Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05-04 Park Board MinutesRIVERSIDE PARK BOARD MEETING MINUTES May 4, 2011 6:00 p.m. Attending: Jim Frakes, Terri Dwyer, Ron Carlson, Norma Parrott, Debbie Leader, Tom Wooddell, Julie Rule Call to order: 6:05 pm by Jim Frakes at E.H. Young Park 1. E.H. Young Park Overview — We started out the meeting by creating a list of ideas for consideration for future improvements in the park. Overall, the intent was to try to (1) build on the already great features of the park to make them even better, (2) incorporate the land on the west side of the current entrance road into a more prominent use within the park and (3) make changes in a way that did not detract from the bell tower or cause it to need to be moved. The key items that we discussed included: • Entrance/Road — We discussed that we would like to look at whether the road could be jogged to the west after the bridge to follow the edge of the property around to the bell tower. The idea was to try to open up as much land as possible all together to enable a multi- purpose field area for Frisbee golf, sporting team practices and event parking. o Gate at bride — We discussed that we'd like to add stone pillars and move the gate to the bridge as the entrance. • Playground upgrades — We discussed that we would like to (1) expand the existing play area by adding new equipment. We discussed the sand area of the existing playground and decided that we would keep the area (despite it being messy for parents). We also discussed that we would like to (2) create another smaller playground between the 2 larger shelter houses next to the sand volleyball area. We would have to look at the fit of the structure with the court but those present liked the idea of having a play area close to the shelters on that side. • Wider paths — Widening the paths around the park was suggested as a way to allow vendors and park users to load /unload and not have their vehicles consistently damage the grass on either side of the path. There was some discussion as to whether this would solve the fundamental problem since some thought that vendors /users would still drive on the grass to take the most direct route to their destination. In general, wider paths seemed to have support. One suggestion that built on this, was to make a portion of the paths wider by installing a vendor only entrance at the bridge which would be a wider path around to the parking lot (see drawing). • Parking for events — It was discussed that one of the needs that had been mentioned was parking for events. Tom indicated that today we have limited the amount of seeding, etc. done on areas that are high traffic for events and parking. There was some discussion on whether we had the right balance of events versus park usage at 2 per month. We assumed for the purpose of our discussion, that we would be at the current plan of no more than 2 events per month. The general thought is that we would keep the parking plan similar to the way it is today for events by using the grass and shuttling attendees from off site locations versus focusing on creating more parking lots. • Frisbee golf — There was interest in creating a Frisbee golf course. Page 1 • Fence — We agreed that the fence along the river needed to be painted. The fence at the entrance of the park was part of a larger discussion of whether the road was rerouted and the area expanded /opened up on the west part of the current road. If that option could be pursued, the fence at the entrance today might be removed and therefore would not need painting. • Picnic tables instead of benches at the southwest corner of the paver trail — Currently there are benches present which do not get used often. It was suggested that these be replaced with picnic tables. Some ideas that were considered for park improvements but not added to the list of items to be looked at currently due to space needed or it's fit with current park usages included: • Dog park • Basketball goal(s) • Additional baseball /soccer fields • Additional water lines /sources for vendors These ideas could be considered again if additional land was added to the park at some point in the future. We also discussed that water fountains, trash cans and recycle containers seems to be placed in appropriate number and did not appear to need additional ones at this time. Miscellaneous items It was discussed that we seem to be having many vehicle related shows for events. There was some discussion as to whether it would be possible to expand the variety of events. Next Steps • Obtain aerial maps and acreage numbers for the next meeting to help understand layout possibilities • Need additional information on Frisbee golf • We would like to have the meeting again at E.H. Young park if weather permits. A motion to adjourn was made by Debbie Leader at 7:30 pm, seconded by Norma Parrott. Page 2 m r. IVA awa. I U-M -110 r II 11