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Park & Rec Board- MINUTES - 9/12/2005 MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING CITY OF MUSKEGO September 12, 2005 Approved 10/10/05 Audio Recording Available Secretary Kelly Koble called the monthly meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board, City of Muskego, to order at 6:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting notice was posted in accordance with the Open Meeting Law on Thursday, September 8, 2005. Present: Mr. Eric Hetzel, Mr. Jerry Hulbert, Mrs. Kelly Koble, Mr. Richard Manchester, Ald. Bob Melcher and Director Craig Anderson Absent: Mr. Howard Schneider (excused), Mr. Toby Whipple (excused) GUESTS: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 8, 2005 Board Meeting Ald. Melcher moved to approve the minutes of the August 8, 2005 meeting, seconded by Mr. Manchester. Upon a voice vote, the motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously. PERSONAL APPEARANCES: None WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE Horn Park Eagle Scout Letter Board members were in receipt of a letter to Matt Jeske commending and thanking him for the Eagle Scout project on the restoration of the war memorial at Horn Park. Director Anderson did advise that Matt Jeske still plans on making a presentation at a future meeting. Graffiti at Schmidt Park An email was shared relative to graffiti at Schmidt Park. Director Anderson stated the graffiti was vulgar and on the playground equipment. The staff removed it. He mentioned that the department has seen a little bit more vandalism at this park than in previous years. The parks with the cameras have little to none park vandalism. Veterans Memorial Park Waiver of Fees Director Anderson presented Boy Scout Troop #18 request for waiver of fees for Veterans Memorial Park. They requested to use the park for their troop meeting on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m., April through October, with an average group of 18. They further indicated that they typically pick up garbage, sticks, logs that other patrons have left earlier in the day. Director Anderson said this should not present a Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 2 conflict with others as most of the shelter rentals are on the weekends. Mr. Hulbert moved to waive the fees. Mr. Manchester seconded. Mr. Manchester shared that with his experience with the scouts, they always had problems getting areas to hold their meetings. They had held their meetings at Tess Corners school and he did not recall having to pay any fees. He saw no problem with waiving these fees. He added that if they had any campfire, that would have to be by special permit. Director Anderson concurred. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. Battle of the Bands @ Bluhm Park Director Anderson informed the Board members that Brandon Winkowski’s request to hold a battle of the bands at Bluhm Park on October 23, 2005 is a new request. The old request, the person was not able to secure a Muskego police officer or Waukesha County sheriff for their event so it was not held. They are looking to have 8-10 bands playing on stage from 12:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Their power needs for the public address system and stage will be supplied by Anechoic Revolutions. They will be charging $5 to cover the cost and $1 from each ticket sale will go to the American Red Cross. They were advised of the Board’s previous requirement that an officer be present. With this requirement, they have spoken with a few police officers but they are waiting for a for sure on the site before securing the service. They will then have to come to the department showing they have an officer hired. They will also have adults in attendance and expect to have 200 people throughout the day. Mr. Manchester inquired more about a battle of the bands event. Director Anderson explained that it is a competition of music, with judging and grading the bands on different criteria. Without having met the criteria previously set of having an officer, Mr. Manchester moved to deny the request. No second to the motion. Ald. Melcher made a motion to approve the request contingent on getting an off-duty Muskego police officer or Waukesha County sheriff, the officer would be there to keep order, to keep peace, to keep the volume at a proper decibel and the bands would have to place the speakers facing the tree line and responsible for restoration to any of the park whereby the damage could be attributed to their usage, making the park whole. Mr. Hulbert seconded. Mr. Manchester inquired if the park can accommodate 200 people for parking. Director Anderson stated typically it would probably be around 75 cars so there is ample parking available in both lots. Mr. Manchester asked if one officer would be able to handle that size crowd. Ald. Melcher referred to the request and they indicated a ratio of 1 adult to every 10 minors. Director Anderson recommended to make that ratio in addition to the staff helping out. Ald. Melcher amended his motion to include the ratio of 1 adult to every 10 minors in addition to the staff. Mr. Hulbert seconded the amendment. Upon a voice vote, the amended motion and the main motion carried, 4-1 with Mr. Manchester voting no. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Muskego Kickers Fall Soccer Schedule—Item carried over until it is received and Mr. Whipple is aware that it is needed. ALDERMAN'S REPORT Ald. Melcher shared what had transpired at the Council level since the last meeting. There were some changes in the 2005 budget requiring reconsideration. Council did accept the bid for the Moorland Park skate park concrete and also for the True Ride skate park as approved by the Parks and Recreation Board. Urban forestry plan as updated by Tom Zagar was approved. Mayor received a donation from Kwik Trip and Century 400 for the Old Settlement Centre project. CONSERVATION COMMISSION REPORT: None Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 3 STATUS OF PROJECTS: Director Anderson updated the Board members on the following projects: Kurth Park—Department of Public Works is still slated to do the work this fall. Park Arthur—Grass seed has been put down as a measure to comply with the WDNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) requirement after the grading was done. The top soil pile is still slated to be graded. The area for the hockey rink will be delineated by Dave and Dan of the Building/Engineering Department so it can be started. As part of the road program, Payne and Dolan would be doing the parking lot. Then the hockey rink boards will go in and this is scheduled for the first phase along with the well and the sledding hill to be done by November 1. Mr. Hulbert inquired about the slope for the sledding hill, had it been corrected? Director Anderson said that Director McMullen will be talking to Sunnyslope Grading about taking the bottom portion of the hill and pushing it up and then try to feather it back in to the hill itself. Director Anderson, Parks Supervisor Theis, Director McMullen, and Mr. Simpson had met at the park about a week ago on the sledding hill issue. It’s at a 32 percent grade now and the correction they are working for is a 47 percent grade. Old Town Hall— Work is being done inside and the painting is being done outside. The department is hoping to still get occupancy in the upper level between September 23 and October 1. Programs scheduled for the building start October 11 such as pilates with 29 people enrolled. The parking lot will be done as part of the road program and also should be done by October 11. Skate Park—Board members received a copy of the letter sent to InPro regarding the granite monument that they wanted acknowledging them as a major sponsor for the park. Director Anderson informed the Board members that the Teen Advisory Board would like to have a ground-breaking ceremony and a grand-opening dedication ceremony and wanted to know how the Board wanted to acknowledge additional donors besides InPro. Mr. Hulbert thought there would be a groundbreaking ceremony and regarding the grand opening, he thought they could contact one of the other clubs to bring in skaters for demonstrating the end result of skateboarding skills. Whether or not, InPro would want to be involved in both, he said they should at least be involved in one ceremony and recognized. From the discussion, Director Anderson summed up that the Parks and Recreation Board would not be against the ceremonies. Goose Control—Around the first of August, there were about 80 geese at Idle Isle Park. One weekend was really bad and complaints were received from Muskego and non-Muskego residents as the geese had rendered the playground useless, the beach useless and the paved trails leading to the fishing pier useless. Staff cleaned up the park the following Monday. The department is looking at using a new program called the geese police. These are trained Border collies. Department staff viewed a demonstration and within five minutes of the demonstration, all the geese were gone. They will have the collies at the park three times a day, seven days a week for the first 2-3 weeks. Times will be staggered as the geese view the dogs as predators. After a period of time, you will not see geese in the park. Slowly, after a period of time, the geese will come back and then you can contact the geese police as they are on call. This service will be more economical than the current program. Idle Isle Water Quality—Two negative tests came back over 2420 and he felt it was due either to human error in taking the sample or lab error as testing the next day, it was at 5. There was no rain like last year that would contribute to the high reading. The department is done with testing this year. Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 4 Water Bugs Ski Team, Inc. Compliance Checks—Members received copies of the compliance checks. Most of the complaints had to do with noise. There was an injury that occurred during the last show. A skier fell into the water during a pyramid and hurt their back. Director Anderson mentioned that the sound has more to do with the announcer’s voice than the music. Director Anderson reminded the Board members that they were scheduled to do an overview of the ski team’s use of Idle Isle next month. Mr. Hulbert would like a police officer present during this overview session of the meeting as a disinterested third party. Mr. Manchester did note that one person’s name appeared on almost every complaint. Director Anderson shared that with the parking being increased to 60 on the grass, the park manager said that was wonderful as it took a lot of the traffic off the street and they were able to handle it. Mr. Hulbert inquired about the status of Highway 36 bridge and the adjacent trail? Director Anderson had no update on it. Mr. Hulbert also asked about the striping where the trails cross the highways, anything they can do or volunteers can help? Director Anderson said that he and Parks Supervisor Theis are meeting on that later on in the week. It should be accomplished this fall. It was noted that the striping had been done for the Moorland trail across Woods Road. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Recreation Fall Programs Registration has been going very well for the fall programs. The programs scheduled at the Old Town Hall have had a good response. Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Luau Party The TAB had 208 people show up at their luau party and had to turn some away. The fire department was there for the bonfire. They had two bands and a DJ. They played volleyball. The honor society did concessions. They were able to meet their expenses and now have funds that they are able to use. They are looking to have two events a year, one in the summertime and possible one in the wintertime. Where, Director Anderson could not say. Parks Manchester Hill Park Pond Treatment Director Anderson informed the Board members that the Manchester Hill Park pond had recently been treated for weeds. With the help of Tom Zagar, a group came in and treated the pond at a cost of $350. Mr. Zagar is recommending that if it did not take, that in the springtime to do the complete pond. In the springtime, you would not have the fish kill. Board members commented on the fish in the pond. Urban Wildlife Grant Application Director Anderson explained the grant application for urban wildlife. By this grant, they are trying to receive moneys, 50% match, for modifying the habitat of the geese. The egg addling program and the geese police contract costs will be submitted, a total cost in the range of $5,747.00, asking for $2,873.50 in reimbursement. Ald. Melcher moved to approve the grant application. Mr. Manchester seconded. The application will be forwarded on to Council for the resolution. The application is due by the end of the year and should find out in January or February if the funds will be received. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 5 Denoon Park Tennis Courts Director Anderson reported that the Denoon Parks tennis courts are gone. Gravel still has to be taken out, clay and topsoil brought in, the area seeded and this should be done by the end of the season. Capital Budget The three items that Parks and Recreation Board had requested weren’t approved or disapproved, but they did not receive a red flag. As the Council goes through the budget, anything can happen. Initially, everyone was okay with the requests. NEW BUSINESS: Geese Police Director Anderson presented the information on the new geese police program. He had called the references and they were positive. The cost is about $250 per week and they recommended 4-8 weeks depending on the geese problem. If the department would use the whole $6,600, they would be doing it every week during the whole summer and he did not foresee that occurring. Mr. Manchester asked if the geese relocate on the neighbor’s lawn. The people living in the area have them then in their yard. Director Anderson shared that the department had received calls from Bay Breeze stating they had a lot more geese on their end of the lake and noticed that Idle Isle Park had a lot less geese and wanted to know what the department was doing. He continued, that they watched the dogs and noted that they don’t get within 50 feet of the geese. They crouch down and stare at the geese which the geese can’t stand and they fly away. He observed one dog moved behind a tree so the geese could not see him and peeked around at the geese. They use Scottish commands for the dogs. They will use the dogs 3-4 times a day and stagger the times so the geese don’t view the dogs as one predator, but as 1, 2, 3, 4 predators. He said the full amount was left in the operating budget, but the chances of spending it all, is rather remote. With the geese police, the department would not be using Bye Bye Birdies. The goosepoopbuster would still be available but the geese police did not think it would have to be used. 2006 Operating Budget Director Anderson presented his 2006 operating budget. A cover sheet provided a visual explanation of the amounts that were given and the increases and decreases in the budget compared to 2005. The percentage change in increase is 3.32 percent and that includes everything—salaries, benefits, etc. He had included in the budget figures the expenditure of $10,000 for the Bay Lane gym floor. If the Board members were to take it out, would reduce the 3.32 percent also. The department is right around 3 percent increase which is suppose to be the cost of inflation. In regard to the Bay Lane gym floor, Director Anderson said raising the 8 basketball backboards was $3,688 and he recommended that be the minimum amount to approve if that is all the Board members wanted to do. He was confident that the school district would do the gym floor anyway and believed it already had been voted on. Mr. Hetzel and Mr. Hulbert confirmed that they were already working on the project, but could not say if