Session 08-08 a Regular Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on August 21, 2008 by Chair Stewart at the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers located at 491 E. Pioneer Avenue, Homer, Alaska.

 

PRESENT:         COMMISSIONER BREMICKER, GARAY, GUNTHER (arrived at 6:50 p.m.), STEWART, TOLVA

 

ABSENT:           COMMISSIONER DICKERSON


STAFF:             PLANNING TECHNICIAN ENGEBRETSEN

                        DEPUTY CITY CLERK JACOBSEN

 

AGENDA APPROVAL

 

The agenda was approved by consensus of the Commission.

 

MINUTES APPROVAL

 

A. Meeting Minutes for July 2, 2008 Worksession and July 29, 2008 Special Meeting Minutes.

 

TOLVA/BREMICKER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

 

Chair Stewart noted on the July 29th minutes the president of the Homer Little League should be Jenny Coyle.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT ON MATTERS ALREADY ON THE AGENDA

 

There were no public comments.

 

VISITORS

 

There were no visitors scheduled.

 

STAFF REPORT/COMMITTEE REPORT

 

A.         Staff Report for August 2008

 

Planning Technician Engebretsen reviewed her staff report. She noted that there is a vacancy on the Commission and if a Commissioner knows of anyone who is interested, have them contact the Clerk’s Office.

 

Planning Technician Engebretsen talked about the resolutions that had been sent to Council regarding the Hornaday Park master plan which had been pulled until the Commission forwarded the master plan. She advised them that Council has an interim resolution on for August 25th which supports the concept of the trail and doing a couple things. It isn’t making any decisions or amending the master plan.

Planning Technician Engebretsen noted the laydown item of the proposal for disc golf at Jack Gist Park for discussion under that agenda item.

 

Commissioner Tolva suggested sending congratulations to Community Schools Coordinator Mike Illg for receiving his certification as a Parks and Recreation Professional by the National Parks and Recreation Association.

 

Lastly, Planning Technician Engebretsen suggested sending a letter on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission to the editor thanking Edan Badajos for providing disc golf at Park Day.

 

PUBLIC HEARING

 

There were no public hearings.

 

PENDING BUSINESS

 

A.         Park Day Recap

 

TOLVA/BREMICKER MOVED TO DISCUSS PARK DAY.

 

There was no discussion.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

Comments were made that there was the best turn out for Park Day to date. They cooked a lot of hot dogs, disc golf was a huge success, and the sack races were popular as well. Mike Etzweiller filled in for Community Schools Coordinator Illg. The time of year worked out really well and the weather helped. It was noted that the new barbeques were nice. There was a good article in the paper the week after the event, hopefully the public will recognize the event and it will continue to get larger. It was a good turn out at Hornaday Park, but they might want to consider another location in the future. Watermelon slices were suggested for next year’s menu. Chair Stewart thanked everyone who came to Park Day.

 

B.         Karen Hornaday Park Master Plan

 

GARAY/TOLVA MOVED TO OPEN FOR DISCUSSION.

 

There was no discussion on the motion.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

Chair Stewart commented that this is a good document; it is what he expected to see. He noted a few typographical conflicts but had nothing substantive to change.

It was noted that there is a recommendation regarding acquisition of the 10 acre parcel to the northwest.

 

Brief discussion ensued about maintaining the City equipment shed. Comment was made to keep it, but point was raised that the shed is 40 years old and probably not salvageable. Encouragement was given for locally made bike racks at the park.

 

Commissioner Bremicker didn’t have any comments, but thanked everyone for their work

 

Commissioner Gunther arrived at 6:50.

 

Further discussion ensued and the following points were noted:

 

·         The priorities on the list aren’t in a particular order. Items 1-8 are probably higher priorities than the others on the list.

·         The drawing of the park will be labeled and included as an attachment to the plan, along with the resolution that will adopt with the plan.

·         It would be beneficial to hire a park consultant to pursue planning of the whole park plan, not just the areas listed on item 8. Having a consultant worked well with the Homer Non-motorized Transportation and Trails Plan.

·         The biggest issue at the park is the drainage, once that is resolved it should help with the parking issues. The park is already laid out and most of it is used.

·         The campground doesn’t need to be addressed.

·         Have a park planner address drainage, number of ball fields, parking, and the other items in this plan.

·         Under future development and special consideration add: Preserve greens pace as much as possible as part of Homer’s goal of an interconnecting of green spaces and trails.

 

Beth Cumming requested to speak to the Commission and they did not object to allowing her to speak for three minutes.

 

Beth Cumming apologized for being late and thanked them for the opportunity to speak. She presented her written comments to the Commission. She hopes the Commission will not pass this plan tonight. She feels it hasn’t been very carefully thought out. She has spent tens of hours on it but has never discussed it with anyone because the 4 members of the park committee have never had a discussion. Ms. Cumming said that she had conversation with a former City employee who said that a lot of the proposed parking area is going to be washed out because the bed of Woodard Creek was actually where the proposed parking lot is. When he lived there, there was extreme flooding and the upper part was devastated in 1976. She commended Planning Technician Engebretsen for her work with this.

 

Commissioner Tolva commented that this is a basic working skeleton plan that has room for amendment if needed in the future. Ms. Tolva thinks it is a good plan. If we continue talking for another 20 years, like we already have, nothing is ever going to get done. She thinks that unless there is a glaring omission, she thinks this is a good plan and they should move forward with it and leave the work that needs to be done by engineers to the experts. It has been piecemealed in the past and that is why we are where we are at now. She thanked Beth Cumming for her assistance.

 

BREMICKER/TOLVA MOVED TO ACCEPT THE PLAN AS AMENDED HERE AND PASS IT ON TO THE CITY COUNCIL.

 

Commissioner Bremicker commented that the concerns in Beth’s written comments appear to have been addressed. He thinks the committee did a great job in dealing with the issues that we can. It is impossible to deal with every last detail; it is time to pass it on.

 

Commissioner Gunther added that any plan that is given to the City will change a little bit and they are going to make the final decision on what will happen. He thinks the Commission is giving them the best plan that they have.

 

The Commission thanked Planning Technician Engebretsen for her help.

 

Further discussion ensued reiterating some of the previous comments. The Commission agreed to add under future development and special consideration, “Maintain native shrubbery, greenery, and the facilities in a visually appealing manner.”

 

VOTE: YES: GUNTHER, BREMICKER, GARAY, TOLVA, STEWART

 

Motion carried.


Chair Stewart called for a short break at 7:26 p.m. the meeting resumed at 7:33 p.m.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

A.         Election of Vice Chair

 

There was discussion among the Commission that Chair Stewart won’t be participating as Chair after the annual election of officers in November. Chair Stewart explained that he is unwilling to commit based on his upcoming work schedule for the winter. He expressed the importance of other Commissioners stepping up to participate a Chair of the Commission as it is helpful in understanding the rules of order and running an efficient meeting. He said it isn’t as easy as it  may seem, but staff and fellow Commissioners are very supportive.

 

Commissioner Gunther advised the Commission that he expects to be out for the September and October meetings. He could meet on another day, but his work schedule will take him away from Thursday meetings for those two months.  He said would be willing to give it a try as Chair. He expects to be here throughout the winter.

 

The Commission took no action and agreed to hold their regular nominations of Chair and Vice Chair as scheduled in November.

 

B.         2009 Budget Requests

 

TOLVA/GARAY I MOVE TO DISCUSS THE 2009 BUDGET REQUESTS.

 

There was no discussion on the motion.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

Planning Technician Engebretsen commented that Parks and Recreation did well with last year’s budget. This year’s list is longer and is a laundry list of items from Parks Maintenance Coordinator Hagerty. The Commission should note their priorities or add what they think is needed.

 

Commissioner Tolva raised question regarding consolidating the list for Hornaday Park. Planning Technician Engebretsen explained it is best to keep it itemized so the City Manager knows the specific items and can consider items as funding allows.

 

There was discussion regarding leaving sewer and water for Jack Gist Park, it isn’t likely to happen but draws attention to the issue and the result may be extra staff and porta-potties at the park.

 

The Commission agreed to add the disc golf project for $15,000 at Jack Gist Park. It is a great project and low maintenance for the community.

