Minutes; Park Board; August 2006

City of Evansville, Wisconsin

Park and Recreation Board Regular Monthly Meeting

Evansville City Hall Council Chambers
August 22, 2006, 6:00 PM

DRAFT Minutes

1. Call to Order @ 6:00 PM & Roll Call: Chair Juergens, and Members Farnsworth, Jacobson, Krueger, Merritt & Sendelbach present. Staff members Anderson & Hamacher present. Members Carlsen excused.

2. Minutes of July 2006 meeting; approved on voice vote.

3. Citizen appearances other than agenda items:
a. The chair read a letter from Gloria Moyers offering to donate a bench in memory of her late son to be placed in Lake Leota Park, near the covered footbridge. The bench design she proposes is compatible with other installations in the park. The concrete pad upon which the bench will be placed will also include a bronze plaque noting the memorial. Motion by Krueger, second by Sendelbach to approve the donation. Motion passed unanimously.
b. Representatives from SOLE presented a plan for proceeding with further de-watering of Lake Leota, by modifying the concrete barrier above the sluice gate in the dam. They requested that PRB recommend adoption this plan to the Public Works Committee and get an estimate of cost through the City Engineeer. The chair will pass this request on to PWC. SOLE members also presented bills for materials they used to construct the new information Kiosk on the shore of Lake Leota. The Chair will pass these on to City Hall for payment.

4. Development of a “2006 Park & Outdoor Recreation Plan. The Chair passed out a document entitled “What Does a Plan Consist Of?”, copied from a DNR publication entitled, “Guidelines For the Development of Local comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans”. Also another document written by the Chair specifically for the purpose of working on Evansville’s plan, entitled “Things to consider when developing a new PRB 5-Year Plan”.

A1. The PRB reviewed the 1999 plan, chapter 4, entitled “Goals and Objectives”. One objective, “…encourage the use of suitable commercial recreational facilities…” was questioned. It was pointed out that the bowling alley, exercise facilities, martial arts and dance studios, among others, fit here. It is unclear if there are any anthropologic sites in need of preservation in the city.
A2. The PRB reviewed chapter 5 of the 1999 plan, entitled “The Plan”. It was noted that several programs recommended for implementation in that plan have not been instituted or completed. These include:
• pooling resources with the School District to provide quality programs.
• hiring a Recreation Director
• providing adult sports programs sponsored by the city
• developing a community recreation center for all ages.
• encouraging service organizations to develop “Friends of the Parks” programs
It should be noted however, that some of these activities have been going on informally without strong direction from the Park & Recreation Board.
Among the Park Policy Recommendations, many have been carried out.
The Plan also listed 34 specific Parks Improvement Projects. Of these all but ten have been completed, though some are projects either in progress or currently being discussed. These are:
• Repair stone work on the walls of Allen Creek through Leota Park.
• Address need to dredge Lake Leota
• Remove car bridge and create auto access to Madison St.
• Construct a blacktop pad by green shelter
• Construct a shelter at location of current shuffle boards.
• Re-Shingle roof of Boy Scout House
• Develop a program for replacement of Park trees.
• Develop bike paths in park and around Lake Leota
• Seal roads every 5-7 years.
• Construct a shelter with restrooms at Countryside Park.

B. City Planner Tim Schwecke offered to assist the PRB in any necessary way to develop a new plan. He has already prepared a draft of a new plan, based on the 1999 plan. It was mentioned that reviewing the 2004 Smart Growth Plan may reveal citizen ideas for new park projects. The chair requested that Mr. Schwecke generate new population figures to replace the ones in the old plan.

C. A Public Hearing on the question: “What are the strengths and weaknesses of Evansville’s park facilities and current park programs?. Public hearing opened at 7:17 PM. No citizen appeared to speak. Public Hearing closed at 7:18 PM.

D. Jacobson moved, Farnsworth seconded to have the PRB complete its new plan by the end of November 2006 in order to present it to Common Council for approval at its December 2006 meeting. Passed Unanimously.

5. Reports from the Chair: Public Works Department will no longer use Seminary Park as a temporary holding facility for leaves picked up during the fall of the year. These leaves will be transported to the new Public Works facility on South Madison St. The Chair reported that both Finance and Labor Committee & CommonCouncil has approved the appropriation of some $35K from the “Fees in Lieu of Parkland Dedication” account to install a restroom/shelter structure at Countryside Park. This work will begin this fall, under the auspices of the same high school teacher who supervised the construction of the new restroom in Lake Leota park during the past school year.

6. Reports and Updates on current park projects.
a. Lake Leota Park. The permanent “rules” signs are up at the Skate Park, but Ray Anderson reports that one of them has been vandalized. A question was raised about why the rules say no bikes or scooters. The chair will find out an answer by the next meeting. There is continuing difficulty in coming up with the best way to complete the surface of the skate park. The coating on the tennis court is peeling. It has been proposed to concrete half the tennis court, since this would come in under the budget, but some contractors recommend not doing only half. The skate club is reluctant to turn over its $5K contribution to the city until this issue is resolved. Another bid will be sought to blacktop the entire surface and presented to the September PRB meeting.
b. Franklin Park. The area for the new playground equipment has been dug out, but the equipment supplier says it needs to be deeper. It is expected that installation of the new equipment will occur starting in the third week of September. Water & Light still has not begun moving the poles. The chair will follow up. The old swing frame removed from the park may be cut down, refurbished and installed elsewhere in the city’s park system.
c. Countryside Park. The fence along Water St. has been removed, in order to open up the park as a more friendly place. Some citizens objected. Utility lines have been installed from Water Street into the park. The bathroom/shelter construction will begin soon.
d. West Side Park. Grading/seeding of the soccer field area has not yet begun.

7. Aquatic Report: Pool Director Rick Hamacher presented a letter describing various options for the Park Store License. He also presented a proposed fee schedule for 2007. This will be discussed in full at the September PRB meeting. Pool painting will be completed after it closes. More solar panels are currently in the proposals for the 2007 Capital Improvement Budget.

8. Park Maintanence and Improvements Report: Supervisor Ray Anderson had nothing to report beyond what has already been mentioned earlier in the meeting.

9. Old Business.
a. At the request of the Chair, Board members volunteered to choose a park that will be their special interest for the coming year and in developing the new 5-year plan. Farnsworth & Sendelbach: Lake Leota Park. Merritt: Franklin Park. Juergens: Countryside Park. Jacobson: West Side Park. Krueger: Brzezinski and Seminary. Wind Prairie remains unassigned, but it is hoped that Carlsen will take that on.
b. The chair passed out a set of “Park Assessment Criteria” for each of the board members to apply to “their” park. Using these criteria, each board member should report back to the Board at the September meeting about projects to include in the new 5-year plan for their park.
c. The Board agreed to participate in the Community Service Worker program as administered by Judge Alisankus on a trial basis. Board members may wish to interview possible candidates for the program before agreeing to supervise them. Members will examine their parks for possible tasks that the Community Service Workers can complete under their supervision.

10. New Business. The chair requested that Board members familiarize themselves with Seminary Park and begin to think of how this park could be of more use to the Evansville community.

11. A motion to adjourn was made at 8:35 PM.

Minutes drafted by Fred Juergens on September 2, 2006. Minutes are not official until approved at a subsequent PRB meeting.