12-01-2016 Parks & Rec Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION December 1, 2016 Chair Miller asked the Commission about the priorities. The Commission agreed to keep Gervais Mill Park as number one. The Director suggested the Commission discuss the drinking fountain. He asked the City Administrator to elaborate on the Council’s request for more research. The City Administrator stated the Council saw that the Gervais Mill Park water fountain would cost around $10,000 while the Pioneer Park drinking fountain would cost around $23,000 and be rather far from many of the other activities at Pioneer. The Mayor echoed this and added that if the Commission came back to the Council with more research as to the effectiveness of placing a drinking fountain near the tennis courts, the Council would be willing to discuss the topic further. He noted the trend now is most people are bringing their own water bottle, and there may be less of a need for a drinking fountain at Pioneer Park. Chu noted the Commission felt it was still necessary. Chair Miller explained having a drinking fountain near the basketball and tennis courts was much more accessible than the current drinking fountain in the center of the complex. For people using the tennis courts, the center was a rather long ways. The Mayor stated this brought up the question, how much are the tennis courts being used. Chair Miller asked if the current water fountain in the center of the complex could be updated to include a water bottle filler instead of adding a new drinking fountain. Sanders noted the high use of the basketball courts, playground, and tennis courts near that area. He explained the high cost was a result of the difficult access to water pipes, but thought the high usage during the summer months may be justifiable. The mayor noted he needed more specific research as to the high usage of the area. Chu suggested the Commission take the next year to research the usage of the area, and instead fund the pickleball court and the dog park projects. Chu noted it may be a better idea to implement the pickleball court in 2017 while the trend is growing, instead of waiting and possibly missing out. Sanders agreed that may be a good idea and he encouraged further evaluation of the projects to look for what best fits 2017. He thought it would also be important to evaluate the costs of improving versus replacing parts of the playground equipment. The Mayor stated the Council also had questions about taking away a tennis court and replacing it with a pickleball court. Some worried this may take away resources that may be more used. He explained the Council would like to see more research for ideas like these. The Mayor reasoned it may be a better investment to build a separate pickleball court. Chair Miller explained refurbishing a tennis court for pickleball allowed the game to be tested, at a minimal cost, and depending on its usage could be given its own space.