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Park and Recreation Workshop Minutes January 10, 2012 5:30 – 8:15p.m. Workshop Minutes Page 1 Call to Order Jim Row began the meeting at 5:40 p.m. Present Board Chair Rosetta Wangerin Present Board Secretary Joseph Nicoletti Present Member Brent Glogau Absent Member Bruce Thomas Present Member Vacant Absent Member Tony Waite Present Student member Claudia Urias-Guerrero Absent Staff present: Jim Row, Community Services Director; Kristin Graybeal, Aquatic Supervisor; Paulette Zastoupil, Clerk III UPDATES Jim provided the following general update: Board vacancy – Two potential candidates were recently contacted. One could not commit to the time required and Stu is currently in contact with the other. Additionally, a significant number of people have been contacted about the vacancy, including those involved with youth sports, the Aquatic Center, and downtown businesses, but so far, none have been interested. Jim stated that we may submit a press release advertising the vacancy to the Woodburn Independent. Saturday, January 28 in City Hall Council Chambers from 2:00–4:00pm, Frank Scheer will give a presentation on the history of the 1785 Locomotive. Frank has logged thousands of hours working on the Locomotive over the past 35 years and will be sharing history, photographs and stories of the American railways. Stu Spence has been working closely with Frank to sort through historic photographs and create a PowerPoint presentation that will also serve as an educational tool for Woodburn youth. Saturday, February 11 from 6:00–8:30pm at Woodburn Health Center, we will host the second annual Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance. The Valentine’s Day-themed event is priced at $45 per couple and $15 for each additional child. An Active Adult trip to Timberline Lodge on February 14th has tripled in registration. Stu is currently looking into chartering a bus to accommodate everyone. The Aquatic Center has seen an increase in daily use and swim lessons. Kristin contributes this to New Year’s resolutions and new marketing strategies. January revenue for 2011 was $11,000 and revenue for the first 10 days of January 2012 is already $5,000. Kristin felt that this was a good sign. Discussion took place regarding the program and budget statistics we used to provide to the Board. The Board expressed a strong desire to have the reports reinstated. Staff agreed to resume providing the Board with the reports by the next meeting. The Board also asked for historical Aquatic Center financial information, in order to establish a baseline for evaluating the impact that operational changes are having. ---PAGE BREAK--- Park and Recreation Workshop Minutes January 10, 2012 5:30 – 8:15p.m. Workshop Minutes Page 2 Jim then began the annual workshop portion of the meeting and explained how we would focus on reviewing the Recreation and Parks Master Plan recommendations, discuss each goal, and then spend most of our time discussing potential projects. City of Woodburn Parks and Recreation Master Plan REVIEW MASTER PLAN GOALS 1- 8 Goal 1: Maximize the Planning Effort This goal is in place to keep the plan alive and is implemented through the current workshop, department work plan and Board meetings. Goal 2: Improve Marketing, Communications, and Credibility The quarterly Out and About activity guide is now fully translated into Spanish and is now a mirror image of the English version. Constant Contact email blasts have proven to be a successful marketing tool, and discussion took place on how often it should be used and different ways of organizing the email lists to increase effectiveness. Kristin has developed colorful rack cards, showcasing the aquatic center and what it has to offer. The rack cards are distributed to all visitor centers and hotels within a 20 mile radius. She has also sent out postcards to 600 households and feels that these postcards have contributed to an increase in daily attendance and swim lesson registrations. Jim acknowledged the City’s Community Relations Officer, Robyn Stowers, for her expertise speaking to Spanish patrons in providing information and promoting activities and scholarships. He also shared that she is working on a new City website that will be ready to launch by summer. Discussion took place regarding the importance of marketing and sponsorships. It was suggested to make a new commitment to the Mystery Shopper Program. Goal 3: Track Performance Measures This goal is to set service standards in programs, instructors, volunteers, facilities and staff. Discussion took place on the work performed by Swim Essentials on the Aquatic Center Turnaround project, and whether or not they completed the work required of them. Jim described the relationship between the analysis they performed in September 2010 and the work the City subsequently asked them to perform during the period of January through August 2011. Jim explained that Swim Essentials probably implemented approximately 80-90% of the recommendations in their ambitious plan. In some instances, the City prevented them from implementing recommended changes, such as canceling memberships from current pass holders and requiring them to pay the newly approved increased fees. The City believed this action would constitute pretty unfair treatment of current Aquatic Center users, and did not consent to it. That and other similar actions might have resulted in Swim Essentials not implementing every one of their recommendations. Goal 4: Strategically Increase Programming and Partnerships Solid and successful partnerships have been formed with the Chamber of Commerce (Fiesta Mexicana), Woodburn School District, Barracuda Swim Club, the Boys and Girls Club and various youth sports associations. The Adopt-a-Park Program, facilitated through the City’s park maintenance department, has a growing list of volunteers. Goal 5: Increase Cost Recovery and Funding Discussion took place on cost recovery strategies with the Aquatic Center at the earlier discussion. The department is always looking to utilize sponsorships especially with the depressed economy. The department is currently developing a one-time Collaborative Sponsorship package for all current city-wide events. This package will give local businesses ---PAGE BREAK--- Park and Recreation Workshop Minutes January 10, 2012 5:30 – 8:15p.m. Workshop Minutes Page 3 and large corporations an opportunity to decide which one event