BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING Park and Recreation Department 11th Floor City Hall Monday, May 14, 2007 3:30 p.m. Present: Janet Miller, Glen Dey, Andy Solter and Doug Leeper Absent: Mick Tranbarger and Dennis Brunner Also Present: Tommy Allen, former Park and Recreation Director; Doug Kupper, Director; Karen Walker, Assistant Director; Larry Hoetmer, Landscape Architect and Scott Wadle, Planning Department President Miller called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. PUBLIC AGENDA Darlene Nuse, 2021 Jewell, Wichita, KS. Ms. Nuse spoke on behalf of the Osage Park neighborhood. She said that she would like the Board to consider expanding the park facilities at Osage Park to include new tennis and basketball courts and updates to the ball diamonds and picnic tables. Walker invited Ms. Nuse to attend the upcoming PROS meeting for District IV being held on May 17, where these issues would be addressed specifically for District IV. Leeper then asked Ms. Nuse if they wanted the basketball courts moved further away from the children's spray park. Ms. Nuse said yes that it would be better to separate the two if possible. REGULAR AGENDA Item 1: Approval of Meeting Minutes Motion 1: On motion by Solter, second by Dey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED that the Board approve the April 9, 2007 regular meeting minutes. Item 2A: Naming of Park Facilities - Requested by Tommy Allen Miller reminded the Board and audience members that they currently do not name facilities after individuals unless they are deceased. She said that the Board recently had an opportunity to try a variation on that decree and name a feature within a park after a living individual. The request was denied by the City Council. Tommy Allen Mr. Allen said that he was very humbled that the Board was willing to listen to him and that he continues to keep himself informed on the activities of the Board each month by reading the minutes. He said he did not want to be misunderstood, but that the issue of naming a park facility in his honor is very dear to his heart and his family. He said he knows they are in an awkward position but he does not want to give up on pursuing the idea. Allen said that currently Auburn Hills Golf Course is the only golf course not named after a person and that he would like to have that facility named after him upon his death. Gordon Abernathy, 1530 St. Andrews Dr., Lawrence, KS Mr. Abernathy said that he worked with Mr. Allen in the past and remembered all the remarkable things that Mr. Allen did for the Park and Recreation Department. Gene Mudd, 1414 N. Doris Circle, Wichita, KS. Mr. Mudd said that he worked part time for the Park Dept in 1957 and has currently been retired 19 years. Mudd said he wanted to thank Mr. Allen for all that he had done in the past for the Parks Department. Ron Hayworth, 3915 Amidon, Wichita, KS. Mr. Hayworth said he spent 30 years working with the Park Department beginning in 1969. He said that he remembered working with Mr. Allen for many years, especially during the first several River Festivals. He said it was Allen's vision and ability that made the festival a world-class event. Miller returned the discussion to the Board. She said if the Board were to move ahead with this suggestion, they would first need look at creating a system to track future naming options for all Park Department facilities. Kupper added that if the Board decided to do this that they also need to look at the individual's accomplishments during their tenure and whether or not he had a positive impact on the citizen's of Wichita. Dey agreed and said it would be helpful if they could create a report of the individual's accomplishments and attach it to the motion in support of their decision. Solter agreed that making a list would help ensure that the decision was not lost in the future with new Park Board members. Motion 2: On Motion by Solter, second by Miller, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to support the suggestion to the Board that a park facility be named after Mr. Tom Allen upon his death. Staff was also asked to develop a chronological outline of Mr. Allen's accomplishments and a recommended process for the naming. Both of these items are to be brought back to the Board for review at future meeting. Miller said that, for the record, she felt honored to preside over an organization that is a continuation of what Mr. Allen's good work created. She said she sincerely hopes that the Board can continue to honor Mr. Allen and all of the past park directors and staff with their work on the new PROS and she hopes that this plan can move them forward through the next decade. Item 2B: City of Wichita Pathways Priorities Scott Wadle presented the Pathways Priorities document to the Board, which he said is still in the rough draft stage. Wadle said he wanted to run through the document with the Board to gain their input and ideas. He said that in the Wichita CIP there is money allocated for trails but that it is not being spent because a Transportation Enhancement (TE) application is required to move forward. He said that the Delano and McAdams trail has a 30% match for the money, but that they are still lacking the other 70% required for the TE application. Wadle went on to say that they need to start thinking about ways to get the money before it is allocated to other areas and that they need to start looking at the design work on the trails, which will help them move up in the TE rating, as it will show the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) that the community is committed to the project. Miller asked if the money is used for the design before the application is approved, whether or not it could be used for the 30% local match. Wadle said he did not have the answer to that but he would look into it. Wadle said that the application must to be submitted to the Wichita Area Planning Organization by October 31 and to the KDOT by November 7. He also said that the Board that the South Central Pathway and the Minisa pathway should have been included in the pathways priorities listing. He said that in the next draft, Minisa will be ranked as #1 and the South Central Pathway would be ranked #7. The Board continued to discuss the pathways project and viewed maps of several of the areas provided by Wadle. Motion 3: On Motion by Miller, second by Dey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to ask Scott Wadle to make revisions to the Pathways Priorities report and present it to the Board at the June Meeting. Item 2C: Rescheduling of June Park Board Meeting Motion 4: On Motion by Miller, second by Dey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to move the June Park Board meeting to June 18. Item 3A: Proposed Veterans Memorial Maps Hoetmer showed the Board a map of Veterans Memorial Park and said that there had been a few changes since the completion of the River Corridor project. He reviewed each of the sites at the Park that were available for new memorials to include the proposed Vietnamese War Memorial. The Board asked that staff brief them on the policy and procedures for accepting new Memorials at Veterans Park at the July meeting. Item 4. Review of Pending Issues Kupper said that he is still working with El Zocalo to complete the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and that he has given them a May 24th deadline. Item 5: Updates from the Director and President Kupper provided each Board member with a copy of the Park and Recreation Quarterly Report. The Board was then briefed about the tennis dome. Kupper said that he was currently working with Yeadon Fabrics, LLC, to fix and repair the tears in the fabric and other damages to the dome. Kupper informed the Board that the Sunflower Coalition has expressed their unhappiness with the decision to fill the vacant management position at McAdams Recreation Center with Jan Chatman. Kupper said that he asked the retired McAdams Recreation Center director, A.J. Jones, whom he would have picked for the job and he felt that Ms. Chatman was the appropriate choice. Miller let the Board know that Nalini Johnson had officially resigned from the Park Board leaving the position of the Mayor's representative vacant. Kupper said that June 12 is the interview and selection date. Walker reviewed the dates of the upcoming PROS community outreach meetings. Miller said that the next Dream in Green meeting would be held on May 24th at the WSU Metroplex. Dey said he was curious if there was different terminology they could use for the "skate parks." He said he felt that by using that terminology it may be keeping citizens away who believe it to only be a skate park and that it does not offer other park amenities. Dey then requested that, in light of the mugging incident at the Great Plains Nature Center (GPNC), staff could look into having the Eastern Red Cedar trees trimmed to prevent someone from hiding in those areas. Item 6: Issues on the Horizon Miller said that she felt the safety issue at GPNC is something that the Board should look at again in the future. She asked that the item be placed on the Park Board tracking sheet for evaluation by the Board in July or August. The Board also asked that a discussion on using natural prairie grasses in the parks be introduced at a later meeting. Item 7: Adjourn Miller adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:30 p.m. ___________________________________ Janet L. Miller, President ATTEST: _______________________________ Myca J. Bunch, Recording Secretary Board of Park Commissioners May 14, 2007 4