 

Chair Stewart expressed his support to fund more staff and/or a Parks and Recreation Department. Since Community Schools Coordinator Illg has received his certification it would be a good marriage for him to step into something like this. It will take a sales campaign to get it to happen, and we need to continue to bring awareness of the needs of City wide parks. Point was raised that we may not need the department now that the Commission has a process for requesting funding and it seems to be working. Some Commissioners commented that this is a request for the future, a pie in the sky kind of thing; it isn’t something that is going to happen right away. It was noted that there would be a lot of benefits to having a department but it will likely be years before anything happens. They agreed to keep it on the list.

 

Commissioner Tolva suggested they add another picnic shelter at Hornaday Park. The shelters are very beneficial in an area like this where the weather is so unpredictable. She also wanted to ensure the park consultant plan is listed under Karen Hornaday Park, as they discussed earlier. There was no objection.

 

The Commission agreed to have a memorandum forwarded to the Council and City Manager with the budget requests.

 

C.         Proposal for City Owned and Operated Disc Golf Course

 

BREMICKER/GUNTHER MOVED TO DISCUSS.

 

There was no discussion on the motion.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

The Commission felt this was covered in the budget discussion and they agreed it is small enough that it doesn’t need to be on the CIP list.

 

Commissioner Gunther commented that Mr. Badajos has support from the Alaska Disc Golf Association in Anchorage, who just got done installing course at Kincaid Park. Almost all of the work was done by the club members there. Mr. Gunther said he talked to some of the guys in Anchorage and they are all for coming out and helping. He thinks it is a good proposal.

TOLVA/BREMICKER MOVED THAT THE CITY PROCEED WITH THE 9 HOLE DISC GOLF AT JACK GIST PARK.

 

There was brief discussion that the budget would be reviewed by people in the know, and there may be a need for a memorandum of agreement with the Association. Planning Technician Engebretsen wasn’t sure how formal it will need to be.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

D.         Capital Improvement Plan

 

TOLVA/BREMICKER MOVED TO DISCUSS.

 

There was no discussion on the motion.

 

VOTE: NON OBJECTION: UNANIMOUS CONSENT

 

Motion carried.

 

Planning Technician Engebretsen and the Commissioners briefly discussed the plan and the Commissioners listed their individual priorities.

 

The priority list was tallied as follows:

 

1. Karen Hornaday Park Drainage and Kachemak Drive (tied)

2. Jack Gist Park

3. East Trunk Trail and Mariner Park (tied)

4. Main Street Reconstruction and Greenhouse (tied)

5. Homer Intersection Improvements

 

INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS

 

A.         Council Meeting Schedule

 

B.         Commission Annual Calendar

 

COMMENTS OF THE AUDIENCE

 

There were no audience comments.

 

COMMENTS OF THE STAFF

 

Planning Technician Engebretsen commented that she is excited to the Karen Hornaday Park Master Plan is moving along. She appreciates the Commission’s work and patience.

 

COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION

 

Commissioner Garay said she is glad they focused on the master plan and they all came together on it.

 

Commissioner Bremicker commended Chair Stewart for a good meeting and he thinks they accomplished a lot tonight.

 

Commissioner Gunther commented that he was excited to see the projects on the budget list for this year. It is nice to have a little say in it. He is also excited to see the disc golf go through. The kids at Park Day had a good time with it and it will be nice for the parents and kids, especially with the softball fields opening up next year. He thinks it will help gel that park and bring out more users.

 

Commissioner Tolva agreed with the comments about disc golf. She apologized for missing Park Day and is glad it was a great success. She thinks this is a great Commission, they got a lot done. She can remember the days when it seemed like all they did was talk and nothing ever got done. She thinks a lot of their success is because Julie has done so much to help them with the process.

 

Chair Stewart reiterated the appreciation for Julie and thanked her for all her help. He thanked everyone for their support with the Commission and him as Chair. He thinks they are moving forward and he is glad to be through the Karen Hornaday Park Master Plan.

 

ADJOURN

 

There being no further business to come before the Commission the meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 18, 2008 at the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers.

 

 

                                                                       

MELISSA JACOBSEN, CMC, DEPUTY CITY CLERK

 

Approved: