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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-9-20 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD NOVEMBER 9, 2020 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; Leigh Allen, SmithGroup; Gregg Calpino, SmithGroup Staff: Ray Maurer, 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 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. Ms. Hudak joined the meeting at 6:32p.m. INTRODUCTIONS Mr. Maurer introduced Mike Villeneuve, the new adjunct member for Leadership Oshkosh. Mr. Villeneuve states that he grew up in central Wisconsin and has lived in Oshkosh for 18 years. Most of his career was spent in Appleton until recently when he became employed in Oshkosh. He is excited to be a part of Leadership Oshkosh and an adjunct member of the Advisory Park Board. As a resident he has spent a lot of time in the parks and looks forward to learning more about them. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Davis for approval of the September 14, 2020 minutes. Seconded by Martin. Motion carried 8-0. NEW BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LAKESHORE PARK – 4 SEASONS BUILDING Ms. Palmeri stated that she had received an e-mail from the Hartley’s who are neighbors to Lakeshore Park, thanking the city and the Parks Department for keeping them involved in the planning stages at Lakeshore Park and providing them with information. Mr. Maurer introduced Leigh Allen and Gregg Calpino from SmithGroup. The Board may remember Gregg Calpino as he was involved in the Master Plan development of Lakeshore Park. He reviewed the process thus far over the last year and a half which has included the Master Plan creation, public input sessions and approval by Plan Commission and Common Council. Recently an archaeological study ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO NOVEMBER 9, 2020 was completed by UW Milwaukee staff. That report was received this summer and there were no concerns in this seasonal area. The city sent out an RFP for the architectural and engineering designs of the area in late August / early September and SmithGroup was chosen to move forward. He reminded the Board that the initial Master Plan gave the “30 thousand foot view” of the property and moving forward we can hone in on defining specifics. Soil testing was completed last month and the report for that was received last week and needs to be reviewed. A site survey will also be completed in the near future. Mr. Calpino states that during the Master Plan process it was made clear that the public wanted the park to be environmentally friendly and provide a lot of passive use areas. Staff is taking into consideration the size of the park and the fact that it is essentially broken up into a west side and east side park with Oshkosh Corporation in the middle. Phase 1 of the Master Plan included the 4 seasons building and a parking lot. There were other amenities that were also included but the list has been scaled down to fit the current budget available for the project. There was also a scope validation workshop to determine the needs of the area and taking into account the surrounding parks, neighbors, animals and vegetation. Work will be completed to accommodate future additions of other items in Phase 1 of the Master Plan document. Mr. Allen added that based on prior site review, soil testing, flood plain study, and input from city engineering staff it was determined where the best location for the 4 season building would be. Current site utilities for the maintenance building will be utilized in the new build. Mr. Calpino added that the existing building site is similar to what was called for in the Master Plan, however the plaza space, drop off zone and parking lot have been adjusted to minimize removal of trees as well as provide options to plant additional trees for a natural barrier to the park to provide continued privacy for the surrounding neighbors. The new location for the drop off at the end of Punhoqua Street makes it a multi-use area for patrons utilizing the new building and plaza space, fishing, the Riverwalk trail and Rainbow Memorial Park. Adjusting the parking lot location reduces the development footprint as well as making it more cost effective. Mr. Allen then reviewed the different elements that will be included with the 4 season building. The building will have a rentable room for up to 120 people, a warming kitchen, restrooms that serve both the indoor area as well as the outdoor plaza space, a storage room, mechanical room and an outdoor terrace. The rentable room will be available for private rentals as well as public use and it will be designed to be able to spill out into the plaza spaces. The storage room will be for tables and chairs for rentals. The next step is programming the space and putting together the details for the building specifications and amenity needs. SmithGroup will put together a detailed report for the design of the building and surrounding amenities. It is anticipated that construction could start in June of 2021 and the building could be completed in Spring of 2022. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE NOVEMBER 9, 2020 Mr. Maurer added that there will be opportunity for public input in the building design at future Advisory Park Board meetings. SmithGroup will put together a couple of different design options for review by the Board and public and then the ultimate approval will go through Plan Commission and Common Council. Ms. Palmeri brought to the Boards attention that there is currently an Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative taking place and she hopes that they could take that into consideration when deciding on trees to plant in the area. She also brought up the fact that Landmark Commission believes there are seven acres located in the park that could be eligible for historical consideration and believes that should be taken into consideration. SmithGroup responded that they will look into both of these items further as they move forward. Questions were brought up about additional restrooms in the park and it was stated that the Master Plan did call for additional restroom to be added with west side park development in the future. Mr. Dirth asked if there was a strategic plan for the building to address the flood plain issues. Mr. Allen states that there would need to be about three feet of grading to take place in order to address this issue. Discussions were held about year round use of the shelter as a warming space in the winter. Mr. Maurer responded that it is not currently intended to keep the space open to the public seven days a week as that would require staffing. The building will have a multitude of uses and all of these items can be discussed during the design process. PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer states that he has spent much of his time with department budgets. Council workshops and public hearings were held recently. The budget and CIP are scheduled for Common Council approval on November 10. The big item on the budget for the department is a new administrative building. The budget currently calls for the council to be able to borrow money for the project over a three year period and is still in the CIP for approval. LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Sturm states that his crew has worked on a lot of projects this fall. In 2020 they have planted 26 memorial trees in different parks. Recently, a Girl Scouts group came out and helped to install some of the trees which was a great learning opportunity for them. Work is being completed this week on the 2020 Urban Forestry Grant project wherein 200 trees are being planted in the Sawyer Paine Neighborhood as well as the Congress Field Neighborhood. Staff also had on their list to plant trees at Congress Ave Tot Lot. They were larger trees that were donated by members of the Neighborhood Association. Stump removals are taking place as well. Since September staff has removed over 206 stumps in terraces and are working on removing stumps in parks as well. Another project keeping staff busy is the Emerald Ash Borer mitigation. They have treated over 600 trees but there were still many that were not structurally safe and needed to be removed. That project will take a couple of years and replacement trees will be more diverse to help avoid single species issues in the future. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR NOVEMBER 9, 2020 Ms. Palmeri asked if Mr. Sturm was familiar with the American Hazelnut Initiative. He responded that the hazelnut tree is a woodland species that is native to the area. While not ideal for planting in terraces, they would be appropriate to be placed at Lakeshore Park. He emphasized that it is a good idea to have a variety of species in any given area and states that it would enhance the understory of any plantings. REVENUE FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT Ms. McCollian updated the Board about the October 17 Truck or Treat event at Menominee Park. This was a combination of the Zooloween Boo event normally held at the zoo as well as the Touch a Treat event held at Leach Amphitheater. There were 500 tickets available for the event and they sold out. It was a drive-thru event and many businesses and organizations set up booths throughout the park to hand out candy as families passed through. People were happy to have something to do and despite the long lines they received overwhelmingly positive comments. She is currently finalizing facility clean-up for the season. At Menominee Park Zoo admission into the park was limited due to Covid-19 restrictions. The park also opened up a month later than normal in 2020. Even with the restrictions, the zoo saw over 62,635 attendees this year. Again, people that came stated they were happy to have something to do. Boat launch kiosks are now located at all boat launches thanks to 50% funding from a DNR grant. People have been happy to have the different payment options for purchasing daily, annual or multi- year passes. The kiosks have been a great tool for the department as well with the detailed reporting regarding usage. Ms. McCollian states there will not be any indoor winter events this year due to COVID-19. However, she is planning for the 2021 season and hopeful that they will be able to open as usual in May. OTHER BUSINESS Ms. Palmeri inquired whether the Advisory Park Board had previously discussed the plaques and signs of the Chief Oshkosh Statue. Mr. Maurer answered that the topic has not yet come to the Board. Discussions are being worked on internally by staff at this time between Planning and Landmarks Commission. Any changes requested will ultimately come to the Board. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Davis for adjournment; seconded by Martin. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary