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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-09-13 Recreation and Parks Advisory Board minutes I I I LINKED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE RECREATION AND PARKS ADVISORY BOARD MAY % 2013 7:00 PM LINDLEY CENTER - 1102 E. CURTISS BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Wade, Vice Chair Sandy Dodge Salal Huber McGee Matthew Parsons Lee Poole Steve Roderick Richard Shanahan John Soderberg Carson Taylor, Commission Liaison Absent: David Cook, Chairperson Alan Engelbart Liz O'Donnell Beth Thorsen Julie Zickovich Gary Vodenhal/Kelly Pohl, GVLT Liaison CITY STAFF PRESENT: Mitch Overton, Director of Parks & Recreation Thom White, Parks Superintendent Dan McCarthy, Aquatics Manager Michelle Dipzinski, Recording Secretary GUEST PRESENTERS: None COPIES OF THE RECORDING ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST 0:00:00—Vice-Chair Wade called the meeting to order at 7:07pm 0:00:10- Item #1 —Approve April 11, 2013 meeting minutes: • no changes were requested Linked Minutes of the Recreation and Park Advisory Board Meeting,May 9,2013 Motion: Boardmember Dodge motioned to approve the April 11, 2013 minutes as presented. Boardmember Soderberg seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 0:00:37— Item #2 — Public Comment Period, limit 3 minutes per speaker: • Brad Emden, Bozeman resident: o commenting on the new brewery on the property next to the East Gallatin Recreation Area o has concerns that it was a fairly major project with a lot of potential issues to the public and the wildlife that that us the park especially bird life o didn't seem the public was adequately considered in the decision making process o there wasn't enough exposure about the project for the public when major projects impact important public resources he would like to see more priority given to making these issues available to the general public to understand o there will be a change in the experience that the traditional user of the park could have and how the trail situation will interface with the facility and the general public • Commissioner Taylor arrived late so Director Overton updated him on the situation • discussion of this situation will be added to next month's agenda • Boardmember Dodge suggested that Mr. Ernden talk to Doug Chandler and the Sunrise Rotary Club 0:09:56— Item #3 — Announcements: • No announcements were presented 0:10:01— Item #4—Arts in the Parks— Salal Huber-McGee • a meeting was held with Director Overton, Von Judge, MSU Art Director, Brit Fontenot and Chairperson Cook to discuss and open the lines of communication of opening the parks for the classroom at MSU for the art students to produce art and have it appreciated in the parks • MSU has a new position and will hire a Public Art Professor, there will be an opportunity to see art that is more transient that lasts days o projects include grass braiding and other temporary projects that have no impact on the area • MSU is hiring a public art professor which is a new position with MSU and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds and what our opportunity to see art that is more transient last a day or 3 days. o showed pictures of projects such as braiding grass, temporary projects that have no impact on trees • it was suggested that it not be limited to university students, it could be of interest for people that do art for a living to gain exposure for their business • a sample application and rules from other locations were provided, it would be subject to approval from the Parks Department and City Commission; there will be large amount of coordination and communication in this process • this could be an education process for the children and improving the environment and raise the value of the community Linked Minutes of the Recreation and Park Advisory Board Meeting,May 9,2013 0:23:11— Item #5 — Bike Board Discussion —Salal Huber-McGee: • met with the Bike Board and Superintendent White regarding bike racks o Bogert has rotting logs in front of the bandshell, was thinking about replacing them with more vertical logs that would be visually pleasing as a bike rack; would like to see something with an arch like the pavilion • would like to use local artists and have them in several parks • they could serve as a buffer to keep vehicles out of the parks and people could tie their bikes to them • art, functionality and traffic control was considered and she wants to know if the board is in support of the idea o board likes the idea and wanted to know what the next step would be o cou►d look for sponsorships that would include putting in a plaque ■ bike stores could be approached o Parks Dept. likes the idea, there is a need of a barrio at Christie fields to keep people from driving on the grass o bike stores could be approached 0:31:24— Item #6—TOP Report—Sandy Dodge: • Trails, Open Space and Parks Committee had their first meeting on the 30`h • committee members are: o Doug Chandler—Allied Engineering o Don Beeman— Lygocyte Biotech o Tom Starner—employed by Cook Real Estate o Bob Hawks—former State Senator and former Bozeman Mayor o Sandy Dodge—Rec and Park Board Member • city staff included are: o Director Overton o DoreenOlean—Secretary o Chris Saunders from Planning o Commissioner Liaison is Cyndy Andrus • first meeting was primarily on ethics and how to handle the recommendations to the commission o must be clear to the residents that everything is legal and above board • next meeting will be to elect officers and set up criteria and set up and then put out a call to proposals o the next meeting is Tuesday at 10am at the Lindley Center; all meetings are open to the public • Commissioner Taylor said the plan is to sell 1/3 of the bonds so the money will be available when needed 0:34:45— Item #7—Adopt a Park— Bob Wade: • discussed the meeting with Director Overton, Superintendent White, Chairperson Cook, Allyson Brekke and Terry Cunningham with the Bozeman Beautification Board to implement a program similar to the Lancaster Ohio Adopt a Park Program Linked Minutes of the Recreation and Park Advisory Board Meeting,May 9,2013 o would like volunteers from both the Rec & Park board and the Beautification Board to work together to come up with proposals for procedures for adopting a park, the two boards would approve the plan and then sent it to the Commission for approval • Director Overton and Superintendent White would be involved in the planning • Boardmembers Soderberg and Parsons have volunteered to be on the committee • discussion regarding parks and avoiding conflicts with neighborhoods that take care of parks already o they would focus on pocket parks and abandoned HOA parks first o a plaque could be put up saying they have adopted the park; they would pick up trash and spreading playground mulch • this would be a contract situation that would list what can and cannot be done in the