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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3-8-21 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MARCH 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 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Greuel for approval of the February 8, 2021 minutes. Seconded by Dirth. Motion carried 9-0. OLD BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS DRAFT SCHEMATIC DESIGN OF LAKESHORE PARK – 4 SEASONS BUILDING Mr. Maurer states that he has spent a lot of his time over the last month working with SmithGroup. In February the Board spoke about capacity sizes of the assembly room and asked for cost estimates depending on varying capacities. That information was included in the packet which broke down costs and gave capacity numbers for just the assembly room as well as the entire building. The initial estimated project costs have gone up some due to material costs and is reflected on the breakdown sheet. Mr. Maurer has spoken with the Finance Director and City Manager due to funding and they continue to work on identifying funding potentials within the City and Department budgets. They feel comfortable with the ability to have the funding for the 125 capacity assembly and 150 capacity building. There is also the potential for donated funds to come in for the project as well. The Park Master Plan recommended accommodating 120-150 people. Questions were brought up regarding usage for the larger shelters in the park as well as whether the planned parking lots could accommodate the building size. Mr. Maurer stated that SmithGroup staff confirmed with Planning department staff that the parking lot size accommodates the 125/150 capacity and the costs include the parking lot improvements. Mr. Dirth encouraged the Board to plan for the future and the fact that adding on at that time will be ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO MARCH 8, 2021 more inconvenient than just building what will accommodate those needs now. There were some questions regarding details with the building and Mr. Maurer reminded the Board that the focus for this discussion is to give direction on capacity sizes for the building. There will be further discussion in the future that the Board and public will be involved in with regards to details for the building. Ms. Martin encouraged everyone to keep in mind that this shelter is to be used for the public and will be paid for by the public with tax money. She questioned what type of rentals are anticipated for the space and whether they would take away business from local businesses. Mr. Maurer responded that current shelter use is more for family rentals, reunions, anniversary and birthday parties, etc. It will also be used for department events as well as working with local organizations that would like to utilize the space. The consensus of the Board was to move forward planning for the 125 assembly and 150 building capacity limits. Mr. Maurer stated that there will be further discussions regarding building details in the future but he will take the 125/150 capacity information to Council on Tuesday. NEW BUSINESS 1) DISCUSS RENTAL OF DINGHY RACKS FOR KAYAKS/CANOES AT MILLER’S BAY AND RECOMMEND ANNUAL FEE Mr. Maurer advises the Board that discussions have been held in house as the result of public requests from people looking for a convenient way to store canoes and/or kayaks at Miller’s Bay in the summer months. He has been contacted by the Community Foundation stating that there is a group willing to come forward and fund improvements that would be needed to make this possible. He gave some history for the program which includes sailboat mooring, on-land storage for sailboats and trailers as well as a catamaran dock along the shore. Over the past 10-15 years the mooring site usage has gone down considerably. There are storage racks on site for the dinghies that sailors would use to access their boat. Currently there are 8 racks that hold 6 boats each leaving 48 potential spots. The department agrees that opening up the racks that are unused for the mooring program could be beneficial for the public as well as improve usage at the site. He is bringing the recommendation to the board to allow 6 of the 8 racks to be used for canoe/kayak storage at an annual rate of $50 for residents and $75 for non-residents. Rentals would be from May-October each year similar to the mooring program. The current cost for catamaran storage along the shoreline is $100 for residents and $125 for non-residents. Ms. Palmeri questioned what the requirements would be for insurance and securing the canoes/kayaks. Mr. Maurer states that it will be similar to the mooring program in that the city is not liable, so it the owner’s responsibility to insure their property as well as securing the unit when not in use. Mr. Dirth asked for clarification regarding the boat launch fee and whether their annual fee would include that as well. Mr. Maurer responded that it would be similar to the Miller’s Bay Mooring program so yes the launch fee is included. Motion by Davis to recommend approval of renting dinghy racks for kayaks/canoes at Miller’s Bay with annual fee of $50 for residents and $75 for non-residents. Seconded by Hudak. Motion carried 9-0. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE MARCH 8, 2021 PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer updated that Pollock Community Water Park will be operating in 2021. The pool season for 2021 will run from June 12 through August 18, 2021, dependent upon staffing. At this time, we will be limiting attendance to 25% of the facility capacity or 565 people at any time. We are currently planning for blocks of time to start the season. 10-11:30am will be open for lap swimming, lazy river walking and tot time. Facility cleaning will take place between 11:30-noon. The first open swim session will be from 12pm-3pm and the second session from 4pm-7pm. Again, the facility will be closed for cleaning from 3pm-4pm. This process has worked well for other communities so the department is planning to go this route and see how it works. Face masks will be encouraged when patrons are out of the water; maintenance and front line staff will be required to wear face masks as well. Lifeguard staff will not wear masks while on duty but will wear them in the facility at other times. He has met with the Recreation Department staff and they are in agreement with this plan. Concessions will be primarily pre-packaged goods. ASSISTANT PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Dallman advised the Board that the Roe Park ice rink has closed for the season with the warmer weather we have been experiencing. This location worked well for the ice rink however. He states there are challenges to having a long ice rink season due to weather. Bids are out at this time for both projects at Westhaven Circle Park this summer; play equipment replacement and the ballfield renovation. There will be more activity at this site in the near future as staff prepares for these improvements. LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Sturm advises that they recently received confirmation from the Arbor Day Foundation that the city has received their Tree City Reward for the 40th consecutive year which makes them the second longest running community in Wisconsin. He adds that it is great that Oshkosh is on board with this program. He is hoping for an in person Arbor Day program for 2021. However, if deemed unsafe we will hold a virtual event like we did in 2020. Staff continues to work on Emerald Ash Borer mitigation. They are primarily working on the west side of the city at this time. Staff is also working on ash tree removals in Westhaven Circle Park and South Park. Staff will replace the trees as funding is available. Mr. Sturm is putting together the plan for the spring planting project. He is receiving terrace tree requests from residents as well as replacing the trees that were previously removed. There are over 100 tree plantings planned for the project and plantings will take place in May and June. Ms. Palmeri inquired about the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative and exploring the opportunity of introducing these trees in the city. Mr. Sturm states it is a viable idea. After she spoke of this initiative previously he did some research and there are some active nurseries in the southwest part of the state that are involved in this. This is a shrub species that would be better used for landscaping purposes as opposed to terrace trees. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR MARCH 8, 2021 REVENUE FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT Ms. McCollian states that she is excited to bring back events in 2021 at the different facilities. What is usually already a busy time of year for her has been made even busier due to preparing COVID-19 protocols. Many of the sponsors are asking for clarifications for measures to be taken for safety purposes and others are still not comfortable sponsoring events in 2021. The department is planning to host Tuesday Night Concerts at the Leach Amphitheater. Verve, a Credit Union will be sponsoring this series again. She is looking into different types of entertainment to encourage social distancing. Movie Nights will also return to the Leach and each movie night has been sponsored. There will be food trucks at both Tuesday Night Concerts and Movie Nights at the Leach. She is working with Winnebago Community Credit as the pool sponsor and what events will be held there this year. Oshkosh Zoological Society is sponsoring Wildlife Wednesdays at the Menominee Park Zoo again this year. There will be a program held every Wednesday from end of May through the end of August at varying times throughout the season. New this year will be Brews on the Bay. This series was planned for 2020 but postponed to 2021. She is working on finalizing plans and sponsors for the beer gardens that will be held at the Kiwanis Shelter at Menominee Park. The Menominee Park Children’s Amusement Center will be open during the event and there will be food trucks, bands and entertainment to make the events family friendly. The department has a lot of fun stuff planned for the 2021 season and if anyone knows of a teen who is looking for work she encourages them to apply. Applications have been slow coming in but there are a lot of job opportunities available. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Martin for adjournment; seconded by Metz. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary