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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/26/1996 MEETING MINTUES lk • • City of Bremerton Parks and Recreation Commission Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting UNAPPROVED MINUTES March 26, 1996 6 : 00 p.m. Sheridan Community Center 680 Lebo Blvd. , Bremerton, WA 98310 ATTENDANCE: Jason Bachand, Lionel Collins, Sr. , Barry Cook, Carol Johnson, Russ Johnson, Charles McWhorter, Mary Sump, Michael Vaughn. ABSENT/EXCUSED: Wanda Butler STAFF: Jim Spencer, Interim Director, Jodi Wroblewski, Asst . Director, Lena D'Agostino, Office Asst . II . GUEST: Mayor Lynn Horton AUDIENCE: R.K. Smith I . CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Michael Vaughn called the meeting to order at 6 : 04 p.m. II . ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None III . AGENDA: No change IV. OLD BUSINESS: None V. NEW BUSINESS - Defining Commissioners' Role Jim Spencer provided a summary of Parks and Recreation Commission By-Laws in order for the Commissioners to have a clear understanding as to what the document states . Jim added that the Board generally serves in an advisory capacity to the City Council, the Mayor, and Parks & Recreation staff, relating to the formulation of policies and plans for development, management, and operation of City Parks and Recreation programs . Jim enumerated the duties and functions of the Commissioners, which include (but not limited to) the following: (1) assisting with the review of the budget; (2) promoting Parks & Recreation Department programs; (3) assisting in establishment of goals; (4) serving as citizens ' input; and (5) monitoring and assessing the parks system. Chairman VaughrPidL that he would like a clarification of the duties as mentioned in the document . He made a suggestion of reviewing the contents of the document to expand, ( 1 ) 111 • modify, and add comments and/or changes to it before presenting it to the City Council in form of written proposal . Jim added that the Commissioners, as a group, are at liberty to change or modify the document . What is is shown, reflects what is currently documented. Jim also cited the following relevant to the subject mentioned: Bremerton Municipal Code (BMC) 3 . 23 - Roosevelt Capital Assets Fund: Not too long ago, the City Council consulted the Parks & Recreation Commission before committing these funds . There was a difference of opinions as to how to allocate the funds between the Commissioners and the Administration. Prior to the allocation of Roosevelt Replacement Funds, BMC 3 .23 required the City Council to consult the Commissioners on how the funds should be spent . BMC Chapter 13 . 12 - Parks Protection: This states that the Commission shall be consulted and provide details in any proposed sale, lease, or significant change in the use of park property. The purppose of this is to protect parks property and if there are any sale or other use that is not in the best interest of the City, it is in the Commission' s charter to prevent these actions from happening. Provision for Naming Parks : As a group, the Commissioners decide on a name and the name is then forwarded to the City Council for approval . Jim mentioned that recently this process was followed and prior to renaming the Bremerton Municipal Pool, the policy required the Commissioners ' agreement in renaming the pool to The Glenn Jarstad Aquatic Center. The Commission invited Mayor Lynn Horton to share her views on the role of the Commission and her goals for Parks and Recreation. At this point, Mayor Horton said she views the Parks & Recreation Commission as the "eyes and ears" for our community when it comes to parks and recreation needs . To be constantly looking at what those needs are and provide a conduit for the exchange of information by providing with fresh and creative ideas . As such, she is hoping that the Commissioners will bring to the Board issues relative to their specific background (i .e . geographical, demographic, different ethnic persuasions) . By having varied people in our community and providing input about their varied goals and needs as they relate to parks and recreation is really something she has been striving for. The Mayor continued by saying that she would like to rely on the Commissioners ' input and creative ideas not just for recreational opportunities, but for the Commissioners to assess the needs of the community and look at recreation in a different perspective . For the most part, the City owns a lot of pieces of property that are underdeveloped and underutilized. Based on her experience, Mayor Horton added that she is conviced that some of your most creative ideas come when you are flat broke . For a community like ours, creativity, a lot of times can overcome a lot of fiscal shortfalls . As far as funding sources, the Mayor said the Commission has to compete with all of our needs in the community. In a community like ours with a very limited budget, primarily ( 2 ) • • public safety is the one that has to take precedence over everything else . That is why in looking at the rest of our parks system, Mayor Horton added that what she wanted to do is position ourselves years from now. Looking at Gold Mountain Golf Course expansion project, she said she pushed long and hard to get that going and not only we will be having another recreational opportunity in the community, but this will bring income into our parks system. In regards to the downtown waterfront project, according to Mayor Horton, if this project is structured properly, twenty years from now the revenues from the 1400 car parking garage will go to support parks and recreation (she estimates 1 . 3 million yearly, less O&M) . She also wish to strive for other revenue sources (i .e . Lower N.A.D. Park) that offers a possible RV site . Enhancements like this make our community more liveable . Another area that is being actively worked on is the expansion of Evergreen Park. A consultant firm was hired to develop a remediation plan to deal with the contamination at Evergreen Park and around Smith Cove . She feels there is a very good chance of acquiring those properties in exchange for the assumption of liability. Marketing is another area that Mayor Horton thinks we should focus on. She added that she does not think that we (as a City) market ourselves well and there a lot of opportunities that we have missed. One of the marketing tools being looked at is a tourism piece which the Mayor wishes to have a message on the front that would highlight what we have in the City of Bremerton. She would like to have essentially a guide to all the City parks, sports fields, recreational programs/opportunities, etc . She thinks it would be a good idea to distribute some copies on the passenger ferries, among other places . She also feels that sending these out on an annual basis to all residents of the City of Bremerton would help in keeping the residents informed of what is available in the City. Additionally, Mayor Horton mentioned that one of the things that the City is trying to do is to create a good capital improvement plan and capital facilities plan for the City of Bremerton which prioritize the things needed to be done as funds are received. The Commissioners will be more involved in master planning of all the parks . Chairman Vaughn asked the Mayor how she sees the Parks & Recreation goals interacting with her long range goals (relative to the Parks & Recreation) , and how do the Commissioners interact with the Mayor as a group and share their goals with the Mayor? Chairman Vaughn also added that as it stands now, he does not see any mechanism or process that allows the Commissioners as a group to share what their goals might be . His observation over a short time he has been with the Commission was that the Commissioners ' role is more "reactive" than "proactive" . The Mayor responded that she wanted to get the Commissioners out of that mode . She suggested that in order to make an effect on the upcoming years ' goals, objectives and budget, the Commissioners need to do their goal-setting and planning that they would like to see achieved around the month of June . Should there be a wrap-up ( 3) • • or discussion scheduled by the Commission, she is more than happy to attend any planning function whenever appropriate . Commissioner R. Johnson added that he thinks the Commissioners will be more successful if they figure out what the goals are, present them in writing, and then set up a meeting with the staff . Chairman Vaughn suggested that the Commissioners establish annual set of goals to be submitted to the staff, City Council, and the Mayor. He added that there should be some sort of discussions of goals on the agenda every meeting. Regarding the Department ' s Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) , Chairman Vaugh feels that the Commissioners should provide as much information as they can on the Plan before its final . In that regards, Jim mentioned that the entire staff had spent numerous hours reviewing the Comp Plan and he encourages the Commissioners to spend some time in understanding the document . Page 125 (Capital Improvement Program) of the Comp Plan, in particular, identifies by park what the Department ' s plan is . As the Mayor stated, the Department is competing with the Police and Fire Departments; therefore, prioritization of tasks becomes important . Jodi Wroblewski added that the Commissioners will each be given a copy of the document . One of the Department ' s funding sources (Interagency Committee (IAC) ) liked the Comp Plan and thought the staff did a wonderful job with it . Jodi said she thinks the Comp Plan is a really good foundation and suggested that the Commissioners look at the "Suggested Levels of Service" section. At this point, the Comp Plan is pretty much established and good for 6 years . However, it needs to be constantly looked at and refined. Chairman Vaughn requested the staff include on next month' s agenda any schedule or timelines (City budget, IAC, etc . ) and provide this information to assist the Commissioners in setting goals for the next fiscal year. Commissioner Carol Johnson mentioned that a couple of years ago she had attended a retreat with the Parks & Recreation Department staff . She said it really helped her understand a lot of things relative to parks and recreation. She suggested doing something along this line such as having a Parks & Recreation staff provide information to the Commission. Jim said he is more than happy to schedule this in whatever way the Commission prefers to have this done . Chairman Vaughn suggested doing it in sections, i .e . Senior Center one night, Aquatic Center, the other night, etc . Commissioner R. Johnson suggested going one step further and conducting the meeting at the place where the topic of discussion would be in relation to . In regards to the next meeting place, Jim mentioned that April 23rd Commission meeting will take place at the Senior Center in conjunction with the Volunteer Recognition. The Commission' s regular business meeting will be held at 5 : 00 p.m. Jim will include in the agenda a brief discussion about the Senior