Minutes: Park Board: June 2006

City of Evansville, Wisconsin
Park and Recreation Board Regular Monthly Meeting
Evansville City Hall Council Chambers
June 19, 2006, 6:00 PM

DRAFT Minutes


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

1a. Request to modify agenda: Item 7 to just after Item 3. Approved on voice vote.

2. Minutes of April 2006 meeting; approved on voice vote. No formal meeting in May 2006, due to lack of quorum, hence no minutes to approve for that month.

3. Citizen appearances other than agenda items:
a. Alderperson Doug Wessels and resident Ayn Steinlein, spoke regarding a dog park. Minimum space requirements are roughly the size of a football field. Needs to be fenced. Benches and trash disposal facilities would be nice. Wessels stated that over the years roughly a dozen sites have been proposed and shot down for one reason or another. Without a definite site in mind, it’s hard to work up enthusiasm for fund-raising. The PRB needs to take another look at possible sites and see if something can be made to work. Juergens requested that Dog Park proponents help by coming to PRB in the future with definite suggestions of possible sites.

b. Residents Rich Modaff, Jon Anderson, Linda Johnson, and Patricia Johnson, all residing near the intersection of Church St and College Drive, spoke about the Public Works Department’s use of part of Seminary Park as temporary storage for leaves, etc., during fall clean-up. The result of this, over the years, has been that sidewalks have been damaged & grass killed. Further, the pile itself is a possible hazard for children playing in it, it becomes moldy, exacerbating allergies of nearby residents, it smells, it’s an eyesore and detriment to the Historic District, and because it’s there, other residents have dumped their own trash on the pile. The four residents all requested that this site’s use as a temporary dump be stopped.

Farnsworth moved and Krueger seconded that PRB recommend to the Public Works Committee that the Public Works Department cease the practice of using this area as a storage area for leaves be stopped. Motion passed unanimously.

Linda and Patricia Johnson spoke of a proposal to use the leaf-pile area as a memorial garden, planted with shade-tolerant perennial plants, to recently deceased city resident Kathleeen Spanton. Volunteer labor would plant and maintain this garden area. Park Maintenance Supervisor Anderson pointed out that it’s hard to count on volunteer labor over the long haul, and that in its absence, the maintenance work falls on the Public Works Department. The PRB will consider this proposal once the leaf-pile issue is settled.

7. Franklin Park Update. (Moved to this position by prior agreement)
a. Ray Anderson reported that the new playground equipment for the park will be installed before school starts in fall. He relies on assistance from other Public Works staff to do this work, and they are very busy now. There was discussion about exactly where the new equipment will be located. Anderson presented a plan from the Burke Company locating the equipment near the existing east fence. There’s a difference of opinion on where the equipment should go; if it’s to be located where the equipment seller is suggesting, then two and possibly three trees will have to be cut down. Some residents living nearby the park want to avoid cutting trees. Juergens asked why the entire footprint of the equipment installation couldn’t be moved more into the center of the park, recognizing that this might interfere with some of the space associated with the existing backstop. No resolution of this issue at this time.

b. Landscape update. Resident Ayn Steinlein and a crew of volunteers she is organizing will plant as soon designated area is roto-tilled and plant materials purchased.

c. John Rasmussen of Water & Light presented a cost estimate of about $2300 to remove one temporary pole and move another of the electrical service about 48 feet to the east. He gave PRB members a copy of the plat map showing the current locations of the poles and the proposed change. He does not yet have all the information Juergens requested as to what the cable and telephone companies will charge to move their lines to the new pole location, but did say that the “old” pole will have to stay in place until they do so. He estimated that the phone cost will be about $1500 – $2000, but hasn’t heard from the cable company. When the electrical service is moved, there could be a power-outage of several hours in the immediate area. Jacobsen questioned the proposed location of the moved pole and wanted more information about possible other pole locations.

Krueger moved and Merritt seconded that Water & Light undertake the planned pole re-arrangement at their earliest convenience and that PRB approve funding the cost from the Franklin Park allotment of the 2006 Capital Budget. Motion passed 6-1.

d. Removal of concrete from the front of the park, removal of part of the fence, and one “weed” tree along the fence line will occur at about the same time as the playground equipment installation.

e. Juergens proposed, and heard no objection, that the entire PRB membership and staff begin their July 2006 meeting at Franklin Park to actually see the layout there and make a final decision on the outstanding issues of equipment location. Without objection, it will be noticed in the agenda for the July meeting.

