HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PC-2012-07-11.pdfApproved by Parks Commission – 8/14/12
PARKS COMMISSION
July 11, 2012
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Attended by: Jeanne Grace, Dan Klein, Cynthia Brock, Stephan Schmidt, Jim Dalterio,
Dan Krall, JoAnn Cornish, Megan Wilson, Aaron Donato, Margaret Hobbie
Minutes
M. Wilson agreed to take minutes for the July minutes.
Membership
S. Schmidt will be out of the country from August through January. R. Moudry has
reported that she will likely need to miss several meetings in the coming months.
Suzanne VanDeMark has resigned. By City Code, the Parks Commission should have 9
members, and only 2 members can live outside of the city. Laurene Gilbert, David
Warden, and Steve Austin were suggested as possible members.
The Commission discussed the lack of quorum at meetings. A full quorum would be
ideal. However, in the event that a quorum is not present, the recommendation shall state
that fact but will be passed on to the Board of Public Works.
Scottish Games
J. Cornish reported that she had attended the Scottish Games. The event was contained to
the designated section of the lawn, and cars were not parking on the grass. J Grace
reported that one major problem was that the event organizers did not provide their own
trash receptacles and expected the City to deal with the garbage. The City ended up
taking it away for free, even though it was the Scottish Games’ responsibility. Another
problem was the overuse and condition of the permanent restroom facilities. Security
guards also stopped allowing cars into the park, which was off-putting for regular park
users. Additionally, the Scottish Games used the large pavilion for storage on Sunday
night through Monday morning. It was not rented, and this interfered with the Youth
Bureau’s camp programming on Monday. Better communication between the City, the
festival, and security guards is needed.
Dragon Boat Festival
J. Dalterio reported that the Dragon Boat Festival will expand to a 2nd day. The 2nd day is
expected to be much smaller and will be the same use as the first day. Staff does not
have any concerns with the expansion of the festival.
Thompson Park
D. Krall discussed the organization of volunteer efforts in Thompson Park. Seph Doliner
is interested in coordinating gardening in the park and has asked about watering in the
park. Water is taken from the creek, but she asked about connecting water to the park.
This would likely be expensive to install and would be metered. If she or a group is
interested, they should contact Water & Sewer for installation prices and on-going costs.
Approved by Parks Commission – 8/14/12
Signs in City Parks
City Code says the DPW will erect a sign in each park that lists the opening and closing
hours of the park. J. Grace recommended that the next step be a resolution from the
Parks Commission that states that City Code requires a sign and several City parks do not
have one. The sign could have the name, hours of operation, and possibly a graphic or
logo. It would not be very expensive to make and install the signs.
D. Krall asked if we could or should put a sign in every park? For example, Strawberry
Fields is frequently accessed through school district property; where is the best location
for the sign?
J. Cornish suggested listing the parks in order of priority, and parks such as Strawberry
Fields could be a lower priority.
D. Klein suggested adding the City website to the sign so that people know where to
access additional information about City parks.
Mowing in City Parks
J. Grace reported that due to budget cuts, some City parks will likely not be mowed as
often (potentially twice a year). At this point, she does not know which parks or how
many will be affected.
Columbia Street Park Stairs
J. Grace reported that she submitted a capital project request to repair the stairs in
Columbia Street Park, which are currently unstable and unsafe. J. Cornish noted that this
project did not make the early cut by the Capital Projects Review Committee so the stairs
will be closed.
Community Fireworks
Overall, the fireworks celebration was successful. However, there was a lot of garbage
left behind that City staff had to clean up and dispose of. A sink was also torn off the
wall and shattered on a restroom floor. A window at the boathouse was found broken,
but it is uncertain that the damage occurred the night of the fireworks. In the future, it
would be helpful to have a volunteer crew be responsible for cleanup. Debris from the
fireworks fell onto the golf course, and crews did spend time cleaning up one of the
playing greens.
Stewart Park Mayors’ Garden
D. Klein reported that the flagpole garden was planted in one-day. The garden was
funded by the Ithaca Garden Club and planted by D. Klein, J. Grace, Rick Manning and
volunteers.