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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES OCTOBER 13, 2008 Present: Ted Bowen, Bill Gogolewski, Kay Hansen, Dennis McHugh, Jim Michelson, Mark Philipp, Colin Walsh, Terry Wohler Excused: Jim Schwochert Staff: Thomas Stephany, Director of Parks; Vince Maas, Parks Operations Manager; Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester; Steve Dobish, Lakeshore Golf Course General Manager; Jennifer McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager; Trish Wendorf, Recording Secretary INTRODUCTIONS Mr. Stephany introduced new Board member, Colin Walsh. Mr. Walsh stated he is a Wisconsin native, that he attended college in Stevens Point and noted that he had spent two summers working for the parks department in the past. Mr. Stephany introduced the new City Manager, Mark Rohloff, to the Board members. Mr. Rohloff stated it was his pleasure to greet the Board and members of the public. He stated he was looking forward to meeting each Board member personally and invited them to contact him if they had any questions or concerns. 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 Bowen for approval of the September 10, 2008 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Wohler. Motion carried 8-0. PARK BUSINESS 1) Bowen Street Fishing Deck Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated October 10, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated that there is a 1962 Ordinance that was discovered (said Ordinance on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes) which stated, “It shall be unlawful to fish or loiter on the Bowen Street dock from 10:00 o’clock P.M. to sunrise”. The City Attorney’s office is doing research with respect to said Ordinance – to make a determination if said Ordinance had been repealed or if the Ordinance is still in effect. Mark Raedl, 14 Bowen Street, stated he has lived at his residence for the past 35+/- years. He then read two (2) letters received (said letters on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes) from Virginia Disch and Dorothy M. Laabs. Both ladies gave their versions of the history surrounding the deck and hours posted. The both also requested that the deck remain status quo and be closed at 10 PM. Steve Lindo, 2 Bowen Street, stated he has lived at his residence for the past 12-13 years and noted that their situation is “unique” in that their house is only 30 ft. from a public fishing deck, which is also at the end of dead-end street. He stated the adjacent neighbors just want their quality of life. He also presented to the Board a photograph (said photograph not on file) of the sign that was posted at the end of the roadway which stated that the deck closed at 10 PM. Mr. Stephany stated the City had a similar unique situation at Westhaven Circle Park wherein a basketball court was in close proximity of a residence. Kids were coming to the court and playing basketball after 11 PM and affecting the quality of life of those residents. Mr. Stephany stated he had suggested that those neighbors contact the Oshkosh Police Department when the basketball players were in the park after 11 PM, but they were reluctant to do that. Parks crew ended up pulling fuses from the lights at the basketball court in order to keep players off the court after 11 PM. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 2 OCTOBER 13, 2008 Vice Chairman Wohler stated, “You are singling out one dock. If you put it in a pile, then put it in a pile.” He stated he concurs with Mr. Lindo’s comments. If the 1962 Ordinance was repealed, then it needs to be corrected. If the 1962 Ordinance is still in effect, then leave it that way and put the sign back up. Mr. Raedl stated he is a former police officer and pointed out that if the City allows for fishing docks to be open 24-hours a day, then it’s like opening a can of worms. Some docks are located in City Parks that, by Ordinance, close at 11 PM. Who is to say that someone that is out on a fishing dock is there for fishing or other activity? It would be hard to enforce the closing of a park and yet allow fishing on a fishing dock within the perimeters of a park. The Mill Street fishing deck is close to a nursing home and making that dock open to fishing 24 hours a day would be a detriment to those residents at that nursing home. 2) Red Arrow Skate Park Mr. Stephany reiterated his Memorandum addressed to the Board dated October 10, 2008 (said Memorandum on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). He stated that the matter of allowing bikes in the skatepark had been presented to the Board in the past. He stated the Red Arrow skatepark opened last Friday (October 10, 2008) and it is time to get an Ordinance approved to keep bikes off the skatepark. He stated that he held a meeting with the freestyle BMX bikers at the Streets of Fire skateboard shop last Wednesday (October 8, 2008) and the bikers are in agreement with keeping bikes off the skatepark. Mr. Michelson inquired if the bikers are not allowed on the skatepark, where would they go? Mr. Stephany stated that there are temporary ramps that James Baker (from Streets of Fire) used at Life Fest, which are now at the hockey rink at Rainbow Park for bikers to use. Mr. Michelson inquired if the skatepark was built for the purpose of both skaters and bikers? Mr. Stephany stated that the skatepark was build solely for the purpose of skaters. In recent years bikers were allowed because the skatepark was already in disrepair and they couldn’t do much more damage, but now that the skatepark has been redone, it would be unwise to allow bikers to use it. The bikers are excited about the possibility of utilizing the hockey rink at Rainbow. Mr. Bowen stated that by placing, in effect, an ordinance that would alleviate maintenance issues is a good proposal and he is in favor of it. Chairman Gogolewski stated that although he is not in favor of another ordinance, he concurs with