Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-Parks-2015-03-10Approved: 4/14/15 CITY OF ITHACA PARKS COMMISSION Tuesday, March 10, 2015, Noon to 1:30 p.m. Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Avenue, City of Ithaca MINUTES Present: Commissioners: Larry Fabbroni, Dan Krall, Ellen Leventry, Roberta Moudry, Margaret Hobbie (Roberta taking notes) Staff: Megan Wilson, City Planner JoAnn Cornish, City Planner Jeanne Grace, City Forester Bill Goldsmith, BPW liaison Josephine Martell, Common Council liaison Others: Marc Messing, Christopher Glaubitz (CBC), Miguel Berrios (Friends of Stewart Park) Ellen called the meeting to order, pointing out that there were members of the public attending and wanting to speak concerning the CBC proposed license. She noted that the meeting would end promptly at 1:30 and that she would ask people to adhere to time limits as they offered comments. She noted that there were other items on the agenda to follow the discussion about the CBC. 1. Proposed License Agreement with the Cascadilla Boat Club (CBC) for use of the Stewart Park Boathouse Bill Goldsmith reported on the BPW discussion about the CBC license. All five members and the mayor are in favor of the license for CBC to use boathouse. Three commissioners also expressed interest in finding a way to grant access to occasional users, not CBC members, to have access for non-motorized craft into the water at this site. Ari Lavine, City Attorney, is present as well and confirms Bill’s summary of the BPW discussion. Ellen asks Ari to present to commission and to guests the legalities of this topic. Ari Lavine was asked by the mayor to engage in a discussion with the CBC regarding the process of a new license for use of the boathouse in Stewart Park. This is a license and not a lease, he emphasizes. Under leasing vs. licensing, he cites an email he has sent to us on 1/28/2015. Lease is about land, license is about permission to engage in an activity on that land. A license can be rescinded, a lease is typically for a long Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2015 period and more difficult to terminate. This license is a three-year agreement and can be rescinded with 9 months notice. It is not a blanket offering of space but an acknowledgement of the value of the CBC’s offerings to the community. There are multiple forms of use of public use in the park. There is interest in some members of the BPW to allow other kinds of use, beyond rowing. The purpose of which is to permit the public to take advantage of the CBC as well as the space. Other points of emphasis: Boat club has been there since the 1970s and has developed a robust program, including a de facto rowing team for the high school. It has been paying $46/year up to this year. The fee proposed is just shy of $13,000/year, based on the actual value of property use. Bill and Ari both mention public access to the water. The license offers two forms: 1) the ability of any member of the public to join the CBC “on reasonable terms,” and 2) the license makes the CBC offer the docks to the public. The CBC requested a reduction in the “rental” charge because of shared spaces. Common Council discussed this in February. It should come to a vote in April. The parks commission and BPW are advisory boards that will offer opinions. BPW has its own jurisdiction, but in the case of licensing, it is advisory to Common Council. Roberta questioned the phrase “reasonable terms” and Ari noted that it is a vague term but that the license can be revoked if the city determines that the CBC is in violation of any part of the agreement. Larry asked as well for clarification. The public trust doctrine governs use of park land in New York State. Public park land must be preserved, not sold or leased. A license for a specific use can be enacted to permit a specific use of a specific space. Ellen opens the discussion to commissioners and liaisons. Ellen notes that questions are of three types: safety, public usage/membership, and upkeep of the facility. Larry asks if we can hear from those members in the audience. Bill notes that there are substantial scholarships and BPW and Common Council are interested in this. The mayor said he wants the license to go through and that he believes that “the public “ is equivalent to “the CBC membership” in this case. The mayor feels that because the public is able to join the CBC, then he feels that in terms of language that the membership is in fact the public. Ari notes that it must be a public use if the license is to be approved. Dan asks several questions: Why should the city subsidize a private boat club and their facility? Why should we have been charging $40+ when the club was “subleasing” space to others during this time? And, why are we are hearing from many vocal members who are not city residents? Dan noted that he has asked for a Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2015 roster to get a sense of how many members are city residents and has not been able to secure this roster. Ari notes that the new license will bring in close to $13,000 a year. It is known that the CBC is attractive to a broad range of people from the area, including those who live beyond the city limits, and that is seen as a plus. Ellen states that the city has poured a large amount of money into the building and yet there is a desire for exclusive use of the building by the CBC. Ari notes that it is legal for the CBC to charge members fees and storage. As for exclusive use, there is exclusive use of the portions of the building. The land around the boathouse is part of the license but not exclusive use. Part of the building is used by the Ithaca Youth Bureau for storage. Ari also comments on details of the boathouse structure. The second floor of the boathouse is closed off to everyone until it is code compliant. When compliant, some use would be made available to the CBC. On the first floor, the IYB will continue to use some space for storage. Dan asks another question: In three years, when licensing renewal is due, could other groups request licensing as well? Ari notes that this is a three-year license, but every year the license renews as a three-year license. Hence there is no actual renewal date – the lease never ends. Ellen brings up Section 8, which raises a question about repairs. If something breaks, who is responsible? Ari responds that he has discussed this with Jeanne Grace and Ray Benjamin. If the CBC breaks something, they are responsible, but if they do not do repairs, the city will do the repair for cost plus 25%. Damage and liability is covered by a request for substantial insurance, and an indemnity clause written into the license giving the responsibility to the CBC and their insurer. Jeanne also noted that there is a lease amount and an additional fee for the utilities. There is charge of $650 for utilities and $250 for water, better for the city to have a fixed fee of $900. Dan notes that the CBC has asked for a reduction in utilities charges because the space is shared, but at the same time have asked for the bathrooms to be open longer hours. Ellen opens discussion to the public. Elizabeth Ellis, is a masters rower and the parent of two rowers, one varsity and one modified/middle schooler. There are now 500 CBC members. Anybody can row and sign up. She became a member after learning and passing a test, so she can take a boat out. You do not have to be a member to row. Membership does give you three benefits: You can use a club boat, you can qualify to rent a rack, and you can vote on club matters. (Dan asks, she is not a city resident.) She asserts that most members are city residents. Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2015 Club member Marty Van Der Heide wants to address safety and membership. Rowing is very safe, safer than skiing. Most injuries are overuse injuries. Safety is governed by US Rowing. There are safety documents and procedures that the CBC follows. He states that the Club is lucky to have Dan Robinson (IC men’s rowing head coach) as head of our safety committee. And that they don’t want anyone going on the water in an unsafe manner. Christopher Glaubitz, club member, worked with Ari on the leasing agreement, and states that the CBC is aware that the fee of $46/year was not reasonable. As for the use of building and park, the park is used by many non-city residents (he is a city resident). He hopes that the club can work with the city to keep the building and grounds in good repair. Ellen asks Christopher Glaubitz if the CBC finds the lease agreement fee agreeable. He says yes. He notes that 30% of scholastic rowers are scholarship members, and that it will be important to raise money now. Roberta notes that CBC has had many years of paying $46 and collecting rentals, giving them a positive balance (in addition to membership fees). She notes that that should have given the CBC a financial cushion from which to operate as they move into a license agreement that is in line with market values. Miguel Berrios, a Brooktondale resident who keeps a boat on the inlet, is very happy to see young rowers on the water, and thinks it is very sensible to have a boat house used by a local club. Marc Messing says it is not a public club. His family is not permitted to join. He has tried to rejoin and has had his membership rejected. He asks how the club will be required to comply with New York State law. He asks how the license will mandate minimum safety standards for underage minors. Finally, he asks about the finances – would the city consider requiring an audit of the club’s finances? Megan Wilson reads letters of support received prior to the meeting: An email from Gary Evans (rower and non-city resident) supporting the CBC, and an email from CBC president Kevin Brew supporting the license but asking for fee reductions (mentioned above). Bill notes that the state required the city to charge a reasonable rate for park property (he notes that he is a rower and an enthusiast). Cynthia Brock, Alderperson, First Ward, has sent a link to NYS’s handbook for management of park land. She is reluctant to give to a non-profit responsibility of serving the public. She cites concerns over the fact that the Club has rolling board membership, Club behaviors, exclusion and that these are a concern in terms of serving the general public. She suggests that we can follow a format that the city Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2015 followed in Cass Park that gave one boat dock exclusive access to a nonprofit and full public access to other docks. Ari answers questions posed by Marc Messing and others. On the issue of safety: the license states that CBC must operate in a safe manner, but that manner is not specified. Paragraph 13 states that safety must be adhered to. Roberta and Larry note that if there is not a specific law that mandates safety, then how can the city require reasonable safety measures? Larry notes that it seems very open-ended. Ellen ends the conversation but asks that this question be further clarified after the meeting. Megan suggests that the response be circulated by email. Dan asks what is the process for an individual who is concerned about the behavior of a non-profit using city land. Ari notes that a person could be in touch with the BPW if appropriate. It is not clear how the public can report to the city when exclusive or unsafe practices occur in city parks. 2. Toyota Together Green Grant: “Revitalizing the Fuertes Bird Sanctuary through Community Conservation Efforts” Jeanne Grace and Miguel Berrios speak concerning implementation of the Toyota Together Green Grant, entitled “Revitalizing the Fuertes Bird Sanctuary through Community Conservation Efforts.”(more information can be found at: www.togethergreen.org/fellows/fellows/miguel-berrios) It is a small project working in Renwick Woods/Fuertes bird sanctuary doing invasive plant management. The project involves Audubon, the local bird club and environmental groups, other partners, including The Plantsman and Friends of Stewart Park. There will be a public meeting in April, to engage volunteer groups. Work parties to follow to remove invasives and plant new native species. Renwick Wildlife Area will be cleared of privet, honeysuckle and other invasives that are growing vigorously. The goal is conservation and education. People associate the area with unsavory activities, and this program and its volunteers can recover the area and transform it in the eyes of the community. Jeanne notes that this is a small pilot project but that it has the capacity to grow and to possibly spawn a larger project. 3. Stewart Park Restrooms Jeanne notes that the bid is $125,000, and the expected estimate was about $70,000. There have been few bids. Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2015 There is a proposed rehabilitation of one of the central windows and doors in the Steward Park Large Pavilion that is being partially sponsored by Friends of Stewart Park. Certified restoration experts working on this project. Dan asks if there is going to be a licensing agreement also for the Wharton Studio museum? Yes, Ari is working on this now. It is always a matter of money. There is grant money that must be used on the large pavilion. A portion of it can be used on the bathrooms and a small amount will be used to restore one of the windows.