Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 2002 - MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2002 I. OPENING BUSINESS Chair Mike Ryan called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. in the Main Floor Conference Room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington. Members Present: Mike Ryan (Chair), Eileen Rogers, Brian Miller (Vice Chair), Frank Trafton, Jr., Rick Tollefson Members Absent: Randy Kline, David Whipple Staff Present: Warren Steurer, Tim Black and Nik Worden of Public Works Guests: Barbara McColgan Pastore and Commissioner Wojt Quorum: There was a quorum. Minutes: Frank Trafton, Jr. moved to approve the minutes of the May 8 meeting. The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous vote. II. NEW BUSINESS Road Vacation: Wendy Ward reviewed the proposed vacation of a portion of Prospect Avenue. She noted that the road was built in the wrong location; therefore the deeded portion of Prospect Avenue runs through the building. In order to sell the property, the owner is trying to clear the title. Eileen Rogers moved that this road vacation has no significance to Parks and Recreation. The motion was seconded and carried, with one No vote by Rick Tollefson. He commented that given that the PAB just received this information, he was uncomfortable indicating his support of the motion. III.OLD BUSINESS A. Larry Scott Trail: Nik Worden reported that construction of Segment 2 is nearly complete. The crew is hydro seeding and the County is soliciting contracts for signs and fences, so it may be six weeks before the trail can be opened. Frank Trafton, Jr. questioned the need for lighting in the culvert/tunnel on Discovery Road. He recognized the lights are controlled on a photocell that turns them on only when it is dark. Even though the savings would be minimal, he proposed the breaker be turned off and Puget Power disconnect the service. Nik explained that the lighting was placed in the tunnel a) because equestrians were concerned that horses could not be coaxed into a dark tunnel and, b) to discourage people camping in tunnel. Although the tunnel is not as dark as expected during the daytime, the trail is not closed during the evening. In response to a question about access to the trail between the Highway 20 bridge and the Discovery Road bridge, Nik explained that it may be possible to connect the trail to the railroad right-of-way at the Highway 20 bridge, but property owner concerns have prevented this so far. Nik noted that where the driveway comes out on the highway is a statutorily -vacated, platted street for which the County has rights because of owning two blocks of property at that street. If the adjacent property owner objects, the County might be able to request a quitclaim from Ferrell Gas (owner of property on the other side of the road) though that route would involve moving the driveway. If easements are obtained in either instance, the trail would reach Thomas Avenue where there is a connection to county land that would then reach the railroad right-of-way. B. Chimacum Creek/Irondale Beach: Nik Worden reported that his work over the past month has been limited to cleaning up title insurance and survey issues. C. Parks Board. Warren Steurer recognized and thanked Barbara Pastore for her attendance at today's meeting. He asked for feedback on last month's joint meeting with City parks, noting that while the various boards shared information and had a good discussion about pooling resources, he received comments that there may have been a lack of closure. Eileen Rogers asked to better understand the County's obligations under the City's agreement with the YMCA, besides leasing the YMCA an office in the Community Center. Warren commented that aside from normal involvement with program offerings, Staff is not working on any other arrangements with the YMCA. Barbara McColgan Pastore said that at the last City Parks Board meeting they discussed the idea of a Parks District. They would like to be kept aware of the County's process. In the event the County begins to research and explore this as an alternative they would like to be equally educated and involved in discussions. She invited PAB members to their meeting each month. Since one of their priorities is coordination or cooperation with County Parks, either she or Monica Mick -Hager will plan to continue to attend County PAB meetings. There was additional discussion about the potential conflict between the County's search for long-term funding for parks (possibly through a service district) and the County YMCA's need for long-term sustainability. Rick Tollefson spoke in favor of holding a joint meeting every six months. He said that because we are a small county without discretionary money, the County should continue as a facilitator/coordinator of youth services. Frank Trafton, Jr. said with budget concerns, there seems to be even more incentive to join City and County Parks in a Parks District. The question is whether we want to create another level of government, asking the citizens to pay twice for parks and recreation. Eileen expressed concern about representing and serving central and south county youth. D. Community Parks Grant: Linda Ferris of the Gathering Place gave a brief presentation about their Stepping Stone project at H.J. Carroll Park, which was conducted with the money from their County Parks Community Parks Grant in 2001-02. They will eventually place 16 stones in this garden project, which will continue over the summer. She provided Warren Steurer with their schedule of events leading up to this project. Their third annual Open House/Art Show will be at the Pope Marine Building on June 14 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. Warren suggested that the Gathering Place photo album/notebook of past parks activity be available for viewing at the Parks' County Fair booth. E. Community Network: Rick Tollefson said they are looking to hire a part-time coordinator to fill in some of the time Jude Anderson will no longer be able to spend on this project due to a shift in her responsibilities. Their prevention coordinator, Jeff Soder, is no longer with the County and will soon be replaced. F. H.J. Carroll Park: Linda Landcammer is busy at the park with volunteers working on the Wild Olympic Salmon educational garden. This area will also include the bronze salmon bell when it is finished. Jefferson Transit is now stopping in the park on their daily circuit, which will greatly aid youth transportation. The basketball courts are beginning to beinstalled. The asphalt is in and the project should be finished by mid -July. Warren mentioned the successful Courthouse basketball goal replacement project championed by two high school"seniors. G. PT Preschool Co-op: That site is now busy with kids. There is an issue regarding availability to public bathroom facilities at the community center and uptown business area.. H. Gibbs Lake: Work continues with George Binney and fly fisherman to create better access for hand - launch boats. A 10-car parking area and pathway to the lake was created. I. J. III. NEW BUSINESS —Continued Comprehensive Plan: Warren then distributed the four main chapters of the Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan, which is now in the final draft stages. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 relate mostly to an inventory Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of June 12, 2002— Page 2 of park trails, campgrounds and boat ramps. The BOCC is set to review and discuss this plan at their meeting on Monday, June 17'h at 10:00 a.m. He then provided a summary of the following Chapters: Chapter 6 — discusses finances available for operation of the Parks and Recreation program. Also lists the many available forms for generating revenue: general obligations bonds, fees and services, recreation service, recreation and metro districts. Chapter 7 — lists strategies and a recommendation that the County continue to function as a regional provider of services, working with local service areas, school districts, nonprofits to complement recreational opportunities in Jefferson County. Chapter 8 — reviews goals and objectives of a Parks and Recreation program — preservation of wildlife and open space, historical resources, trail corridors, recreational facilities, and program. It also talks about the importance of providing high -end service to the people of the County. Under implementation, it provides details for carrying out these goals. He reviewed the list of important facilities and recreation components on Page 3: • A recommendation that P&R be involved in managing the Conservation Futures program, which provides $153K collected annually for the protection of open space. . Areas where Parks should consider purchasing property over the next 20 years included Gardiner, Discovery Bay, Black Point, Mats Mats, Adelma Beach, Whitney Point and Lower Oak Bay. ■ Improvements: picnic tables, shelters etc... for certain areas. Funding and associated percentages from possible partners (e.g., Port, School districts, City of Port Townsend). He noted that the Facility Costs come from industry guidelines that estimate the total costs. Some costs may be reduced if infrastructure is already in place. • Specific projects for docks, piers, camping facilities, trail bike and ATV course, tennis courts, as well as soccer, baseball and softball field upgrades, swimming pool, gymnasium, teen centers, restroom facilities, and recreational trails and trail links. Warren then reviewed estimated expenditures and funding alternatives for three alternatives. Capital Facilities shows $0 would be spent in the period from one to six years in Alternative 1, while in Alternative 2 and 3 show some improvements. Offsetting revenues were noted for user fees, facility rentals, campground fees, and Protection Island revenue. Other "potential" sources of revenue, excluding real estate excise tax and the general fund were the hotel/motel tax, Conservation Futures tax, ALEA, IAC, T-21 grants, SEPA mitigation, Growth Management impact fees, volunteers and donations and the formation of a Parks and Recreation Metropolitan Park District.. Warren talked about the many advantages of a district for Port Townsend, Gardiner, Brinnon, Quilcene and Port Ludlow communities. Alt. 1 shows taxpayers that funding is needed to operate and maintain existing facilities and Alternatives 2 and 3 proposes specific improvements in those communities. Other ways to run a district might allow for a certain base amount for the entire County, but specific service areas such as Brinnon could also decide to tax themselves for specific improvements and not feel they would be unfairly supporting projects in Port Townsend or elsewhere. Frank Trafton, Jr. said he would like to see an effort to combine the operation and maintenance of County and City parks while keeping city recreational programs separate under the Jefferson YMCA, possibly including County programs. He would support separate service areas for Brinnon and Quilcene. Concern was expressed about the potential to create a new bureaucracy around parks. Eileen Rogers noted that a downside to a service area in south county is that they do not have the money to tax themselves. Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of June 12, 2002— Page 3 Warren explained two ways to create a metropolitan parks district or recreation district is a) for it to have its own Commissioners — a quasi -political unit or, b) continue to exist under the existing hierarchy with a City/County agreement creating the government authority structure. He noted that an advantage to a metro parks district once established — is that it is a continuous levy. A parks district or service area must be periodically renewed by the voters. Although there was some concern about the cost of a campaign, a levy was seen as a way to protect unmandated services from elimination during the current budget crisis. It is anticipated that the BOCC will review and approve the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan, which would then go to Planning Board/Hearing Examiner before beginning the final public process. When adopted into County Comprehensive Plan by the third week of December it will replace the 1995 Parks and Recreation plan. Rick Tollefson said that before a district is pursued, full agreement and written support from the County Commissioners would be critical. There has to be open public, political support for this from all governments. Commissioner Wojt mentioned that there would be a lot of political pressure, no matter who the County Commissioners are at the time. He mentioned that the WWRC has noticed fewer applications this year, due in large part to Counties reducing services/programs because of a lack of matching funds. Rick Tollefson reiterated the need for a tremendous effort to pass such a measure. Warren agreed to find out which other counties are pursuing metropolitan park districts. He invited the PAB to the Monday meeting with the BOCC. Two additional alternatives were discussed: increasing property tax (without having to create another layer of bureaucracy) and a growth impact fee, a portion of which could be designated for recreation and facilities. While the former would affect all property owners, the latter would affect only those building new structures. IV. STAFF REPORTS Recreation: Tim Black circulated the full -page ad with summer activities published in The Leader. Among the many activities is a day camp with individual basketball instruction. The Rec. Center itself will be closed for July and August. Kite Strings may be interested in renting the facility during that time. Staff is considering using Memorial Field for parking during the Wooden Boat Festival, charging $15-$20/car. The revenues would far outweigh the cost of field repair and maintenance. They are also considering having a County concession stand as well as leasing additional space to other vendors. The football jamboree scheduled for the same weekend would need to relocate. Pictures of the successful fishing derby at Lake Leland were circulated. There was good participation from Quilcene residents at the event, sponsored by Trout Unlimited and Greywolf Flyfishers. A successful soccer camp was run at Brinnon school with assistance from Randy Kline. V. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. The next meeting is Wednesday, July 10, 2002. Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of June 12, 2002— Page 4