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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES NOVEMBER 10, 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; 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 October 13, 2008 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Michelson. Motion carried 8-0. PARK BUSINESS 1) Sawdust Days - 2009 Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated November 7, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Ellen Schmidt, 4303 Swallow Banks Lane, stated that she is proud of last year’s event and noted there was no significant Oshkosh Police Department (OPD) involvement. She stated the OPD neighborhood patrols and private security on the grounds were effective. She also stated that the clean up efforts after the festival were done in a timely fashion, and that the fireworks were great (they even had started a minute early). The kid’s tent was a free event, thanks to the efforts by the Noon Optimist Club, and it is hoped that their event will be held again next year. Mr. McHugh inquired if any contractual penalties would be applied to Sawdust Days if their event was not approved by Council. Ms. Schmidt stated if contracts were signed for the event, and the event was not held, the Sawdust Days committee would be obligated to fulfill the payments of those contracts. Mr. Bowen inquired as to the dogs being allowed in the historical village of the park during the festival – is that a standard request? Ms. Schmidt explained that years ago there were certain issues that needed to be addressed and dogs in the park at the festival was one of those issues. There are conditions that the encampment participants need to follow, i.e. dogs must be kept in the participants’ tent/unit during the event; they must be walked outside of the park; the participants must pick up after their dog; the dogs must be current with their rabies and other shots and participants submit proof of same; and the participants must wear a wristband so the OPD know they are with the Sawdust Days encampment. Many people travel from far away and they have nowhere to place their dog during the event and that is why they are given special permission to allow them in the park. She stated there are only about 2-3 dogs actually in the historic area. Mr. Stephany stated the carnival attendants are also allowed to have dogs in their tents/units because they are a traveling group. He noted that the same rules apply to the carnival attendants as to the historical encampment participants. He then stated that the Sawdust Days request will be brought up for further discussion at the December 2008 Park Advisory Board meeting. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 2 NOVEMBER 10, 2008 2) Rainbow Park – Freestyle BMX Bike Park Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated November 7, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Mark Hilson, 725 W Packard Street; Brian Hinckley, 614 Scott Street; and Colin Rognsvoog, 820 High Avenue, representing the Freestyle BMX bikers, gave a PowerPoint presentation (said presentation on file at the City Parks office and made a part £ of these minutes) which gave historical background of the BMX bikers and also depicted what they are planning for the future. Mr. Hilson stated there are a few people from the Appleton and Neenah area that have been successful in their biking abilities and have made the cover of national BMX magazines. Mr. Hinckley stated that biking provides people of all ages a sense of independence and responsibility, as well as exercise. Discussion ensued as to the type of materials used for the construction of the ramps. Mr. Hilson stated they are typically made from a weather-proofed sheeting material (metal or plastic) with a wooden core. The ramps are not bolted down and would be way too heavy to be moved by the bikers’ use. Mr. Hilson provided his biking experience/history to the Board, which included the following: He has been a freestyle BMXer since 1982; in 1995 he helped with the indoor skate fun box in Appleton; he has worked with the City of Neenah on the construction of their skate park; and has worked with Menasha in the design of their skate park; in 2003 he worked with the City of Kimberly on their biking/skating park. His latest skatepark project has been in Ohio at a private facility for an Ohio team. Mr. Hilson stated the concrete slab and lighting is already installed at Rainbow Park and their group could commence working on the bike park right away. They can utilize the ramps that the Streets of Fire had donated and add to them as they raise funds. Mr. Michelson inquired if the concrete surface at Rainbow was conducive to the BMX bikers’ use. Mr. Hilson stated it is a perfect surface for their use as it is not slick and not too rough. He also stated the size of the rink is perfect – by no means could they fill up the area right away, but there is plenty of room to expand and become an on-going project for their group. Mr. McHugh inquired if this request was coming back to the Board in December for the approval process. Mr. Stephany stated that this group needs official City support to take to the Oshkosh Foundation in order to raise the monies required for additional amenities. Mr. McHugh inquired if there were budget concerns with respect to this project. Mr. Stephany stated he did not think so. He said it is the group’s intention to raise money through fund raising and the Oshkosh Foundation. Mr. Wohler stated he feels it is a great project and would support it. He inquired as to how the group intended to raise funds? Mr. Hilson stated they had a gathering this past Halloween and had raised $400. The intent is to continue with collection jars at various gatherings; putting together an informational brochure for businesses for sponsorships; participating in brat fry fundraisers; and whatever other ideas they can come up with. Mr. Wohler inquired as to the cost for building a ramp? Mr. Hilson stated that something the size of what is already out at Rainbow would run $2,000 to $2,500. Mr. Michelson inquired, facility-wise, the boards would be removed and the lights would remain, correct? Mr. Stephany stated that would be it. There is ample parking off the beaten track so that would not be a deterrent to the neighborhood and some amenities are already in place. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 3 NOVEMBER 10, 2008 Mr. Michelson inquired how the bike park would be open to the public? Mr. Stephany stated that it would be open the same as normal park hours – from sunrise to 11 PM. Mr. McHugh inquired as to the chances of it being overused and kids doing all sorts of things, such as vandalism and attempting to turn over the ramps, etc. Mr. Stephany stated the ramps are relatively heavy and could not be turned over easily. As for vandalism, that occurs everywhere at various times of the day/night. He does not think there are any negatives to this proposal and if it is overused, than it is a successful endeavor. Mr. McHugh expressed concern that the serious bikers would not be able to use it if the public overuses the facility. Mr. Hilson stated the facility would most likely have different skill levels of users – as long as the individual is trying to utilize the facility properly, there are other bikers that will help or assist them. If an average biker gets in the way of a skilled biker, there are always adult people that can handle the situation tactfully. Mr. Stephany added that the BMX bikers could also have ramps built for lower-skilled bikers, as there is ample room at the facility. Mr. Walsh inquired if rules would be posted similar to the skatepark, but in reverse – that skaters are not allowed in the bike park? Mr. Stephany stated that could be done. Mr. Walsh inquired if the hockey rink had been flooded last year for use as an ice skate rink? Mr. Maas stated the weather in the past 3-4 years has not been conducive to ice skating and it wasn’t used much. He did not think that flooding is an issue with the concrete – if there is a number of pieces (ramps) that need to be moved for ice skating purposes, then the parks crew would need to find a place to store those pieces (ramps). Mr. Michelson inquired if concrete-to-grass was a concern with respect to the bikers? Mr. Hilson stated he did not think there would be a problem with running out of bounds once the boards are removed. Mr. Maas added there is 10-15 ft of asphalt around the rink now. Chairman Gogolewski inquired how many freestyle bikers are in the area? Mr. Hilson stated there are lots of them and the number of new participants have sky-rocketed. His guess would be that from Appleton to Fond du Lac there are about 200+/-. He added that some bikers have traveled from Chicago to attend the local fund raisers and noted there were approximately 50-100 bikers at the recent Halloween fundraiser. Discussion ensued relative to the parking. Mr. Stephany stated that his belief is that there would be ample parking. Anthony Schneider, 5540 Co Rd. Z, wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Board for their assistance in helping the skaters realize their dream at the Red Arrow Skatepark. The new skatepark has made a lot of kids happy and noted there are skaters that come from as far as Chicago, as well as Milwaukee and Green Bay. He offered the skaters’ support to the BMX bikers, as the skaters would like to see the bikers’ dream come to fruition. CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS There were no citizen’s statements. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 4 NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PARK DIRECTOR/STAFF REPORTS Reports 1) Menominee Park Zoo – Mr. Stephany reported that the trail system by the maintenance building is in the process of being moved from the north (road) side of the building to the south (pond) side of the building. There are two (2) corn cribs which are being dismantled and that area will be used for the display of farm animals. th Annual 2) Celebration of Lights – Mr. Stephany stated the pace has picked up with respect to setting up the 7 thst COL display. The COL event starts November 26 and runs through January 1 at Menominee Park. 3) Rainbow Park Boat Ramps – Mr. Stephany reported that work is continuing with extending the ramps at Rainbow Park. The first (2) ramps are completed and work is beginning on the final two (2) ramps. 4) Spanbauer Softball Diamond – Mr. Stephany stated an asphalt overlay had been completed with regard to the Spanbauer Park parking lot. Mr. Maas gave the background on the process for the overlay approval. He pointed out that if any major changes had been planned for the parking lot, then the overlay approval would not have gone through without following the storm drainage procedures. Since there were no design changes, they were able to obtain the overlay approval. 5) Resignation of Board Member Jim Schwochert – Mr. Stephany stated that regrettably, Mr. Schwochert resigned from the Board due to family and work demands. He wanted to take the opportunity to thank Mr. Schwochert for his time and efforts with respect to the Board. 6) 2008 Pollock Community Water Park Update – Mr. Stephany stated that expenses for the pool are still incurring so a final report is not completed to date. He gave an attendance comparison for the past two years and noted that this past season was very challenging due to weather. He stated the average temperatures for June was 75º, July was 79º, and August was 78º - there was not one (1) 90º day. He is waiting on the survey results that are typically done by Eau Claire from twenty (20) different water park facilities. Mr. Walsh inquired if a survey had been done at Pollock? Mr. Stephany stated he has not done a survey yet, but would be doing one in the near future. 7) Leach Amphitheater Marketing Committee – He stated there are exciting things sitting on the table with respect to the Leach. A marketing committee will be meeting next week. The intent of the committee is to provide ideas on marketing the Leach for a variety of rental possibilities. 8) December meeting – Mr. Stephany stated there is a group that has formed that has a desire to construct a 75-ft. observation tower in Menominee Park. The committee has requested to appear before the Board at the December meeting to discuss the proposed project. 8) Other – Mr. Sturm stated his crews are cleaning up loose ends on some current projects and are also in the process of setting up the holiday decorations. Mr. Bowen requested, with respect to Sawdust Days, that any reports from the Oshkosh Police Department, with regard to any incidents from this past year’s event be available for the December Board meeting. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Bowen for adjournment; seconded by Michelson. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:07 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary