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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Ames Park and Recreation Commission Meeting 03/22/2018AMES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES DATE: March 22, 2018 COMMISSION PRESENT: Sarah Litwiller, Allen Bierbaum, Sarah Cady, Ed Moran, Jeremy Bristow, Melissa Rowan, Julie Johnston ABSENT: STAFF: Keith Abraham, Kellee Omlid, Joshua Thompson, Craig Kaufman CALL TO ORDER: 4:01 PM APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Rowan, with second by Bierbaum, to approve the January 11, 2018, meeting minutes. No discussion. No opposition. Motion Approved PUBLIC FORUM No Public Forum DIRECTOR’S REPORT a. Recognition: Julie Johnston and Melissa Rowan Johnston (7 years) and Rowan (5 years) are leaving the Commission. Abraham thanked them for their commitment and service to the citizens of Ames. b. Presentation and Discussion: Healthy Life Center Abraham showed the Commission a presentation on the Healthy Life Center which included conceptual plans for both the indoor and outdoor components. Bierbaum wanted to know if the cost would be approximately the same if the city was only building an aquatic center. Abraham stated that it would be pretty close as the city is funding the aquatics portion of the project. Moran asked if the numbers were adjusted for inflation. Abraham said the figures are in 2019 dollars. Litwiller asked if indoor tennis courts were going to be added. Abraham replied that there is not room for dedicated tennis courts. He did inform the Commission that there is a group of dedicated tennis players that are working with Ames Racquet and Fitness to do a bubble with 4 indoor courts and 2 outdoor clay courts. There are also two indoor courts that Harvest Vineyard Church is maintaining. Moran asked Abraham if there were plans to bubble any court in the park system. Abraham stated there were not any plans to do so. Bierbaum made a motion to recommend to the Ames City Council to continue to move forward with the Healthy Life Center Project. Bristow seconded the motion. Discussion: Johnston commented that she understands this concept may be something some people will need to get used to. She is excited about the interactions of people of all ages. She supports this strongly and is really excited about it. Moran stated that maybe it is a little bit more than we need right now but he is also thinking 30 years from now. Municipal Pool was state of the art when it was built but has not been serving our needs for a long time. Vote: Rowan, Johnston, Bierbaum, Bristow, Cady and Litwiller vote aye , Moran abstained. Motion Approved. Abraham then discussed naming rights. The Commission could decide to give the fund raising committee (made up of Ann Campbell, Bev Madden and Warren Madden ) some flexibility to set dollar amounts on the naming of the building as well as other opportunities to set for naming of rooms, gyms, slides, etc. Abraham clarified that Staff does want this committee to follow the guidelines in the naming policy not necessarily setting the limits. Rowan stated she would normally be unbelievably uncomfortable with this but she trusts Mr. Madden as he has plenty of experience and will be wise about their approach to this. Bierbaum stated that he is against corporate naming for the building. He is okay if some of the components have corporate names but not the building. Rowan trusts that what happens in the future when things need to be refurbished or changed will be addressed as well. Rowan moved to recommend to the Council to give the committee flexibility and latitude when speaking to donors regarding naming opportunities, second by Bierbaum. No Discussion. No opposition. Motion Approved. c. Commission Action Form: Ames on the Half Shell Request Kaufman stated the Ames Jaycees have asked to hold the Ames on the Half Shell event on five Fridays in June. The department supports this well attended event. Staff recommends Alternative #1. Rowan moved with a second by Bierbaum to approve Alternative #1. No Discussion. No opposition. Motion Approved. d. Commission Action Form: ECO Fair Request to Waive Payment of 10% of Gross Sales Abraham explained that this agreement is the same as last year and staff is recommending Alternative # 1. Bierbaum moved with second by Barstow to approve Alternative #1. No discussion. No opposition. Motion approved. e. Commission Action Form: Ames Little League Agreement Thompson explained to the Commission that the department has been working with Ames Little League for many years. He met with the representative from Ames Little League and there are no proposed changes. Staff recommends Alternative #1. It was moved by Cady with second by Litwiller to approve Alternative #1. No discussion. No opposition. Motion Approved. f. Staff Report: Moore Memorial Pond Abraham went over the history of the project. The primary goal of this project was to address flooding issues in the Northridge Heights neighborhood. A secondary goal was to provide recreational opportunities such as fishing. Staff is looking for direction with regard to this new pond. Bierbaum stated the pond was great before this public works project but as it is now it is an eyesore. He would like Staff to do anything they can to help make it more attractive. Moran feels that a multi-faceted approach is what we start with. Bierbaum thinks if some limestone blocks were added, and the water tested to clear the algae, then Staff could work to make it start looking nicer. Cady feels that if the water could be cleared up then she would like Staff to explore some plantings that can help with the forebay. Moran thinks some biofiltration at the inlet may help. Abraham stated that the forebay will eventually be dredged. Bierbaum feels if the aesthetics could be fixed, you could put the rocks out to help people fish and put in a bench by the tree area. He feels no one will want use this area unless we can make it more appealing. Moran stated he feels bad about this project because when the Commission went to look at it they were sold a vision of this great pond. Bierbaum states that if they could keep the algae in the forebay then we could do some plantings. It used to be that kids could find tadpoles and frogs and things near the pond and there is nothing now. g. Staff Report: RAGBRAI – Use of City Parks Abraham stated there are items for the Commission to approve. One request is that the official campground be located in Brookside Park which will include an information center, first aid station and message board. There will also be camping in portions of Stuart Smith Park. The park hours ordinance, the motorized vehicle ordinance, the no bike riding on the hard surface paths in Brookside Park ordinance and the vending requirements in parks would need to be waived. Cady asked if conversations about wet conditions and a contingency plan had been discussed. Abraham state they had been and there are some other areas that could be used that are out of the floodplain. Moran asked about the neighborhood. Abraham stated there will be no camping east of the river in Brookside Park. There may be some daytime entertainment there but not camping and nothing after 5:00 PM. Litwiller has concerns about people drinking in close proximity to a river and wonders if the park is going to be damaged. She feels it could take one night to ruin what has taken years to maintain. Abraham has spoken with other communities that have done this in the past and there has not been a lot of problems. Bierbaum asked if there were requests to use Bandshell Park with the events being held downtown. Abraham stated that Staff is steering people away from Bandshell Park as participants would need to cross Duff Avenue, and as this is a Tuesday night events at the Bandshell would disrupt the neighborhood. There is a proposal to have two bands one on each end of Main Street. Rowan feels that Duff Avenue would have to be closed in order to use Bandshell Park. Johnston asked about camping in Bandshell Park. Abraham said there will be groups that want to tent camp in other parks and though we don’t encourage that, we don’t go and kick people out either. Motion by Bierbaum, with second by Rowan, to recommend the Ames City Council consider items laid out in the staff report as the way they proceed. No Discussion, No opposition. Motion Approved. h. Discussion: City Tennis Courts Located at Ames High School Abraham explained that the tennis courts are owned by the City of Ames and are located on school district property. He also explained that the expenses for maintenance are shared through an agreement that goes until 2023. The Ames School District is looking to constructing eight new tennis courts at the 24th Street location. The District would like to vacate the current agreement and demolish the courts at the high school in 2019. If that happens there would have to be a discussion as to who pays for the demolition. The School District wants to make room for the new high school if the referendum passes. Omlid and Abraham have been having conversations regarding the matter of the Department continuing to have any use agreement with the new courts. Parks and Recreation does use the courts for the lessons at this time, however we could do lessons at McCarthy Lee or at Inis Grove. What Staff is looking for is discussion regarding tennis courts. Does the Commission want to pursue an agreement for use of the new courts or does each party go their separate ways? Bierbaum does not see any need to have an arrangement with the School District especially as there are no other partnering opportunities at that site. He feels there are enough courts for people to use in the parks and explained that he plays at the university as well. Moran feels that the money involved maintaining new courts could be used to improve existing courts in the parks. Especially in Inis Grove where there are already plans to improve the courts with the inclusive playground and field going in. Bierbaum agrees that we should improve Inis Grove with that money. Cady feels Ames is a big enough city and the high school is also getting big enough that we no longer need these shared facilities. Bierbaum feels that the community would not even know to go to the 24th Street site for shared use. That it feels like a competitive high school facility. Cady thinks also that it gets complicated with facilities that are used for competition because people will go to play and not be able to use the facility because there is a meet. Litwiller asked if the school continues to need the courts in the parks on meet days. Abraham said yes they do make some reservations for overflow. Rowan asked if there were costs associated with them using the courts or if that was part of the agreement. Abraham said right now we do not charge them. Bierbaum stated that he feels that completely separate seems reasonable. Abraham asked if that was everybody’s feeling and the Commissioners indicated yes. i. Update: Tree Removal at 427 Lynn Avenue City Council did not uphold the appeal of keeping those trees. They voted to allow the removal the trees which have been taken down. j. Project Update k. Correspondence . MONTHLY REPORT Omild reminded that aquatic passes for the summer season are on sale at a discount until May 1. Thompson shared slides and video of the outdoor ice fishing event at Ada Hayden Heritage Park and thanked all the agencies that participated. Johnston asked if the Goats on the Go were coming back this year and Thompson said yes. COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Bierbaum said seeing the Healthy Life Center reminded him that he would really like to have staff come back to us with numbers about how much the scholarships are being used. He would like to see some recommendations to increase or expand the scholarship program. Bierbaum also asked about a shade structure for the dog park. Abraham said this is not in the CIP if the Commission feels strongly about it they will need to address it this fall. Moran asked about the lighting in Brookside Park. Thompson said the bids have been received and the report will be going to Council on Tuesday. Bierbaum asked about the brightness of the lights. Abraham said the lights could turn on at dark and be on a timer to turn off at 10:30. The lights will meet the night sky ordinance. Johnston stated that Roosevelt Park looks great. There are fol ks contacting them to perform at their concert series. Thompson said the proposed ping pong table is still under discussion. Rowan and Johnston received tokens of appreciation for their service. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Bierbaum to adjourn. The meeting concluded at 5:54 PM. Next Meeting: Thursday, April 19, 2018, at 4:00 PM