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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-06 - Minutes�Itn�H'•M1' FAYETTEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Minutes for February 6, 2012 Opening: The regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was called to order by Steve Meldrum at 5:34 p.m. in Room 111 at the City Administration Building at 113 West Mountain Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Present: Parks and Recreation Advisory Board members Watson, Thompson, Paul, Meldrum, McKnight, Mason, and Hodges were present. Waite arrived later. Staff members Edmonston, Humphry, Jumper, Gipson, and Thomas were also in attendance. AGENDA: 1. Approval of January 9, 2012 PRAB Meeting Minutes: PRAB Motion: Watson motioned to approve the minutes, and McKnight seconded it. Motion passed 7-0-0 by voice vote. 2. Selection of Committee Members PRAB is required to have a member serve on the following committees: Active Transportation Advisory Committee: Meets quarterly on the second Wednesday at 5:30 pm, City Hall Room 326 Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks Board of Directors: Meets third Tuesday of every month at 6 pm at Lake Fayetteville Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks. Watson said that he would serve on the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Committee. Paul volunteered to serve on the Active Transportation Advisory Committee. PRAB Motion: Meldrum motioned to accept the candidates, and Mason seconded it. Motion passed 7-0-0 by voice vote. 3. PRAB Orientation Continuation - Maintenance Section: Byron Humphry, Park Maintenance Superintendent Humphry presented an overview of the Maintenance Department. Grant asked for a Frisco Trail update. Humphry said the work was ongoing, and that all the FEMA projects had to be done by October. Riley asked if the crews had ever used growth regulators for the grass to cut down on mowing. Humphry said it was cost prohibitive. He added that they do use it in the paint that is used to line the fields. Thompson asked how he could get to Brooks -Hummel. Humphry said the easiest way is to park in the church parking lot that is located on Calvin Street. There is a trail by the parking lot. He said there aren't any signs. 4. Regional Park Land Bank Request: Alison Jumper, Park Planning Superintendent Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends accepting approximately 5.216 acres of park land to be banked for future credit toward the park land dedication requirements for development within the southwest park quadrant. Edmonston said Jumper is working with ADEQ about recapping the landfill at Regional Park. They are asking for a 100 foot buffer. Chambers Bank wants to dedicate the land, which is a little over 5 acres, as parkland for credit later. Meldrum asked what the land over the landfill will be used for. Edmonston said Parks is waiting for ADEQ's recommendation for the use. Jumper said that 18 inches of clay will be installed over the landfill, then topsoil, and then the vegetation. Meldrum asked why there needed to be a buffer. He said if the area is already established as something that's going to be remediated for Parks, why a buffer should have to be in place. Edmonston replied that ADEQ requires it. Hodges wanted to know, if Chambers Bank can't build anything on it, why should credit be given to them. Mason asked what type of credit would be given. 2 Jumper said they could draw 5.25 acres. Mason wanted to know the value of the acres. Edmonston said that it's $40,000 per acre now. Meldrum asked if ADEQ would be covering the cost of the mediation. Edmonston said yes, and that is something huge. Humphry said when Chambers took over the land, they gave the City 200 acres. Watson added that Chambers honored the developer's original agreement of land and a million dollars, although they didn't have to do that. Edmonston said that the bank has been a good partner. The developer agreed to give Parks the million dollars when the development was begun. Chambers will give Parks the money as each phase comes in. Jumper added that the buffer gives ADEQ some wiggle room in case they need to work in the area. Hodges wanted to know if the buffer wasn't in place, would ADEQ be able to do work? Edmonston replied that Chambers wanted Parks to acquire the land, so they would only be dealing with one entity. PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the staff recommendation of accepting approximately 5.216 acres for park land to be banked for future credit toward the park land dedication requirements for development within the southwest park quadrant. Watson seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 5. Park Land Dedication Update: Alison Jumper, Park Planning Superintendent Edmonston said that in 1981, parkland dedication came into being, and it was challenged in the Arkansas Supreme Court. Fayetteville Parks and Recreation uses the National Recreation and Parks Association standard formula of 10 acres of park land per 1,000 people. She said it's friendly to our developers. She asked if PRAB was comfortable with staying with the National Park Standards. McKnight wanted to know if there were any other standards. Edmonston said there are no other standards. Meldrum commented that if Parks isn't exceeding it, the formula has served well over time. He said he thought Parks was fine. Paul asked if maybe the number of facilities could be used instead. Edmonston replied that it wouldn't work in the formula. She added that this formula was the standard in the Master Plan in 1981. Paul said that Parks already has more space than we can work with. He wanted to know if more money could be required so the parks can be developed really well. Edmonston said yes, but Parks would get less money. Gipson added that the developers get a package deal. There is a set fee going in by the size of the development, with the possibility of doing money in lieu. Thompson added that sometimes PRAB takes land, and sometimes money. Jumper said that this discussion is why Staff brings it to PRAB. Edmonston said that in 1981, the data used was the real estate listing. Since 2006, land sales are looked at. She said that staff takes the raw land, looks at the land sales, and looks at the median price. Then it's brought to PRAB. Jumper said that only land five acres or larger is considered. Meldrum wanted to know if it would be a better basis for raw land sales if possible future land was counted. Gipson said Parks uses a general price average. McKnight wanted to know how often the average was figured. Edmonston replied that it was every two years. She added that PRAB didn't have to make a decision tonight. She said she felt safe using the national park standard. Paul said that many apartment complexes are on lots smaller than five acres. He wanted to know if they could be counted. Meldrum suggested that at the next meeting, a comparison could be made for everything over five acres; less than five acres; and planning areas. Watson wanted to know if this was basically about land over money. Edmonston said yes. 11 Watson wondered what would happen if the money started to go up. Mason said it's worked in the past. Edmonston said that Parks can look at service areas and community and regional parks. Meldrum said that if the lake acreage was taken out, the quadrants would be pretty balanced. Edmonston said that staff will bring numbers to PRAB. McKnight said maybe Parks could have a moratorium on receiving land and take money only. Watson commented that staff recommends accepting money or land. Edmonston said that staff has criteria when looking at land. She suggested that PRAB sleep on it, and talk about it at the next meeting. She added that all raw land could be looked at, but that would increase the land fee. She feels safe sticking with the national standard. 6. 2011 Annual Parks and Recreation Department Report: Connie Edmonston, Parks and Recreation Director 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. Once the annual report is approved by PRAB, this document will be forwarded to the City Council. PRAB Staff Recommendation: To approve the 2011 Annual Report to be presented to City Council. Edmonston said she hoped everyone was able to open the PDF for the Parks Annual report. She said PRAB needs to approve it, but it can wait until next month. McKnight said much of it was covered in orientation. PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the 2011 Parks and Recreation Annual report, and Waite seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 7. Other Business: There was no other business 8. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 6:55 pm Minutes taken by Melanie Thomas