HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-04-01 - Minutes-FAYETTEVILLE
THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLL ARKANSAS
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DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE
TO: PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
FROM: DALE D. CLARK, PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR
DATE- APRIL 1, 1996
SUBJECT: PRAB MEETING ON MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1996 AT 5:30 PM IN ROOM 219
OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
I. Approval of PRAB Minutes - March 4, 1996 Regular meeting
II Park Tour - April 13th, Saturday, 9am - Noon
III Lake Fayetteville Trail Report - Clark
IV. Lake Fayetteville Property Report - Clark
V. Jefferson Playground - Denice Airola
VI. Happy Hollow Park - Request for matching funds for picnic tables - Jackie Tat
VII. Citizen's [Hemphill] request to buy 975 sq. ft. of land dedicated by developer for Parks
in the Pinecrest Subdivision
VIII HMR Results from March 19, 1996 City Council Meeting
IX. Other Business
General Information
Tentative Park Tour dates. June 12th, 5:30 - 8:30
July 4th, Veterans Memorial Park Dedication, 2 hour tour
August 14th, 5:30 - 8:00
Attached: Information requested by Susan Driver from Chuck Yarborough
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PRAB
REGULAR MEETING
APRIL 1, 1996
The meeting was called to order by Bill Waite at 5:30 pm room
219 of the City Administration Building.
Members Present: Driver, Mackey, Richard, Waite, Ackerman,
McCutcheon, James
Members Absent: Stone
Reason Absent: Stone - has company from out of town
Staff Present: Clark, Orzek
Staff Absent: Dugwyler - illness
Media Present: Rusty Garrett - NWA Times, Jennifer
Pinkerton - Morning News
Guests Present:
Jackie Tighe, Sharon Pepple [Happy Hollow
School], Denise Airola, Ticon Storay, Jose
Lariot, Alisha Forbes, Sara Taylor, Alisha
Turner, Nathan Valbertse [all from Jefferson
School], Angela Hemphill, Gregory D. Hemphill
[landowners]
I. MOTION: ACKERMAN/JAMES
The minutes from the March 4, 1996 PRAB meeting were approved
unanimously 7-0.
II, Park Tour - April 13, Saturday 9am - noon
Waite - reminding everyone of the upcoming park tour on April 13th.
Come if you can make it.
III. Lake Fayetteville Trail Report - Clark
Clark - I met with Wade Caldwell to mark the trail extending from
the south side all the way around to the ballfields. We met with
Bob Braswell and walked it and marked it. We will start the work
with the bush hog in that area. We will stay as close to the
parameter as we possibly can particularly on the north side. One of
the problems as you know will be the bridge on Hwy 265. We are
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• going to try to get the trail in before we get the bridge. We will
go over it several times to beat it down. We will stick close to
the tree lines in the field rather than just going straight.
Waite - Are you planning to bid the engineering out on the bridge.
Clark - I am not sure about that. As you know, we selected an
engineering firm to do our architect -engineering work. There is
one other bridge that has telephone poles laid down and across it.
That would need attention also. The big engineering will be where
the water comes in.
Driver - Have you taken a landscaper to look at this area?
Clark - No, we have not.
Driver - I think we should have a landscaper go out there before
bush hogging this area. Donna Porter could possibly take a few
people from her group We could take any suggestions as of
routing.
Clark - We are trying to leave as much vegetation as we can. We
haven't discussed as far as the damn. We will have to have a
policy decision if we are going to do it, how we are going to do it
and when we are going to do it and where.
Driver - What do we know about the reconstruction of that damn?
Clark - I don't know anything new. They have been studying it for
some time on a regular basis.
Driver - Is there a mandate of when it has to be reconstructed?
• Waite - Not to my knowledge.
Clark - I don't believe there is any kind of mandate on it. I know
they were concerned with vegetation growing on it. There is some
concern on the backside on getting it to drain well.
Driver - Do you think it is structurally sound?
Clark - Yes. I think from time to time they have to evaluate all
the damns.
