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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES OCTOBER 9, 2006 Present: Bryan Bain, Bill Gogolewski, Kay Hansen, Jim Michelson, Larry Pasquini, Jim Schwochert, Terry Wohler Excused: Bill Akan, Ted Bowen Staff: Thomas Stephany, Director of Parks; Vince Maas, Parks Operations Manager; Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester; Trish Wendorf, Parks Office Manager Chairman Pasquini called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Wohler for approval of the September 11, 2006 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Gogolewski. Motion carried 7-0. PARK BUSINESS 1) Quarry Park Ball Diamonds/Skating Rink Mr. Stephany reiterated his memorandum of October 5, 2006 (copy of said memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated he received a few telephone calls from the public who had concerns with parking, dust from the skin area, landfill issues, ice rink concerns, and the t-ball diamond being too close to a neighbor’s yard. Tom Mettlach, 1641 Sanders Street, questioned the approval process of the entire project. He inquired how many of the Board members had “walked the area”, how many people ice skate, what about the venting, property sinking, the orientation of the t-ball diamond, the change in the water levels, and how the land would be graded. Chairman Pasquini and Mr. Bain both acknowledged that they had “walked” the site. John Kloehn, 1035 Laager Lane, President of the Fast Club of Oshkosh, explained the t-ball diamond would be used by 4-7 year old girls and the proposal included fencing. The diamond mix is made up of sand and clay and is similar to the mix that is used at the Women’s fast pitch diamond at UW-O, which holds moisture and stays down. Mr. Kloehn stated the Club consists of 360 kids and is growing and they are in need of space and Quarry Park is ideal for their Club. Kay Mettlach, 1641 Sanders Street, inquired if there was any City Ordinance as to how far a ball diamond can be from a residence? Mr. Stephany stated there is no Ordinance addressing that issue. Ms. Mettlach stated that besides the dust issue, there is a lot of noise from all the foot traffic that interferes with the quality of life in their backyard. Ann Freid, 617 West 17th Avenue, reiterated the comments in her September 22, 2006 email addressed to Mr. Stephany (said email on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). She stated that she learned Council Member Bain would like to see one ice rink kept open (either Rainbow or Quarry Park) and expressed concern with the Pure Pleasure store being in close proximity with Rainbow Park. She stated while she supports to the Fast Club’s operations and concessions at Quarry Park, she would still like to keep the ice rink open for the public at Quarry. Richard Phillips, 4030 Prairie Lane, stated he supports the Fast Club and the proposal before the Board. Ms. Kuhn, 1966 Sky Ranch Avenue, stated she supported the proposal and added that fixing up the shelter into a concession stand would beautify the park. Ice skating is no longer conducive to the public and the park site would be best served if it supported a sport that included 360+ kids. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 2 OCTOBER 9, 2006 Discussion ensued relative to the orientation of the t-ball diamond, fencing, and possibility of maintaining an ice rink at Quarry Park. Chairman Pasquini stated the ice rink is a separate issue from the ball diamond usage. He then reiterated the background of the diamond issue and concerns. Mr. Gogolewski stated he would vote in favor of the proposal as long as the Fast Club worked with the adjacent property owners with respect to the outer fence. Mr. Michelson stated he would like to keep at least one skating rink open for public use. Mr. Wohler stated he would like to keep the Quarry Park ice rink open. Mr. Stephany stated that past history has shown that the ice rinks don’t get the kind of use that warrants the expense of maintaining them. The Recreation Department has kept records of the usage and their logs reflect that the attendance is very low (said records on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He also stated with the drastic budget cuts being proposed, this is one program that would possibly get cut. He stated that even though the Recreation Department advertises the skating rinks in their program brochure, the attendance is just not there. Discussion ensued as to the operational costs for maintaining just the skating rink itself, without the use of a shelter (heating and electrical) and the duties of park staff for other winter activities (snow plowing, machinery maintenance, etc.). Mr. Maas stated there are nine full time staff workers, not including the mechanic and zoo specialist. Staff is kept busy in the winter months repairing tables, benches, buoys, lifeguard stands, as well as snow plowing and other miscellaneous duties. Mr. Sturm added that staff snow plows all the parks’ property, some sidewalks on City property, and the downtown area, as well as does the salting for each of those properties, does equipment repairs, tree pruning in all parks, etc. With staff decreasing in size due to budget cuts, maintaining a a skating rink takes away from those other duties. 2. Rainbow Park – Change in No Wake Zone Hours Mr. Gogolewski reiterated his initial proposal from the September 11, 2006 meeting. His proposal is that the No Wake Hours be expanded from 3 PM on Fridays until midnight on Sundays from Rainbow Park to Spellman’s Marina. His reasoning for the expansion of hours is that there is an increase in boat traffic on Friday afternoons. Mr. Wohler stated the change in No Wake Hours would not adversely affect the boaters. Mr. Maas stated the Sheriff’s Department would have to be notified of any change in hours. Mr. Schwochert suggested laying the item over until the next regularly scheduled meeting to allow citizen input, since he felt people that would view this meeting on Channel 10 might want to give their opinion. Motion by Schwochert to lay this item over until the November 13, 2006 meeting. Seconded by Wohler. Motion carried 7-0. CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS There were no Citizen’s Statements. PARK DIRECTOR/STAFF REPORTS 1) Miller’s Bay Update Mr. Stephany stated there were two different versions of what the perceived problems were at Millers Bay, to-wit: 1) aquatic plant over-growth; 2) the bay bottom needs dredging. He stated Radtke Contractors recently did some testing in the bay and determined that the bay did not need dredging. He then distributed test results (said test results on file at the City Parks office ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 3 OCTOBER 9, 2006 and made a part of these minutes). Mr. Maas stated he had discussed the Miller’s Bay problem with a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) representative who stated weed harvesting is the way to go. The likelihood of getting permits for chemical treatment would be hard to do as the DNR has determined the weed over-population is not just targeted at Miller’s Bay. There is quite a bit of weed decay in the bay, but chemical treatment to a dead weed is a waste of time and money. Because of the design of Miller’s Bay, it is really not just a bay, there is some current and chemical treatment would be lessened because of the current. The Parks Department would be required to purchase their own weed harvester and train the staff to use it, which would be very costly. Mr. Maas suggested getting all the parties involved to resolve the issue with an aquatic specialist. Mr. Stephany stated there is a need to get a management plan together. He recently met with a DNR specialist to start that process. While the DNR would prefer not to use chemicals, there is a possibility of using them in Miller’s Bay. He stated he would like to form a committee to work with the DNR on a chemical management program. Al Grall, N2185 Mayflower Drive, Appleton, stated he knew of an aquatic specialist from Fond du Lac and would supply that contact name to Parks Department staff. 2. Project Updates Mr. Maas stated the Parks staff was continuing to do things that were mentioned at last month’s meeting. Staff is mowing grass and preparing for winter by way of restroom water shutoffs in the parks, the Leach Amphitheater and the water park. They are also working on shutting down the pool buildings, leaf collecting in the parks, covering the ball diamond in-fields and finishing the CIP work at Red Arrow Park. Mr. Stephany reported that the special project crew has just finished refurbishing the Little Oshkosh playground in Menominee Park. Every two (2) years, crews re-stain, varnish and do touch up work to the playground, as well as lays new wood chips. Mr. Stephany also gave a preliminary report on the financial aspect of the Pollock Community Water Park (said preliminary report is on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated that 25¢ of each ticket sold and $1 of each season pass sold is given to the Oshkosh Area Foundation for the endowment fund. Ann Fried, 617 West 17th Avenue, stated the Pollock Community Water Park is a beautiful pool and thanked everyone involved in their efforts with respect to the pool. She stated her daughter was considered “too short” for one of the pool areas even though in other communities she was able to use their similar pools, and inquired if a change of policy would be forthcoming. Mr. Stephany stated some minor policy adjustments would be made as public feedback is gathered, as the City desires to make Pollock Community Water Park a customer friendly entity. Mr. Michelson wished to commend staff on the water park and stated they are doing an excellent job. BOARD MEMBERS STATEMENTS There were no Board member statements. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion to adjourn by Wohler; Seconded by Gogolewski. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary