Parks and Recreation 1.16.24

Detailed briefing

Parks and Recreation Board — January 16, 2024 ATTENDEES: Roll call listed Karen Charles, Maggie Fox, Scott Reed, Dan Mulder, Sarah Quinn, and Jay Welke. • The board approved its prior meeting minutes. It then reelected its current chair and elected Sarah Quinn as vice chair. The board also reviewed its regular-meeting schedule and discussed orientation materials, including quorum, public notice, public-comment, conflict-of-interest, and Open Meetings Act requirements. • Members discussed strengthening public communication. Staff said unofficial skate park social-media pages are not city affiliated and cannot be removed by the city. The board supported exploring a Parks and Recreation Instagram presence linked to Facebook, with staff retaining account access and receiving help navigating the platform. • The board reviewed a GIS map of city parks that includes amenities, recreation opportunities, and park history. It has not been placed on the city website because of concerns surrounding how certain access properties are identified. Members agreed to include the issue in a future community-outreach discussion. • A major discussion centered on gathering data about park users and township participation. Members questioned whether existing township contribution percentages, based on old information, reflect current use. They favored a short community-wide survey focused on residence, park use, and frequency of use rather than relying only on QR codes at individual parks. A survey interest group will develop a draft approach. • The board reviewed 2023 work, including the skate park opening, a planned city beach playground, boardwalk work, park inventory, events, a community garden installation, trail and disc golf improvements, and outreach through Parks Corner articles. For 2024, members discussed skate park drainage, concrete, landscaping, a road buffer, possible restroom/building updates, and observing skate park lighting needs before adding lights. • Members said the school superintendent was open to considering shared school-space programming, such as open gyms, clinics, or rain-date options, once the board develops a specific proposal. Staff will also contact school officials about whether pickleball use of tennis courts could be explored. Worth watching: • Whether the survey produces usable township-by-township park-use data for future funding discussions. • Whether staff can develop a school programming proposal and clarify pickleball options. • How skate park finishing work, drainage, buffer landscaping, and restroom use are addressed. Upcoming: The February meeting is expected to include a fuller discussion of programming, a community garden item, and further work on the parks report for City Council. Why it matters: The board is linking future park investments and funding requests more directly to documented community use and priorities.

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.