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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-03-02 - MinutesFAYETTEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD Minutes for March 2, 2009 Opening: The regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was called to order by Chairman Wade Colwell at 5:32 p.m. on March 2, 2009 in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Present: Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members Colwell, Biendara, Hatfield, Waite, P. Jones, Mauritson, and Meinecke were present. Meldrum arrived at 6:05 p.m., and Benson was absent. Parks and Recreation Staff members Edmonston, Humphry, C. Jones, Jumper, Mihalevich, Thomas and the audience were present. Arkansas Recreation & Parks Association 2008 Awards: Mayor Jordan Arkansas Volunteer Group of the Year: Master Gardeners Arkansas Volunteer Individual of the Year: Wade Colwell Mayor Jordan read a partial list of achievements for the Master Gardeners, as well as Colwell. He then presented the award to Colwell. Edmonston commented that she observed him working on one of the trails with Boy Scouts. He and the kids were working hard, but having a good time. Colwell said that he appreciated the award. 2. Approval of January 5, 2009 PRAB Meeting Minutes PRAB Motion: Mauritson motioned to approve the minutes as written, and Biendara seconded it. Motion passed 7-0-0 by voice vote. 3. Botanical Garden Monthly Report and 2008 Annual Report: Bill Dollar, BGSO Board President Dollar said he became president last month. The Botanical Gardens didn't have much damage from the ice storm. They never lost power in the greenhouse. Dollar presented information from 2008. More than 30,000 people visited the gardens. Around 4,000 students from five area school districts participated in the Earth Day and Butterfly Day events. 165 volunteers donated 8,474 hours to support the Garden. The Reading Railroad, an outdoor reading area, should be available in spring 2009. Nearly 1,800 individuals, families, and businesses donated to the Garden in 2008. Dollar concluded by thanking Parks for supporting the Botanical Gardens. 4. Community Gardens Presentation: Lisa Netherland, Park Horticulturist Netherland will present at the April meeting. 5. Lake Fayetteville Trail Update: Matt Mihalevich, Trails Coordinator Mihalevich showed a PowerPoint presentation for the Lake Fayetteville Trail, Phase Ill. Colwell asked if the old bridge would be removed. Mihalevich said yes, it would. He also said that the nature trail is not in great shape. Edmonston asked how wide the new bridge would be. Mihalevich replied that it would be 12'. Colwell asked if the old roadway would be used instead of cutting a new spot Mihalevich said that idea was looked at, but the Natural Heritage Group was hesitant about putting asphalt in that area. Mauritson said he got a kick reading in the newspaper about Springdale beginning a trail system. He remembered when Fayetteville was beginning its trail system. C Jones asked if the City would be doing the labor for the Lake Fayetteville Trail. Mihalevich said yes. They are currently working on Scull Creek. Their next project will be Mud Creek, then Shiloh Trail in front of Sam's Club, and then move to Lake Fayetteville in the late spring or early summer. 6. Dog Park Presentation: Alison Jumper, Park Planner Jumper said Gulley Park and Lake Fayetteville North Shore were top sites previously. Bryce Davis and the Madison Natural Area are now potential sites. Mauritson said that the parking for Madison could be located by the street. Jumper said that the overall future goal for Parks is to have a dog park in each quadrant. Colwell asked if Parks had looked into any dog park grants. Jumper said that they have not been looked at thoroughly. Hatfield said that dogs generally are more social and less noisy outside than inside. He also suggested that the same type of fencing as BB&B uses could be used for the dog park. Jumper said that our first dog park must be big enough and not overused. Hatfield commented that the Animal Shelter's dog park is heavily used. Meinecke said that having water available would be very important. Colwell said a water feature for dogs would be great, as much as they love water. Meinecke commented that around Lake Fayetteville, there is seldom a dry retriever. Edmonston said the citizens keep asking for a dog park. Biendara said the board needs to make a decision on where to locate the dog park, and then go forward developing it. Waite said a doggie dog wash would be a good idea. 7. 2008 Parks and Recreation Annual Report: Connie Edmonston, Parks & Rec. Dir. According to Article II, Chapter 33.018 (B) in the Fayetteville Code of Ordinances, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is to prepare an annual report to City Council. This report is included in the attachments. Once approved by PRAB, this document will be forwarded to the City Council. Mauritson said the report is impressive and he enjoyed reading it. Hatfield said the maintenance staff hours are interesting. There are lots of tasks, and the City is getting a lot of bang for their buck. He also noticed that the Parks Department took in a lot of revenue but not a lot of land. Edmonston said that the last page on the report says it all. PRAB Staff Recommendation: To approve the 2008 Annual Report PRAB Motion: Mauritson motioned to approve the 2008 Annual Report, and Biendara seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 8. Regional Park Update: Connie Edmonston, Parks & Recreation Director Edmonston said that there hasn't been a lot going on. Administration is looking at it. The property survey will take six to eight weeks more. 9. Bryce Davis Park Public Meeting Report: Alison Jumper, Park Planner Jumper said there was a low turnout at the meeting. She is going to put off the design work for two to three weeks to allow time for additional comments. She said the park has a lot of character. Colwell suggested that the section of the park where the pond is located could be used for the dog park. It would have to be fenced off. Jumper said there is lots of thick foliage in places that is a natural barrier. Biendara said that the people at the meeting were very interested. Mauritson said that maybe the north part of the park could be fenced off for a dog park. Meldrum asked if there was an existing trail. Jumper said no, not yet. Edmonston said that this park will now be a community park, rather than a neighborhood park. Colwell asked how many acres the park has. Jumper said it is a little over 26 acres. 10. Park Cleanup Report: Byron Humphry, Parks Maintenance Superintendent Volunteer Pictures from February 21, 2009 Humphry said it's been a month since the storm. All the jobs had to be prioritized, and lists had to be put together. Wilson Park is in really bad shape and still not finished. The contractors will start on the parks tomorrow. A group of urban foresters came in Saturday marking the trees that qualify for FEMA (the trees have hanging branches 2" or larger). If the tree has an orange dot, the tree will be removed. If it has a blue dot, the tree will only be pruned. This system will help the pruners know what to do with the tree. The contractors will start tomorrow at Wilson, and then move to Veterans Park. Our crews will remove the debris pushed to the side of the trails. There has been lots of help from volunteers. Little limbs need to be picked up. He hopes the contractors will also work on the soft surface trails. Edmonston said it will be interesting to see them using rope and climbing the trees. Colwell said when the Boy Scouts were clearing debris, they would take the tip of a branch and pull the limb until it came off. Humphry said the ice storm affected the normal maintenance schedule. The 2009 annual report for winter will be easy. Meldrum said that everyone that he's talked to is grateful that the trails opened up so quickly. 11. Other Business Edmonston said the lake recreation fees are going before the City Council in March. Edmonston also said that Darby Benson may not be able to remain on PRAB. He has taken anotherjob that requires him to be traveling a lot more. Colwell commented that more trumpeter swans were released at Boxley. He would like to get some for this area. He would also like to get some covey quail. Meinecke said the vegetation in some of the parks is getting bad and wanted to know what could be done. Colwell said a controlled bum would be a possibility. Edmonston said she was skeptical of controlled burns. A lot of people don't like it around their houses. Mauritson said in nature burning is a natural process. Jumper said that once a burn is done, the native plants will come back out. Hatfield asked about the status of the boat docks at Lake Sequoyah. Edmonston said that dock D, located on the far south, is shut down. The dock operators are also trying to weed out boats that aren't paying fees and have been stored there for a long time. The docks aren't stabilized. We need to make a decision on what to do soon. Hatfield said that he's very happy that all the overhead covered storage looks nice and neat at the Parks office. They look great. 12. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Minutes were taken by Melanie Thomas.