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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/1998 MEETING MINUTES • • City of Bremerton Parks & Recreation Department Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting UNAPPROVED MINUTES January 27, 1998 6:30 p.m. Sheridan Park Community Center 680 Lebo Blvd., Bremerton, WA 98310 ATTENDANCE: Wanda Butler, Barry Cook, Terry Dodge, Carol Johnson, Nick Garguile Sr., and Charles McWhorter. ABSENT/EXCUSED: Lionel Collins, Russ Johnson. AUDIENCE: Hilary Eichler, Doug Groneman, Wayne Olsen (Councilman District#1). GUEST: Mayor Lynn Horton STAFF: Jim Spencer, Interim Director, Jodi Wroblewski, Asst. Director, Lena D'Agostino, Office Assistant II. I. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Barry Cook called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM. II. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Hillary Eichler commented that she had noticed that they're (maintenance crew) cleaning up Haddon. Jim Spencer said Hillary will hear more about Haddon during this meeting. III. AGENDA: No change. VI. OLD BUSINESS 1. Park Bond - Survey Committee Surveys relative to the bond issue were sent out through the Utilities Department with the utility bills, which will go out in 8 cycles over a two-month period. An additional five hundred surveys were also sent out with the Parks & Recreation Department's brochure mailing. Some of the survey results that came back contained interesting inputs and comments. Page 1 • 2. Renaming Field at Lions At a Council Meeting in December, Councilman Al Colvin was presented with the honor of naming Lions Park Field #1 to "Al Colvin Field" in tribute to his retirement from City Council and his service to the community. Mr. Colvin was totally overwhelmed and very pleased about it. A ceremony to install the sign will be held in the spring. 3. Haddon Site Development Jim Spencer reported that we've completed the Master plan for Haddon with the assistance of the neighbors and Parametrix, Inc. The next step will be to go to City Council to authorize a professional agreement with Parametrix to do a hazardous site evaluation, prepare contract plans, specifications and construction cost estimate for bidding purposes, and assist the City with bidding and construction services. Cost is approximately $24,452. We hope to have the bid specifications out soon so we can start Phase I development of Haddon (i.e. irrigated grassy play area and perimeter walking path, as well as a small parking lot and sidewalk). The restroom and other amenities will be bid as alternates with the hope that they can be built as well with the current level of funding Commissioner Wanda Butler inquired about the number of parking spaces and if there would be some sidewalk improvement. Jim said the parking lot space was reduced from 8 to 4 spaces. The reasoning behind that is this is a neighborhood park where the majority of the users will either walk or ride their bikes to the park as opposed to a regional/destination park. We do not anticipate putting sidewalk around the whole piece of property at this point. Sidewalk improvements on the southeast corner (tie into Lafayette and the parking lot) will probably required. Our goal is to convert the property into a useable playground for children as soon as possible and add requirements, such as sidewalks, and amenities to it at a later date. Commissioner Nick Garguile asked how Parametrix came up with that amount (do they charge per hour or based on the design?). According to Jim, Parametrix submitted a proposal that was broken down by hour per task, which was then followed by a negotiation process between Parametrix and Department staff and the City Project Manager. Once the bid specification is completed, it will be advertised and bids will be accepted. Unfortunately, the park will probably not be finished in time for our summer Playground Express program. Estimated completion would be by the end of summer. Chairman Barry Cook added that he wanted to commend the staff and everyone for doing a fine job with the public process and the entire project in general. 4. Budget 1998 Jim provided copies of the 1998 budget to all the Commissioners. He gave general information on the basic funding categories, discussed budget adjustments, summary expenditure, staffing profile, etc. He also enumerated specific items of concerns: (a) Identifying permanent funding source for our Summer Playground Program. He indicated that the we need to get on-going funding locked-in for our playground program. Our ultimate goal is to expand the program to more than Page 2 • the current 4 sites. (b) Level of participation in Athletics — which has been pretty static for the past three years. We need to get the young people involved in our athletic programs (especially soccer and softball). (c) Delivering the forecasted revenue amounts at the Golf Course. Concerns over the impact on fee increases and weather. (d) Progress on the new Golf Clubhouse. (e) Capital projects in general (particularly Evergreen Park Phase I and Haddon site development). Another concern is to figure out a way to beef up resources