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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-08 Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Agenda Packet PublishedANACORTES PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT P.O. BOX 547, ANACORTES, WA 98221 (360) 293-1918 / (360) 293-1928 Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission Preliminary Agenda This meeting will be held via Zoom. Access to the meeting via the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85940646122 June 8, 2021 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/Go over Zoom format 2. Approve Minutes 3. Public Comments 4. Whistle Lake Dam update 5. Department Reports 6. Other Business If reasonable accommodation due to a disability are needed, please contact Mac Jackson at least 48 hours prior to the meeting date (360-299-1961). ANACORTES PARKS & RECREATION Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes Sarah Nichols, Chairperson Jo Ann York-Gilmore Brad Adams Christine Hansen Alex Hernandez April 13, 2021 Members Present: Sarah Nichols, Jo Ann York-Gilmore, Christine Hansen. Staff Present: Jonn Lunsford, Bob Vaux, Dustin South, Nicole Johnston, Lea DeVere and Victoria Wong. Others Present: Tom Decker, Jack Darnton, Bonnie Bowers Called to Order: 6:04 PM Minutes: February minutes were approved as submitted. Public Comments: none Department Report: Nicole - wrapped up phase 1 of the Grand View cemetery expansion on April 8, 2021. Tiger Construction is off the site. We took the hydroseeding off the project from Tiger Construction and the Parks crew will be hydroseeding and saving the city and department about $19,000. Patrick Dylan from Eccos Design is our consultant for phase 2 and once we can get the plan in front of an engineer then hopefully we can go out to bid for phase 2 sometime in May and can start the project in August. Parks crew busy with mowing. We're doing our best to get to all the spots. Parks are full resulting in all the garbage bins being full and we have to clear it every day. We started some seasonal staff at this time. Crew is lookin g forward to more seasonal help to get stuff done this summer. Steve, Bob and myself were trimming the downtown corridor. Lea - Senior Center trucking along with virtual programs. Some programs are doing well with almost double the numbers from the begin ning. We're looking forward to hopefully bringing in small groups by appointments to the center to see if we can manage. We should be able to have 1 group at a time to use the facility. 16-page newsletter coming out with community resources for seniors to stay active and informed. Accreditation process is moving forward, and an auditor is scheduled to come in May so we can hopefully get accredited. Interior painting is complete for a more refreshed look. Mac and Brandon have been a tremendous help to bring the building up to speed. Jonn - Parks Foundation received a donation from the Daniels family to update Daniels Field with some siding and painting and repair work on the fences. Dustin - In Phase 3 we’re able to do more activities while practicing soc ial distancing. Tonight, the start of the youth volleyball league is happening, excited to provide activities and get kids moving around with some social aspects. We've been working with the school district to get facilities whether indoor or outdoor and they've been very helpful with that. We're securing space for our spring programs. We'll be doing some youth track and field in May and for summer, we're partnering with high school students to coach and lead programs and bringing those camps back along wit h Skyhawks programs. Bark in the Park and Kids are Best fest is not going to happen this year, but we're looking at ways to coordinate with the school district for a modified event to figure out something to celebrate kids. Summer A town is in the proofrea ding stage at the moment. It will be delivered a little later than our usual this year. We’re aiming to have the A -town in mailboxes on May 18th. We're starting registration right after it comes out. Sailing is in partnership with the Anacortes Waterfront Alliance and getting the community in small boats and get them sailing again. We did put on an egg hunt during Easter morning and we spread it out in 5 parks and have some of our recreational assistants hide eggs. Some parks were quick and others were a little slow. Overall it was well received with positive comments from the public. Lastly, we had the ribbon cutting for the depot restroom on April 7th. The project is now complete. There are timers on the doors and they open 6am -7pm every day. We partnered with the Anacortes Museum and Jim Rains with fabricated coverings. It's a picture of the train depot back in the day. Sink room was requested by the Farmers Market and we were able to fit that in. It's definitely a big need and it's greatly appreciated. Many thanks to the parks crew for getting the sod in and helping with the project. Bob - A loop in the campground is now open. Our 3rd weekend of it being open and people have moved right in. It definitely looks like we've been working on this area. Parks c rew has been a crucial part of getting the A loop up and ready for opening. This Saturday we have rock climbers picking up debris at Mt. Erie and divers are cleaning Heart Lake. Last Saturday, 5 adults and 6 high school sophomores who are part of the trail stewardship program in partnership with the rotary club discussed ways to keep an eye out for debris and proper forest enjoyment from the