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Parks Commission Minutes 08-04-2005 Special MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - PARKS COMMISSION Thursday August 4, 2005 - 4:30 p.m. Members Present: Fran Fair, Ben Hitter, Larry Nolan, Rick Traver and Council Liaison, Tom Perrault. Members Absent: Nancy McCaffrey Others Present: Adam Hawkinson, Park Superintendent; Kitty Baltos MCC Director. 1. Call to Order. Chair Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum present. He stated the purpose of the special meeting was to review and discuss a proposal to have the City share in the cost of constructing a playground on the Swan River Charter School site. 2. Swan River Charter School Plaveround Proposal. Isabelle Olson, Scott Watters and other representatives of the Swan River Charter School were present to explain their proposal and review the playground designs. Larry Nolan stated the Parks Commission has received a letter from City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller, which indicated that the City's insurance company could not provide liability insurance for structures that are not on City property. Isabelle Olson stated the charter school would take care of the liability insurance. Isabelle Olson also brought up accessibility to the playground and stated the charter school would have a policy similar to what other school districts had in that the playground would not be available to the public during school hours. The school day is over at 3:30 and she didn't feel that parents would utilize the park much until after children were home from school. She also noted a safety concern about other adults, not associated with the school being present on the playground when school was in session. Larry Nolan stated that the City does not pay for play equipment at other school districts. Isabelle Olson responded that when the City sold the land to the school there was some questioning of that action by residents. She felt this was a way of giving the land back to the community. Isabelle Olson stated that there is no other play area in the vicinity and did not feel that other parks such as Ellison or West Bridge were feasible for the children in this area since they would have to cross a heavily traveled road to access the park and there is also the added risk of these parks being along the river. Isabelle Olson stated the play area by the school would be fenced which is a cost that the charter school would pick up. She added that the children who would frequent this playground would be coming from nearby apartments. I Parks Commission Minutes - 8/4/05 Fran Fair stated that the Parks Commission has responded readily to help where there is a need. Much of the area is commercial in nature so the need for a park in the immediate area was not there. As redevelopment occurs, the Parks Commission will be looking at possible sites for a park. There were plans for a passive park on the community center site but with some of the community center property going to the school, the National Guard is now utilizing the area that was proposed for a passive park. Larry Nolan expressed some concern that even though the school was carrying the liability insurance, the fact that City would be a partner in this project could expose the City to a certain amount of risk in that if someone was suing the charter school they would most likely name the City in the lawsuit as well. Rick Traver explained that with a city park there are installation and maintenance requirements that the city complies with adding that the Parks Department has an inspection and maintenance program for their parks. Isabelle Olson indicated that the school could hire someone to do the inspection based on an inspection and maintenance program similar to what the City uses. She stated that since the City is already partnering with the charter school on this venture the City has already exposed themselves to the risk of being named in any lawsuit against the school. Fran Fair questioned whether the Parks Commission should be involved in the construction of playgrounds on private property. She asked about the enrollment at the school and how many were residents of the City of Monticello. Isabelle Olson responded that approximately 70% were from the Monticello school district. Rick Traver asked Tom Perrault, Council liaison to the Parks Commission, what the feeling of the Council was. Tom Perrault stated he had not talked at length to the other Councilmembers but stated he did have concerns about it addition to the insurance question. Isabelle Olson stated that since the Community Center would be using the school facility for weddings, etc. they felt the playground would be something the Community Center would like to see. Fran Fair stated that a substantial amount of money is being requested for a playground that the Parks Commission didn't know for sure if they felt should be part of the park system. Rick Traver added that the amount of the requested contribution is considerably more than the Parks Commission has spent on anyone playground. Financial constraints have required that the Parks Commission develop the parks in increments, i.e. playground equipment one year, parking lot another year, landscaping another year, etc. Ben Hitter felt that the park system is a public system and didn't know whether this playground really belonged in a park system. Rick Traver stated that if there is a need for a park in this area, he would like to look at the entire area to see what sites are available for a park. He didn't want to contribute funds to the playground project and then not have funds available later for developing a park site in this area.. Larry Nolan questioned what the Parks Commission role should be in a development on private property. 2 Parks Commission Minutes - 8/4/05 Ben Hitter asked ifthere grants available to the school. Isabelle Olson stated they have applied for a federal grant for $40,000. She noted they are in the second stage of the grant application process and although they have not received the grant she felt they had a reasonable chance of receiving it. She added the school could not start building the playground until the grant was received. Adam Hawkinson asked if it was a matching fund grant. Isabelle Olson indicated it was not. The Parks Commission stated the question is whether this is a proper location for a park and whether, with the limited funds available for park development, this was a priority. There was some discussion on whether park dedication funds could be used for this. Rick Traver felt how and for what park dedication monies could be used should be checked out further. The other option would be to budget funds for this as they do for other capital improvements not covered by park dedication or pathway funds. Rick Traver said before they would budget for this, they would like to see more precise cost figures. Adam Hawkinson asked about the fencing and noted that the City parks are not fenced in. Isabelle Olson stated the fencing was required because of the proximity to the railroad tracks and the parking lot so there were safety concerns that factored into the decision to fence the play area. Fran Fair stated she did not want the charter school to have any false hopes that the Parks Commission would budget for this project. She questioned whether this type of project truly belonged in the City's park system. Rick Traver stated he had reservations about using park dollars for this project. He stated he realized the Council makes the final decision but felt there were other park needs that were of greater priority. FRAN FAIR MOVED TO DENY THE REQUEST OF THE SWAN RIVER CHARTER SCHOOL TO HAVE THE PARKS COMMISSION INVOLVED IN THE PROPOSAL FOR PLA YGROUND INST ALLA TION ON THE SCHOOL SITE. RICK TRAVER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Adjournment. BEN HITTER MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 5:20 P.M. FRAN FAIR SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. \)CLLV~ ~s~ Recording Secretary 3