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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 2005 - MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005 I. OPENING BUSINESS Chair Rick Tollefson called the meeting to order at 12:03 PM in the Main Floor Conference Room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington. Members Present: Joan Linderoth (Vice Chair), Judith Lucia, Brian Miller, Eileen Rogers, Rick Tollefson (Chair), Judi Mackey, Philip Siemion Members Absent: Mike Ryan, Rich Stapf, Jr. Staff Present: Warren Steurer, Matt Tyler, Nik Worden Guests: Todd Wexman, Citizen; Phil Johnson, County Commissioner; Tristan Stoch, Boy Scouts. Quorum: There was a quorum. Agenda: Eileen Rogers moved to adopt the Agenda as written. The motion was seconded and carried by a unanimous vote. Minutes: Eileen Rogers moved to approve the Minutes of the February 2, 2005 meeting with two corrections. On page one, it should say "120 of the 178 Ft. Worden employees...." On page 2, the references to "Senators Buck and Kessler" should instead be "representatives." The motion was seconded and carried by a unanimous vote. Rick Tollefson welcomed new member Philip Siemion of District 3. II. OLD BUSINESS A. Skatepark Facility at H.J. Carroll Park: Eagle Scout candidate Tristan Stoch provided an update on his work on a skatepark cost analysis, including design, construction, installation and maintenance. He reviewed a written report summarizing the results his voluntary user survey conducted among Chimacum students and the results of his builder/maintainer survey. While acknowledging the maintenance expense of litter and graffiti clean up, he added that locating the park in a multi -use facility and/or having an on -site caretaker could mitigate these impacts. He proposed the creation of a development committee to be comprised of skaters and skateboard construction field representatives, as well as a finance committee to figure out if a skatepark at H.J. Carroll is feasible. He would like representatives from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to participate on these committees. Tristan noted that skaters currently use the school, Port Ludlow Marina, or their own driveways. He believes that Oak Harbor and Kingston skatepark designs would best meet the needs of the local skateboard community. Rick Tollefson noted that a skatepark is already in the County's long-term Park and Recreation Plan, so guidance exists for Tristan to move forward with these committees to talk about the financial and design aspects and put together a project plan. He also suggested that some surplus equipment might become available as the City builds its own skatepark. Rick, Warren Steurer, and Commissioner Johnson expressed interest in working with Tristan. Judi Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of March 2, 2005 — Page 1 Mackey offered to try to gauge the interest in a skatepark among youth in Quilcene and Brinnon. B. Larry Scott Trail: Nik Worden reported that the BOCC had authorized Staff to negotiate the purchase of property owned by Discovery Timber off of SR20 and perhaps sell off all but that portion needed for the trail right of way. Imminent improvements to pave the section of the trail along SR20 and to develop the 40-acre parcel on Cape George Road would need to be put aside to pursue this property purchase. The $1 OOK in IAC funding, which was thought to have lapsed, has now been restored and could be used for trail construction. The County has also applied for a $370K IAC grant for trail construction beyond the Cape George property. Jefferson Transit is also looking for a new site, one of which is at SR20 and Four Corners Road. The advantage of this site is that it is on the proposed trail route, so it might be possible to negotiate a free trail easement. Transit would present site options at Blue Heron School tomorrow evening. The Jefferson Trail Coalition has put together trail kiosks and will formally present them on the trail at 2:30 PM this Sunday during a Larry Scott birthday celebration. C. H.J. Carroll Park: Parks Maintenance staff has begun routine field preparations and Jefferson County Soccer Club is scheduling field use. Corner posts are installed for the East Jefferson Rotary pavilion. Staff is working with a few volunteers on a possible Frisbee golf location. Warren reported that Wild Olympic Salmon has disbanded and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition has taken over responsibility in the partnership agreements with the County on their shelter at the park. D. Irondale Beach: Brian Miller reported that the assigned subcommittee had reviewed the list of possible park names and returned the following recommendations, in descending order: Irondale Beach Park, Iron Mill Park, and Irondale Waterfront Park. Noting that the criteria for naming the park after an individual was the person having a direct relation to that site, the committee felt that creating a memorial within the park would be more appropriate. Eileen Rogers moved to accept the subcommittee recommendations for naming Irondale Beach park with the first choice being: Irondale Beach Park, 2°d choice Iron Mill Park, and third choice Irondale Waterfront Park and direct Staff to submit the prioritized list to the BOCC. The motion was seconded and carried by a unanimous vote. Warren reported that Fish and Wildlife had postponed their beach restoration project for 4-6 months to explore the cultural/historical significance of this area. E. Gibbs