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Board of Park Commissioners
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Index of these minutes:
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of the August 6,
2008 Minutes
3. Recommendation on Change
to Concept Design of Skateboard Park
4. Director's Report
5. Adjournment
1. ROLL CALL
Present: Bahling, Brooks, Freckmann, Glodosky, Hall,
McDonald, Okonek, Wiza
Absent: Curtis, Sorenson, Trzebiatowski
Also Present: Director Schrader, Ald. Molski, Ald. Heart, Peggy Rentz, Jami Gebert, Ryan Soroko, Mark Strojny,
Trevor Rork, John Pearson, Scott Winn, Jason Wendt, Brianna Streich, Lars Smith, Marcy Kirsch, Erika Wardle, Matt
Behm, Emily Craker, Donald Fabisiak, Jason Gervey
2. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST
6, 2008 MINUTES
Motion was made by Hall, seconded by Brooks to approve the August 6, 2008
minutes and place them on file.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.
3. RECOMMENDATION ON
CHANGE TO CONCEPT DESIGN OF SKATEBOARD PARK
Trevor Rork thanked the Board for putting this item
on the agenda and presented slides of the information and pictures included in the agenda packet which listed the
advantages of concrete over the previously approved wooden or prefab structure and pictures of various concrete
skateboard structures in communities near or comparable to Stevens Point.
Several in attendance spoke on the merits of concrete verses the prefab structure and some praised the work of
Dreamland as a concrete park builder. They spoke of how a top of the line concrete park would help the economy
of the community by drawing well-known skateboarders to the area along with skateboarders from all over the state
and even country. They challenged the parking issue by saying most skateboarders do not drive to the site, but
are mostly driven by parents and that there would not be a conflict with other sports at Goerke because skateboarding
is primarily a daytime activity. They also wanted to clarify that skateboarding is not a fad. The fundraising status
shows over $40,000 raised and this does not include the city match of $50,000 for both 2008 and 2009. An anonymous
donor has pledged to match each $15,000 donation up to $80,000 if raised by the end of this year. The anonymous
donor would not match less than $15,000. They added they have been involved in various fundraising events. They
went on to say that in order to procure more donations it is essential that a concept be adopted and the site issue
be confirmed.
Hall asked what the total price was and if there, was a cost difference between the two concepts and was told the
total price is about $270,000 and the cost of both was about the same.
President Glodosky reminded them that the Park Board has been supportive of a skateboard park from the beginning;
they approved the site along with the original prefab concept and now the Skateboard Committee is asking for a
different concept and this change could cause delays. He said this concrete design may not have been approved for
Goerke at that time. He also said it is recognized by the Commission that skateboarding is not a fad.
Okonek said the new design might become more of a conflict with the wide usage of Goerke Park and there would be
no room to expand, he said perhaps it would be better to put this state of the art concrete park in a different
area.
McDonald said the agenda item is to approve the change of concept, not the location and Freckmann agreed saying
if the concept is approved tonight and location is an issue that will be for another meeting.
Director Schrader said he has been supportive of a skateboard park from the first time it was brought up fifteen
years ago and was a member of several skateboard committees. That he is very much in favor of a concrete park versus
a prefab on grade park, but not concrete at Goerke. At this location, it was tight to begin with several user conflicts
and a permanent concrete park would leave little room for error. That if the park leads to user conflicts the Commission
would have little control to make corrections. A permanent structure could also limit future uses of the park.
In addition, the park is already heavily used and from what has been said this evening this will increase usage.
KASH playground is an example where the usage was greater than expected leading to the Common Council having to
address parking issue and changing road layout around the park to accommodate traffic. His concern was that if
the re-located shot put and discus were too close to the skateboard park that they could land in the park. He said
he will of course do whatever the Board directs but he wanted to go on record saying he thinks the concrete concept
is great, but not the location of Goerke, it is too permanent. He said he felt there are other areas that have
more open space, and would serve the concrete park better. He would strongly recommend that the Commission look
at the area near the Bukolt boat launch parking area as a location to place this type of park.
Additional discussion included if there was anything under the area in Goerke that would be an excavation problem
and Director Schrader said nothing to be concerned about. The issue of drainage was discussed and it was brought
up that there are several types, a French drain or into the storm sewer. Also included was that this type of design
would make use of the soil that was excavated. The many uses of Goerke were discussed such as the skating rink
only being used a few months out of the year. The sports of shot put and discus came up and that the design shows
where the objects have to land to qualify, not where in reality they might land. Director Schrader showed a drawing
showing where the objects have the potential to land saying the distance is tight. A higher fence was suggested
but Director Schrader said they originally had not wanted to fence it. The question of if the concrete design was
not approved would they build the pre-fab and the consensus of the Skateboard Committee was no.
Wiza said it should be done right the first time and he thought the concrete design was the way to go and thinks
the Goerke site is fine.
Bahling said they need to devise a detailed plan that includes dimensions, drainage, etc.
Motion was made by Okonek, seconded by Wiza to accept the concept of a concrete skateboard park at the preapproved
location in Goerke Park.
Discussion followed regarding possible interpretations of the motion and if it was the wording, the Board was looking
for.
Okonek and Wiza withdrew the motion to accept the concept at the preapproved location in Goerke Park.
Motion was made by Hall to change the concept design to concrete with the site being somewhere in Goerke Park but
the exact location to be determined at a later date.
Motion died due to lack of a second.
Motion was made by Wiza seconded by Freckmann to approve the concrete skateboard park concept.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.
President Glodosky said this is an advisory committee and the final approval comes from the Common Council and
it is possible they will have to be prepared to present their information again. Wiza said the Council meeting
will be Monday, September 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the Council chambers at the courthouse.
The design cost of anywhere from $3,500 to $7,000 was brought up and Director Schrader explained that the final
site design has to be brought back to the Park Board and ultimately the Council. This final site design will include
everything, including but not limited to actual dimensions, storm water handling, and landscaping. The Board or
Council could approve it, or require modifications, or completely reject it. Also asked was if the site can change,
and they were told it could.
Members of the Skateboard Park Committee asked if it was okay to use a specific company as a designer and Director
Schrader said that would be okay but the designer has to understand that the actual construction of the park will
go through the bidding process and ultimately go to the lowest bid, it may not be them. There have been misunderstandings
about this in the past and it is best that this be clear to them from the beginning.
They also asked if they could get the information on other locations that were considered in the past and Director
Schrader said he would give that to them.
4. DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Director Schrader reported:
- The Basketball/Volleyball packets went out, this is our first year running a major program with part time staff but since Joe Graceffa is back part-time running the program, he did not foresee any problems since there would be that continuity.
- The River Drawdown went very well, thanks to the Prime Water Anglers, they funded the Bukolt Park launch restoration and installed the concrete restoration at the Wells Point, the City paid for that. He said he would be running an ad thanking them; it is a unique situation when a club steps up and not only helps with the labor but the funding. We have two out of the three boat launches fixed. They also did clean up along the shoreline.
- Also fixed was the rip rap from the Clark Street bridge to the pedestrian bridge near the Green Circle. An old railroad trestle was also removed.
- The Willett Arena opens on Sunday, September 7th at 1:00 p.m., admission and rentals will be 50 cents and there will be a lot of give-aways.
- Goerke Field Dedication went well, over 3,000 people attended. He said he was disappointed with the coverage in the newspaper, he didn't feel they did justice to the magnitude of the project, that a million dollars was donated over four months and made the project happen. He added this is not unique to people of this community and it says a lot for the community, a group of citizens get together and make something happen. An example was this evening where a group has gotten together to build a skateboard park.
- Recycling Bins have been placed around, we are not going to chain them down, and they will be marked with our logo so they should be no place other than in the parks. Goerke now has plastic bottles and so far recycling has gone like it should, no garbage mixed in. The neighborhood parks have the bins, we will see what happens, if they turn into neighborhood recycling bins we will pull them. They are retrofitted, no arms. This will be safer for the employees as they can just roll them over.
- The new Tanker Truck is a customized, multifunctional vehicle, it can water the rinks, it will not freeze, and it can water plants. Some would say $80,000 is a lot to spend on a truck, but it will be used probably ten months out of the year. This summer it was out 8 hours a day watering trees and flowers. It has bins for hauling such items as flowers. It is also set up to water streets during construction to keep dust down. It has a 2" adapter so the Fire Department can use it for a tanker should they need to. He said he thought it could win awards at the Oshkosh Park Convention, its built cab over front and has a sharp turn radius, everything is customized and is probably the only one like it in the United States.
Hall asked if people were taking the caps off the
bottles as they are not recyclable and Director Schrader said some are, we are told by our insurance that employees
are not to sort garbage.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by Okonek, seconded by Hall to adjourn
the September, 2008 Board of Park Commissioners meeting at 8:00 p.m.
Ayes all; Nays none; Motion carried.
The meeting minutes reproduced on this website are derived from the computer files used to produce the official minutes for the City of Stevens Point, but are unofficial. The minutes on this web site cannot be certified under s. 889.08, Wis. Stats., and cannot be considered prima facie evidence under s. 889.04, Wis. Stats. Certain tables, maps, and other documents that are a part of the official minutes are not included in the files reproduced on this website. Please consult the printed minutes, available in the City Clerk's Office, for the official text. The decisions made by City of Stevens Point boards, committees, and commissions (other than the Police & Fire Commission) are advisory only and are not binding on the City until affirmed at a meeting of the Common Council. Some of the minutes on this web site might not be approved by the Common Council as of today.