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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_PAREB_09.13.2012Minutes of the Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board City of Georgetown, Texas Thursday, September 13, 2012 The Parks and Recreation Board of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met on Thursday , September 13, 2012. Members Present: Daniel Dance, Jean Houck, John Hesser - Chair, Katherine Kainer, Keith Fruge, Robert Johnson, Syed Warisi Members Absent: Staff Present: Kimberly Garrett, Eric Nuner, Laurie Brewer, Jill Kellum Minutes Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by John Hesser. 2. Roll Call 3. Review and discussion of the revised City Council policy regarding Board and Commission Member attendance — Jill Kellum, Staff Liaison Jill Kellum presented information from the Assistant City Secretary which stated; On th August 14 , City Council approved a revised attendance policy for Board & Commission Members. This policy allows a Board Member two (2) excused absences for the Member's personal medical care or required medical care of a Member's immediate family member. These medical absences will not count against the 75% attendance requirement. We do not require a note from a medical professional The Member's word is sufficient. All board members were given a copy of the revised resolution. There was a question if military service is something that would be considered to be excused. Kimberly Garrett will ask if this will be considered in the future. 4. Presentation and possible direction to staff on Georgetown Art Center and Park/Splash Pad Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager, presented information on a proposed Georgetown Art Center and Park/Splash Pad. She stated there is ongoing talk with the Arts and Culture Board about doing an Arts Center. In October, Eric Lashley, Library Director and Arts and Culture Board liaison, suggested the idea of an Art Center in the Historic Fire House and doing a pilot program to see how it will work and then grow it. Laurie Brewer stated the remodel is not going to be as extensive and they are proposing to gutting the building and taking it back to some original features. Laurie Brewer stated this area is a park and it is designated the Memorial Fire Bell Commemorative Park but does not function as a park and were hoping to make some improvements to it. They got approval from City Council in May to start moving forward on this project and have been working on conceptual design work, getting bids and cost estimates. Laurie Brewer presented a conceptual plan of that area with a mister water feature to the Parks and Recreation Board. The conceptual drawing shows a bench area that could also be used as workable art and incorporates the Fire Bell. The City of Georgetown has been working with Georgetown Art Works, a 501c3, who has been contacted to run the facility. They would be responsible for presenting the art work to be displayed. There will also be a sidewalk widening project in front of the proposed Art Center facility and will extend further down the street. Laurie Brewer explained that this area is considered an urban park and the downtown parks are maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department. Laurie Brewer stated this project will cost between $90,000 — $100,000 and $28,000 of parkland dedication fees will be used to help fund this program. She also stated the art center can be rented for special events; it will have a small gift shop that will be run by volunteers and have public restrooms. Laurie Brewer stated this is the start to some momentum to some activity downtown. Fire Administration is moving out of the building October 1 and then interior remodeling will start. They are hoping for opening in January and planning for a grand opening in April. Laurie Brewer stated that City Council has stated they want to keep this building as a City building. 5. Discussion and possible action on a Recommendation to City Council regarding the Naming of a Facility or Trail after Randy Morrow Kimberly Garrett explained that Randy Morrow, who was the former Director of Community Services and Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Georgetown, was with the City of Georgetown for 21 years and was very instrumental in getting the Parks and Recreation Department started. Randy Morrow was very instrumental in having the vision to build the hike and bike trail to Lake Georgetown. Staff s recommendation would be to name the trail on the North San Gabriel River after Randy Morrow. There is another piece of trail on the South San Gabriel Trail named after a former Councilman, Winfred H. Bonner. The recommendation will then go to City Council for further action. Laurie Brewer stated there were some future facilities but felt the North San Gabriel River Trail would be appropriate for naming after Randy Morrow. Kimberly Garrett explained the history of the building of the trail and stated that Randy Morrow had a passion for the trail and feels this is appropriate. There was discussion about putting additional signage on the trail markers and also having a trail head with information about Randy Morrow, his vision for the design and building of the trail, and his achievement with the trail system. Motion made by Keith Fruge, second by Robert Johnson to recommend to City Council to name a portion of the hike and bike trail after Randy Morrow with appropriate signage as recommended in discussion. Approved 7-0 6. Discussion and possible action on the cemetery proposal that will be presented at the October 9, 2012, City Council Workshop John Hesser asked if the City should be in the cemetery business. He then stated we are, so we should have a vision for the cemetery so it is not quite so expensive. He stated when the cemetery sells out there will be no revenue coming in. Basically, all the operating expenses will then come out of the city budget. 2042 is the estimated date of when the cemetery will be sold out. He suggested that between now and 2042 we have an opportunity to take some kind of action that might help accumulate sufficient revenue by having an annuity set up so that it takes care of itself. He stated that in his research, a lot of communities' have set up a 501c3 corporation which takes it out of the political arena and it can accept tax deductible donations which helps increase revenue. Kimberly Garrett stated we have coaxed out our current location as there is no room for expansion. John Hesser states he has researched a columbarium. With a columbarium you get a lot more burials in a smaller space which reduces the expense and increases revenue because it maximizes the space. He suggests building a columbarium in the place where we have currently set aside land for urn burials. He stated they can be stacked and get a lot more in that space which means we could restructure the way we utilize the revenue that comes in so that we start building an annuity and at some point in time it will be self-sustaining. If you have an ongoing, viable organization you have a chance to get rid of it too, if it was functioning and not totally an expense, someone might be attracted to that as there are private funeral homes locally that do not have cemeteries. Kimberly Garrett stated that John Hesser has offered to make a presentation to City Council to bring this issue to their attention. Presenting it to City Council now will allow time to get numbers together and possibly adding it to the capital improvement list down the road. Robert Johnson stated that building the columbarium would allow a continued revenue stream. This issue will be presented to th City Council on October 9 . Motion made by Jean Houck, second by Katherine Kainer that the Parks and Recreation Board support the presentation to City Council on future examination of cemetery revenue as presented at the October 9, 2012 City Council meeting. Approved 7-0 7. Discussion and direction to staff to investigate options to make Blue Hole Park a safer, more family friendly park Kimberly Garrett explained that this summer there were several concerns over the activities that were happening at Blue Hole Park. Some of the concerns were alcohol and cliff jumping. This item will allow board members to discuss options that they may want to see implemented at Blue Hole Park. John Hesser states this is an unsupervised area and is unique and beautiful. There was a suggestion to find out the results of the police presence over the summer. There was some discussion on putting two park police officers in the budget dedicated to the Parks and Recreation Department. Kimberly Garrett stated there was a pilot program started in the City of Round Rock using police officers as park rangers. The program is working well and some of the ranger's duties are locking gates and restrooms. The direction, from the board, was for staff to look into what a job description would look like, hours that would be required, and skill requirements to hire a Park and Recreation Department Police. The Parks and Recreation Board would like to see a request at mid -year asking for the Parks and Recreation Police program to be implemented by next spring. 8. Update on the Hike/Bike Trail along Scenic Drive Kimberly Garrett stated construction of the trail along Scenic Drive is going well. Most of the trail has been poured. Contractors are now working on the bridge abutments that need to be constructed for the bridge. The 120' bridge is scheduled to arrive in early October. The trail from Blue Hole Park to University Ave along Scenic is in early design stage and the architects should have an update for the board in the next few months. 9. Update on the implementation of the new Fee and Rate Policy for Parks and Recreation Programs The new fees for Parks and Recreation Programs began on September 1st. Staff received several calls, mainly from non-residents regarding the changes. Supervisors are working with front line staff to make sure they have all the information to help the customer understand the fee changes. Robert Johnson stated the front desk staff at the Recreation Center is superb. 10. Update from the Friends of Georgetown Parks and Recreation Ih • Georgetown Swims starts on September 25 and will be working with the Boys and Girls Club. • FGPR are looking to start a new program either a Biggest Loser type program or a medical health weight program geared toward lower income families and they have one grant secured and they would like to get a pilot of that started in January. • They are still subsidizing quarterly memberships to the Recreation Center. • Jean Houck took a grant writing class. • The Friends of Georgetown Parks and Recreation will hold their general th meeting on September 24 at the Parks and Recreation Community Room at 7:00 pm. They will give their yearly update, the budget information and everything they have accomplished. 11. Approve minutes from the August 9th, 2012 meeting Motion was made by Jean Houck, second by Keith Fruge to approve the minutes th from the August 9 , 2012 meeting. Approve 7 - 0 12. Future agenda items 13. Adjourn Motion was made by Jean Houck to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. 14))) John esser, Chair parks & Recreation Board Syed Wsi; Secretary Parks/Recreation Boar-d-1 Kellum, Staff Liaison e/