Lake: There continues to be quite a bit of activity at the Challenge Course. Attendees of a March 25-26 conference of the Association of Experiential Educators at Fort Worden would be utilizing the course. Quimper Trails has done some minor trail maintenance and dangerous trees near the caretaker's cabin were removed. Revenues are off to a better start this year compared to last. Another facilitator training class would be held in April. F. ORV: The Interagency Committee on Outdoor Recreation (IAC) would be funding the $56K feasibility study, our request having scored 9th out of 26. Nik Worden provided a brief explanation of IAC-funded projects in the County. G. Recreation Scholarships: As directed by the Advisory Board last year, there was discussion and interest in confirming the specific amount of revenue generated by the Wooden Boat Festival parking fundraiser that was to be aside specifically for youth scholarships. Warren explained that these revenues are in the special fund budget of parks and recreation and while Staff believes it would be possible to develop some tracking mechanism, these funds are not Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of March 2, 2005 — Page 2 currently earmarked per se for scholarships. He reminded that Staff constantly strives to meet revenue objectives and that youth program fees and field use revenues are used to subsidize Recreation. Matt is working to create revenues through the various programs but there is a balance between charging to cover direct costs and keeping the price affordable. H. Fort Worden Parking: Commissioner Johnson expressed support for applying the County LTAC funds to the parking dilemma. He noted that the Fort attracts people from all over the country, many of whom drive through Chimacum, Hadlock, etc., as did attendees of a recent tri-county isolation and quarantine event. He remains concerned about the potential impact to North Beach Park from instituting fees. I. Metropolitan District Subcommittee: Eileen complimented Judith on her representation of South County concerns at a recent meeting called by the YMCA Board. Judith said this meeting was well represented by Port Townsend. The concern was setting a boundary by May, so that the issue could be on the November ballot. She relayed that the JCPR Advisory Board would be hard-pressed to support anything that did not benefit the whole county. Although concerned about low support from Port Ludlow, the group recognized the need for a broad county base. She noted that Lee Springgate had presented a proposal for a City of Port Townsend Metro District and next steps were to convene a roundtable of CEOs, prioritize major projects and programs, and submitting a citizen survey asking whether there is support. They finally agreed to start slow, convene a roundtable of Schools, Port, City and County officials, YMCA, 4-H, and review survey questions. It was corrected that since Rich Stapf had not been appointed, the committee currently is just Judith and Eileen. Rick talked about the importance of being clear about the financial situation as well as the direction we are headed. J. Advisory Board Membership: Warren noted Eileen's reappointment completes the advisory board and added that Rick Tollefson's term expires in October. III. NEW BUSINESS A. Strategic Plan/Focus Groups: Warren distributed a matrix that attempts to identify partners. Eileen, Rick, Frank Gifford, Warren, and Matt would meet again tomorrow to continue to work on the plan, although it is unknown when the presentation to the BOCC would actually occur because a thorough plan requires much time, energy and Staff resources. The Advisory Board applauded the information presented. A solicitation of corrections/changes brought the following suggestions: that Jefferson County Parks and Recreation be a convener of the partners, that the matrix indicate Commissioner Districts and the distribution of funds/percent of sponsorship by JCPR, and that the need for a subsidy be proven by its value to the County as well as how programs meet the Prevention Plan checklist. B. Community Park Grants 2005: Warren said Staff would begin advertising community parks grants. IV. STAFF REPORTS Recreation Division/Parks Division: Matt distributed his written report on upcoming activities. Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of March 2, 2005 — Page 3 V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:00 PM. The next meeting will be Wednesday, April 6, 2005. On the agenda should be a discussion of holding a Parks and Recreation Advisory Board retreat at the Beausite Lake facility. Jeff. Co. Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Minutes of March 2, 2005 — Page 4 JEFFERSON COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA March 2, 2005 12 noon to 2 p.m. 1st Floor Conference Room, Courthouse A. OPENING BUSINESS Call to order Introductions Roll Call Agenda Additions or changes Adoption Minutes Additions or changes Adoption B. OLD BUSINESS Larry Scott Trail HJ Carroll Park: Warren Irondale Beach Gibbs Lake: Trails, Challenge Course ORV Update Recreation Scholarships Community Network Ft Worden Parking Met District sub -committee Advisory Board Membership C. NEW BUSINESS Strategic Planning/ Focus Groups/ next steps: (Matt -Warren) Skateboard Park report: Tristan Community Park Grants 2005 Program Fees D. STAFF REPORTS: Recreation Division / Parks Division E. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS AND CORRESPONDENCE F. SET NEXT MEETING DATE/ ADJOURNMENT