public. Staff is working with City Council on a trail easement for the Guemes Channel Trail in the neighborhood of 11 th Street and “B” Avenue. The Council should address the issue at a meeting in May. Cap Sante Rotary Trail Discussion - Bob: 2 months ago in our last meeting, we received a great presentation that was very thorough - it was also clear that the board enjoyed the presentation. Usually with a project of this magnitude, we'd like to of course get your feedback. Any new ideas, concerns, questions? We the staff want to continue to work with the rotary club especially with the trail portion which is pretty stra ight forward and a much needed project. The viewpoints will require a more detailed analysis and public process since it's a significant construction. As the staff liaison, we would like a yes or no from the commission to move forward with the next phase. Christine: is the priority the trail upgrade first? What is the path for next steps? The trail is the easiest part of this in that it's not going to require a lot of new work or disturbance. There can be no net loss in habitat, and we need to be careful on that. Next step is to work with the planning department to get the necessary biology report of the trail. Hopefully we can do the construction portion by this fall on the trail then we can move into a more involved and detailed public process for the view points. Signage will be part of the trail portion of the project. Sarah: the path forward is positive and the trail upgrade is great. There will be sensitivity for the viewpoints itself since it's an iconic area of town. That portion will be a much longer path forward. The Parks Commission thinks it's a great opportunity to keep flushing the details out. Motion to move to vote to support this project: JoAnn moved and Christine 2nd. Tom: we wouldn't be where we are if Bob didn't keep us on target of what w e wanted to do. Thank you to Jonn for the inspiration in regards to the viewpoints and giving great ideas to help spread people out and expand the area for everyone to enjoy the viewpoint further in the future. Whistle Lake Dam Update: We have an earthen dam at the southeast corner of Whistle Lake. We self- reported this dam to the Department of Ecology in the 2000’s. Whistle Lake is very far away from motor vehicle access. It’ll be difficult to get equipment and/or people into the area without disturbing t he area. 100 years or so has elapsed and we haven't done anything and the dam has been fine and intact. The Department of Ecology is now requesting for us to have a safety and emergency action plan in place. Technically this is a Public Works project because Whistle lake is the backup water supply for Anacortes. Parks doesn't have to pay for this project, but we are working with the public works department because it’s located in the Community Forest Lands, helping to lessen the impact if we need to cut tre es down etc. We're currently working with the consultants and permitting to figure out how to minimize the impact as much as possible. We need clarification of scope of work with the FEMA money. Once we get it settled, we'll bring it back to city discussion with the Forest Board and the commission so it'll be available for public questioning so people are in the know. We are in communication with the Department of Ecology staff for the scope of work to work on. Other Business – All agreed to keep it a 2-month meeting cycle for now. Meeting Adjourned at approximately 6:54pm. The NEXT MEETING will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, at 6:00 PM, virtually. Respectfully submitted by, Victoria Wong Approved: April 16, 2021 Parks and Recreation Update June 2021 Recreation Staff Report: Summer A-Town: After about a year hiatus the City resumed the production of the publication which included advertising of several recreation programs, some of these programs include Survivor Camp, Sailing Classes, a variety of sport camps, and much more. An electronic version of the Summer A-Town can be found linked here: https://issuu.com/brickandbrine/docs/a-town_spring_2021_digital?fr=sNDBmNDM2ODI5NDc . Registration for summer programs began on Wednesday, May 19, and as of the end of May some of the recreation programs have already filled. Youth Volleyball: The co-ed youth volleyball league for 3rd-6th grade children, ended May 13th. The modified league followed state health guidelines, we had 44 participants registered for the league. Staff was excited to bring back this recreation opportunity that was canceled in 2020. Youth Track and Field: The youth track and field program for children 1st-6th grade, ended May 24th. The program was modified to meet state health guidelines. We had 119 children participate in the program, activities the children engaged in include high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put, discus, hurdles, sprints, and long distance. Co-Ed Youth Flag Football: We have offered flag football programs/camps in the past but will be the first time offered as a “league.” Over the years more and more parents/participants have requested a program like this. It will be geared for children 1st-6th grade, begin May 12th. The recreation staff is partnering with the Anacortes High School football team to offer a developmental league to teach the fundamentals of football. Staff has planned a modified league following the state health guidelines, we currently have 75 participants register for the league. The season is scheduled to end June 11th Senior Center: We are working with the Senior Center to offer a social event outside up at the center. We have one each month during the summertime: June 17, July 15, and August 12. All of them are from 10am-1pm. The event will allow seniors to reconnect and socialize outside at the center as programming slowly resumes to normal operations. Dustin South, Recreation Manager Travis Anderson, Recreation Coordinator Parks & ACFL The City Council did approve the 11th Street vacation, as well as the easement offered to the City by the Wynn Family for the Guemes Channel Trail. While this is a stand along segment of the trail, it is another 200 linear feet committed to the ultimate goal of the trail. We thank the Wynn’s for their willingness to support the trail project. It combines with the 200 foot easement already given by the Ortman’s. The Council also continues its work on the Critical Areas Ordinance. The public hearing is still open, and has been continued to June 7th. Parks Manager Nicole Johnston and I managed to finally fill out our seasonal staff. It has been a very tough year for this task, but we found some good ones. They are all hard at work, from trimming ACFL trails to assisting campers at Washington Park, and all the many parks tasks in between. Work continues with the Friends of the Forest on the ACFL Trail Ambassador Program. On May 1st we had a good training/orientation with some eager and generous volunteers. The FOF followed up the next Saturday with some training of their own. It is looking like Sunday, May 30th will be the kick off for the program. Asa Deane and I continue our regular meetings and healthy exchange of ideas, plans and projects. The Whistle Lake Dam safety compliance project has seen another visit from consultants, with a follow up meeting coming soon. There are no firm updates as of the writing of this report. We are working to up our in house trail diplomatic policy compliance game. In other words, please leash your dog! There are certainly a myriad of other issues with so many new visitors to our woods and parks. We are doing our best to get out there and be more of a presence before the BIG summer numbers start rolling in. May 3 – 6, PSE was able to get the hole dug for the additional pole required for the transmission lines safety upgrade. We kept the summit road closed to motorized travel during this time. We did have a previously scheduled vitamin commercial that managed its production schedule around the project, with a little extra help from our staff. They sent the Parks Foundation a nice donation. The Rotary Club Centennial Project continues forward. I am talking with GeoEngineers about necessary habitat and environmental reports, while getting more formal written information in front of our Planning Department. The Rotary Club has kicked off its trail steward program. ACFL Steve was on vacation May 10 – 14. I managed to keep the garbage dumped and bathrooms in decent shape in his absence. There were a couple of trees to clear from trails, and a few guests to discuss leashes with. The Samish Nation continues to generously share Denise Crowe from their staff with ACFL staff. We conduct our monthly hikes, native tradition education as well as flora and fauna sharing and discovery. City staff continues its work on homeless issues in our community. The usual departments; Legal, Planning, Police and Parks along with a variety of others are working on improving our understanding of many legal issues, including managing possessions left behind; might be a trailer, or a sleeping bag. We strive for community safety, as well as compassion for those who need it most. I am working with Public Works staff on storm/surface water management at Washington Park, and how it affects our parking areas, as well as other park amenities. We are focusing on winter safety when the freeze impacts the stretch of road between the Caretaker house and the lower restroom. I took personal leave Thurs 20th afternoon thru Mon 24th. Bob Vaux, Assistant Director Fourth of July: We are working with City staff on the Fourth of July parade and fireworks show. Both will happen this year at their usual locations. The parade participants will be required not to hand out anything with the crowd along the route to try and promote distancing. We are planning the festivities given the guidelines we have as of early June, these may change by the end of the month. The Town Photo is still in the works. Parks and Recreation Hiring: Early June is focused on hiring for 2 positions in our Parks Maintenance staff and our Senior Center Administrator. Our goal is to complete both processes by the end of the month. Grand View Cemetery : We have hired Tuttle Engineering and Eccos Design to complete the plans for the completion of the cemetery expansion. We hope to be able to go out to bid later this summer with work starting late September. This will be the phase of the project that repairs the landscaping and lays out the cemetery of lot purchase by the public. This phase should be completed by early 2022. Thompson Trail Trestle Planning Grant : The City, along with our partners the Samish Nation and Department of Natural Resources won an initial grant from the State Recreation and Conservation Office to study the feasibility of taking out the rock causeway and existing creosote trestle and replacing it with a new more environmentally friendly trail. Opening back up the bay to tidal currents should also assist important eel grass beds currently blocked by the rip rap rocks. This is only the initial step to study if the plan will work and future costs.