#5 BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING Monday, April 14, 2003 Present: June Bailey, Colleen Craig, Glen Dey, Janet Miller, M.S. Mitchell, and Trix Niernberger Absent: Joe Todd Also Present: Don Arnold - John T. Arnold Associates, Inc; James Arbertha - POWER CDC; Ross Wade - Sedgwick County Soccer Association (SCSA); Dave Barber - Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department; Mike North - Law Department; and Doug Kupper, Larry Hoetmer and Maryann Crockett (staff) President Bailey called the meeting to order at approximately 3:35 p.m. The minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 10, 2003, were reviewed and approved with the addition of the action to receive and file the information on item #2 - Acceptance of Acreage in Reserve A, Gray's 5th Addition. 1. County Acres 4th, B Addition. Don Arnold, John T. Arnold Associates, Inc., introduced himself and commented that his client, Richard Hoskinson, owned the property consisting of approximately 25 acres adjacent to the parkland south of 13th Street across from Sedgwick County Park. He briefly reviewed the history of the site commenting on a previous proposal to build 50-60 single-family homes on the property. He said they were currently negotiating the possibility of locating a church at the site. Arnold requested that the Park Board grant a sixty-foot wide easement for construction of an entrance/exit to the church. He added that twenty or so feet of the easement would be used for landscaping and that the church would probably be willing to maintain the remainder of the .68 acres of parkland. Responding to a question from Mitchell, Director Kupper mentioned various encroachments, including structures, onto Park property by the surrounding neighbors on both the .68 and 3.40-acre park parcels. Miller suggested the possibility of granting the easement with the provision that the church maintains the 3 acres of parkland south of the Hoskinson property. There was no response to that suggestion. On motion by Mitchell, second by Miller, IT WAS VOTED UNANIMOUSLY to grant an easement of whatever width Traffic Engineering thought was appropriate. 2. McAdams Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. Dave Barber, Chief Planner, Land Use/Research Division, Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department, referred board members to his memorandum dated 4/14/03 re: Briefing on the McAdams Neighborhood Revitalization Plan and attached copy of the draft plan, which was provided with the agenda. He said the revitalization area was defined as 17th Street on the north; Hydraulic to Central on the east; Central on the south; and Mosley on the west. Barber gave a brief overview of the plan stating that the project had been developed over the past two years with input on key issues and concerns from the surrounding neighborhood, POWER CDC, interested citizens in the community and a coalition of private/public stakeholders called the "21st Century Coalition for Neighborhood Revitalization". He said one of the main concepts of the plan was the elimination of all sub-standard housing in the targeted area by 2020. He stated that a Community Development Committee was formed to coordinate the neighborhood effort and that a survey had been distributed to all property owners in the area. Barber stated that a vision statement was developed, supported by six neighborhood plan issues which were: neighborhood image and appearance; housing; community infrastructure and facilities; economic development; neighborhood safety; and, community capacity. In addition, ten neighborhood plan goals were developed to address the planning issues and thirty-nine detailed action plans (both short and long-term) were developed to implement the ten neighborhood planning goals. Barber commented that one of the goals of the plan was to improve existing recreation facilities and create a centrally located neighborhood park that served all ages. He said although McAdams Park served the area, the plan identified the need for a small neighborhood scale playground/park (1-2 acres in size) located in the heart of the residential area. He said the cost estimate for the park was approximately $100,000 and that development would be 100% eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding because the neighborhood was located within the Local Investment Area of the City's NRA. He also briefly mentioned the possibility of extending the hike/bike trail to Grove Park with federal grant monies. Niernberger expressed concern that Park staff has input into the plan design, particularly with regard to proposed landscaping and maintenance and watering requirements. Inquiring about the property owner survey, Dey asked what percent of the property owners actually lived in the area? Barber responded that about one-half of the property owners lived in the area. He added that the committee was more concerned with the ideas and comments of people who actually lived and worked in the neighborhood. There was brief discussion concerning street improvements; under utilization of the bike path along the west side of the canal route in the area; extension of the bike path to Grove Park; neighborhood appearance and neighborhood associations; and the site of the proposed future neighborhood park. James Arbertha, POWER CDC, stated that there was a tremendous amount of community support for the plan. On motion by Dey, second by Niernberger, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED that the Board recommend support of the plan as proposed. 3. Request from Adjacent Property Owner. Director Kupper requested that this item be tabled until the May meeting. (The owner later requested that the item be tabled until the July meeting.) 