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Park & Rec Board- MINUTES - 4/20/2009 City of Muskego PARKS & RECREATION BOARD Monday, April 20, 2009 Approved 5/18/09 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 Wednesday, April 15, 2009. Present: Mr. Gary Boisits, Mr. Jerald Hulbert, Mr. Brett Hyde (departed 6:54 p.m.), Mrs. Kelly Koble, Ald. Dan Pavelko (arrived 6:31 p.m.), Mr. Toby Whipple, Director Anderson and Recreation Program Manager Tammy Dunn Absent: Mr. Eric Hetzel, (excused GUESTS: (sign-in sheet attached) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: March 19, 2009 Minutes Mr. Jerald Hulbert moved to approve the minutes of the March 19, 2009 meeting, seconded by Mr. Gary Boisits. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried . PERSONAL APPEARANCES: Center Street Pier—Ald. Werner Ald. Werner updated the Board members that the pier had gone in last week. It is being used and is a wonderful asset to this public access site. He thanked the Parks and Recreation Board members for their support of the project and the Department of Public Works personnel for assembling the pier and installing the pier. They are still working on the rules and the signage which should be finished by the end of the month. Beer Permit for Muskego Festival Mr. Hulbert explained what the Muskego Historical Society intended for the festival weekend. They are considering trying a casino night or bingo night. With such an event, most people would like beer or wine coolers as refreshments. The historical society has not had any conversation with the Muskego Festival Committee yet. They may have to pay the festival committee for parking space. Last year, they had a private party for the historical society members. With the amount they went through last year, it is not likely that the event would generate enough revenue for the festival committee. He also mentioned there is a cost for bartender’s licensing and insurance which is required when selling beverages. The historical society right now doesn’t have an event scheduled and when they do, they will come before the Board. He invited everyone to the historical society’s Earth Day event on Saturday, April 25. They will be starting their garden at this event. The weather should be 70 degrees and wonderful. Prairie Plantings at Bluhm Park Mrs. Jansen addressed her concerns to the Board members relative to the area of Bluhm Park designated for Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, April 20, 2009, page 2 prairie plantings. She shared the pictures she took of the current established prairie area at the park and the current grass area at the park. Much of the land to be changed to prairie is utilized by baseball teams, football teams and part by the rugby teams. There is a lot of activity going on in the park area and the Board members may not be aware of such activity. Also, voiced concerns about the prairie plantings creating health problems for those with allergies or asthma, increase in rodents, woodchucks and other wildlife. She did understand the need to keep budget costs under control and questioned how they could create another park such as Park Arthur and not maintain the current parks. Mr. Jansen stated that the master plan that was just approved did not show the area as prairie but as recreational use. He said the teams would be hitting foul balls into the prairie grass. They were taking away the area where the kids play. He was offering to buy the park area rather than see it go to prairie. Mr. Weiher stated the proposed prairie area abuts the north and west side of his property. He mentioned the corn fields and hay fields in the area when he was growing up. He also stated about the woodchucks and their holes and other animals coming up to the edge of the grass. His wife and son have allergies and he did not think the prairie grasses would add to their comfort. He also offered to buy the portion of the property whatever Mr. Jansen wasn’t going to purchase. He would like the city to find other areas to let the grass grow. He would respect their consideration in thinking this decision over again. Another gentleman stated that he had no problem rough cutting the area. They use the area to go back and forth to ball games. A resident, Dan, mentioned that he could walk right into the park. He has been there about eight years and nothing about prairie being mentioned at that time. Director Anderson shared with the group an article from Mr. Tom Zagar about the myths of prairie grass dispelling most of the issues brought forward by the group. He further explained that the Mayor had asked for ways to cut budgets and one of those ways he had asked for was to look at the contractual mowing process. This Board has already approved prairie grasses in a number of areas at different parks and he wanted to see that expanded. He asked the department along with GIS and the conservation coordinator to look at the areas where contractual mowing was being done and then come back with a plan to the Parks and Recreation Board so they could affect those costs this year. At the March Board meeting, the Board members approved the plan and subsequent to that, a letter was sent out to the residents letting them know that if there were any problems, the residents would have an opportunity to come forward with their concerns. He also added that as part of the budget cuts, the department lost two full-time staff and four seasonal staff members. To help them better understand the 2020 plan, he explained that recreational use is active and passive. A lot of the non- active areas will be no-mow zones or prairie plantings on the parks coming on line such as Moorland Park and Park Arthur. Mr. Hulbert moved for reconsideration of the item. Mr. Hyde seconded. Mr. Hulbert felt the residents had brought up some legitimate concerns. The issue is are they going to mow certain areas or not. There is an area that is abutting residents. He would like to take the north area out of the prairie grass and put it back into the mowed area. In the future, may consider cutting a deal with Mr. Jansen or Mr. Weiher for mowing of the area. He also thought that the area was more utilized than the Board had believed. He said that the actual amount of dollars involved was minuscule. Hearing the concerns of the residents, Mrs. Koble thought there may be some options leaving open space for rugby and the residents. Director Anderson shared his conversations on the prairie plantings with the MAA on their football and baseball programs and they had no problem with it and the rugby area is not affected by the prairie plantings. Mr. Boisits inquired how much acreage was involved. Mr. Hyde guessed that it would be about 2 acres. Director Anderson thought the monetary amount would be in the neighborhood of $500-$600. Mr. Hulbert moved to remove the entire northern area from the prairie plantings and put it back into mowing. Mr. Hyde seconded. Director Anderson will have to contact the contractor to see what the costs would be. Mrs. Koble stated that it had been the plan to gradually phase the areas into prairie grasses but for budget constraints they were asked to do it sooner than later. The plan was to increase prairie land in the parks opposed to mowing. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE: Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, April 20, 2009, page 3 Idle Isle Shelter Rental Requests Board members reviewed the two requests for the rental of the Idle Isle shelter for June 27 and July 11. Director Anderson addressed the amount of usage that the park receives from the general public on the weekends and that parking is limited. On the weekends, it is unlikely that you can find a parking spot at 10:00 a.m. Mrs. Koble noted that one party had a group of 150-200 which is a large party. This would not only impact the parking, but the trash barrels and restroom facilities, too. Mrs. Koble moved to make it a blanket policy to only allow rental of the shelter on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Ald. Pavelko seconded. Some discussion took place on the use of the shelter by the Water Bugs on Wednesday nights. Director Anderson explained this would be an exception and part of the agreement with the Water Bugs. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Community Garden at Moorland Park Ald. Pavelko stated that he had spoken to the residents and about half a dozen were interested in the community garden. Mr. Hulbert stated they would have to come forward and have a plan with them. Ald. Pavelko had asked the parks staff to outline the plots for the residents. Director Anderson said this would be on the far west side of the park. Is the Board willing to do this for six people? Mr. Boisits commented that if the area was staked out, then the people would have an idea. Director Anderson stated they will have the area staked out. Depending on the soil, they may have to bring in additional soil for the gardens. He would like a spokesperson for the resident group to come before the Board. This idea was generated when the department was approached by a senior citizen on having some outdoor activities available at Moorland Park for the senior citizens. This will be an agenda item for May. ALDERMAN’S REPORT: Ald. Pavelko thank the Board members for the pleasure of being on the Board. STATUS OF PROJECTS: Park Arthur Director Anderson shared that Bonestroo is completing the storm water management plan for the park, preparing a cost estimate update based upon the latest grading plan; finalizing draft plan documents for review in early May; targeting a May bid date for phase one work at Park Arthur; updating funding grant application for submittal by May 1, 2009. Highway 36 Trail On the channel bridge, Bonestroo is working on combining the WDNR model of the Muskego canal with the model Dave Simpson received from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. This should be within the scope of services so the department should not have to pay any more. It should be done shortly and then it will go on to the WDNR. The goal is to have the project done by the end of the summer. Moorland Park/InPro Skate Park Ald. Pavelko asked if there were any issues with the park. Director Anderson hasn’t received any police reports on it. Board President Whipple questioned if it had been cleaned up. Director Anderson said that nothing had been received from the Teen Advisory Board on clean up. North Cape Road Recreational Trail On Tuesday night, there will be a meeting in Franklin on the original recreation plan to connect to Highway 36. If this fails, they won’t have a trail. Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, April 20, 2009, page 4 DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Moorland Park Playground Mrs. Dunn stated they had met with Harlan Lehman of Minnesota-Wisconsin Playgrounds. They went out to the site. He is working on a playground structure, incorporating pieces that are more climbing and physical and also having a piece for ages 2-5 years which is much more suited to the smaller children. There will be a concrete walk way around the entire area. There would be a berm and an entry to the playground area so the children aren’t just running from the parking lot to the playground area. There should be a conceptual drawing available for the May meeting along with an overview map of the structure. Director Anderson added that through U.S. Communities they may be able to add the shelter to the plan and save about 26 percent of the cost. Sports Programming Problems Mrs. Dunn brought to the Board members attention the problems the department is experiencing with parents at the recreational programs. The staff plans to address the problem by working on some parent training and their responsibilities and how it relates to the programs run by the department. Mrs. Koble suggested that for the leagues to use the fields, the coaches would have to take some sensitivity training. Mrs. Dunn felt that there needs to be continuity between all the sports organizations relative to the sportsmanship of the parents. Staff was seeking support of the Board relative to finding a resolution to the sports programming problems. City/Muskego-Norway School District Facilities Agreement Board members reviewed the agreement and the letter drafted to Dr. Schroeder. Director Anderson stated there were no changes to the agreement. He reported that the only money exchanged was on the athletic fields and that is steadily coming down. The fees for custodial services are built into the recreation programs. Mr. Hulbert moved to approve the facilities agreement. Ald. Pavelko seconded. Upon a voice vote, the motion carried. Prairie/No Mow Grass Areas The letters were mailed to the residents on the selected prairie areas in several parks. Mill Valley Lights Being Replaced Director Anderson reported that two quotes had been received on this project. Pinky Electric will be doing the work for $18,964 which is under the budgeted amount of $22,000. A Class 1 notice had been published. The work should be done before the Board meeting in May. The lighting fixtures will be replaced with sports lighting. It will also help out on Mill Valley #2. The lighting will be installed on the existing poles. Parks Security Camera Project Update Director Anderson stated they (Police Department staff, IS/GIS Coordinator John Wiesnewski, himself) had met with Centec Security and Ionit. They will also be meeting with Time Warner. They went over how to accomplish the priorities that the Board set up. The police would like to be able to catch someone. With that in mind, they were looking at the squad cars being able to pull up on their lap tops a visual of the park area by using the IP address. There would be an option of 2-4 cameras and Time Warner being able to put an Ethernet connection for a monthly fee that the city can use. Using this, Director Anderson could also pull it up on his computer and see what is happening at the park. It is more economical to do it this way than to have some type of system where you have to get up and out to send it, or to build a shelter which was discussed with them. They have done that in some instances. The money that would be put upfront with the stand-alone structure is going to take away from some of the things the Board wanted to accomplish. He continued, that the gentleman from Centec Security will be coming to the May 11 Board meeting and review some of the options with the Board. He had inquired if the cost would be over $25,000 as then it would have to go out for public bid. The gentleman indicated if they go with the Time Warner model, it would not be. They would still Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, April 20, 2009, page 5 have to run electricity to the park. Time Warner would have to put in their equipment and then it would just be a maintenance fee and asking DPW to put in the telephone poles. Director Anderson did think it was doable. In the future, he suggested including this type of thing in the other parks and retrofitting the existing cameras in our parks. Mr. Hulbert inquired how much time could be recorded? Director Anderson said it could record up to 6-8 months. Mrs. Koble asked about the operating costs? Director Anderson could not say as the Time Warner staff person would not be available until next week. Wisconsin Electric called and said they had the application. He is hoping to have all three proposals at the Board meeting to answer any questions from the Board. He refreshed the Board members that the camera project was to take place of the fence which was estimated to be $12,000-$15,000. This would be the starting point on how much more to pay to get the camera surveillance. Mr. Hulbert expressed his opinion that it does make sense and would be more cost effective. OTHER BUSINESS Subdivision Plans No plans were submitted for the Board’s review. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS AS AUTHORIZED BY LAW: None Director Anderson shared that the Haut property consisting of 41 acres next to Denoon Park is for sale. Mr. Hulbert commented on the Plan Commission wanting to keep the density down and also protect wetlands when considering subdivision developments. ADJOURNMENT - There being no further business, Mr. Hulbert moved for adjournment at 7:34 p.m. Seconded by Ald. Pavelko. 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, Minutes, Parks & Recreation Board, April 20, 2009, page 6