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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_PAREB_05.16.2002CITY OF GEORGETOWN Parks & Recreation Board Minutes I. CALL TO ORDER John Philpott, chair, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mr. John Philpott, Chair Ms. Jean Houck Mr. Phil Davis Mr. Ron Doernbach Ms. Mary Lee Dobi Ms. Dawn Hitt-Wilken Ms. Brenna Nedbalek Mr. Douglas Blackard Members Absent: Ms. Amy Vick May 16, 2002 Others Present: John Noell, Urban Design Group Judy Walther, Environmental Survey Consulting Stan Wilson, Environmental Survey Consulting Staff Present: Randy Morrow, Director of Parks and Recreation Kimberly Garrett, Manager of Administration Traci Stengle, Special Services Superintendent III. APPROVE MINUTES FROM APRIL 11, 2002 A motion was made by Doug Blackard to approve the amended minutes from the April 11, 2002, meeting. Mary Lee Dobi seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. IV. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE WET POND LOCATED AT THE RIVERY PARK — URBAN DESIGN GROUP John Noell with the Urban Design Group talked to the Parks and Recreation Board about the general concept of the wet pond that will be located in Rivery Park. There are three participants involved in the design of the wet pond and they include the Urban Design Group, Environmental Survey Consulting, specialists in wetland planting and the Broussard Group who are landscape architects. The City Council entered into a Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 1 of 6 development agreement with the Quorum Group, the developer of the Rivery, to develop a wet pond in the Rivery Park. As part of the development agreement, the Urban Design Group was to develop a plan and present the details of the wet pond to the Parks and Recreation Board and get their input and approval. This pond will have multiple functions, but it will basically receive runoff from Rivery Boulevard and the retail development. This pond will serve as a water quality pond with a 4 bay chamber where the grit will settle out and planting areas. The pond will have a gentle slope down to the water. The wet pond will be deeper in the middle with floating plants and on the shelf where there is shallow water it will have rooting plants and on the banks it will have dry land type plants. The pond will meet 3 objectives — 1) treat the water 2) make it aesthetically beautiful and colorful and 3) make it an outdoor laboratory for education. John said he believes the three objectives are consistent with the use of this space as parkland. Judy Walther with Environmental Survey Consulting spoke about wet ponds being a challenge because they are not a natural phenomenon but an urban situation. Plants are important, as are the bacteria and microbes that live on the surface of the plants. The whole idea is to get these microorganisms to consume the nutrients, which are going to be flowing into the pond. The goal is to create diversity so you have something that is healthy and will thrive. There may be a deer problem in the area so the plants that are used will have to be planned out appropriately too. Stan Wilson with Environmental Survey Consulting did most of the design on the project. Stan put together the plant list for the pond and dry areas and used colorful plants and plants that bloom year round for diversity. All the plants are native to the area. Little plant communities will be formed to lend themselves to observation and education. Judy talked about the educational aspects of the pond. There are usually three general types of groups that will visit the pond, they are the average person who does not know that much about plants or birds, the avid person who has some knowledge, and school groups. For the general visitor you can have general signs about what is in the pond. Another idea is to have a kiosk or bulletin board for information. There can also be printed material that can be simple or complex. There is also some outreach options to get students involved with the wet pond. John Noell talked about the plan and how it affects the disc golf course. John Noell contacted John Houck, the course designer, and discussed relocating three holes (#3, #17, #18) of the disc golf course. John Houck was concerned with how the disc golf course would be effected overall, not just the three holes. There is an event in September at the disc golf course and the area should be back in shape before that. The flow of play would be interrupted for about a month. John Houck is going to look at the plan and tweak it a little and get it back to John Noell. Staff made suggestions regarding benches, trash receptacles and a kiosk that will be Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 2 of 6 incorporated into the plan. Staff also requested that the trail around the perimeter of the pond be concrete and accessible. Basically there will be a pond with a continuous walkway, and a deck with an outdoor classroom. Staff also wanted a drinking fountain with a jug filler for the disc golfers. A water line will be installed for early stages of the vegetation so