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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/24/1998 MEETING MINUTES • I City of Bremerton Parks & Recreation Department Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting APPROVED MINUTES Tuesday, November 24, 1998 5:30 p.m. Sheridan Park Community Center 680 Lebo Blvd., Bremerton, WA 98310 ATTENDANCE: Wanda Butler, Barry Cook, Lonnie Dawson, Nick Garguile Sr., Douglas Groneman, Carol Johnson, Russ Johnson. ABSENT/EXCUSED: Charles McWhorter AUDIENCE: Becky Lorber announced that the seniors' Christmas Party potluck will be held at the Senior Center on December 15th, Tuesday, and urged the Commissioners to attend. Jim Spencer mentioned that he attended their Thanksgiving Potluck and it was magnificent. STAFF: Jim Spencer, Interim Director, Jodi Wroblewski, Asst. Director, Becky Lorber, Program Coordinator II, Lena D'Agostino, Office Assistant II. I. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Barry Cook called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. II. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None. III. AGENDA: Interim Director Jim Spencer added under IV. OLD BUSINESS, Item 5. Rifle Range. The rest of the agenda remained the same. IV. OLD BUSINESS 1. Survey Results Per Jim, the plan was to present the survey results to the City Council (Study Session) in December but we had to postpone the presentation until January. 2. Haddon Update I Page • • Jim wanted to share two things on Haddon: First, he received a call from Mary Sump (former Parks Commissioner), who was very much an advocate of this park. Mary said she was so pleased and thankful of this project. Second, Jim had an opportunity to do a walk-through of Haddon Park with Mark Randall, Project Manager for Ace Paving (contractor for Haddon Park), and Dan Miller, City Project Manager. As a result of the walk-through, a "punch list" of items was developed and documented which included drainage and irrigation issues, and a few "touch-up" items. The contractor is aware of this and had agreed to remedy the situation not later than Spring. In general, the project is done with the exception of the punch list items mentioned. Chairman Barry Cook mentioned that he had noticed some yellow tape around the big play toy and wanted to know if that was part of the punch list. Jim said no, that was outside the bounds of the contract and we're doing the play toy installation ourselves. 3. Evergreen Update We have received the shoreline permit from the Department of Ecology and we're now ready to proceed with Phase I development. City Project Manager Dan Miller is revising the bid specifications for this project (estimate 120-day contract) and with plans of putting the contract out to bid in January. Additionally, Jim mentioned that he did a presentation for an ALEA (Aquatic Land Enhancement Account) grant request last week for a potential of $850,000. Jim stated it did not seem like the project lined up very well criteria-wise, and he does not feel really optimistic about the outcome. They (ALEA) emphasize enhancement of salmon or any kind of habitat, which is something our project does not have and for that we lose some points. We hope to hear about the results by early December. 4. SR3 Encroachment Issue The appraiser examined the property in question and provided us with an appraisal amount of $51,000. We took this information to the car dealership owner, who was surprised by the amount. Jim offered him an opportunity for him to get his own appraiser so that at least we can negotiate from that standpoint. Bottom line is the car dealership owner agreed to pay the appraisal amount. Jim encouraged the Commissioners to provide their input on the land purchase issue. One of the specific pieces we're looking at right now is this old waste treatment plant site adjacent to Lions Field #2. We need to do a land swap and National Park Service (NPS) will get involved in the transaction. Jim mentioned that Commissioner Wanda Butler suggested that we look at a piece of property out on Shore Drive, which turned out to be cost-prohibitive because it would require keeping the existing structure as a historical site. Other possible sites mentioned at this meeting included the following: a small piece of waterfront property at the very end of Snyder, property across from Kitsap Lake Park, the Square Dance Hall facility by Jarstad Park, and the Indian Land in West Bremerton. 5. Rifle Range 2 Page • • Jim convened a meeting to formulate a plan for the rifle range situation. Present at the meeting were the City Risk Manager and representatives from the Fire Department, and Economic & Community Development. Another meeting was held yesterday with the KRRC group to discuss issues that need to be addressed such as the lease agreement and some fairly significant facility modifications necessary to ensure safe ingress/egress, as well as where we stand relative to the NRA audit back in July. Their (KRRC) president wanted something formally in writing from Jim stating the status of the range. Jim will provide them the letter tomorrow, and he wanted the Commissioners to be aware of the situation. The letter will state that the range is closed contingent upon 3 things being satisfied: improvements necessary to ensure safe in and out passage; the lease agreement; and lastly, a copy of the NRA safety audit report stating that the NRA had declared the range as safe. We have been talking with this group since March and have been conveying the same message. They are planning on getting started with their classes in two weeks, which Jim said is impossible. We need time to finalize the lease agreement and go through the process with the City Council which takes at least a month. We also need to acquire a building permit and make sure that the required improvements are in place. Commissioner Russ Johnson asked if the money is the issue - can KRRC afford to do the improvements? Jim replied he does not know. He was told they were going to have a group of volunteers to assist them; however, Jim does not think they did follow through on this. Commissioner Nick Garguile asked if there is some liability issue involved, to which Jim yes, and we can't afford any liability problems from this. V. NEW BUSINESS - 1999 Budget Jim discussed the 1999 budget and provided the Commissioners each a copy of the budget (refer to attached). This is merely preliminary and has not been approved by the City Council. Concerns relative to next year's revenue stream were also mentioned: impact of the passage of Initiative 688 (Minimum Wage $5.70 and $6.50); continued encroachment on limited maintenance resources, especially with the addition of Haddon Park and Manette Playfield; participation levels in softball; Gold Mountain Golf Complex (delivering forecasted revenue amounts; loss of flexibility); impact of the Gateway Project (park-like setting which would require a lot of maintenance); budget for the year 2000 (especially for supplies and services); water costs (adding Haddon Park, Manette Playfield, Pendergast 4, 5, 6, Lent Lane and Wheaton Way Triangle); funding for Evergreen Park Remediation/Phase II; and greatly reduced 112 funding. Commissioner Lonnie Dawson asked how about grant money? He said he would like to get involved with that if he could. Becky added that the only thing to remember about grants is we have to have matching funds which is not easy to get. VI. STAFF REPORT 3 Page • • Fee Increases: Jim went to the City Council regarding proposed fee increases for Gold Mountain Golf Course — 3.5% (which is consistent with what we have in our pro forma), and for Aquatics Center (fee increase is consistent with other indoor pools in the area). Hoop at Warren: We finally received shipment of the bracket for the hoop court and just had it installed. Super Saturday with Santa: Jim invited everyone to check out this wonderful event for all ages this coming Saturday, December 5th, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Teen Dance: This event is also scheduled to happen this Saturday, after Super Saturday with Santa. Swing Dance: This dance was held last Saturday, November 23rd, and was very well- attended by approximately 200 participants. Concession: We put an ad in the paper to invite anyone who might be interested in running our concession stands at Lions & Pendergast. We're testing the waters on this and see how it goes. VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — October 27, 1998 M/S/C/U (C.Johnson/L. Dawson) to approve the October 27th minutes. VIII. COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS & QUESTIONS Commissioner Butler said she does not have any comments to contribute much. Jim mentioned that Commissioner Butler uses the pool on a fairly regular basis, and he asked her of her reaction to a fee increase. Commissioner Butler replied that the fee had always been pretty reasonable and she doesn't think the seniors would mind the fee increase either. She added that it would be nice to have better lockers. Jim said we did improvements in the locker room; including new lockers. Commissioner Butler asked Jim if the YMCA contribute at all. Per Jim, we have a lease agreement with the YMCA and they pay us over $30,000 a year for the use of the property and the pool. Commissioner Butler also requested that Parks Department look into being included in programs such as Group Health Cooperative lifetime fitness programs. Becky added that she is pursuing this matter from the seniors' point of view. Relative to the lifeguard issue, Commissioner Douglas Groneman asked Jim if the YMCA ever did get back to Jim. Jim said one of their program committee staff questioned him on that and additionally, the City Clerk was contacted about that concern. In fact, there will be a meeting tomorrow to discuss this matter. Chairman Cook asked everyone if they're agreeable to not having a December meeting. Everyone agreed, and the next Parks & Recreation Commission meeting will be held on January 26th. Commissioner Russ Johnson commented that he's just happy to be here. Commissioner Nick Garguile Sr. mentioned that he heard that a private individual (Pat O'Day) who is in real estate business is taking all the Eastpark houses to 4 Page • • Friday Harbor. He also asked Jim if he (Jim) heard any word about acquiring the Eastpark property. Jim said no, and he will put it on his "to do" list. Commissioner Carol Johnson heard about this too, but she does not know any of the details. She requested that Jim find out more about this. Jodi Wroblewski said that early on we were in on some discussions on this subject with the Mayor and Community Development staff. In light of the budget, Commissioner Groneman asked Jim if he called about the Kona Village property since it's up for sale. Jim said no; it's being sold for $750,000. Commissioner Groneman also asked if we're still planning on putting softball fields out at Pendergast. Jim said the masterplan is still intact, but it's a concern due to decrease of softball participation. As far as he is concerned, he would like to have the last three fields developed and lighted so we can attract national tournaments. We can emphasize the park as being an adult facility, and maybe use Lions Field as a youth facility. Commissioner Groneman mentioned that the school district is working on their bond and asked how are we doing with the proposed bond levy for a new Recreation Center? Jim said we're scheduled to go to City Council in early January with our survey results. Commissioner Groneman asked about Star of the Sea and what help they can provide to Kiwanis Hayfield. Jim made two suggestions: one would be to take the grass out of the infield of the softball field, and the second is removal of the grass on the sidewalk around the perimeter. Not glamorous, but necessary. Relative to somebody else taking the concession over, Commissioner Lonnie Dawson asked wouldn't it be easier for them to get a liquor license for the beer garden at the Blues Festival? Jim said no, and the Mayor specifically said she is not wanting to address this issue at this time. Commissioner Dawson asked about the chance of putting lighting at Manette Playfield this year? Jim replied not this year; the existing lights stay as is. When we do, would like to try "soft lights" to see how that works. Jim also mentioned when the field is redone, it will include some stair repair and improved the tennis courts access. Commissioner Carol Johnson wanted to know the waterfront parking lot status. Will the City eventually develop the parking lot, purchase it, or just evacuate? Jim said he does not know. The group then entered into a general discussion relative to this subject. Regarding the U.S.S. Turner Joy, Commissioner Dawson asked if they're paying us for it? Jim stated that this Department does not see that revenue. Jodi mentioned that she had the privilege to watch Commissioner Groneman and a whole bunch of Tiger Scouts plant a lot of trees (125 total) at Haddon Park on Veterans Day. Commissioner Groneman said he should thank Jim Trainer, City Urban Forester, for letting the children plant the trees. Jim added that the Parametrix staff also planted about 60 trees at Haddon Park. IX. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. 5 Page • • Respectfully submitted: l r' Lena D'Agostinifoffice Asst. II Jim Spence interim Director 6 Page