Ackerman - I know that they were concerned with the trees and
vegetation and the growth on the face of the damn. They were also
concerned with some fallen trees below the spillway area that needs
to be cleaned up in case of a flooding situation. They thought
might be a restriction. There also may be some minor leaks and
that is the extent of that.
Waite - Do you want to survey this more or take a recommendation on
this bridge situation or do you think we need another park tour
over there? If we come to a decision, we can start on some of the
engineering on that now.
Clark - Are you referring to the one by the damn, crossing there?
Waite - Both of them really. The one on Hwy 265 too.
Clark - Okay. We might want to put it in our tour again. We
should look at it above and below. Let's put it in our tour. With
your support or backing we can then move forward. We want to be in
agreement on this from the point of the engineers and us. Everyone
needs to be in agreement with that.
• James - If we stayed on top of the damn in lieu to the other side,
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is there a way to get down that side and cross and come back in a
question mark type shape opposed to that standing body of water
that we noticed that one time. Can we still dip down on the south
side and maybe cross over the bridge opposed to coming down below
the damn and crossing the small field fence.
Clark - I couldn't tell you for sure. I know you can assess it
from the south side down to the spillway, but I have not walked
across it. Where you go down to Locomotion then you start to cross
on private property. That is not something that we want to
encourage other people to do.
James - Is there some fencing that we have to cross on the east
side?
Clark - I don't think so.
McCutcheon - What kind of time table are we looking at?
Clark - We would like to get it done by this year. The time frame
is shortened by trying to get it done by fall before winter sets.
Waite - We need a decisions so we can start some of the engineering
Clark - Engineering probably needs to consult with the highway to
see what they are going to eventually do with Hwy 265.
Waite - We probably need to take a good look as soon as possible
and make a decision. We need to get this to the engineering firm.
IV. Lake Fayetteville Property Report - Clark
Clark - The other thing you asked me to look into was on the
property by the driving range. I talked to Tommie and they are
asking $5.00 p/sq/ft. so that kind of rules that out. There are
fifteen acres. The total comes to $3,000,000.
Waite - That is too high.
Ackerman - I don't see where that would fit into our long range
plans.
V. Jefferson Playground - Denise Airola
Airola - I brought most of the student council members. I helped
them write what they wanted to say so they wouldn't forget
anything. We want to share what we have done since the last time
we were here.
Student Council Members - When we left the last meeting you asked
us to come up with a plan for a new playground. We surveyed the
students and teachers to determine the best playground for
Jefferson. We put together a list of things we wanted our
playground to have. We asked Diversified Recreation and Gametime
to submit proposals for the playground equipment based on our
suggestions. While we were waiting for their proposals, we invited
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• Mr. Turrentine, the Director of Maintenance -Physical Plant
Services, to one of our lunchtime Student Council Meetings. We
spoke to him of several concerns that the students have about our
building. We also asked how he could work with us on our
playground. He told us that he could help us with estimates and
drawings of the school playground site. He told us that the Parks
Department usually matches fifty percent of the cost. The school
district gives twenty-five percent and the elementary school gives
the remaining twenty-five percent. We knew it would be difficult
to come up with our twenty-five percent, but we wanted to show you
that we were willing to work to the best of our ability to raise as
much money as we could. We didn't want to give the impression that
we expected a free ride. Our Student Council planned a spaghetti
dinner fund raiser and a silent auction. We did the preparations,
ticket selling, the set up, and the cleanup with the help of our
teachers and our parents. Ms. Airola talked to Wal-Mart and they
offered to work with us towards a matching grant. We served about
300 people dinner and raised $1,335. With Wal -Mart's matching
grant we have $2,670 to contribute to our new playground. We are
here to present you the plans you requested and to show you that we
are committed to making these plans to become a new playground for
our school and our community.
Driver - Good job.
Waite - A lot of good work.
• Airola - I am really pleased with the Student Council's work. I
talked to Diversified Recreation about the costs and the estimates
and the installation and the various things that a playground would
need. We have a demonstration of pictures from Diversified. They
held up posters of costs and pictures. Also, a handout was given
to each PRAB member, Clark, and Orzek.
This has been a very empowering experience for our students.
Waite - You have exceeded our expectations and I open it up to the
Board.
James - Option A,B,C. How did you come up with option B?
Airola - The options before you from Diversified are a result of
a survey that we sent out to all the teachers and asked them to
survey their students. The students are different ages so we came
up with different options for them to choose from. They were able
to put our plans into a picture since they have been working with
Vandergriff and Holcomb.
James - Does this have to be taken to the School Board?
Clark - I don't think so since they have gone through Turrentine.
Airola - We actually got a lot of info from Turrentine in a small
amount of time.
Driver - Are you looking at a $60,000 total?
Airola - No. We are looking at a $35,000 total. The equipment
itself was $15,645.80 with the freight cost. That is our first
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choice. We have three old houses that must be moved. They are
hoping to do that this summer. One of the things that our children
requested was a black top area for basketball
Mackey - The price does include the removal, the fence, and the
installation of the new equipment.
Airola - That is my understanding. I am assuming too, since he is
aware what we are working with, that this would include the removal
of everything that is existing in the way that includes the old
play equipment.
Driver - Does the removal of those houses falls strictly to the
schools?
Clark - Yes.
Waite - Clark, do you need to talk to Mr. Turrentine?
Clark - I certainly can to split out the total costs.
Driver - We are looking at a grant of $15 - 17,000 grant. We could
do a provisional in that greenspace quadrant.
Waite - Would that speed things up, Clark?
Clark - Yes.
Driver - What is the money in that quadrant?
Clark - I look to Orzek for that answer.
Orzek - Gave Driver the annual report that contains that
information.
Waite - Looks like we are in good shape.
• Driver - I will make a motion that we approve the expenditure of
greenspace funds to match the districts funds in the amount of
$18,000.
James - I second the motion.
Airola - We never expected this. We are very excited. Part of
this was to teach the students about the council.
Mackey - I would like to know about the basketball goal rims. Are
they going to be as close to vandal proof as possible? It is very
important to buy strong and sturdy equipment that will last.
Airola - We haven't discussed it in that much detail. In the plan,
he included six backboards and rims. My input to Mr. Turrentine
will be to go as close as vandal proof as possible.
Mackey - I would encourage that. It is a big expense.
Clark - We would try to achieve that type of durability like at
Root.
Waite - Okay, we have a motion and a second.
Driver - I wanted to say hello to Jose. He was a student of mine.
I want to thank all of the Student Council for this presentation
today. Thank you Denise, they can really benefit from this.
Clark - A lot of them go to the Youth Center.
Waite - Motion passed.
Airola - I never expected this. This will draw pride into our
community. We have a very good start today. Thanks for your
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support.
James - I want to ask the Student Council to introduce themselves.
Jose Larios - Vice President of Student Council.
Nathan Valbertse - Student Council 6th Grand Representative.
Alisha Turner - Class Representative.
Alisha Forbes - 4th Grade Representative.
Ticon Storay - 4th Grand Representative.
Sara Taylor - 4th Grade Representative.
Waite - Excellent job.
Airola - We are thrilled and appreciate all that you have done as
a Board.
Driver - I request Airola and the Student Council's return for an
update.
James - Thanks students!
MOTION:DRIVER/JAMES
MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0 for matching funds up to $18,000
for playground equipment
VI. Happy Hollow Parks - Request for matchina funds for picnic
tables by Jackie Tighe
Tighe - For the past two years we have had a landscape architecture
student working on our grounds to come up with a master plan for a
senior project. We want to start on our west end of our cafeteria,
south of the gym, pretty good tree area. South of that area is our
playground. We want to focus first on a picnic area. To provide
seating for an annual dinner and for lunches. Nature area for the
teachers to use as an expanded study area. We came up with steel
tables from Wabash Valley - are somewhat vandal proof. Mesh type
tables covered with plastic. We were advised by the
P & R not to go with concrete tables. These tables can be mounted
in the ground. They can have parts replaced too. Handicapped
tables are $529p/table and $124 delivered. Mr Turrentine can also
install these tables for no additional cost to us. The Parent
Teacher Association is planning to buy three tables based on the
money we have already raised. We need more than three tables for
lunch periods. We would like to have ten to twelve tables
eventually so an entire grade level could be out there at the same
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• time.
