2000-08-21• ~ R~CE~D
Meridian Parks and Recreation Commission August 21, 2000
C C T 2 3 2000
CITY ~k,1VIERIDIAN
The regular meeting of The Parks and Recreation Commission was called to
order by David Moe at 7:37 p.m.
Present were David Moe, Sheri Baker, Ed Fong, Tammy deWeerd, Debbie
Watkins, and Tom Kuntz.
Agenda: Sheri Baker made a motion to approve the July agenda. Ed Fong
seconded. All ayes motion carried.
Minutes: Sheri Baker made a motion to approve the minutes for July. Ed Fong
seconded. All ayes motion carried.
Public Introductions/Comments: Present was Kelly Garrick of the Idaho
Athletic Club.
CorrespondencelAnnouncements:
Tammy de Weerd said that she would postpone her announcement until next
month.
Tom went over an article on the Nampa Recreation center, which came out in the
Idaho parks and recreation monthly bulletin. The article talked about different
ways to fund a Recreation Center. Tom then went over an editorial regarding
Eagle's skate park. Tom also referred to a memo from Tami Smith about a
couple of kids who have an interest in having the Skate Park developed.
Old Business:
Comp Plan- David asked if everyone got their Comp Plan. David asked what we
do next. David suggested that we get the disks from Norm and get together to
make our own revisions so that we can move forward with this. David said that
there are some items that we can work with, but there are also items that are un-
realistic for the City of Meridian. Sheri and Tammy said that it is too wordy and
repetitive. This is nothing more substantial then what he has already given us.
Ed wondered if the Commission felt that they should summarize the important
points for the Council and say here are our recommendations. David said he felt
that Norm is still using that "national average" and the City can't afford these
targets. Tom said Norm (to quote Trace Leighton) skinned a fat hog. The plan is
no better than what we got the first time. We wanted a plan so that we could
start building a parks system, and Norm did nothing more than pick out the pages
that he liked. This did not give us a working plan, which is what we wanted. Tom
says a sub committee would need to meet weekly and work on a capital
improvement plan that we can adopt as part of our impact fees. David said he
would like the disks. Sheri said that she thinks the Commission should go
through the Plan and highlight what they felt were relevant. Then, at a later date
the entire Commission or asub-committee could assemble it. Tom would like to
bring Rich Dragoo to the next Commission meeting to inform the Commission of
what could be done with the plan. Debbie Watkins said that she felt that the plan
applied to any city in the United States.
Budget- David made the statement that he is very proud of this Commission for
submitting a letter to the City Council expressing that they wanted more money
for park development. David felt the comments went a long way. Tom went over
the line item adjustments. Ed asked what we would not be able to accomplish
with the deduction of the budget. Tom felt that we would be able to accomplish a
lot with the 56 acres, especially phase 1, Chateau, but we will be limited on what
we can do at Bear Creek. David said that he would write an editorial to the
paper. Sheri said that we need to come up with a flyer that is less aggressive
than the police departments and hand them out asking for support at the Council
meeting for parks.
Generations Plaza Phase 2- Tom went over the time line for bidding and
construction of phase 2 of Generations Plaza (area 1 and 2). The areas will be
bid as one unit. The City Council approved the final design, and Tom wanted the
approval or suggestions of changes from the Commission. David Moe said it
looks excellent. He was concerned about where the developers would be doing
their staging for the project. He was concerned about damage being done to
areas already developed. David said that he is concerned with how they plan on
accessing the area. Tom said he thought that they would use the parking lot
behind the auto body shop and asked them to install a plastic barrier fence three
feet off of the sidewalk. Tom went over the problems that Gary Benoit has with
the plans. They say that they will start demolition in August, but we have not
seen any movement on their part.
Commission Seat- There was no response to the ad placed in the paper for the
Commission seat available.. It is still being advertised until the first of the month at
which time David will meet with Anita to get it filled.
Jabil Status- Tom said he really doesn't have a status on Jabil. Tammy
suggested that Tom contact them to see if we can do the scheduling for them.
David wants to know if they have set something up with PAL or CYSA.
Pathway Committee Update- Ed Fong said that they will be meeting soon, so
he can give a report around the next meeting. Tom said that Autumn Faire
subdivision is considering leaving 30 feet along a drain for a pathway. Tom
wanted input on who the Commission felt should pay for the pathway. There was
then a discussion about how much land should be put aside for parks for each
neighborhood development.
3-mile Creek Pathway-Tom wanted the Commission to know that he had spent
a lot of time working on the 5-Mile creek pathway project we are making a run to
get everything in so that we can get the money obligated for spring construction.
Tom was under the assumption that we pay for the project up front and then we
get reimbursed. This is not the case. The federal Government set a limit of
$140,000.00 and anything over that we pay. Our share will be approximately
$110, 000.00.
New Business:
Park Land Donation Update-Autumn Faire is probably 3 years out. Bridge
Tower needs to put the park and the pathway in, and hopefully another acreage
will come in. Tom then went over a letter from Wendell Bingham, who wanted to
know about property out near Thousand Springs. Toms understanding is that
they have 2 years fo act on this property, which is 4 acres north of the proposed
high school site.
Park Plan Open House-David said that barring any problems, we should have
dollars available to start getting things done on these parks. Once the budget is
approved, we may want to hold an open house for the public to come and review
the plans for the new parks. Tom feels that we should wait until we have design
plans ready to go. Tammy said we might not want designs made until after the
review because we may need to change them after the public input. Debbie
reminded the Commission that the public has already had a chance to give input
on what they want in their parks, plans should be made up and the public should
be told that his is what we are going with.
Directors Informational Items:
Tom has a conflict with the next commission meeting. It has been rescheduled
for the 11"' at Keller and Associates.
Tom also went over recycling commodity revenue, which is the City's possible
recycling program. The recommendation from the recycling company is that the
revenue goes to the parks dept. The program was approved by the Council. If
the funds do go to the Parks Dept, Tom would like to designate them to buying
playground equipment, curbing around playgrounds and the soft fall. Sheri said
she would call City Hall and ask for a copy of the Council Meeting minutes so the
Commission could go over how the recycling revenue program was discussed.
We have contacted North Park fellowship Church about possibly using their
excess land for a bmx track. Tom also went over the height of the walls at
Generation Plaza phase 2
Other Business:
Costello Recognition- David Moe felt that the PAL league sent him off without
any sort of formal recognition, just a thanks for all of your work, goodbye. Dave
Costello started the PAL program, took out a loan on his own and started it all for
the good of the kids. David Moe felt that the City of Meridian should be doing
something to recognize Dave Costello and all of his efforts. There are 3,000 kids
playing soccer through PAL as well as other sports that were not available to the
kids before. Debbie suggested a paver at Generations Plaza stating founder of
PAL. A Memorial Tree or a plaque were suggested, or at an open house for the
Parks plans. If the Parks Commission wants to do something with their budget, it
needs to be done by the end of this fiscal year. Debbie Watkins made a motion
~i
that David Moe be in charge of this reception/recognition. This was seconded by
Sheri Baker, All ayes, motion carried. Tammy said that Tom should contact the
Police Dept. to see if they would like to be involved. Sheri Baker made a motion
that A memo be sent to the City Council and the Mayor from the Parks
Commission requesting that we recognize Dave Costello, at the October 3
Council Meeting, for the work that he has done for recreation for the City of
Meridian. Seconded by Debbie Watkins, all ayes, motion carried.
Adjournment
Debbie Watkins made a motion to adjourn at 9:47, seconded by Sheri Baker.