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2005-12-13 Regular Meeting fB) lE ~ lE ~ \Yl lE fR) KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH Ifl1 JAN 1 7 2006 l11) PARKS & RECREATION COMMIT E REGULAR MEETING-DECEMBER 1 , B1000GH CLERK'S OFFICE MINUTES CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Parks & Recreation Committee was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by CHAIR FOREMAN on December 13,2005 in the Borough Conference Room. ROLL CALL Committee Members Present Absent Excused Others Present Hans Tschersich X Mary Ogle Heather Turner X Community Development Jeff Huntley X Kevin Foster X Mike Sirofchuck X Murphy Forner X Pam Foreman-Chair X Patrick Saltonstall X Vacant Wayne Biessel X Ian Fulp X Betty Odell X A quorum was established. Others Present: Donn Tracy-State Parks Advisory Board Blythe Brown-Kodiak Soil & Water Conservation District Hal Long-State Parks Advisory Board Stacy Studebaker-Kodiak Audubon Society & State Parks Advisory Board Gail Brandt-Kodiak State Parks Advisory Board Ron Sears-Kodiak Softball Association Marcus Dunbar-City Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Nick Sandin-City Parks & Recreation Advisory Board & President of Kodiak Softball Assoc. Andy Teuber-Gateway Communities Team Patricia Griffing-City Parks & Recreation Leslie Kerr-Refuge manager for Kodiak Island National Wildlife Refuge Andy Schroeder-Gateway Communities Team P&R Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 7 12/1312005 APPROVAL OF AGENDA COMMITTEE MEMBER SALTONSTALL MOVED TO APPROVE the agenda as presented. The motion was SECONDED by COMMITTEE MEMBER SIROFCHUCK, and it CARRIED by unanimous voice vote. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING COrvllvfITTEE MEMBER SIROFCHUCK MOVED TO APPROVE the minutes as presented. The motion was SECONDED by COMMITTEE MEMBER TURNER, and it CARRIED by unanimous voice vote WELCOMEIINTRO OF GUESTS AND BOROUGH P&RC The P&R Committee and Mary Ogle introduced themselves, and then the attendees introduced themselves (listed above). PURPOSE OF TONIGHT'S MEETING CHAIR FOREMAN stated that the Committee felt it would be a good time for everyone to sit down and discuss some issues facing all Parks and Recreational opportunities throughout the borough. As the comprehensive plan process moves forward they are all going to have the opportunity to think about what they need and the community might need in the next 5, 10, 15 years. They have found as they have dealt with State Parks and talked with PT A at North Star and some different projects they have been involved in that there was synergy in the organizations working together and applying for grants together and going after projects together the Committee thought they should pull these groups together to see if there are projects that they could work on as a collective group. K1B COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Ogle stated the Borough has begun the Kodiak Island Borough=wide Comprehensive Plan. A comprehensive plan has not been done since 1968. A consultant has been hired and is reviewing existing studies and plans. It will be covering 6 fundamental issues: land use; parks & recreational uses; transportation & alternative transportation; utilities & facilities; public facilities & borough facilities; and environmental issues. The plan will include the borough lands including all cities. The planning process will last about 1 ~ years and starts with the consultants reviewing existing conditions and plan studies. There will be several public comment periods. The consultant will also have stakeholder group meetings, and then they will start writing goals and objectives. Once that is done, they will go through the writing process to produce a plan with goals and objectives, an implementation schedule that includes specific projects and who will do them, possible funding sources and timelines, and a land use map. They anticipate the land use map to include land use designations for parks and open space, and land use for developments, utilities and roads. There will be media coverage for the comprehensive plan. Kevin Foster and Jeff Huntley joined the meeting at 7:15 pm Ogle stated that formal recreation groups would be contacted for the stakeholder meetings. She also said the trails survey plan would be integrated into the comp plan, and has been given to the consultant along with the trail mapping. P&R Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 7 12/13/2005 Ogle stated the Womens Bay Plan is finished and they are going to take it to Womens Bay around the beginning of January for a last look at it, and then forward it to the Assembly to be adopted. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS ON THE GROUP'S AGENDAS FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR -COMMON GROUND, POSSIBLE PARTNER PROJECTS COMMITTEE CHAIR FOREMAN stated that as they start hearing other groups projects, the Committee hopes they will find some common ground for some projects for the next year or two. Dunbar stated they've had a few meetings regarding the refurbishing of the track at Baranof Park and the football field, and they gave a presentation to the City Council on these projects. This does not include the baseball field which has an estimate is $3 million. It starts with $300, 000 for resurfacing the track, and it expands from there. The field has numerous user groups; On a nice day, it is common for the softball association, P.E. kids, and extracurricular activities kids to be on the fields at the same time, whether it is on the football field, baseball field, or the track. The school district has over 400 P.E. kids that use the field and track in the fall and spring plus all the extracurricular sport activities that are school related. With the start up ofthe football league the field took on even more use and became overused to the point the P.E. class doesn't use it anymore because it can't handle the stress. The track is falling apart and needs to be patched every year and has lasted 17 or 18 years now, which has exceeded its life expectancy. These improvements have been long coming so they have looked at plans in stages, and they have $300,000 to $3 million of improvements that needs to be done. CHAIR FOREMAN inquired about the stages he was talking about. Dunbar stated the money to resurface the track will be the highest priority and that is going to happen with the money they have or are going to have. The rest is contingent upon other outside funding sources. There are some field and drainage improvements for the field, and a preliminary plan to maintain it as it is, but the ultimate goal is to go with some sort of artificial surface that would allow unlimited use and hold up. In terms of phases, there are continual phases as the money comes in such the bleachers, improve the access and fencing. Ogle inquired if they get funding from the school district. Fulp stated that Kodiak is the only school in the region and most likely in the state that doesn't provide any outdoor P .E. or athletic facilities. It is unique that it completely relies on the City to do that. They would like the Borough's participation in helping to alleviate the outdoor P.E. and athletic problems that they have helped cause. Fulp also stated the effect of having the football league is that they have to use the field regardless if it's swamped because it's the only football field. The middle school and high school are kept offthe field in the fall so that it doesn't get worn out and is ready when the football team is ready to use it. There's been a big consequence to having football at BaranofPark. It has been a welcome addition to the program, but has made the City aware of the problem that the facility wasn't built very well. The P.E. classes have been using the baseball field more, and now the coaches are thinking it is getting too much use and wondering how long it is going to last. For a while there were soccer leagues playing on it and football practices. It is being watched very carefully now. One conflict is between the adult softball league and the high school baseball team, and the little league program competing for the field. P &R Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 7 12/13/2005 Fulp explained that what they are looking at is all solutions to solve the problem of making improvements that will make the fields more usable. It doesn't mean the field has to have artificial field surface. They need to do something and there are a lot of steps in between of what they have now and the deluxe version. They aren't asking for that, they are looking at what they can do and what it will cost. The person who sent the drawing and price figure said that is not the final product, and hopefully, the final product will have some of the steps in between the deluxe and just replacing the rubberized surface of the track. He also said they are operating and maintaining the Woody Way field, the Dark Way field, East Elementary field, and Coon field. They're not doing major improvements but they do maintain it. At Woody Way field they put the goal posts out and bring them in before and after games, they put the bases out, they prep the fields before every game. They have a mobile rock screener that they work up and down the field to remove the rocks during the football season. They do a considerable, valuable amount of maintenance on the fields. The City is operating it, maintaining it, and managing it, and it is a Borough owned facility built by the Borough for the community. Fulp said he has a lot of players that are willing to volunteer to help get things done. Ogle stated the softball requests are on the capital improvement list sent to the Assembly; Smokey's field including the BMX track, the KANA field, and two new fields. She also said it's easier to get grants because you don't have to worry about paying for labor, the labor itself provides an in kind match CHAIR FOREMAN stated they should go to the State website to see where those things are listed. She also said track and field needs are not going to go away, they will just be more, and one of the things that the committee has