Waite - In the past, we matched 50/50 across the board with the
P.T.O.'s. Three for now?
Tighe - Yes. The non -accessible is $20 less. 1-10% should be
handicap accessible. It would be $1,962 for three tables including
freight.
Clark - We have an agreement with a park there that we have had for
several years. We have money in our greenspace account.
Driver - It is in the same quadrant.
Ackerman - That would be $981 for our half.
Driver - We can do the tradition of the matching funds.
James - Six would be a good place to start at $1,982 a piece.
Richard - I motion up to $2,000 for three tables.
Mackey - I second the motion.
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MOTION: RICHARD/MACKEY
MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0 FOR MATCHING FUNDS UP TO $2,000 FOR
PICNIC TABLES
Driver - I have a question with the legal agreement with the
schools that specify time. It is up in two years.
Clark - That is correct. I have met with Mr. Turrentine. I will
be writing about all area and pulling up information on renewing
these areas. We are working on that.
Driver - We need to rewrite the whole thing since we have so many
additions. The city attorney could help you with that, Clark.
Clark - Washington School PTO - no agreement - they have been
cooperating with us on that.
Waite - Is the lease coming up on Crossover/Vandergriff?
Driver - I thought we had 25 years.
Clark - A lot of that time has elapsed already.
Waite - All could be handled in one document?
Clark - Yes.
James - What is the number of years?
Clark - Minimum of 25 years. We need to add info for the Community
Center Gyms.
Waite - You and Mr. Turrentine could draft it first then get with
Jerry Rose. Now we have Mr. Hemphill.
VII. Hemphill's request to buy 975 sq. ft. of land dedicated by
developer for Parks in the Pinecrest Subdivision
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Hemphill - We just purchased a house and would like to square it
off. That would require a 975 sq. ft. piece of land.
Clark - I have gone to look at the land. His lots sits in the
corner at Pine Cone Avenue. Our property line backs up to his
property line. His lot has a big drainage ditch that crosses our
property along Hamstring Creek. He doesn't have any trees on it.
It has been cleared.
McCutcheon - Do we have any future plans for this land?
Clark - We have a concept for a trail across the creek. Maybe
around 12 - 15 acres. Varies 30 to 120 feet across the creek. It
needs a lot of cleanup but would make a good trail with a lot of
wildlife.
Ackerman - Any recommendations?
Clark - Yes, I do. I would like to work with Mr. Hemphill, but not
to sale the land. I would like to work with him to make his
backyard as attractive as possible. I don't want to set a
precedent that might make this situation difficult in the future.
I believe it is in the Parks' best interest to retain title.
Waite - What is it that we did on the Walker Park land?
Clark - She owns that outright.
Waite - Did we give her additional access for parking?
Clark - No. We constructed a fence for her. First Right of
Refusal on that property.
Waite - We expanded the parking area. We moved our fence back. We
worked out something. We cooperated with her.
Driver - Mr Hemphill, I want you to know why I would vote against
the sale of this property. We have a trail coordinator. We took
this land with plans for a trail.
Hemphill - I took the most direct route by just asking or
proposing. My backyard is knee deep in mud.
Driver - Is this a drainage problem created by the development?
Hemphill - Squaring it off would just give me room for drainage and
landscaping. Would the City allow me to use their land?
Driver - We wouldn't want you to come back in seven years and ask
for Adverse Possession.
Hemphill - No. I wouldn't do that. We are on tape!
Waite - Do we need a motion or can we work this out, Clark?
Clark - It depends on Mr. Hemphill. Are you requesting to purchase
it? I can certainly try to work out other conditions.
Driver - Are you withdrawing your request.
Hemphill -
Richards -
Hemphill -
McCutcheon
along that
Clark - We
I am requesting to use the land.
Does your use include fencing it?
Yes. Not a block wall, just for a dog.
- Is there a possibility that we will put a fence up
line?
will want to mark out boundaries for public use. It is
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• park property for public use.
Driver I am not in favor of fencing until the trails design has
started.
Ackerman - We would be getting into a gray area if we let him use
it and fence it off.
McCutcheon - Mr. Hemphill, would you be upset if we had you move
the fence?
Hemphill - We could stipulate the years in the agreement to move
the fence.
McCutcheon - We might want to do it in three months instead of the
possible agreement of five years. We just don't know at this time.
Mackey - Are their other property owners affected by this proposal?
Clark Yes.
Driver - I make the motion on the purchase of the land be denied.
Mackey - I second the motion.
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MOTION: DRIVER/MACKEY
MOTION DENIED 7-0 ON THE SALE OF PARK LAND
Waite - We have resisted this, but we want to be as accommodating
as we can. It may not be right now, but we can work it out.
Richard - We can try to be proactive with this to fit in with Mr.
Hemphill's plans.
Clark - We appreciate your time and with looking at it with me. I
understand where you are coming from. I believe this is the best
route from the City's standpoint.
Hemphill - With the ditch situation, with the way that it is, I
would have no problem negotiating with BMT if they still have the
land.
Clark - He does have a major landscaping problem.
Richard - There are a lot of private property owners trying to buy
public land.
VIII. HMR Results from March 19, 1996 City Council Meeting
Waite - Clark, already presented the HMR Results. Are there any
comments?
Clark - I just wanted to make you aware that City Council approved
HMR.
Driver - They approved it unanimously. I think they felt that the
preparatory work was satisfactory.
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• Richard - There is an article in the paper
Citizens Center.
Driver - They asked the City Attorney's opinion
for the expenditures, he felt that it was satisf
Waite - Pretty good shape then.
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IX. Other Business
about the Senior
. He stated that
actory.
Richard - I would like to hold a Public Relations meeting on
Thursday at noon at Colt Square at 2333 Green Acres Road at John
McCutcheon's office. I want us to go over the HMR projects.
McCutcheon - okay.
Driver - I think we should look at this Davis Park information from
Dale Clark and Sid Norbash.
Clark - The 8" pipe that would feed it would need a catch box to
feed the pond. It is less expensive that we thought it would be.
The bad part of it is that the 8" feeder lines get clogged. That
is pretty small. I have a concern in that respect. It may be able
to be flushed out if we can get to it. We can have a lot of
problems in fall with leaves clogging it up.
Driver - Why can't it be left open?
Clark - Do you mean a direct open ditch?
Driver - Could you take a bigger pipe under it and then let it go
free?
Clark - You could probably go with eighteen inch or twenty-four
inch and not encounter those type of problems.
Waite - My concern is that we would have to divert some water from
the main flow.
Driver - I thought that is what the grading work was for.
Ackerman - What would it take to from the engineer to tell them
what it would take to divert the water stream back into the pond
and eliminate the ditch that was constructed?
Clark - It would probably go under that sewer line.
Waite - I understand that they are going above it.
Clark - They have to go under it.
James - It says that the sewer maintenance is deep enough for the
pipe to clear it. It almost indicates that it is going above it.
Clark - Okay. That is not my understanding.
Ackerman - I think we should look at an engineering proposal on
that.
Clark - There is a problem there. There is drainage that comes in
off of the street that is piped underground.
Ackerman - From the east?
Clark - Yes. Unless we pipe it all underground, we will never be
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• able to fill that back in.
Ackerman - We should be able to go in and landscape that part. We
could make it a type of rolling ditch with grass. When you have
your run off, it would drain on out and clean that property up some
so we can use it. The way it is right now, it cuts our park in
half, is how it looks to me from our visit out there. It may be
more of an expense that we are willing to take on.
Driver - It just needs to be designed. If underground pipe is
needed then we will investigate further of the costs.
Clark - This was getting water back into the pond and feeding the
pond.
Waite - That is half of the objective. The other half is closing
off the other.
Clark - Then this is one that I submit to engineers. I think we
are looking at $40,000 to $50,000 to do this.
Driver - I think that might be a little high.
Waite - How much will it cost to get a firm estimate or do you go
to your engineers.
Clark - Yes. I can get you a firm estimate.
McCutcheon - Are the engineers on a retainer or per project?
