2000-08-14
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1 CITY OF SOUTHLAKE
2 PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD
3
4
5 August 14, 2000
6
7 MINUTES
8
9 Board Members Present: Sherry Berman, Chair; Chris Miltenberger, Vice-Chair; Mary Georgia,
10 Jim Glover, Lisa Stokdyk, and Michael Nelson.
11
12 Staff Members Present: Kevin Hugman, Director of Community Services; Steve Polasek, Deputy
13 Director of Community Services; Ben Henry, Parks Planning and Construction Superintendent;
14 Meredith Parrish, Administrative Secretary.
15
16 Regular Session:
17
18 Agenda Item No. 1, Call to Order. The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chair Chris
19 Miltenberger at 7:00 p.m.
20
21 Agenda Item No. 2, Administrative Comments.
22
23 Mr. Hugman stated that Chris Carpenter had been appointed as the new Senior Parks Planner.
24 Mr. Hugman stated that staff feels his experience will be a great benefit to the department,
25 especially with the master plan reviews and other park planning projects underway.
26
27 Consent:
28 Agenda Item No. 3A Approval of the minutes from the July 10, 2000 meeting.
29 Agenda Item No. 3B Approval of the minutes from the July 10, 2000 meeting joint meeting with
30 SPDC.
31
32 Ms. Stokdyk requested that her name be added to the July 10, 2000 SPDC minutes as being
33 present.
34
35 Ms. Georgia made a motion to approve the minutes as amended.
36
37 Motion: Georgia
38 Second: Stokdyk
39 Ayes: Georgia, Glover, Miltenberger, Nelson, Stokdyk
40 Approved: 5-0
41 Ms. Berman was not present for the vote.
42
43
44 Public Forum:
45
46 Mr. Miltenberger opened the Public Forum at 7:05.
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page I of 9
N.Warks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1
2 Mr. Miltenberger recognized Mr. Jerry Kegley.
3 Mr. Kegley of 1113 Travis Court, stated that as President of the Southlake Baseball Association
4 he wanted to thank staff for the work they had done on lighting for fields #4, #5, and #10. Mr.
5 Kegley expressed that although he was not able to get on the agenda for this meeting, he did
6 want to address the Board regarding some safety issues that SBA has.
7 Mr. Kegley presented the Board with a handout of current safety issues that SBA has.
8 Mr. Kegley requested that the Board look at the handout and place these items on the agenda for
9 next month's meeting.
10
11 Mr. Hugman responded that staff is aware of these concerns and are working on correcting these
12 concerns. Mr. Polasek gave the Board the status of each item. The only item not being addressed
13 at present was the fencing in the batting cage area.
14 Mr. Nelson asked Mr. Kegley to prioritize these concerns in list of importance. Mr. Kegley
15 responded that the list handed to the Board is in order of importance.
16
17 Ms. Stokdyk commented that several weeks prior to the meeting that she saw that Field #1 had
18 it's lights on after 11 PM. Mr. Hugman said that the lights should go off at 11 PM, and that
19 perhaps the timer was off. Ms. Stokdyk said that it was just Field #1. Mr. Hugman asked if it
20 was a Wednesday night. Ms. Stokdyk said that she believed that it was. Mr. Hugman said people
21 were using the field until 9 PM, and that the lights should have been turned off at I IPM, but that
22 he would check into it.
23
24 Mr. Miltenberger recognized Ms. Kim Campbell of 495 Love Henry Court.
25 Ms. Campbell stated that it had been approximately a year since she had attended a Park Board
26 meeting, and that she wanted to check back with the Board at this time to see if there was still
27 consideration in building a berm to protect the homeowners from noise from the ballfields.
28
29 Ms. Campbell said that it had been brought to her attention that there may be some negotiations
30 currently underway to expand Bicentennial Park area.
31 Ms. Campbell said she was curious as to a recreation center and where that would be in regards
32 to the homeowners adjacent to Bicentennial Park.
33
34 Mr. Miltenberger invited Ms. Campbell to stay and listen to the parks master plan update that
35 would be taking place later in the meeting. She was invited to ask any additional questions at that
36 time.
