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Home My WebLink About2023-03-06 - Minutes -CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS Parks and Recreation Advisory Board March 6, 2023 5:30 PM Hybrid Meeting City Hall Room 111 113 W Mountain Street Fayetteville, AR MEETING MINUTES Members: Will Dockery (Chair) - exp 24, Andrew Brink - exp 23, Julie Chambers - exp 23, Joel Freund - exp 23, Hugh Kincaid - exp 25, Stephen Sheely - exp 22, Yarri Davis - exp 24, Doug Walsh - exp 24, Sarah Downing — exp 25 City Staff: Alison Jumper, Parks, Natural Resources, and Cultural Affairs Director; Lee Farmer, Recreation Superintendent; Ted Jack, Park Planning Superintendent; Zach Foster, Park Planner; John Scott, Urban Forester 1. Call to Order - Dockery called the meeting to order at 5:32pm 2. Roll Call- Dockery, Brink, Kincaid, Sheely, Davis, Walsh, Freund, Downing, Chambers 3. In Attendance: Dockery, Brink, Kincaid, Sheely, Davis, Walsh, Freund, Downing 4. Absent: Chambers 5. Stall: Jumper, Jack, Farmer, Foster, Scott 6. Approval of Minutes PRAB Motion: Freund moved to postpone approval of minutes to March. Dockery seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0-0 7. Parkland Dedication: Zach Foster, Park Planner Development Name: Engineer: Owner: Location: Parcel ID Number: Park Quadrant: Units: Land Dedication Requirement Fee -in -Lieu Requirement: Nearby Existing Parks: Grand Village Crafton Tull BCG Grand Village, LLC 1998 W Grand Blvd 765-15830-005 NW 18 Single -Family and 66 Multi -Family N/A $82,434 Lake Fayetteville, Veteran's Park, Mud Creek Trail Corridor, Scull Creek Trail Corridor Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 Developer's Request: Fee -in -Lieu Staff Recommendation: Fee -in -Lieu Justification: Development cannot provide suitable park land PRAB Recommendation: Brink moved to accept staff's recommendation of fee -in - lieu. Davis seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0-0 8. Parkland Dedication: Zach Foster, Park Planner Development Name: Engineer: Owner: Location: Parcel ID Number: Park Quadrant: Units: Land Dedication Requirement Fee -in -Lieu Requirement: Nearby Existing Parks: Developer's Request: Staff Recommendation Justification: The Claude Apartments Anderson Engineering Claude Shiloh Multifamily, LLC 4143 N Shiloh Dr 765-15581-003 NW 207 Multi -Family N/A $197,064 Lake Fayetteville, Veteran's Park, Mud Creek Trail Corridor, Scull Creek Trail Corridor Fee -in -Lieu Fee -in -Lieu Development cannot provide suitable park land PRAB Recommendation: Brink moved to accept staff's recommendation of fee -in - lies. Dockery seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0-0. 9. Urban Forestry Plan Overview — John Scott Scott discussed the following: • Scott is only Urban Forester in Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs department. • Urban Forestry Role includes: public outreach, budgeting, tree planting, review of internal planting plans, construction manager for planting projects, hazard tree reports, code changes and tree inspections, staffing the Urban Forestry Advisory Board, Tree City USA application, Celebration of Trees program, invasive species bounty program, and the Amazing Trees program. Additionally, Scott reported the Public Works now has a dedicated Urban Forestry crew that Scott works with regular for plantings, irrigation, tree removal, preventative care, trimming and general tree care. • Scott reported on the Urban Forestry Master Plan, which is conducted every ten years. The plan has three components: o Urban Forestry Inventory ■ Inventory is created using sample areas throughout the City ■ Preliminary results show 40% canopy coverage for the City ■ Final report will provide tables, graphs and geospatial data o Urban Forestry Tree Canopy Assessment ■ This will include canopy health, species, species diversity, proposed planting locations and metrics to help guide. o Forestry Management Plan ■ Goals ■ Canopy Goals ■ Program Evaluation ■ Policy Framework ■ Funding information ■ Recommendations • Scott reported that plan is near completion which will be presented to the Urban Forestry Advisory Boards and City Council 10. Subcommittee Discussion: Will Dockery, Steve Sheely Sheely discussed opportunity to create sub -committees revolving around three areas. 1. Fundraising: "Friends of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation" • The purpose of this workgroup is to create a non-profit entity that raises fuds and cultivates stakeholder for parks and recreation. • Initiate ways to fund the acquisition of new park land, unbudgeted capital needs and recreation scholarships for sports and activities. • Develop strategies to increase community involvement, awareness and volunteerism. • Discuss ways to create and develop social media -based groups around each individual park, networking them with Friends of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation. 2. Communication and Signage • Identify ways to promote our parks while relieving the burden of the City's Communication Department. • Create a social media based 3. Policies and Partnerships • The purpose of this workgroup is to review the Parkland Dedication Ordinance, City ordinances related to parks and trails and consider the creation of policies to enhance park and recreation partnerships. Davis recommended focusing on one of these initially, being the creation of a non-profit "Friends of Parks and Recreation." PRAB discussed sub -committees further. Dockery Appointed: Sheely, Davis, Kincaid and Freund to serve on this sub- committee related to the creation of a non-profit entity "Friends of Parks and Recreation." 11. Kessler Trail Naming: Ted Jack, Planning Superintendent Rob Reno with Ozark Off Road Cyclists (OORC) updated PRAB on a new trail which was built by OORC at no cost to the City. This trail is approximately 1.5 miles in length. This advanced trail is identified on the master plan and OORC had 108 volunteers assist with building this trail. The trail is scheduled to open in approximately six weeks. OORC is proposing the following trail names, which were all approved the City GIS: Bewitched, Call Your Bluff, Kit and Caboodle, Monkey Wrench and Odyssey. PRAB discussed the proposed trail names further. PRAB Recommendation: Davis moved to accept Bewitched as the trail name. Dockery seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0-0 12. Park Land Acquisition Discussion: Ted Jack, Planning Superintendent Jack presented current park land information, new land criteria, park land needs and funding. Jack reported without our Regional Parks and trail acres that Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs is operating at 11.3 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. The 2022 NRPA national average is 10.4 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Removing Regional Parks and trail acres a better comparison to the NRPA national averages. Jack reported some Land Acquisition Criteria that helps prioritize potential acquisitions: • Parks in "Gap" areas or areas that do not have nearby (10-15-minute walk) recreation areas. • Land contiguous to existing parks or trail corridors. • Land able to support a park hosting at least two full size multi -purpose fields and other neighborhood park amenities. • Conservation Parks, that protect important natural resources. • Lands that can create a park that benefits from being next to a partner that can create synergy. • Additional priorities: o Land that has good tie into alternative transportation systems o Land or easements that protect Visual Quality of the City. Jack reported that we currently do not have enough park land in existing properties to add multi -purpose fields. Jack also gave overview of tennis and pickleball facilities with the city. Currently the there are 34 tennis courts and 9 pickleball courts withing the city, however Parks, Natural Resources and Cultural Affairs only manages 7 tennis courts and 4 pickleball/junior tennis courts. The reaming courts are privately or school owned and managed. Unlike multi -purpose fields, we do have space in existing parks to add additional tennis and pickleball courts. Jack reported that a study done in 2018 showed that the average cost per acres was $47,130/ac. Land size suitable for multi -purpose fields would need to be approximately ten acres, so land acquisition costs could be in the half million -dollar range. 0 Jack reported current Park Land Dedication funds per quadrant and current undeveloped land parcel within the city. • NW Quad Available Funds: $561,382 • NE Quad Available Funds: $117,884 • SW Quad Available Funds: $873,383 • SE Quad Available Funds: $533,876 Next steps would be to complete the study, prioritization, determine method to proceed on acquisition and to identify funding. 13. Wilson Park Courts Proposal Update: Ted Jack, Park Planning Superintendent Zach Foster reported that we installed two onsite cameras at Wilson Park to monitor tennis and pickleball use. This camera showed that during a 30-day window that pickleball usage was higher that tennis usage. Total usage during this time period was 63% pickleball and 37% tennis usage. Pickleball use also averaged 1.4 more players per court. Jason Smith spoke in support of converting the junior tennis courts at Wilson Park to dedicated pickleball courts. Ted stated that preliminary estimates to convert the 1 tennis court and 4 junior tennis courts to 8 pickleball courts is $700,000, which would include work on the other existing, courts and lighting the basketball court. Dockery asked to get more detailed budget of where these funds would come and how much of Park Land Dedication funds would be needed to complete this project. PRAB Recommendation: Freund moved to table this until the April meeting. Downing seconded the motion. Motion passed 7-1-0. 14. 2022 Annual Report: Alison Jumper, Director Jumper gave a highlight of 2022 accomplishments which included volunteerism, Underwood Park master plan kickoff, launched Arts and Culture division and the opening of the Upper Ramble, hosting the UCI World Championships, opening 4 new baseball fields at Kessler and completions of the Parks and Recreation System Master Plan. PRAB discussed the annual report further PRAB Recommendation: Freund moved to table this until the April meeting. Davis seconded the motion. Motion passed 8-0-0 15. Active Transportation Advisory Committee Update: Yarri Davis Davis reported the connection of Dinsmore and Old Farmington trail connection happening soon. 16. Botanical Garden Society of the Ozarks Update: Joel Freund Freund reported the BGOS director has funding over $300,000 17. Project Update: Ted Jack, Planning Superintendent Jack reported project updates which included: • Walker Park Master Plan timeline. Public Input meeting is Saturday, March 11th. • Wilson Hub groundbreaking, February 16". Additionally, the pedestrian bridge has been installed. • Gulley Park — a volunteer team removed Bradford Pear from the prairie. The playground project has started and contractor is ordering all equipment. • Kessler Saddle Up trail construction will start soon. This project will include an adaptative cycling trail. • Bryce Davis master plan is schedule to start soon • Yvonne Richardson Community Center project is finalizing design. Construction is scheduled to start this fall. • Lake Fayetteville Softball project will start this summer. • Parks and Recreation System Master Plan going to City Council tomorrow for approval. 18. Review of HMR Report: Ted Jack, Planning Superintendent Jack reported the January HMR was $381,681, which is an 8% increase from last year. 19. Announcements March 7 Park and Recreation System Master Plan at City Council March 7 Fayetteville Youth Baseball Starts — Kessler/ White River March 9 Invasive Removal — Mt. Sequoyah Woods March 11 Walker Park Master Plan Public Meeting — Walker Park March 11 Youth Softball Player Clinic — Fayetteville High School Softball Complex March 12 Lake Sequoyah Cleanup — Lake Sequoyah March 14 Outdoor Fayetteville Fishing — Lake Fayetteville March 15 Arts Council Meeting — City Administration Building March 16 Outdoor Fayetteville Archery — Lake Fayetteville March 18 Razorback Greenway Cleanup — North Street Trailhead March 20 Spring Break Camp — YRCC March 24 Woolsey Invasive Cleanup — Woolsey Homestead March 24-26 Fayetteville Youth Baseball Tournament — Kessler March 27 Adult Softball Spring League Starts — Gary Hampton/ Lake Fayetteville March 27 Youth Softball Spring League Starts — Gary Hampton March 31-April 2 Fayetteville Youth Baseball Tournament — Gary Hampton Next Meeting Date April 3, 2023 20. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 7:47pm 21. Submitted by: Lee Farmer, Recreation Superintendent PRAB minutes provides the basic discussions and motions of the PRAB meeting. For more information, please refer to the PRAB meeting video provided on the city's website.