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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-14-18 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MAY 14, 2018 Present: Amy Davis, Tony Dirth, Scott Greuel, Steve Herman, Carrie Rule, Megan Schuessler Excused: Todd Kaufmann Absent: Terry Wohler Other: David Shadick, Leadership Oshkosh Adjunct Board Member; John Kneer, Rettler Corporation; Kate Mann, City of Oshkosh Police Department Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Assistant Parks Director; Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager; Stacy James, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Vice Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Schuessler for approval of the April 9, 2018 minutes. Seconded by Herman. Motion carried 6-0. INTRODUCTIONS Mr. Maurer introduced the newest board member, Scott Greuel, who was appointed to fill the vacant seat left by Bill Gogolewski. Mr. Greuel states that he is a long time resident of the City of Oshkosh and is married with two children and two grandchildren. He retired in January of 2016 from the Oshkosh Police Department after 35 years in law enforcement, mostly in the City of Oshkosh, and having spent the last 8 ½ years as Chief of Police. He enjoys spending time outdoors and serving his community. CITIZEN STATEMENTS & PARK BUSINESS 1) REVIEW AND DISCUSS PREFERRED CONCEPT PLAN FOR RUSCH PARK Mr. Maurer states that this project was requested by the Sawyer Creek Neighborhood Association and they have been applying for grants through the Great Neighborhoods Initiative to help with funding for the project. Rusch Park is a roughly 41 acre park adjacent to Carl Traeger School with approximately 10 acres with trails and 30 acres undeveloped. Wetlands delineation on the property has made development difficult in the area. There have been three public input meetings to date as well as questions posed through the POLCO survey site. Rettler will show and explain to the Board a conceptual plan tonight based on the input received to date. Office Kate Mann of the Oshkosh Police Department will explain how the use of lights at the site will emphasize Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO MAY 14, 2018 Mr. Kneer introduced himself as the design consultant with Rettler Corporation who is working with the City to create a Master Plan for Rusch Park. He has worked with City Staff as well as attending the public input sessions to garner input. His firm did a study on the existing conditions at the park as well as the wetlands delineation being completed. A majority of the site is wetlands but he tried to put together the conceptual plan to utilize the upland areas in an effort to maximize connections and save money for future development. There are a couple of existing pathway connections already at the site but the expanded trails would provide for more connections in the area. Trail expansion was the primary request at public input sessions and as such it was designed to maximize connections to future housing developments in the area. There were also requests to add lighting to the park paths to promote visibility after dusk. The lights suggested were chosen because they will be downward facing, have the option of a “house side shield” on one side to keep from shining onto private property and will help keep light pollution to a minimum and focus on the illumination of the trail only. Another recommendation that was brought up was exercise equipment along the trail. Depending on what would be recommended different stations could be installed along the current trail for use by park patrons. The floodplain at the site limits the ability to put a building structure at the park and as such it was determined that a shelter/restroom would not be recommended for the site. Office Mann introduced herself as the City’s Crime Prevention Officer. She recently took 40 hours of training for CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) and a lot of discussion was held at the training regarding lighting. On a trail like this they recommend pedestrian style lighting. The goal of CPTED is to increase usage of these types of areas by local users but maintain safety with the aid of lighting. Karen Karl, 3081 Sawyer Creek Dr Ms. Karl states that she is against having the lights along the trail because it will cause problems for folks living on Sawyer Creek Drive. If people want to walk at night they should do so on the street, not in the park which she feels should be maintained as a nature preserve. Paul Ellefson, 3011 Sawyer Creek Dr Mr. Ellefson spoke of the history of the park and mentioned that there is a lot of work that needs to be completed in the park but he feels that the city does not complete the work due to disagreements on who is responsible for the upkeep as well as payment. He feels that the input of the neighboring landowners is continually ignored. The current proposed lighting is disjointed and does not light up the areas that need it the most nor does it connect the trails with proper lighting, all of which needs to be reviewed further. Kim Ellefson, 3011 Sawyer Creek Dr Ms. Ellefson spoke against the conceptual design. She feels the suggested changes would negatively impact the natural wildlife in the area and it would not be prudent to have exercise equipment in this location because of mosquitos and ticks. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE MAY 14, 2018 At this time Mr. Kneer explained the basic timeline of this process to the Board at the request of Mr. Miller. The first public input meeting was discuss the process to the public as well as garner input. The meeting was held until all opinions had been heard. After that their firm puts together all of the input and creates a conceptual design that was then discussed that the next two public input meetings as well as at the Advisory Park Board Meeting to continue to get direction and refine the details of the plan. Once details are determined they will then associate the costs with the updates and develop the Master Plan which then goes back to the Advisory Park Board for approval, then to Plan Commission for approval and ultimately to City Council. Mr. Maurer added that staff has met with developers to the West, North and Southwest and they are all in support of the conceptual plan and the future trail connections that are suggested. Eric Koehler, 3111 Sawyer Creek Dr Mr. Koehler states that he has spoken with numerous neighbors who are owners of property directly adjacent to the park. The majority of them agree with him that they want to see the park developed passively as a nature area and lights and exercise equipment do not fit with that idea. He also felt that the concerns of those living closest to the park should have more of a voice than those in the surrounding area. Julia Kiefer, 2810 Fox Tail Lane Ms. Kiefer introduced herself as the co-chair of the Sawyer Creek Neighborhood Association. She is in support of the lighting of the park trail. She has spoken with many of her neighbors who also work during the day and feel that the lights would allow them to safely use the trail year round. Rachel Palomaki, 1280 Fairfax Lane Ms. Palomaki spoke in favor of the lights on the park trail. She would actually like to see more lights than are proposed. She has also spoke with many of her neighbors and they agree that the lighting would allow them to use the park year round due to work constraints. Ed Phillips, 3031 Sawyer Creek Dr Mr. Phillips spoke against the lights and exercise equipment in the park stating that it would take away from the idea of it being a nature trail. Jeff Schuettey, 3031 Sawyer Creek Dr Mr. Schuettey states that there was a prior Master Plan created for this park and at that time it was labeled as a nature preserve. He believes that the addition of lights and exercise equipment would go against this idea. Rachel Buchholz, 2950 Ruschfield Ms. Buchholz spoke in favor of the lights. She states that she likes to take her dog for a walk after she is finished with work and is unable to do so half of the year because it gets too dark on the trail. She also notes that when walking the trail she doesn’t see the neighboring houses and feels the lights would be more beneficial than problematic. She states many young families use the trails and aren’t able to access them for half the year because of the lack of lighting. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR MAY 14, 2018 John Karl, 3081 Sawyer Creek Dr Mr. Karl spoke against the lights along the park trail. He feels that if people want to walk after dark in a lighted area they can walk along the street. This ended the public input portion of the discussion and it was turned back over to the Board. Mr. Greuel stated that he lives in the Sawyer Creek Neighborhood. While his house does not border the park, he does utilize the trail a lot. While he does understand everyone’s concerns, he believes that all of the suggestions to date have been taken into consideration. He agrees that there are more areas than those presently indicated that would benefit from more lighting. He also agrees that the lighting would help with crime prevention. Mr. Maurer added that he has Rusch Park Development in the CIP for 2023 at this time as a place holder. Mr. Dirth inquired about the usage of the exercise equipment at County Park, which Mr. Maurer deferred to Councilman Herman since he is more involved with that Park. Councilman Herman advised that the usage is dependent upon the time of day and year. He also states that the trails at County Park are lighted 24 hours and they have not received a lot of complaints regarding the light pollution. He agrees that the CPTED principals of having the lights to maintain safety is important and it is equally important to listen to citizens and take their concerns into account. Mrs. Schuessler spoke in favor of the lights and agrees that adding more than currently in the plan may be a good idea. She also states that she is not in favor of having the exercise equipment at that location. Mr. Dirth states that he likes the additional trail paths as well as lighting keeping light pollution to a minimum. He also spoke against the addition of the exercise equipment. At this time Mr. Maurer asked if the Board had a consensus to remove the exercise equipment from the plan, to which the Board agreed. Mr. Maurer asked Mr. Kneer to remove that element from the conceptual plan. Rettler will bring back an updated conceptual plan based on discussions held at a future Board meeting. 2) DISCUSS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP) 2019-2023 Mr. Maurer updated the Board about the annual CIP process within the City. He has put together preliminary priority recommendations on projects that are in the program at this time based on safety and maintenance concerns and is asking for the Board’s input as to whether they agree with the priorities or feel that they should be adjusted. Priorities have been assessed to the projects over the next five years but he asks the Board to focus more intently on the first two years. In 2019 the first priority item is replacement of the Little Oshkosh Playground due to the high maintenance costs and safety concerns. Funding has been received in the past, however fundraising efforts have come to a halt. Since it is a major playground site and highly used by the public it would be appropriate to replace it with another large playground. Other items for 2019 are Oaks Trail Repaving, Bowen Street Fishing Dock decking replacement, Westhaven Restroom, play equipment for Stoegbauer, Congress Ave Tot Lot and 44th Parallel Park as well as Cemetery Road Repaving and the Taking Root program funding. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FIVE MAY 14, 2018 For 2020 projects that were discussed included Rainbow Park Improvements Design Services, which would lay out the plan for the work to be completed in 2021 for the boat launch improvements as well as the trail connections. There is currently a grant being applied for that would help with funding for the trail connections through Rainbow Park and to the WIOUWASH Trail as well as the Riverwalk. Other projects for 2020 include the Westhaven Baseball Field Updates, Parks Department Building Renovation – Phase 1 (purchase of additional property and initial design work), Lakeshore Site Development, Westhaven Park Play Equipment, Quarry Park Restroom Update, Menominee Park Zoo Improvements and Stevens Park Lighting. The remaining projects for 2021-2023 were briefly reviewed as well. Since there were no changes requested Mr. Maurer will submit the prioritized listing to the City Manager. PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer further updated that he continues to work on CIP items. The Fugleberg Boat Launch bid was awarded this past work and work will start shortly to be completed in late August/early September. Menominee Park tennis courts work will be completed by Labor Day as well. He informed the Board that the Lakeshore Site is temporarily closed to the public per the authority given to him in the City Municipal Code Ordinance 19-4(C)(5). In working with the police department and others it has been determined that due to construction work being done it is in the best interest to keep the public off the property temporarily. ASSISTANT PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Dallman advised that during the re-construction of the Fugleberg Boat Launch restroom there will be a port-a-let on site for users. The South Park playground equipment install is on schedule and should be completed by the beginning of June along with the parking lot repaving. Bids have been accepted for work to be completed at Teichmiller and was scheduled to have started early this month, but due to weather and the needs of the different athletic schedules, that project has been deferred until July. HVAC was recently updated at the Lakefly Café and a serving window was installed as well. Discussions are being held about work to be done at Spanbauer as well as continued work with the eagle exhibit at the Zoo. Park restrooms are open for the season and staff has been working to keep up with mowing and cleaning up of the boat launch sites and shoreline areas due to the fish kill off this year. Pollock Community Water Park will be up and running by the end of May for its June 9 opening and athletic fields are being accessed as able given the weather constraints. REVENUE FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT Ms. McCollian states that it has been another challenging year for her with regards to seasonal staffing. Normally she has her staff hired by the end of April but she is still working or hiring some additional staff. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE SIX MAY 14, 2018 This is the first year that the city was able to hire 15 year olds for many positions and all of those positions have been filled. They continue to look for seasonal employees that are 18 and older. Due to these shortages the opening of the Children’s Amusement Center had to be delayed. It will now be open this coming Saturday, May 19 which is also Kids to Parks Day. There will be entertainment and games for patrons. Ms. McCollian reported that the ball diamonds opened at the end of April and there were a lot of cancellations due to weather. However, despite the setbacks when they have been opened they have seen increased usage of the fields and that reflects in the concessions areas. The Menominee Park Zoo opened for the season on May 5 as scheduled and has been very busy with cooperative weather on the weekends. Pollock Community Water Park opens for the season on June 9 with Season Pass Pre-Sale nights on June 4 and June 6. The pool special events are sponsored by Winnebago Community Credit Union again this year and they have some new events scheduled for the summer that they are looking forward to. Tuesday Night Concerts are back at the Leach this summer courtesy of Verve a Credit Union. Also this year WPS is sponsoring family entertainment every week before the concert as well. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Maurer advised that this would be the last meeting for David Shadick, the Adjunct Board Member serving for Leadership Oshkosh. He thanked David for his time on the Board. Mr. Maurer also advised that Carrie Rule has decided not to seek reappointment on the Board. She has served on the Board for 5 years and was thanked by the Board for her service. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Miller for adjournment; seconded by Schuessler. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary