Parks Commission Minutes 08-20-2008Park Commission Minutes: 8/20/08
MINUTES
PARKS COMMISSION
Wednesday,
August 20, 2008 - 4:30 p.m.
°~To enhance community pride through developing maintaining
City parks with a standard of quality."
Members Present: Gene Emanuel, Mark Larson, Nancy McCaffrey and Larry Nolan
Members Absent: Rick Traver and Council Liaison Brian Stumpf
Others Present: Tom Pawelk, Park Superintendent
1. Call to Order.
Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum
present.
2. Approve minutes of July 23, 2008 regular Parks Commission meeting.
NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JULY 23, 2008
REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. MARK CARSON SECONDED THE
MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda.
The following items were added to the agenda: 1) Concept plan from the Lions Club for the West
Bridge Park flagpole and 2) Discussion on Front Street Park.
4. Citizens comments and requests.
There was no one who spoke under citizens comments or requests. Tom Pawelk reported that
the Parks Department had received a thank you note from Little Mountain Elementary School for
the assistance the Park Department provided in laying out ground games at the school.
Nancy McCaffrey noted that one of the East Bridge Park gardeners expressed a concern that
there is no park in the Timber Ridge development area. Nancy McCaffrey asked if there was any
land in the area that would be suitable for park use. The closest park to the Timber Ridge
development would be Par West. There is pathway access to Par West from Timber Ridge so
pedestrians would not have to travel on County Road 75. Nancy McCaffrey will let them know
about the Par West Park and encourage those residents to pass this information on to the
homeowners association with the hope that the association will encourage the residents to
utilize Par West. The Parks Commission discussed pedestrian safety issues in crossing County
Road 75. Since this is a county road it would be up to the county to take steps to improve
pedestrian safety on the road.
Larry Nolan commented how well the play structure at Sunset Ponds turned out and that it
appears to be used quite a bit.
Pazk Commission Minutes: 8/20/08
Update on YMCA:
Jeff O'Neill gave an update on the status of the YMCA land acquisition. The City and County
are still working with the YMCA to purchase the property over 3-4 years. Approximately
$8,000,000 in funds were proposed for the land in a bonding bill in the last legislative session but
the bill did not pass. However, City and County officials were encouraged to pursue their
request for funds from the state. It was. suggested that acquiring the land over time might be
be more acceptable to the state legislature. A task force consisting of Pat Sawatzke, Carla
Heeter, Wayne Mayer and Clint Herbst are continuing to work on this.
The LCCMR did grant $1,000,000 in funds for this project and it is proposed that the City
and County each match this amount. The $3,000,000 in funds would then be used to purchase
a portion of the YMCA property. The desire is to acquire the property that has environmental
significance first. Jeff O'Neill noted that the City's primary need is land for the ballfields so the
decision on what area to purchase first has not been resolved. Initially the County was going to
bond for the land acquisition cost with the City to pay back its share to the County over a
period of time. However with the proposal to match the LCCMR funds the City and County
would need to come up with their matching funds right away. The City does not have those
funds. The City will need to address the funding for the YMCA in the upcoming budget
workshop. Tom Pawelk stated that he had put $300,000 in the 2009 budget for ballfield
development. 'The Parks Commission discussed the recent tour of the YMCA property
by representatives and staff from LCCMR and their response to the facility. The City and
County in 2009 could go back to LCCMR for additional funding.
9. Adiourn.
The Parks Commission viewed a presentation that will be given to the City Council on August
25, 2008 relating to Park Department projects completed this year.
NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 5:30 P.M. GENE EMANUEL
SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Recording Secretary
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