Mr. Bowen. Mr. McHugh stated one of the problems he has noticed since he’s been on this Board, is that signs do not work – kids rip them down as fast as our parks crew put them up. For instance, the Frankfort Street signs are gone (No overnight parking in Stevens Park) that crews just recently put up, as well as the signage that was placed at the Little Oshkosh playground. Mr. Stephany stated the skaters are not afraid to call the police when bikers are in the skatepark. The police can then follow through if signage and an Ordinance is in place. He also noted that parks crew were not aware that the Frankfort Street signs were down and noted that they would be replaced as soon as possible. Motion by Bowen that Mr. Stephany confer with the City Attorney to develop ordinance language to keep bikers off the Red Arrow Skatepark. Seconded by Hansen. NO VOTE WAS TAKEN. Mr. Stephany stated that the proposed Ordinance language was included in the Board’s packet. Motion by Bowen to accept the Red Arrow Skate Park Ordinance language as submitted. Seconded by Hansen. Motion carried 8-0. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 3 OCTOBER 13, 2008 CITIZEN’S STATEMENTS Police Officer, April Hinke, 932 N Sawyer Street, apologized for being late for the meeting. She stated that her son, Jacob (age 15) is a BMX rider and encouraged the Board to reconsider the bikers being able to use the skatepark. She stated that she has done research on the issue and it is the pegs on the bikes and NOT the bikes that cause the damage to the skateparks. Mr. Stephany stated the majority of the bikers are supportive of staying out of the skatepark. He also stated that the Board had already approved the ordinance language and that their recommendation would be going to the City Council for their meeting at the end of the month. PARK DIRECTOR/STAFF REPORTS Reports 1) Lakeshore Golf Course – Mr. Dobish stated that since the report he gave at the last Parks Advisory Board meeting, he has received enthusiastic response about the proposal for green #5. He then gave a brief update of the temporary green #5. Chairman Gogolewski inquired if the tarp that is being used on green #5 would be used th on green #14, if green #5 was repaired? Mr. Dobish stated they would use that tarp/cover on the 5 green and if the CIP expense request passed, they would still use it on that green to keep it healthy. There is no guarantee that green #5 will come around in the spring. 2) Rainbow Hockey Rink– No further discussion was held with respect to this item. 3) Red Arrow Skate Board Park Project – Mr. Stephany stated that once the concrete has cured, the skatepark will need to be closed for 2-3 days in the next 2-3 weeks to allow the contractor to fill in the cracks and to allow time for the installation of another ramp. 4) Menominee Park Gazebo Bushes – Mr. Stephany stated there have been requests to trim down the bushes to showcase the gazebo. Mr. Sturm stated that the present bushes have overgrown and are woody inside – trimming would not be effective. After checking with the City’s Horticulturist, it was determined that it would be best to remove the bushes and replant some other plantings that will not grow so high. 5) Rainbow Park – Construction of new shelter by playground – Mr. Maas stated the parks crew have installed the columns and roof line and the remainder of the shelter would be completed soon. After the shelter is erected, they will then pour the slab. There is a group BBQ grill that will be installed as well. 6) Rainbow Park – Boat launch extension work – Mr. Maas stated that Radtke Contractors were working on the pilings at Rainbow, but got pulled from the job on Friday. Radtke’s will be back hopefully next week to continue with the project. 7) South Park – Pavilion and horseshoe pits – Mr. Stephany stated that the new roof has been installed and that the windows will be installed in the future. Also, crews are in the process of painting the shelter. Crews are also refurbishing the horseshoe pits. 8) Parks System – previous special events – Ms. Wendorf distributed the list of 2008 special events to date (said list on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Mrs. McCollian reported on the up-coming th at Menominee Park from 11 AM – 4 PM. She stated to date Zooloween event that will be held on October 25 there are over 35 booths participating. She also described the activities and entertainment planned for the event. Mr. Maas also reported that there is a small staff committee that is looking at developing policies for how special events happen and how various City departments can work together to insure that the special events work in a safe manner. 9) Other – Mr. Sturm reported that the City Forestry Department is the recipient of the Luebke Nursery’s inventory and noted that the forestry crews will commence digging up the stock and preparing them for City use. It is a great donation. He proposes a fall dig and a spring dig of approximately 100-125 trees. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE 4 OCTOBER 13, 2008 10) November Board Meeting Topics – Mr. Stephany stated these are two topics that may be included in the November agenda. A) Approve Bowen Street Fishing Deck Ordinance, along with Updating Fishing & Boating Ordinance Language B) Approve Use of Rainbow Park Hockey Rick Area Mr. Bowen inquired if any further discussions have been made with respect to the transfer of golf course property for the Robbins Restaurant developement? Mr. Dobish stated that to his knowledge, there has been no communication from Mr. Wally Wagner. Mr. McHugh stated that there have been no discussions about the transfer for over the past year. Mr. Bowen stated, for the record, that he would actively oppose any such transfer. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, Motion by Wohler for adjournment; seconded by Hansen. Motion carried 8-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Trish Wendorf Recording Secretary