Loading...
Park Board Minutes - 09/26/2002RECEIVED IN CITY CLERK'S OFFICE Wichita Falls Park Board Meeting September 26, 2002 Date By _ F'L Timgs'�7 Municipal Auditorium City Council Conference Room 1:43 p.m. Presiding: Gary Patrick/Chairperson Members Present: Gary Patrick, Al Norris, Mark Howell, William Barnes and Steve Chaney. Members Absent: Matthew Bohlen, Elmer Emory, Clark Waters, Ed Godsey and Kenny Haney. Staff Present: Jack Murphy and Genice Wilson City Council Representative: Johnny Burns CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order at 1:43 p.m. The minutes of August 22 meeting were put before the board. A motion was made by Al Norris to approve the minutes and Steve Chaney seconded it. Approved unanimously. Mark Howell was not at the August meeting and he had some questions concerning the agenda item that was presented by the Northwest Field & Stream on restrictions of use of South Weeks Park pond. The board let Mr. Howell know that there will be no age restriction on this pond and there will be signs posted to reflect this change. This will also be a catch and release pond. DEPARTMENTAL REPORT: Bids were open for the trail connection under FM 2380 at Holliday Creek. There were four bids and the low bid was over our estimate. We met with the director of Public Works and the City Manager and we'll probably recommend approaching the 4B Sales Tax Board at some point and trying to get supplemental funding. The bid is good for only 60 days. The Recreation Department had their last concert for the summer on September 24th. This was a very successful season. We will be looking for a different site next year. We are hoping to find a place where we can put up a permanent stage. The budget was approved for this coming year. We have a slight reduction from our previous budget but most programs remain intact. The bands for our 50 + Zone were eliminated. There were some cuts in the Parks Department. Several projects were delayed for a year. Williams Park playground is finished and it looks really good. Lake Wichita Park playground is about is about 90% complete and it is a budgeted item. It is located next to the shelter at the south end of the park. Wood Memorial Park Pond excavation is complete and under budget. We are looking at ways of putting an edging around it with the leftover funds. The Holliday Creek linear sidewalk gazebo is completed. Council did approve the catch and release recommendation at the South Weeks Park Pond. The Hill in Lake Wichita Park is about 50 feet high now. NEW BUSINESS: A. Discussion of North Texas Railroad District's seven -mile linear trail from Sisk Road to Holliday. Charles Finnell and Don Talley of the North Texas Railroad District were introduced to the board. Mr. Talley let the board know the history on the 7 -mile trail (former rail line) that goes from the Wichita Falls city limits to Holliday. The eastern most part of this trail ends at Stansbury off of Sisk Road right at the Wichita Falls city limit. The trail is being used in Archer County more than in Wichita County. In Archer County they built some gates and fixed it so the trail is closed to automobile traffic. In Wichita County that hasn't happened yet and there has been some vandalism and trash dumping. They are trying to get the Wichita County end closed to vehicle traffic, but need funds. More signage is needed, but it is being worked on. The objective for this trail is for it to be used by joggers, hikers, bicyclers, horseback riders, etc. OLD BUSINESS: A. Skate park project. The committee for Skate Park proponents went to the Skate Park in Abilene and asked people using the park questions on their likes and dislikes of the skate park. The skate park needs more features with less difficulty. Bicycles need to be considered in the design of the park. The city of Abilene does not staff the park because it might make them more liable for injuries. Good signage has been used to explain policies at their skate park. The Wichita Falls Park Board is supportive of a future Skate Park project and at this point the board will try to stay in the information loop. B. Boat Ramp land acquisition. The status is the same on the land acquisition. We have one seller who is willing to sell but the asking price is about eight times what it is valued at on the tax rolls. The four lots by the boat ramp are still stalled because there is an uninterested seller and we can't reach the owner of the other lots. We will probably have to wait until the owners are more interested in selling. Pat Hoffman in finance will continue checking on this. C. Discussion of waivers for ordinances prohibiting signs, vehicles on grass, and alcoholic beverages. The board having to vote on waivers and would like to see if there is another way to handle this. This item will be put on the next agenda. OTHER BUSINESS: Al Norris wanted to know what happened to our Dog Park issue. Gary Patrick said this is a dead issue right now because we have not heard from the Dog Park committee on how this has progressed. Johnny Burns ask about the lack of facilities in our parks for soccer practice. Jack Murphy stated that the facilities we have provided for practice in the past were not utilized. There is some space now in Lake Wichita Park that can be reserved or used. Mr. Burns would like for the Park Department to do some checking on this. ADJOURNMENT: THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 3:15 p.m.