Clark - It is per project.
McCutcheon - Do they give you estimates and design schemes?
Clark - Yes.
• Mackey - Is there underground electricity, telephone wires,
television, gas, water? We are going to plan to dig so we need to
know these things too.
Clark - We can do that, but I think the only one that crosses the
property is the sewer. The rest is on the perimeter.
Driver - It is a beautiful piece of land and right now it is not
functional.
Ackerman - If it is cost prohibitive to clean it up, then that is
unfortunate. We need to take a look at it and see if there is a
viable approach to being able to use that property.
Clark - I will proceed with that.
Waite - Anything else?
Driver - Yes. I would like us to look at this memo from Kim Orzek
on the Rec-Tech and softball consultant. From the information
here, it looks to me like it is a person that takes all kinds of
information and comes back with their recommendations. They look
at all the facts and the data. Clark, do you want this type of
resource?
Clark - I think what this company does is go into a community and
assesses the situation. They probably have the design expertise
for maximum use. The design on the Girls Softball field is what
prompted this. I can always gain something from people that do
this for a living. I think we all can. On the other hand, we have
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• been working with people that go and look at a lot of different
softball complexes like John Freeman and Leann Donner. We can
always gain something if it is worth the price. I am not sure what
questions we would be asking.
Waite - We have an architectural firm doing this right now. We
already have professional under contract drawing up the plan.
Driver - This was strictly a suggestion from Chuck Yarborough that
we take a look at hiring these people to do this sort of research.
Since he requested it, as a citizen, I feel like it is our duty to
discuss it and look at it to see if it would be valuable.
Waite - If we were looking into a new adult facility, then I might
think so. Here it talks of forecasted income. I can tell you now
that income is going to be low. There isn't going to be a lot of
income because we have little girls playing out there and we don't
charge them anything.
Ackerman - Can anyone on the Board or on the Staff level give us
any reason why we should consider this approach/expenditure that we
are looking at?
Mackey - I can't at the present time, but I sure can within five to
ten years to look at that as a mayor complex as we grow.
Waite - We aren't too far from that.
Mackey - It is in the foreseeable future.
Waite - As adults can use this, it is not an adult softball
• complex, it is a girls softball complex.
Ackerman - Are our architects designing this appropriately?
Clark - I believe that they are.
Waite - Via that and the projected cost I suggest that we disregard
this request.
Driver - That is fine with me. I just think when you have a
request that it needs to be discussed. I will move ahead to put
this money towards the complex and not this study.
Waite - It is certainly worth keeping in mind when we do move to a
point of solely an adult complex.
Clark - Mr. Ackerman asked for a progress report on a number of
things. The Crystal Springs design is at a such a stage that I
will call you within a few days. We are sending it to bid. There
hasn't been any changes since the last time we met. I would like
everyone to review it again then send it out to bid. It is that
far along. It has been slower than we wanted it to be. It went to
Planning Commission and got approval last week so we are moving on
it.
Waite - We will need a special meeting for it.
Clark - We have marked the spot for the Lake Fayetteville Pavilion
on the south side. They have moved the equipment in and they
should start working. That is a 32' x 60' pavilion with a
laminated beam with rock work around it. It should be very, very
attractive. Mr. McKinney said he is working on the dedication for
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• that area for July Fourth. We need to start moving on the
restrooms that we want to build for that south side also. As you
know, we talked about the south side of Lake Fayetteville, if
anyone has any thoughts on how we can better control the area. I
sent a memo to the police chief asking for ideas or thoughts. Even
if it means taking some of our funds and doing something to have
better control. The other project is the restrooms for the soccer
complex is moving onward. The same contractor that is doing Lake
Fayetteville is doing that [J&L construction]. We are pleased that
it is moving along.
James - Have the materials been ordered.
