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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_PAREB_07.08.2021Minutes of the Meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board City of Georgetown, Texas July 8, 2021 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 - Katherine Kainer, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Katherine Kainer. B Roll Call - Katherine Kainer, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Katherine Kainer, Chad Holz, Brazos Fielder, Jack Flatau, Jolene Melancon — in person Peter Bahrs - via Zoom Absent — Lindsay Cooper Present Staff - Kimberly Garrett, Jill Kellum, Jamie Beran, Heather Brewer, Dave Melaas C Parks and Recreation staff member introduction and presentation - Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett introduced Heather Brewer, Urban Forester. Heather Brewer has been with the city 16 years and has had various roles throughout her career. Heather Brewer stated she takes care of all the trees in the parks, looks for hazards, has trees pruned and removed, and does tree plantings. She is also taking over the landscape maintenance contracts. She will also be responsible for the Heritage Gardens after its renovation. Katherine Kainer asked what tree has been most affected by the drought over the years. Heather Brewer said with Snowvid it is the Ash tree. She stated that the city has been lucky not to have any oak wilt in the park systems yet. She said she tries to limit the Cottonwoods and there are not any more in San Gabriel Park. Also, trying to limit the Chinaberries if there are options to leave shade. Katherine Kainer stated the Pecan trees in the Dog Park have had some branch maintenance issues. Heather Brewer stated the problem with Pecans is they are a very brittle tree and in the best scenario they are going to drop wood. She stated at the Bark Park it is very well used and not irrigated so that compounds the limb loss there. She stated mulch is put out around the larger trees. Kimberly Garrett stated that Heather Brewer works closely with the transportation and engineering departments to design landscape in the roundabout coming into San Gabriel Park and the Rivery Park extension. The tree mitigation fund is managed by Heather Brewer and this money can be used for these types of projects and for maintenance and plantings. Jolene Melancon asked about heritage trees and if they can be removed. Kimberly Garrett stated heritage trees are protected but there are permits and approvals and ways around to take those trees out and stated they plant more trees to replace them. Heather Brewer stated there are two different types of calculations: 12 — 25 and 26 and above. The penalties are steeper, and the percentages are small, and they look at what the project and agreement is. Kimberly Garrett stated tree review is now in planning and the city hired a landscape planner that reviews all the landscape plantings that come in with a project. Chad Holz asked about the bamboo in the park and Heather Brewer stated they have been working on that for a Page 17 of 21 few years and feels successful with what they did between the trail and the river. Chad Holz stated that she does a great job with the trees. D Update from the Friends of Georgetown Parks and Recreation - Peter Bahrs, Parks and Recreation Advisory Boardmember Liaison Peter Bahrs stated there are no updates as the did not meet this month. E Capital Project Updates - Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Melaas, project manager, stated the ADA trail construction started yesterday. He stated there was a little apprehension from some trail users. He stated the contractors started tearing out at Chandler Park and that area should be back up in a couple weeks. For the Heritage Gardens project, the 41" set of plans is going to planning July 911,. They are anticipating this to be approved. Dave Melaas stated it includes the construction of the small section of sidewalk along Hutto Road and after this they will go through permitting and get the permits to begin the project. The site will be cleaned up and start some reconstruction processes. Jamie Beran has been working with University Park homeowner group to get some input on the site amenities. They have talked about basketball and tetherball and other nontraditional recreation. Staff has requested some proposals from playground manufactures to get some ideas of different play units to take to the homeowner's group to get input and approvals. Start date would be later in the Fall. The ADA park modifications that go along with the 2015 ADA transition plan will start Monday and this will include Old Town, Edwards, Summercrest and the Bark Park. This will be for ADA access from the parking lot into the park. There are 4 — 5 other parks that line up that will be done after these are completed. For the Wolf Crossing Trail staff is working with landowners to get easements and right of ways. The trail design is complete contingent on agreements. Staff is anticipating getting it to the bid process later this Fall. Peter Bahrs asked where the new HEB would be. Kimberly Garrett stated it would be in the northwest corner of IH 35. Jack Flatau asked about the next connection after Wolf Crossing and if that was a 10- year projection. Kimberly Garrett stated that is based on the development agreement that the city has with Wolf Ranch, and they are moving fast with homes. The section they first built was for Wolf Ranch and then they came in with a 2" d amendment with the Guy tract and that is where the city got the additional 2.5 miles of trail. Kimberly Garrett stated that will be on the northside of the river and then there is a crossing to Lyndoch Park and will go down the southside of the South San Gabriel and just past the southwest bypass the trail will go back over the river to the north side. Chad Holz asked about the agreement and if it was an honor system or if the city keeps tract of how many units they are building. Kimberly Garrett stated it is tracked through building permit counts. Kimberly Garrett stated she would bring to the September meeting the overall concept of the trail from IH 35 to Garey Park. Page 18 of 21 F Director Report - Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett reviewed the report. • The natatorium repairs are completed, and the indoor pool is scheduled to reopen on July 121". • At the July 131h City Council meeting, there will be a proclamation by the Mayor celebrating July as National Parks and Recreation Month • Movies in the Park will be held Friday night at San Gabriel Park. The next movie is schedule for August 61h and will be teen night. • The police department increased patrol at Blue Hole Park the last week of June due to the large amount of alcohol seen in the park. Their presence has greatly improved the situation from less to being more family friendly. • The three-year lease on the cardio equipment at the recreation center was due in June. Because of the lower number of users over the last year due to Covid, staff proposed extending the lease for 15 months. A