they would like to sponsor for the year and how much they would like to give. It is thought that this simple approach will take away the pressure of businesses constantly being asked for donations. Discussion took place on the process of analyzing all divisions for cost recovery. Kristin shared that the Aquatic Center has already secured two $500 sponsorships this year. Goal 6: Create a Cohesive Operations and Maintenance System for Recreation and Parks Jim explained that this is facilitated through the City’s park maintenance department. Goal 7: Continue to Provide an Equitable Level of Service in Existing Parks and Facilities throughout the Community (discussed in Goal Goal 8: Plan for Community Growth These two goals focus on making improvements to the infrastructure of current and future growth. Jim provided a list of potential park capital projects that are recommended for 2009- 2012. Discussion took place on the various projects. Jim mentioned that, even though it is unlikely that the General Fund will be in a position to support capital projects next year, it is still a valuable process for the Board to review goals and establish capital project priorities, especially, if the potential exists for the City to seek grant funds in support of capital project development. The following projects from the 2009 Parks & Recreation Master Plan were discussed: Burlingham Park Master Plan Portable Restroom enclosures – Jim explained that since Public Works began heating the mechanical chases last winter, the restrooms are now kept open except during extreme weather conditions. As a result, portable restrooms are no longer utilized on a regular basis in the parks. Discussion took place regarding the cost of portable restroom enclosures. Wyffels Playground – because of the outstanding Settlemier Park boundary issue that we have discussed previously and its impact on our ability to receive the Wyffels Park Playground grant, this project has been put on hold. If we are unable to resolve this issue in a timely manner, we might consider relinquishing the Land and Water Conservation grant and then applying for a Local Government Grant instead. Discussion took place on the current location of the playground and if a more visible location might be safer. Discussion included the possibility of partnering with Mid-Valley Church to locate the playground on their site. Discussion took place at taking a look at installing a playground in Legion Park this next year. Acquire Greenway properties Aquatic Center repairs – Most of these projects are complete. The inside and outside painting remains. A Board member suggested that the outside be painted with graphics to let the public know that it is an Aquatic Center. Discussion took place on creating an outside Mural contest. Park and Comfort & Convenience Features – drinking fountains are now installed in Centennial, Legion and Settlemier Parks. ---PAGE BREAK--- Park and Recreation Workshop Minutes January 10, 2012 5:30 – 8:15p.m. Workshop Minutes Page 4 Immanuel Lutheran Church Project – The City Council approved an appraisal to determine the value of the 2.5 acres of the Immanuel Lutheran Church property being considered. Jim shared that they are currently negotiating with the church to donate the 2.5 acres to the City for a park land and what the City could provide of value to the Church in return. This potential project is exciting as this area of Woodburn is deficient in parkland. Wyffels Boardwalk trail – To date, we have submitted two unsuccessful grants through ODOT programs to design and construct this trail. Museum/Bungalow Rehabilitation – Jim mentioned that following the discussion around the Ford Leadership Program’s interested in making aesthetic improvements to the Bungalow Theater, a series of inspections have taken place to determine the extent of any safety, code, and operational issues the Theater and Museum buildings might have. The Building Official and Fire Marshall/ Chief performed an inspection and discovered many fire & Life Safety Code concerns. Public Works is currently in the process of developing cost estimates for correcting these issues, and we are also considering the possibility of a full rehabilitation of the Theater and Museum buildings as an Urban Renewal Project. We plan to propose this project to the Council/ Urban Renewal Agency Budget Committee through the budget process. Discussion then took place regarding the need to create a collection development policy, adequately preserve and catalog the collection, and digitize the hundreds of historic photographs. Settlemier Tennis Courts Rehabilitation – Jim discussed the need to rehabilitate the tennis courts, including new fencing, resurfacing, new nets, and lighting. We are pulling together project costs and expect to build it into the Parks CIP. Discussion took place on the need for improved Aquatic Center parking lot lighting and trees that need trimmed. Permanent Downtown Restroom – There was discussion about the City Council’s recent decision to place a portable restroom downtown, but not in the plaza, for 5 months next year. The location has not been determined, yet, but Jim expects that the unit will be in service from May-October 2012. Staff will report back to the Council regarding the issue when the restroom is removed in the fall. Deferred Maintenance Several deferred maintenance concerns were discussed; Legion Park Restrooms and Stadium – Discussion took place on the severely deteriorated condition of the restrooms and locker rooms at Legion Park. Staff believe that, given their location and condition, we should consider completely removing them and making other provisions for restroom facilities at the Park. Public Works has determined that many of the stadium’s structural supports have been damaged damage from wood boring beetles and need to be repaired/ replaced. Park Fencing – There is a lot of deteriorated fencing in many of the City’s parks. We are working with Public Works to determine what sections of fencing can be completely removed and what should be repaired or replaced. Legion Light Poles – PGE has informed us that three City owned light poles located in Legion Park are pretty hollowed out and in need of replacement. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. ---PAGE BREAK--- Park and Recreation Workshop Minutes January 10, 2012 5:30 – 8:15p.m. Workshop Minutes Page 5 Joseph Nicoletti, Board Secretary Paulette Zastoupil, Recording Secretary