Clark - I can't answer you on that. It was approved by City
Council last week. I think the materials are on order. The other
progress I wanted to give you is on the baseball field #8 at Walker
Park. Their season kicks off on the 12th. It should be completed,
lit and ready to go. A major parking problem at Walker has not
been solved. Maybe create on the west end of the baseball field,
creating an access so people can exit back out on 15 to alleviate
some of the congestion. Make it one way going in would be helpful
and more safe. I will go back and visit with him and Park
Maintenance. We have a bridge on the west side that we have to
cross. We also received a request to help with the lighting at the
horseshoe pits. Volunteers have done all of that work. They must
have at least twenty pits. They are having the State Championships
• there this year. They need lighting.
Waite - What kind of lighting are you looking at?
Clark - Looking at a meter that they would control and would be in
their name. The problem is getting them service from the area
where they need it. That would be the biggest expense we would
incur. We would ask that all the lines go underground. There is
a hole in the middle of the parking lot west of Walker. So we
would have to get it 200-300 feet to the north.
Ackerman - Is that SWEPCO servicing that is there?
Clark - Yes. Then the other program that is operating is that the
lighting at Gulley Park. We have a lot of requests for lighting
along that trail because people walk there early and late. We
would want to put the lights on timers to go on and off. That
should be completed within the next few days. We opened the
restrooms two weeks ago in the parks but then we had that cold
spell and we had to shut them down. So today we are opening them
again. Today some school group was taking 4 - 6 buses to Walker
Park from out of town. We apologized as much as we could.
Driver - At Wilson or at Walker?
Clark - Walker Park. The restrooms are in the process of being
opened up today and tomorrow.
Orzek - We did let them know that they had access at Wilson Park's
restrooms, but they already made plans for Walker with no
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reservation through our office.
Ackerman - Are the paths complete at Wilson Park?
Clark - Thank you. The path at Wilson Park is complete all the way
around and is .8 of a mile. We have encountered one problem along
the south side of the street there was a small area between the
street and the walk way. My recommendation to solve the problem is
to curb it. There is not much of a barrier of people walking along
the walkway to protect them from cars.
Driver - Would that be cheaper than putting a small rail?
Clark - It probably wouldn't be any cheaper, but it would be more
durable.
Driver - Do you think they would jump a curb to park?
Clark - I believe it would be difficult to do since the curb would
be designed in such a way that would discourage that. It will be
between the walkway and the street.
Driver - The curb would be sitting up above it?
Clark - Yes.
James - By putting a curb in there, will that eliminate almost all
the parking?
Clark - Yes.
Ackerman - Are you speaking of concrete or asphalt curbing?
Clark - Asphalt, because the street is asphalt. It is amazing the
number of people that are utilizing that. We have met with
architects that are doing the park projects with the design on
Davis and Lake Fayetteville - all are our grant projects and all in
the works. I don't have them out to bid yet. Adult softball
starts next Monday night and there are 88 teams. Babe Ruth starts
tomorrow night. Bambino starts the 12th, I think. Basketball
ended for us. Girls softball is in progress.
James - 88 teams, give me feedback on that over the previous years.
Clark - We had 92 in the fall and 78 last spring. Our comfort zone
is closer to 60 teams.
Driver - In regard to recommendations on Lake Fayetteville South,
is there one committee of this Board that you think should approach
a recommendation on that issue? Good discussion for Thursdays
meeting. I think we need a recommendation on this issue.
Discussions before was to have someone in a park uniform with radio
contact with the city police just to ensure the safety and the
feeling of well being of citizens that they are there whether or
not we can break a cycle of habit out there by doing that it would
certainly be worth trying in conjunction with other public uses
that we are promoting.
Waite - Do we have a plan for parking.
Clark - That is in this project coming up I think we have
approximately $100,000 to address that.
Driver - I would just like to not leave it to be mentioned at the
next PRAB meeting and to have a recommendation by then. Patrolling
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4/1/96
110 should be an option that should be explored. I think it is Public
Relations.
McCutcheon - We will have a meeting on Thursday and will come back
with a recommendation.
Waite - To hire someone to patrol or change the design.
Driver - Or wait and see how these other improvements affect it.
We are heading into the season right now, where if you are going to
consider the suggestion of additional patrol, then this is the time
to set guidelines and policies.
Waite - Anyone else? Then the PRAB Board is adjourned.
•
•
Adjourned 7:00 pm
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