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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-8-21 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD FEBRUARY 8, 2021 Present: Lauren Bartelt, Amy Davis, Tony Dirth, Scott Greuel, Devon Hudak, Deborah Martin, Becky Metz, Lester Millette, Lori Palmeri Other: Mike Villeneuve, Leadership Oshkosh Adjunct Member; Tanisha Alvarado, Alternate Board Member; Jamie Constantine, Alternate Board Member Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director; Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager; Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager; Stacy James, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 6:01 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Davis for approval of the December 14, 2020 minutes. Seconded by Bartelt. Motion carried 9-0. OLD BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS DRAFT SCHEMATIC DESIGN OF LAKESHORE PARK – 4 SEASONS BUILDING Mr. Maurer states that SmithGroup is not attending the meeting tonight but he will pass along any input from the Board regarding the designs. Since the December meeting, SmithGroup has reviewed the floor and site plan for the 4 seasons building and put together an opinion of probable costs for the building of $2.6 million. Much of this cost is for site improvements, fill and landscaping to get the building location above the 100 year flood plain. Another factor is the high cost of building materials at this time. The City has $1.8 million remaining from the sales proceeds of the property for this project which leaves an $800,000 funding gap. Mr. Maurer has also been working with the City Manager and Finance Director to look at other City projects and see where money was saved that could potentially be used for this project. Mr. Maurer is also meeting with potential donors to fundraise money for the project. He is hopeful that alternative funding will enable the city to be able to move forward with the project as designed. Mr. Maurer then shared renderings of the building that SmithGroup has put together and showed the different views of the building on the site for the Board to provide input. Ms. Palmeri brought up the possibility of allowing naming rights for additional fundraising for the building. Mr. Maurer responded that the city’s donation policy does allow for Council to approve naming rights if it is requested as part of a donation. Discussion was held about the capacity of the assembly room and the public input to the ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO FEBRUARY 8, 2021 park master plan was targeted at being able to accommodate 125-150 people. The assembly room is currently designed for approximately 100 people. Mr. Dirth recommended getting cost estimates for the larger assembly room so that cost benefits could be analyzed. Mayor Palmeri asked for a cost estimate of reducing the assembly room size as well. Staff added that the large shelters at Menominee Park and South Park are both rented regularly throughout the season and requests continue to come in for shelter rentals year round. Mr. Millette inquired whether the majority of the cost increase was due to the extensive site work that needs to be done at the site. Mr. Maurer responded that it is a combination of the site work as well as the rising cost of building materials. Value engineering was completed with regards to the parking lot size, trail connections and landscaping, however these items have been deemed necessary to serve both the building as well as the surrounding parks and various patron requests. Board members felt that the building was well designed and complimented the surrounds buildings. Mr. Maurer will forward the Board’s comments on to SmithGroup and continue to work with them as well as look at additional funding sources. NEW BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS AND RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE POLLOCK COMMUNITY WATER PARK AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF OSHKOSH AND OSHKOSH AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Mr. Maurer states that since the Pollock Community Water Park opened in 2006 the City has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Oshkosh Area School District to contract for lifeguard services. The district tracks all costs associated with these services and then bills the city. In return the district provides a $40,000 subsidy to the city for the pool operations. This agreement is similar to previous ones with the exception of the length of time. Previously the agreement was for a three year period. Due to concerns regarding COVID effect on pool operations as well as the recent hiring of the new Recreation Director at the district, it was decided that the agreement will be for one year and review going back to a multi-year agreement in 2022. Clarification regarding the subsidy payment from the district was requested by Ms. Martin. Mr. Maurer explained that the pool is an amenity that the school district feels is beneficial to the community as a whole. It is a facility that the school district doesn’t have to provide to the city so they work with the city to support it. Motion by Palmeri to recommend approval of the Pollock Community Water Park Agreement between City of Oshkosh and Oshkosh Area School District. Seconded by Greuel. Motion carried 8-1 (Martin nay). ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE FEBRUARY 8, 2021 PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer advises that the Westhaven Circle Park Ballfield Improvement that was provided for in the 2020 CIP budget is moving forward. Bids are due by February 23 and construction is intended for spring and into early summer. Improvements include the backstop, sideline fencing, upgrades to the infield, concrete in the dugouts and improvements to the outfield to improve drainage. Also at this park location, the 2021 CIP budget provided for replacement of the play equipment. A Request for Proposals is out right now and due March 4. At that time staff will narrow down the proposals. Since there is not a neighborhood association for this area, staff will reach out to the surrounding neighbors for input. Lastly, the first phase of the new parks building is included in the 2021 CIP budget. Staff is working with Kueny Architects to design the new building and move forward with the project. ASSISTANT PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Dallman states that with the weather’s cooperation, the Roe Park Ice Rink has opened to the public with great success. This is a good location for the rink and hopefully it can stay open until March, weather depending. Conditions have also been favorable for staff to continue working at North High Conservancy on buckthorn and ash tree removals to improve long term trail maintenance. Once removals are completed staff will work on diversity planting to replace the vegetation. Lastly, the South Park tennis court reconstruction is included in the 2021 CIP budget. There are currently three tennis courts at this location and they will be replaced with two tennis courts and four pickleball courts. Construction will tentatively begin in late March/early April and wrap up in September. LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Sturm updates that staff are currently working on the annual pruning cycle in the neighborhoods west of Highway 41. There are approximately 1,900 trees to prune. This area was also the hardest hit by Emerald Ash Borer so there are a lot of tree removals to be conducted as well as 600 ash trees that are currently being treated. Progress was moving along well earlier in the winter with cooperative weather. Due to the amount of removals, the ash tree removal will likely stretch into summer. Mr. Sturm is also working with Aquatic Biologists out of Fond du Lac on invasive species management in Miller’s Bay and Menominee Park Lagoons. He has worked with this company in the past and they will work with the Wisconsin DNR to see what species are present and how to properly manage them. This is a project that numerous boaters have requested be addressed and it is anticipated that it will be an ongoing project throughout the summer. REVENUE FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT Ms. McCollian advises that the Roe Park Ice Rink has proven to be a great partnership between the City of Oshkosh, the Oshkosh Recreation Department and the Oshkosh YMCA. This is a great location for the rink and the way it is set up makes the location beautiful whether day or night. The first event, a Glow Party, was held on January 22. It was well attended despite the chilly weather. The second event with the Oshkosh Hockey Club was supposed to take place on February 5 but had to be cancelled due to ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR FEBRUARY 8, 2021 the extremely cold weather. The next event, a movie night, is scheduled for February 19. Dr. Eric’s Skate Club is providing free skate use Friday through Sunday from 3pm-7pm so long as the weather is appropriate and there are volunteers available. Check the Oshkosh Parks Department Facebook Page on Friday afternoons for updates on whether skates will be available all weekend as intended. The department is hosting a scavenger hunt on their Facebook page looking to get people into the parks and staying active despite the fact that they are unable to have their normal winter events. In December the hunt included Ernie the Elf, January featured Flaky Francine and for February patrons will be searching for Hearty Herby. The intention is to get people to explore some of the lesser known parks in the city and highlight recent upgrades that have been made. The scavenger hunt will continue through March and April. Clues are released on Tuesdays and Fridays on Facebook. Lastly, seasonal employment opportunities have been posted online. The department continues to work on plans to be able to open safely this summer. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Davis for adjournment; seconded by Metz. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary