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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_PAREB_05.15.2003Minutes of the Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board City of Georgetown, Texas Thursday, May 15, 2003 The Parks and Recreation Board of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met on Thursday , May 15, 2003. Members Present: Doug Blackard, Jean Houck, Jeff Gambino, Lilya Crystal, Mark Ramsey, Mike Watson, Mitchell Knauth, Ron Doernbach Members Absent: Phil Davis Staff Present: Randy Morrow Kimberly Garrett Others Present: Jim Dillard Tom Long David Marshall Minutes Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Jean Houck at 7:00 pm. 2. Roll CaI1 3. Consideration and possible action supporting the renovation of the Samuel Mathis Log Cabin in Old Town Park - Jim Dillard Jim Dillard with the Georgetown Heritage Society presented restoration plan of the Log Cabin for the board's consideration. Mr. Dillard presented a plan that includes the current condition of the Log Cabin and some preliminary plans for restoration. The Log Cabin was moved from the area of Florence in 1975 as part of the Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration. The only thing moved was really the logs that comprise the walls of the log cabin. Everything else was constructed on site with new materials. Mr. Dillard said the immediate problem is the chimney. The Chimney is very large and not necessarily part of an1850's style log cabin. The walls are in good shape; two problems are on the East Side of the cabin with two logs being rotted. Also there is damage caused by vandals to the south side walls. The floor is gone. The cabin is infested with termites. The roof and gables have to be replaced. There are also some problems to the fence on the north side. There are three doors and two windows. There are some things with the cabin that are inconsistent with the cabin from that era. One is that there are three doors. Usually there was just one door which was immediately opposite the fireplace. The fireplace was built way too big for that size cabin. The Restoration Plan can go one of two ways depending on how the cabin is to be used. If the cabin is to be used as a demonstration cabin then the interior of the cabin will have to be restored to it's original state. If the cabin is just going to sit in the park and no one is going to go inside it, then other restoration measures can be taken which will be less expensive in the long run. The plan proposed to remove all the materials that were brought in during the 1975 construction of the building. This includes the gables, floor, roof and the doors. Basically everything that is infested with termites. The other thing is the chimney. The Texas Historical Commission recommends taking the chimney down because it is too big and not typical of that style cabin. The walls on three sides are in good shape. The wall on the East Side has started to settle. The walls will need to be stabilized and some sort of foundation will need to installed on the inside. A new roof will be constructed along with new gables. If the interior is not going to be used for demonstration, a water barrier will be put in along with crushed stone to fill the interior. This will keep some of the water from leaching into the cabin. If the cabin is to be used for demonstration, another floor will have to be installed. New doors and shutters will also be constructed. Remove and replace all the mortar that has been used to chink the walls. This has been done since 1975 to fill holes in the cabin. And finally do something with the landscaping and repair the fence. Most of the work will be done with volunteers from the Georgetown Heritage Society or different organizations. Hoping to involve Habitat for Humanity. A lumber mill in Pfugerville is going mill the cedar logs. Restoration will be done with as much native material as possible. At the board meeting in July some cost figures will be provided depending on the use of the cabin. Restoration should be ready to go late October or November. The restoration work should take about 4 weeks. Ron asked about moving the entire building so it is more accessible and visible to the public? Mr. Dillard said the hardest thing to move would be the walls. Restoration would be best on site. Mark asked about restoring the cabin for public us? Mr. Dillard said he would love to see it restored for public use, but there has to be people to staff the building once it is restored. If used for the public, restoration would be a little more expensive and you would have to brace walls differently and restore the floor. Mr. Dillard is going to talk to the Heritage Society board members about getting volunteers to staff the cabin maybe for special events and one weekend a month. Doug asked where the funding for the restoration was coming from? Jim said they would request funding from the City Council for some of the materials and cost. Since the building is a historical site, the Texas Historical Commission has to sign off on any modifications to the building. The Williamson County Historical Commission also endorses the project. Mr. Dillard asked the board to keep the restoration of the log cabin in mind when working on the City budget. He will be back in July with cost estimates and the usage of the cabin. 4. Consideration and possible action to approve a variance from the Parkland Dedication Ordinance for The Reserve at Berry Creek - Rusty Parker Tim Long with HPK representing the Reserve at Berry Creek spoke to the board about setting aside 2.5 acres for parkland. He said there is also one acre of land that is a landscape easement which would make the parkland total 3.5 acres. Randy said a landscape easement could not be considered credit towards parkland dedication requirements. Mitch asked about parking? Randy said that there are sidewalks in the subdivision and most people would walk. There would probably be a playground installed in the park. There was some discussion as to how many lots where being built and exactly how much land is required. There were two different plats and they each had a different number on them. One map showed 150 lots, which would be a 3-acre requirement, and another map showed 225 lots, which would be 4.5 acre requirement. Mr. Long could not clarify how many lots where to be built. The map only showed 2.5 acres of dedicated parkland, which does not meet the criteria for the 150 lots. Doug said if the land does not meet the qualifications, maybe the value of the land could be determined and the land value difference between the proposed dedication and what is required could be made up in amentities for the park.. Mike commented that he wants to see an effort made to provide the required acreage. It is unclear on the exact required acreage. Ron Doembach made a motion to table the item until more information on the lots could be obtained. Jeff Gambino seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 5. Consideration and possible action to accept the large oak tree and lot at Katy Crossing as Parkland Dedication for Ryan's Cove - John Gavurnik David Marshall with Kennedy Properties of Texas and Gavurnik Homes spoke to the board about dedicating a lot in Katy Crossing with a large oak tree worth $35,000 to the City as parkland in exchange for credit for $3,750 in fees for Ryan's Cove Subdivision. Mitchell Knauth made a motion to accept the lot with the large tree in Katy Crossing in lieu of fees for Ryan's Cove Subdivision. Ron Doembach seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 6. Consideration and possible action to set date and tour City Parks for the June Meeting After some discussion on trying to combine the regular meeting in June with a tour of the parks, the board decided to keep the regular meeting date on June 12th and have a parks tour on June 24th at 4:00 pm. 7. Update on commercial parkland dedication along the South San Gabriel River by Simon Properties Simon Properties, a commercial development between Hwy 29 and the South San Gabriel River along IH 35, is dedicating parkland along the South San Gabriel River to the City of Georgetown. Residents across the river from the proposed parkland want the park closed off to the public until it is developed. 8. Update on future expansion of trials on South San Gabriel River and funding possibilities The Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan shows expansion of the hike/bike trail along the South San Gabriel River from Blue Hole Park to Picket trail onto Chautauqua Park. From Chautauqua Park, the trail would then go to the hospital and then under IH 35. Funding for this phase of trails would be through future grants. 9. Approve Minutes from April 10, 2003 Doug Blackard made a motion to approve the minutes from April 10, 2003. Lilya Crystal seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. 10. Future Agenda Items Review Private Venture Policy Berry Creek Reserve Teen Center presentation 11. Adjourn Doug Blackard made a motion to adjourn.