park and it would last about a year o the Parks Dept would need to be notified when work was done 0:44:24— Item #8—Aquatics Update— Mitch Overton: • Director Overton thanked everyone for all that has gone into the aquatics project in the last 5 months. Staff and the Commission appreciate the work that was done • the Commission wants to continue operating Bogert as long as they can, until they decide out what to do about a new city pool • Aquatics Manager McCarthy and his staff are working to get the pool ready for the season, the repairs are significant but not overwhelming o contractors are coming in to work on the tiles, the retaining wall and then painting at least the shallow end of the pool • still working on potential partners; have had meeting with the Ridge, the Fairgrounds, the YMCA, and will be meeting with the MDOT about a potential land swap • the splash pad is out at Bogert but still working on putting it in another facility • there was a gas leak at the Swim Center; the pool was shut down for a few days but opened yesterday and ready for the swim meet next week o Aquatics Manager McCarthy explained the situation and work that was completed o discussed the notice of the closure, it was listed as an unforeseen maintenance issue instead of a gas leak • Bogert Pool is still leaking up to 10,000 gallons of water a day, there are approximately 65 cracks in the bottom of the pool o discussed where the water was going; the current pool is setting in the old pool with fill it) between • discussed the time Bogert was closed last year for repairs: o opened two weeks late to fix the roof onto the building o 25 morning swim lessons were cancelled because the boiler was down and the water was too cold o were approximately closed half of the 60 day season last year • discussed using natural swimming areas for outdoor swimming o there is liability with beach guarding and beach recover, they work with the police and fire regarding this o the East Gallatin is a popular area and the beach is being expanded; wildlife uses it but dogs are not allowed Linked Minutes of the Recreation and Park Advisory Board Meeting,May 9,2013 1:03:44—Item #9— Committee Reports: • no Committee Reports were provided 1:03:53— Item #10— Division & Gallatin Valley Land Trust Reports: • Gary Vodenhal sent his report to Director Overton via e-mail, it was read at the meeting; a copy will be sent out with the draft minutes o discussed the location of the bridge discussed, it is closer to Baxter Lane o discussed installing LED motion sensor lights in the parks; it is cost prohibitive at this time 1:10:01— Item #11 — Parks and Recreation Department Director Report— Mitch Overton• • Lindley restroom will have LED lights in the interior, working with the facilities manager to replace the restroom facility o contract has been signed and the structure has been ordered o it is about 90 days out; hoping it will be up and running before Sweet Pea o the swing set has been removed for installation and it will be replaced just north of the existing playground • hope to have the deck at the Lindley Center installed by the end of the month in time for the GVLT event this month o there are a few hang ups with Planning and Engineering but still hopeful it will get done, if it doesn't happen it will be put off until the fall o the decks would be made into one at both doors and further out into the yard • have been working FY14 budgets, the first presentation to the Commission is Monday night • Trails, Open Space and Parks Committee had their first meeting and will be meeting every two week with the next one next Tuesday • working on the Federal Land Access Program Grant for the trail to the M which was specifically mentioned in the ballot language; the city, GVLT and the National Forest Service put in for a grant to build a trail from Story Mill to the M with an pedestrian underpass • working GVLT and the hospital on the four miles of trails east of the hospital o this is a consent item on the May 201h agenda o want to have it ready for Trails Day on June 1" • have been meeting with Superintendent White, Park Foreman Doug Eisenman and the Legal Dept about parks maintenance responsibilities for parcels that are city maintained and areas that are privately maintained • the maintenance and management of the Story Mansion has been taken over by the city immediately o Friends of Exergy are in default of the contract so they turned in their keys o now working on contracting for flowerbed maintenance and landscapers to maintain the area to the standards. o Southwest Montana Masters Gardeners Club are meeting the 161h to discuss this as a project for there to take over in exchange for their annual meeting being held there and they will get a sign in the flower beds saying they are maintaining the flower beds • have met with Boardmembers Shanahan and Huber-McGee about integrating green practices into parks maintenance, this could become a subcommittee of this board • temporary employees are being hired for summer work Linked Minutes of the Recreation and Park Advisory Board Meeting,May 9,2013 1:24:33— Item #12—City Commissioner Perspective— Carson Taylor: • discussed the Commissions discussion about the family aquatics center, Bogert pool and the splash pads—work that was done was very thorough and very helpful to have the information for them; the detail that went into the presentation helped in the discussion o speaking for himself—he was willing to move forward and he doesn't think anyone on the Commission has their mind made up • there is more to be learned and to be done ■ the splash pad could not replace the pool ■ the pool system as it exists isn't going to last until the next pool is built and there is going to be a gap • the money issue is unclear, there are a lot of issues that need to be on the ballot in the near future; the police, the aquatics center and the pool • the next step is to figure out what will be built, where it will be built and how much it is going to cost • discussed various swimming teams, their memberships, and the fees charged for them • discussed what other municipal pools are doing, they have party rooms and concession stands 1:46:09— Item #13— FYI: • Bike to Work Week is next week -go to the Bozeman Bike Club website and print out their poster to find out where to ride your bike for free breakfast all week • Director Overton provided information on the Swim Centers offer of showers to the homeless at $2 o support centers buy passes and hand them out to the needy o staff members have been dealing with significant issues where the Police have been involved; there are health department issues that need to be addressed o he wanted the board members to be aware if the public mentions it to them 1:51:26— Item #14—Adiournment: • Adjourned at 8.52prn. David Cook, Chairperson ATTEST: L ,&)kAl W)& Michelle Dipzinski Re ing Secretary PREPARED BY— Michelle Dipzinski, R co di Secretary Approved on