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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES DECEMBER 8, 2008 Present: Ted Bowen, Bill Gogolewski, Kay Hansen, Dennis McHugh, Jim Michelson, Mark Philipp, Colin Walsh, Terry Wohler Staff: Thomas Stephany, Director of Parks; Vince Maas, Parks Operations Manager; Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester; Steve Dobish, General Manager, Lakeshore Golf Course; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Chairman Gogolewski 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 November 10, 2008 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by McHugh. Motion carried 8-0. PARK BUSINESS 1) Sawdust Days - 2009 Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated December 5, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated that at the last meeting, Board member Ted Bowen had requested to have an Oshkosh Police Department (OPD) report available regarding the 2008 Sawdust Days event. Instead of a written report, Mr. Stephany invited Sergeant Matt Kroening, OPD’s Special Operations Officer, to the meeting to verbally give a report and to answer any questions from the Board. Officer Kroening stated that from a police perspective the 2008 event was one of the most successful as far as complaints and arrests that were made (down from 2006/2007). Sawdust Days (2008) was the first year the OPD concentrated throughout the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the festival grounds. He then reiterated his Memorandum that he presented to the Board (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He also gave a verbal staffing report on the OPD’s officer time allotments for 2006, 2007 & 2008, including over-time hours/dollars (said staffing reports on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated there were more hours allotted due to the expansion of the th neighborhood area and because of the weekend date that the 4 of July fell on this past year. Mr. Bowen inquired if Officer Kroening’s report included traffic control officers? Officer Kroening stated no, traffic control is typically handled by the Auxiliary Police, who consist of volunteers. Community Service Officers (CSO’s) are already included in the OPD’s schedule and do not include overtime. Mr. McHugh inquired with regard to the 300 parking tickets imposed in 2008, if a determination could be made if the violators were non-City residents. He stated it is hoped the OPD will continue with the neighborhood patrolling in the future and noted that it emphasizes a problem with the parking situation. Officer Kroening stated that determination could not be made unless each ticket was manually looked up in the system. Mr. Walsh inquired as to who pays for the OPD overtime? Mr. Stephany stated the overtime is City-funded and noted that the OPD makes the determination as to how they wish to staff the event. He also stated that the Sawdust Days Committee also hires independent/private security. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 2 DECEMBER 8, 2008 Motion by Wohler for approval of the 2009 Sawdust Days request, as presented, and that the same be forwarded onto the Common Council for approval. Motion carried 6-2 (AYES: Gogolewski, Hansen, Michelson, Philipp, Walsh, Wohler; NAYS: Bowen, McHugh). Mr. Bowen stated he would like to see some mechanism that would allow Sawdust Days to defray police costs. Mr. Wohler questioned how payment could be made when no money is being made from the event – it is all manned by volunteers. He stated he was opposed to Mr. Bowen’s request that the Sawdust Days committee pay for the OPD expenses. Mr. Bowen stated he did not mean the entire OPD expense, but the Committee should defray some of the expense. Mr. Wohler suggested that maybe the Committee could use the money that they pay their private/independent security to the OPD, even though he feels the private/independent security is better suited for the event since they man the festival grounds and not the neighborhoods. He stated that most special events are non-profits that utilize volunteers and no money is being made by way of a profit and if the special event organizers are required to pay for the OPD expenses there will no longer be any special events for the public to enjoy. Motion by Bowen for approval of the 2009 Sawdust Days request, contingent upon the Sawdust Days Committee being required to contribute towards the expense of the Oshkosh Police Department to help defray the City’s expense. The motion failed for lack of a second. 2) Rotary Club Tower Project Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated December 5, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He introduced Roy Duxstaff, who introduced Bob Beckstrom, Jim Putman and Southwest Rotary President, Craig Burnett. Roy Duxstaff, 2206 Hickory Lane, gave a brief overview of the Southwest Rotary’s tower project. He stated his group had recently held an event at The Waters and was given the opportunity to view the lake from the second floor of the building and were impressed with the vistas of Oshkosh and Lake Winnebago. He distributed photographs of similar towers, including the tower at the Peninsula State Park (copies of said photographs on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Mr. Duxstaff gave a brief description of the three (3) proposed