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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-11-23 - Minutes0 1 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS P. 0. DRAWER F 72701 (501) 521.7700 PRAB MEETING Minutes November 23, 1982 The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board came to order at 4 pm at the Continuing Education Building. MINUTES: Minutes were approved as mailed. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Model Airplane Club: Kenneth Culler and Gary Howard from the Model Airplane Club presented a letter from Hank Chinalt requesting a field at Industrial Park by Norris Industry for their flying course. The area would be in the flood plain. David Lashley said that the Board is waiting for the legistics of that area. The Board said they need to wait and see what land the city is going to authorize to the Parks Department. Soccer fields and softball practice fields were also other items being considered in that area. It was the consensus of the Board to check with the Industrial Development Commission as to their plans.for future industrial plants in that area. 2. Wilson Park Swimming Pool: Dale Clark reported that Wimberly is taking core samples of the old pool to see how . secure the concrete is standing up. 3. Tree Donations: Dale Clark reported that the Noon Sequoyah Kiwanians planted 10 memorial trees at Wilson Park and twenty-four at Walker Park. The Kiwanians will help care for the trees. The Flaming Hills Garden Club donated six trees at Walker Park. Trees are also needed to be planted at Industrial Park. 4. Vandalism: Dale Clark reported that the parking cable at Industrial Park has been broken again by a four-wheel drive vehicle. 5. Green Space Fee Ordinance: Connie Edmonston reported that she received a letter from Bobbie Jones stating that the green space fee was changed from the general fund to an escrow interest bearing account as of November 12, 1982. Currently there is a total of $11,893. in this account. FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS P. 0. DRAWER F Page 2 PRAB November 23, 1982 72701 1501) 521-7700 6. Greathouse Park: Dale Clark reported that the swinging bridge was completed at Greathouse Park. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Lake Recreation: Dale Clark recommended for the PRAB to review the current Ordinanance of Lake Fayetteville and Lake Sequoyah as to needed changes such as closing the Lakes for two to three weeks during the winter, and the definition of a boat. The ordinances will be discussed at the next PRAB meeting. 2. Youth Center: David Lashley received a letter from the Fayetteville Youth Center's President, Bruce Loftin requesting help with the funding of a gymnastics/martial arts building. The Youth Center is not financially able to pay for an expansion of this nature. However, they feel that in order to continue to serve the recreational needs of the Fayetteville community, this additional building is needed. The FYC Board proposed to build a 3,000 square foot addition which would connect with the southwest side of the present facility. This would be a multi-purpose building with its primary purpose for gymnastics and the martial arts such as judo and karate. The approximate cost of the building is $80,000.. It was the consensus of the Board to add the Youth Centers request to the priority list. 3. Beautification of the Parks: Al Einert gave the enclosed presentation to the Parks Board as requested. It was the consensus of the PRAB to recommend sidewalks along Highway 71 in the near future so that the islands can be properly taken care of. The Board discussed getting the Chamber of Commerce to help with this project and to look into a volinteer program for businesses to take care of the islands infront of their buildings. In summary, Einert suggested that engineer plats be made of each park and park signs be made to help locate the parks along the major roads. The PRAB gave their appreciation to Al Einert for his expertise and contribution.: in helping to beautify the Parks. FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS P. O. DRAWER F Page 3 PRAB November 23, 1982 72701 (5011 521.7700 MEETING ADJOURNED at 6:30 pm. NEXT PRAB MEETING: Tuesday, December 14 at 4pm in the Continuing Education Building. Room number will be posted at the entrance. Respectfully submitted, Connie Edmonston Administrative Assistant ATTENDANCE: Dale Clark, Beverly Melton, David Lashley, George Knight, Romey Thomason, Rodney Ryan, Connie Edmonston, Kenneth Culler, Gary Howard 0 ALFRED ERWI N EINERT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ROUTE 8 FAY ETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS 72701 November 23, 1982 0 ANALYSIS OF HIGHWAY U.S. 71B ISLANDS LANDSCAPING: An inspection of the highway 718 roadway islands and the current vegetation was made in October 1982. Conversations with several merchants along the highway were also held to obtain the attitude toward the landscape plantings and their maintenance. The following observations were derived. 1. The conditions of the highway islands landscaping in general reflect the overall appearance of the adjacent commercial property and are indicative of pride in the business property appearance. 2. A few merchants (notably: Ken's Pizza, Arby's, Burger King, Wendy's and Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Gulf) have incorporated the island landscaping into their commercial landscape planting effort. These specific properties look quite good. 3. Some islands under city maintenance appear well maintained, others do not. 4. Sidewalks are (mostly) serviceable from U.S. Highway 62 to Oakwood Street (across from V.A. Hospital). Most of this area has sidewalk on both sides of the roadway, although some is in very poor (unsafe) condition. 