continued to advocate is additional maintenance needed because there is only one maintenance person for all Borough facilities, and it's not enough. Ogle stated she believes a consultant has been picked for architectural engineering for the swimming pool. She also said that Engineering & Facilities have shown plans at the Architectural Board meeting. CHAIR FOREMAN stated that if you had read the Assembly notes from last week, their big concern is the rising construction costs. She explained that the Parks & Recreation Committee is an advisory committee to the Assembly through Planning & Zoning, and what we do, we work through Planning & Zoning to go to the Assembly unless the Assembly has come to us specifically and asked for us. They have come to us directly quite a bit in the past year. Fulp stated the City runs the cemeteries. He showed a map and referred to the cemetery behind the hospital saying there is a trail on borough property that they use to access part of the cemetery. They would like to trade some land so they can have an access road to reach the rest of the cemetery. Ogle stated that portions of the land is being considered for hospital expansion, which the plan has been worked on for over a year. CHAIR FOREMAN inquired if the access road he talked about runs along that fence line along the ridge. Fulp said they want an access road so they can get to the rest of the cemetery and they would like more room for the cemetery. They did develop a cemetery plan, and somehow the borough was not asked to participate in this plan so the planner made a plan based on the assumption that the borough would give the land for the cemetery. P&R Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 7 12/1312005 CHAIR FOREMAN inquired ifthe cemetery plan could be part of the documentation that is given to the Comp Plan consultant. Ogle stated that yes, it can. Ogle asked Fulp ifhe would like her to get him more information ofthe status ofthe hospital plan. Fulp responded, yes, that they just buried someone yesterday and they are working there way up the hill. Tracy spoke about one major project the State Parks has going on right now is the 20 year update and revision of Abercrombie State Historic Park Master Plan. The purpose of the plan is to get preferences documented so State Parks can use this information to develop their initiatives and implement projects over the next 20 year period. One of the first steps was a public scoping meeting held last week. That meeting brought forth several issues concerning provisions of that plan. State Parks put up a conceptual plan for future development of Abercrombie Park. He showed a chart for conceptual illustration of some of the potential changes for improvements to Abercombie Park that DNR has been looking at. It is a starting point for development of the plan. Some issues that came up at the scoping meeting concerned improvements to the middle point of the park where the World War II Museum is and on the map is an illustration of one conceptual change to the Miller Point area. Apparently, there was not consensus with the public at the meeting about this particular idea in the conceptual plan. The development reflected by the conceptual drawings showed what would be a through roadway around Miller Point with parking at the bunker facility where the museum is located. He said according to Wayne Biessel that was not an overly popular idea. Other ideas are to improve existing roadways and providing a place for vehicles to turn around as well as expand and improve the parking area. Everyone did agree parking needs to be addressed even though there were varying opinions. There are a number of solutions to the conceptual map, one being to add a new roadway that would drive through along the existing trail that comes down from the bunker and parallels the ridge above the lake. It would be reestablishing the road that was in use when Fort Abercrombie was active. Tracy also stated that another issue is either removing or relocating the current camping area. His understanding was there was a number of suggestions and concepts on this map, one of which would entail removing the existing campground within the park and moving it to another spot, such as the Ram site or some camp sites between the group picnic area and the water pump. Studebaker stated there was a professional state park planner that came from Anchorage and took notes. She believes she will put out a draft for circulation soon. Tracy reiterated the public comment period is still open until December 23rd. Once the updated plan incorporating all the options and terms that Studebaker mentioned, there will be additional comment periods. He also stated that Biessel had told him there was agreement at the scoping meeting is at some point in the future, annexing the Ram site which is City property. Many people think that it is part of the park. One suggestion was to build a boat launch facility. Another idea was to move designated campgrounds into that area. CHAIR FOREMAN inquired if the discussion was to absorb the park across the highway, as