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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 2000-MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2000 I. OPENING BUSINESS Chair Char Laughlin called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. in the basement conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington Members Present: Randy Kline, Karen Kautzman, Char Laughlin, Judy French -Scott, Rick Tollefson, Frank Trafton, Jr., Members Absent: David Whipple Guests: Shelly Testerman of The Leader Staff Present: Warren Steurer, Tim Black, and Nik Worden of Jefferson County Public Works Minutes: Minutes of the March 8, 2000, meeting were reviewed and approved. Quorum: There was a quorum. Agenda Changes: None I110311131-1&110 *R1 A. Larry Scott Trail: Nik Worden has been working on grant agreement contracts for Segments 2 and 3 which will take the trail to Sand Road. The challenge is getting money for surveying and preliminary engineering tasks without having to complete all of the documentation for the actual construction. On Earth Day there will be an unveiling of the interpretive sign for the Port Townsend Paper Mill. Commissioner Harpole, John Begley and Chuck Madsen from the Mill are expected to be present. The Mill financed the sign and the wording was created by the Mill PR department and the trail advisory group. There is some consideration for preparing a handbill for the unveiling that lists the chronology of Mill ownership. The PAB suggested an additional sign be created with a history of the area, including the railroad. The Peninsula Trails Coalition has organized trail clean-up projects for Earth Day. Excavation for the restroom facility is complete and utilities are in place. The foundation still needs to be poured for the premanufactured building. The Port has responsibility for the project. B. Chimacum Creek — Irondale Beach: The County is in the midst of applying for acquisition funding. It appears likely that the Cottons may be willing to partition the site into two pieces, allowing the Department of Fish & Wildlife to purchase the uncontaminated north portion. The grant efforts will focus on matching IAC money with Department of Ecology clean-up money and federal funds. The Corps of Engineers has expressed an interest in restoring the site. On May 5, the County will meet with field engineers from the Corps to review the site. C. H.J. Carroll Park: The H.J. Carroll Advisory Board will meet April 13 at 5:30. The Rotarians are looking for a community service project. Staff took them on a tour of H.J. Carroll Park to talk about potential projects from picnic tables to field lighting. The restroom and concession project is coming along well. The building has been dried in since February. Nearly 100% of the construction has been done by donated labor, including 15 local contractors. The concession will remain a shell. There is a lot of activity at the Park including Port Townsend High School soccer team practice sessions. The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Division of the National Park Service, which will hold a conference at Ft. Worden in May, contacted Parks about getting involved in a community service project on May 8. With Americorp and the Conservation Corp. agreeing to join in the activities, Monday, May 8 is set aside as Volunteer Day at the park. Not only will the day result in approximately 360 hours of labor, but two benches will be donated to the park. Projects will include trailhead work, stream bank restoration, and trail and ADA enhancement. Anita Shepherd will begin working with the County on creating a BMX area. Some mapping and site preparation is being done on this project. D. Aquatic Center: Rick Tollefson, Larry Little and Jeannie Glaspell attended the City Council Meeting as a citizens group looking for a lead agency to take on the Aquatic Center project. This group feels the lead agency should be a combination of Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend. Following a presentation to the City Parks & Recreation advisory group, the advisory group forwarded a recommendation urging the City to take part in the lead agency process and help fund a study. The Council agreed the issue needs to go through their facilities and finance committees. E. Parks and Recreation Summit: Rick Tollefson said that he understood from the meeting with the City Council on the aquatic center that the summit is the first step in opening discussions. He believes there needs to be a consensus building workshop with the City Council and the BOCC about what an aquatic center means. Warren Steurer said he envisions summit participants reviewing issues and setting goals for area parks and recreation. Those participating in the summit might be the City manager and council and the County administrator, public works director and BOCC as well as parks advisory boards for both the City and County. Warren said the aquatic center subcommittee has reached a limit to what it can achieve. No date has yet been set for the summit. F. Gibbs Lake: Josh Marin and Brian Taylor are proposing sponsoring a 3-1/2 mile cross-country run at Gibbs Lake in June. Their next step is identifying 3-1/2 miles of trails and gathering volunteers. The County needs to calculate the maximum allowable registrants because of infrastructure and parking limitations. Sani-cans and drinking water would need to be arranged. G. Off Leash/Woof. Warren Steurer distributed minutes of the off -leash subcommittee meeting. In their last meeting, the group reviewed the ordinance prepared by the prosecutor's office to establish experimental Off Leash areas. They separated the list of local parks into three different categories: Dog Exercise and Training Areas (trial basis with specific rules), Dog on Leash, and No Dogs. Because there are polarized views about dogs in parks, he believes proactive education is an important element. Rick Tollefson thanked the subcommittee for their efforts in shaping this project. H. Yippee/Best-Self Program: Tim Black announced that a replacement has been chosen for coordinator Debbie Gale who is resigning her position. Since enrollment is low with 16 kids, the group might be combined with youth from Brinnon. There is also discussion about moving out of the Quilcene Community Center to a new location such as Camp Parsons. Rick Tollefson said the community center was intended to be a temporary location until construction at the school was complete. Use of the school is an attempt to utilize an existing, safe facility typically unused past early afternoon. III. NEW BUSINESS A. Road Vacation: Warren distributed information on the proposed Summerville Road vacation. Terri Duff will present the vacation at the PAB meeting next month. B. Earth Day: Although there are many clean-up projects planned around the community, County Parks will have trail maintenance, clean-up and interpretive sign unveiling at the Larry Scott Trail. C. 1999 and 2000 Park Grants: Warren spoke with past grant recipients and will try to get additional reports. Mark Welch is going to be filming spring park activities and hopes that by the end of the summer his project will be complete. The 2000 grant application process is still open. Rick Tollefson asked if there are opportunities for skateboarding at H.J. Carroll. Warren said there might be an opportunity for a large, multi -use concrete or asphalt area with built -on skateboard structures. Frank Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of April 12, 2000 Page 2 Trafton, Jr. asked if it is possible to begin getting an accounting of actual expenditures on the completed proj ects. D. City Parks & Recreation: No additional report. IV. STAFF REPORTS A. Recreation: Tim Black reported that the baseball diamond at Memorial Field looks great. There is now a grass infield with cut-out areas. The calcium clay material which was mixed with the dirt has created a good field surface. He expressed his appreciation for knowledgeable field workers Phil Saxton and Riley Brazil. The softball diamond at H.J. Carroll park has also been improved with the addition of clay soil. The Rec. Center is being heavily used. The summer programs are outlined and the Junior and Senior Hoop program will start after Mother's Day. B. Manager's Report: Two Parks Advisory Board positions are available. Mike Ryan from District 3 has applied for a position. V. PREPARE NEW AGENDA VI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1:25 p.m. The next meeting is Wednesday, May 10, 2000. Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of April 12, 2000 Page 3