HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Recreation and Parks Committee - 09/18/2017
RECREATION AND PARKS COMMITTEE
MONDAY, September 18, 2017
5 PM-7:00 PM
Wheeler House at the Wheeler Homestead
AGENDA
(5:00) Call mee ng to order
Review of safety procedures
Changes or addi ons to the agenda
Comments from the public not related to the agenda
Approval of minutes from August 21, 2017 mee ng
(5:05) Introduc ons, new members
(5:15) Assuming new members, commi ee organiza on for Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary
(5:25) Director’s Report: Maggie
Note: retreat date October 28.
(5:40) Oak Creek Property: Chris Shaw
(5:55) CIP
(6:05} NRPA Performance Review: Jennifer
Sub-commi ee report, a ached*
(6:25) Founda on: Maggie and Jennifer
(6:30) Wheeler Nature Park Conserva on Easement Update: Jennifer
(6:35) Reports and updates: liaison reports
Please no fy the chair if your report requires discussion and/or a wri en report
Bike & Ped (Rebecca)
City Council (Mike)
Natural Resources ( )
SB Land Trust (Paul)
Library Board (Glenn)
School Board (Liz)
Winooski Valley Park District (George)
Planning Commission (Ka e)
Design Review/Public Art (Jennifer)
Leadership (Jennifer and Mike)
DRB ( )
Energy (Jennifer, Mike)
(6:40) Adjourn
*Indicates a achment
NEXT REGULAR MEETING: October 16, 5:00 P.M.
Reminder: Ideas for Commi ee Retreat to be held September/October
Advocacy
Myers/Briggs
Other?
Bike Rack:
Make a List!
May 11, 2017
Dra ToDo List of priori es and Timeline
1. Schedule R and P Department budget review into mee ng schedule.
2. Review the City Center Task Force Report with focus on R and P sec on on facili es (updated).
3. Review the Site Evalua on Matrix.
4. Review the Planning Commission revision of LDR’s and PUD’s.
5. Performance Review/Department Goals and Objec ves: Schedule review and discussion. Work with staff onmaster Plan. Refer to Annual Worksheet generated by Leadership Commi ee.
6. Finalize Orienta on Plan for 2017.
7. Invite speaker for advocacy.
8. Get Founda on up and running!
9. Con nue to maintain commitment to delivery of high quality programs.
10. City Center updates for Market Street and Dumont Park
RECREATION AND PARKS COMMITTEE
MONDAY, August 21, 2017
5 PM-7:00 PM
Medium Conference Room, City Offices
Minutes
In a endance: Maggie Leugers, Jennifer Kochman, Mike Simoneau, Glenn Sproul, Paul Steinman. Guest: Ka e
Langrock
Mee ng was called to order at 5:09pm
Jennifer called mee ng to order
Mike reviewed of safety procedures
Changes or addi ons to the agenda
Comments from the public not related to the agenda
Approval of minutes from July 17, 2017 mee ng: Paul mo oned, Mike second
Director’s Report: Maggie
Recrea on
Events
● Bikes & Bites- First 4 are now completed and have been very successful. We have 2 more Thursday
August 31 music by Jenni Johnson & Junketeer’s and September 14 music by Josh Panda. General
attendance has been 1200 each event. One date was rainy with attendance 450
● CityFest-We had lower than expected attendance due to a thunderstorm that came in right at the start of
the event. Last year we had 7000 attend this year 1500-2000. We also had to use our evacuation plan and
get everyone into the Ice Arena. We have evaluated the plan and made some needed adjustments
○ Recreation committee discussed creating more Rec & Park information/content for next year’s
event.
● VT Mozart-Veterans Memorial Park (July 28-29 and August 5) was successful with general attendance
250-400 per evening
○ Consider allowing picnic’ing and BYOB at this event in the future.
● Yappy Hour- Saturday September 9 5-8PM at Red Rocks Beach. Cost $10 per couple
○ Giant paddleboards, spirits and food, PFW giveaways
● Drive-In-Movie-Will be Friday September 29 at Tuttle Middle School 6-8PM
● Camps-Camp offerings=37 total and Cancelled 7 due to low enrollment. Total enrollment for all=826
● Pop up O’Dell Apts-Thursday August 24 5-7PM. Library-Police- Fire will also be there.
○ Maggie asked for committee members to consider volunteering at this event.
● Junior Rec and Lil’ Tykes Camps update-Will be rolled into the “Schools Out” School District program
for next summer. Department will focus on specialized programs that the ‘Schools Out” program can
dovetail into and programming for tweens, teens and adults
Parks
● VYCC- Completed work for summer in Red Rocks Park and have completed a huge dogleg trail down to
the pump house and have closed off several social trails and replaced several drainage culverts
○ Ideally planning for two crews for next summer one for Red Rocks and one for Wheeler.
● Red Rocks-Continues to be a difficult season due to weather currently we are down in revenues $1900,
however we’ll have next June to possibly make up the difference. Last day of operations is Labor Day
● Wheeler Nature Homestead- Very busy with gardeners, the library program, garden club, Common Roots
share group & play group and our On The Go teen camp
● Underwood Master Plan-Tuesday August 8 th 5-7PM at Underwood event was very successful with over
150 attending. Will have updates from SE Group end of next week 8-25
○ Should a playground be considered?
● Veterans Memorial Park- Phase II and III are being assessed. Band shell for better lighting cost $20,000
with $3,000 contingency. Lighted of the basketball courts cost $40,000 with $6,000 contingency
General
● SoBu Life Magazine-Has been mailed to all SB residents
● NEW Website-We hope to have migrated next week August 21-25
Announcements
● History of SoBu Parks Project -Liz has agreed to create
● Possible SB Library interim move before City Center building built
● Oak Creek Property - Discussion re: potential space for Recreation and Parks
Summary of presenta on at City Council Mee ng on Monday July 17
● Jennifer, Mike, Paul and Maggie attended. Jennifer and Mike presented the annual report.
Wheeler Nature Center Conserva on Easement Update: Jennifer
● Meeting on the 23rd
Founda on:
● Work has begun, 4-5 people
● Brief discussion about raising funds
Reviewed the Recrea on and Parks Department Budget: Maggie
● Maggie to send updated budget to committee in next two weeks.
● Categories
○ CIP
○ General Fund
○ Enterprise funds (240)- self sustaining, monies not spent roll from year to year
NRPA Performance Review:
● Sub committee meeting to review and finalize on 8/28 1pm at City Hall.
City Center Le er of Intent:
● 8/7 City Council meeting voted to approve. LOI is not yet public and has not yet been approved by the
School Board.
Reports and updates: liaison reports
Retreat
● Maggie will send out poll to determine best date/time to meet.
Adjourn
● Mike motioned, seconded by Paul
NEXT REGULAR MEETING: September 19, 5:00 P.M.
Summary of NRPA Performance Review
South Burlington Recrea on and Parks Department
Recrea on and Parks Highest Priori es for the Near Future:
· Create program and indoor recrea on facili es, including appropriate office space for department staff.· Create a Master Plan for city parks, insuring follow-through with crea on of ameni es and maintenance.· Create addi onal playing fields so that the fields can be maintained, while mee ng demand.
· Expand support staff appropriately to meet the needs of increased indoor space and increased playing fields
· Expand program offerings to be er serve the community.
NRPA Performance Review:
It has been interes ng for us to see how our present Recrea on and Parks assets and budget compare with
departments across the country serving popula ons whose density is similar to South Burlington's. Here are a
few par cularly relevant pieces of informa on from the NRPA of 2016:
· Square footage of operated buildings: at 6,550, SB is well below at least 75% of respondents. Note: This isprogram space: see facili es sec on Page 3· Acres of Parkland per 1,000 Popula on: at 20.7, SB is higher than more than 75% of respondents.· But, Park Opera ng Expenditures per Acre of Parkland: at $491, SB is among the lowest of all respondents; 75%of respondents spend $1,233 or more.· Capital budget for the next 5 years: at $2,231,000, which includes CIP projec ons for new facili es, SB would s llbe lower than more than 50% of respondents.· Expenditures Per Capita: at $42.34, SB is lower than almost 75% of respondents.
