the places we’ve created. Shimanek is glad that someone mentioned the disc golf course, as it is heavily used and needs some hardscape, landscape, and erosion control. Abraham stated that there are ideas being discussed to address these concerns. Three volunteers are working on reconfiguring the course. Cady feels there has been a lot of discussion about disc golf in the last few years. Abraham informed Cady that the money is available, however, we have not reached an agreement on what should be done. Cady stated there is concern about the state of the sand volleyball court in Carr Park. Abraham stated the court would be on the operations side of things. There will be a neighborhood discussion about the court included with the shelter and restrooms. J. Sogandares asked to speak. He would like the department to focus on getting kids involved with biology and science using resources at the University. Also, resurfacing the parking lot at Carr Park. Cady asked if there was a friends group for Carr Park. Abraham answered that there was not. She explained to Sogandares what a friends group is and what they can do. UPDATE REGARDING THE STATE OF IOWA REINVESTMENT DISTRICT PROGRAM Abraham reported the City Council approved the use of up to $21.2 million in bonds for the indoor aquatic facility. The private fundraising amount is $10.5 million. Abraham stated that if no money from the Reinvestment District is reimbursed, the tax burden would be $28.50 per $100,000 valuation. If the reimbursement comes in at $10 million, the tax burden would go down to $20.00 per $100,000. *MOTION APPROVING REQUEST FROM GREG PREGRACKE TO SELL BOOKS IN THE CITY AUDITORIUM AND WAIVE THE 10% OF GROSS SALES. Abraham went over the event and the history of waiving fees. Staff Recommends Alternative #1. It was moved by Litwiller, with a second by Bristow, to approve Alternative #1. Discussion. Bristow recommends that people attend this lecture. No opposition. Motion Approved RECREATION SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE Courtney Spawn Kort has been named as the new Recreation Superintendent. Yesterday was her last day as the director of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism for the town of Payson, Arizona. PROJECT UPDATES MONTHLY REPORT The Dog Park will be closed for annual maintenance next week. Work will include turf maintenance, installation of a bench, and tree trimming. The fishing pier at Ada Hayden, improvements at Franklin Park, and the development of Hira park are almost completed. There will be ribbon cuttings scheduled to celebrate these projects. Cady said she had a question from a community member regarding the timeline of the pickleball retrofit at McCarthy Lee Park. Abraham informed her the design will be this fall and the construction will be next year. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Reeves to adjourn. The meeting concluded at 5:59 PM. NEXT MEETINGS: Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 4:00 PM. *Out of Order