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
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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,
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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.
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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,
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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
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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,
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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,