5. There is no sidewalk north of the V.A. Hospital entrance driveway on either side of the roadway to Appleby Drive. It appears that a sidewalk is needed on the west side of the roadway from the V.A. Hospital to Appleby Drive to accomodate school children (sidewalks in this area are proposed on the City of Fayetteville Sidewalk Plan). 6. Paving is needed in some• of the intersection islands to allow better pedestrian movement across the thoroughfare. This is most evident at Sycamore Street where traffic signals have recently been installed. 7. Most of the existing islands would not lend themselves as sidewalks if merely paved bacause of excessive slope to the roadway. Most of these areas must be leveled considerably to accomodate a safe sidewalk. 8. The trees in the island, in general, look favorable and make a significant visual contribution in the spring and summer. 9. It appears that merchants along this thoroughfare like the landscape plantings of the islands but insist the City should afford better maintenance. AMERICAN SOCIETY OP LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS RECOMMENDATIONS: 2 The following recommendations are made to improve the appearance of the Highway 71B islands and at the same time enhance safety along the roadway for motorists and pedestrians. An important additional consideration was given to reducing maintenance costs by the City of Fayetteville. The recommendations are listed in a suggested priority sequence, yet all the actions presented may have to be accomplished before a significant, lasting solution is achieved. 1. Locate and pave with concrete those islands or portions that presently can serve as sidewalks and that fit properly into the City Master Plan for Sidewalks. A proposed sidewalk route for both sides of the highway should be determined before any paving is initiated. 2. Owners of property or operators of commercial businesses adjacent to the islands which exhibit good quality landscape plantings should be contacted and asked to take over (or assist) the City with routine maintenance of the islands. This might begin as a civic project of the Chamber of Commerce among its member businesses along the highway. 3. Replacement of plants damaged or destroyed in the islands should only be done if the plant lost was of significant value (healthy before damage) in a positive setting. Replacement should be made only with two shrub species (Lagerstroemia indica nana - dwarf crapemyrtle and Juniperus horizontalis plumosa - Andorra juniper). Both species are adapted to urban streetscapes because of tolerance to soil compaction, weed competition, atmospheric pollutants, etc. Trees lost in the islands should not be replaced unless a commitment for maintenance or shared maintenance has been made from the adjacent business. 4. Commercial property adjacent to the islands that is deemed an "eyesore" should be properly maintained (including the vegetation) by voluntary or mandatory compliance. 5. The Fayetteville Master Sidewalk Plan should be implemented as soon as possible in the area between the V.A. Hospital and Appleby Road/ Rolling Hills Drive area. 6. Consideration should be given to investigating the establishment of a landscape maintenance assessment (voluntary) of merchants and owners of commercial properties along the highway for maintaining those islands not under private care. Such a landscape fund may allow the City to contract maintenance from a private firm. SUGGESTED GUIDELINES FOR POSITION OF CITY HORTICULTURIST - FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS The responsibilities of the position of CITY HORTICULTURIST should be to recommend, formulate and supervise the care of tress, shrubs, and turf areas for the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department. The position should be that of a "field urban horticulturist" who would be responsible for directing and participating in such matters as planting, pruning, fertilizing, pest control and removal of plant material in parks and other properties under the control of the City of Fayetteville. The Horticulturist should be directly responsible to the Director, Parks and Recreation Department. The individual in the position should be given an assigned vehicle and a compliment of handtools in order to be able to go, as need arises, to landscape sites and perform specialized tasks which require only one person. Starting salary: $16,000.00 per year plus normal City employee benefits. Qualifications for individual holding the position: 1. verified experience in the area of horticulture and landscape maintenance. 2. high school graduate (post high school education may be evaluated in lieu of experience). 3. holder of a motor vehicle operator's license. 4. adequate physical condition to operate equipment (chainsaw) and do tree climbing work if needed. S. qualify for and hold Arkansas licenses for a. Ornamental, Tree and Turf Pest Control b. tree surgeon The Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Advisory Board should interview all applicants and review their application documents. The Board should recommend the most qualified applicant to the City of Fayetteville Board of Directors. ALFRED ERWI N EINERT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ROUTE 8 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS 72701 Estimate of Landscape Design Needs FAYETTEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION PROPERTIES A brief examination of the park properties of the Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department was made. Each site was given a preliminary review to derive first impressions of the landscape needs and to define the character and intensity of use for each land parcel. The review was conducted to establish some needs common to all properties, establish some priorities for design and development and to derive a first estimate of costs for design needs. Several of the major parks appear to be used very intensely (i.e. Wilson, Walker, Lake Fayetteville) probably because of their size, location in the community and the active recreational opportunities afforded. Other smaller parks, however, with very nice active and passive recreational facilities (i.e. Gregory, Greathouse) seem to be mostly overlooked by the public. Several of the larger undeveloped areas under the Parks Department control are apparently unknown to the public and therefore not even knowingly available for occasional use by people living in the vicinity. Listing of Design Needs and Priorities 1. Mapping of park properties - All the park properties should be mapped to scale and the maps bound together for easier reference when specific improvements are made on a particular site. The original map drawings on vellum paper should be stored at the Parks and Recreation Department Offices for easier access and duplication via blueprints when necessary. 2. Park Property signs - Entry signs and appropriate entry "gateways" should be designed for all developed parks to identify the site and limit access to properties closed to vehicular access. Parks and park owned property should also be identified by street signs on major roadways nearby. Undeveloped park lands should also be identified by suitable temporary signs to enable the public to use the land for random recreational opportunities. 3. Site specific design - Each park and park property should be evaluated by a thorough site analysis to define problems and capitalize upon assets. Design solutions should be developed for each specific land parcel. Solutions for individual parks should assist in formulating a standard "design vocabulary" (a common standard) for amenities that will be applicable to all existing parks and future development of park sites. AMERICAN A division of park properties as "mayor parks", minor parks" and "proposed parks" has been made to briefly define problem topic areas SOCIETY OF L A NDSCAPE ARCHITECTS • • 0 2 common to individual parks of similar size and recreational facilities. Major parks - Wilson Park Walker Park Lake Fayetteville Park Lake Sequoyah Park Industrial Park These parks have the common needs of: vandal -proof amenities, better signage, better defintion of entry, better vehicular circulation and circulation control. Wilson Park and Lake Fayetteville Park are both presently under study (Wilson Park - Citizens Study Committee and Lake Fayetteville by University of Arkansas landscape architecture student). These studies should be concluded before site specific designs are initiated on these two parks. Minor parks - a. School/Town Parks b. Small neighborhood parks. The school/town parks are in general attractive recreational areas with some accompanying picnic facilities. Their common needs appear to be: better signage, better bicycle storage, aesthetic enrichment through tree planting and separation of idenity of park from school areas. The minor neighborhood parks are in general nice areas yet appear to be enjoyed less than they should be. Their common needs appear to be: better signage, better parking arrangements, more park amenities (particularly barbeque grills and trash containers), definition of the entry and frequently barriers for vehicular traffic. Proposed parks - Undeveloped and "no -name" land areas The most evident common problems to these "parks" are: lack of identity of physical site, limited parking for people who wish access to the land and lack of trails or other avenues for walking access. Estimates of Costs and Resource Needs 1. Mapping of park properties - Assuming that some documents such as plat maps and engineering drawings of developed properties are available, mapping will entail assembling documents, redrawing and resealing each property with appropriate on site verification as needed. Maps would show boundaries, roadways and other improvements not previously documented. design fee estimate: $1,500.00. ($A6a ord $s-O/F .ec stri) 2. Park property signs - This would entail the design of a standard entryway including gate, sign and accompanying plantings to create a pleasing, secure entry that could be used at all major parks. Temporary signs for undeveloped park lands would also be designed as a "park standard." design fee estimate: $300.00. 3. Specific site design - Each park property would be evaluated in detail and improvements designed specific to the site. Base maps from item #1 would be utilized and a site analysis drawing and a general landscape 0 3 plan developed. Construction details may be also be provided where necessary. The proposed design solutions should be presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Design fee estimate: $350 - $2,000, depending upon size of the park area and kinds of recreational facilities desired. Such a fee also presumes that engineering/surveying services would be provided, additionally. The lower cost estimate would be in reference to parks like Hotz, Greathouse, while the higher figure would refer to sites like No -Name Park. Note: Design fee estimates are those that would likely be charged by this firm for City of Fayetteville project contracts awarded in 1983.