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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-06-2007 Parks and Recreation Advisory Council Minutes PARK& RECREATION ADVISORY COUNCIL December 6, 2007 In attendance: Duane Taber, Chairman, Mike Mathews, Curt Shaw, Edmon Daniels and Stacy Estes. Staff: Stan Strebel, Administrative and Community Services Director, Paul Whitemarsh, Recreation Services Manager and Dan Dotta, Facilities Services Manager. STAFF REPORTS Recreation Paul reported on the upcoming Cable Bridge Run to be held Saturday, December 22. He expects a record number of participants. The recent State Cross Country Championships were held at Sun Willows Golf Course and were very successful. The City's Cyber Stop internet access center at the Kurtzman Building has completed its second month of operation. Participation has more than doubled in most user categories. The number of adults is increasing. The City Council recently approved the Phase II Plan for the Senior Center. Staff will begin to work on ways to implement the recommendations to improve attendance and enhance activities at the center. The annual Breakfast with Santa will be held this Saturday at the center for children,parents and grandparents. Facilities Dan reported on park maintenance activities. Facilities have been winterized and staff is beginning to work on small equipment repair, pruning and other winter projects. Staff has recently submitted an application for the City to be designed as a Tree City, which requires that the City have an updated tree ordinance, a tree management board(which is the Mid-Columbia Urban Forestry Council), spend a certain amount per capita on tree maintenance in the budget and provide for some Arbor Day activity. The City meets all these requirements and expects to receive the designation. PROJECT UPDATE Stan reported on current projects. The Chiawana Park lease is nearly completed and staff anticipates that the City Council will review the final proposed draft on Monday, December 10 with passage on Monday, December. It has been a long process, but staff feels that the new lease should work well for the City. In conjunction with the lease, the Corps of Engineers is moving forward to replace the dock at the park. All permits are nearly in place and it is anticipated that construction will start after December 14 and be completed within a few weeks. Stan reported that it appears that things are finally falling into place for bidding of the construction project for the Phase II Sacajawea Trail between 13th Avenue and the railroad bridge. The City recently received confirmation that an additional grant from the State Department of Transportation has been awarded, which will enable trail and sidewalk improvements along Ainsworth Avenue,just north of the levee, which is part of the linkage for the trail. Stan reported that it is likely that a new office facility will be constructed at the Baseball Stadium by the team,under terms of a proposed new lease agreement. Additional money will be spent improving seating at the stadium and the stadium scoreboard next year. POOLS COMMITTEE Stan reported that the Pool Committee has continued to meet, including members of the City Council, the Advisory Board and the City Planning Commission. The committee is close to finalizing a recommendation which is expected to be forwarded to the City Council in January. The City is currently conducting a City-wide survey through the National Citizens Survey Group, a part of the International City Management Association. One question on the survey asks residents to respond regarding their preferences for swimming and aquatic facilities. We expect that survey results will further help assess the desires of the community, with respect to aquatic facilities. With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.