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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-07-02 - Minutes�Itn�H'•M1' FAYETTEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD Minutes for July 2, 2012 Opening: The regular meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board was called to order by Steve Meldrum at 5:32 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 Meldrum, Waite, Watson, Paul, Lawson, McKnight, Proffitt, and Leonard were present. Staff members Edmonston, Humphry, Jones, Gipson, Jumper, and Thomas were in attendance. AGENDA: 1. Approval of June 4, 2012 PRAB Meeting Minutes: PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the minutes as written, and Watson seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 2. Introduction of the new PRAB Members The two new members of PRAB - Jonathan Leonard and Terry Lawson - were introduced. 3. Reading of the Proclamation Watson read the mayor proclamation for "Parks and Recreation" month for the month of July. 4. Botanical Garden Society of the Ozarks Report: Phillip Watson, PRAB Watson said there was nothing to report. 1 5. 2013 Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Outdoor Recreation Grant: Carole Jones, Park Planner Staff Recommendation: Staff has two recommendations as follows: 1. To apply for $50,000 from Arkansas Parks and Tourism Outdoor Recreation matching grant program for development and improvements at Mount Sequoyah Gardens. 2. Staff recommends approval of the conceptual plan of Mount Sequoyah Gardens for the 2013 grant project. Jones said that this is a grant that Parks applies for every year. It': a 50/50 grant and funds outdoor recreation projects. It's a reimbursable grant, which means the City has to have the funds available before applying for it. It's a very competitive grant that Parks has received for Doc Mashburn Park, Sweetbriar, and Bryce Davis. The deadline to turn in the grant application is August 31, 2012. Parks has held the series of required meetings for this year at the Senior Activity Center, YRCC, and Mt. Sequoyah Gardens. The attendees at these meeting requested items such as more trails, more restrooms, more soccer fields, and habitat restoration projects, just to name a few. Jones said that in 1998, people from the neighborhood at Mt. Sequoyah approached PRAB to request a park. In 2008, the underground storage tanks were removed. In 2009, the site was regraded. Parks Staff would like this to be the grant project for 2013. There is an undeveloped park there now, as well as a greenhouse. The project would improve the existing drive and add ADA accessible parking. A native stone and wood outlook structure is proposed. There is funding for the project. Leonard asked how much maintenance would be involved for this project. Jumper said not much additional maintenance. She said there are established native grasses on the site now. Bill Ward, a guest, asked if there would be water and restrooms available. Jumper said no. Meldrum asked if the gravel parking on the east side would be improved. 2 Jones said yes, there will be some paved parallel parking spaces. She added that there wasn't another neighborhood park within a half mile. Watson said that the area has needed some work for some time. Edmonston said that PRAB needed to vote on two issues. The first one is to say yes to apply for the grant. The second issue is to say yes to the conceptual plan. Proffitt asked what the timeline would be for construction. Jumper said it would probably be fall of next year. A guest asked if bids would be requested. Jones said bids would be needed for the construction. PRAB Motion #1: Proffitt motioned to accept the Staff recommendation to apply for $50,000 from the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Outdoor Recreation matching grant program for the development and improvements at Mount Sequoyah Gardens. Watson seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. PRAB Motion #2: Watson motioned to accept the Staff recommendation to approve the conceptual plan of Mount Sequoyah Gardens for the 2013 grant project. McKnight seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 6. Park Land Dedication: Alison Jumper, Park Planning Superintendent Development Name: Skillern Road Tract Split Engineer/ Surveyor: Alan Reid Owner: Billy Hartsfield Location: 3845 Skillern Road Park Quadrant: NE Units: 1 Single family tract Total Acres: 3.00 acres Land Dedication Requirement: 0.024 acres Money in Lieu Requirement: $960 Existing Parks: Braden Park; Rocky Branch Park Developer's Request: Money in lieu Staff Recommendation: Money in lieu Developer's Comments: c Justification: Braden Park is located within '/2 -mile from the project site. The size of the required park land dedication is less than two acres. Annual Maintenance Cost: None Jumper gave the details of the Skillern Road Tract Split. She said that normally lot splits don't come before the board, but this one has been split too many times. Paul asked how big 0.024 acres would be. He wondered if it would be about the size of the meeting room. Jumper said yes, it would be about that size. She then briefly explained to the new members about parkland dedication. PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the Staff recommendation of money in lieu, and Waite seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. 