HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Parks and Human Services Committee - 04/21/2016Page 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
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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
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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
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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
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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 First 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).
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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