· Number of full- me employees: at 5, SB is lower than more than 75% of respondents.
Further informa on from the report is presented below. We have a empted to clarify areas in which the basis
for the sta s cs is not clear. We hope you will also refer to the full NRPA Performance Review.
Understanding the Report:
The sta s cs are grouped by category, with explana ons and ques ons. Some items apply in more than one
category. In what follows, “Respondents” means “Recrea on and Parks agencies serving a community or area
with popula on density between 500 and 1500 residents per square mile, and for which data is available in
Park Metrics/PRORAGIS”. (According to the column headings on page 7, 224 of the 762 agencies providing data
for total annual opera ng budget were in this range of popula on density.) “SB” means South Burlington.
Budget/opera ng costs
Capital budget for the next 5 years: at $2,231,000, which includes CIP projec ons for new facili es, SB would
s ll be lower than more than 50% of respondents.
Opera ng Expenditures Per Capita: at $42.34, SB is lower than almost 75% of respondents.
Revenue per Capita: at $12.99, SB is greater than more than 25% of respondents but lower than more than
50% of respondents.
Revenue as a % of Opera ng Expenditures (Cost Recovery): at 30.7%, SB is higher than more than 50% of
respondents.
Park Opera ng Expenditures per Acre of Parkland: at $491, SB is among the lowest of all respondents; 75% of
respondents spend $1,233 or more.
Comments and Ques ons:· Revenue/Expense data:
FY 18 General Fund: Expenses: $976,000; Revenues: $565.000Enterprise Fund 240: Expenses: $170,000; Revenues: $224.000CIP: Expenses: $593,000· Revenue data: despite severe limita ons of program facili es, SB generates more revenue than 25% ofcomparable communi es for both revenue per-capita, and revenues as a per cent of expenditures.
Personnel
Number of full- me employees: at 5, SB is lower than more than 75% of respondents.
Total number of full- me equivalent employees (FTEs): at 10.2, SB is lower than more than 75% of
respondents.
Total number of hours worked by volunteers: at about 10,000 hours annually, SB is higher than almost 75& of
respondents.
Comments and Ques ons:
· Number of full- me employees does not include public works employees; includes only office staff of 5 FTE.
· Volunteer sta s c does not include the work of commi ees: Recrea on and Parks, Bike and Ped, Natural Resources.This sta s c only includes park or program volunteers (community gardens, etc.)
· Public works (park foreman, etc.) does not report directly to Maggie; communica on is key
· Revenue as per cent of expenditures is higher due to subcontrac ng – keeps lower number of full me employees(each FTE sub-contracted saves 61% of a full me salary with benefits)
· How do other ci es’ agencies calculate the labor – volunteers, Bike & Ped, consultants, DPW? We don’t know!
Parks
Acres of Parkland per 1,000 Popula on: at 20.7, SB is higher than more than 75% of respondents.
Number of acres of developed open space for which the Rec & Parks Dept. has management responsibility: at
218, SB is greater than more than 50% of respondents.
Total number of trail miles managed or maintained by Rec & Parks: at 30.9, SB is greater than over 75% of
respondents.
Park Opera ng Expenditures per Acre of Parkland: at $491, SB is among the lowest of all respondents; 75% of
respondents spend $1,233 or more. (Duplicate)
Comments and Ques ons:· We are land-rich overall and especially in the natural, undeveloped areas
· Expenditures per acre of parkland and per capita both illustrated the SB is on the lower side of expenditures butthere may be clear explana ons for this.
· SB numbers
o Do not include DPW FTE
o Do not include DPW expenses for Recrea on & Park work
o Do not include any Open Space funds used
· Reflects the fact that a large frac on of our park area is not developed, used for passive recrea on and requireslimited resources to maintain.
· High volunteer support reduces the need for paid maintenance of parks.
o Community garden maintenance for example
· 255k uses of park facili es: This sta s c is from SE Group with electronic counter.
· ACTION: Consider the ra o of those that visit parks (total number) vs those that par cipate in our programming. M.L.: Visits to parks included our program and private users. Is this due to lack of programming, lack of programmingspace, wrong programs? M.L.: Totally lack of space and program duplica on with “School’s Out.” Need moreresearch?
Facili es
Square footage of operated buildings: at 6,550, SB is well below at least 75% of respondents.
Number of building facility users per year: at 27,375, SB is above almost 50% of respondents.
Number of park facility users per year: at 255,000, SB is above at least 75% of respondents.
Comments and Ques ons:· Is informa on regarding rela onship between building square footage and program par cipa on credible?
· Reported 6550 square feet includes City Hall, Wheeler House, and studio space; does not include office space.
· ACTION: List of all facili es from other agencies where we have none. These are call outs. Can we find out whatthese numbers mean? What do they represent? This may be a key area for our presenta on with City Council
o Discount space that is not always available for us to use
o Divide into several different categories: amount of program space always available, administra ve, amount of
program space available a por on of the me.
o Recrea on programming takes place in the following spaces:
5 schools, (Elementary-middle-HS, shared)
Wheeler House at Homestead (1st floor shared with Friends of the Library)City Hall large mee ng room (shared)Studio (The only indoor program space used only by recrea on and Parks department.)· 400 programs offered in prior year (on this survey) How was this was calculated?
o Jr Rec for 8 weeks –is this counted as 1 or 8? Answer: 8: mul -week programs are counted in that number of
weeks. A program of one week or less is counted as one.
· 27,375 contacts in programs – how was this calculated? One person going to 5 days of camp coun ng as one personor 5? Answer: 5: Mul ple contacts counted by day.
· 255k uses of park facili es: Sta s c is from SE Group, using electronic counter.
· Who are the popula ons we most urgently need to serve be er with our recrea on programming?
Pre-school children (851 es mated)
At-risk families
Tweens-teens (ages 10-19 years, 1300 es mated)
Young adults (ages 20-44, 6,500 es mated)
Seniors (age 65 and over, xxxxx es mated)
Overall Comments and Ques ons:
· ACTION: Note that the NRPA did not include any demographics – how does this impact some of the usagecomparisons?
Paul’s Comments:
Jennifer I should be at the meeting around 1:45, have doctor appointment .
In references to your report related to NRPA Performance in comparing statistics ,our capital budget for the next 5 years is
approx. $2.231m, which is 25 percent higher than other respondents, does that perhaps refer that that 25 percent have
proper infrastructure , recreations facilities already in place which would show less expense , but may then change to
increased employment of Rec . & Park employees.
Our revenue related to expenditures (cost recovery) is 30.7 percent higher than 50 percent higher than 50percent of
respondents, our revenue higher I. My opinion is due to the fact we have less programs to offer because we have no
adequate facilities.
Therefore the few programs we offer show good cost recovery ( less man hours ) .
We show 6550 soft available, again most that sqft .in my opinion is not suited what she ever for recreation?
Ka e’s comments:
Hi All,
I am sorry to miss tomorrow's meeting.
I do believe that this document is taking shape nicely!
The opening section summarizes well - but I think we should consider some more concrete recommendations too.
Other thoughts:
The 6,550 sq feet - I think we should add some dialogue about how much of this is shared and not always available. We
are going to have to hit this one hard, continuously to make sure that all understand that we don't have enough space. As
there will be a large cost to make this happen, we need to ensure all understand the need.
Budget & Operating costs
Is it possible to forecast what these would look like in total if we were at the median of the respondents?
Is there potential that we could cover some (if not all) of these additional costs through revenue generating activities such
as our programs and rentals (adding Red Rocks wedding etc)?
Employee/head count:
It is still not entirely clear if we would show that we had a reasonable number of employees in comparison with the other
respondents if we added in the public work employees. We should make sure that this is clear.
South Burlington Recrea on and Parks Founda on: Projects (Dra )
The signature project for the Founda on is to raise funds for the crea on of indoor recrea onal facili es.
· The Recrea on Department offices are housed in the City Hall Building, and are insufficient to accommodate
current and future staff. The current space of approximately 5,000 square feet includes four offices, a wai ng
area, conference room, display space, storage and some shared func ons with the rest of the building. The total
area includes 2,000 S square feet of addi onal storage space made available a er the Police Department was
relocated.
· The Recrea on Department offers a wide array of programs, including sports, art, hobby and educa onal
programs; and play groups and fitness; and serves community members from pre-school age to senior ci zen. In
2012 over 420 programs were offered. However, these programs are offered in various city, schools, or privately
owned facili es.
· The major obstacle this department faces is that there is no program space assigned solely to the Recrea on
Department to schedule throughout the day. This limits their ability to offer many programs during the school
day/a erschool program hours that could otherwise serve the pre-school age children and seniors in the
community.
· The large mee ng room located in City Hall is another space that is o en used; however, programs must work
around the various mee ngs scheduled in the space, not to men on the less than ideal condi ons for athle c
ac vi es.
· During the summer months, the Recrea on Department is unable to offer evening programs at the schools due
to limited schedules of custodial staff during the summer months. Once again, the programs offered by the
Recrea on Department are dependent on and limited to the available space within outside en es
The second need, also a chronic and long-standing need, is to create addi onal playing fields so that the fields
can be maintained.
· The playing fields are constantly in use throughout the season.
The Recrea on and Parks Department and Commi ee generate ideas to be er serve our community. Some of
our ideas envision ameni es to be created in our exis ng parkland.
· The $1.3 million Conserva on fund will cover the most immediate priori es for upkeep and basic ameni es in
Red Rocks, Underwood, and Wheeler Nature Parks. However, comple ng the list of ameni es would cost $4.5
Million.
· For example, it would be nice to have exercise sta ons along the many beau ful pedestrian trails.
· Improving the bath house at Red Rocks Park is the first item in the line below the “First Priori es” list. But
improving the bath house would greatly enhance the pleasure of going to red Rocks.
· Crea ng a gazebo for events would be an enhancement, and might even allow for events that create revenue.
The South Burlington Comprehensive Plan has long listed acquisi on of the Farrell Property on the lake as a
goal.
Crea on of an indoor/outdoor swimming pool is a goal.
RECREATION DEPARTMENT: From The City Center Task Force, updated
The Recrea on Department offices are housed in the City Hall Building. The current space of
approximately 5,000 square feet includes four offices, a wai ng area, conference room, display space,
storage and some shared func ons with the rest of the building. The total area includes 2,000 S square
feet of addi onal storage space made available a er the Police Department was relocated.
The Recrea on Department offers a wide array of programs, including sports, art, hobby and
educa onal programs, play groups and fitness, and serves community members from pre-school age to
senior ci zen. In 2012 over 420 programs were offered. However these programs are offered in various
city, schools, or privately owned facili es. The major obstacle this department faces is that there is no
program space assigned solely to the Recrea on Department to schedule throughout the day. The Rec
Department is dependent on availability of spaces within the schools to offer the majority of its
programs. This limits their ability to offer many programs during the school day/a erschool program
hours that could otherwise serve the pre-school age children and seniors in the community. The large
mee ng room located in City Hall is another space that is o en used; however, programs must work
around the various mee ngs scheduled in the space, not to men on the less than ideal condi ons for
athle c ac vi es.
The Recrea on Department also coordinates a summer camp program with an average of 190 campers
each week. Over 50 different programs are offered and three school sites are used to house them. Also
during the summer months, the Recrea on Department is unable to offer evening programs at the
schools due to limited schedules of custodial staff during the summer months. Once again, the
programs offered by the Recrea on Department are dependent on and limited to the available spaces
within outside en es.
In order to support the current programs offered by the Recrea on Department the following spaces
are desired:
Reception/ Entry / Administration
• Walk-in recep on/registra on person needed, si ng at a desk at the entrance to the building
(or department).
• Displays for informa on / Exhibit space
Staff Offices
• Seven offices iden fied to house Director, Assistant Director, Program Coordinators, and Interns
Program Spaces
• Seniors ac vity space – “Family Room”—or day room. Generally this is an 80+ year old age
group who see the programs as a chance to get out of the house and be ac ve. Typical
a endance is presently 20-25 once per week, and the Recrea on Dept. is looking to increase
par cipa on once available space is secured. Needs comfortable, so furniture. Typical hours
of use 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
City Center Public Facili es | PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
B-8 Dore & Whi er Architects, Inc.
• Teen Center – needs a fresh look, youthful, a rac ve to the demographic. To included game room, music
studio, and drama.
• Child Supervision Room - Drop-in for parents who are working out. Does not need to be a large
space.
• Tykes/Youth Program Space - Typical equipment for this age group: toys, story area, storage,
kids play furniture setup. Need for sink in the room. Ages 1-5 typical popula on. Ac vi es
include: baking, art, music, dance. Outdoor programs - sports readiness (throwing, kicking,
catching).
*Child Care space
*Food Concession area
*Walking/Running Track
• Adult Program Space – Maker lab (“Dirty Lab”) for arts and cra s and adult educa on;
flexible furniture and integrated storage; Kiln to allow for ceramics
• Kitchen – discussed as the central space that poten ally needs to serve mul ple spaces. Ideally
directly adjacent to Senior Space. Equipment needs to be mainly warming func ons, but with
cooking capability. Full commercial kitchen not necessary. Must serve catering func on for
ac vi es. There are senior func ons 2-3X /year where full cooking is required, maybe more.
Physical Activity Spaces
Currently court-based programs are spread across the school buildings, and o en get “bumped” by
school programs. Recrea on Department needs its own court space in a centralized loca on. It is
hoped that the wellness facili es will be u lized by people living in City Center as an early morning,
lunch me, or a ernoon/evening resource.
• Provide full size gym lined for (2) cross-court basketball prac ce courts. Both men’s and
women’s leagues need full-size court, volleyball, pickle ball, and badminton.
• Need bleachers – up to 500 seats.
• Simulated Outdoor Area (SOA) – Ar ficial turf to allow programs during inclement weather such
as soccer, archery, lacrosse, general fitness, etc.
• Mul -purpose Rooms – provide two spaces – one “favoring” quiet for yoga, and the other for
louder ac vi es like aerobics, jazzercise, and Zumba
*Fitness Studio - with suspended floor and sound system
• Lockers: full lockers for adult use with toilet rooms and showers; security required.
Auditorium
• A desired program element for a drama camp, presenta ons, plays, etc.
• Also a rentable resource to the general public
Storage
• Storage including ball room (basketballs, soccer, footballs, etc.), hard items (floor hockey s cks,
tennis, bats, small balls, etc.), summer camp supplies, special events (seasonal decora ons
mostly), paper products (cups & plates, plas c ware, etc.)
*Custodian storage for floor equipment etc.
Other: (Program functions were discussed but not included in space planning)
• Aqua cs Center to include: 8 lane lap pool, training pool, therapeu c warm pool, 0 depth entrance, lazy river,
slides, movable bulkhead.
• Child-friendly/family friendly water park/ indoor splash park / “sprayground”
• Playground there would be a small fenced in grass field and/or playground
2013/2015 Excerpt from 2013 City Center Task Force, with 2015 addi ons (red)
EExcerpt7