new cardio lease will be accessed next summer. • In addition, staff is going to replace 5 weight machines at the recreation center in the next few months with the remaining pieces to be replaced next budget year during the annual closure in September 2022. • The open link for the master plan survey will be pushed out on July 121h. You can access if from the project website at gtxparkplan.com. Numbers from the targeted mail out survey to date are as follows: 197 online surveys completed and 134 paper surveys for a total so far of 331. We are close to the 400 target. • A findings meeting has been set for August 251h at 6 pm. This will be an in -person meeting with an option to view via Zoom. • A new diving board was installed at Williams Drive Pool. • June 22^d City Council Workshop follow-up. The YMCA presented a proposal for a recreation center and an aquatic center on the westside of IH35 off Shell near McCoy Elementary. This project would be part of a school bond proposal in November for the aquatic center. The proposal was that this facility could be a joint project between the GISD, the YMCA and the City. Initial feedback from the City Council was that they were interested but would like to see it in the southeast area of Georgetown instead of the northwest. They also wanted to wait and see if the school bond passed before any decisions were made. Legislative Regular Agenda G Consideration and possible action to recommend approval of tree pruning and removal service contracts with Legacy Arbor Care of Cedar Park, TX and Tree Amigos, LLC of Cedar Park, TX in a total annual amount not to exceed $300,000. — Jamie Beran, Parks Superintendent Jamie Beran, Parks Superintendent, explained that currently the process to do large scale items is inefficient; doing work in $3,000.00 increments instead of having a contractor or multiple contractors come through and have one bid. He explained all the other items that are in the contract. This would allow to hire a contractor whenever they are needed such as when a storm comes through. Kimberly Garrett stated anything over $3,000.00 must be bid and you cannot bid out more than $50,000 to one Page 19 of 21 company. This was a sealed bid process and as stated in the bid, two vendors would be selected. Kimberly Garrett stated this will have to go to city council. Peter Bahrs stated it does not state how much they will cut; does the $300,000 translate into the amount of work? Jamie Beran stated it does not translate into a specific amount of work. This was a number that staff felt comfortable with spending annually for emergencies or planned projects. He stated it is not based on a per tree but rather an hourly rate. Heather Brewer stated it is hourly by line item for different services in the bid. Jamie Beran stated it is a one-year contract with a 3-year renewal. Jamie Beran stated there were 6 companies that bid it competitively with sealed bids that were based on service by line item and best value. Jolene Melancon asked if they have a timeline to respond to work being requested. Jamie Beran and Heather Brewer stated it is in the contract that they must respond in a certain period of time. Motion made by Chad Holz, second by Katherine Kainer to recommend approval of tree pruning and removal service contracts with Legacy Arbor Care of Cedar Park, TX and Tree Amigos, LLC of Cedar Park, TX in a total annual amount not to exceed $300,000. Approved: 6 — 0 —1 H Consideration and possible action to recommend approval of a Buy Board purchase of a pavilion through the Playwell Group, Inc. of Boerne, Texas in the amount of $51,874.71 to be constructed at Garey Park. - Dave Melaas, Parks and Recreation Project Manager Dave Melaas, Project Manager, stated there was discussion about a need for a pavilion separate from the Playranch at Garey Park. He stated this pavilion is smaller than the Legacy pavilion but larger than the other pavilions which will accommodate a different size group. It will be constructed outside the fence of the Playranch and between the Equestrian Area and the Playranch, linked by the trail. Dave Melaas stated there was an increase in the price since the meeting was posted due to volatility of the market and shipping and the new price is $54,879.34. Kimberly Garrett stated this was money left over from building the park. She stated they left money in the account to see what would be needed after it opened and what the pressure points were. She stated the daily visits are high and the activity at the Playranch has increased and there have been requests for additional seating and shade. This will give the park some flexibility to host more events. Staff feels this is a good way to spend the additional funds. Chad Holz asked if a pavilion would be going in the Meadows area. Kimberly Garrett stated the masterplan showed an amphitheater in the meadows and cabins. She stated that would be discussed if any additional funding becomes available. Motion made by Jack Flatau, second by Brazos Fielder to recommend approval of a Buy Board purchase of a pavilion through the Playwell Group, Inc. of Boerne, Texas in the amount of $54,879.34 to be constructed at Garey Park. Approve 6 — 0 —1 I Consideration and possible action to recommend approval of a Buy Board contract for construction of a pavilion through Playworks, Inc. of Boerne, Texas in the amount of $78,873.34, to be constructed at Garey Park. - Dave Melaas, Parks and Recreation Project Manager Dave Melaas stated this item is for the construction of the pavilion that was approved in Item H of this agenda. This item includes all the engineering fees, the concrete work, erection of the structure and the stone columns as the existing pavilions have so they matchup. Peter Bahrs asked to clarify the Page 20 of 21 distinction between Item H and Item I. Dave Melaas explained that the pavilion structure was purchased through ICON which the Playwell Group is a representative of. There is another company called Playworks that is affiliated with them that are registered through the Texas BuyBoard purchasing co-op that will come and do the construction. Motion made by Brazos Fielder, second by Jolene Melancon to recommend approval of a Buy Board contract for construction of a pavilion through Playworks, Inc. of Boerne, Texas in the amount of $78,873.34, to be constructed at Garey Park. Peter Bahrs asked if the pavilions have electric and water connections. Dave Melaas stated this one will have electrical connections stubbed out for later inclusion. Kimberly Garrett stated there will not be water. Approved 6 — 0 —1 Consideration and possible action to approve minutes from the June 10, 2021 meeting. - Jill Kellum, Administrative Supervisor Motion made Katherine Kainer, second Chad Holz to approve minutes from the June 10, 2021 meeting. Approved 6 — 0 —1 Adjournment Adjourn - Katherine Kainer, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Motion made by Chad Holz, second by Katherine Kainer to adjourn the meeting. Approved 6 — 0 —1 Katherine Kainer, Board Chair Lindsay ❑per, Secretary Kellum, Board Liaison Page 21 of 21