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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 9 Minutes ADVISORY PARK BOARD OCTOBER 9, 2017 Present: Amy Davis, Tony Dirth, Bill Gogolewski, Steve Herman, Todd Kaufmann, Bill Miller, Carrie Rule, Megan Schuessler, Terry Wohler Excused: None Other: David Shadick, Leadership Oshkosh Adjunct Board Member; Peter Lang, The Morgan Partners, LLC Staff: Ray Maurer, Parks Director; Chad Dallman, Parks Operations Manager; Jenny McCollian, Revenue Facilities Manager; Stacy James, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL Chairman Wohler called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. A quorum was determined to be present. Bill Miller arrived at 6:04 p.m. bringing attendance to nine members. INTRODUCTION Mr. Maurer introduced David Shadick, the new Leadership Oshkosh Adjunct Board Member. Mr. Shadick thanked the Board for having him. He has worked with Oshkosh Defense for the past 9 ½ years, two of which were at Pierce Manufacturing in Neenah. He is happy to be back in the Oshkosh area and excited to be a part of this Board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Schuessler for approval of the August 14, 2017 minutes. Seconded by Gogolewski. Motion carried 9-0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Gogolewski for approval of the September 11, 2017 minutes. Seconded by Dirth. Motion carried 9-0. CITIZEN STATEMENTS & PARK BUSINESS 1) CONSIDER REQUEST TO PROHIBIT FISHING ALONG THE FOX RIVER RIVERWALK, JELD WEN SECTION, WEST (AND EAST) OF OREGON STREET Mr. Maurer wanted to advise the Board and public that the original agenda was incorrect stating that the section was only west of Oregon Street. The request is actually for the section to the East of Oregon Street a well. Morgan Partners, the development firm, is bringing this request to the City asking for the provision. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE TWO OCTOBER 9, 2017 In the past a no-fishing provision was approved along the north side of the river where there is commercial property located between Main Street and Jackson Street. Morgan Partners is asking for an ordinance change at this time to preserve the property depending on the future developments that end up going in at the Jeld-Wen location. Mr. Gogolewski inquired if this no-fishing zone would go all the way thru the Dockside Tavern property and beyond. Mr. Maurer explained that at this time there is no easement to build the Riverwalk along those properties. Mrs. Rule inquired whether the reason for the request was that this will be a business district. At this time Mr. Maurer invited Peter Lang to come before the board and address these questions. Peter Lang introduced himself as a partner of The Morgan Partners, LLC, the real estate firm which currently owns the land. His firm is working through development prospects for the property at this time. It is anticipated that there may be some residential properties as well as commercial properties in this area. At the time the easement was requested by the city their firm asked that a no-fishing provision be adopted for this stretch of the Riverwalk. He is unsure what the final development plans will be for the properties and as such he is requesting the ordinance to preserve the property. Mrs. Rule stated that depending on how the property is developed she is worried that if the Board is not consistent with their provisions for no-fishing along the Riverwalk that it could pose a problem. Mr. Wohler inquired if it was his intention to have a no-fishing provision along this property from the beginning. He also inquired whether there would be private docks along the property. Mr. Lang responded that the property was gifted with the understanding that the no-fishing ordinance would apply to the land. It is their intention to have private docks along the property in the future, a certain amount of which have already been approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He believes there is plenty of public access in other areas of the Riverwalk for fishing and the request could change depending on the development of the property. However, at this time, he would like to preserve the property and have a no-fishing ordinance in place for this stretch of Riverwalk. Mr. Wohler stated that he personally feels it would be ok to approve the request. This isn’t an area that had public fishing previously, so there isn’t anything being taken away from the community. He is concerned that if the implication was given at the time of the gift that this would be a no-fishing area and then it is taken away now it is not done in good faith. There are plenty of public fishing opportunities along the Riverwalk and feels that the Board could support this request. Mr. Miller thanked Mr. Lang and his company for the donation. Motion by Rule to accept request to prohibit fishing along the Fox River Riverwalk, Jeld Wen section, west and east of Oregon Street. Seconded by Miller. Motion carried 9-0. 2) ACCEPT PARKLAND DEDICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT ON PROPERTY LOCATED IN JACKSON STREET CORRIDOR ON CITY’S NORTH SIDE – BRISTOL SQUARE SUBDIVISION Mr. Maurer explained that this subdivision development is currently being reviewed by the Plan Commission. This is an area of the City that was marked as needing a neighborhood park when the 2011 Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) was completed. He does not anticipate that the need will ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE THREE OCTOBER 9, 2017 change with the updated CORP later this year. He showed the Board the map with the proposed location for the park which will be approximately 3.2 acres. This is in line with city ordinance requiring that new subdivisions either provide a parkland dedication to the city or pay a fee in lieu of parkland. It has been recommended in the past that parkland space is preferred over fees and the Plan Commission is