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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3rd Quarter (July-September)MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON JULY 14TH, 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: Larry Henderson Member Susan King Member Mark Shaw Member John Sanders Member and with Chairperson Baggett, and members Lewis, and Bickerstaff absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation. 1. CITIZEN'S INPUT. None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 23`a, 1999. Member King made a motion to approve the minutes of June 23`a, 1999. Member Shaw seconded the motion. Ayes: Members Henderson, King, Shaw, Sanders. Noes: None. 3. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF TOPICS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE TURCO SURVEY. The board members were given a current list of existing facilities, athletic facilities, parks, Lake Parks and future facilities. Ms. Nelson said in the last survey, people were asked about the size, features and quality of the facilities. She added some additional questions at the bottom - Are there any other recreational facilities you would like to see offered that we haven't already mentioned? Are there any recreational programs you would like to see offered that we don't currently have? Member Sanders suggested inserting a question - If you had 2 choices of something you'd like to see incorporated into the park system, what would they be? Member Shaw stated his concern is people not knowing the name of the park but they are actually familiar with the location. Ms. Nelson said we would need to provide TURCO with a list of the parks names and their locations. Member Sanders said he would like to see some greenbelt development mentioned. Member King asked if we could put hike & bike trails / greenbelt development. Ms. Nelson said that the greenbelt development should probably be addressed separately. She said we could break the hike/bike trails into two categories - easements and greenbelt and the other one would be shoreline. Member King said she did not see paintball on the list. Ms. Nelson said it is included under "Other" . Nelson will add paintball to the list. Ms. Member Henderson inquired about a timeframe for the future facilities. Ms. Nelson said that would depend on the funding. When we update the Parks Master Plan, we'll prioritize and rank things based on what comes out of the telephone survey and the input we get from the citizens to see what we view as Is% 2°a, 3`a, 4a', and 5`h priorities and what order we want to put them in, but a lot will depend on funding 4B acquires. Member Shaw asked if the Park Board is counting on the TIF. Ms. Nelson said we would love to have it but the research has not been completed to find out how much we can benefit from it. She said if they include the tract of land we're talking about for the sport complex, which is included in the TIF area, then we can use the TIF money for development. It would be another funding source. She said we have been told the school district will not be participating. Ms. Nelson said this list is a guide so TURCO will know the issues we want addressed. They can formulate the questions, return them to us, then we can fine-tune them. If we don't like the way a question is worded or if we feel the information we get is inadequate because of the way a question is worded, then we can make changes. She said we will include the question `Are there any other recreational facilities you would like to see offered that we haven't already mentioned?" at the bottom of each section and that will cover Stewart Creek Park, Hidden Cove Park or any existing park. The library is doing their own survey. Member King said when the questions are completed, we will meet with the TURCO people to discuss our concerns and make sure they understand exactly what we want to get out of the survey. Ms. Nelson said it's important for the questions to stay in line with some of the questions from the previous survey so we can see if there have been any changes in people's way of thinking. Member Sanders asked where cultural arts would fall in. Member King said 413 will handle everything that falls outside of Parks and the Library. Ms. Nelson said we could easily add cultural arts to our list under future facilities. She said she had that in mind when she listed Civic Center / Auditorium, but we could be more specific and say Performing Art Center. Member King made a motion to approve the topics to be addressed in the TURCO survey with the additions discussed tonight - - Put hikelbike trails in 2 categories - easements and greenbelts. - Shoreline Development - Add paintball range to future facilities. Member Shaw seconded the motion. Ayes: Members King, Shaw, Sanders, Henderson Noes: None. 4. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. Ms. Nelson said the new playground equipment for Stewart Creek Park would arrive within the next 2 weeks. A construction company from Dallas is providing the labor. It will be placed near the pavilion and the volleyball area. A tree will be planted and a memorial plaque will also be placed in the ground in memory of Johnny Walker. The dedication ceremony will be the 26"' or 27`h of July. Bids have been received for the bathroom at Stewart Creek Park and the low bid was $20,000 more than we had anticipated. She said for a facility like this, the low bid should have come in at $70.00 per square foot with the high bid coming in about $112.00 per square foot. This is without heating and air conditioning and no finish on the floor, just a concrete floor. The bids were $94,000, $101,700, $111,142 and $169,958 was the high bid. The bidders were Artison Construction, D'Amico Construction, TW Foster, J M Builders, and Tanner Construction was a no bid - they were on the list but did not bid. Ms. Nelson said we have close to $90,000 in our fund balance. We were setting aside $20,000 to get the water & sewer hook up and the lift station in and do all the sewer line work that needs to be done. She said we can either cut some features such as the showers, we can rebid, or we can hire a Construction Manager and sub out each component of the job. All these items are being considered. The July 4`h celebration was a huge success. There were 1,185 runners which is twice as many as last year. There were 33 entries in the parade, 300 people at the Inland Beach Party at the Aquatic Park, over 600 people at Budget Suites, and a couple of thousand at the fireworks. She has received only a few complaints, but one of them was on the front page of the paper. A lady said her house almost caught fire because of the fireworks. The Hilfiger people seemed very pleased. We have not gotten a commitment from them for next year, but they were pretty happy with the event. They will be doing their own evaluation and sending out evaluations to everyone who was involved in the event, then make a decision as to whether they will sponsor this across the country next year or if they will select certain cities. Rick from New York told David Swain that our event was far superior to what he saw in St. Louis. It was better organized and better done overall. Dillards sold out of products in the morning and the evening. The fireworks people had a video made of the show so they would have something to show other cities they're trying to get business from. They went to the Texas Festivals and Events Convention in Waco and said they got an enormous amount of business because of this tape. Everyone wanted to know where the show was so it was good publicity for the city. People from other cities have said they could see our show from across the lake and other places that were able to see it said it was spectacular and they wanted to know what company we used. Pam said she would be writing a letter requesting they put us on their schedule. Pepperhead has told Pam that he wants no financial commitment right now, but he does want to book us for next year. 5. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member Sanders said everyone involved with the July 4t' event did a great job. The whole day was great. Member King said July 4`r' was a great day. Everyone had a wonderful time. She also said Hidden Cove Park is looking really good. There being no further discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Kathy Neal, ecording Secretary Donna Baggett, Chairperson MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON AUGUST 11 TH, 1999 A REGULAR SESSION of The Parks & Recreation Board of The City of The Colony, TX, was called to order at 7:38 p.m. with the following board members present: Donna Baggett Chairperson Mark Shaw Member Susan King Member John Sanders Member and with members Bickerstaff, Henderson, and Lewis absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation and David Swain, Recreation Supervisor. 1. CITIZEN'S INPUT. None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 14TH, 1999. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the minutes of July 14th, 1999. Member King seconded the motion. Ayes: Members Shaw, Sanders, and King. Noes: None. Abstain: Chairperson Baggett. 3. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF CONTRACT WITH JUN ENTERPRISES FOR PURCHASE OF 80.5 ACRES FOR PARKLAND. Ms. Nelson informed the board of a work session that was held with City Council to discuss the purchase of 80.5 acres of land to be utilized for parks - west of Paige Road, east of Blair Oaks, and north of Memorial Dr. The section on the west side of Paige Road is what was on the original concept plan for the sport complex. The board has a copy of the proposed contract. Ms. Nelson said there were 3 funding options presented for the purchase of the property. They all involve the one million dollars in the bank from the Billingsley park dedication money. They will probably approve option #2 because that would be paying the million dollars up front then borrow the other million. We would use the Billingsley money to pay back the loan in 3 '/2 - 4 years. There will still be payments they owe us after the park is paid off. Ms. Nelson thinks the contract is fine. It will go before Council Monday night and she recommends the board members be there if they can. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the contract with JNC Enterprises for purchase of 80.5 acres for parkland. Member Shaw seconded the motion. Ayes: Members King, Sanders, Shaw and Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 4. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF RELEASE OF 60 FEET OF ROW FOR A COLLECTOR STREET ON THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF PARK LOCATED AT PAIGE & MEMORIAL DR. Ms. Nelson informed the board that the preliminary plat for the Legends has been filed. She said it would be a high- density area with smaller homes. In the Development Review Committee meeting she questioned the width of the road that bounds the northern edge of our park with the southern edge of their development. Depending on what we put there, it could generate a lot of traffic as will the subdivision. This may turn into a major bottleneck area and we may want to allow another access point out of our parkland area. The Planning Dept. also felt that there should be a collector street out of that development. If we give up an additional 30 feet of ROW, the developer would absorb the cost of building the entire road. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the release of 60 feet of ROW for a collector street on the northern boundary of park located at Paige & Memorial Dr. Ayes: Members King, Sanders, Shaw and Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. 5. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. The revised Adopt-A-Park Guidelines and the proposed contract with JNC for the purchase of the 80.5 acres will be on the City Council Agenda Monday night. The new playground at Stewart Creek Park has been completed. The playground looks very nice and has a beautiful live oak tree planted beside it. The dedication ceremony was last Tuesday. We are re-bidding the bathrooms at Stewart Creek Park. We have decided to go with a Construction Manager because that will cut some of the overhead costs out of the project. We will bid out each component of the project. We have talked with a contractor who has agreed to be our Construction Manager and he has some subs that have given him prices that we can handle. The new courtesy dock is in at Hidden Cove Park. The lake has dropped so much, that the 2 floatation platforms are already out of the water. The Corp still says the lake is only down 7.7 feet below normal, but from our estimations, it's about 12 feet below. The next project at Hidden Cove is the swim beach area. There is a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, the 17`h at the high school auditorium for the 4B Master Plan. Brinkley- Sargent wants to hear input from the citizens. Everyone should attend the meeting if they can. David informed the board that the Fall Softball League begins one week from Monday. The department now has a departmental vehicle for staff to use to attend workshops, seminars and run errands. This was purchased as part of a loan the city acquired for new equipment and vehicles. This will eliminate staff from using their personal vehicles and also save the department a lot of money. 6. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member King informed everyone that the work session Thursday night, the 10`h with the 4B Board, Parks & Rec. Board and the Library Board is to discuss the Turco Survey. There being no further discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Kathy Neal, Recording Secr ary D na Baggett, Chairperson (Jo MINUTES OF THE PARKS & RECREATION BOARD OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, 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 John Sanders Member Rich Lewis Member and with members Bickerstaff, Henderson, and Shaw absent; thus a quorum was established. Also in attendance was Pam Nelson, Director of Parks & Recreation. 1. CITIZEN'S INPUT. None. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 11TH, 1999. Member Sanders made a motion to approve the minutes of August 11th, 1999. Member King seconded the motion. Ayes: Members King, Sanders, Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. Abstain: Member Lewis. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 26TH, 1999 WORK SESSION. Member King made a motion to approve the minutes of August 26th, 1999 work session. Member Sanders seconded the motion. Ayes: Members King, Sanders, Chairperson Baggett. Noes: None. Abstain: Member Lewis. 4. DISCUSSION OF FOCUS GROUP MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 26TH, 1999. Chairperson Baggett stated she was surprised to hear how concerned people are about current parks and how under utilized and lousy they seem to appear to people and they're inadequate - they don't have enough in them. Member King said she has heard that there's a real concern that the existing facilities we have are going to be ignored. People are concerned that we are going to put all the money we have into the complex at the expense of everything we already have. They want to see everything improved and not all our money going into one project. Ms. Nelson added that the other concern is that we build new facilities without any allocations toward manpower or funding for the maintenance of the facility. Member Lewis believes a Cultural Arts Center should be at the back of the list. Members King and Sanders voiced disagreement. Member Sanders said that is something that needs to be provided here. Ms. Nelson said we can provide a facility that can accommodate cultural arts, but that does not have to be the primary function of the facility. Member King said we can have a multi purpose facility to accommodate a wide range of uses, one of which being cultural arts. Member Lewis said we're trying to address what our needs are now. Member King said we need to set up a time line for the next 5,10,15 and 20 years. 5. DISCUSSION OF RFP'S FOR CONSULTANTS FOR THE MASTER PLAN OF THE COMMUNITY COMPLEX. Ms. Nelson said the city is getting ready to close on the land within the next month. We need to go out for RFP's for a consultant to do the master plan for the design of the complex. She would like input from the board on specifics they would like included in the RFP. Ms. Nelson said she will not be approaching the 413 Board for funding because there is not enough time. Funds from the one million dollars will be used; to date, over $20,000 in interest has accumulated. The cost of a master plan will range between $10,000 - $20,000 depending on the scale of the project. Scoring criteria needs to be established - you decide what's the most important criteria for them to meet and based on what their qualifications are and the information they submit to us is how we will choose them. Member King said she would like to see a firm that's done a lot of work in this area. She stressed the importance of architectural design. Ms. Nelson said the amenities make a big difference. She said when it comes time for construction, you're probably going to continue to work with the firm that has done the master plan. Their fees are based on a percentage of the total project cost. Also consider that the bigger firms may not be the best; they have unlimited resources, but also more overhead and you're paying for services you may not be using. This is just something else to take into consideration. 6. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR. Ms. Nelson informed the board the city opened bids for the bathrooms at Stewart Creek Park. It's not being bid as a general contractor project but as a construction management project. A construction manager will be hired to oversee the project and then each of the separate components is bid separately. One company has bid every component of the project and it came in at $69,000. The construction manager we've been talking to about overseeing the project is willing to do the project at 12% of the cost which is about $8,000. The project cost is under $78,000 for the structure - that does not include water and sewer costs. There's $90,000 in the Stewart Creek Park fund which is enough to build the building and have $15,000 left over to do the water and sewer line. This is going to City Council on Sept. 20`h for approval. The contract will state that if there are any cost savings they come back to us and there is also a time limit they will have to complete the project which is probably 60 days, so it should be done by Christmas. The Environmental Assessment from the Corp is back and there are some discrepancies in their findings. They said the lodge facility at Hidden Cove Park would be an approved project, but now they're saying doing paddle boat rentals, canoe rentals and a nature center would not be approved because they can't be approved as stand alone facilities if we have a lodge approved. The information they have given back to us is very conflicting. We're making a questionnaire sheet to submit to the Corp for our comments, prior to the 22°d deadline. The Corp has said there is more room for boat slips on the lake for an additional marina or marinas and the only place would be in Zone C which would be the northwest edge of Wynnewood Peninsula and north of there which would include Hidden Cove Park. The entities that requested marinas were Little Elm and City of The Colony with locations at Wynnewood and Hidden Cove Park. But the requests that went in were higher than what the Corp will allow. So now the parties have to get together and shrink their requests, otherwise the Corp will reject everyone's request. Little Elm asked for a 1,200-slip marina, Wynnewood 1,200-1,300, and Hidden Cove Park asked for 2 different locations but only 250 slips. The people in Fiddler's Green are not happy about the possibility of a marina because it's being proposed for the cove right in front of their houses. There's a man who's trying to find a place for a soccer complex. He's working with the Dallas Burn to utilize the facility he builds for a practice area for Dallas Burn. He's very community oriented. He's not looking for anything from the city - he doesn't want a donation of land or money to build his building. Ms. Nelson told him about the plans for the sports complex and there's an 11 acre site across the street behind the Chevron station, south of Memorial Dr. that's available for sale. She would like to get this man together with the landowner to see if they can work out a deal. It would be a 38,000 square foot indoor soccer facility with a full size field, locker rooms, a concession area, children's play area, a small warm up area that could also be used as an indoor field for the 5-6 year olds, and a weight room. Their plan is to expand it to a 50,000 square foot facility and add a second field. In addition, he's also planning on building four additional full size outdoor fields. He's got $1,000,000 in financing lined up and his financers don't want him to give up. He's got a business plan and a market study. He's looking at sites in Corinth, the southern edge of Denton off 135, Lewisville, and The Colony. He said he can put the facility on 8 acres of land but would prefer 10-12 acres. Ms. Nelson will be showing him the site on Friday. 7 Olde Memories is this Saturday at Hidden Cove Park at 8:00 p.m. The Silvertones will be performing live music. The Barbecue Cook Off is on Sept. 25th; you should call Rose if you want to be a judge. ITEMS OF CONCERN TO THE BOARD. Member Lewis expressed concern about the condition of the road at Hidden Cove Park leading to the Dining Hall. Ms. Nelson said the city is getting a bond for street repairs and Hidden Cove Park will be included. Member Sanders asked Ms. Nelson if she has done a comparison of the water usage at the football fields since we began using the water reel system. Ms. Nelson said no, but the fields have never looked better. She added that the cost of the water reels was $6,000 a piece and we were looking at a cost of $21,000 for in ground irrigation. The fields are being mowed with a reel mower which has made a difference in the turf. Member King informed the board that John Sanders has been appointed to the 413 Board and she is very excited about that. There being no further discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Kathy Neal, Recording Secretary D nna Baggett, Chairp r