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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8-10-20 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD AUGUST 10, 2020 Present: Amy Davis, Tony Dirth, Scott Greuel, Devon Hudak, Deborah Martin, Becky Metz, Lester Millette, Lori Palmeri Excused: Lauren Bartelt Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Stacy James, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Mr. Maurer opened the floor for the nomination of Board Chair. Motion by Dirth to nominate Amy Davis to serve as Chair. Seconded by Millette. Unanimous ballot for Davis to serve as Chair. Chair Davis opened the floor for the nomination of Board Vice Chair. Motion by Greuel to nominate Tony Dirth to serve as Vice Chair. Seconded by Davis. Unanimous ballot for Dirth to serve as Vice Chair. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Palmeri for approval of the July 13, 2020 minutes. Seconded by Martin. Motion carried 8-0. NEW BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS AND RECOMMEND PROPOSED 2021 PARK SHELTER RENTAL FEES Mr. Maurer states that staff is currently working on the 2021 budget and a part of that process involves reviewing fees for different areas. The process for reviewing fees once staff decides to move forward is to bring the recommendation to the Board, the Board then recommends approval by Council and finally Council would approve any changes. Fees for park shelters were last adjusted in 2014. Staff completed a survey of the surrounding communities for comparable shelters and the Board was provided with those survey results in their Board packets. At this time staff is recommending a $5 increase across the board for shelter fees noting that these fees would have tax added to the total consistent with how it is currently handled. Some reasons for the increase would be the improvements that have been made over the past seven years to both the shelters as well as the online services that have been added for the users and acceptance of credit cards. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO AUGUST 10, 2020 The online services as well as the credit cards add additional maintenance fees for the department and the increase to the shelter fees would help to offset these fees as well as continue to provide funds for improvements to the shelters. The credit card fees for the department total about 4% of the charges and the annual maintenance fee for the software program used for reservations is approximately $5,100 per year; this software program is used for shelter rentals as well as Pollock Pool passes and point of sale, boat launch pass sales and online donations. Mr. Dirth inquired if there was any consideration for the additional cleaning due to COVID-19. Mr. Maurer responded that the department was not taking that cost into account for the increase. However, over the past seven years staffing costs have increased. Mr. Greuel asked if the department would want to charge a convenience fee for the credit card use similar to what the City does for other billing. Mr. Maurer responded that he would rather they absorb the credit card fee and then offset it with the additional $5 that is being suggested. This would remain consistent with how the department has handled the additional credit card charges in the past for these services. Discussion was held whether or not $5 would be enough of an increase to cover all charges but ultimately the Board decided that it might be best to increase by $5 at this time and revisit the fee schedule in 2-3 years to see if another increase would be warranted. It would be best to have smaller increases for the end user rather than a substantial increase. Mr. Maurer added that the City Finance Department will be implementing an annual review of all fees to ensure that too much time does not pass between any adjustments that need to be made for any department. Motion by Dirth to recommend approval of proposed shelter fee increases for City of Oshkosh Park Shelter Fees. Seconded by Hudak. Motion carried 8-0. 2) DISCUSS AND RECOMMEND PROPOSED 2021 BOAT LAUNCH FEES Mr. Maurer states that consistent with the shelters fees the boat launch fees were reviewed as well. These fees were last adjusted in 2014. Winnebago County raised their rates in 2019. The Board was provided with the survey results for the surrounding communities regarding their boat launch fees. Since fees were last adjusted end users have had online services made available to them as well as the electronic pay stations that were installed in July at three of the boat launches. The electronic pay stations will also have an annual maintenance fee of roughly $4,000 once all pay stations are installed. Staff would like to be consistent with surrounding community charges and as such are recommending that the daily fee be increased to $7, all annual and multi-year passes increase by $5 and adjustments be made to the nd 2/replacement sticker fees to mimic surrounding communities ($5 annual and $10 multi-year for residents and $10 annual and $20 multi-year for non-residents). Ms. Palmeri asked for clarification regarding the multi-year passes, which are good for a period of 3 years. Mr. Dirth states that the increases are a no brainer because residents will be able to see the improvements that have been made to the boat launches themselves as well as the added convenience of the electronic pay stations and will understand where the increased fees will be going to. Mr. Maurer reminded the Board that per state mandate all boat launch fees are segregated and put into a separate fund that are used specifically for boat launches. The fund continues to grow and monies from the account will be used for boat launch and improvements made in accordance with the master plans. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE AUGUST 10, 2020 For example, the 5-year CIP includes a reconfiguration of the Rainbow Memorial Park Boat Launch which will be a couple million dollar project. Given that, the couple hundred thousand in the fund won’t make a big dent on the project cost but it can help alleviate the debt some. Motion by Dirth to recommend approval of proposed boat launch fee increases for City of Oshkosh Daily, Annul and Multi-Year Boat Launch Passes. Seconded by Palmeri. Motion carried 8-0. PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer states that most of his time recently has been dedicated to budget preparation which is due on August 17. Staff evaluations are due by the end of August as well. Lakeshore Park Phase 1 Requests for Proposal were sent out last month and the city received 13 proposals in response. This project will include the design of the four-season building, surrounding plaza area and attached parking lot. The next step will be review of the proposals by staff including Parks Department, Planning Division and Engineering to narrow down the proposals and move forward with a recommendation. Once the proposals have been narrowed down staff will then review the costs proposals from the different firms and make their selection. He anticipates that he will be able to announce which firm has been chosen at the next Advisory Park Board Meeting. Mr. Maurer also added that staff had applied for a $1 million grant for Lakeshore Park through the Wisconsin DNR for funding through the National Parks Service. They recently received notice that they have been approved for the first stage of the process and he will keep the Board updated as that moves forward. Ms. Palmeri inquired about the timeline once the firm is chosen as well as public input opportunities. Mr. Maurer states that the RFP outlined that there will be opportunities for public input when the Advisory Park Board discusses the plan as well as Plan Commission and Common Council. Ms. Palmeri also inquired about the Native American historical site that had been discussed in the master plan. Mr. Maurer stated that the project was not part of phase one and would take place in the future. The site is still planned for future development and will include input from local tribes as well as working with the Public Museum for information. Electronic pay stations were installed on July 23, 2020 at Rainbow Memorial Park Boat Launch (2 pay th stations), Fugleberg Boat Launch and 24 Avenue Boat Launch. These units are solar powered and since installation there has only been one glitch with a bill acceptor which was quickly addressed by staff. The department will give the public time to use the machines and make sure that there aren’t any problems and then they will purchase the additional units so that all six city boat launches have the electronic pay stations. Parks staff and Finance Department staff are happy with the new pay stations. The availability of patrons to use credit cards cuts down on cash handling which makes things safer for staff as well. The software program allows staff to view usage in real-time online, which is another added convenience. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR AUGUST 10, 2020 Outdoor fitness equipment has been installed at Menominee Park. Staff worked with the Menominee South Neighborhood Association who applied for a grant through Healthy Neighborhoods to obtain funding for the six pieces of equipment that were purchased. Three pieces of accessible equipment were installed along the path along Hazel Street across from Bella Vista and the other three were placed by the Oshkosh Community Playground. Restoration has been completed around the equipment as well. He recommends the Board go out to view the equipment since this has been a highly requested addition to the parks system by patrons. Senior Center staff will be encouraging members to utilize the equipment as well as putting together a video demonstration of the equipment to promote wellness. Ms. Martin states she has utilized the equipment and it worked very well. OTHER BUSINESS ADJOURNMENT Motion by Martin for adjournment; seconded by Millette. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:41 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary