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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Minutes - Recreation and Parks Committee - 11/18/2019 RECREATION AND PARKS COMMITTEE MONDAY November 18, 2019 5 PM-6:30 PM Medium Conference Room, City Offices Minutes Present: Rebecca Poquette, Jon Pence, Mike Simoneau, Jennifer Kochman, Lauren Wedam, Katie Langrock, Glenn Sproul Staff: Holly Rees Guest: Ilona Blanchard The meeting was called to order at 5:05 pm Mike reviewed safety procedures. Holly updated agenda to include Ilona’s update to indoor recreation center progress. Glenn moved to approve meeting minutes as amended from 10/21/2001, seconded by Jennifer. Approved. Consultant Update on Rec Center Progress: Ilona/Holly Ilona provided update on indoor recreation center schematic design pricing to be presented at the next CC meeting on November 21 at 6:30 pm. She notes general “ball park” estimates based on experience from previous projects and materials associated with materials. The schematic includes future expansion areas for turf court as well as pool. Other modifications include covered walkway connecting Cairns with recreation facility. Restrooms have also been allocated to walkway between Cairns and Recreation, as well as to the rear of the recreation facility to offer access to fields to rear of building. The current external bathrooms located to the front of the building that service the fields along Dorset St will be repurposed for storage. Some additional suggestions include having rear access road (current fire lane) upgraded to full lane with landscape upgrades to improve safety and allow for greater flow. Also, suggestions regarding drop off circle at the front of Cairns, as this is necessary to allow for greater flow of traffic. Director’s Report and Budget: Holly The consulting team is going to be meeting with the City Council on December 2 at 6:30 to review the final numbers that they have for the construction costs of the Indoor Rec Center. The consultant has offered to come in and review the power point presentation with the Rec and Park Committee right ahead of that. Discussion will later be opened up for public comment and possible adoption of the CIP from the City Council, based on the initial presentation to CC. CIP is already $1 million over what it was last year. Holly plans to meet and discuss budget proposal over the next few days and plans to review numbers at next meeting, moved to December 2 before CC meeting. Bay Crest Park Update: Holly Installation should begin Monday November 18 and be finished up within in the week, assuming good working weather. We will be taking pictures along the way and will post a story to our website by weeks end. 180 Market Street Ground Breaking and Ribbon Cutting: Holly Holly attended the Market Street Ribbon Cutting and the 180 Market Street Ground breaking. There was not clarity from the city organizers as to who needed to be involved in this and it left the committee out of the loop until the last minute. Holly spoke with City Management and reiterated the need for them to offer advanced notice to R & P committee members to offer them the opportunity to participate and remain involved. City Management apologized for the missed step and encouraged committee members to be proactive and reach out when they wish to be involved. Brochure: Holly Holly reviewed the procedure of R & P brochure with Tom Hubbard, and he has given the Recreation Department full control over any upcoming brochure release dates, even if that means the City items stand alone and are not included. Next brochure is likely to be in households the first week of February. Programmers are working diligently now on SoBu Summer Series performers and also the summer camp portfolio to ensure we are able to set contracts in December and have all materials needed for publication in January. Holly is drafting a message to include in SoBu Play side indicating the delay of the SoBu Life and the reason for the abbreviated offerings. Holly noted decline in attendance at some adult programs, likely due to delay in publishing offerings. Summer Camps: Holly Last summer we had a cancellation rate of about 25% (national average is 35%) and had a net income of around $20,000 for the season. After considering costs re: staffing and operational needs, R & P has decided to transition to contract only camps. This will ensure that no camp has a financial loss. Additionally, they will provide a 9-week camp season, and no longer try to buffer the first week and last two weeks of summer when the schools are not available. Wayfinder in the Parks Wayfinding packages for Wheeler Nature Park phase 1 as well as Red Rocks Phase 2 are being designed this month and will be sent to the fabricator for winter completion, to ideally be installed in the spring when the ground thaws. Identifiers and playground rule signs to be placed in all parks in accordance with our branding package. May have to farm out contracts for installation due to limited city staffing. Events Veterans City Wide Celebration— ?? Senior Holiday Dinner December 13 @ 5:30pm at Homewood Suites Holiday Lights Tour December 20 @ 5:30 pm IPV/DV: Jennifer The Oct 30 forum was well attended. The working group met to review what was learned, and to plan next steps. Addressing the issue will be on-going. Discussions included political action, institutional change, and mentoring for parents. IZ/South Burlington Land Trust The SB Land Trust is promoting a Proposal “P4P—Pennies for Preservation” to enable to the City to buy desirable land from property owners in order to conserve it. The ballot item will be submitted for warning on January 21, six weeks before Town Meeting Day. SB established a Conservation Fund in 2000, amended in 2008 to include purchase of land for recreation. Pennies for paths also adds a penny to the property tax. Mike offered insight on the work of AHC to review available open spaces through the lens of AHC so that they can work with open space members to determine how to proceed with P4P. November 23 Retreat 8am to Noon: meeting at City Hall Begins with parks tour 8-10am, followed by discussion re: By-laws, member roles. Katie will post the Google doc to collect suggestions. DPC update: Mike & Holly Not clear about next steps with committee. Mike states that they are awaiting final details regarding wetlands delineation and parking area adjustments to include more spaces, then design process, followed by permitting. Jennifer suggested review of Vermont Recreation and Parks Survey, as well as Parks Management Plan Mike moved to adjourn meeting and Glenn seconded at 6:30 PM. NEXT REGULAR MEETING: December 2, 2019 5:00 P.M.