supportive of the plat as it has been proposed. Mr. Gogolewski asked whether there was a park of similar size in the city at this time for comparison. Mr. Maurer stated that 44 Parallel Park would be comparable in size to what is being dedicated. Mr. Wohler th confirmed that he likes the idea of parkland space over money since land is a premium and more isn’t being made. He feels that the parkland space should always be done when possible. Mr. Kaufmann pointed out that there looks to be a sewer easement on this parcel of property and he wondered if that will pose any problems. Mr. Maurer explained that this is an old easement and engineering is working to have it removed which will lessen restrictions on the land. Mr. Miller agreed that it is better to have the park space over the money in lieu of parkland dedication. He also inquired how far below the national average Oshkosh is currently for average park space per citizen. Mr. Maurer stated that the National Parks and Recreation Association has set a standard of 7-10 acres per thousand residents. The city is currently at roughly 5 acres per thousand. In 2011 the CORP recommended focusing more on the level of services provided to the public rather than park space per resident. Motion by Dirth to accept Parkland Dedication for development of property located in Jackson Street corridor on City’s north side – Bristol Square Subdivision. Seconded by Schuessler. Motion carried 9-0. 3) REVIEW COMPREHENSIVE OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN (CORP) SURVEY RESULTS Mr. Maurer explained that in everyone’s packet they received a document outlining the results of the CORP survey that was provided to the citizens earlier this year. This information will be provided to Rettler Corporation to be incorporated in the updated CORP. He then went through the survey results with the Board. There were slightly fewer responses this time around versus the survey in 2011 because the prior survey included more input by user groups. They were not targeted with this survey because they had completed one for the Convention and Visitors Bureau last year and that information will be taken into account with the CORP update as well. Mr. Maurer then went through some of the survey responses regarding demographics. He more closely reviewed the respondents’ satisfaction with park conditions. He noted that back in 2011 only 27% of respondents stated that they were very satisfied with park conditions and this time around 38% rated it at very satisfied. The somewhat satisfied numbers stayed similar at about 50%. Overall there was an increase in park conditions satisfaction and he feels that is a testament to the work being completed by the Parks Department staff who deserve credit for a job well done. Mr. Miller wondered whether follow-up questions were provided regarding why users weren’t satisfied with conditions. Mr. Maurer explained that there were questions further along that addressed any concerns. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FOUR OCTOBER 9, 2017 Mr. Maurer continued on with reviewing the survey and requests for work to be completed. The usual concerns were voiced concerning restrooms (his department is trying to renovate one restroom per year to remain up to date), playground maintenance (the department is pushing to replace at least one playground per budget cycle), trash pick-up and trail maintenance. They continue to work these requests into the budget as they are able. It is always helpful to have a continual review of public requests so that changes can be made to their maintenance plans. The reason that the Menominee Park Carousel replacement was individually addressed was because it will cost approximately $100,000-150,000 to make the necessary repairs to the carousel and the department wanted to inquire of the public whether they thought it would be a wise use of budget funds. Approximately 30% of the respondents feel it is important to make the repairs and there will need to be fundraising and donations requested in order to be able to do so. Survey results show continued work needs to be done regarding walking and biking trails. It also provided good feedback regarding how the public is using the parks, which parks are used the most and which events the public is attending. Mr. Miller inquired what percentage of shelters are used throughout the year. Mrs. James responded that in the summer months about 95% of the shelters are rented out every weekend as well as multiple rentals throughout the week. The shelters that are reserved first are enclosed shelters and ones with utilities, restrooms and located close to playgrounds. She was surprised that even during the school year these facilities are rented quite frequently on the weekends. Mr. Maurer continued with the survey results regarding the reservation process for shelters and customer satisfaction. There was a question regarding implementation of an ordinance for tobacco free parks. Mr. Maurer explained that this request has come from the Re:TH!NK organization. Survey results showed that the public is in favor of such an ordinance with 66% in favor. Mr. Miller inquired as to how common this ordinance is throughout the state. Currently there are about ten municipalities with ordinances that the group is reviewing. The numbers will be reviewed more thoroughly in November when there will be an agenda item regarding this request and the Re:TH!NK group will give a presentation. While Mr. Maurer could not speak on behalf of Chief Smith, he stated that even if the ordinance is adopted, enforcement would be difficult and not high on their list of concerns with the police department. Mr. Maurer then referenced the Memorandum that he passed out to the Board at the beginning of the meeting. This document had some of the general comments that the respondents provided from the survey. He didn’t feel that any of the comments were too surprising but they will be taken into account for the updated CORP document. He feels that overall the survey results provide good information for the department and Rettler will provide a basic analysis of the entire survey in the updated CORP. Mr. Wohler voiced his opinion that he would have liked to have seen more of the public respond to the survey so that they could have a broader idea of what the citizens would like to see. PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Maurer explained that he has been busy with staff reviews, budget items and the concerns regarding the golf course so he will leave most updates to staff. He explained that council will receive the proposed budget and meetings will be held with individual departments on October 30 and 31 to go over the budget and Capital Improvement Program requests. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE FIVE OCTOBER 9, 2017 On council agenda for the 12 of October is the special event fee proposal. Mr. Maurer gave a brief history th of the reasoning for the request. When special event fees were reviewed it was discovered that there were a lot of additional services being provided at the events that the city was not being compensated for. As such between April and July of this year there was a special event working group that included a variety of organizations as well as citizens that met along with himself, the special events coordinator and Director of Finance to discuss the fees. The group worked together to create the proposal and he felt that both sides were able to compromise to put together a good proposal. ASSISTANT PARK DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mr. Dallman gave an update on the projects that his department is currently working on. New playgrounds have been installed and are nearing completion at Menominee Park Sea, Sand and Sailorland as well as at Fugleberg Park. Crews cleaned up the sites to make them more useful and installed concrete perimeters around the playgrounds. Work is wrapping up at the 24 Street Boat Launch. New paths have th been installed to make it more accessible to get to the fishing dock. At the Parks shop the HVAC renovations have begun and they continue to wrap up renovations at the Menominee Park Zoo maintenance building. Crews are still working on completing mowing routes and they are beginning to shut down the facilities for the season. Mr. Gogolewski inquired about work at the Mary Jewell lift station. Mr. Dallman explained that the plans for the site were received last week and they will be moving forward with that project in the next month or so. REVENUE FACILITIES MANAGER’S REPORT Mrs. McCollian advised that they have closed down some of their facilities for the year and she is working on completing that. The last weekend of September when they had the Touch-a-Truck event and the closing day Children’s Day Parade was by far the hottest weekend of the year. They had moved the Touch-a-Truck event from August to September in order to avoid the heat during the event but even though the weather didn’t cooperate as they expected they still had 2,000 plus people attend the event and there were a lot of positive comments. As always, Oshkosh Corporation was their big sponsor for the event. Her department also had a new event this year on the last day the Children’s Amusement Area was open. There was a Children’s Day Parade along the path from the beach house to the Kiwanis Shelter. Children were able to register to dress up for the parade and make floats. There were prizes for best float and costume as well as snacks, pony rides and a bounce house. Again, despite the heat it was a well-attended event. The last event of the season is coming up on October 21 and 22, Zooloween Boo at Menominee Park Zoo. She is still looking for volunteers to work the event and would encourage the Board to spread the word that people can contact her if they want to help out. The event is always well attended and she anticipates it will be another great event for the department. ADVISORY PARK BOARD MINUTES PAGE SIX OCTOBER 9, 2017 OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Herman stated that he would like to have an item added to the agenda for the next meeting. He would like the Board to discuss winter activities that are available for the citizens in Oshkosh. Having the activities and marketing them as options could draw more people to the city during the winter months. Mr. Gogolewski stated that people are able to cross country ski at Lakeshore Municipal Golf Course in the winter and Mr. Miller added that it is also available at Menominee Park. Mr. Herman thought we could publicize the trails more to make people aware of the options in town. Mr. Herman also wanted to inquire what would happen with memorial trees and benches currently located at the golf course should something move forward with Oshkosh Corporation. Mr. Maurer advised that they would be transplanted and placed elsewhere much like they were with the recent upgrades at South Park. Lastly, Mr. Herman stated that should Oshkosh Corporation show interest in purchasing land at the golf course, he felt it would be good to have a discussion with the Board about whether or not the City wanted to continue to be in the golf course business. If the land is purchased by the company for their headquarters he wondered if there would still be enough green space to make a smaller golf course that could be utilized. Mr. Maurer wanted to clarify that the plans that have been provided are very conceptual at this point. They are trying to get a feel for if the land is purchased, what would people want to see out of the space. None of the plans are set in stone because the Advisory Park Board would decide ultimately what would happen with the remaining land. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Gogolewski for adjournment; seconded by Miller. Motion carried 9-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:49 P.M Respectfully submitted, Stacy L. James Stacy L. James, Recording Secretary