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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/25/1998 MEETING MINUTES • • City of Bremerton Parks & Recreation Department Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting UNAPPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, August 25, 1998 5:30 p.m. Bremerton Senior Center 1140 Nipsic Ave., Bremerton, WA 98310 ATTENDANCE: Barry Cook, Lonnie Dawson, Nick Garguile Sr., Douglas Groneman, Carol Johnson. ABSENT/EXCUSED: Wanda Butler, Charles McWhorter, Russ Johnson. AUDIENCE: Rose Russell, Jennifer Russell. STAFF: Jim Spencer, Interim Director, Jodi Wroblewski, Asst. Director, Becky Lorber, Recreation Coordinator II, Lena D'Agostino, Office Asst. II. I. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Barry Cook called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. II. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Rose Russell said she came to the meeting to express her gratitude to staff and everyone for making the Sparky program available for children with disabilities. Her daughter, Jennifer, attended the program this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. Rose complimented the camp staff, including the foster grandparents, for doing a wonderful job with the children. Rose added that Camp Sparky is in desperate need for transportation with wheel chair accessibility for field trips. A used van would be more than adequate. She said she is aware of funding constraints but stated that she is willing to do volunteer services to help with the resolution of this issue. Jim Spencer said that at this point we still need to work on securing funding to ensure the continuation of the Camp Sparky program and suggested that we take the transportation issue at a later date. III. AGENDA: No change. IV. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Park Bond — Survey Committee 1 • Chairman Barry Cook stated that the sub-committee met and discussed survey strategies. He also reminded everyone to sign-up to help man our "information" booth at the Blackberry Festival (on the Boardwalk) to answer park questions, hand-out information, and conduct a survey of future park needs and desires. Jim mentioned that Becky Lorber is currently working on finalizing the survey questions that came out of the sub-Committee meeting. Jim said he is really anxious to see the results from the Boardwalk survey, which will be beneficial information prior to conducting phone survey. Commissioner Lonnie Dawson said we need something for the people to look at as we do the survey to help them understand the reason for a bond levy. Jodi Wroblewski mentioned that we will have some sort of visual aids such as story boards, hand-outs, brochures, etc., to pass on to the public. 2. Haddon Update We have a 90-day contract with Ace Paving for Haddon Phase I project, with a completion date of October 24th. There are concerns relative to the delay in construction. The City Project Manager, Dan Miller, wrote a letter to the contractor addressing this issue. We are still confident that the park will complete by the aforementioned date. 3. Rifle Range Jim had another meeting with the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club (KRRC) members. The group discussed formalizing definitive plans for the proposed improvements to the indoor shooting range located downstairs at the Sheridan Park Community Building. We are also in the process of generating a written lease agreement with KRRC. 4. RV Facility The developer who is interested in building an RV facility near Gold Mountain Golf Complex looked at four possible sites for this project. The proposed facility will require from 8 to 10 acres to build. Each location is being evaluated. The Mayor feels strongly about this project, and recognizes the need for an RV facility in the area. Commissioner C. Johnson asked if there are any interests in Lower N.A.D., to which Jim replied N.A.D. Marine would have been a perfect location for an RV site, but there are concerns about possible contamination. N.A.D. is also GSA-owned and there may be some strings attached to it that would make use of this property difficult. Chairman Cook asked if there is any timeframe for this project. Jim said so far we don't have any specific timeframe. The developer is looking for a long- term lease (50 to 60 years) with the City, and once the lease is up it becomes City property. This would be a nice investment for the future; however, there are a lot of things to be considered before moving forward. 5. Evergreen Update 2 • • Becky made the final IAC presentation for Evergreen Phase II development. We finished 13 out of 78 applicants. There is a very good chance of being funded. We're still waiting for the Shoreline permits situation to be settled before we can put Phase I out to bid again. The Seabee's finished the demolition work by removing the old maintenance building and removal of the old asphalt trails. The water that had been disconnected in anticipation of the start of Phase I construction has been reconnected, and the park is beginning to green- up again. V. NEW BUSINESS: 1. SR3 Encroachment Issue This issue was brought up after looking at a map of SR3/Bruenn Park on 6th and Auto Center Way just south of Kitsap Way and adjacent to a piece of property owned by Chrysler/Dodge (auto dealer). The map shows that we (the City) own approximately 6,000 sq. ft. north of 6th Street and majority of the property was recently asphalted and is being used by the car dealership to show their inventory. Jim contacted the National Park Service (NPS) to ask for recommendations since it is a piece of GSA property, who advised him that there is indeed an encroachment issue. NPS had suggested that we find another piece of property somewhere in the City that the car dealership would purchase and trade for this property. Jim spoke with the property owner who agreed that something needs to be done about this issue. First we need to have the property appraised. Jim added that he would like to find a property adjacent to one of our City parks. Jim had also made inquiries with Public Work &Utilities Department to find out if they have any available piece of property for this purpose. Lastly, Jim asked the Commissioners to inform him should they become aware of a piece of property somewhere in the City that could be used to solve this problem. 2. CDBG (Community Development Block) Grants We have submitted CDBG grant requests for Manette Playfield improvements ($62,500), Haddon Park restroom ($55,100), Playground Express program ($25,000), and Blacktop Basketball program ($6,690). The Commissioners then signed the letters of support for the grant applications mentioned after making a motion to support these grant requests: Playground Express program - M/S/C/U (Lonnie Dawson/Carol Johnson); Blacktop Basketball program — M/S/C/U (Douglas Groneman/Lonnie Dawson); Manette Playfield improvements — M/S/CIU (Lonnie Dawson/Doug Groneman); and Haddon Park restroom — M/S/C/U (Nick Garguile/Carol Johnson). VI. STAFF REPORT Clubhouse: A meeting with Bumgardner Architects was held to review the schematic design for the clubhouse. Jim showed the Commissioners a drawing of the proposed clubhouse and its components. Projected completion is by the end of 1999. 3 • • Commissioner Dawson commented that the newly-built clubhouse would be an ideal location for a New Year's Eve bash to welcome in the new millenium. Pendergast: We are still planning to seed fields 4, 5, and 6 this fall, and are coordinating with Bill McKinney of Forestry Division with the hope to be able to use a biosolid application to start seed growth. pp jump Parks Director Position: The position was re-opened with a new closing date of the 31st of this month. Commissioner Groneman asked Jim about the August 10th meeting relative to the Parks Director position, to which Jim replied the meeting did not happen. The Mayor wanted a bigger pool to select from. Budget: The staff will start working on the next two year's budget (1999 & 2000). A Department budget meeting was scheduled on Friday. Mayor's Goals for 1999: Jim advised the Commissioners of the Mayor's goals for next year. The ones that pertain to us are summarized below: • Implement annexation proposal for the purchase of the DNR property between Ridell and McWilliams (east of Wheaton Way). • Finish construction of Evergreen Phase I, and secure funding for Phase II. • Finish construction of the Gold Mountain Clubhouse. • Prepare and implement a park and tourism signage plan. • Review a bond effort to replace Sheridan Park Recreation Center. VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — July 28, 1998 M/S/C/U (Groneman/Dawson) to approve July 28th minutes. VIII. COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS & QUESTIONS Commissioner Carol Johnson asked if Jim ever thought about joining the "KitsaParty" to get funding for things we need for our programs like the van for Camp Sparky? Becky mentioned that she presented 3 times for Camp Sparky but never got funded. She explained the process of acquiring funding through "KitsaParty" and its requirements, such as we need to provide at least 12 volunteers, maximum amount is $3,000, etc. Rose Russell reiterated that she would like to help in any way for Camp Sparky. Commissioner Carol Johnson also asked about the upcoming WWII Big Band Dance which will be held at Sheridan Recreation Center. Jim said to ask Charleen Burnette, who is our coordinator for this event. Lastly, Commissioner Carol Johnson told everyone that she will be available to fill in for anyone who cannot work at the information booth during the Blackberry Festival. 4 • • Commissioner Douglas Groneman mentioned a situation at the Pendergast concession stand during last weekend's women's state tournament. He had noticed two teenage workers who seemed to be having a lot of problems with the barbeque grill and it became too overwhelming for them. Jim made a note of this and said he'll find out more about this situation. Commissioner Carol Johnson added that it is easy to get overwhelmed when a game completes and you're swamped with partons. Commissioner Groneman also mentioned that the Star of the Sea School wishes to help out and do something simple on a yearly basis for the Department. Jodi said we can have them work with Tom Cressman (Parks Foreman) and get some ideas from him. Commissioner Lonnie Dawson inquired on the possibility of starting a tennis tournament. Jim said we just completed our annual tournament headed up by Sylvia Palmer, who has been our tennis instructor for years. Regarding our summer Playground Express Program, Commissioner Dawson added that he heard some good things about it from his neighbor. Lastly, he thanked the staff for the tour of the parks. He said he learned a lot from it. Commissioner Carol Johnson added that someone she knew who played tennis at the Warren Avenue court had to leave because of the exhaust fumes from the cars. Speaking of tennis courts, Commissioner Nick Garguile mentioned he'd noticed that the courts at Manette are cracking and the cracks had to be there before. Becky said they have been resurfaced on top of concrete. Use of the tennis courts had been doubled after we resurfaced. Commissioner Garguile stated there may be some pretty decent crack filler that the Street Department uses that we can check out. Commissioner Garguile also inquired about Jim's departure — any timeframe? Jim said he told the Mayor that he won't leave her high and dry, and he plans on sticking around until the new Parks Director is selected. Chairman Cook mentioned that he will be available to fill in for anyone of the Commissioners who cannot work or help man our information booth at the Blackberry Festival weekend. He also asked if we're using questions intended for our phone survey for Blackberry survey, to which Jim said no. As agreed to in the survey sub-Committee, we'll use a different set. IX. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted: C ' r Lena D'Agos , Office Asst. II Spen a Interim Director 5