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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSept. 1999 - MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1999 I. OPENING BUSINESS Board Member David Whipple called the meeting to order at 12:14 p.m. in the basement conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington. Chair, Frank Trafton Jr., joined the meeting thereafter. Members Present: Frank Trafton Jr., Rick Tollefson, David Whipple, Char Laughlin, Dick Broders, Randy Kline Members Absent: Karen Kautzman, Judy French -Scott Staff Present: Warren Steurer, Tim Black, Nik Worden of Jefferson County Public Works; Dan Harpole, County Commissioner Guests: Joanna Rienstra, Citizen Minutes: Minutes of August 11, 1999, meeting were reviewed/approved Quorum: There was a quorum �genda: No changes H. OLD BUSINESS A. H.J. Carroll Park: 1. Aquatic Center: The next Aquatic Sub Committee meeting will be Thursday September 23 from 4 to 6pm at the WSU meeting room. A small opinion survey was distributed at the Park and Recreation booth at the County Fair and results will be announced at the meeting. 2. The playground equipment has been delivered and the park staff will be installing with volunteers this month. The playground will be up and running by the I" or 2'� week in October. Efforts are still underway for fundraising for the playground. The Picket Fence fundraiser was advertised at the County Fair with very little success Restroom/Concession: Ground has been broken for the project, the drainfield area has been cleared of trees and the restroom building's concrete footings are poured. Progress is slower when working with volunteers on the project. Estimated completion is in December 1999. 4. Other: Five of the Eight horseshoe pit areas have been poured with concrete, Mike Thornily and volunteers are working on the area which should be completed by the end of September. Park Staff is working on the field for upcoming High School, Recreation and Club Soccer reservations. Wild Olympic Salmon festival is scheduled for October 16`h. Many hours of maintenance on the grounds have been performed by the Tri-Area Garden Club and community service workers. B. Larry Scott Trail: Nik Worden presented information on the Larry Scott Trail Project. Negotiations and discussions continue with property owners. Hopefully work will commence within the right off corridors along Mill road and SR 20 to the overpass in year 2000. Property owners of the parcel bordering dill Rd. and SR 20 have applied for Forestry Conversion Permits. Logging in this area will not directly impact trail corridor in wooded buffers. Commissioner Harpole announced that the Transportation Grant from the DOT may not be available if Initiative I-695 passes- The Port of Part Townsend has drawn up construction documents for bidding of the restroom project at the trailhead within the Port. Bid documents will be available this week or next. IAC funding for the restroom project has been extended through March of 2000, The Fort is also concerned about vehicle parking by trail users. The four spaces that are currently adjacent to the trail head are not specifically for trail users and are indicated as a 30 minute time zone; the Port intends to contract with the City in the near future to begin parking enforcement on Port property. Pavement striping, use of road side fog line and signage may be used to direct trail users from the Haines St. Park and Ride through the Port to the trail head. Nik discussed changing the trail head location to the area that is now used as a maintenance vehicle entrance; this is also where the restrooms will be located. Nik will talk to the Port about the possibility of creating vehicle parking spaces for the trail in that area as well. C. Chimacum Creels IAC Grant: Nik Worden reported that the Chimacum Creek IAC grant presentation rated 24`h and would most likely not be funded. The low rating was mostly due to the strong competition in the Local Parks category, low population density of Jefferson County and relatively short notice preparation of the -rant proposal. Next year's IAC "Water Access" grant cycle will be better suited for this project. However, ven if Jefferson County were to receive a Water Access Grant, funding would not be available until July of 2001 and this is too far off for the property owners. the Cohan Corporation- Publk Works Staff met with representatives for the Trust for Public Lands to garner any interest they may have in this property acquisition. They will contact the Public Works in 2 to 3 weeks on any decision. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is working with Port Townsend Paper Company on the acquisition of PT Paper property which includes the mouth of Chimacum Creek and substantial properties at the mouth and stream corridor. Fish and Wildlife is appraising this Mill property as well as Cotton Corporation property. D. Gibbs Lake: Warren reported that the Quimper Trails Association has been continuing to volunteer trail maintenance hours at Gibbs Lake. Trail representative, Lowell Jons, reports that 978 hours of volunteer hours have been given towards development of the trail system. The last work party completed erecting trail signs at all the intersections. Trail signs are given a name and an emblem that designates trail difficulty status for trail bike users. The Pacific Northwest Trails Association (PNWTA) has contacted the Quimper Trails Association and have indicated a desire to assist in trail administration and creation as a part of their association network. The PNWTA is promoting a trail that extends from Glacier Park Montana to the Pacific Coast through Jefferson County. E. Off Leash: Warren reported that he will be visiting potential dog off -leash sites with local advocate Gail Jenkins. Other Board members are invited to go along. Some sites may include County property that is not designated as park land such as the animal shelter and gravel pit areas. F. County Fair; Warren reported that the Park and Recreation booth at the County Fair was a big success. Special thanks to Sue Lindsay of the Recreation Department who did the "lions" share of setting up and manning the booth. Also thanks to other staff and volunteers who helped. G. Best Self: Program has finished. No final report available III. NEW BUSINESS A. Road Vacation: None B. Community Park Grant: Joanna Rienstra who received a $2,000, 1999 park grant for a Labyrinth project at H.J. Carroll Park announced that she has spoken with many people who are concerned that the siting of the project will not allow access for people in wheel chairs. The Board discussed the issues concerning handicapped accessibility to the Labyrinth and the requirements of County grant funding. It was decided that Warren and Rick Tollefson would meet with Joanna at the park to attempt to locate an area that may be better suited for wheel chair access. IV. STAFF REPORTS A. Field and Recreation: Tim Black reported that the outdoor movie at Memorial Field attracted 1600 people. It was remarked that we may want to create better crowd access and exit aisles for these events. The Kiwanis Car show that very same day (August 21) was a big success. 14 people attended the Rocket Workshop at HJ Carroll Park, Tim thought it was a great program and would like to see it offered again. 75 participants attended the Annual Bob Lytle Soccerthon at Memorial Field. Recreation Soccer sign-ups are in progress with the season beginning September 26. The Field Staff is busy preparing the Memorial and HJ for the upcoming Football and Soccer seasons. The Fields are in good shape. Recreation Center activities are going well. B. Parks: This last weekend (Labor Day) was the last big push for camping. $20,666 has been collected in camping fees through September 6t'. Warren reports that the Summer camping season was safe, successful and fairly "incident free" with great cooperation from the Sheriff's Department with response and patrols. V. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2 p.m. The next meeting is Wednesday, October 13, 1999.