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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PARKS-1996 City of Ithaca Parks Commission -January 9, 1996 -Minutes Present: JoAnn Cornish, Rick Manning, Nina Bassuk, Margaret Hobe, Scott Whitham, Carol Reeves, Andy Hillman, Heather Tait, Paul Stevenson, Mayor Cohen It was agreed that the meetings of the Parks Commission would meet at 4:00 p.m. rather than 4:30 p.m. Rick Manning was unanimously voted on for vice-chair. Rick accepted. BPW Report-Carol Reeves: The revised City of Ithaca Parks list is completed and will be handed out at the 2/13/96 meeting. The Engineering Department asked if tthe Parks Inventory • survey could be done ASAP. February 13 was the agreed upon date. Andy Hillman sugested that accessibility be added to the survey as well as the size of the park. Shade Tree Advisory- Nina Bassuk reported that Bryant Park was slated to get new plant materials in the spring. City Forester-Andy Hillman reported that John Schroeder expressed concern over the new City Park Map which shows Fall Creek as a City park which it is not. Discussion led to a request for two maps, one showing official City parks and one showning City owned green space. The map should coincide with the official list. Carol agreed to talk to Tom West about this. Hillman reported that the swans are doing fine in the boat house at Stewart Park. He estimates the swans cost the City between $4,000.00 and$5,000.00 annually for labor and utilities. There was no one representing Common Council. Reeves said she would remind Mayor Cohen to appoint a representative. Circle Greenway-John Ullburg was not present. No meetings have been held. Reeves questioned the validity of Circle Greenway being incorporated into the Parks Commission. Pat Kennedy is looking into it. Youth Bureau -Heather Tait reported that there has not been any progress on the skateboarding issue but that Mayor Cohen is in favor of the idea. HUD- Paul Stevenson reported that CDBG projects currently underway include Wood Street Park, Conway Park and Northside Park. The issue of a new handball wall at Wood Street Park is still under consideration. The location is in question. Rick Manning agreed to meet on site with Paul and report back to the Parks Commission. Stevenson reported that he is meeting with residents of the Conway Park neighborhood on Sunday, January 14. Basketball is still an issue but it is an established use and the courts are heavily used. The recommended location for the new play equipment is in the same spot that it was located in originally. this will be built as a community build in the spring. NOrthside Park will not be started until phase two of the Mutual Housing project is completed. The park site is to be used as a staging area during construction. The Adams ROW abandonment issue is still unresolved. Stevenson reported that over the next three years, there is the potential for 3 million dollars for new projects. Park projects are primarily to serve low income neighborhoods. Stevenson will attend a Citizens Advisory meeting and report back to the Parks Commission. The 1996 Plan of Work for the Parks Commission was discussed. The following was agreed upon: 1. Complete Park Inventory Surveys by February 13, 1996. 2. Update Circle Greenway/Parks brocure and map. 3. Playground and play equipment recommendations for Stewart and Cass Parks 4. Plantings at Stewart Park to include physically moving the plants around the flag pole, moving the perennial gardens and moving the plants in the rose garden. Design will be done on site. Work days to be in the spring. Meeting was adjourned at 5:25. City of Ithaca Parks Commission -February 13, 1996-Minutes (by JoAnn Cornish) Present: JoAnn Cornish, Rick Manning, Margaret Hobbie, Scott Whitham, Carol Reeves, Andy Hillman, Heather Tait Chairperson Cornish reported that Susan Blumenthal had agreed to be the liaison between Common Council and the Parks Commission. Mayor Cohen has recommended Ann Look to be the new Park Commission member replacing Lani Peck who has resigned. BPW Report-Carol Reeves: The GIAC site is being considered for the skateboarding site. May 1, 1996 is the target date for the Youth Bureau to move back into the Youth Bureau Building on Gibbs Drive. The revised Park map has been put on hold while the work load of the engineering department is being evaluated. First on the list of priorities are life/safety issues, second are contractual agreements. The BPW will schedule a hearing for the abandonment of the street ROW at the First Street Mutual Housing site. Reeves also reported on the issue of dogs on the Commons. People who work on the commons are upset because they are not allowed to bring their dogs to work with them. A resolution was passed to allow dogs on the commons with a special permit. This also includes police dogs and seeing eye dogs. Shade Tree Advisory-Nina Bassuk was absent. City Forester-Andy Hillman reported on the Bryant Park Neighborhood Survey. Results included requests for kickball, climbing trees, shade trees, and a vegetative buffer on Ithaca Road. Andy brought up the idea of a Tree Trust or Friends of the Park Trust to cover costs, not just for Bryant Park, but all City Parks. Money requested for trees for Alex Haley Pool, Cass Park and the City Cemetery has been cut from the budget. Also reported, the crew at Stewart Park is producing new picnic tables for Stewart Park. Reconstruction of the tennis courts has been completed and as soon as the weather breaks, the nets will be put up. On the issue of shore cleanup at Stewart Park, Andy reported that the DPW is considering using a tub grinder which will be parked on the shore to grind up the vegetative debris for mulch to be used in the park. FEMA monies may be available for the tub grinder. The help of volunteers may be used to aid in the cleanup as well. Circle Greenway-John Ullburg reported that he would like to present the Greenway slide show to members of the Park Commission at some future date. In Other Business: The location of the proposed handball wall has not been resolved. Wood Street Park is still the preferred location but there is some concern that another structure will encroach on the playing fields. Rick Manning will meet with Paul Stevenson of HUD to talk about a possible location. Reeves mentioned that there is talk of lighting the new basketball court at Wood Street Park. The issue of who pays for the lights and the times the lights will be in use and for what group, were some of the concerns brought up with regards to this issue. Scott Whitham reported that he had been contacted by a graduate student who has to build a play structure as part of his thesis and wondered if the City would be interested in having it built in one of its parks. Members were generally in agreement with the idea and asked Scott to arrange for him to make a presentation to the Parks Commission at the March meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 5:25.