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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - Recreation and Parks Committee - 08/08/2022 RECREATION AND PARKS COMMITTEE Monday, August 8, 2022 Minutes Committee Members Present: Present: Bill Barber, Mike Simoneau, Will Sudbay, Ravi Venkatarama, Erin Buzby Absent: Caroline Henne, Jon Pence, Oliver Pierson, Cyndi Freeman Staff Present: Holly Rees Public: None Called to Order: Meeting was called to order at 4:17. There were no changes to the agenda and no members of the public were in attendance. New Member Welcome: The Chair welcomed newest member Robyn….. who stated she was an educator at SBHS and was very excited to be engaging with the Recreation and Parks Committee work. She highlighted that she and her family love using the public library as well. The committee introduced themselves individually, indicating years of service on the committee. By-Law Review: Holly Reviewed the By-Law packet as it is required annually. All members where given both a hard copy of the document as well as an electronic version. It was also noted that there was recently a “New Committee Member Orientation” which reviewed open meeting law requirements. The meeting was recorded for those who could not attend. Holly will send the link to the recording to the whole committee. Elect Slate of Officers: After some introductory discussion, Mike made a motion to elect a slate of officers: Bill Barber (Chair), Mike Simoneau (Vice Chair), Will Sudbay (Clerk). Ravi seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Congratulations were exchanged. Will noted a desire to be considered for Vice-Chair in future elections. Maintenance Walk Around Review: Bill reviewed the June parks maintenance walk around at Veterans Memorial. Will noted his appreciation for Bills keen eye for safety and encouraged the committee to discuss how to move this audit information forward. Next steps were discussed as to how to proceed with illuminating the on-going safety concerns and deferred maintenance within the parks system. Mike recommended drafting a memo to be sent to City Management asking for a meeting between the Recreation and Parks Director and the Director of DPW to discuss how the committee could support additional resources to fix this issue. Additionally, the current structure of parks maintenance supervision and the current job description of the Recreation and Parks Director are not aligned; change needs to be made to bring them into concert with one another. Bill highlighted the need to have Park Maintenance representation in the evening and weekend, noting that there is nobody there when people are using parks the most. Work Plan Review: Holly reviewed the work plan headers to ensure new members were briefed. The 8 topics that lead the Recreation and Parks Committees work for FY23 are: (1) Indoor Recreation Center Advocacy, (2) Active Engagement in the DRB review process, (3) Providing input to the Comprehensive Plan, (4) Social Equity in Parks and Programs, (5) Review National Standards, (6) Open Space Management, (7) Park Asset Management, (8) Community Engagement/Education. State of City Parks: Bill reviewed the continued concern with the state of city parks. Budget Timeline Review: Holly reviewed the budget timeline; indicating that CIP discussions should begin in September for as first drafts of those are due back to finance in October. October will be a review of the general fund budget with Department Head presentations to City Council to occur in December. Directors Notes: Holly Reviewed the following project updates that will be published in the upcoming Fall brochure slated to be released next week: Szymanski Park Court Enhancements: We are excited to be opening the Szymanski Park Court facilities after a summer of construction. Not only has the basketball court been completely redone with new surface and hoops, but the court facilities have been fully renovated to support a fresh tennis court and four individual pickleball courts. This has been a long-awaited project supported by many voices in the community and we are thankful to see it come to fruition. While play can begin as soon as the paint dries, we will look forward to a Grand Opening Celebration in early September (TBD). Veterans Memorial Bathrooms Renovations: While the bathrooms at Veteran’s Memorial are still functional for the remainder of the fall season, you can see that activity has begun on what will be a brand-new bathroom facility to support increased usage of the park. The new construction will host 8 individual stalls which doubles are current capacity. The timeline for the project includes construction this fall and an opening in the spring. Once the new facility is online and operational, the old bathrooms will be gutted and utilized for needed park storage. We know this is a project many of you have been asking about, and we are thrilled to be able to provide. Ball Fields at Veteran’s Memorial: There are many outstanding upgrades awaiting our ballfields at Veteran’s Memorial and we are beginning with a full rebuild off all three pitching mounds. Once the fall ball season ends, we have work contracted to begin. Volunteers from SBLL stepped in this spring to support some initial patch fixes to get the season started and we look forward to finishing this work this fall in preparation for the kickoff of the baseball season this spring. More improvements are being planned in the upcoming budget year. Ball Field at Jaycee Park: Once the adult softball season ends in September, work will begin to refresh the Jaycee Park ball field, a long-desired project by both youth and adult softball players. This project consists of skinning the grass from the infield and updating the facility to become the city’s first designated softball field. We are thankful for the continued support of the SBYSBLL group who have worked with us to advocate for this upgrade. Looking forward to the spring season ahead! Wheeler Dog Park Installation: It’s exciting to see the Wheeler Dog Park taking shape. While the initial fencing has been installed, we are still completing the needed site work to make this amenity safe and ready for patrons. The gates will remain locked as we finish up the final punch list and install additional enhancements. Keep your ears perked for more details on the Wheeler Dog Park Grand Opening. Next Meeting: Ravi requested the meetings shift to a 4:30 start with a 5:45 end in the future to accommodate a new teaching schedule. There was general consensus and the chair agreed to change the next meeting time to start at 4:30. Adjourn: Meeting was adjourned promptly at 5:30. NEXT REGULAR MEETING: September 12, 4:30-5:45 PM, City Hall Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Holly Rees (in absence of new clerk)