PARKS
& RECREATION BOARD
CITY HALL,
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010
REGULAR MEETING
7:00 P.M.
1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Pawlowski called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm., with roll call as follows: Mrs. Carter, Ms. Hammond, Mr. Boetcher, Mr. Dean, Mr. Pawlowski, and Mr. Barletta. Service Manager Edward Drobina, Service Department Administrative Assistant Angie Perrine, City Engineer Greg Bachman, Residents Mr. and Mrs. David Ackermann and Mr. Karl Hanf were also present
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of March 31, 2010 Regular Meeting. Mrs. Carter moved to approve; Mr. Dean seconded the motion. Mr. Pawlowski, Mr. Boetcher, Ms. Hammond, Mr. Dean, Mr. Barletta, and Mrs. Carter voted “Aye”. Motion carried, 6-0.
3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS. David Ackermann approached the board and
stated that he was a homeowner at
The first item requested is water, it has already been dry this year and with fall crops needing planted in July it is very hard to haul water for the size of the plots being rented.
The second item is planting, we need to be careful of what we plant next to each other and the city needs to get involved with this. Mr. Pawlowski commented, “That he didn’t feel the city needed to be involved with this that the group needed to get together and plan better.”
Mr. Ackermann continued with the third item being fencing. Mr. Ackermann stated that he can’t see the value in having fencing at this point in time, unless the garden is fully enclosed it won’t keep the deer and critters out and if it is enclosed how will the renters get into the gardens. He stated that this was not something that they shouldn’t do, but it was that he thought the water was more critical.
The fourth item he would like to see as space allows is some room for perennial vegetables and fruits, such as asparagus, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. He noticed that Mr. Pawlowski has been trying to have some trees removed and some reorganization of the space. If we did remove some trees have them replaced with some fruit trees instead.
The fifth item is in regards to some discussions before tonight’s meeting about community garden signs. Mr. Ackermann commented he wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of signage because the sign would let kids know the location of the community garden and he was afraid of kids doing things to peoples gardens. But if they were going to go ahead with the sign he would like to see an area to place flowers to make it look a lot nicer.
Mr. Ackermann stated he was glad to see some of the trees removed. Because that was an area that a lot of beer cans and beer bottles were found weekly last year. He also commented that he appreciated the gravel this year at the entrance; this will keep the mud down this year.
Ms. Hammond
thanked Mr. Ackermann for coming tonight and for letting the board know they
are doing a good job and appreciated his comments. Mr. Pawlowski
stated to Mr. Ackermann that his comments would be addressed later tonight in
the agenda.
4. REPORTS.
a. Parks and Recreation Director’s Report
Mr. Drobina
commented that the swimming pool had been pumped out cleaned and there was some
trouble with some of the lights and Mr. Vannetta has
someone contracted out to take a look at them.
The softball league is up and running Mr. Drobina stated. Ned
Harlow is a summer part time parks employee and has been helping out with the
program.
Mr. Greg Bachman, Mr. Paul Jay and I met at
the disc golf course to go over some details.
We still need to order signs, benches and trash cans, the baskets were put together improperly and
will need to be fixed and we need to design score cards Unfortunately opening at the end of May would
be a far stretch to get everything done.
At
Mr. Pawlowski asked
the board members if anyone had any questions for Mr. Drobina. Mrs. Carter asked Mr. Drobina
if the volunteer program the city has to help out with parks if it goes through
him now. Mr. Drobina
commented that he has not spoken to the head of the volunteer program yet. Mr. Boetcher asked
how the pool memberships are this year compared to last. Mr. Drobina replied
we are right on track with what we sold last year at this time. Mr. Boetcher
responded, “Good”. Mr. Pawlowski wanted to know when Mr. Drobina
thought the disc golf course would be done.
Mr. Drobina replied he simply was not
sure. Mr. Pawlowski
asked if there was something the parks & recreation board could do to help
out with this project. Mr. Bachman and I
are looking at signs and he has volunteered to design a score card. The baskets just need to be cut off and
turned around and welded back together, responded Mr. Drobina. Mr. Bachman commented the problem is that we
already have other jobs to do and it is just finding the time to complete the
project.
b.
Mr. Barletta reported that they moved out of
Safety an ordinance to make the city bicycle ordinance more agreeable, in
harmony with the communities around us.
Not sure when this will come into council, maybe sometime in May for
first reading.
Mr. Pawlowski
stated that he had a question for Mr. Barletta in regards to the filling of the
Parks & Recreation Director’s position.
What is council’s position on hiring, I would like to know what
direction the parks department is going.