it can be used for the drinking fountain as well. Everything seems set and ready with a possibility of tweaking the disc golf course. Construction is scheduled to begin the end of June. The pond will be constructed early on and get re -vegetation underway. The three holes will be out of play for about a month, but the rest of the course should be playable. There will be safety precautions and temporary fencing to make sure the construction area is defined. The project will be under construction for sometime, at first it will trap sediment from construction and towards the end of the project, the pond will be cleaned out and filled with water. The pond should be full of water next spring. Opened for questions: Ron asked about the classroom and how the seating would be arranged? — John Noell said the classroom would be built like a deck and there would be built in seating for about 40 people around the edge, with a lattice work roof. Ron said the seating should be more comfortable if the area is to be used for a classroom. Ron also asked about the noise from the interstate? John Noell said that there will be road noise, but the area is going to be used as a place to gather. Ron suggested amphitheater type seating. John Noell said they would look at the seating arrangements and submit options to the staff. Phil asked how the run off gets into the pond if there is a berm around the pond? John Noell said it comes into the pond through a pipe. 99% of all storms will run into the pond catching the first flush of the storm. There will be a provision for make up water during drought times so there will always be water in the pond. The pond will not leak, just lose water from evaporation and from the plants. Construction cost is about $300,000. Land area is about 2 acres and water capacity is about 4-acre feet. Judy said the habitat does not mind the runoff nutrients, if plants are too delicate they will die off. Developer has the opportunity to develop management criteria and enter into a maintenance agreement with the retail stores. The stores will be required to sweep the parking lots and control their use of pesticides and herbicides on the vegetation. Trying to control the pollution at source so we do not have especially dirty urban run off. This pond is designed according to TNRCC's criteria. The City will have a small cost of the maintenance, but the developer will bear most of the cost of the maintenance. Dawn asked how they are going to audit the retail stores to make sure they follow the Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 3 of 6 maintenance agreement? John said the developer would set up a mechanism similar to a property owners association that is recorded at the courthouse and the management entity would police the retail stores. The Wal-Mart store that is going to be built in Georgetown will replace the one in Durango, Colorado as being the highest quality Wal-Mart in North America. Doug commended John Novell on what he has done. Doug asked that when hole number 3 on the disc golf course is relocated, the hole be protected from the sidewalk with vegetation. There is going to be an effluent waterline go through the Rivery toward the County Club. This water could possibly be used for makeup water in the pond. There is going to be so little makeup water used, that it does not matter if the water is chlorinated or not. Jean asked about the deer and the plant life? John Noell said they consider the deer a management/maintenance issue and he believes that with the activity above, the deer may retreat. Judy will figure out how to deal with the deer through different plant species if they become a problem. Doug asked about the stepping stones going into the pond? John Noell said the stones would allow for access during all types of weather for water collection. Traci Stengle asked if Judy would be available for information or training to work with Joe Armstrong, our Adventure Coordinator. He has a background in nature science and would be interested in utilizing the wet pond for adventure type programs. John Noell said they will produce a set of plans for construction costs and they will be dynamic, meaning that they can change. Mary Lee asked if the parkland was northeast of the retail stores? And that is correct. Doug made a motion that the Parks and Recreation Board support the wetpond located at the Rivery Park from the Urban Design with the consideration that they investigate further the disc golf course area and protection of the pubic along the sidewalk. Jean Houck seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. V. BRIEFING ON GEORGETOWN SUMMER SWIM ASSOCIATION UPCOMING SEASON — GREG PFLUGER Pulled from the agenda VI. BRIEFING ON GIRLS FASTPITCH ASSOCIATION SEASON ENDING AND FUTURE — GREG PFLUGER Pulled from the agenda Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 4 of 6 VII. STAFF REPORT ON SUMMER CAMPS, TENNIS CENTER AND CHALLENGE COURSE — TRACI STENGLE, SPECIAL SERVICES SUPERINTENDENT Traci Stengle, Special Services Superintendent spoke to the board regarding the programs she oversees. The Tennis Center hired a new tennis