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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES JULY 13, 2015 Present: Amy Davis, Victor Girens, Steve Herman, Jim Michelson, Carrie Rule, Megan Schuessler, Terry Wohler Excused: Bill Gogolewski, Bill Miller Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Bill Sturm, Landscape Operations Manager/City Forester; Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager; Steve Dobish, Trish Marks, Recording Secretary Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course Manager; CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wohler called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Mr. Maurer introduced the new Board member, Amy Davis. Ms. Davis stated she grew up in Oshkosh and has three (3) kids active within the Oshkosh Parks system. ROLL CALL A quorum was determined to be present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Girens for approval of the June 8, 2015 minutes, as distributed. Seconded by Herman. Motion carried 6-0 w/1 abstaining (Davis). CITIZENS STATEMENTS (Items on Agenda) There were no citizen’s statements. PARK BUSINESS 1)Discuss/accept Parkland dedication for Bristol Square Subdivision Mr. Maurer gave a brief synopsis of the request per his Memorandum to the Board dated July 8, 2015 (said Memorandum on file at the Parks Department and made a part of these minutes). He stated that in this case, a neighborhood park is needed in the Bristol Square Subdivision area. The developer is Richard Gabert and that the three (3) acres of parkland is based on the preliminary plat. Mr. Michelson inquired as to when the roadways would be developed. Mr. Maurer stated he did not know the timeline for development of the roads, but noted that it would be required to have roads put in first as access would be needed for the parkland as well as for emergency vehicles. Mr. Girens inquired if any study was made as to what it will cost the City to develop the area into a park. Mr. Maurer stated the cost of development would depend on the amenities. Until staff gets into the design of what the neighbors want. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO JULY 13, 2015 Ms. Schuessler inquired as to what year the park CIP improvements would fall into. Mr. Maurer stated it is dependent upon how that subdivision builds up and when it is developed. Motion by Michelson to recommend acceptance of parkland dedication for the Bristol Square Subdivision; Seconded by Schuessler. Motion carried 7-0. 2)Update on Menominee Park Shoreland Restoration Project Mr. Maurer gave a brief background of the proposal per his Memorandum to the Board dated July 8, 2015 (said Memorandum on file at the Parks Department and made a part of these minutes). Justin Mitchell, 652 Monroe Street, Chair of the Menominee Park Shoreland Committee, gave a PowerPoint™ presentation of the Menominee Park Shoreland Update Report 2015 (said report on file at the City Parks office and made a part of these minutes). Melanie Leet, Conservation Technician at the Winnebago County Land and Water Conservation Department, stated she had visited the site in early July relative to the health of the restoration of the shoreline. She stated it appears the program is going well and noted that larger cup plants have either been cut or relocated. She stated that in order to keep the plants below 3 ft. would be a difficult endeavor without taking everything out and redoing the entire area. Mr. Mitchell stated the 6-10 ft plantings have been removed which required over 100 hours of labor. The group plans on doing the “next tier” which will clear up 80% of the plantings (majority of the 3-4 ft plantings). He stressed that his group never committed to plants no higher than 2 ft., and noted that very few of their seedlings are less than 2 ft. (most being 3-5 ft). Ms. Leet He stated that native plantings require deeper roots to be able to establish a buffer. If it is the Board’s desire to have the plantings under 2 ft, she does not know how to do that without starting from scratch. Ms. Leet suggested that the Board could pursue viewing corridors if one of their goals is to maintain the mentality of mowing the grass to the shoreline to insure good water quality to maintain the habitat. Mr. Herman stated that the key thing is to keep the site as clean as possible, and to avoid blocking anyone’s view of the lake. He noted that the area is an educational piece, but we need to make sure that it is maintained. Mr. Michelson stated that the intent was to reduce the height of the plantings and he is not hearing that. He stated the Board would not have approved the original plan with 4-5 ft plantings and some being over 6 ft. in height; that’s unacceptable. Chairman Wohler inquired as to the goal of the Shoreland Committee right now knowing how the Board feels about the height. Mr. Mitchell stated his group did solid work in getting rid of the taller plants and will continue to reduce the height of the plantings in tiers. He understands that the Board does not want plantings higher than 3 ft., and his group has been working towards that goal. Mr. Michelson suggested that at the end of a 3-year period one-third of the bed would be 3 ft. or less in height and that at the end of the third year, all plantings would be under 3 ft. in height. Ms. Rule stated that the Shoreland Committee has done a lot of work in getting the height of the plants down and she is happy with the progress they are making. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE JULY 13, 2015 Ms. Schuessler stated that if this pilot area is not maintained as per the Board’s direction, she could not see the project expanding into other areas within the park. Ms. Leet stated she would continue to work with the Shoreland Committee and try to come up with another plan that would be more to the Board’s pleasing. Chairman Wohler read into the record, a Memorandum from Board member Bill Miller dated July 13, 2015 (said Memorandum on file at the Parks Department and made a part of these minutes). PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer stated that with respect to the Riverwalk sections, the area by the Boatworks Michigan Street pier is close to completion. The new restroom facility is 90% done, noting that the parking lot phase needs to be completed before the restroom facility will open. With respect to the Steiger Park pathways, bids will be included with parking lot work at the Senior Center. Staff is working with the Plan Commission, Museum staff and Landmarks Commission with respect to historic signage which will be an informative project depicting old pictures and history of the areas along the Riverwalk. At this time staff is working on budgets and personnel evaluations. PARKS OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Dallman stated that complete restoration of dirt work and seeding has been completed at Teichmiller Park as well as West Algoma Park. At the Amusement Center at Menominee Park, the slab work for the kayaks and canoes has been completed. The Stevens Park restroom project is coming along nicely and noted that site restoration is the next step. Programming-wise, the athletic fields have had heavy use all season. Mowing duties have slowed down so crews are now able to work on other projects. The Leach Amphitheater is at its busiest time of the year and noted that the landscaping work has been revamped and is looking great. The Pollock Community Water Park has been busy despite the weather conditions. There have been some challenges with staff changes in all areas. LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Sturm reported that crews have completed the plantings at the George Washington monument area and are waiting on the lighting fixtures to be installed. His crews have installed new planting beds at Grand Opera House Square and they look great. He has crews working on projects at the Leach Amphitheater such as tree pruning and will follow up with plant material replacements and mulching. His crews have completed landscaping upgrades to the Pollock Community Water Park and the Convention Center as well. Some ash trees have been removed from the terraces in conjunction with the sidewalk repair program. He noted that he is working on EAB treatments (saving some trees) in marked areas which are on a 3-year cycle. With respect to the Riverside Cemetery, mowing duties have slowed down so crews are able to work on other projects that had previously been set aside. REVENUE FACILITIES OPERATIONS MANAGER’S REPORT Ms. McCollian reported that the Pollock Community Water Park has two new managers this year and they seem to be working well. To date, the pool revenues are up from last year with the best year being in 2013. They are up in admissions by $3,200 and up in concessions by $2,600 and visitors are up by 2,000+/-. All of the 2015 special events at the pool have been sponsored by Winnebago Community Credit Union. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR JULY 13, 2015 With respect to the Menominee Park Amusements, revenues are up by $1,100 and concessions up by $963 with Lakefly Café revenues being down $240 and Reetz Diamond Concessions being down by $144. A new event this year, Mascot Day, was sponsored by Bella Vista Senior Living and was held on June 16. There were 10-12 mascots from different business and custard donated by Leon’s Frozen Custard. The June 20 Snooze at the Zoo th was sponsored by Bella Vista Senior Living and Thrivent South Winnebago Chapter. There are four (4) Movie Nights at the Leach Amphitheater being sponsored by Rasmussen College. The Tuesday Night Streaming Live Concert Series has begun noting that this past Tuesday had the most attendance. She is getting ready for the Touch a Truck event to be held on August 8 which is sponsored by Oshkosh Corporation. Last year the event th was attended by 2,500 people. LAKESHORE MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Dobish stated that this year is looking good to date and that they are $35,000 ahead of last year’s revenues ($22,000 higher than 3-year average) and rounds are up by 1,420 (528 higher than 3-year average). Concession sales are up this year by $6,000. City Tournament is coming up and they are hoping to exceed attendance of 140 people. Mr. Gardiner sold almost all of the tee signs this year. In general, the golf course is doing very well this year. OTHER BUSINESS There being no other business, ADJOURNMENT Motion by Michelson for adjournment; seconded by Girens. Motion carried 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:18 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Trish Marks Trish Marks, Recording Secretary