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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 11 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 Present: Tony Dirth, Bill Gogolewski, Steve Herman, Todd Kaufmann, Bill Miller, Carrie Rule, Terry Wohler Excused: Amy Davis, Megan Schuessler Other: John Kneer, Rettler Corporation; Rebecca Ramirez, Rettler Corporation; interested citizens Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Trace Gardiner, Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse Manager/Golf Pro; Stacy James, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Chairman Wohler called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. І PARK BUSINESS 1) PUBLIC INPUT FOR COMPREHENSIVE OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN (CORP) Mr. Maurer thanked everyone for coming to the public input meeting. He briefed those in attendance with the fact that the City is working with Rettler Corporation on updating the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) over the past several months to update the plan which was last updated in 2011. The update is necessary in order to have current information on the park system for applying for financial assistance and receiving grants from federal and state resources. This meeting has been set to hear input from the public on the park system. He understands that there are numerous people here who will be speaking regarding the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course (LMGC) and requested that general comments be allowed first before focusing on the golf course solely. He stressed that this meeting is for public input only and no action was being taken at this time nor is it the intent for any two-way conversations to take place. Comment cards were also made available should people not wish to speak before the Board. He then introduced John Kneer from Rettler Corporation to give a brief presentation regarding the CORP. Mr. Kneer thanked everyone for having him and introduced himself as the President of Rettler Corporation, a landscape architect firm based out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He and Rebecca Ramirez (Landscape Architect) were involved with the City in creating the 2011 CORP and are happy to be working with them again on the update. He gave a brief explanation of the document and how it is created. The CORP update is important because parks and open spaces have become increasingly important to the public. Good planning is essential to keep the system working well and the information that is used in the CORP is updated to meet the needs of the community and keep up with requirements for federal and state ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 funding. He then showed examples of information found in the CORP and how it can be used by the public. The CORP can also be used to identify problem areas that need to be addressed in future budget planning. Input is pulled from the public meeting held tonight, the online and paper surveys that had previously been distributed, meeting with Parks Department Maintenance and Administrative Staff, attending Advisory Park Board Meetings as well as taking park tours to view the different parks in person. With this information they put together general recommendations for the different parks that can be worked on over the next 5-10 years, capital improvement summaries are created for each park and future developments are discussed. The next steps are for the public to share their thoughts and provide their comments. Mr. Kneer explained that the next steps are to complete the draft copy of the CORP, submit it to the Advisory Park Board for review and approval, obtain approval from the Plan Commissioner and lastly obtain approval from the Common Council. At that point the plan will begin implementation. Mr. Maurer then opened up the meeting for input from the public for items pertaining to areas other than the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course at this time. Pat Hallquist, 2030 Hazel Street, Oshkosh Ms. Hallquist is a representative for the Winnebago County League of Woman Voters. She stressed that the parks are important for all members of the city. They feel that maintenance is a high priority and suggested that Pages 4-8 of the current CORP be implemented as presented. She also stated that park land should be added to the city, never subtracted, especially in areas where there are multi-family complexes. She feels that the City should continue to work on storm water management and educating the public throughout the process of implementing changes in the parks system. Her group supports the Millers Bay Shoreline project and requests that the program be maintained and replicated in other areas of the City. Fred Redman, 2663 W 9 Ave, Oshkosh th Mr. Redman encouraged the Board to build more Pickleball courts. Currently the sport is played at both corporate the sport throughout the city with the tennis courts. It is a sport that is enjoyed by the baby boomers and has greatly impacted parks systems throughout the entire country. He notes that many snowbirds enjoy playing the sport throughout the winter down South. He also stated that in advance of EAA he received a couple phone calls regarding the availability of Pickleball courts in the City. He currently has over 100 people on his e-mail list regarding games and there are usual 25-30 people waiting at the YMCA to play, dozens play at County Park as well. Harold Buchholz, 1165 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh Mr. Buchholz stated that he also supports having Pickleball courts added to the parks. He feels that the tennis courts are being used more frequently to play Pickleball than they are to play tennis. It is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. He has viewed the Master Plan for Rainbow Park as well as the budget and it seems like adding Pickleball courts is a low cost addition and could be done relatively easily to improve the courts and open up the area to Pickleball. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 Ron Hansche, 52 Eveline, Oshkosh Mr. Hansche presented himself on behalf of the Stevens Park Neighborhood Association. He stated that there are two items that the Association is requesting be reviewed over the next five years. The first is to monitor the facilities. There are currently some facilities and restrooms that are monitored to help prevent vandalism and they are requesting that a system be installed at Stevens Park as well. there are 7 or 8 street ends. Some are taken care of properly, but others are left in disrepair and should be recognized as open space. They would like to see the Parks Department be able to turn these into green spaces that they can maintain, add seating to so that public can look out over the lake and add plantings to improve the aesthetics of the area. Linda Volkman (Spezinski), Green Lake Ms. Volkman states that she is here as a former citizen of Oshkosh and on behalf of her sister who still lives on Punhoqua Street. She is concerned about the state of Rainbow Park and well as Menominee Park and South Park. The bathrooms are rundown and the playground is rather small. She feels that that side of down deserves to have a nice park as well. Suggestions she would make would be improvements to the walking and bike trails as well as the Pickleball courts improvements. Improving the restrooms and the playground would also enhance the area. She would like to see some positive changes made at the park. Mr. Gogolewski suggested that Ms. Volkman view the Master Plan for Rainbow Park to see the changes and improvements that have been suggested for that park. Marcia Rossiter, 1530 Adams Ave, Oshkosh Ms. Rossiter states that she lives next to Red Arrow Park new Sawyer Creek. Since the dredging project a few years back the City has discussed planting the shorelines and adding wood structures for the fish and wildlife habitat. She has seen a lot of disc golf players from the course at Red Arrow Park come into Sawyer Creek and trampling the shoreline to retrieve their discs. There is a hole that she feels is too close to the water and it disrupts the nature habitat of the area. She is requesting that a no swimming/wading restriction be implemented and enforced in the area. Jeff Schuttey, 3130 Sawyer Creek Dr, Oshkosh Mr. Shuttey spoke regarding the Sawyer Creek/Rusch Trail Area. Back in 2004 when it was developed it was intended to be open space. There have been recent discussions to change that and he is voicing his opinion to not do so. There is a section on the west end of the park that is underdeveloped and could be used for walking trails. He also suggests making the park more dog friendly, adding benches for the users and more secure gates to keep children out of areas they should not be in to improve safety. Ann Dickey, 1813 Northpoint, Oshkosh Ms. Dickey states that she is new to Oshkosh and misses parks like she had in Rock Island. She is longing for winter activities to be available in the parks such as ice skating and cross country skiing. She also suggest having a coffee shop near the water for people to enjoy. She is sure that having outdoor recreation ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 year round helps the public to stay active. She also is aware that incomes in the area are decreasing which means that people are unable to afford memberships to stay active in the winter months so having something available in the public parks for these people would be helpful. She notes that there is less park space here in Oshkosh than other cities in the state and suggests that more park space be added such as small pocket parks and community gardens. She referenced the fact that the Emmeline Cook School had to remove their playground due to age and their inability to obtain funding to replace it. She feels that school nearby that can be utilized. Tom Sorderd, 415 N. Main St, Oshkosh Mr. Sorderd states that he is also new to Oshkosh. He moved here because of the proximity to the water but notes that there is not a lot of opportunity for non-motorized water recreation in the area. He would like to see more emphasis being placed on this because he feels the parks system is underutilizing the water assets with the city being between two bodies of water connected by the river. He feels that water based recreation should be addressed in the CORP. He also added that Imagine Oshkosh is in the progress of updating their plan and that group identifies that the Parks Department needs to further promote non- motorized water recreation as well. This was the end of the public comments regarding issues other than the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course. Mr. Maurer commented that with regards to the Pickleball courts request there is currently a plan to renovate the Menominee Park courts which can be utilized for Pickleball as well. He encouraged the public to view the Master Plans that