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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-07 - Minutes�Itn�H'•M1' FAYETTEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Minutes for May 7, 2012 Opening: The regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was called to order by Steve Meldrum at 6:10 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 McKnight, Mason, Waite, Meldrum, Watson, and Proffitt were present. Paul and Hodges were absent. Staff members Edmonston, Humphry, Jumper, Gipson and Thomas were in attendance. AGENDA: 1. Park Land Tour by Craft Park The parkland tour left from City Hall at 5:30, and traveled by van to the future site of the Cottages at Old Wire. Park Land Dedication: Development Name: Engineer: Owner: Location: Park Quadrant: Units: Total Acres: Land Dedication Requirement: Money in Lieu Requirement: Existing Parks: Developer's Request: Staff Recommendation: 1 Alison Jumper, Park Planning Superintendent Cottages at Old Wire Rausch Coleman Rausch Coleman North side of Clarence Craft Park NW 56 Single family 12 acres 1.34 acres $53,760 Clarence Craft Park (5 acres) 2.04 acres of land dedication and bank excess of 0.7 acres 2.04 acres of land dedication Developer's Comments: Justification: Annual Maintenance Cost: This land will expand the function of Clarence Craft Park to include open area on the north side of the creek. The park currently includes a small portion of the north side, however there is no access to it. This would provide recreational opportunity and access to the north side. Additionally, the Trails Master Plan shows a trail corridor through this area. This land would secure the land needed for trail construction and would increase the acreage of Craft Park to 7.49 acres. $500 Jumper said that there will be improvements along Old Wire. Meldrum asked if both sides of the creek would be used. Jumper replied that the City owns the north side already. Bill Gabbard, the developer, said there would be four connections for the subdivision. Edmonston wanted to know how large the houses would be. Gabbard replied they would be 1,600 to 1,800 square feet. He said they would be similar to the houses at the Coves division. He added that they will try to preserve the trees at the entrance by making a split boulevard with the trees in the center. Edmonston commented that the Staff recommendation is to accept 2.04 acres of land. Waite said the subdivision is a great idea. Meldrum wanted to know what the timing of the trail corridor was. Jumper said no firm date has been set yet. 2 PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the land in lieu, and Waite seconded it. Motion passed 6-0-0 by voice vote. 2. Approval of April 2, 2012 PRAB Meeting Minutes: PRAB Motion: Meldrum motioned to accept the minutes as written, and Watson seconded it. Motion passed 6-0-0 by voice vote. 3. Eagle Scout Candidate Project Proposal: Evan Greshner Greshner said that Mount Sequoyah Trail needs new signs. He said when he visited the trail, he saw that it needed much more, such as more distinguished markers for hikers. He also said that there is a lot of growth that needs to be cleaned out such as poison ivy and poison oak. He said his game plan was to put in markers and 23 new signs. The signs will have white reflective paint. Proffitt commented that the less poison ivy in the area, the better. Humphry asked how he planned to remove the poison ivy. Greshner replied that it would be cleared by hand or by using a weedeater. Humphry said this was a good project that would greatly benefit the trail. Edmonston asked when he would begin the project. Greshner said it would be around July 10th. He added that it would be completed by his 18th birthday in December. PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to approve the project to improve the Mount Sequoyah Trail, and Waite seconded it. Motion passed 6-0- 0 by voice vote. 4. Botanical Garden Report: Phillip Watson, PRAB Watson said there had been no meeting, so he had nothing to report. 5. U of A Class Presentation: Dr. Merry Moisechik's Recreation Graduate level class has completed a review of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department during this spring semester. The class will give an approximate 45 minute presentation of their study. A copy of their study will be emailed to you at a later date. c There were 4 presenters from the class that presented a lot of information. The class put in over 700 hours on the assessment. The final product includes Proragis, regulation checklists, organizational structure, benchmarks, and research solutions. Some of the demographics for Fayetteville are: the median age is between 18-44; there are a higher number of degrees due to the U of A being located here; family size is 2.59 people; and the income is lower due to it being a college town. The class did a public survey and the people surveyed requested more programs such as an adult basketball league, indoor basketball courts, and more tennis courts. They also wanted water fountains on trails; a water park, and a community center. They would like to have more programs for adults and teenagers as well as more programs during the winter months. Two of the programs the people liked the most were kickball and Wilson Pool. There were 73% of the people surveyed that indicated they would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for programs, but the amount of the reasonable fee was not identified. The class said simple additions to the organizational structure were needed. The class added the positions of a development coordinator, an information coordinator, an administrative assistant, four more forestry employees, and two more maintenance employees. They decided that a Recreation Secretary, as well as a Special Events Manager was needed. They suggested that districts be created within the City for the maintenance workers. For the Regional Park, they thought the positions needed would be: a Regional Park Superintendent, an Administrative Assistant, a Special Events Manager, a Regional Park Maintenance Crew Leader, and four maintenance staff. The class said that the Parks Department should have more partnerships, because they provide value. The recommendation from the class is to have resident volunteer organizations to mow some of the parks. The local businesses could adopt a park. Non Profit 501-C, such as "Friends of Parks" could be used. Another recommendation was to change the Facebook page to a business page, and post more information on the parks and their amenities. They suggested putting all handles (Facebook and Twitter) on marketing information, flyers, and brochures. Also, a logo specifically for Parks and Recreation needs to be created. Meldrum said the presentation was awesome. Parks has a good partnership with the U of A. He said there were some great ideas. McKnight asked how the Champaign, IL Parks and Recreation got all its money. One of the presenters said that they were allowed to tax the citizens directly. 11 Meldrum asked if the new structure the students envisioned was drastically different from the current structure. A student replied that it wasn't, because of budget restraints. Dr. Moisechik said that Fayetteville Parks and Recreation works hard to not duplicate programs in Fayetteville. Meldrum again said that the student's presentation was really good. 6. Other Business: Edmonston said that next month's meeting will be held at Walker Park large pavilion. Meldrum said thank you to Frank and Sarah Sharp for the great food after the Mt. Kessler hike. Meldrum then suggested that PRAB applaud the U of A group. Everyone applauded. 7. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. 5