Board of Park Commissioners
April 4, 2007

Index of these Minutes:

1. Roll Call
2. Approval of the February 7, 2007 Minutes
3. Recommendation on Naming Former Sroda, Galecke, Wood, Wanta Property (corner of Cty. HH and West River Drive)
4. Request to Hold Graduation Party at Bandshell
5. Room Tax Update
6. Director's Report
7. Adjournment

1. Roll Call

Present: Bahling, Curtis, Freckmann, Glodosky, Hall, McDonald, Okonek, Sevenich, Sorenson
Excused: Robinson
Absent: Barber
Also Present: Andrew Korth

2. Approval of the February 7, 2007 Minutes

Motion was made by Curtis, seconded by Sorenson to approve the minutes of the February 7, 2007 meeting and place them on file.

Ayes - all; Nays - none. Motion Carried.

3. Recommendation on Naming Former Sroda, Galecke, Wood, Wanta Property (corner of Cty. HH and West River Drive)

Director Schrader said the land owners listed above donated this land to the City for parkland and the group met and suggested that it be named West River Park because it is on the west side and on the river. He said it fits into the criteria for naming a Park and they did donate the land. If it's approved tonight, as per policy, he will put a notice in the newspaper saying the Stevens Point Board of Park Commissioners recommended West River Park as the name for the newest park on the west side, then we field comments for 30-days after which it will be brought back to the Board for approval.

Questions from the Board were if that includes the Green Circle and what kind of park it is.

Director Schrader said yes and while this does include land from consolidated, he believes it would be better to name the whole area West River Park rather than splitting it and as for the type of park, he said it hasn't been classified and the Board will take a look at it in the future as the land develops, right now the trail runs through it.

Motion was made by McDonald, seconded by Hall to approve naming the new park on the west side "West River Park" as recommended by the persons donating the land to the City.

Ayes - all; Nays - none. Motion Carried.

4. Request to Hold Graduation Party at Bandshell

Director Schrader said their intent is to have a university graduation party at the Bandshell on Saturday, May 19th, he said the application is attached and he added the event shows 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. but it actually has to be over by 9:00 p.m., no music after that, with clean up completed by 10:00 p.m. He said the applicants have been contacted by the Police Department who explained to them what their responsibilities are as the persons providing alcoholic beverages and as the main coordinators of an event that is open to the public. He also said there had been a similar party held there last year.

Motion was made by Curtis, seconded by Sevenich to grant approval to hold a graduation party at the Bandshell as presented in the application and following all rules and regulations stated by the Stevens Point Police Department.

Hall asked since this was open to the public, how would they know that those being served alcohol were 21 and Mr. Korth said there will be parental supervision, and the Police Department will be stopping by. Director Schrader said the Police will have either uniformed and/or undercover personnel there.

Hall also asked about the required million dollar insurance that is shown on the application and Director Schrader said that is mostly covered under homeowners insurance.

Korth said he had a few questions such as will there be electrical and Schrader said yes; Korth asked if they have to pay anything for the permit and Schrader said all that is required is the $100 security fee, they are not selling any alcohol, if they were they would have to go through the Public Protection Committee and have a licensed bartender etc. Schrader said everything has to be cleaned up before they leave with garbage put along the edge of the road, he said the bathrooms will be open so portable toilets are not needed; Korth asked what area they would be using to hold their event and Schrader said when they sign their contract they will be provided with a map showing what area they can utilize; Korth asked if there were outdoor lights and Schrader said no and that's why about 9:00 they will want to start cleaning up, lights shouldn't be a problem that time of the evening in May.

Chairman Freckmann called for a voice vote on the motion.

Ayes - all; Nays - none. Motion Carried.

5. Room Tax Update

Director Schrader said the committee met on March 14th and 15th at which time the applicants answered questions, the members then rated the applications and at the March 28th meeting they went through them but did not make any monetary recommendations, he said the Journal made it sound like they had allocated $100,000 for the skateboard project, but that isn't true. The committee will meet again on April 18th at 7:00 p.m. to rank and rate and assign dollar amounts and what year the funding will take place. He said the last time Room Tax funds were allocated we held a special joint meeting with the Finance Committee, the reasons being the timing of the regular meetings, and also this would allow more time for discussion because it would be the only agenda item and it's too important to hurry through, he said he will approach the new Mayor to see if a special meeting is an option. He said he is hoping to do this in May. He also said there were 18 applicants, 2 were eliminated and there are still 16 but they may not all be funded.

Director Schrader said there used to be about $220,000 a year and a couple of years ago the Council took $100,000, leaving us about $100,000 to $120,000. He said we had a carry over of $170,000 from last time which will help a great deal the first year because the Council will only fund what's available.

6. Director's Report

• The ice show last weekend was a success, it was the first time the reserve seats were sold out on Sunday.
• Registration for the Summer Rec. programs started last week, only city residents are allowed to register for the first two weeks, then it will be open registration.
• The Easter egg hunt will be Saturday at Pfiffner Park at 10:30 a.m. with the Optimists and CenterPoint Mall helping, along with Local 309. The Alternative school filled the eggs, RSVP opted not to participate this year.
• Moses Creek bridge in Schmeeckle Trail Subdivision is done and it turned out really nice and we are hoping to have a grand opening in the next few weeks.
• Arbor day is April 27th at 11:00 a.m., the location is still not settled, but it will be with Washington School, if anyone is interested in attending, give Todd a call. Hall asked if they switch with different schools and Director Schrader said yes.
• Parks officially open May 1st, we opened earlier during the warm weather and as a result we have electric heaters going so the pipes in the bathrooms don't freeze.
• KASH Playground is open and crowded, we are putting up temporary "No Smoking" and "No Pets" signs to discourage damage to the rubberized surface. Permanent signs will be made and installed.
• The Audubon Society has scheduled a work day on April 28th for 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Koziczkowski park.
• He referred to a memo from Todd Ernster with information about renting a bucket truck to prune trees and information on Oak Wilt and how to prevent spreading and also the Emerald Ash Bore. The Emerald Ash Bore has the potential to cause serious damage. Freckmann said the policy of clearing a mile around didn't seem effective. He said it has affected areas in Michigan and Illinois. Director Schrader said it is transported many ways, one concern was that it spreads with the railroad.
• Mayor Wescott has asked the Department Heads to come up with a transition plan to help the incoming Mayor and some of the issues he will be dealing with in the next few months and with Parks it will be the Room Tax Program; Arbor Day; Redesigning the salt shed at Bukolt, the runoff is killing some of the White Pines, they had tried several different things last year and will look at re-landscaping and funneling the water away from the trees. He said the drought last summer caused them to pull up a lot of salt, we tried wood chips and flooding to dilute it; He said other issues will be the .150 celebration; Some pool renovation; We are hoping to establish a tree policy for developers so they are required to plant street trees, that was cut out of the budget last year and he said this is a policy many communities have as an impact fee; Also the spring tree planting; Working on purchasing the WPS site to develop into the park systems; Bathrooms at Bukolt; Install playground equipment at Yulga and Morton parks, he said we just did a survey of the Whitetail Trail subdivision for Yulga Park, we sent out 55 surveys and received 35 of them back; Also steps at the toboggan slide.

Director Schrader was asked when the pool opens and he said June 9th.

7. Adjournment

Motion was made by Curtis, seconded by Okonek to adjourn the April 2007 Board of Park Commissioners meeting at 6:53 p.m.

Ayes - all; Nays - none. Motion Carried.

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