Center to be provided by Becky Lorber (Program Coordinator) . At this point, Jim told the Commissioners that the Commission' s input is very important and that the Commissioners can (4) i • definitely influence the course of action in the budget process . The group then entered into a general discussion on how they can work together as a team on the next fiscal year' s (1997) budget . VI . STAFF REPORT Jim mentioned that on Saturday, April 13th, is the scheduled date for the tour of all the City parks . There is a Senior fundraiser scheduled on the same day. Jim encouraged the Commissioners to attend and enjoy a free pancake breakfast prior to the tour. Jim said he will commit to have the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Projection available to all Commissioners by April 13th. Jodi suggested addressing the items mentioned in the CPI Projection at the tour. Meeting time for the tour would be at 8 : 30 a.m. for breakfast at the Senior Center and followed by the tour shortly thereafter. Jodi encouraged everyone to RSVP by April 8th. Jim also provided a summary of the following projects : Lions Field: Installed curtain drain to relieve the wet conditions currently being experienced on Field #2 . Grants : Composting system for the City - $9000 . 00 VII . APPROVAL OF MINUTES - February 27, 1996 M/S/C/U (C. Johnson/B. Cook) to approve the minutes as submitted. VIII . COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS Commissioner Barry Cook said that the Mayor is very insightful and he appreciates what the Mayor had to say to the Commissioners as well as what her expectations were . Being in the of the "eyes and ears" of the City, the Commissioners should be out in the community finding out what it is the community wants, not necessarily what the Commission wants but what is best for the City. Commissioner Cook notified the Commission that he was contacted by Mr. Jack Lefcoski and he (Cook) was told by Mr. Lefcoshki of a meeting on April 16th relating to Kitsap Lake weed problem. Commissioner Cook had planned on attending but he had not been notified again by Mr. Lefcoski . Commissioner Cook told Jim that he (Cook) will be able to attend should Jim needs a representative at the meeting, to which Jim said he will have a staff member attend for sure . Jim also added that he will keep Commissioner Cook posted on those meetings . From what he heard from some of the Council members, Commissioner R. Johnson stated the Commissioners have more power and authority than they think they do as a Board. He said the Commissioners should never be timid about going forward to the Council or taking a stand. Additionally, he is also a member of the Sinclair Landing Association (waterfront project) . Commissioner R. Johnson provided information on how to acquire free issues of American City & County Publication, which the Commissioners may also find very informative . Commissioner C. Johnson mentioned that she had attended her first Downtown Bremerton Waterfront Revitalization ( 5) • i Task Force meeting with Jodi . She (C. Johnson) provided a summary of the meeting which included update on the USS Missouri, Sinclair Landing Project, Bremerton Naval Museum, etc . Commissioner C. Johnson also added that this coming weekend there will be a softball tournament at Pendergast Regional Park and Lions Field and the opening of the concession stands being operated by the Parks & Recreation Department for the first time . She invited all the Commissioners to stop by for a snack. Commissioner J. Bachand said he is really excited about what the Mayor mentioned regarding marketing. He will be on staff for the Spring Day Camp Program with the Parks & Recreation Dept . and also the 10-week program in the summer. Commissioner Charles McWhorter apologized for being late at the meeting and he thinks that there really are a lot of exciting things going on right now and he is glad to be a part of it . Commissioner Mary Sump notified the group of the approval of Arvon zoning. She asked about the Right of First Refusal for the Haddon Site, to which Jim responded that the City Attorney had sent a letter to the school district . Unfortunately, the gentleman who is in charge (Walt Draper) is currently out of the country until next month. There is also a problem with naming the Arvon park and this is something she would like to look into. According to Jim, the target completion for said park would be when the school is out . Commissioner Sump also added that she does not think that the Parks & Recreation Dept . is really well represented in the local newspapers, to which Jodi replied that the Department does not really have a control on the news release since it is up to The Sun staff where they place the advertisements . Commissioner Lionel Collins, Sr. commented that he finds the meeting very interesting. He provided the Commissioners with backgound information about himself and what his goals are relative to the needs of the youth in the community. It was suggested he work with the Bremerton Youth Council regarding the survey. Commissioner Bachand indicated he would be interested in working with the project . Commissioner Collins enumerated some of the things the youngsters in the community would like to have or accomplish as a result of a surveyworking he is on. He also pointed out the problem with the water fountain at Lions Field, to which Jim replied that the Department is in the process of pursuing a replacement in the near future . IX. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 4--- Lena D'4gostino, OA II J m Spen r, Interim Director ( 6 )