I have always seen the parks as being a very positive benefit to our
community. Mr. Barletta commented that
he didn’t know if he could answer that, he doesn’t think there are any current plans to refill
the position. We are starting to
get nervous about our income tax
receipts and it’s a balancing act. Mr. Drobina stated that maybe the best way to look at this is
we are waiting to see how much income
tax money comes in. Then council, the
finance committee and the City Manager will have time to review and see where
we are at on this.
5.
BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS. Mr. Pawlowski commented he would like to discuss the recreation
side while Mr. Ross, the Recreation Coordinator is still attending these
meetings. He stated that after talking
with Mr. Ross he was under the understanding that the recreation programs where
just breaking even. With the swimming
pool money we are investing this back into the pool. What are we doing with the other recreation programs?
Mr. Ross answered by stating that the department wanted to offer these programs at the cheapest price they could,
so residents could take a course at the best possible
price. After some more discussions Mr. Pawlowski stated he appreciated Mr. Ross for explaining
this process to them.
Mr. Boetcher stated
he had a question regarding the 4th of July. Will the city be having a celebration like it has in the past? Mr. Ross stated he had some discussions with
Mr. Drobina and he thought this would be a shared
responsibility. Mr. Boetcher
questioned Mr. Barletta if he had any
information on this. Mr. Barletta
replied he thought the city had budgeted for fireworks. Mr. Drobina
responded that yes the city did and would be asking
Mr. Boetcher stated
that he has always been involved with the music in the parks and it was always done through sponsorship. Mr. Ross responded by saying “yes” and that
Giant Eagle keeps adding more money to the gift every year. Mr. Boetcher
questioned about the Friday movie flicks.
Mr. Drobina replied that the movies are ordered
and even the band for the 4th of July has been taken care of. Mr. Boetcher stated
that he was asking about this because
the community is used to having these activities.
6.
OTHER
BUSINESS. Mrs. Carter questioned when
the Parks is going to re-open the shelter up at the top of the pavilion so they
could start renting this out again. Mr.
Ross responded that the reason it was abandoned was because it was the worst
target we have for vandalism and the geese.
Mrs. Carter noted that the schools use this place to go sledding in the
winter and this area could be used and was wondering if the city plans on
bringing it back to life. She also wanted to let the city know that they now
have a neighborhood watch in that area and hopes this would keep the vandalism
down. Mrs. Carter commented that people
bring old loaves of bread and feed the geese in that area which only encourages
the geese to stay, and was wanting to know if there is something that the parks
could do. Mr. Pawlowski
questioned if there were signs posted anywhere.
Mrs. Carter replied none. Mr. Bachman
stated that the city could maybe purchase some signs if this would help. Mr. Pawlowski
commented that if we could get rid of the geese then maybe the shelter could be
open for use again.
Mr. Pawlowski asked
where the city was at with some of the goals mentioned earlier. Mr. Drobina stated
the gravel was an easy fix. In regards
to water at the community gardens I
would like to get peoples thoughts on this.
We have talked about purchasing a water tank and placing on a trailer to
keep out there. Also talked about
running a water line to the gardens unfortunately the water is on the other
side of the stream so this would not be easy.
Another idea was to run a line over top of the stream hooked to a
hydrant, but what if someone left it on or kids turn it on purpose and ruin
people’s gardens. It that goes the same
about the tank on the trailer someone goes out and turns the valve on. We had
thought about putting in a yard hydrant and placing a lock on it and everyone
who rents a plot gets a key. These are
some of the concerns about the water.
Mr. Pawlowski commented maybe have a security
deposit done on cleanup and keys. Mr. Dean
questioned if there was such at thing as a valve that you push a button that would run water for a certain amount of time
and them would automatically turn off.
Mr. Drobina stated that there probably was but
in order to make that work it would require electricity. But still there is always opportunity for
vandalism. Mr. Pawlowski
commented that it sounds like the city is moving ahead to get something done on
water out there. Mr. Pawlowski
stated that this season there should be a sign but more discussions with the
city needed to be done. Mr. Drobina commented in regards to the deer fence and that
they have had some discussions on this as well.
Mr. Greg Bachman, City Engineer commented he
would like to discuss the bike paths again at tonight’s meeting and that he had
some copies to present with regards to the costs
of the paths. He stated that these six
trails are going east and west across the city.
Some discussions were made about
how these trails would connect to other areas and cities. Mr. Bachman stated that he put together his
recommendations and would like to get
the boards tonight or next month. He stated that the city could apply for 75%
funding and with impact fees they would hopefully be able to come up with the
money. Mr. Dean remarked that he agreed
with Mr. Bachman’s recommendations. Mr.
Barletta commented that he did as well.
Mr. Karl Hanf
stated that he was a
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
___________________________________
Angie Perrine, Administrative
Assistant
ATTEST:
______________________________
Edward J. Drobina,
Service Manager