pro in February and his name is John Hospod. The tennis center is doing well and has a new buzz. Classes are growing and doing well and there is a lot of potential. The Tennis Members are also really helping spread the word about the facility. The Tennis Center hosts nine tournaments a year. There is also a tennis camp this summer that runs for 8 week. Registration is a little slow, but usually picks up toward the end of May. Jeremy Reeves operates our Challenge Course and he is doing a great job. The winter was slow due to Sept 11th and a money shortage in the Austin Area. Jeremy has been doing a lot of marketing that has helped pick up the business. A special program at the Challenge Course involves a graduate level course from the University of Texas. The students use part of the course as a classroom. Dawn asked about the fees? There are different fees for non-profit and corporate groups. The cost ranges from $30 to $65 per person. The minimum number of students is 8 and the maximum that they have had on the course at one time is 60 -75. The Challenge Course is designed for team building and also to have a good time. Plans are to market to smaller businesses, schools and Southwestern University. Restrooms and a covered area are desperately needed at the Challenge Course. Camp Goodwater is our summer day camp and it is 98% full. The revenue on that camp so far is $75,000. The day camp is from 9-4 and is held in the community center. There is one counselor for every 10 kids, which is a good ratio. Another camp is Kid City, which is a grant -funded camp that runs for four weeks in the summer. The program provides breakfast and lunch and we provide the recreation in between. This camp is held at Cooper Elementary School. There is also Teen Adventure Camp for ages 12-18. This camp has four sessions that run for 2 weeks each. This camp is limited to 10-12 kids. They travel overnight and do rock climbing, canoeing, caving, and hiking, the kids get a good experience. Water sports were added last summer to the adventure camp and they were real popular. Joe Armstrong runs the adventure camp and also works the rest of the year with the After School Action Program. The adventure program also tries to hold a trip once a month, either a day trip or a long weekend trip. Traci also oversees the Georgetown Youth Advisory Board and Teen Court which are both organized by Brenda Culver. The Georgetown Youth Advisory Board is going to try to do some drop in summer activities to keep the youth busy this summer. Traci also just finished up her Masters Degree from St. Edwards University in Human Services Administration. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 5 of 6 VIII. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON LETTER SUPPORTING NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE John drafted a letter for City Council regarding the new land development code. There was a consensus from the board that the letter should be sent to City Council as written. IX. DISCUSSION ON TREE PRESERVATION PROGRAM — PHIL DAVIS, PARKS BOARD MEMBER We will discuss this item at the June Meeting X. DISCUSSION ON POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR FUTURE OPERATING BUDGET Phil asked if the new council would change the budget process? We do not really know at this point. John said the general comments he has heard regarding the budget are that funds are limited and the departments hope to keep what they have. We will keep this item on the agenda for June. XI. PARKLAND DEDICATION SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT Jean told the board that the subcommittee met on May 9, 2002, and discussed the different parkland dedication fee options used by various cities. Cedar Park has raised their fee in lieu of to $720 per dwelling unit and Leander has raised their fee to $550 per dwelling unit. Georgetown is at $250 per dwelling unit. The subcommittee tried to come up with some sort of formula to raise Georgetown's fee in lieu of. Some wanted to look at appraised land values, but the problem with that method is do you appraise the developed land or undeveloped land. Another idea was to use a percentage of the average lot value in Georgetown, but the Appraisal District did not have that information. Cedar Park uses an average price per acre of $30,000 and then figures a percentage for the fee in lieu of. John said in regard to a fixed rate, it would not be as difficult to change if the fees were included in the City fee schedule that was evaluated yearly. The subcommittee will meet and again and decide on a new fee in lieu of to recommend to the whole Parks and Recreation Board. XII. UPCOMING COUNCIL BOARD REPORTS — SEPTEMBER 10, 2002 This is where the chair makes a 5-10 minute report to council on what the board has done since the last report. The council may reconsider how the board reports are done. XIII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Staff member to speak on topic at the next meeting XIV. ADJOURN Mary Lee Dobi made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Parks and Recreation Board Minutes May 16, 2002 Page 6 of 6