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Park & Rec Board - MINUTES - 5/12/2008 City of Muskego PARKS & RECREATION BOARD Monday, May 12, 2008 Approved 6/9/08 Board President Whipple called the monthly meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board (Board), City of Muskego, to order at 6:03 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, May 8. 2008. Present: Mr. Gary Boisits (departed 7:20 p.m.), Mr. Eric Hetzel, Mr. Jerald Hulbert , Mr. Brett Hyde, Mrs. Kelly Koble, Ald. Dan Pavelko, Mr. Toby Whipple, Director Craig Anderson, Parks Supervisor Peter Theis, and Park Ranger Tyler Smith. GUESTS: Ald. Borgman, Cheryl Kovacovich, Joe Bennett, Ed Horwath, Doug & Debbie Klismet, Jane Lewis, Grace Jangclaus, Marilyn Ritter, Tim Ross, Michael Larsen, Gary Christopher, Shelly Wohler, Dena Squaires, Ald. Tracy Snead APPROVAL OF MINUTES: April 14 Minutes Mr. Eric Hetzel moved to approve the minutes of the April 14, 2008 meeting, seconded by Mr. Brett Hyde. Upon a voice vote, the motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously. Introduction of New Park Ranger Mr. Peter Theis introduced Tyler Smith who will now serve in the capacity of the Park Ranger, He has been with the department as a member of the parks crew for 8 years, starting as an Idle Isle Attendant. The Board members welcomed Tyler. Mr. Theis shared that the former Park Ranger George Rucich, now retired, had been with the department 21 years. Introduction of New Aldermanic Representative Ald. Tracy Snead introduced Ald. Dan Pavelko who will now serve as the Council representative on the Parks and Recreation Board. The Board members welcomed Ald. Pavelko and thanked Ald. Snead for her years of service on the Board. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Plan Commission Representative Mr. Hyde moved to nominate Mr. Hulbert as Plan Commission Representative. Mrs. Koble seconded. Mr. Hulbert accepted the nomination. No other nominations. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. President Mr. Hulbert moved to nominate Mr. Whipple as President. Mr. Boisits seconded. Mr. Whipple accepted the nomination. No other nominations. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, May 12, 2008, page 2 Vice-President Mr. Hetzel moved to nominate Mrs. Koble as Vice-President. Mr. Hulbert seconded. Mrs. Koble accepted the nomination. No other nominations. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. Secretary Mr. Hetzel moved to nominate Mr. Boisits as Secretary. Mrs. Koble seconded. Mr. Boisits accepted the nomination. No other nominations. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. PERSONAL APPEARANCES: M.A.A. Field Fees Director Anderson advised that there was an error on the maintenance fees in the memorandum dated April 25. The M.A.A. amount calculated prior to June 9 should be 109 instead of 213. The fees will be recalculated and a new memo will go out on Wednesday. Mr. Ed Horwath, President of the Muskego Athletic Association (M.A.A.) was present to ask the Board for consideration of the fees charged to their organization based on historical numbers, who the participants are and field conditions in general. They have over 900 children and all of them Muskego residents, representing over 500 families. He gave a historical account of the fees that had been assessed to their organization since 2000. They are a non-profit organization and provide a service to the youth in the community. They understood that there is an impact for usage of materials, supplies and summer help and they were willing to cover those costs; however, they could not understand why they were being asked to cover the wages of existing, full-time city employees that are already on the payroll. Mr. Hulbert inquired if during the time period, the employees were only doing fields. Director Anderson said that was correct. He referred to the 2007 memo whereby the Board gave a 50% reduction in the 2007 fees, but also stated they wanted to recoup the salaries of employees doing the baseball fields at 100% in 2008. He further added that the employees on their time sheets keep track of the time spent doing the fields as well as the other park maintenance work. The hourly time for the baseball fields includes getting the equipment ready and travel time to and from and between the fields. Mr. Horwath did not think they spend 4 man hours to maintain the fields, for example, at Bay Lane. Director Anderson said that at Bay Lane the crew has to work around the school activities as they cannot take away from the school curriculum. Mr. Horwath said the M.A.A. should have protested the projected increase in fees last year and he could foresee the fees increasing annually. The M.A.A. will have to pass the increase on to their participants. Director Anderson stated in his conversation with the other organizations, they increased their fees knowing the costs of the fields was going up. Alderman Snead shared comments made at the M.A.A. board level that they were going to explore options to bring down the costs. Director Anderson stated there had been one meeting of all league representatives (baseball committee) and items discussed were operational costs, capital budget. The committee will be meeting again in June to continue discussions such as what would it cost to outsource prepping the fields and what other options are available to the leagues that the Board would allow to help reduce the fees. Under discussion also was the number of fields, maintenance of the fields, restoration of fields. One issue brought up by Mr. Hulbert was that the Board needed to cover the costs until a different direction comes from the Common Council. Finally, as the Board had made a decision in 2007 to assess at 100% and the memorandum had been written to the leagues in April of 2007, Board members took no further action and the fees will remain. Lake Accesses for Weed Harvesting Tom Reck, Little Muskego Lake District Commissioner, brought before the Board their plan for the 2008 weed harvesting and were asking for approval. They have four weed cutters, four conveyors and two trucks. This year they will be going to two shifts to improve the amount of weed harvesting, a morning shift for cutting and an afternoon shift for pick up. Idle Isle is where the majority of the equipment will be kept to start; then they will have one conveyor at Idle Isle, one at Pleasantview to cover the east side of the lake, one at Oak Street/Circle Drive and one at the west side at Hillview Drive. This will cover all four quadrants of the lake so they can Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, May 12, 2008, page 3 effectively remove the weeds and unload them into the trucks. Conveyors have been at all these locations in the past. The majority of the weeds will be tipped at the gravel pit. In the past, they had dumped at Park Arthur and if they do use this site, it will be a very minimal amount. They have approval to dump at public works facility and are working with the city landfill to get approval to dump there. He shared some of the responses received from the neighbors that included hydraulic residue in the water from the conveyors, crowding on the launch at Circle Drive, unsightly views from the homes, culvert takes up too much room off of Circle Drive. To resolve some of these issues they will not be parking the conveyor or truck at Circle Drive; Circle Drive will only be used for loading; food-grade oil in the new conveyor so no hydraulic oil residue; moved the conveyor as close to the culvert as they can and it is hidden by trees; will provide adequate room for boat launching. For all the sites, will have priority cutting within the bays to keep the area clean with instructions to employees to pick up any and all weeds that may fall off the conveyor or truck. He offered three recommendations for the city: (1) extend the culvert at Oak Court (Public Works project), (2) reclaim the boat launch area that is encroached by the neighbor’s flower bed and widen the area that is actually the park; (2) provide some clear signage expressing there is no blocking of the driveway while tying or launching boats. Director Anderson advised that some of these may need WDNR (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) approval. From those in attendance, Tim Ross invited people concerned with lake issues to attend the Little Muskego Lake District meetings held the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. There was discussion about rotating the conveyors. Mr. Reck said they will be looking at all the sites that are available but for this year, these are the preferred four sites. They will be parking the back-up truck at their barn in New Berlin so only one will be on site. Mr. Hulbert moved to accept the four sites as presented with an annual review in October. Mr. Brett Hyde seconded. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Water Bugs Ski Team, Inc.(Water Bugs) Additional Dates for 2008 Mr. Bob Bueckers elaborated on the issue before the Board to reconsider the 4 additional dates for the Water Bugs for 2008. He gave a historical account of the dates that had been awarded the Water Bugs in the past which figures out to 3-4 nights out of the week. Another issue was the damage being done to the lake by the use of 400 hp engines in 3 feet of shallow water. They would like to have the Water Bugs go back to 45 days. He referred to the study and letter that was presented by Mr. Schneider at April meeting and the damage that can be done to the lake and by going back to 45 days, to keep the damage at a minimum. Mr. Boisits inquired if there was any long term effects that were seen in terms of the increase usage, is it documented? Mr. Bueckers said the turbidity of the water, but nothing documented. He said it’s not just the Water Bugs, but a big part of it as they are the most consistent users; the size of the boats, the skiers, etc. Mr. Hyde asked if there was any history that shows how the turbidity had increase over the years. This would be of benefit to the Board. Mrs. Koble stated that the Board’s jurisdiction ends at the shoreline. It is the WDNR that needs to take control of what is happening to the lake. Some discussion from those in attendance on rotating the ski show to other parts of the lake. In response to this, Tim Ross from the audience advised that the biggest issue of moving it, is the safety issue. Drivers and skiers use landscape points of reference in doing the shows and practices. No action was taken by the Board on reconsideration. (Mr. Boisits departed.) WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE: Waiver of Fees Board members reviewed the request from Cub Scout Pack 176 for waiver of fees for Bluhm Park on June 2. Mr. Hulbert moved to approve the waiver request. Mr. Eric Hetzel second. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried, with Mrs. Koble abstaining. Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, May 12, 2008, page 4 Park Vandalism Director Anderson reported the following vandalism occurred in the parks since the last meeting:  someone tried unsuccessfully to break into the Durham Drive launch box;  turf damage to Jensen Park  missing basketball rim and net at Lee Hubka/Jensen Park  graffiti at Denoon Park playground equipment The police did apprehend the person doing the damage to the turf at Jensen Park and restitution will be sought. Also, today, a guard rail. ¼ pipe at the skateboard park was removed and found by the entrance to the skateboard park. It was taken to the parks garage for a few weeks, then they will put it back up. There was allot of damage to the rules sign last year. The police are waiting for the new sign to be put in place to enforce the rules. Director Anderson and Parks Supervisor Theis thought that the removal of the rail may be a biker versus skateboarder situation. NEW BUSINESS: None. ALDERMAN’S REPORT: Ald. Pavelko inquired what the Board was asking for in the alderman’s report. Board members and Director Anderson said anything that would apply to the department and the Board. STATUS OF PROJECTS: Park Arthur The grant was submitted. Phase 1 was for $626,500 of which 75% was passive so that total was $469,875. The department is requesting 50% of that amount. The application was hand delivered to the WDNR on May 1. This year some work will be done on the Martin Drive entrance and it is anticipated that grading will be done and the sledding hill. In regard to the sledding hill, Mr. Hulbert requested that they see the “topos” on it. Mr. Burch indicated to Director Anderson that the WDNR had received 33 grant requests and he expected to hear from the WDNR within the next 2-3 weeks on the application. Mr. Burch thought the department’s would do fairly well as stewardship funds was used to purchase the property. Board members asked what would transpire if the grant was not awarded, Director Anderson said it would go back to the $275,000 project next year which would probably still include the grading. Muskego High School Softball Field According to Scott Kugi, they have most of the grading done and are continuing to work on it. Highway 36 Trail The grant was submitted. A response was received from the WDNR relative to the width of the bridge. Director Anderson rewrote the application. He worked with David Burch of Bonestroo and came up with two plans and the cost for the plans. The plan submitted was a cost of $82,000 and asking 50% funding from the WDNR. If the WDNR does not fund it, then the department can go back to their original plans for the six-foot bridge. Moorland Park Recently did a walk through the park as there were some erosion control problems over the winter and some sediment had washed into the wetland areas. The contractor was on site last week and cleaned it up and put the silt fence back. There are some grading issues on the second soccer field that will be discussed with David Burch at the site on Wednesday. They expect to start seeding the fields on Wednesday. Mr. Hulbert questioned if they could take down the berm to make the park more visible to the police. Director Anderson Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, May 12, 2008, page 5 explained that the berm was for preventing the balls from going on to Sandalwood Drive as well as a sound barrier. The majority of the time the police drive down to the skateboard park itself. DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Summer Program Guide The summer program guide is out. Director Anderson stated that Tammy and Stella did an exceptional job in getting it out. The city news is now published with the program guide. Jensen Park Baseball Diamond Game Preparation The department has an arrangement with one coach doing Jensen Park field for their Tuesday night games. They are prepping the field on their own. The department is monitoring it to see how they do. OTHER BUSINESS Subdivision Plans—none. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW: Mrs. Koble had noticed an electrical box (green pedestal type) off of the recreation trail, south side of road, east of Durham Drive, had graffiti appearing to be of a gang nature. Board members conversed that it may be a We Energies issue and they should be notified. Mr. Hulbert shared that Mr. Carity is working on putting in the recreation trail along Durham Drive as part of the Belle Chase subdivision. This should be done this summer. Also, they discovered the area historically was an ancient Indian corn field. In honor of this, a small area will be marked and reconstructed to depict this on the east side of the road. He thought this would be a nice stopping point along the recreation trail and maybe the Board would like to have a sign appropriately noting this. Director Anderson had received a phone call from Ron at City of Franklin who had the Board write a letter of recommendation to support their trail along Highway 36 in Franklin. Ron is looking at other options for the trail location. Mr. Hulbert would like on the June agenda the addendum to the recreation trail regarding the Wal*Mart site. Their entrance road would be across from the General Electric entrance road and that road would pass north of the Wal*Mart building to a potential subdivision behind it. He felt a pedestrian walk was needed in the area. Muskego Recreation Trail along Durham Drive in the area of the Big Muskego Lakes Estates was also discussed. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business, Mr. Hyde moved for adjournment at 7:56 p.m. Seconded by Mr. Hulbert. 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,