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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council Committees - Parks and Human Services - 06/18/2009 City of Kent Parks and Human Services Committee Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2009 Council Committee Members Present: Debbie Ranniger, Tim Clark and Elizabeth Albertson Debbie Ranniger called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. Item #1: Meeting Minutes Dated May 21, 2009 Tim Clark moved to approve the minutes of May 21, 2009. Elizabeth Albertson seconded. The motion passed 3-0. Item #2: Kent Lions Sublease Agreement Amendment Number Two – Authorize The City of Kent leases the property located at 715 W. Smith from Charlie Perkins. Since 2006, the Kent Lions sublease a portion of the property for office space, storage space and outdoor parking for their trailer. There are two more one-year options for continuing the sublease. This amendment extends the lease to March 31, 2010. Elizabeth Albertson moved to recommend Council authorize the Mayor to sign Sublease Addendum Number Two with Kent Lions for the property at 715 W. Smith in Kent. Tim Clark seconded and the motion passed 3-0. Item #3: Urban Forest Plan - Informational In the past ten years, urban forestry management plans have been prepared for and recommendations implemented at nine sites: Campus Park, Salt Air Vista Park, Morrill Meadows Park, Clark Lake Park, Scenic Hill Park, Briscoe Park, Glenn Nelson Park, Turnkey Park, and the northwest portion of West Fenwick Park. The goal has been to conduct the assessment and implement the plan recommendations at one park or open space site each year. With 82 parks and open spaces in Kent, this is a long-range goal. Most of the urban forestry plans have been funded with King Conservation District grants. Staff has considered alternatives to accelerate our Urban Forestry Program. Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) has developed a program that is fully established in Seattle and is in the process of being implemented in Kirkland, Redmond and Tacoma. The CLC program is based on a successful model for mapping and restoring urban forest lands. A 20-year urban forest restoration plan will be created for Kent by CLC, working closely in conjunction with City staff. Staff has identified an outside funding source to finance this project. Staff has applied for $95,000 in available funding from King Conservation District for the urban forestry program. To implement the recommendations in the 20-year plan, volunteer forest Parks and Human Services Committee Page 1 Minutes of June 18, 2009 stewards will be recruited and trained to restore the priority areas. The timeline is to begin in July 2009, as soon as grant funds are authorized, with completion by December 2010. For efficiency, Kent Parks and Public Works have agreed to collaborate in the use of KCD funds so that all city-owned urban forests can be included in the plan. Item #4: - Off Leash Dog Park Update - Informational On June 3, staff held an open house at the Phoenix Academy with approximately 50 citizens attending. Five off leash dog park locations were discussed. Public comments were accepted in verbal and written format (see attached). All five sites have wetlands on site, so delineation is needed as a first step. Funds are available in our capital budget to hire consulting services to conduct the delineation at one site. Citizens were also given the opportunity to vote for their preferred sites: Pine Tree Park, 132nd Ave Neighborhood Park (undeveloped), and the undeveloped parkland between Morrill Meadows and East Hill Park. All three sites have existing Master Plans. Some of the amenities listed by the community attending the Public meeting were the provision of water for dogs – both drinking fountains and swimming areas. Two sites were chosen to start the planning process and site analysis, as well begin to incorporate volunteer support. Trail and fencing work are necessary next steps to creating an interim dog park. Both parks at 132nd Avenue and Morrilll Meadows have fencing and trail work within their Master Plans, thereby eliminating the need for any additional expenses. • Council members congratulated Lori Flemm on her new appointment as Parks Director for the City of Lacey. Lori has been the Superintendent of Parks Planning and Development for twelve years, as well as Superintendent of the Park Maintenance division for the past five years. Lori was recognized for her numerous contributions to the community. Her expertise is reflected in the land acquisition, and development and/or renovation of award-winning parks. To name a few: Service Club Ballfields, Town Square Plaza, Clark Lake, and Wilson Playfields. Under Lori’s management, Russell Road Park was renovated to nation-wide notability and the winner of many awards. Under her guidance, an extremely successful volunteer program was initiated, including Arbor Day, Make A Difference Day, and National Trails Day and numerous park clean-up events, partnering with local businesses. Recently, the Tree Program with the Kent School District was honored with the National award, “Take Pride in America.” Lori will be truly missed. Item #5: Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant Update – Informational In November 2008, staff presented the Ten-Year HVAC Plan to the Committee, reporting that part of the plan was to hire an Energy Services Company (ESCO) to audit a number of buildings. Results of the audit report recommended a mixed services approach to completing the projects. Eight of the ten projects are smaller scale and can be performed by city staff. The other two projects involve replacing air handling equipment and need to be contracted through outside services. Parks and Human Services Committee Page 2 Minutes of June 18, 2009 Parks and Human Services Committee Page 3 Minutes of June 18, 2009 In June, Jeff reported to the Committee that the Department of Energy announced stimulus funds available through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The funds are formula-based grants under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. Based on population, Kent is eligible for $850,000.00. The two larger projects referenced in the audit were evaluated for EECBG funding eligibility. The Centennial Building HVAC Project meets Federal requirements. Jeff and Charlie will continue to update Council on the grant progress. Item #6: Director’s Report • There were two successful volunteer events this month: Earth Day, with 100 volunteers at Lake Fenwick. Arbor Day, with 127 volunteers at West Fenwick. • Kiwanis Tot Lot #1 playground dedication is July 2. The ribbon cutting starts at 1:00 p.m. – the same day as the opening of summer playground programs. • Saturday, June 20 is the second Graffiti removal event. • The Fourth of July Splash event is Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thank you to the Cultural program staff for a well-planned event. Thank you to the Police Department and Fire Department staff for their assistance in planning for their services at the event. • The second Human Services Summit was well attended. Agencies asked that some of the administrative encumbrances of the application process be lessened. Staff will work on reducing the size of the application and creating on- line access to the application. • Update on King County “Lifeboat” situation. Current funding will maintain programs through December 2009. King County is working on a tax package proposal to take to voters that will keep programs going to 2010 and beyond. The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Teri Petrole Committee Council Secretary