well as the Ram site or was it just the Ram site. Studebaker stated it is the whole area outlined in blue is the City property that straddles the road. P&R Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 7 12/13/2005 CHAIR FOREMAN stated that if they decide to put it up for sale it might be worth the advisory board from the Parks to say we are working on a deal with the City to absorb some of this land and maybe we need to have a conversation about what the parallel use ought to be of the borough land. It is worth discussing the idea of a land trust in Kodiak. Studebaker said they have another big project on the burner. Friends of State Parks received a grant to extend the bike trail that ends across the street from the turn at Abercrombie, and a kiosk put in the park to park and lock up bikes. Eventually, it will tie in with the new Otmeloi bike trail improvements from North Star. Kids will be able to walk from North Star to Abercrombie and be off the road. CHAIR FOREMAN said State Parks and the Borough should form a partnership for additional funding to make that particular trail project a part of National Trails Day. Ifwe get the funding we'll have the opportunity to have people trained to be trainers for trail teams the weekend of June 3rd. The project they will work on will be improving the muddy section from Piedmont Point down the hill and redirecting other parts. Studebaker said the money for those have come from the last three years of fundraisers. SIROFCHUCK stated that raising money through fundraisers showed there was community support making getting the grant easier. He also said one of the visions ofthe P&R is a bike trail from White Sands Beach to the Rendezvous. Tracy stated that DOT is planning to pave the existing pullouts and parking areas within the State Recreational area. Brown said there is some finish work to do on the Summit Lake/Lake Miam trail project. Her project is the formation of cooperative weed management area for the Kodiak Island Borough area. They have changed their boundaries to match the Kodiak Island Borough's boundaries. She also said that everyone is worried about maintenance of structures, but it's not just the structures we should be concerned with but also the vegetation. Studebaker said Duck's Unlimited was here 1 12 years ago to come up with a design for the settling ponds at Potato Patch Lake. The settling ponds will collect the sediment, and then about every two years the City will come to clean out the sediment from the settling ponds. They contracted with Red Hook to build a viewing platform and walkway with a blind. Eventually, the vegetation will take hold so it won't look so stark. They have a committee working on educational signs attached to the platform to help identify ducks. Audubon volunteers will be available with spotting scopes and bird books so they can teach the kids about wildlife and waterfowl conservation, and bird identification, and eventually get it on the Kodiak Audubon hiking & birding map. The hiking and birding map was produced about a 1 12 years ago and sold out the first addition within the first seven months. They are well on there way through the 2nd addition. The money they have made through the sales of maps is going toward the educational signs that will be attached to the bird viewing blind. This spring they will block off foot access to the levy so they can get it re-vegetated. They are talking with a City Engineer about how to do it with boulders and brush trails. Then they will focus on Womens Bay. They would like to do something more extensive in that area because it is a hot spot for waterfowl, namely Emperor Geese which is a threatened species. The coastal wetland at the head of Womens Bay is a fabulous habitat for waterfowl. They would like to have some pull-outs and a boardwalk and viewing blind in the area. P &R Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 7 12/13/2005 Kerr stated the Gateway team is visioning what they want Kodiak to look like in the year 2025. What can they do working with business owner in the Safeway area to make it look more appealing, what can they do working with the Coast Guard in the Buskin River area, the State Park, and DOT with the airport and the Buskin River. Ogle stated the second step of the Comprehensive Plan process is to overhaul of the zoning and subdivision control. LOOKING AHEAD FOR 5,10,15 YEARS NEEDS This was discussed in the previous section. CONCLUSION CHAIR FOREMAN said she will type up notes to emai1 everyone that attended the meeting. REPORTS A. Meeting Schedule: December 14,2005 P&R meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the KIB conference room. January 10,2006 P&R meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the KIB conference room. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:27 p.m. KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE B'~ - Fo man, Chair ATTEST By: -.Q'If>LCk-:l '-~I~ Sheila Smith, Secretary Community Development Department DATE APPROVED: January 10,2006 P&R Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 7 12/13/2005