are currently available on the City of Oshkosh Parks Department website. The department is currently working with Rettler to create a Master Plan for the Sawyer Creek/Rusch Trail area as well and that should be completed in the next couple of months as well. With regards to non-motorized water recreation he reminded the crowd that an ADA compliant kayak launch was recently installed at the Boatworks location and that the Amusements Area rents out kayaks, canoes and small non-motorized pontoons for people to use as well. At this point Mr. Maurer opened up the discussions to those that had come to discuss the golf course specifically. Robert Warnke, 426 W 16 Ave, Oshkosh th been through discussions regarding the sale of the golf course in the past and feels it is ridiculous to even consider a sale. He gave props to the current golf pro on staff for the work that he has done at the course. He asked the Board to think of the youngsters learning to play at the golf course as well as the older folks that enjoy playing there. With regards to the golf course losing money he believes that it is an incorrect statement. In the past the City has taken revenue created by the golf course and placed it into the general fund. He feels that parks are not here to make money for the City, they are precious gems that should be cherished by all. Linda Volkman (Spezinski), Green Lake Ms. Volkman spoke again in support of the golf course. She learned to play there and feels that it historic to the City. She pointed out that multiple people had spoken out in support of adding parks, not selling them. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FIVE SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 course would add to the community and open up access to more people than just the golfers. She sees a lot of people using the area and encouraged opening the discussion up to the public on other ways to utilize the golf course for all rather than selling it. She added on to what Ms. Dickey had stated and suggested opening up a coffee shop year round at the golf course for the public to utilize. She is passionate about Oshkosh and is concerned how the sale would affect the community. She is in support of saving the golf course. Ms. Volkman later stated that she values the industry that Oshkosh Corp brings to the City but she feels that saving the green space that is owned by 68,000 in the City of Oshkosh is more important. Vic Girens, 2260 Patriot Lane, Oshkosh Mr. Girens has been a golfer for years. He feels that if Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course is considered a enue have to be created by the golf course but not the other parks? He feels the Board should fight tooth and nail to keep people of Oshkosh. Rose Goyke, 931 Osborn, Oshkosh Ms. Goyke expressed her feeling that Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course is a pristine piece of property and she does not understand why the City would let someone take that away. She asked if people would rather see corporate building She feels it would be a shame to sell Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course. Mary Buttke, 1615 Villa Park Dr, Oshkosh Ms. Buttke has golfed at Lakeshore for 50+ years and it is a family legacy to play at the golf course. Her -generational She feels that the City should try to figure out how to utilize the space for more than just golfers. She feels it would be a perfect spot for cross country skiing. She also voiced that the clubhouse should be utilized year round for all park patrons. She encouraged the Board to explore other options. Al Koch, 815 W 11, Oshkosh th Mr. Koch commented that he loves the golf course and has played there for 50-some years. He thinks it is a crime to consider selling the land. He suggests that they build a bigger clubhouse to help generate income. He questions how the golf course can owe the City money if it is owned by the City. He feels it would be a mistake the sell the land. Gerald Anklam, 1402 W Liberty St, Oshkosh Mr. Anklam states that he is not a golfer but he is here to encourage saving valuable park land. Once sold, you are not able to replace that type of property along the water. To think of someone promoting the sale of park land is wrong in his opinion. He feels that Oshkosh Corp trying to cut into that prime space is not the City if they did not utilize the Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course area. He feels that the land should be protected not only for golfing but for the people of the City as a whole. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE SIX SEPTEMBER 11, 2017 Vickie Morse, 2621 Village Lane, Oshkosh Ms. Morse states that she plays golf at Lakeshore. She recognizes that Oshkosh Corporation brings a lot to the City of Oshkosh but she is hopeful that they can find a better place in town to build their headquarters. She feels that the green space is too important to the community as a whole. This was the end of the public that wished to speak at this time. Mr. Maurer advised that there was nothing further on the agenda to discuss at this time and thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. He encouraged everyone to keep an eye out for the CORP when it is completed and made available on the Parks Department website later this year. ADJOURNMENT ,∂ª∞∂µІ©¿І&∂Æ∂≥¨æ∫≤∞І≠∂,∞≥≥¨΄ІІІ,∂ª∞∂µІ™®╜Ё╕΄ІІІ І The meeting adjourned at 7:30 P.M Respectfully submitted, 2ª®™¿І+΄І)®¥¨∫І Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary