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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Parks and Human Services Committee - 05/19/2016 (2)Unless otherwise noted, the Parks and Human Services Committee meets at 5 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in Kent City Hall, Council Chambers East, 220 4th Ave S, Kent, 98032. For additional information please contact Teri Petrole at 253-856-5101 or via email at tpetrole@kentwa.gov. Any person requiring a disability accommodation should contact the City Clerk’s Office at 253- 856-5725 in advance. For TDD relay service call Washington Telecommunications Relay Service at 1-800-833-6388. Parks & Human Services Committee Meeting - Agenda Councilmembers: Dennis Higgins - Tina Budell - Brenda Fincher, Chair Jeff Watling, Director May 19, 2016 - 5:00 p.m. Item Description Action Speaker Time Page 1. Call to Order - Chair Fincher 01 - 2. Roll Call - Chair Fincher 01 - 3. Changes to the Agenda - Chair Fincher 01 - 4. Minutes, dated April 21, 2016 - Approve YES Chair Fincher 01 01 5. Adoption of the 2016 Park and Open Space Plan - Recommend YES Hope Gibson, Brian Levenhagen 30 07 6. Director's Report - INFO ONLY NO Jeff Watling 10 09 The 2016 Park and Open Space Plan can be found at: http://www.kentwa.gov/PPD Page 1 Parks and Human Services Committee Meeting Council members: Dennis Higgins - Tina Budell - Brenda Fincher, Chair Jeff Watling, Director April 21, 2016 - 5:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order Chair Brenda Fincher called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. 2. Roll Call Committee Councilmembers Present: Dennis Higgins and Brenda Fincher Committee Councilmembers Absent: Tina Budell Committee Staff Present: Jeff Watling, Parks Director and Teri Petrole, recorder 3. Changes to the Agenda No changes to the agenda. 4. Minutes, dated February 23, 2016 - Approve D. Higgins moved to approve the minutes dated March 24, 2016. The motion carried 2-0. 5. Consultant Services Agreement with MacLeod Reckord for the Morrill Meadows Park Master Plan - Recommend Parks Planning and Development Manager Hope Gibson reported that staff has been working on a partnership with YMCA to bring an athletic center to the East Hill neighborhood at Morrill Meadows Park. This master plan of the 22 acre community park with MacLeod Reckord will ensure that the YMCA building is sited appropriately and the recreational value of current park properties remains intact, if not improved. D. Higgins asked about the plan for public outreach. J. Watling confirmed that three public meetings will be scheduled for community input. H. Gibson responded there will be signage with updates posted at the park and communications to a number of special interest groups. Notices will be advertised in the city newsletter, on Facebook and on the city web site. Staff will work with the city's Communications Director on all publications. The current schedule calls for the final master plan to be complete by fall of 2016. J. Watling also confirmed that staff will follow standard procedure by mailing notices to the property owners within the project radius. Chair Fincher suggested staff Page 1 Page 2 notify KCDIG, neighborhood groups, clubs, and organizations as well. J. Watling responded that staff has already been in contact with many of the groups already. D. Higgins moved to recommend council authorize the mayor to sign a consultant services agreement with MacLeod Reckord PLLC in an amount not to exceed $78,443.50 for the Morrill Meadows Park Master Plan, subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the parks director and city attorney. The motion carried 2-0. 6. Resolution for a Grant Application to the Recreation and Conservation Office for the Walla Property Acquisition - Recommend Each year, staff pursues funding for park development and/or acquisition of property through the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). This year, staff would like to pursue a RCO Washington Wildlife and Recreation Association grant to fund the acquisition of the Walla property to complete the assemblage at Clark Lake Park. Many of the property acquisitions at Clark Lake Park have been partially funded by RCO grants. J. Watling reported that the purchase and sale of the Walla property was approved at City Council on April 19. This RCO state grant includes a Waiver of Retroactivity, which allows the city two grant funding cycles to apply for funding. King Conservation Future's grants will match the RCO funds. D. Higgins moved to recommend council adopt the resolution authorizing the submittal of a grant application to the Recreation and Conservation Office to assist in funding the acquisition of the Walla property at Clark Lake. The motion carried 2-0. 7. 2016 First Quarter Fee-in-lieu Funds - Recommend Between January and March of 2016, the City of Kent received a total of $63,238.14 from Sound Development and Schneider Homes who voluntarily paid a fee in lieu of dedicating park land to mitigate the development of single-family homes in local subdivisions. These funds will be held in a reserve account for capital improvements at Service Club Ballfields and must be expended within five years. J. Watling informed the committee that by Ordinance, the city now makes the decision to build a park space or ask for development fees. D. Higgins asked what renovations are planned for the park. H. Gibson spoke to the development of a new loop trail. D. Higgins stated that the city needs to consider the impact that development has on the community and that fee-in-lieu is one example of how the city requires development fees for those impacts. Higgins is concerned, along with residents, with the amount of private development, adding that developers have rights too, within city regulations. D. Higgins moved to recommend council accept $63,238.14 of fee-in-Lieu funds, amend the Community Parks Reinvestment Program budget and Page 2 Page 3 authorize the future expenditure of funds for capital improvements at Service Club Ballfields. The motion carried 2-0. 8. Draft Park and Open Space Plan Draft - INFO ONLY After years of underinvestment, Hope Gibson reported that the city is facing a $60 million+ parks capital maintenance backlog. Forty-one percent of capital assets in our parks are nearing the end of their useful life. This Parks and Open Space Plan update continues a pivot that was first introduced in the 2010 update. The earlier update signaled a change in focus away from expansion of the park system and toward taking care of the city’s existing park inventory. This plan provides custom solutions to custom problems and shows a story while laying out a vision and a strategy. H. Gibson wanted the committee to know that all of the photos throughout the plan are of Kent Parks and many were submitted by residents, as part of the KVLT photo contest. The quotes in the plan are directly from the two community surveys taken last year. J. Watling commented that a lot of staff time and input has been put into the update. The Executive Summary gives readers a quick overview with the primary points of the plan. Chapter two takes an honest assessment of the state of the system. It centers on making sure the park system is relevant to the diversity of the community's needs. It takes a look at the reality of our aging infrastructure and starts to build a case for sustainable funding. D. Higgins referred the viewers to the website address to follow the plan along with the committee: http://www.kentwa.gov/PPD Page 20 and 21 show how staff began to look at the population and demographics of the community and think through the idea of regions in the park system: of how well they currently connect or could connect to one another throughout the city. The plan was built on four core themes: 1) A focus on quality public spaces: provide a high-quality park system that promotes Kent as a livable city; 2) A performance-based approach: plan and maintain the park system with the help of a set of performance-based assessment tools; 3) Transformation through reinvestment: reinvest in the existing system to successfully transform into a vibrant and relevant urban park system; and Page 3 Page 4 4) Sustainable funding: implement a funding model that supports a LOS that reflects the community’s priorities. As part of the update, there is a new approach to measuring Level of Service (LOS). It replaces the quantity-based acres-per-thousand-residents with a performance- based focus. The new measurement involving recreational value creates a method that gives the city potential for improving the performance of its park system both current and projected. Recreation amenities of the system were determined by establishing a value for every park. The appendices contain extensive information related to the calculation of the recreational value. The advantages and benefits of a performance-based LOS allow the city to make performance-based decisions on capital investments. This is critical when capital fund budgets are low. In addition, this approach will assist staff in making good maintenance decisions. H. Gibson said the plan provides better accountability and she is looking forward to receiving feedback from her associated peers. D. Higgins asked about feedback from the Parks Commission. J. Watling responded that the Parks Commission is in unanimous support. D. Higgins would be interested in any additional feedback. The Strategic Projects stem from work with the 2012 citizens' advisory group, park asset analysis, survey and outreach done last summer, as well as work with the Parks and Recreation Commission through workshops and public outreach. Page 50 of the plan details the 40+ strategic projects within these regions that increase performance on their own and begin to connect the park system. It lays out the strategic projects in each park region that we already own that could transform the park system into a high quality, high performing park system. Completing the potential list of projects can help make the park system more relevant. The map of the projects shows what the park system could become, if the projects are funded. In the plan, capital funding revenue has been equated to filling a bucket. In this metaphor, rocks represent funds from REET, B&O Tax, utility tax, voter and non- voter approved bonds and levies. They are reliable and more substantial funding but they can’t do it alone. Pebbles, as in public grants, impact fees, mitigation fees and King Conservation Futures Tax can be sizeable, but they are unpredictable and sporadically available. Sand represents binding revenue through private donations, grants, volunteers, partnerships and sponsorships. It's not substantial but goes a long way in filling the gaps. The best funding solution includes all three funding areas. The plan will be presented next week at the Land Use and Planning Board meeting for public hearing; to the Economic and Development Committee on May 9; back to the Parks Committee for recommendation on May 19; and then to City Council for Page 4 Page 5 full adoption on June 7. For community feedback, the plan is on the website. Questions and comments are welcome by email to: Jwatling@kentwa.gov or hgibson@kentwa.gov. D. Higgins suggested further informing the public through a Press Release. B. Fincher said the plan contains a lot of good information on parks and the current condition of parks. She invited the public to speak up through a variety of ways and share feedback. J. Watling stated that it sets a process but shouldn’t lock in specifics. H. Gibson reported that the document is not stagnant. It’s a moveable piece and part of a continuing conversation. B. Fincher said that parks speak to livability; schools, parks and jobs. They are all related to the importance of parks. It plays a big part in public safety and keeping kids out of trouble. The plan addresses people with health issues and the trails offer transportation to other local communities. 