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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2nd Quarter (April-June)MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON APRIL 28TH, 1999 A REGULAR SESSION of The Parks & Recreation Board of The City of The Colony, TX., was called to order at 7:35 p.m. with the following board members present: Donna Baggett Chairperson Susan King Member Laura Bickerstaff Member Mark Shaw Member John Sanders Member Rich Lewis Member and with member Henderson absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation. CITIZEN'S INPUT. None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM MARCH 10TH, 1999. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the minutes of March 10`h, 1999. The motion was seconded by member Lewis. Ayes: Members King, Bickerstaff, Shaw, Sanders, Lewis, and Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 3. DISCUSSION OF STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS HELD IN MARCH. Ms. Nelson informed the board that the money we made from the tournament is in a special fund so it can be spent on Parks & Recreation. All the money we collect from vending machines, pool table, air hockey, and any donations we get from the 5K Run is also put into this fund and it gets spent on Parks & Recreation items. No decision has been made on what to spend the money on, but we have discussed making improvements at the Rec. Center; possibly new equipment for the weight room and building an office area at the control desk and enclosing it for better security. Member Shaw said there's a possibility that the school district will have some used equipment available because the weight rooms are getting redone. Ms. Nelson said the type of equipment and how it would fit in the area would determine if we're able to get any of that equipment. She added that when we take over the library building, we would make the existing weight room a storage area and put the weight room where the meeting rooms are. Ms. Nelson said the basketball tournament was definitely worth the effort. She said the exposure it has brought to the city and the economic impact it had on the city has changed some people's point of view. We were able to put some realistic numbers together on how things were going to come out. A copy of the tournament revenue report will go to City Council. The men's tournament broke even. She added that if we bid for any more tournaments, it won't be until September and it would be for the 2001 games; the 2000 games have already been awarded. She said that we could bid on more tournaments if we had the facilities, and we definitely want to do more tournaments. 4. DISCUSSION OF THE JOINT USE AGREEMENT WITH LISD. Ms. Nelson said the Joint Use Agreement we have in existence was put together solely for the use of the pool by LISD and the use of the school for the youth basketball program and the aerobics program. The playground areas at BB Owen and Ethridge fall under that agreement because at the time, those were the only schools being used. She said we entered into an agreement where LISD puts the playground in and we help with doing maintenance and inspections because it provides a playground facility in that neighborhood and keeps us from having to build an additional playground facility. We do the inspections on the playground - we tell the principal what items they need to buy, then the items are replaced. We do not pay for any parts. Ms. Nelson said some cities join together with the school districts to share in the funding to build facilities. She has talked to Clayton Downing about doing that also. Member King asked about jointly paying for water systems. Ms. Nelson responded that we can meter an area separately and that meter would be billed back to the city. If the bill is sent to the school, then it's done through an agreement that we reimburse the school for whatever water we use. Member Sanders asked if we could expand the Shared Use Agreement and assign certain areas to groups. He said that would be a good idea for everyone because you'll have a safe environment for kids to play and you'll be able to maintain a certain amount of areas. Ms. Nelson said we would have to schedule areas for practices and that would have to be done through a central location. Member Lewis asked if we are currently using all the gyms that are available for the youth basketball league. Ms. Nelson said the ones that are usable; Peters Colony was the only one we couldn't use. She added the problem we have is a limitation on hours. We keep track of the hours that LISD uses the pool for the 4t' grade program and the swim team and we try to maintain the same number of hours with the school usage. We are limited in hours. Member Shaw said if you enter into an agreement with LISD, every school should be named and also the schools contingent on the Legends property because LISD is building 2 schools. Member Shaw said LISD wants a land use agreement, especially with the new schools in Legends Ms. Nelson said she would like to get this agreement updated this year because there has been a lot of discussion about why don't we use the school property for various things. 5. DISCUSSION OF THE PARKS MASTER PLAN. Ms. Nelson gave the board an update of the progress with the consultant for 4B and the items we've discussed regarding what would be updated in the Parks Master Plan. The consultants will come and meet with the board, but the preliminary meeting will be with her. She said the Parks Master Plan has been reviewed by Texas Parks & Wildlife and is in compliance with their requirements for when we apply for grants. She would like to see some things added to the plan - A. A Master Plan for trail systems to include trails on easements, drainage areas and along the shoreline and make connections to different portions of the city. B. Shoreline Plan that Sam developed. C. A study of ADA issues on each park and athletic facility. D. Review our list for each existing park about features we want to see added to each park and see if there is anything we left off. E. A priority list - we need to review it one more time and see if there's anything we want to adjust on it. Ridgepointe Park was not on the list because we didn't have the park when we put the plan together. To score high in the grant application from Texas Parks & Wildlife, it should be #I or #2 on our priority list. She said we need to determine if we want to move it up on the list. Ms. Nelson said the consultants will come to the board. The negotiations are going good. We have put together a scope of services and we're meeting again to discuss finalizing the contract. The cost of the first phase of the study is $59,000. That will include the upgrade of the Parks Master Plan, a study of location feasibility operational and construction cost of a community complex, an audit and study of the existing aquatic facility, and a telephone (turco survey) geared toward issues relating to community development. There will be 2 public hearings and one meeting with focus groups which would include the Parks & Recreation Board, Library Board, and the youth sports organizations. She thinks the Parks & Recreation Board should be at all 3 meetings if possible. She said the next phase would be projects. In 2 weeks we go to the 4B Board to get their approval and then to City Council in 3 weeks to get their approval. 6. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. Ms. Nelson said the Kidfish event was a great event. There were 250 kids. She would like to put some money in the budget to help fund this event. She said at next year's event, the kids will probably fish in shifts. The Easter Egg Hunt at Hidden Cove Park was canceled due to the weather. There were 6,000 eggs already put out before the event got canceled. Later in the day, when the weather was nice, there were about 30 kids who came out and picked up all the eggs. On Sunday between 12:00 - 5:00, a group of Persians came out to the park. There were 1,500 vehicles that came through the park and that breaks a record. Ms. Nelson said they were celebrating their festival of 12 days of bad luck. She said we had an $11,000 weekend in 2 days. The Persians used the pavilion and the day use area. They want to come back and they have already made reservations for next year. Saturday, May 1 s1, is election day and also the first day of summer registration. 7. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member King asked why the roof leak in the gym has not been fixed, if new signs were being put up in the parks, and if anything has been decided on the library building yet. Ms. Nelson responded that there is a design flaw in the building. Several contractors have looked at it, but they can't fix it. New signs are not being put in the parks; they are just being repaired. There is money in the hotel/motel tax budget to put towards renovations of the library building to be used as a conference center. Member Bickerstaff asked about the progress of the cleanup at Bill Allen. Ms. Nelson said it has been cleaned up where the silt was running into the park. They have flushed fresh water through the creek area to help move the silt down and spread it out so it's not all concentrated in one area. Chairperson Baggett asked about a barrier at Bill Allen Park. Ms. Nelson said this is to prevent small children and animals from getting on the railroad tracks. Member Sanders stated he would like to see us start contacting businesses and organizations to make them aware of the Adopt-A-Park policy now that we have a new policy in place. Ms. Nelson said she would take the policy to City Council to get their backing and approval. Member Sanders asked if Billingsley renegotiated their development plan for Austin Ranch from 50-50 to 60 residential and 40 business and if they did, how does that affect anything we get for parkland dedication. Member King said they did change their mix and it should affect what we get if it hasn't been final platted. Member Sanders asked if they renegotiated that mix, doesn't that void the existing contract. Ms. Nelson said we'd have to have an attorney check that out. Member Lewis asked if the youth sports organization group has been meeting; he thinks they should start meeting on a regular basis. Ms. Nelson said they haven't been meeting, but she has spoke to David about setting up a meeting because there are some issues we need to discuss. There bein no further discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjourn a meeting. Kath Neal, ecording ecretary nna Baggett, MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON MAY 26TH, 1999 A REGULAR SESSION of The Parks & Recreation Board of The City of The Colony, TX., was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following board members present: Donna Baggett Chairperson Larry Henderson Member John Sanders Member Mark Shaw Member Laura Bickerstaff Member Susan King Member and with member Lewis absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation. CITIZEN'S INPUT. 2. None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 28TH, 1999. Member King made a motion to approve the minutes of April 28t', 1999. The motion was seconded by Member Sanders. Ayes: Members Henderson, Sanders, Shaw, Bickerstaff, King, Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 3. DISCUSSION OF THE BUDGET. Ms. Nelson presented the board with a copy of the proposal of the reorganization of the Parks & Recreation Dept. She said this will be presented in the budget process to request some new positions and position upgrades. We are changing around some responsibilities in the department to help get geared up for what we'll be facing in the future and to better take care of what we have now. Ms. Nelson said on page 2, in the Recreation section, #I - Upgrade Recreation Supervisor position to Recreation Manager would be David's position. This will bring his position in line with the Aquatics and Lake Parks Divisions. Both of those divisions have managers over their division so we want to bring the recreation division in line with that as well as the parks division. The Programs Coordinator position would be a new position that would be a replacement of the Special Events person we lost 5-6 years ago. That was a part time position, but this person would be doing special events and programming of classes and activities. We have included a chart of 2 classes we added this year and shown the amount of revenue they generated, so we're presenting this with the idea that with the amount of revenue the class generates, it will pay for itself. The Athletic Coordinator position was a full time position we had until 1992 when it was eliminated. This position would be added and this person would be in charge of all the athletic programs in The Colony. The Center Supervisor position currently held by Matt would be upgraded to Facilities Coordinator. When we take over the library building, we're going to be doing heavy scheduling of programs, activities and meetings along with what we'll be doing in the Rec. Center. We want to upgrade the position for the extra responsibilities of taking on the library. The Senior Activities Coordinator position currently held by Eve Farmer is a 30-hour position; we want to make it a full time position with 40 hours and it already has full time benefits. Ms. Nelson continued that in the Parks Division, we're doing basically the same thing. We are upgrading the Park Supervisor to Park Manager and adding a Parks & Athletic Fields Crew Leader position. We want to bring in someone else to work in the field but also have a leadership position to supervise the crew out in the field. We also want to add a mowing crew leader position and we would move the chemical applicator position who currently reports directly to me, to be under the park manager. There would be 2 new positions and 1 upgrade. Ms. Nelson said there is a current organizational chart that shows how many people report to me, but we think that moving some people around will help make it a more equitable organizational structure for what is coming in the future. Ms. Nelson said the Operational Budget would be pretty close to what it was last year. She will be adding some increases to take care of some expenses for the seniors that she feels the city can start taking care of. She also said we want to make some changes in the Rec. Center by making the meeting rooms a fitness room, moving the kitchen facilities into the current weight room and make it a small classroom, enclose the front desk area for better security for staff and equipment and also extend this area into the gym for better viewing. Ms. Nelson said she is putting these things into her operational budget as activity enhancements rather than going straight to 4B and if they get kicked out that would be the next approach. The budget will be submitted within the next week. Lanny and Tony will review it and they will decide what they want us to cut or increase and then we will get a final draft together. By the end of July, we'll be having work sessions and retreats with City Council to actually present our budget. This year the directors will be allowed to present their budgets. Member King asked if the budget gets to City Council by mid July, how quickly can lights get put up at the football fields. Ms. Nelson replied that as soon as City Council approves it she could start going out for bids. She said it would only be possible to light one field because of the way the power utility lines are set up. She added that she wants to approach the school district about lighting Lakeview; it would open up alternatives for both leagues and eliminate some of the problems we have with football using baseball facilities. Ms. Nelson said a lot of the equipment needs we had have been taken care of; we have replaced pick up trucks, tractors and mowing equipment. She said there has been discussion about placing a marquis sign out front to advertise special events and program registration. Member King asked if the bathrooms at Stewart Creek Park fall in this budget or if they were a separate item. Ms. Nelson replied that she had just received the final plans on the bathroom facility. She said we should be able to go out for bids in the next couple of weeks for the bathroom facility itself. She is having a difficult time getting the engineering department to take care of the water and sewer lines. 4. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. Ms. Nelson said Rich Lewis is not here tonight because he was supposed to have hip surgery, but that was postponed because he got a fever. She asked the board to keep him in their thoughts. Each board member received an invitation to a grand opening of a Trinity Trail System. It is a multi-purpose system that has a canoe launch area, hiking trails, bike trails, and equestrian areas. Ms. Nelson heard from the Packer family, the family that wants to do a memorial playground at Stewart Creek Park. Their fundraising has not gone very well, but they still want to put in a small playstructure between the pavilion and sand volleyball court and also plant a tree and place a plaque at the park. Hidden Cove Park has reported record breaking attendance in every month this year and the courtesy dock construction should start in a couple of weeks. 5. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member King said the volleyball court at Perryman Park has been getting a lot of use lately. She informed the board that the 4B Board has approved the Brinkley Sargent contract. They will be going to City Council on June 7'h and the Public Hearing will be on June 17t` and then 30 days after that 4B can start spending money. The 4B Board has approved an expenditure of $100,000 to get the library moved. Member Bickerstaff asked if because the lake level is down, were there any health risks to be concerned about. Ms. Nelson replied that the risk comes when there is extreme heat. She added that there are a lot of rumors circulating about why the lake level is so low, but the Corp of Engineers say we are still recovering from the drought last year. We have not had a substantial amount of rain to create a water shed runoff that will fill up the Trinity River that will cause the lake level to rise. There being no further discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 p.m. Kathy Neal, Re ording ecre ary a)QA4CA Donn a Baggett, Cha' rson MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON JUNE 23an, 1999 A REGULAR SESSION of The Parks & Recreation Board of The City of The Colony, TX., was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following board members present: Donna Baggett Chairperson John Sanders Member Mark Shaw Member Larry Henderson Member Susan King Member Laura Bickerstaff Member and with member Lewis absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation, Sam Fitzgerald, Lake Parks Manager, and Johnny Smith of Tomlin Enterprises. 1. CITIZEN'S INPUT. None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 27TH 1999 AND MAY 26TH 1999. Member King made a motion to approve the minutes of April 27`h 1999 and May 26`x' 1999. The motion was seconded by Member Sanders. Ayes: Members King, Bickerstaff, Sanders, Shaw, Henderson, Chairperson Baggett Noes: None. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF LEASE AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S. ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS FOR LEASE OF EASTVALE PARK. Ms. Nelson said the Corp of Engineers is in the process of doing an Environmental Assessment Study and has put all projects on hold until that phase of the study is complete; it should be completed by the end of July or early August. She said we want to move forward on the Eastvale Park issue and try to get a recommendation to City Council. She said the draft of the document that the board received in their packets was a standard, fill in the blank lease, which is the same one that was used for Stewart Creek Park, Hidden Cove Park, and Wynnewood Park. Member King said in the Health & Safety section under Prohibited Uses it states "The Leasee shall not permit gambling on the premises or install or operate, or permit to be installed or operated thereon, any device which is illegal, or use the premises or permit them to be used for any illegal business or purpose." The people we're going to lease this to are looking to put in a convenience store and they usually sell lottery tickets - does this apply to that? Johnny Smith said whatever the Corp says is what we'll adhere to. Member Sanders asked what the lease fees were for taking the park over. Ms. Nelson said we plan to parallel the lease and sub lease so we don't have to put anything into it. Member King made a motion to approve the lease agreement with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for lease of Eastvale Park. Member Shaw seconded the motion. Ayes: Member King, Bickerstaff, Sanders, Shaw, Henderson, Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 4. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF LEASE AGREEMENT WITH LAND ADVISORS INC. FOR SUBLEASE OF EASTVALE PARK. Ms. Nelson said this is to sublease Eastvale Park to Land Advisors, or Tomlin Enterprises as referred to in the past. She said it has been reviewed several times by her, Sam, and Johnny. Johnny Smith stated this is a standard form from the Corp. He said it has been modified toward what we want to do at Eastvale Park. Member King said she could not locate in the document where it stated that the fees would be kept comparable to Stewart Creek Park or Hidden Cove Park or even where it states what the fee will be to get into the park. She asked if that needs to be included in this lease. Johnny said the fees would either be equal to or higher than your fees so we wouldn't take business away from the parks. Ms. Nelson said a section could be added stating that all fees being charged to the park need to be approved by the Park Board on an annual basis. Member Sanders asked if there would be any discounts to residents. Johnny answered no. He said this is going to be private and we want to make a profit to improve the park. Member Sanders also asked if this will be a 25-year lease and if Johnny will parallel with a 25-year lease. Johnny said yes. Johnny said that they have been told by the Corp that if you do a good job in your lease with the first 25 years, then they are silly not to extend it. He said they want to get rid of this as quick as they can, and they don't want to take it back. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the lease agreement with Land Advisors Inc. for sublease of Eastvale Park. Member King seconded the motion. Ayes: Members King, Bickerstaff, Sanders, Shaw, Henderson, Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 5. DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONS TO BE SUBMITTED FOR THE TURCO SURVEY. Member King said this time when we do the survey, it will only deal with community development - parks, libraries, and theaters. Many of the questions that were on the last survey will not be on this survey. Ms. Nelson said the questions done in the previous survey were prior to the sales tax election and any bond elections. They were done in conjunction with the Comprehensive Master Plan and Parks Master Plan development. She said we need to focus on recreation issues. Member King said the contracts with Brinkley Sargent would be signed on July 22°d. Ray Turco or one of his associates will get things started. Brinkley Sargent will tell them exactly what type of survey we are looking for and they will come up with the questions they think we need to do to make it an unbiased, independent survey. She added that the 4B Board, Library Board, and Park Board should start reviewing the questions to see if there is anything specific we want information on, so that on the 19th of July, each board will turn their questions into TURCO. They can do an overview of what we've given them; then they can come back and have a joint work session with all three boards. Ms. Nelson said hopefully they will come back with a draft of a questionnaire so we can finalize what we want. Member Sanders said he would like to see some questions regarding the type of image the citizens would like to see the city project. Member King would like to see an entire section on the community complex to find out what people want to see on it, if it should be used for tournaments in the off seasons, would people like to see community buildings, a new Rec. Center, or a community art center. Member Sanders said we should ask about the type of pool facility residents would like to see or how would they like to see the pool expanded. Chairperson Baggett suggested having a section on beautification and image. Ms. Nelson said she would like to see a section about trails. Member Bickerstaff she has been approached about having a skateboard facility in The Colony. She said the young man that approached her said he wants to rent and lease the facility and provide his own insurance. He would stage competitions for young children. He has the supporters but he needs land. She said this is a need for our future, but we should start thinking about it now. Ms. Nelson said there should not be any open-ended questions on the survey - they should be specific. She also said we should be specific on what we want TURCO to ask about. She said our list of questions we submit to TURCO should list the elements that were discussed in the community complex. She said TURCO could formulate the questions and then group them. She said they also do a phone survey. They have 3,000 contacts and they hope to get 400 surveys completed. Member King said they target specific demographics - different sections of the city, male, female, income, and age groups. They try to get the broadest range they can to make the survey accurate. Ms. Nelson said we'll compile a list of what we discussed. She will categorize it and get it back to the board before we submit it to TURCO. 6. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. Sam Fitzgerald presented the board with a report of attendance, revenues, and expenditures for the parks. He said that since October 1998, Hidden Cove Park has been first or second in attendance. He said every month has increased except for May 1999 because of the rain. He said also that the revenue for Hidden Cove Park has been first or second every month this year. Revenue also dropped in May 1999 because of the rain. On Memorial Day the park usually brings in $15,000, but this year was only $11,000. The low lake level, 7 %i ft. low, has not helped. The level has recently been brought up to 6.3 ft. low. People have also told him that they don't come to the park because there is no sand beach. Sam said the revenue at Stewart Creek Park for the last quarter of 1999 has already reached $58,800. The total revenue collected in 1998 was $70,000. We only need to make $12,000 to beat last years total. He said we're hoping to get close to $92,000 this year. Sam reminded the board of some upcoming special events at Hidden Cove - the Summer Sizzler, Olde Memories, Barbecue Cook Off, and the Haunted Hayride. Sam informed the board a firm from Minnesota has been hired to put in the courtesy dock. It will be 100 ft. long. It will be brought in in sections. The engineer said the area is very accessible and there won't be any problem bringing it in. Sam said the bids for the bathroom at Stewart Creek Park open on July 13"', at 3:00 p.m. Ms. Nelson said we've been having problems getting the water and sewer lines run to the bathroom facility. The engineer hired within the city has been buried with other projects and has not been able to work on this. Sam informed the board he now has an 18.9 ft. Blue Wave boat. This will enable his staff to do shoreline patrol, and keep up with the maintenance of buoys and the swim line. Ms. Nelson informed the board of the July 4`h festivities. There will be a 5K and I Mile Fun Run at Stewart Creek Park. This year the run is being sponsored by tommy hilfiger. The parade will take the same route and Scott Murray from Channel 5 is the Grand Marshall. The parade will include a bicycle-decorating contest and prizes for that are being donated from Austin Ranch. This year there will be cash awards, along with trophies for the parade winners. There is a grand opening of Budget Suites from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. There will be an inland beach party at the Aquatic Park from lp.m. - 5 p.m. There will be family entertainment at the high school before the fireworks - there will be a band, clowns, mimes, concessions will be available, and tommy hilfiger will also have a booth. The fireworks will be choreographed to music and will be done by a company from Allen 7. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member Bickerstaff inquired about the progress of getting lights installed at the football fields. Ms. Nelson said it is in the budget, but the budget hasn't been reviewed with Council yet. Member King asked about a Park Board Picnic. It was decided to have a picnic at Hidden Cove Park on August 7"' or 8`hMember Baggett asked if people with jet skis coming into Stewart Creek Park, could be required to go to another area, instead of the boat launch area when they are coming in and out of the lake. Sam replied yes we could as soon as we get the jet ski area paved. He said we can't write tickets to them but we can bring them ashore where a ticket can be written. He added that a ramp is going to be made just for jet skis. It is in next year's budget and in the 10- Year Plan for the Corp to O.K. Ms. Nelson said we will inform the bike patrol officers regarding this issue. There bei g no further discussion, it was unanimously decide adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. J ~ ~ f\ Il Ka y Neal, ecording Secretary D a Baggett, Chairperson