HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-08-02 - MinutesPRAB REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 2, 1993 The meeting was called to order by Bill Waite at 326 of the City Administration Building. Members Present: Members Absent: Staff Present: Guests Present: Media Present: BUSINESS: Anderson, Kimbrough, Palmer, Wright Driver, McConnell Clark, Cox, Edmonston 5:30 pm in room Savage, Waite, Baseball -Dennis Kelly, Horseshoe Addition - Richard Bundrick Rusty Garrett, Ron Wood I. MOTION:ANDERSON/WRIGHT The minutes from the July 12, 1993 PRAB meeting were approved unanimously 6-0. II. GREEN SPACE Glenbrook Phase II Owner/Developer: Gordon Wilkins and Danny Villines Location: W. of Hwy 265, S of Hwy 45 Park District: SE Acres: Single Family Units: Land Dedication: Money in Lieu: 10 32 units .8 acres $7,200 MOTION:KIMBROUGH/SAVAGE The PRAB recommends to the Planning Commission to accept money in lieu, $7,200, for the green space requirement for Glenbrook Phase II. MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0 III. HORSESHOE ADDITION -GREEN SPACE PROPOSAL (See attached letter) Richard Bundrick would like to plant trees in every corner lot to make a better place for kids to play and give the parks department a small parcel of land. The land consist of around .4 acres plus an easement which equals .6 acres. Anderson: Would other kids be able to get to this area without going around? Bundrick: No PRAB Page 2 Kimbrough: Asbell is close. Waite: What is the acreage required for this park area? Edmonston: 1.4 acres Bundrick: I would spend the remaining money over the acreage. Clark: I recommend that it be a sub -neighborhood park. With the easement, the park would be .6 acres. Anderson: This is less land that the ordinance requires. Edmonston: Lot 53 would be more ideal with this land for public access. Palmer: What about the master plan? Edmonston: We need land in the northwest, but this is too close to Asbell Bundrick: If you go to Megan Drive right now, thirteen to eighteen kids are playing in the streets. I don't mind giving the money, but I want to make this area better for the kids. Edmonston: How was this park land going to be accessed? Bundrick: We were originally going to give this land to lifestyles. By giving this land to the Parks Department, Lifestyles will still have access to it. Kimbrough: How short of the requirements is this property? Edmonston: About one-half. Palmer: Does the staff feel comfortable with this proposal? Edmonston: Bundrick's spending the money himself will have to go through the City Attorney. Clark: He can spend the money within the park, but not for trees on lots. Maybe he could buy a tot playground. Bundrick: If I can't get the trees, I would be better off giving the property to Lifestyles and giving the Parks Department money. Edmonston: You could possibly give .6 acres and the rest in money. I would need to check with the City Attorney. Bundrick: The tax deduction of giving the land to Lifestyles would pay the parks fees. Kimbrough: We have certain guidelines we have to meet. Bundrick: We need to talk to the City Attorney. Mayor Hanna was in favor of this. MOTION: PALMER/KIMBROUGH The PRAB recommends to table this issue until a ruling by the City Attorney is made. MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY 5-0 Clark: Everyone needs to look at the Anderson: We have to think of access if people drive to the park. neighborhood. for others. What • PRAB Page 3 IV. YOUTH BASEBALL: DENNIS KELLY, PRESIDENT Kelly: Thank you for the extra field at Walker Park. I know there has been controversy over Walker Park, but we still need the City's help. Please keep this on your mind as you make your options. We have 67 teams, age 12 and under. This is five more teams than last year, and the teams are loaded to the maximum. Next year, we will need eight to ten more teams to keep from turning kids away. We will have to reduce the number of games next year. We can make it through one more year, but not a second year with the present facilities and amount of kids. This activity helps keep kids off of the streets. Waite: We are not trying to ignore you. Kelly: We realize that. Babe Ruth is probably in worse shape than we are. Wright: Have you ever thought of delaying the season? Kelly: We are sanctioned with Babe Ruth. We have to complete our season by a certain date. Waite: How is the parking situation? Kelly: Much improved. Clark: We need a couple of new baseball fields on line for next year. Waite: Next year will be tough, maybe for 1995. Kelly: That is why I am speaking up now. Clark: We are budgeted to start on the restrooms this year. Kelly: Is there anything we can do to help? Clark: I always hear that we do so much for Adult softball, and not youth baseball. We do support youth baseball. Kelly: We do try to self support ourself, but you put in the new fields, etc. If door to door candy sales are stopped, we will have to raise each child's entry fees to $65. Wright: What happens to kids who can't pay? Kelly: We have scholarships. Clark: How did advertising go? Kelly: We got started too late. We have a meeting coming up. We raised fees $5 this year, and candy sales were down. We made enough to buy a little of equipment. Waite: Your need for fields is still there. We will try to get them on line for 1995. We will keep you posted. V. LAKE FAYETTEVILLE SOUTH PROPOSAL: DONNA PORTER Donna Porter has a B.S. in Urban Horticulture and Landscape Design specializing in botanical gardens and arboretums. She has worked for the Parks Department and is familiar with the City Parks. PRAB Page 4 Porter: The problem at Lake Fayetteville South is not getting any better. Dale said the Parks Department is applying for a grant to close the drive, build a larger pavilion, and improve trails. I do not think this will solve the problem. A botanical garden is both recreational and educational. A botanical garden is for Adults, children, etc. (See attached proposal) The garden would bring tourists into Fayetteville, and would help area merchants. It would be maintained by volunteers, not parks maintenance. I had some ideas of maybe shuttling visitors from the NWA Mall. I know the problem is not better. I have been to the park eight times in the last couple of months, and all I have seen is men. I would not ask for funding from the City. Funding would come from Corporate Foundation Grants, Government grants, membership, private donations, admission prices, gift shop income, and a Board of Directors. This garden would be beneficial to the City, but not burden them in any way. Butterfield Trail might be interested in helping with the garden. This would be the first non-profit botanical garden in Arkansas. It is going to take a drastic change to change the image of Lake Fayetteville South. Wright: How many acres will it take? Porter: It can take 2 to 200. It just depends on how you make the garden. This botanical garden is my passion. I would like to direct this project. Please look at the proposal and let me come to the next meeting. I will prove I can find funding. I have talked to people, and they think this is a great idea. Wright: You did a great job with the proposal. Porter: The volleyball pits would have to go Edmonston: Would you control access to the park. Porter: Yes, this would be a year round program. It could be a conservatory. Is this area fenced? Edmonston: Most of it is. Some areas in the east are not fenced. Porter: We could fence it, and keep vandalism down. Wright: This would benefit Fayetteville economically. We would have something that no one else has around here. Porter: We would not hire personnel outside this area. We could use the University students to help with design. Edmonston: In your vision, what is the time period? Porter: After approval and funding, it would be three years to be open to the public. Waite: I am sorry part of the Board had to go. We will get a copy of the proposal to them. This is an interesting proposal. You are welcome to come back. Porter: I can have documented support. PRAB Page 5 Wright: Eliminating the volleyball courts might be a problem. Porter: That is a minor obstacle. I played for years. That should not stand in the way of something like this. Lake Fayetteville South is the prime place. It has plenty of water, and is easily accessible from Highway 71. Wright: Could the garden be expanded farther into the woods? Porter: We will take up only so much parking. We would have to talk to the mall about additional parking. OTHER BUSINESS: MOTION:WRIGHT/SAVAGE The PRAB recommends to approve the Fayetteville Recreation plan as drafted by Northwest Regional Planning Office. MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm. Minutes Approved: Secretary #13/PRAB893