9. Director’s Report The 2016 Fourth Quarter Contributions Report reflects donations, grants, cash, and in-kind materials contributed to the city with a value under $65,000. The King Conservation District Grant of $63,605.00 that funds the Green Kent Program added to the impressive total of $96,294.00. Jeff spoke to the great partnership with Fortera and the Green Kent Partnership. On Earth Day at Morrill Meadows, Green Kent volunteers planted 110 native plants and spread 30 yards of mulch. Thank you to Desiree Kennedy and Park Operations staff. J. Watling responded back to the committee on the question why the city did not apply for the Cultural Facility grant. The Cultural Facility Grants were specific grants for performing arts facilities and for specific projects. The city does not have a performing arts center and did not have projects ready to apply for this grant. Staff continually applies for and regularly receives 4Culture grants. D. Higgins hopes that no opportunities are missed. The Human Services Commission will review 91 applications. Final funding recommendation will occur at the June 16 Human Services Commission meeting and folded into the 2017/18 budget process. This year, application requests far exceed the available funding. J. Watling responded to a public comment requesting parks budget comparisons with other local cities. Staff compared Kirkland, Auburn, and Renton to Kent because they are close in geography, square miles and population. The same services shared by all of the cities are: Administration, Park Planning, Recreation, Arts, Historical Society, and Park Operations (maintenance). Page 5 Page 6 The variances for Kent include additional services: the Animal Services Contract, Human Services and Community Development Block Grant Program, the Public Defense Contract, City Facilities and Street Trees. The report clearly shows that $115.00 for the level of investment per resident in Kent is comparable to the other cities. When looking at total acreage, Kent does not have an overly developed park system. J. Watling went into some detail on services and adopted budgets, vs. population and total city square miles. The report shows a $0.18 annual cost per total square foot (not including recreation) for the city to steward the entire park system. D. Higgins asked that the PowerPoint be posted to the city website, along with the spreadsheet. He wants to see the story told. B. Fincher suggested this information get to the Kent Reporter. B. Fincher adjourned the meeting at 6:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Teri Petrole Teri Petrole City Council Committee Secretary Page 6 PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Jeff Watling, Director Phone: 253-856-5100 Fax: 253-856-6050 Address: 220 Fourth Avenue S. Kent, WA. 98032-5895 TO: Kent City Council Parks and Human Services Committee DATE: May 19, 2016 FROM: Hope Gibson, Parks Planning and Development Manager Brian Levenhagen, Park Planner SUBJECT: Adoption of 2016 Park and Open Space Plan - Recommend MOTION: Move to recommend council adopt the 2016 Park and Open Space Plan. SUMMARY: Since the last Parks and Open Space Plan update, the city has remained in conversation with the community regarding their priorities about parks and open spaces in Kent. In 2012, Parks convened a Citizens’ Advisory Committee to look at the condition of parks in Kent. That Committee resulted in a list of recommendations that included several strategic park improvement projects. That list became the parks portion of the Roads and Parks Levy in November 2012, which failed to pass. In 2015, the city created its first Parks and Recreation Commission since 1979. The Commission has worked with Parks staff on this update during the process through workshops, meetings and public outreach (the Fourth of July Splash, the Kent International Festival and the June Teenth celebration). Staff also pursued input from the general public specific to this plan. Last summer staff created an online survey on parks priorities that was publicized in a variety of ways. In addition to that survey, the city hired a survey firm to perform a statistically valid survey regarding park and recreation priorities. Both surveys provided valuable information staff relied on in creating the plan. This Parks and Open Space Plan update continues a pivot that was first introduced in the 2010 update. The earlier update signaled a change in focus away from expansion of the park system and toward taking care of the City’s existing park inventory. It anticipated a new approach to Level of Service (LOS) that has been completed in the current update. The new performance-based approach replaces the quantity-based acres-per-thousand-residents one. Page 7 There are four primary themes to this plan that are woven throughout the document: 1) An emphasis on quality public spaces: provide a high-quality park system that promotes Kent as a livable city; 2) A performance-based approach: plan and maintain the park system with the help of a performance-based set of assessment tools; 3) Transformation through reinvestment: reinvest in the existing system to successfully transform it into a vibrant and relevant urban park system and 4) Sustainable funding: implement a funding model that supports a LOS that reflects the community’s priorities. This Parks and Open Space Plan update represents a great deal of work by many. It is a call to action and presents a strategic vision for the role that Kent's parks, trails and open space need to play in this community's future. EXHIBITS: 2016 Park and Open Space Plan is located at: http://www.kentwa.gov/PPD BUDGET IMPACTS: None Page 8 PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Jeff Watling, Director Phone: 253-856-5100 Fax: 253-856-6050 Address: 220 Fourth Avenue S. Kent, WA. 98032-5895 TO: Kent City Council Parks and Human Services Committee DATE: May 19, 2016 FROM: Jeff Watling, Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Services SUBJECT: Director’s Report MOTION: Information only SUMMARY: Jeff Watling, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, will inform the committee of noteworthy information on programs and upcoming events. EXHIBITS: N/A BUDGET IMPACT: N/A Page 9