to provide our maintenance crew with more resources so that they can maintain their level of competency and be more efficient. V. NEW BUSINESS - Smith Cove Development Mayor Lynn Horton reported that we were approached by the Bremerton Rotary Club regarding the possibility of a partnership between the City and the Bremerton Rotary Club in respect to the expansion of the Evergreen Park area. They discussed donating a sizeable contribution of between $100,000 to $150,000 in exchange for name recognition in a form of naming the expanded portion of Evergreen Park to "Evergreen Rotary Park" or some facsimile. There will be two adjoining parks rather than one park. Mayor Horton thinks that's fair if they wanted to make that kind of commitment. With that contribution, we might want to look at applying for an Interagency Committee (IAC) grant. Jim stated he wanted to present all sides of the issue and reminded the Commissioners of the policy in naming parks for an existing facility. He added, with the Rotary's significant contribution, we will have a better chance for an IAC Grant because of this show of community commitment. Mayor Horton asked for the Commissioners' recommendations and suggested that the Commissioners table their actions regarding the Rotary Club's solicitation. The Mayor indicated that we still need to talk to the neighbors to hear their suggestions - we do not want to leave the neighbors out of the loop. Jim suggested that the Commissioners can leave this as an open item and report to the Mayor on the progress in that regard. At this point, the Commissioners advised they are in consensus of supporting this issue. Sinclair Landing Parking Lot Project Update: According to Mayor Horton, a tentative agreement was made, depending on City Council approval, for the developers to finance the 2,400 car parking garage structure worth approximately $60 million structure. Payment to the commercial group would be 60% of the new taxes that would come in to the City for the first 25 years as a result of Sinclair Landing Project. Real Estate Excise, B&O, and Sales taxes will go towards the 60%. Estimated revenues after 5 years would be approximately $2 million in new taxation to the City (60% of which would be $1.2 million a year for 25 years) plus the net parking revenues from the garage itself. If there is a shortfall, the developers would be responsible. The requirement for the City was that the City takes on either no risk or as small a risk as possible. This scenario accomplishes this objective. We will own the parking structure from the day of construction and half of the dirt. The Mayor said that clearly there is a Page 3 i • piece of this that belongs to the Parks & Recreation Department. She would like to recommend to the City Council to split the future revenues (after 25 years) between the parks system and the Street Department so that there will be an endowment into perpetuity for parks and for street renovations and repairs. We currently have about 120 parking spaces, which generate $150,000, net revenue for the City. Commissioner Nick Garguile asked if the developers are willing to accept these conditions with a major risk and no guarantee from the City. The Mayor replied yes. She will present a copy of the Master Development Agreement to the City Council tomorrow night (Wednesday, January 28th) and is hoping to have the document signed and adopted. From that document the City will work on the level of detail and then meet with the bond council to make sure the City can legally use this kind of mechanism. VI. STAFF REPORT: Evergreen Park: Per Jim, we had an opportunity to review the 50% design review of Phase I. There are some challenges in the area of drainage associated with that asphalt triangular area. We're working through those and trying to move that project along. Kitsap Lake: Jim attended a neighborhood held meeting on the 19th of this month relative to the screens (and removal) issue, and salmon habitat. The Department of Fish & Wildlife put in a screen in the 1950's to keep the fish in the lake. Fish & Wildlife stated that they don't think the screens are necessary any longer, and it's not a matter of "if' they will remove them but "when". They did, however, agree to do a two- year study to verify their hypothesis (that they're not losing trout) prior to screen removal. Fisheries would like the salmon to come up Chico Creek into Kitsap Lake. The interesting consequence is there is a dam associated with the screens and the water level is controlled through boards that can be taken in and out of this dam. If the whole dam and the screens are removed, there is the possibility of lowering of the lake between 3 to 4 feet, which would impact property owners. Jim agreed to look at what it would take to maintain the dam, however, there is easement involved with the adjoining property owners. This is a very complex problem, but we'll look into it and see if we could figure out a way to control the water level and deal with the screen issue separately. Relative to another Kitsap Lake issue owners and in conjunction to the $10,000 CDBG grant, the staff met with Scott Sanden for