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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJan. 1997 MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES for January 8, 1997 A. OPENING BUSINESS Chair Dick Broders called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. in the basement conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dick Broders, Judy French -Scott, David Whipple, Rick Tollefson, Debbie Berreth, Tony Turner MEMBERS ABSENT: Kate Spear, Char Laughlin, Lee Morgan STAFF PRESENT: Warren Steurer, Tim Black, Molly Hilt, Kevin Burke GUESTS: Frank Trafton, Jr. MINUTES/AGENDA: Minutes for the December 4, 1996 meeting were approved as presented. Warren Steurer asked to add an item to the agenda to discuss the possibility of changing the date of the monthly Parks Board meeting. B. OLD BUSINESS H.J. Carroll Park: Kevin Burke handed out a project status report from a presentation he made to the BOCC on H.J. Carroll and the Larry Scott Trail. See attached status report. An abandoned well was discovered on County right of way property adjacent to H.J. Carroll and Parks is looking into the possibility of using it for irrigation. Dick Broders commented the property owner doesn't have a right to withdraw more than the designated limit unless water rights have been issued in the past. Kevin and Warren will investigate the guidelines further. Warren commented there were five to seven letters of interest for the H.J. Carroll Park Advisory Board. Another meeting has been set for this board for January 27 at 5:30 pm. Warren confirmed the Parks Advisory Board members participating on the H.J. Carroll committee are Rick Tollefson, Debbie Berreth, and Dick Broders. Larry Scott Trail. See attached status report. Kevin expressed his satisfaction with the collaborative process developed with the City, Ports and County risk managers on this project. Another meeting between these entities will be held next week to resolve additional issues. Dick Broders questioned whether there may be an option on the acquisition of property in the event of a route change. Kevin stated he will investigate a reversionary clause in the event parcels aren't acquired by a certain date. There was more discussion on the property appraisal process. Motorcycle Trails/ORV: Kevin Burke reported that recently a productive discussion was held with Mike Cronin of DNR. Possible ORV facility sites were discussed and of particular interest is Teal Lake. The advantages of Teal Lake are: minimal adjacent property owners, recent logging completion, and the potential to clean up the site which is currently used as a trash dump. Kevin stated that Jim Minish of PT Honda has confirmed his interest in getting an ORV association started. C. NEW BUSINESS Road Vacations - None Board Elections/New Members. Warren Steurer reported that Tony Turner's position has expired. A member will be appointed the week of January 13. Tony Turner withdrew his application and expressed his pleasure working on this board. Dick Broders suggested Board Nominations and Elections be added to the agenda of the next meeting and all members agreed. Warren Steurer reviewed Board member term expiration dates. Board Retreat 1997. Warren commented that as in the past, the Advisory Board, Staff, and Commissioners are invited to attend the board retreat. It was suggested to have the retreat after new members are appointed. A tentative date was set for March 15 from 10:00 until 2:00 pm. There was general consensus that the format of last year's retreat worked well which was to hold the regular meeting to discuss the goals and focus of the board followed by a pot luck. The retreat topic will be added to the agenda for the next meeting. D. STAFF REPORTS Manager's Report. Warren Steurer notified the advisory board that on February 3 at 11:15, a regular presentation to the BOCC will be held to communicate issues and activities of the advisory board. Dick Broders is planning to attend to present the activities and functions of the board and Tim Black and Molly Hilt will report on their functions. All members are welcome to attend. Park Maintenance: Molly Hilt reported no trees were lost during the recent snow storm, however, the awning on the storage building at Quilcene collapsed. Related to improvements at Irondale Park, Molly asked for input on the placement of the vault toilet and shelter. There was consensus that the placement of the buildings as drawn were satisfactory, including the possibility of adding the second entrance off the parking lot. A suggestion was made to get some advice from Val Greene on aesthetics before proceeding. Also, Molly reported the Lake Leland dock ramp is deteriorating and is scheduled to be replaced with an ADA accessible ramp. Recreation Report: Tim Black reported a busy schedule has begun with youth basketball for grades K- 6. Currently, 57 teams involving roughly 450 kids are signed up. The teen lockin was successful with 15 participants and adult volunteers and the plan is to hold the event again. Discussions and planning for summer activities has begun, including the scheduling of another cartooning class and the possibility of adding a photo lab. The crowd of kids at the Rec. Center has increased with the colder weather. A checkout system will be started soon to track Rec. Center items used by the kids. Tim reported drug use is the biggest problem, followed closely by monitoring kid traffic. Debbie Berreth suggested encouraging ownership of the Rec. Center with the use of membership cards and encouraging older kids to volunteer to help with the monitoring. Debbie further commented that having an address and telephone number for tracking might also be helpful. There was significant discussion about the Rec. Center, its importance to the community, and ideas for its continuation. Rick Tollefson suggested contacting the Boys & Girls Clubs for support on how they deal with similar issues. Tim Black commented he feels a membership card system would help with monitoring and he feels the center is helping youth in the City. Tim also complimented Sue Lindsey on her 18-year dedication to the Rec. Center. 2 E. COMMITTEE REPORTS Trail Committee. Warren Steurer reported for Char Laughlin on the last trails subcommittee meeting and handed out notes taken. Warren stated that a number of people attended the last meeting including Lowell Jons and John Mueller of the mountain bikers association. The property under discussion was south of Anderson Lake toward Gibbs and Beausite Lakes. Mike Cronin of the DNR stated the proposal for the trail must state that it is for temporary use, that it won't incur liability or cost to DNR, that it is not classified as a recreational site, and it must state the density of trail use as moderate (DNR likes the corridor style for trails so the trails can be moved as logging occurs). Also discussed were restraints for the trail which include keeping the Northwest Kiwanis camp separate (so Beausite Camp was not a destination for the trail as much as the Gibbs Lake active use area was), dealing with wetlands and erosion issues, ease of usage, not going over streams, and parking for cars, etc. Tasks to be accomplished by a goal date of March 1, 1997 are contacting state parks and property owners Ameter and Nakano, trail design and mapping where Lowell Jons and Timothy Whitten will be involved, and DNR approval after a trail site inspection. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 22 at noon in the Public Works office at the Post Office. At that meeting, the Trails Committee intends to set a proposal date and work on a draft of the trails and discuss contacting property owners. F. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS AND CORRESPONDENCE Community Park Grant Applications: Warren handed out a letter from Linda Ferris of the Gathering Place which reported on their activities with the Life Skills program in exploring Jefferson County parks. This program was made possible by the grant money. Art on Wheels. Warren reported Liz Falconer and Arthur Solomon are working on the concept of bringing art to different areas of the County. They might be invited to present their ideas to the Parks board at a future meeting. Rescheduling Regular Meeting. Warren reported Commissioner Harpole has expressed an interest in attending the Parks Advisory Board meetings. The current meeting day conflicts with a Law and Justice meeting he is committed to attending. After a brief discussion, there was a motion made to change the regular meeting of the Parks Advisory Board to the second Wednesday of each month at 12:00 noon. The motion was seconded and approved. G. SET NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 12, 1996 at 12:00 noon.