7. Wilson Park Tennis Court Proposal: Chase Gipson, Recreation Superintendent Our USTA representative has reached out to Fayetteville Parks and Recreation with a great opportunity. They currently have "two - court" grant renovation projects with funding available for $10,000 (non-matching). It is basically a no -strings attached grant and the project should be within 10% either way of the $10,000 grant money. Worst case scenario, the City may need to come up with $1,500 for the project. Although Wilson is a six court facility, we received special permission for the lower two courts to be considered a separate two court facility. The two lower courts are in need of resurfacing. The grant would convert the two courts into one full size court and four 36 ft courts for youth. This is a major part of the current USTA movement for U10 tennis on 36 foot courts that would open opportunities for youth tennis in Fayetteville. These smaller courts have also proved to be popular with seniors as well. Our summer survey from two years ago shows the six courts are rarely, if ever, all in use at the same time. Staff is recommending for the City to apply for the USTA grant. Please view the attached link to view the tennis court project: http://www.southerntennis.com/uploads/TwoCourtprojectsl.ppt 11 Gipson said the USTA approached Parks about a grant opportunity. They have a two -court renovation grant, and Parks got permission to apply for the grant for two courts of a six court facility. The grant project would allow the courts to be resurfaced, which is needed, and would convert the two courts into one full size court and four 36 foot courts that would open opportunities for youth tennis in Fayetteville. Gibson said that an informal count was taken on the number of players in two hour intervals to see how many players there were. A guest said that the numbers were taken during the hottest part of the summer and doesn't reflect from 8 pm to 10 pm. She said that during the day the adults work, so people play early or late. Another guest said that the numbers don't reflect his observation. He said that Wilson Pool is only open two months out of the year, so the Parks numbers don't reflect the other months. He added there are times that it's impossible to get on the courts. During the months from September through May, there are lots of players. He said losing a court doesn't set well with him. He said that one group using the courts told him they had "hoodwinked" the City because they told them they were a group, but they played as individuals. He requested that no courts be taken away. A guest asked why the chosen courts were at Wilson and not Walker. Gipson replied that the courts are in very bad shape at Wilson. A guest said the reason the numbers are low in the count is because people get turned off about playing. He then asked when the high school played. Gipson said they play from 3 pm to 6 pm. A guest said there was a shortage of courts. The article in the paper said the City should have 40 courts by now. That shortage has not been addressed. He said it's a planning issue. Meldrum asked how many courts were planned for the Regional Park. Edmonston said there would be 6 to 8 courts. A guest said that the youth have the courts in the morning for camp. The only times the adults can play is during hot weather. 5 Edmonston said the tennis camp is only one week. The guest said it seems that it's always one week. He suggested that rather sacrifice the courts, Parks could sponsor youth tennis with shorter nets. He asked that courts not be sacrificed for adults so that they have fewer courts. Paul asked if seniors could use the courts. Gipson said yes. Meldrum asked if the adult courts would be resurfaced. Gipson said yes. A guest said that the surface on some courts is a rubberized surface that is very bad and uneven. Edmonston said that is the first time she's heard that complaint. She thanked the guest. A guest said that she sent an email today. She said she's sitting at this meeting feeling she's getting the runaround. She said she is always told that "someday" it will happen, or it's too expensive, or local parks are needed. Tennis courts are never first priority and the situation needs to be addressed. Meldrum asked how much it cost to build a tennis court. Jumper said the last estimate was anywhere from $28,000 to $80,000. A guest suggested a tennis court at Gulley Park. Edmonston said when the neighborhood meeting was held for Gulley Park, the neighbors said they didn't want basketball, tennis, or a community center. Meldrum commented that a lot of money was being talked about. He asked if a court needed to be given up. He said that everyone was tired of waiting for Regional Park. He asked if Parks wanted the grant, and did they want a court resurfaced. Edmonston said that the University of Arkansas was looking for an area for ballfields and tennis courts. 