4. Acceptance of Memorial at South Lakes Soccer Complex. Ross Wade, Sedgwick County Soccer Association (SCSA), handed out a packet of information on the proposed "Les Longhauser Memorial Picnic Pavilion" which included a site plan and article from the Wichita Eagle dated December, 19, 2002 entitled "Soccer enthusiast remembered as friend to many". Wade stated that the SCSA proposed to build a privately funded 20' x 30' picnic pavilion at South Lakes Sports Complex adjacent to the concession building and soccer fields. He said the structure would include a bronze statue of a soccer player with a memorial plaque honoring Les Longhauser, former coach and soccer enthusiast. He referred board members to a copy of the site plan. He said the SCSA would like to have approval to build the structure and install the statue prior to the Air Capital Soccer Tournament the first week of June. Director Kupper indicated that the department would provide picnic tables. There was discussion concerning the department's working relationship with the SCSA, both past and present and how it has improved over the years; responsibility for maintenance of the statue (it was determined that the SCSA would be responsible for the care and upkeep of the memorial statue); and construction materials and how the structure was to be built. Larry Hoetmer, Landscape Architect, expressed concern as to whether the wooden structure would be compatible with the concrete structures located at the park. He indicated that it was important to maintain consistency when selecting construction materials. It was suggested that tying the wooden structure in with current concrete structures could be accomplished by using the same type of green roofing material. Miller asked about project costs? Wade indicated that the SCSA would be working with other groups and private individuals who would donate funds, materials and labor to complete the project. On motion by Bailey, second by Dey, IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED to recommend that the City accept the memorial with the understanding that upkeep of the memorial would be the responsibility of the Sedgwick County Soccer Association. 5. Set Dates for dedication of Wildwood and Leon Robinson Parks and a date for the news conference re: Pesticide Free Parks. There was discussion concerning the various events and possible dates. Niernberger suggested that it would be preferable to do the pesticide free news conference prior to the start of the River Festival on May 9, 2003. The following dates were suggested for each event: June 7, 2003, for the dedication of Wildwood Park; May 3, 2003, for the dedication of Leon Robinson Park; and Director Kupper said he would coordinate with the Public Affairs Officer in the City Manager's Office to come up with a date for the pesticide free news conference, preferably prior to the start of the River Festival. 6. Review of Grove Park Acreage and Boundaries. Larry Hoetmer, Landscape Architect, referred board members to a map of Grove Park and the surrounding area. The map reflected the number of acres for each parcel of land that made up Grove Park in addition to the surrounding area also owned by the City. Hoetmer commented that Homeland Security was leasing approximately 27 acres from the City for the security facility. He added that Grove Park consisted of 133.65 acres. Dey indicated that historically speaking since Grove Park had not been specifically designated and/or zoned by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission as parkland, it was subject to commercial development in the future. He said if the land was zoned as parkland, it could be protected and it would also alleviate the anxiety and concerns of the surrounding neighborhood concerning future development. He also mentioned the possibility of including the K-96 Lake in the parkland designation and creating a regional park. There was also mention of including another a City owned parcel on North Hillside across from the Center for Human Functioning. There was brief discussion concerning the various parcels and reported acreage of each; future use of the construction and demolition landfill in the area; the 27th Street project; and providing signage displaying directions to the K-96 Lake area. 7. Director's Update. Director Kupper reported briefly on the following items: * Summer of Discovery. Reported that SOD was scheduled to start June 2 at nine of the recreation centers. He commented that the program at Colvin Recreation Center had been discontinued due to competition from another free program in the area. * Budget. Reported that the revised 2004 budget was currently being reviewed and revised. He added that staff has been given no information on the status of the 2003-2013 Capital Improvement Budget. * Kingsbury Property. Responding to Miller's inquiry, Director Kupper reported that Mitchell had requested information on the status of the Kingsbury Property. (Hand out Council Proceedings and Park Board Minutes). * Riverside Construction. Reported that the Riverside project was proceeding on schedule. * Skate Park. Reported that a fundraiser had been held at Edgemoor Park last weekend to augment the $50,000 the City had allocated for construction of the downtown skate park. He added that construction costs of the skate parks staff reviewed ranged from $300,000 to $1,000,000. * Cornejo C&D Landfill. Mitchell reported that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had turned down Cornejo's request for an extension of the landfill permit. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 4:55 p.m. ___________________________________ Trix Niernberger, First Vice President ATTEST: _____________________________________ Maryann Crockett, Clerk Recording Secretary Park Board 4/14/03 (Contd.) Page 4 of 4 1 4