recommendations. He was the gentleman who gave a presentation relative to the Kitsap County lake weed issue not too long ago. Scott suggested polling the property owners to make sure that they agree there is a problem. The Department developed a simple weed survey (i.e. if they believe there is a weed problem that needs to be addressed, and its location, etc.). and sent to all the lakefront property. We're hoping for some good feedback and if a majority agrees that there is a problem, then we'll take the next step and figure out what we need to do relative to developing a plan. Page 4 • • Jim provided the Commissioners with copies of a document that Commissioner Russ Johnson put together on the salmon aspect of Kitsap Lake. The group then entered into a discussion relative to this issue. Swimming pool at end of Pinewood: The staff was approached on the possibility of operating this facility. Jim will present this issue to the City Council and get their reaction regarding this request. Jim said he is personally not too anxious about taking this facility on. He thinks this is a costly venture, there are liability concerns associated with it and the facility is located in the County. Annual Report for 1997: Jim is in the process of developing the report and will have copies ready by next meeting. Jim added how proud he was of the people he worked with and he's proud of this organization. VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: M/S/C/U ( C.Johnson/W.Butler) to approve the minutes from November 25, 1997 meeting. VIII. COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS & QUESTIONS Commissioner Terry Dodge: When do we paint the house and outbuilding at Ivy Green Cemetery? They looked pretty dumpy. Jim said he doesn't see the house staying there, but will look into having the house and outbuilding painted in the near future. Commissioner Nick Garguile mentioned that someone asked him why aren't our facilities open on Martin Luther King Day? Jim said we do close on those holidays - it's a cost issue and staffing is very difficult. Commissioner Carol Johnson suggested moving our meeting time back to 6 p.m. and maybe we ought to ask Commissioner Collins' opinion on this since he had requested that the meeting time be moved to 6:30 p.m. in the first place. She also asked 1) where is the site for the Clubhouse, and 2) how soon can we finish Haddon? Jim said there's no site identified for the Clubhouse right now. Per Jodi, it takes about 2 months or so to finish and bid the designs, another month or so to mobilize the construction. Jim added that we also have to take into consideration the contamination problem we have out at Haddon. The construction will probably be completed by this fall. Commissioner/Chairman Barry Cook stated he is planning to write a letter to remind all the Commissioners of their commitment to the Parks & Recreation Commission. In the letter he will express his feelings on being on the Parks & Recreation Commission as well as remind everyone concerned that they should be able to commit 2 hours of their time once a month and attend these meetings. We can discuss moving the meeting start time back to 6 p.m. and speak with Commissioner Collins next time he attends. Chairman Cook added he would like to give the opportunity to give back not just act as Page 5 • • a sounding board. He indicated that there are areas in which the Commissioners can participate in more such as helping to raise funds for our summer program. Commissioner Wanda Butler said she would like to see a RV Park located somewhere in the City (even dry hook-up). Jim said that there is no doubt we need a RV location, and there have been some discussions on this matter. The Mayor has talked about using the Square Dance Hall (located in Gorst), or Lower NAD Park. Commissioner Butler also suggested to Chairman Cook that he should include the level of participation in his letter. As far as she is concerned, we (the Commissioners) could do a lot more. She reported she went to her neighborhood meeting, and she was very proud of the exemplary job the staff did for that meeting. Commissioner Charlie McWhorter. How much did we spend on Playground program? Jim replied that we spent approximately $20,000 for the four sites in 1997. Of that sum $14,500 came from CDBG. This year, 1998, we will receive no funding from CDBG. There is some funding in the Parks & Recreation General Fund for this program and we're still lobbying with the County to help provide funding for our Sparky Program (for disabled children). A significant number of our Sparky participants live outside the City limits. Commissioner McWhorter added that he is concerned about the Playground program, and suggested that we should do something to help to support this. He also asked about placing some temporary hoops at Haddon between now and when the park is completed? Jim replied that a basketball court is part of the master plan and will be installed as soon as feasible. The Commissioners thanked the staff for the water bottles. ix. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Lena D'Agosti , Office Asst. 11 +inl Spence interim Director Page 6