3 Watson said that he has lived in Fayetteville all his life. He said he would never turn away a sport for youth. He said his focus was on the community as a whole. A guest interrupted Watson. Watson asked the guest to let him finish. He continued by saying that he wants to focus on youth, not adults, adding that is his personal opinion. A guest said that the last court was built in 1975. Soccer fields have been added. He said that Parks is behind on tennis courts. Watson said he understood the frustration for the guest. He said Parks is behind on everything, and added that the Regional Park will satisfy needs, but not completely. A guest asked if the youth courts would be permanent. He wondered if any exploration has been done for youth tennis that wouldn't be permanent. Gipson said that the grant is only for permanent courts, so the facility would only be for kids. A guest wanted to know if there was a chance the courts could be reverted back to normal size if they were not used by youth. Another guest said that he played with an 8 year old and was beaten. He added that the Wilson Park gardens are always being worked on by the horticulturists, but the tennis courts are neglected. The cans and bottles are not being picked up. Edmonston said it's like the dog park, because everyone needs to pick up after themselves. A guest asked for Parks to please look at alternatives. Meldrum asked what the time frame was for the grant. Gipson said USTA doesn't want to wait, so Parks has to move on it now. Meldrum said that tabling the motion wasn't an option because of the time frame of USTA. He suggested that PRAB vote on it, and let it go on to Council. 7 McKnight said to go ahead and vote. Watson said that he was appreciative for the public to come to the meeting to voice their opinion. He said he will keep tennis courts in mind. Edmonston said that different communities like different sports. She added that it's hard to have a national standard. Watson said that soccer is played year round. PRAB Motion: Watson motioned to accept the grant, and Lawson seconded it. Motion passed 8-0-0 by voice vote. S. Other Business (part 1): Jumper gave an update on the parkland dedication formula. It was brought to PRAB earlier this year. Questions were raised, so the County Assessor was contacted. They reanalyzed their numbers, and Park's number is in the middle. She suggested revisiting it in a couple of years. Paul said that the census takes just a small part of the year. He added that Mason, a former member, brought up a good point about the university students and the census. Edmonston said that we have to go by the census. Paul asked if it was all land sales over 5 acres. Jumper said yes. Paul said new projects are coming in and only paying $37,000 per acre. Meldrum said that Parks is at a pretty good midpoint already. Edmonston suggested leaving things as they are, and change the one half mile radius to one mile. PRAB Motion: McKnight motioned to accept the staff recommendation, and Watson seconded it. Motion passes 8-0-0 by voice vote. 2 Other Business (part 2): Karen McBrayer, a guest, said that she lives near Holland Park. She said the playground design there is not built for young children. The preschoolers and elementary kids don't know what to do, and can't do anything without help. There are only two little slides. She said it's a bigger neighborhood now, with different needs than a few years back. She loves the facility and says it's beautiful, but it's useless as it is. She would like different playground equipment more suitable for children. Meldrum asked if she had any examples of what she wanted. McBrayer said she could email them. Jumper commented that when playgrounds are in the planning stages, all age groups are being considered. Paul asked where Holland Park was located. Jumper said it was off Highway 62 on Alberta Street, almost in Farmington. Edmonston said that every park needs to be unique to it neighborhood. Paul said that he went to the trail tunnel meeting at the Senior Center. He said that the older crowd was in favor of the tunnel. Other people showed up with a petition that didn't want the tunnel. He said that it was interesting. 9. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 7:08 pm. 0