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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - Recreation and Parks Committee - 12/20/2021 RECREATION AND PARKS COMMITTEE Monday December 20, 2021 City Hall Room 301 – 4:15-5:30 PM Meeting Minutes Present: Mike Simoneau, William Sudbay, Bill Barber, Lauren Wedam, Christy Pilsucki, Caroline Henne, Jon Pence Staff: Holly Rees Absent: none Guests: none Meeting called to order at 4:23pm by Bill Barber. Changes or additions to the agenda- Bill None Comments from the public not related to the agenda-Bill None Approval of minutes from November- Bill Mike moved, Lauren seconds. All approved. Review Committee Openings- Bill Two openings, three people applied. City Council decided in Exec session two weeks ago and the City Council will likely announce at tonight’s meeting. Holly and Bill will meet on 1/5 at 3:30pm to discuss orientation of new members. Schedule next 12 months of meetings- Bill Holly laid out the next 12 months of meetings on the second Monday of every Month except for October when it will be on that Tuesday due to Indigenous People’s Day. Bill said he is fine with these dates, asked for any comments from the committee. Caroline, Lauren and Christy appreciate the time change. Mike said he is fine if we acknowledge that sometimes things come up and we might need to adjust the schedule. Mike motioned to pass the schedule, Will seconded. All in favor. Draft Priority Work List- Bill Reviewed current work plan. Holly said IRF is still in the talking points, there is a $75,000 ear mark for next year’s budget. Bill said he would like language to be more descriptive around social equity so its meaning is clearer. Mike said he would like to make sure we keep the term social equity in the language even as we clarify it. Holly said she will update the language and send to members for review. Holly would like to move on it at the January meeting. Bill raised another priority for him is the exiting park system and how the parks are maintained. Bill said he would like to see the park system maintained under R&P not by Public Works. Bill said he would like the committee to go out in small teams in the Spring to inspect each facility. He said he would like these teams to go through each entire facility thoroughly to make sure everything in each facility is functioning, clean and in good shape. Bill said he wants the committee to have a hands on, ground experience. Bill said he would like to develop a priority list of facilities and for this to be included in the asset management. Mike agreed that it would be good for us to have more control over what is going on than going through Public Works. Bill said the public will respond positively to clean, well working facilities. Jon said he fully supports this idea, thinks it makes sense and is happy to participate. Bill said he is willing to attend all the parks. Holly would like to meet with Bill ahead of time to come up with a checklist before the teams go out. Holly said things to consider – what is considered a park? Do we want to do dog parks? Bill said he thinks we should do everything unless it is large, wooded and not accessible to the public. Holly to update the work plan with plan to approve it at January meeting. Resolution of dedications and maintenance of PUD recreation- Mike Mike raised the question should the City have to maintain amenities that are there only for specific communities. Mike that while there is a logic for the City to maintain a park like Veterans, it may not make sense for the neighborhood community spaces when the public does not have access to it. Mike said that he believes associations should have the responsibility to take care of their spaces, so that the City can concentrate on the parks that are assets for the entire community to enjoy. Mike would like to give Rye and Baycrest back to the associations ideally. Holly said Baycrest does not have an association and the City owns the land. Mike drafted a resolution, read it to the committee and opened for discussion. Lauren thought the resolution was well written. Holly provided history and suggested that we need to clarify the markers of what would define a park that serves the whole community i.e., does it have to have trail connectivity? Parking? Holly said she thinks this needs to be spelled out more. Lauren pointed out that this raises the social equity issue. Lauren said it needs to be clear in the language that, if a park is open to the public at large, then it is open to all members of the City, not just nearby residents. Lauren said people who live by a City park can not dictate who can/cannot play there. Lauren said she would like this spelled out in the resolution. Resolution was revised in committee meeting. Caroline said she agrees with the new language and social equity piece. Bill motioned to pass the resolution with the additions from Holly, Caroline seconded. All in favor. Resolution for representation of committee on Climate Action Task Force- Mike Mike said he would like to have R&P representation on the Climate Action Task Force, feels like it was a big oversight to not be asked to be on it. All committee members agree it would be appropriate to have someone from our committee on the task force. Mike said it is a two-year commitment and, unless there is a strong desire from current members, might consider one of the new members to be on it. Discussed passing resolution first, presenting it to City Council and, if we are then invited, thinking about who would be on the Task Force. Bill read Mike’s drafted resolution. All committee members agreed with the language of the resolution. Bill said he thinks the fact that we were not included speaks volumes about where we are in priority list of City Council. Christy made a motion to pass the resolution, Lauren seconded. All in favor. Rye Meadows Park Update- Holly Holly said this is one of the parks that will be deeded to the City to maintain once it is developed. Mike had raised the question earlier in the meeting of undoing the deed. Holly said Commented [CP1]: she is unsure if we can undo the deed but agreed to do some research on the issue. Holly said the developers are ready to deed it now, but Mike said he believes it is important to put the deed on hold as we just passed this new resolution. Holly said she does not know if there is an HOA that would be able to maintain it. Mike said he wonders if they may have two different associations for the homeowners and the condo owners. Holly said the next step will be to meet with Planning and Zoning now that the resolution is going to City Council. Hubbard Park Update- Holly Phase 1 development. Holly said the wetland delineation is done and the plans have been adjusted. The archeological assessment was done and items were found on two of the sites. Holly said this does not prevent development but does delay it. Holly said UVM will do the next step of the archeological assessment but, since the ground is now frozen, it likely will not happen until Spring. Update on Wheeler Dog Park- Mike Mike said the appeal period expires tomorrow. Wheeler Dog Park will be approved if there are no appeals. In the spring, they will begin construction. Mike said he estimates the dog park will open in July. Holly added that Justin Rabidoux has been staff liaison, but he is leaving 1/7 so Holly has been temporarily assigned as the liaison. Staff Report-Holly Highlights of Staff Report: City Manager is creating a DEI committee, Holly put her name in to be on the committee. The City received a grant for an indoor winter fair and they are looking to start a farmers market as well. RP Specialist position still vacant so staff are still putting in lots of hours. Will said he wanted to add one comment recognizing the congressional leadership in securing the grant. This will help enhance connectivity between Burlington and South Burlington parks. Will said there were 765 applications and fewer than 100 were funded. Will sees this as a grant that is really focused on cutting emissions and economic development. Meeting adjourned at 5:31pm by Mike, seconded by Will. Respectfully submitted, Christy Pilsucki