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Park Board Minutes - 10/24/2002Wichita Falls Park Board Meeting October 24, 2002 Municipal Auditorium City Council Conference Room 1:40 p.m. Presiding: RECEIVED IN CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Date 1 (3-:36-0a By I r_ —Time 8 (SAM Gary Patrick/Chairperson Members Present: Gary Patrick, Al Norris, Mark Howell, Matthew Bohlen, William Barnes, Ed Godsey, Kenny Haney and Steve Chaney. Members Absent: Staff Present: City Council Representative: Elmer Emory and Clark Waters. Jack Murphy and Genice Wilson Johnny Burns (absent) CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order at 1:40 p.m. The minutes of September 26 meeting were put before the board. A motion was made by Matthew Bohlen to approve the minutes and William Barnes seconded the motion. Approved unanimously. DEPARTMENTAL REPORT: Pansies are going in at this time and we have about 50% more to plan. We received a good crop this year from Smith's Gardentown. We still have about 700 or 800 trees that we can take out of the nursery in a couple of months to be placed at various sites, mostly as replacements. The FM 2380 Bridge project is going to City Council on November 5th to get permission to approach the 4B Sales Tax Board for additional monies. The bids for this project came in higher than was expected. The Parks Department hopes to lower the cost of the project by change ordering the contract from the present aluminum fencing to steel fencing. The Wood Memorial Park Pond excavation is completed. We have left over funds and we are going to ask the 4B Sales Tax Board if they can be used to put some kind of edging around the pond to control erosion. We'll also request to use some funds to put in a sidewalk to match up with the MSU trail around Sikes Lake. The Lucy Park Pond is going to be drained and Public Works will be looking at ways to repair the concrete edging. The next project for Lucy Park will be the large shelter that we want to put in the middle of Lucy Park by the existing restrooms. There is to be a large shelter put in at Lake Wichita Park also. We have still not put the new sign up or taken the old signs down at the South Weeks Park Fishing Pond due to our manpower shortage. We are also making signs for the new trail at Lake Wichita Park. The Lake Wichita Park hill project is at a standstill at this point. We have more dirt coming in the spring. We did receive compensation for the new bench that was run into and damaged on the Lake Wichita Park trail. Matthew Bohlen let Jack know that the public is driving on the gravel trail where it starts near the football field parking lot. Signs and physical barriers are needed to let the public know that this is a walking trail and is not for motorized vehicles. Gary Patrick wanted to know more about the sidewalk and edging to keep the erosion down at the Wood Park Pond. He wanted to know how it would be constructed. The plan is to install it on the north bank where the erosion is expected to be the worse. There will be bank stabilization only on the north side and a sidewalk will be put on the south side. There was a discussion about getting the community involved in helping maintain trees that are planted on medians and on private property such as the soccer fields. This might help the Park Maintenance Department from having to replace as many trees in the future. OLD BUSINESS: A. Discussion of waivers for ordinances prohibiting signs, vehicles on grass, and alcoholic beverages. The board agreed that rather than looking at each request for waivers and voting on each one maybe there is a way the ordinance could possibly be changed to accommodate facilitate routine requests. The board wanted to know how and if these ordinances were ever enforced and what kinds of problems are caused if they are broken? Kenny Haney made the motion that we as the Park Board would like to give the authority to the Parks Department and/or his appointees the ability or the option to go to the City Council with a Parks ordinance waiver request, on a routine level. Unless Jack Murphy felt it should be brought before the Park Board at which time the Board would discuss the waiver. There was more discussion on whether there would be a problem with keeping this at staff level. Mr. Murphy suggested that he would write a proposal up for the next meeting on this. Mark Howell moved that the motion be tabled until next meeting and Kenny Haney seconded the motion. B. Discussion of Park. Recreation, and Open Space Plan. In the last conversation with Johnny Bums and the City Manager at the September meeting the Park Board members gathered that the council is still interested in funding elements of the Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan. . , However, there are two big projects ongoing that must be completed Before anything can be done. NEW BUSINESS: OTHER BUSINESS: ADJOURNMENT: THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 3:40 p.m.