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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_PAREB_01.09.2020Minutes of the Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board City of Georgetown, Texas January 9, 2020 Regular Session (This Regular Session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code 551.) A Call to order - Jim Hougnon, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Jim Hougnon called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. B Roll Call - Jim Hougnon, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Present: Jim Hougnon, Katherine Kainer, Scott Macmurdo, Larry Gambone, Danelle Houck, Wayne Beyer Absent: Mike Simpson Staff present: Kimberly Garrett, Eric Nuner, Brandon Fonville, Jill Kellum C Parks and Recreation staff member introduction and presentation - Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett introduced Brandon Fonville, Parks Foreman. Brandon Fonville has been with the City of Georgetown over 13 years. He stated he oversees the athletic field crew, the trails crew and the mowing crew. He also takes care of irrigation in the parks and chemical programs and oversees maintenance over the lawnmowers, weed eaters and other equipment. Brandon Fonville stated he grew up in Ranger, TX and went to Tarleton State University and has a degree in plant and soil science. He worked for a seed company, then was a commodities inspector for the state and traveled the whole state. He then went into the peace corp and was in Nepal. He then came to the Georgetown area and worked in the landscaping industry for about 10 years doing construction, installation and maintenance. He then started with the City of Georgetown. Scott Macmurdo asked what a typically day is like. Brandon Fonville stated every day if different and on Monday they are cleaning up after the weekend and Friday they are getting ready for the weekend. He stated they make sure the fields are getting ready to be played on, cleaning up trash on trails and general maintenance. Wayne Beyer asked about the chemical application license. Brandon Fonville stated himself and one other park employee have the license and it has to be renewed every 2 years. Scott Macmurdo asked what the hardest part of the job is. Brandon Fonville stated the office work. Jim Hougnon asked what equipment, people or building he wanted but doesn't have. Brandon Fonville stated they have wanted to renovate the adult baseball field and that will come in Phase IV of the San Gabriel Park renovation. Scott Macmurdo asked if the adult baseball field is being used. Brandon Fonville stated there are 2 adult leagues that use it and that is mostly on the weekends. During the week there are high schools that use the field as their home field. Kimberly Garrett stated there are tournaments held there and practices. D Update from the Friends of Georgetown Parks and Recreation - Danelle Houck, Parks and Recreation Advisory Boardmember Danelle Houck stated the Friends have not met. Assistance requests have been a little slow. They will have a water stop at the Cupid's Chase. E Project Updates and Staff Report - Eric Nuner, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Eric Nuner stated San Gabriel Phase 2 is working on final items. The trail is poured. There is backfill and grading that needs to be done and working on seat walls at the overlook. It is not officially opened but it is being used already. There will be an official opening when it is done. Kimberly Garrett stated since it is a grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife, one of the requirements is an official dedication and opening. There is not a date for this event. Eric Nuner stated staff is coordinating invasive tree removal and debris clean up. Wayne Beyer asked for the park rangers to be notified when it is officially open. Eric Nuner stated on the Golden Bear project that staff has met with the planning department to finalize the permitting piece. The state requirement for environmental quality is done and are anticipating constructing it in the spring. The Parks department will install it in house. Booty's Park is complete. New picnic tables have been added under the pavilion. The tables are similar to what is at Garey Park; galvanized, heavy recycled plastic tops. Eric Nuner stated the Heritage Gardens is the current neighborhood park development. Staff has met to determine the scope of the project and staff has met with the gardeners and informed them what the schedule for construction is and when the gardens will no longer be available. Staff has worked with planning to get the plans finalized. Eric Nuner stated it is not complicated; the garden beds and this will come back to the Parks Board when it is farther along. Katherine Kainer asked if it is going to be fenced in and Eric Nuner stated the gardens themselves will be fenced. Kimberly Garrett stated this should help with the vandalism and the people that are stealing the vegetables. Eric Nuner stated staff has met with other entities that have community gardens and got a lot of good information. There will be a public input, stakeholder type meeting with the gardeners that are there. There will only be raised beds, no in ground beds. Eric Nuner stated they hope to do some type of shelter with some tables for small gatherings and classes and also a small restroom facility, accessible beds, and parking. Katherine Kainer asked if there will be revenue. Eric Nuner stated there is a fee structure now and that will be revised. Katherine Kainer asked if there will be guidelines for the gardens. Eric Nuner stated there are guidelines about what can and cannot be used there. He stated they have some good policies and procedures they have gathered from other gardens. He also stated there will be marketing after the renovation is done. He stated they will make it where the garden area can expanded or phased. Jim Hougnon asked about the water distribution system. Eric Nuner stated it will be improved, centrally located and accessible to multiple plots. Katherine Kainer asked about the size of the area. Kimberly Garrett stated it is an 18 acre park and half of it is in the flood plain. Eric Nuner stated there are some limitations and constraints and our opportunity is greater than what staff has seen in other communities. Larry Gambone asked if staff will require the gardener's to meet on a regular basis. Eric Nuner stated the group that is out there now does meet monthly. Kimberly Garrett stated there could be some education opportunities and Heather Brewer, Urban Forester, will be leading this. Eric Nuner stated Wolf Ranch Trail construction is complete. Kimberly Garret stated this was part of the Hillwood development agreement. Part of the agreement was to build a trail from IH 35 to the Guy Tract and it is 3/4 of a mile. She stated you can see if from IH35 and it is 10 foot wide and said it will be a huge selling point for that development. Eric Nuner stated Grace Heritage Plaza is on Main Street between the Watkins building and Grace Heritage Center and is almost complete. There is some landscaping to do and there will also be some lighting added. Scott Macmurdo asked how we envision using that space in the future. Eric Nuner stated there are opportunities to continue to the east to Founder's Park where there is more of a corridor; you aren't going across the parking lot. Kimberly Garrett stated it was too small of a space for a parking lot and to keep the continuity of the look and feel in that area. Kimberly Garrett added that until the tenants move into that building it is hard to envision what is going on. Eric Nuner stated there was a bid opening in December on the Show Barn demolition and there were 15 bidders. He stated staff is working on contracts and it is about a 2 week demo timeline. He hopes that it will be done in the spring. Legislative Regular Agenda F Consideration and possible action to recommend approval of a Task Order with Halff Associates, Inc. of Austin, TX, for professional services related to the South San Gabriel River Trail design at Wolf Crossing in the amount of $128,800.00— Eric Nuner, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Item Summary: Funding was provided in the FY2020 Capital Improvement Budget to continue trail development along the South San Gabriel River. The portion identified is near Wolf Crossing and will provide a link to the current City trail system on the South San Gabriel River at Scenic Drive to the new trail constructed at Wolf Ranch. Wolf Crossing will construct a trail head within their development for trail access and has provided the City with a pedestrian access easement for trail construction. The trail is programmed to be a 10 foot wide concrete trail approximately three-quarter mile in length. Trails were a high priority in the 2008 Parks Master Plan and continue to be one of the most requested amenities from residents. The city's trail system along the San Gabriel River provides a variety of benefits including recreation, transportation and a key alternative to get to the City's key tourist and shopping destinations. Halff Associates has successfully completed several City park and trail projects with Garey Park being the most recent. Staff recommends approval of the task order with Halff Associates to complete design of the South San Gabriel River Trail at Wolf Crossing. Timeline: Final Construction Documents May 2020 Permitting August 2020 Bidding October 2020 Completed Construction June 2021 Eric Nuner stated part of the CIP for this year was for design of the South San Gabriel River Trail and the area identified is Wolf Crossing. It connects the Wolf Ranch Trail that is constructed along the river below Wolf Crossing and ultimately goes to University Avenue. Through the CIP there is 1.275 million for construction and design of the trail. The design itself is not to exceed is $128,800.00 and within that there are some allowances such as survey work. There are some tricky spots there as far as access and there is some steep topo. He stated there are some challenges but doable. He stated staff generally plans for roughly 15% of the constructions cost and this is about 10%. He stated some of the savings are based on the type of agreement and are able to utilize some of the engineer work from the development; some of their survey and geologic assessment work. Kimberly Garrett stated there are so many unknowns and it is so steep and staff will need to coordinate with TXDOT going under IH35 and connecting. Scott Macmurdo asked if this was a competitive bid process and Eric Nuner stated task orders are through the master service agreement which are pre -qualified firms for design. Kimberly Garrett stated professional services cannot be bid out and when the construction comes along there will be a competitive bid. Wayne Beyer made a motion, second by Scott Macmurdo to recommend approval of a Task Order with Halff Associates, Inc. of Austin, TX, for professional services related to the South San Gabriel River Trail design at Wolf Crossing in the amount of $128,800.00. Approved: 6-0-1 G Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the November 21, 2019 meeting - Jill Kellum, Administrative Supervisor Danelle Houck made a motion, second by Katherine Kainer, to approve minutes from the November 21, 2019 meeting. Approved: 6-0-1 Adjournment Adjourn - Jim Hougnon, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Katherine Kainer made a motion, second by Larry Gambone to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:01 pm. Approved: 6-0-1 Katherine Kainer, Secretary Jill K um, Board Liaison