HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Recreation and Parks Committee - 06/19/2017
APPROVED 7-17-17
South Burlington Recrea on & Parks Commi ee
June 19, 2017
Present: Jennifer Kochman, Mike Simoneau, Paul Steinman, Rebecca Poque e, Liz Robitaille
Regrets: George Donovan, Glenn Sproul, Naa Addo
Staff: Maggie Leugers Director Recrea on and Parks, and Jack Turnbaugh, Department summer Intern
Guest: Ka e Langrock
Mee ng was called to order at 5:05 pm
Mike Simoneau reviewed the Safety Procedures.
Members and Ka e Langrock introduced themselves.
There were no comments from the public.
Approval of minutes from May 22nd mee ng: There were no changes or discussion of the mee ng minutes. Mike
made a mo on to approve the minutes, Paul seconded. With this the minutes were unanimously approved.
Director’s reports: Maggie reported that the very wet spring led to some cancella ons. The Dog Park in Farrell
Park will open this Wednesday. Another is planned for O’Brien Center. The Department is looking for a third,
possibly in SEQ. Jaycee park lights are going up. The Day of Play was wet and soggy. Nevertheless, people
enjoyed the many choices of play areas set up by staff. Jennifer commented that parents of young children were
apprecia ve of having a day of ac vi es offered when children would otherwise be home with not much to do.
Yappy Day at Red Rocks a er the close of the park was to have had EMS demonstra ons, but EMS has closed the
store. LL Bean will possibly offer equipment. LL Bean will be involved in City Fest August 12. Jennifer asked the
sources of the grants noted in the wri en report. The $33,000 grant is from Walmart. The General grant is from
a variety of sources. The in-kind grants include many dona ons of radio and TV air me. The sta ons dona ng
are men oned in R and P publica ons. VYCC has started 4 weeks of work. They will double up teams and will
work at Red Rocks 95% of me, including significant trail upgrades and work on erosion, especially close to the
lake. Maggie said the VYCC savings on summer work will be $19,000 this year (last year $24,000). Red Rocks way
finding signs are coming in July.
Paul suggested recycling and garbage cans in addi on to those at the entrance and exit. He also suggested
discounts for non-residents and visitors to the area, and adding new grills.
Junior REC and Lil Tykes sign-ups are down due to some duplica on of services with “Schools Out” elementary
summer program and with Common Roots a new summer pre-K program being offered at the Wheeler House
this summer. This has reduced department par cipants in these summer core programs. Maggie and staff will be
working with both organiza ons in developing more collabora ve strategies.
Paul suggested implemen ng a system for recrui ng members for volunteering for events, and assigning specific
tasks.
Veterans Park will have electric upgrade to reduce the costs of having to rent a generator, and ensure safety.
Rebecca brought up issues w/score boards electricity not working: Maggie expressed this will require more
extensive work to find the problem. The ques on was raised: Is this the city’s responsibility or South Burlington
Baseball/Li le League to fix? Maggie said that it is the city; however Baseball/Li le League will be billed for
fixing.
Maggie handed out copies of the SE Group proposal for the Underwood Park Master Plan. The contract has been
signed, and will cost $42,000. This next stage of beginning work at Underwood was funded in the Open Space
Fund. Jennifer gave background on visioning process completed by the Task Force. There will public mee ngs on
the site.
Retreat: Jennifer, Maggie, and Mike recommend holding the Commi ee Retreat in late September or early
October. Jennifer suggested two topics: Myers/Briggs exercise and/or Advocacy. Jennifer suggested bringing in an
expert to give an in-depth Advocacy program. Commi ee members who have other sugges ons should contact
Jennifer. If we decide to focus on advocacy, we should begin soon to search for an expert. Mike said that the
Commi ee has a need to undertake strategic advocacy efforts in order realize the goals of the department and
the commi ee.
Skill/Experience Matrix: All members gave input to the Matrix, which was shown on the screen. Jennifer will
submit this to Coralee Holm.
NRPA 2017 Agency performance Report: Jennifer said this mee ng would begin to draw some conclusions from
Glenn’s Summary, and then schedule mee ngs to work on a Narra ve Summary for the Report. Paul asked if the
staffing of the report included the three employees from Public Works (Park Foreman, Arborist, and Staff) who
are not overseen by Recrea on and Parks. The commi ee noted some early conclusions:
SB is very land rich and especially rich in natural areas compared to most communi es.
Revenue and recovery, opera ng expenses higher due to contracted programs. Number of full- me
employees does not include public works employeesPublic works (park foreman, etc.) does not report directly to Maggie, communica on is keyWe are land-rich overall and especially in the natural, undeveloped areas
Revenue as part of opera ng expenses is higher due to subcontrac ng – keeps lower number of full me
employees (saves money on salaries, benefits)Is informa on regarding rela onship between building square footage and program par cipa oncredible?
Mee ng date to discuss NRPA: 6/26 1530 -1730
The Commi ee will produce a Summary of the NRPA Report to accompany the Report when it is presented to
City Council and Planning Commission. The Summary may also be used as a Public Rela ons and Advocacy piece
to present to many audiences.
The next mee ng to work on this document will be Monday June 26th 3:30 to 5:00. If space in City Hall is not
available, Mike may offer his offices just down the street.
Leadership mee ng: Jennifer said the Leadership Commi ee includes Chairs and Vice Chairs of the city’s Boards
and Commi ees. Jennifer gave a summary of the R and P Commi ee Work Plan, with emphasis on the need for
facili es. Jennifer submi ed the Commi ee’s Orienta on Plan. In discussion of the Skills/Experience Matrix,
some people supported, and some ques oned the prac ce of recrui ng members to a commi ee. A dinner
event for all members of city commi ees and boards will be held in August.
PUD’s and LDR’s: Jennifer said that developers have been presen ng their PUD’s to the Commi ee for
recommenda ons on open space, connec vity, and related issues, for about the last six years (except during
Interim Zoning.) Un l now no open space requirements or standards have been wri en into the PUD’s. Nor has
the R and P Commi ee review process been wri en into regula on. The Planning Commission has been working
with the SE Group to write land use and density standards for diverse types of development. A copy of the SE
group May 18 memo to the Planning Commission was sent electronically and handed out. Recrea on and Park
Commi ee believes in con nuing its role in the review process, with inclusion of representa ves from SBNRC
and Bike and Ped. The commi ee needs to keep an eye on it and follow through. Maggie has contacted Paul
Connors and hasn’t heard back yet.
Founda on: Maggie and Jennifer met to discuss the Founda on. Three other people have agreed to serve. We
need to find a lawyer to draw up the basic documents; the Burlington Bike Path documents ca serve as a model.
Liaison Reports: Reassignments may take place a er the appointment of new members. in August.
Bike + Pedestrian – Rebecca, nothing to report
City Council – Mike, nothing to report
Natural resources – Naa, not in a endance-No report
School board – Liz, budget passed, teacher nego a ons
SB Land Trust – Paul, happy he is there, no mee ng yet
Library Board – Glenn not in a endance
WVPD – George, not in a endance
Planning and Commission – Jennifer, nothing to report beyond PUD Update
Design Review- Nothing to report
DRB – Need new person to take this on.
Energy
Leadership Commi ee – Jennifer, Party for all commi ees and members in August
6:50PM: Mike made mo on to adjourn, seconded by Liz.
NEXT MEETING JULY 17, 5PM
Respec ully Submi ed,
Rebecca Poque e
Bike Rack:
Make a List!
May 11, 2017
Dra To Do List of priori es and Timeline
1. Schedule R and P Department budget review into meeting schedule.2. Review the City Center Task Force Report with focus on R and P section on facilities (updated).3. Review the Site Evaluation Matrix.4. Review the Planning Commission revision of LDR’s and PUD’s.5. Performance Review/Department Goals and Objectives: Schedule review and discussion. Work with staff onmaster Plan. Refer to Annual Worksheet generated by Leadership Committee.6. Finalize Orientation Plan for 2017.7. Invite speaker for advocacy.8. Get Foundation up and running!9. Continue to maintain commitment to delivery of high quality programs.
City Center updates for Market Street and Dumont Park