the backboards had been raised yet. Both indicated there was a need to replace the floor as the initial installation was believed to have been in 1968. Mr. Hulbert moved to spend the money necessary to raise 8 basketball hoops to the corrected height for $3,688. Mr. Manchester seconded. Mr. Manchester felt it was a great deal of money to raise up the hoops. Ald. Melcher inquired if they had put any money into it before. Mr. Hulbert stated in the past the department had paid for installation of volleyball standards. He continued, that the department uses it about 30% and should do something. Ald. Melcher said to amend because of the use of the floor. Director Anderson said the overall project is $64,203 for the gym floor. They had requested a donation of $10,000 plus a third commitment each year to help maintain and service the floor, with an additional cost of $3,688 to raise the backboards. Director Anderson was not recommending the Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 6 commitment to maintain and service the floor. Mr. Manchester questioned if the $10,000 would include the backboards. Director Anderson recommended the motion to add the $3,688 would be for the backboards and the difference between $3,688 and $10,000 would be for the Bay Lane gym floor. Continued discussion on possibility of charging the users to recoup the costs. Director Anderson said the money would be given to the school after January 2006. They would be reimbursed for the work being done now. Ald. Melcher amended the motion to go to the $10,000 and as part of the $10,000 to include the $3,688 for raising the backboards with the work being done now and the school would be reimbursed after January 1, 2006. Mr. Hetzel seconded. Upon a voice vote, the amended motion carried unanimously, and the main motion carried unanimously. Ald. Melcher moved to approve the 2006 operating budget. Mr. Hulbert seconded. Mr. Hulbert commented on the stellar job of covering the administrative staff through user charges as long as the department doesn’t over price that people couldn’t afford programs. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 5-Year Park Dedication Annual Budget Director Anderson reviewed the 5-year Park Dedication Budget. The budget was broken down by years and the projects that the Board had indicated they wanted done and the balance totals going into the next year. The account is a healthy account. He noted that the Board had approved $200,000 in paving projects this year. The funds are needed for the things that happen the parks at any one time and also if they plan on purchasing more parkland, this account would be used. Mr. Hulbert added that they would not have in the future the amount of subdivisions that are presently coming on line. Director Anderson had allowed for this possibility by dropping the park dedication fees in half in 2006. There are some carryover of projects from year to year. Ald. Melcher moved to recommend approval of the special revenue parks dedication account for the 5-year projects. Mr. Manchester seconded. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. Skateboard Park Rules Director Anderson advised the Board members that the TAB had approved the park rules for the skateboard park. The park will be for skateboarders only, no bicycles. Experience at other parks has proven that bikes do a lot of damage to the skateboard equipment. If there were a need to provide for the bikers in the future, potentially there would be something for them. Multiple use on these types of facilities, doesn’t seem to work. These rules are a composite of what the staff found at other parks and on the Internet. Mr. Hulbert moved to approve the rules for the skateboard park. Mr. Hetzel seconded. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. Idle Isle Pavilion Bid Director Anderson did not receive a written memo from the Building/Engineering Department. He said the Idle Isle pavilion bid came in around $275,000. The firm is Absolute Construction and they have done projects up to $47 million. They also received the bid for the ADA-handicap accessibility path at the Old Town Hall. Mr. Hulbert moved to accept the bid from Absolute Construction not to exceed $300,000. Ald. Melcher seconded. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. Muskego Recreation Trail Map Board members did a cursory review of the proposed Muskego Recreation Trail map for the City of Muskego. The map depicted current trails as well as proposed trails. Mr. Hulbert said it helps at the Plan Commission level to know the intent of the Board relative to recreation trails. Director Anderson will have Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board Meeting, September 12, 2005, page 7 maps prepared for the Board members. The map will be sent to the Board members for review at their leisure, noting any changes. This will be on the agenda for the October meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Subdivision Plans from Plan Commission— None Next Meeting—October 10, 2005 COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business, Mr. Hulbert moved for adjournment at 7:50 p.m. Seconded by Mr. Manchester. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. Stella Dunahee, CPS Recording Secretary pc: Board Members, Craig Anderson email: Mayor, Alderpersons, Department Heads, Peter Theis, Tammy Dunn,