4. West-Side Park work for 2006.
a. Dave Sauer, city engineer, reported that a request for bids, for grading and seeding the soccer field area, has been published with a bid date of July 13th. He hopes to have a contract in place by August 1st, and to get the work done by September 1st. There was some discussion of the actual size of the area to be prepared. Tom Calley requested 120 yards length, whereas the current plan is for 110 yards. It is not clear that the additional length will fit into the existing Plan #4 that was approved last fall, but Sauer will investigate. Farnsworth moved, Merritt seconded, that if such lengthening is possible without disrupting park plans, that it be done. Passed unanimously.

Sauer requested that the soccer club specify the seed-mix that they want as a special “tough” surface for the fields. Juergens will contact a soccer club representative to pass that request along.

b. Todd Diehl of 255 S. 6th St noted that a drainage ditch behind his property is overgrown and needs cleaning out. Sauer reported that the developer of the area has the responsibility to fix this and will do so in 2-3 weeks.

5. Lake Leota Park update.
a. Anderson reported that a large tree near the Gransee memorial area is a “dirty” tree. Mr. Gransee has offered to donate a more appropriate tree if the existing one is removed. Juergens will discuss this with the City Forester, Kendall Wethall, before a decision is reached on this offer.

b. Gib Wiedenhoft of SOLE said that the group is redoing their long-range plan for restoring the lake. PRB recognizes that decisions on this project are really in the purview of the Public Works Committee and Council, but appreciates the willingness of SOLE to discuss their plans with PRB. Wiedenhoft requested that PRB approve locating an informational kiosk near the Boy Scout house and paying approximately $732 for materials to construct it. Labor would be provided by SOLE.

Farnsworth moved, Krueger seconded, to grant location approval and authorize payment for materials. Motion passed unanimously.

c. The plantings at the 2nd st entrance to the park have been renovated.

6. Skate Park update;
a. Juergens began a discussion of possibilities for the skate-park surface, recognizing that Council had approved additional money to install new asphalt paving. Possibilities mentioned were:
i. putting the purchased equipment on the existing surface and waiting until fall to put in new asphalt; this would allow more time for asphalt to “cure” and minimize any rutting that might occur due to wheel pressure. Krueger states that there are special “super-mix” asphalts that cure very quickly.
ii. putting the equipment on the existing surface, saving the money allocated for asphalt, and requesting money in the 2007 capital budget to install a concrete surface then.
iii. seeking a contractor to replace the existing surface with new asphalt as soon as possible.
Jacobsen objected to seeking still more money for concrete, since increasing the 2006 capital budget had been a contentious issue. Mayor Decker, speaking from the audience, pointed out that concrete costs have skyrocketed this year, and our current estimates of concrete surfacing may be far too low. Bill Alt, representing the skate club, pointed out that it was city people who offered the suggestion of using concrete rather than asphalt. He recommended that we go ahead with asphalt this year as the way to make sure that a new surface is completed, as the existing plan provides.

b. Farnsworth moved, Jacobson seconded, that PRB authorize Ray Anderson to seek bids to replace the current tennis court with new “super-mix” asphalt during the 2006 budget year. Passed unanimously. With bids and scheduling in hand, PRB will decide when to take delivery on the equipment ordered.

7. (Moved to earlier in the Agenda)

8. Countryside Park update
a. Anderson reported that new playground equipment will be installed in late August.

b. Anderson showed a design and cost estimate for the new shelter/bathroom facilities in the park. He is estimating a cost of about $25-30K for materials for the shelter/bathroom plus running the utilities from the street. Juergens will request that the City Administrator draft a budget amendment to transfer an appropriate sum from the “Fees in Lieu of Parkland Dedication Fund”. Following a request from Jacobson, Anderson will try to get a better cost estimate for the July PRB meeting. Hopefully at that meeting PRB will recommend to Finance and Labor Relations Committee and City Council that the amendment be approved.

c. Struck & Irwin has estimated the cost of removal of the fence along Water St and re-installation of its usable parts in the Skatepark area to be about $1600. This work will not be done until the new asphalt surface is completed in the Skatepark.

9. Aquatic Report: Rick Hamacher
a. Off to a good start on registrations – about 20 more family passes and 10 more individual passes have been sold already than for all of 2005. Jacobson requested exact figures be provided at next PRB meeting. Lesson sign-ups are going well.

b. The solar panels are working well to heat the water, better than expected. Already on some sunny days, the gas heater seldom goes on.

c. In response to a question about opening the pool on Memorial Day weekend, Hamacher said that this weekend is used for training life-guards and pool staff.

d. There are still the customary problems with graffiti.

10. Park Maintenance and Improvements: Ray Anderson.
a. The new bathrooms are still not done; it’s hoped to complete the installation by July 4th. Exterior work on building is complete, walkways should be poured this week. Installing the fixtures will be done ASAP

b. Anticipate a lot of mud being dragged into all the bathroom facilities in the park, due to kids walking out into the lake bed, getting muddy, and then coming to those facilities to clean up. This is likely to be a significant maintenance problem until the lake is refilled.

c. Other than the mud problem, no significant vandalism has occurred at parks last month.

d. Resident Jeff Updike spoke to the issue of repairing the backstop of the lower diamond and of a general safety issue of children being close to the road in that area. He suggested that the diamond should be moved, to increase the distance to the outfield fences. This would allow for the possibility of softball tournaments returning to Evansville, perhaps as a money-raising enterprise. Someone suggested that the park road east of access to the Park garage be closed, gated, or even removed, as a solution to the traffic safety problem. This whole topic needs further study; Ray & Jeff will discuss it and perhaps bring a proposal to the July PRB meeting.

e. Residents of the Seminary Apartments have been encroaching their gardens onto park land.

11. Old Business:
Juergens requested that all Board members review the 1999 five-year plan and consider the generation of a new plan, since none was done in 2004. He requested that Ray Anderson look through the old plan and let PRB know at its July meeting which of the old plan’s objectives have been accomplished. It is the chair’s intention to develop a new 5-year plan by the end of 2006.

12 New Business.
a. The proposed map/plan for intracity bike paths was examined. The existing plan shows paths running through the current location of Theodore Robinson School and across the school yard at McKenna Middle School. It was proposed that these sections be eliminated and replaced with a path running from Fair St north on Third Street to Liberty Street, plus the path running on Liberty St, rather than Lincoln St and Fourth St. It may be necessary to pave a short section of bike path from the south end of Third St to Fair St.

The existing plan shows a bike path running the length of Water Street from Maple to East Main St. Water St. may be inadequate for a bike path, due to its narrow width, the fact that it is a truck route, lack of shoulders and striping. However the only other route to the east side of town is heavily-traveled East Main St. This presents a serious problem for cyclists who wish to access the businesses, Countryside Park, and residential areas on the east edge of town. Juergens commented that he rides on the sidewalk of East Main St when heading to the Pig and other businesses in the area. The PRB has no formal recommendation on this problem at this time; however an upgrade to Water Street should be considered.

b. “Ownership” of parks by PRB Members; this discussion was deferred.

c. Initial discussion of Capital Expenditures for 2007.

Juergens suggested that a “zero-base” budgeting approach be followed, rather than just assuming that, as has been the case in the past, PRB will receive a “standard” allocation of $50K of new capital money in the city budget. He pointed out that the “Fees in Lieu of Parkland Dedication” fund has been growing for years, and that this money can only be used for parks. About $160K was collected and only about $21K spent between the inception of these impact fees and the end of 2005. If we spend $30K of this money on Countryside bath/shelter this year, we will still have about $110K available for worthwhile park projects. It is likely that further fees will be collected in 2006. Some of the total amount available should be earmarked for the new West Side Park, in Juergens’ opinion. Due to a new state law signed in April 2006, such impact fees cannot be collected on new developers’ agreements.

Proposed projects. Not in order of priority; in most cases, no costs have yet been determined:

1. Add more solar panels to the pool’s current expandable installation. $10K
2. Restore the badly-deteriorating creek beds and stone walls in Leonard/Leota Park. The Mayor pointed out that grant money is being sought to pay for a consultant to determine how best to restore these historic facilities. Restoration of the Bell Tower and other stonework in the park should be considered as well.
3. Add additional playground equipment to Countryside Park.
4. Add additional playground equipment, landscaping, and a small shelter (no bath) to Franklin Park.
5. Plant trees along the “back” side of the pool area, paralleling the railroad tracks, to block the view of the other side of the tracks. Appropriate trees are expected to cost about $100 each, and must be evergreen, so they don’t “shed” into the pool.
6. Replace park signs with ones that are comparable to the sign welcoming people to Evansville, the one visible from Hwy 14 near the tank memorial in Leota Park.
7. Shingle the Boy Scout House in Leota Park.
8. Re-pave, rather than just re-seal, park roads in Leota Park.
9. Re-construct the lower diamond, as suggested earlier, in Leota Park.
10. Purchase a mower, build a storage shed, and blacktop the road in the new West-Side Park.
11. Upgrade the playground equipment in Brzezinski Park.
12. Place benches in Seminary Park and Wind Prairie Park.
13. Allocate money to develop a Dog Park.
14. Plant trees to enhance other parks.
15. Purchase a new piece of equipment for the Skate Park.

Some of these projects will be proposed for completion in 2007. Others will become part of the new 5-year plan that PRB will develop before the end of 2006.

13. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 PM.

Minutes drafted by Fred Juergens: June, 24, 2006. Minutes are not official until approved at a subsequent PRB meeting.