37
38 Ms. Campbell asked if there were handouts of the master plan so that she could hand them out to
39 homeowners.
40 Mr. Hugman said that it was still in draft, but that there would be SPIN meetings taking place
41 soon and park master plan updates would be available at those meetings. Ms. Campbell
42 requested copies of the old master plan. Mr. Hugman said that old copies are available and said
43 that they would be sent to her.
44
45 Ms. Campbell stated that her main concern was a protection barrier and that homeowner's in this
46 area have been asking for the barrier since 1993.
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 2 of 9
N.IParks & Recreation IBOARDSIPK90ARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1
2 Mr. Miltenberger closed the Public Forum at 7:19PM.
3
4 Consider:
5
6 Agenda Item 5A Disposition of pond at Noble Oaks Park.
7
8 Mr. Hugman said that this item was being brought before the Board a third time. Mr. Hugman
9 said that last time this was brought before the Board, the Board decided to wait and see what
10 happened to the pond over the summer. Mr. Hugman said the pond has not dried up completely,
11 however, it has decreased in size considerably. Mr. Hugman said the current issue is that the
12 school district is getting ready to start construction. The school district had committed to filling
13 in the pond as part of their construction plan. Mr. Hugman said that Council has begun talking
14 about the pond again and that it is staff's desire to get the issue resolved through meeting with
15 City Council members and School Board members.
16
17 Mr. Hugman said that the School District has stated that if the pond is not filled in they will place
18 a fence across their portion of the pond, separating the school site from the park site. Mr.
19 Hugman stated that the School Board is on hold and is waiting for an answer from the City. Mr.
20 Hugman said that it has been discussed with the School Board of having them donate that portion
21 of the property to the City. Mr. Hugman said that this is being requested because if they fill in
22 their portion of the pond, what is left of the pond will not stay wet.
23
24 Mr. Hugman said that staff would like a clear direction if the Board wants the pond or not, and if
25 the Board wants the pond what is the preferred method of addressing the School Board's issues.
26 He said he was not sure what kind of fence the School Board would put up, but that he thought
27 perhaps a chain link fence. He stated that a second option would be to put a fence around the
28 pond itself, but said staff's opinion is that a fence is not an good idea because putting up a fence
29 would detract from the area and it would be a maintenance problem to keep mowed. Mr.
30 Hugman said it would also negate the purpose of the pond, which is to allow people down to the
31 water.
32
33 Mr. Hugman said that staff wanted to discuss this issue with the Park Board since it is a park site,
34 and get a recommendation from the Board prior to the meetings between the City and School
35 District.
36
37 Mr. Miltenberger stated that he had talked to Chair Sherry Berman, and that she had spoken with
38 a science teacher at Carroll Elementary, and that funds had been raised to build a pond at Carroll
39 Elementary. Ms. Berman feels that the school district is being short sighted in wanting to fill in
40 the pond when at a later date they may want to build a pond. Mr. Hugman said that in
41 recognizing that the school has built some waterscapes, it is different than the pond. What the
42 school has built is very shallow whereas the depth of the pond at Noble Oaks varies.
43
44 Mr. Glover stated that he understood that the changing of the curbs and gutters along Carroll,
45 would eventually eliminate water to the sight. Mr. Hugman said that after further review by
46 Public Works, the drainage pipe could be diverted to continue flow into the pond.
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 3 of 9
N.IParks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1
2 Mr. Miltenberger stated that if the school does not want the pond there, then there are not a lot of
3 options. Mr. Hugman said that the pond is mostly on City property.
4
5 Ms. Stokdyk asked how much of the pond encroaches on school property. Mr. Hugman said that
6 in the Board's packet there is an exhibit showing how the pond is laid out. Mr. Hugman said that
7 it does significantly decrease in size during the summer. Mr. Hugman stated that the City does
8 believe that it will be able to keep some water flow to it, but whether it will be adequate is not
9 known.
10
I I Mr. Nelson asked about the prospect of making the pond into a BMX bike trail. Mr. Hugman
12 said it is possible, it would be something that the Board would have to look at. Mr. Hugman said
13 that next month a resident of Southlake, Mr. Scott Martin, would be making a presentation of
14 possible uses for Noble Oaks.
15
16 Ms. Stokdyk stated that at Joint Use Committee (JUC) it was specifically stated that the pond
17 was a benefit to the school system. Ms. Stokdyk stated that she believed the land to be purchased
18 in part because it had a pond and encouraged that the pond be kept. She suggested that the City
19 pay for a portion of the fencing as a way of appeasing the school district.
20
21 Mr. Glover said that perhaps the school district could donate the land in exchange for the City
22 paying for the fencing. Mr. Glover stated that the pond is a natural feature of the park. and that if
23 there is way to keep the pond it should be attempted. Mr. Glover stated that the City should work
24 with the school district to appease their concerns.
25
26 Ms. Georgia stated that she agreed with Mr. Glover and Ms. Stokdyk. and Ms. Georgia said that
27 even if the school district decides to fill in their portion of the pond, she believes that the rest of
28 the pond is still worth saving.
29
30 Mr. Miltneberger said that he disagreed because he had not seen many schools that had a large
31 pond near school property.
32
33 Ms. Stokdyk stated that she did not understand the issue of liability when a large majority of
34 homes in the city have pools.
35
36 Mr. Nelson said that he would like to see how the City plans to keep the water level constant.
37 Mr. Hugman said that he was not sure at this time how the water level would be kept constant,
38 and that staff s intentions for the pond are to do nothing at this time and wait until plans for the
39 park become available.
40
41 Mr. Nelson asked if the school district only had problems with the pond with water in it. He
42 asked if it was just a hole would the school district still have problems. Mr. Hugman said that the
43 school district has not commented specifically, but that he believed that they would prefer to
44 have it filled in.
45
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 4 of 9
N:IParks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doe
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1 Ms. Stokdyk stated that in reference to the constant level of the water, that she sees the change in
2 water depth a learning experience about Texas life at different times of the year.
3
4 Mr. Hugman said that if the Board's consensus is to keep the pond, then staff would like the
5 Board to recommend alternatives for appeasing the school district's concerns.
6
7 Mr. Miltenberger stated that he would not want a fence all the way around the pond. Mr.
8 Miltenberger stated that if it is a fence to keep people out, it a very intrusive chain link fence.
9
10 Ms. Stokdyk made a motion to keep the pond at Noble Oaks Park; but not recommend fencing
11 around the pond itself.
12 Motion: Stokdyk
13 Second: Georgia
14 Ayes: Georgia, Glover, Miltenberger, Nelson, Stokdyk
15 Nayes: 0
16 Approved: 5-0
17 Ms. Berman was not present for vote.
18
19 Mr. Glover made a motion that the school district donates the portion of land that has the pond
20 on it to the City. The pond will remain as is.
21
22 Motion: Glover
23 Second: Stokdyk
24 Ayes: Georgia, Glover, Nelson, Stokdyk
25 Nayes: Miltenberger
26 Approved: 4-1
27 Ms. Berman joined the meeting at the time the motion was being made and abstained from
28 voting.
29
30
31 Discussion:
32
33 Mr. Glover left the meeting at 7:50PM.
34
35 Agenda Item 6A Parks Master Plan Update.
36
37 Mr. Hugman said Schrickel, Rollins and Associates will be giving an update on the Parks Master
38 Plan. Mr. Hugman said that a recreation attitudes survey was also done. Mr. Hugman said that
39 staff from Schrickel, Rollins and Associates will be discussing the proposed revision to the
40 Bicentennial Park development plan including a potential site for a recreation center within
41 Bicentennial Park.
42
43 Mr. Hugman said that Mr. Ray Turco from Turco and Associates was present to give a
44 presentation on the survey results.
45
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 5 of 9
N.Warks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1 Ms. Suzanne Sweek„ from Schrickel, Rollins and Associates gave a presentation of the
2 updated process for the parks master plan.
3
4 Ms. Berman asked how many ball fields there would be total. Mr. Polasek said that there would
5 be four softball fields, ten baseball fields, possibly eleven.
6
7 Ms. Berman asked what happens to the tree farm once construction begins. Mr. Polasek said that
8 it would be relocated.
9
10 Mr. Polasek said the purpose of the presentation was to get comments from the Board at this
11 point and that the long-term issues are yet to be determined. Mr. Polasek said that in the
12 upcoming months there would be some public meetings to get input and comments from the
13 citizens.
14
15 Mr. Polasek asked if there were any final comments from the Board.
16
17 Ms. Berman asked if there were any comments from Ms. Campbell or from the representatives
18 from Southlake Baseball Association or Southlake Girls Softball Association.
19
20 Ms. Campbell stated that it appeared that staff was not instructed to estimate a berm. Ms.
21 Berman stated that since the City does not own that property they don't want to make plans for
22 property they don't own. Ms. Berman said that staff and the Board is working within the
23 guidelines of what they own. Ms. Campbell stated that she was under the impression that before
24 Bicentennial was expanded at all that the priority would be in building a barrier. Ms. Campbell
25 expressed concern that a couple of years ago the Parks Board had stated that building a barrier
26 was a priority, yet the Tennis Center was constructed as well as additional tennis courts. Ms.
27 Berman stated that the property has not always been for sale.
28
29 Ms. Berman recognized Mr. John Campbell, 495 Love Henry Court. Mr. Campbell said that the
30 six-foot berm that currently being planned is not acceptable. Mr. Campbell said the trees that are
31 currently in place do not block noise. He believes the berm needs to be approximately 20 Feet
32 high.
33
34 Ms. Berman asked if there was any comment from Southlake Baseball Association or the
35 Southlake Girls Softball Association. Mr. Matt Tuggy, SGSA President,asked how many
36 additional parking spaces there would be. Mr. Polasek said that depending on the location of a
37 community center, there would be approximately 150. Mr. Miltenberger asked if it would be
38 expensive to put a pedestrian tunnel or overwalk. Mr. Polasek stated that it would be costly to
39 tunnel underneath due to all the drainage concerns.
40
41 Mr. Kegley asked about losing two practice fields, these would be the two temporary fields put
42 in place this year but said that this would just be a matter of finding a place for the younger age
43 groups to practice. Mr. Hugman said that he is aware of the need for practice fields, and that the
44 school district has said it will work with the City on practice areas. He also said that Bob Jones
45 Park development will include (6) practice ballfields.
46
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 6 of 9
N.IParks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1 Ms. Georgia said that she would like to see as much done as possible to build a berm along the
2 entry road.
3
4 Ms. Berman stated that she liked Ms. Georgia's idea of moving the road down closer to the
5 adjoining property and building a berm to fulfill a promise made to the citizens on Love Henry.
6
7 Mr. Nelson asked the Campbells if they had talked to neighbors regarding the noise problem.
8 The Campbells answered that they had. Mr. Nelson asked if the wall of a recreation center
9 backed up to their property would that be acceptable.
10
11 Mr. Greg Fuller of 570 Love Henry Court, stated that he felt like neighbors would be opposed to
12 this idea.
13
14 Ms. Berman asked if there was any more discussion.
15
16 Ms. Sweek from Schrickel, Rollins and Associates made a presentation of the general plan for
17 the parks system.
18
19 Mr. Turco presented the results from the recreation survey.
20
21 Mr. Nelson asked if there were any projections on demographics for the future. Mr. Turco said
22 that this is a tool used by the Board to aid in developing criteria for parks in Southlake. Mr.
23 Hugman said that the master plan will include the population is currently and will also make
24 projections for growth but that detailed demographic projections such as ages, etc would not be
25 available. Mr. Polasek said one of the issues unique to Southlake is that there is a lot of transient
26 movement. Mr. Polasek also said that the master plan is updated every four years.
27
28 Ms. Stokdyk asked why there was not more open space/passive parkland. Ms. Stokdyk said that
29 this was an issue in the survey done before and that it seems to be an issue this year again. Mr.
30 Polasek said that there is currently a high standard of park acreage per person as well as open
31 space. Mr. Polasek stated that the City still sees open space as important. Ms. Stokdyk expressed
32 concern about Bob Jones. Mr. Hugman said the City owns 130 acres of Bob Jones, and 213 are
33 Corps property and that a large portion of what the City owns will remain passive. Mr. Hugman
34 stated that Bicentennial is not a passive park. Mr. Hugman said that passive does not mean it
35 stays in an untouched, natural state and that nothing is never developed. Passive also includes
36 open areas, picnic areas, trails, etc. Mr. Hugman said that the concentration over the last several
37 years has been on the intensive needs of park facilities.
38
39 Ms. Berman thanked Mr. Turco for his presentation.
40
41 Ms. Sweek from Shrickel, Rollins, and Associates completed her presentation.
42
43 Ms. Berman asked Ms. Sweek to obtain information on cities that have a recreation center for
44 Board members to tour. Ms. Sweet said that Arlington has a recreation center that new and very
45 nice.
46
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 7 of 9
N.-Warks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1 Mr. Polasek said that Grapevine and Hurst have recently expanded their facilities, and they are
2 more standard in nature.
3
4 Mr. Miltenberger left the meeting at 9:15PM.
5
6 Mr. Nelson commented that he would be interested in what staff would like in a recreation
7 center.
8
9 Agenda Item No. 613, Liaison Reports.
10
11 Youth Parks and Recreation Board - Ms. Berman commented that there has been a problem with
12 attendance of Youth Park Board. Ms. Berman said that staff is suggesting moving Youth Park
13 Board to be a part of SYAC. Ms. Stokdyk suggested that staff talk with school counselors to get
14 more participation. Board members agreed. Ms. Stokdyk stated that if there is no response then
15 Youth Park Board can be incorporated into SYAC. Ms. Berman stated that the school now
16 recognizes Youth Park Board as credit earned towards community service hours.
17
18 Recreation and Special Events - Ms. Stokdyk stated that the Fall Festival would be October 28,
19 2000.
20
21 Teen Center - Results should be in during the early portion of September.
22
23 Youth Sports Associations - Mr. Miltenberger was not present to give a report.
24
25 Community Groups - Ms. Stokdyk reported that there will be a KSB retreat on August 26,200
26 from 9-2. Rotary club is having a large garage sale on September 10, 2000 at Solana.
27
28 SPIN - No report from the Parks and Recreation Board members.
29
30 SPDC - No report from the Parks and Recreation Board members.
31
32 JUC - No report from the Parks and Recreation Board members.
33
34 Equestrians - No report from the Parks and Recreation Board members.
35
36 Traffic Management Bond Steering Committee/Portal Committee- Ms. Georgia said that Mr.
37 Hugman is giving a presentation to City Council tomorrow. Ms. Georgia said that Mayor Stacy
38 had some concerns about building an 8 ft. trail width, and Mr. Hugman has put some information
39 together to address those concerns to City Council. Mr. Hugman said that the consultant from
40 HNTB would be at City Council as well and that the recommendations are that the trails stay at
41 the currently planned widths.
42
43 Ms. Georgia asked if City Council had seen the recreation results survey. Mr. Hugman said they
44 have not. Ms. Georgia recommended that City Council see the results of the survey. Mr. Hugman
45 said he plans to give City Council and SPDC copies of the survey results.
46
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 8 of 9
N.IParks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doe
* * OFFICIAL MINUTES * *
APPROVED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEMBERS
1
2 Motion to adjourn.
3
4 Motion: Stokdyk
5 Second: Georgia
6 Approved: 4-0
7 Mr. Glover and Mr. Miltenberger were not present.
8 Chair Sherry Berman adjourned the meeting at 9:50 p.m.
9
10
I I
12 Sherry Berman, C it
13
14
15 (?bx-
16 Cara White, Secretary
17
18
19
20
21
22
Parks and Recreation Board Regular Meeting, August 14, 2000 Page 9 of 9
N.Warks & Recreation IBOARDSIPKBOARDIMINUTES120001081400.doc