locations/options for the tower, noting that at each location there would be ample room for the project. He stated the proposed tower would be made from laminated wood and would be low maintenance. He stated that the steering committee is aware of the approval process and noted that they would be doing more research of similar towers in Wisconsin relative to building costs, security, permits, insurance, conceptual drawings, and future maintenance costs before the request was brought back to the Park Advisory Board for approval. He stated that since the proposed tower is higher than the Ordinance allows, they would need to request a Conditional Use Permit from the City Plan Commission as well. Mr. Duxstaff explained how cameras would be installed at the top of the tower so that viewing could be done at a lower level allowing the public to experience the awe of being at the top of the tower without having to climb the tower stairs (this would be a good feature for the handicapped). Mr. McHugh stated the biggest issue would be location, but noted who would argue with the project – it is a good endeavor. Mr. Maas inquired as to proposed maintenance costs for the structure. Mr. Duxstaff stated that while the proposed tower would be maintenance-free, things do break and his group would be working with the Oshkosh Foundation relative to setting up a maintenance fund at the Foundation. Mr. Wohler stated that the camera feature is a good idea. He stated that option/location #3 is great; #2 is not desirable because it is too close to Little Oshkosh; and #1 is not desirable from the standpoint of the strobe light directing people, since it is not a good idea to have people coming into the Miller’s Bay area due to thin ice. He stated there is a need to keep people away from the river and away from Miller’s Bay for safety reasons. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 3 DECEMBER 8, 2008 Mr. Michelson stated he is in favor of the tower project, but one concern that he has is the location. He prefers location/option #3 the best because of the parking (less congestion) and that it is away from the main flow of the park. Mr. Bowen stated that the proposed tower would most likely require some type of fencing and would need to be locked at night and during the winter months when it is closed. Mr. Duxstaff stated his group would be working with the Oshkosh Police Department with respect to a locked fenced area around the steps of the tower. Mr. Walsh stated he feels location/option #3 is the most viable, but inquired as to what type of footing would be required? He was concerned with erosion on the edge of the proposed area as well as ice shoves. Mr. Bowen stated he has not seen ice shoves in that area. Mr. Wohler concurred. Mr. Duxstaff stated he was not sure as to what type of footings would be required and would be working with the proper authorities in that regard. Mr. Bowen stated he disagrees with the project, but likes the idea of a light. He feels location/option #2 is the most viable since that area could be more easily monitored by staff and the parking is readily available. He stated that although location/option #2 would be his choice, he would rather not accept the project. Chairman Gogolewski stated that he feels the tower project is a good idea and his choice is location/option #3 since that location is close to the original placement of the beacon. He supports the tower project. Mr. Maas inquired if the proposed tower would be open year round as he was concerned with snow removal. Mr. Duxstaff stated the proposed tower would be locked in the winter months. Mr. McHugh inquired as to liability insurance. Mr. Duxstaff stated Calumet County’s tower is covered under the County’s general liability insurance policy – same as the City’s waterpark and state parks. He noted he would have a more definitive answer as to liability insurance for the February meeting, as well as obtaining histories from other towers within the state. Mr. McHugh stated more public awareness needs to be made with respect to this request, i.e., costs, liability issues, maintenance, handicapped accessibility, age limits, etc. He stressed that the Southwest Rotary tower committee needs to make every effort to get input from the citizens. 3. Rainbow Park Hockey Rink Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated December 5, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated that Brian Hinckley and Lee Rhyno, representing the BMX bikers, were present to answer any questions of the Board. Mr. McHugh inquired as to where ice skating would be available to the public if this request was granted. Mr. Stephany stated that during the past few years there has been a sharp decline in outside ice-skating rinks. He stated although there are no ice-skating rinks within the parks system, there is the indoor rink at the YMCA. He noted that the Quarry Park’s rink used to be staffed by the Oshkosh Recreation Department and was minimally used. With the man hours and water involved in making a rink, which has low use, it is a waste of money. Mr. Maas stated in the last couple of years ice was made at Rainbow Park. He noted that it takes a few weeks to get a rink into good condition. When the temperatures hit the 30’s, the rink becomes unusable – all the water that is put down melts and runs off of the rink. He stated that just by looking at the minimal markings on the ice a person can tell that the rink is not being used much. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 4 DECEMBER 8, 2008 Mr. Stephany stated that it is possible that Menominee Park could be used again in the future as a skating rink area. Mr. Michelson stated that he likes the proposed project as it makes a good use of the facility, but is concerned that there is no ice-skating rink available to the public within the parks system. Mr. Dobish stated he has no problems with the BMX’ers project as long as when the Rainbow Park lights go out, the bikers do not go onto the Lakeshore Golf Course property. Mr. Philipp inquired as to why the parks staff stopped plowing the Menominee Park rink? Mr. Stephany reiterated there was a lack of use for that rink. Mr. Philipp stated that the bay in Menominee Park would be an ideal location for an ice rink since the lighting is already in place. Mr. Maas stated the ice in the bay would need to be thick enough to withstand a truck for plowing purposes. Motion by Bowen for approval of the Freestyle BMX Bike Park at Rainbow Park proposal, as submitted. Seconded by Wohler. Motion carried 8-0. Motion by Michelson for approval of the Freestyle BMX Bike Park at Rainbow Park contingent upon the City pursuing one (1) ice skating rink within the City of Oshkosh’s park system. Seconded by McHugh. Amended motion withdrew by Michelson. Mr. Maas suggested that after the boards at the Rainbow rink are taken down, parks staff could make an ice rink for the 2008 winter season, to determine what kind of use it may have. 4. Lakeshore Golf Course – Sale of Property to DOT Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated December 5, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Mr. Dobish gave a brief overview of the history of the proposed sale of golf course property to the DOT. He stated the DOT’s latest offer is the least costly to the DOT with no adverse effects on the golf course. The golf course would lose one- half of a berm, so there would be some cost to relocate it, but on the other hand, there would be 60-ft less to mow. He stated that the Rath Lane line has been moved a few times during discussions, but nothing has changed with regard to the golf course property. He stated there were three (3) different appraisals done on the golf course property and the DOT’s latest offer has been the best offer to date. The property in question is a 60-ft wide strip by 500 ft (41,000 ft which is a tad less than one (1) acre). Mr. McHugh inquired if there was a need for the City to explore options for detention ponds on the golf course property? Mr. Dobish stated there is a possibility for a detention pond behind Robbins Restaurant for run-off water from that area. Motion by Bowen for approval of the sale of the golf course land to the State’s DOT, as requested. Seconded by Wohler. Motion carried 7-1 (McHugh). Ms. Hanson inquired if the purchase price of $100,000 would be applied to the golf course’s debt service? Mr. Dobish stated that, even though he did not have that condition in writing; he was pretty sure that might be the intent. Motion by Wohler to amend the motion to recommend that the purchase price of $100,000 be applied to the golf course’s debt service. Mr. McHugh stated he did not think that amendment was necessary since the City Manager was very adamant about getting the debt service paid off as soon as possible and concurred with Mr. Dobish’s comment about the intent of the purchase price being earmarked for the debt service. Amended motion by Wohler was withdrawn. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 5 DECEMBER 8, 2008 CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS There were no citizen’s statements. PARK DIRECTOR/STAFF REPORTS Reports 1) Hazel Street Sewer Interceptor Project – Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated December 5, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Mr. Sturm stated 25 of the 38 affected trees that were in the path of the pipe line were spayed out and planted elsewhere within the park. Thirteen (13) of the trees could not be moved due to the close proximity to underground infrastructure, concrete, and difficulty in back filling. Once the project is completed, replacement trees will be put in. He stated that the City’s Public Works Department is working with his crews on this project. He stated this is a difficult project and it would have been too costly to move around the trees to do the pipe work, so the trees were either relocated or eliminated. The cost to remove the larger trees were $150 per tree and the smaller ones were $90 per tree, with a total cost of approximately $4,000 for the tree work. ndth 2) March Meeting – Mr. Stephany stated that the 2 annual “State of the City” meeting is scheduled for March 9 (regular Advisory Park Board meeting date). He will advise the Board if the March meeting will be cancelled or rescheduled to another night, as soon as that determination has been made. th 3) Other – Mr. Stephany stated that the 7 annual Celebration of Lights in Menominee Park is in full swing and encouraged the Board members to attend. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Michelson for adjournment; seconded by McHugh. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:29 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary