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PARKS & RECREATION BOARD 2019/03/19 Packet PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2019 6:30PM at MUNICIPAL SERVICES 800 N. FIELD DRIVE LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS AGENDA I. CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL _____Charlie Kohlmeyer, Chairman _____ Shannon Maguire _____ Rich Adams _____ Nancy Duffy _____ Paul Best _____ Steve Reimer _____ Melanie Walsh _____ William Zordani, Student II. *ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION- Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 et seq. possible topics a. Purchase or Lease of Real Property for the use of the Public Body b. Reconvene to Open Session III. *APPROVAL OF NSSRA RESOLUTION- Authorizing the Acquisition of Certain Property and approval to move NSSRA Resolution forward to City Council IV. *APPROVAL OF MINUTES i. Approval of minutes of the February 26, 2019 Parks and Recreation Board Meeting V. OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS VI. *APPROVAL OF LAKEFRONT OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES-Presented by Aaron Dalzot, Program Manager of Lakefront VII. COMMENTS BY DIRECTOR VIII. COMMENTS BY BOARD MEMBERS IX. ADJOURNMENT *ACTION ITEMS The City of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes February 26, 2019 I. Call to Order The Parks and Recreation Board Meeting was called to order by Chairman Charlie Kohlmeyer at 6:00p.m. The following were present: Board Members: Mr. Charlie Kohlmeyer Mr. Paul Best Ms. Nancy Duffy Mr. Steve Reimer Mr. William Zordani, Student Staff: Ms. Sally Swarthout, Director of Parks and Recreation Mr. Joe Mobile, Superintendent of Recreation Mr. Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Recreation Ms. Dani Spann, Administrative Assistant II. Approval of Minutes Meeting minutes of the December 4, 2018 Park & Recreation Board Meeting were presented and approved. Meeting minutes of the January 15, 2019 Park & Recreation Board Meeting were presented and approved. Board member Best motioned for approval of the minutes and Board member Duffy seconded. The minutes were then unanimously approved. Board member Duffy motioned for approval of the minutes and Board member Reimer seconded. The minutes were then unanimously approved. III. Opportunities for the Public to Address the Board on Items not listed on the Agenda No comments IV. Comprehensive Park Master Plan Approval Joe Mobile, Superintendent of Recreation is requesting approval of the Comprehensive Master Plan. He presented a brief overview of the purpose and goals of this plan. Mr. Mobile went over the main goals accomplished in the process. The action plan was designed to target the highest priority items determined in the process. Board member Duffy asked about amendments made to the plan. Staff believe the 10 year plan is a clear and accurate presentation of the City’s direction of where they want to be. The plan is still in draft form until final approval and has been amended to reflect the feedback received. On March 11th Director Swarthout will provide the Finance Committee with this document before final approval from City Council. Director Swarthout mentioned the final Master Plan will be available on the website and a summary page was requested to be used for fundraising purposes. A motion was made by Board member Best to approve the Comprehensive Park Master Plan. Board member Adams seconded. The motion was passed. V. Forest Park Maintenance Contract Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry, is requesting approval of the Forest Park maintenance contract. The bid process was completed in November with Mariani Landscape having the lowest bid at $39,923.33 each year for three years. They have agreed to use the non-emissions equipment. The Forest Park Preservation Board is very committed to the park and have helped by providing financial assistance in the sum of $8000 for maintenance and a consultant, Galen Gates. Galen has been working with staff to build their knowledge level on maintaining the property. Mr. Myers explained the involvement of in house crews to help maintain this area. Board member Kohlmeyer asked what is included in the contract with Mariani Landscape. Mr. Myers answered the biggest part of the contract is the beds and paths. Board member Maguire inquired that more information on eco-friendly products and chemicals be included in the next bid process. A motion was made by Board member Duffy to enter into a one year contract with Mariani Landscape to provide mowing and grounds maintenance services at Forest Park, with the ability to extend the contract for an additional two, one-year terms, in the total amount of $39,932.33 for FY2020. Board member Reimer seconded. The motion was passed. VI. Annual Grounds Maintenance Contract Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry is seeking approval for a one year contract with Landscape Concepts Management in the amount of $101,540 for the grounds maintenance of City properties. This is a continuation from last year. We will go out to bid again next year. A small amount of money was added for the small area on Western Avenue. A motion was made by Board member Best to award a one year contract to Landscape Concepts Management in the amount of $101,540 for FY20 for the mowing and grounds maintenance of City properties, cul-de-sacs, and right-of-ways. Board member Maguire seconded. The motion was passed. VII. Annual Tree Purchasing Contract Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry went over the annual joint bid process with Highland Park and Highland Park Park District. We anticipate the planting of 400 trees in spring and Fall. Every year we do a joint bid with the City of Highland Park and the Highland Park Park District. This will help with acquiring the 66 different species and quality of trees desired by the City. He briefly went over the process of staff choosing the trees and managing our list. This tree purchasing program was designed to replace the trees affected by Dutch Elm Disease. Last year we spent $80,000 on the purchase of trees and $20,000 on the removal. A motion was made by Board member Duffy to approve the annual tree purchasing contract for FY2020. Board member Best seconded. The motion was passed. VIII. Comments by Director Director Swarthout gave an update on the North Beach Access Road. A bid from Keno for over $2 million will go before City Council for approval on March 4th. The contractor informed us they would have to push back the end date into September. The Recreation Center staff is coming up with a plan for operations during this time and will bring a plan before the Board in March. They are looking at a bussing service to bring patrons to the beach. They will be closing parts of Lake Rd. from Deerpath to Westminster. Also, due to safety issues, Ring Rd. will be closed as well. The subject of locker rentals came up. There will be advertising of these upcoming changes through Constant Contact, the City Website, posted at City buildings. Director Swarthout talked about the following upcoming events in February and early March. 1. Reptile Rampage- March 10th from 10:00am – 4:00pm at Lake Forest Recreation Center 2. Passion to Dance- March 16th at 5:00pm at Lake Forest Academy Director Swarthout gave a reminder the Fred Jackson Golf Outing is coming up on June 7th. This is a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Foundation. Board member Maguire thanked the crew that works on the ice pond. They are doing a great job. She also mentioned having solar options at some of the City buildings. Progress on the Veterans Park was mentioned. Comments by Board Members IX. Adjournment Board member Maguire motioned for adjournment and Board member Reimer seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25p.m. Respectfully Submitted Dani Spann Administrative Assistant SUBJECT: 2019 Lakefront Operational Procedures PRESENTED BY: Aaron Dalzot, Program Manager of Lakefront 847-810-3930 PURPOSE AND ACTION REQUESTED: Due to the construction project of the Hughes Gateway, Staff is seeking 1) approval of the 2019 Lakefront Operational Procedures and 2) approval to move the recommendation forward to City Council. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION: Staff is currently preparing for the 2019 Lakefront season, and due to the established timeline for repairs of the Hughes Gateway, staff is trying to find a solution that will accommodate both south beach permit holders as well as the general beach user. With the loss of 104 parking spots in the north beach parking lot until mid-September, Staff are developing a plan to lessen the burden of that loss to our resident users so they can still enjoy the Lakefront during the closure. Last year on opening weekend we had 1,625 vehicles come to the beach, 2,779 guests arrive in vehicles, 678 nonresident walk-ins, and 952 resident walk-ins. Over the course of the beach season, we went into overflow 28 out of 33 weekend and Holiday days. We had 9,757 vehicles come to the beach on weekend and holidays alone carrying 16,947 guests. The amount of vehicular traffic on the south beach access road and in the lower south beach parking lot put a great amount of stress on the facility as well as the staff. To ensure a better experience for our guests, staff feels the need to put some restrictions on the south entry point and lower parking lot. The lower South Beach parking lot has 88 regular spots, 5 handicap spots and 36 trailer spots for which permits are sold annually. The Upper South parking lot also has 18 spots available to residents who display a Lake Forest City sticker. With the Hughes Gateway project, the two south lots are the only available onsite parking for our residents. Staff has considered many options and have now determined what we consider to be the best operational plan for the summer of 2019. Staff has also met with representatives from the following City Departments; Police, Fire, Parks & Recreation, Forestry, City Hall, Streets, and Building Maintenance; to gather feedback and garner support for the procedures. After the meeting all departments supported the proposed operational procedures outlined below. Beach Access – All vehicular beach access will be from the south access road. Staff is suggesting that on weekdays, Monday through Friday, the lower south beach parking lot will be open to any guest that has a City of Lake Forest Parking sticker. The middle row of trailer spots would be reserved for vehicles that have compound or beach watercraft storage but will be monitored and used as overflow parking beginning from the south end of the row. On weekend and holidays staff recommend that the south beach parking is for south beach permitted vehicles only (water ramp launch, watercraft storage, south beach parking). All other beach parking will be housed in the lot behind Deerpath Middle School where a shuttle service will provide transportation to 2 and from the South Beach Parking lot, from 9am-7pm. On July 4th the parking and shuttles will run from Lake Forest High School East Campus lot. If a non-resident parks in the Deerpath Lot and wanted to take the shuttle, staff could direct them to pay their non-resident fee at the fitness center desk and they could get their wrist band before they enter the bus. Once at the beach, golf cart transportation from the South parking lot to the North swimming area will be provided to ease the burden on our users. We will be running 1 golf cart on weekdays and 2 on weekends. Pedestrian traffic will access the beach from the north stairs and the wooden stairs to the south. All non-resident access will be from the wooden stairs as well. Staff will continue selling care taker passes, daily boat launch passes and Guest parking passes Monday-Friday only (no weekend and no holidays). All day camps that come to the beach as part of their camp day will still be permitted, however no bus parking will be allowed on site. Staff have suspended all beach pavilion and fire circle rentals for the 2019 season as well. Life Safety- All emergency vehicles will access the lakefront from the south parking lot as well unless they can obtain access to the north road. City Staff determined that the beach lifeguard staff and the Fire Department will work on drills together prior to the season opening to coordinate emergency vehicle access to the beach swimming area in a safe and timely manner. Staff Parking - The Top South parking lot will be designated the staff parking lot for the summer season. After looking at several options, and without the use of the Lake Forest College north lot this summer this was determined the best option for operations. Signage - We will be working with streets to add signage at the beach this season. Signage will also be added for our shuttle service at Deerpath as well as around Forest Park to provide visible instructions and guidelines for our residents. We will also have the flexibility to add additional Handicap spots in the lower lot if needed. We are currently in compliance with the law but feel that we may need to make additional accommodations after losing 5 handicap spaces in the north lot. The Streets Department will provide some portable handicap signs if we find that we need to increase handicap parking at the lakefront. Marketing – The communication plan includes signage around town, information packets at all City buildings, a social media campaign, Web Site postings, information in the Summer Dialogue, and utilizing our Constant Contact email lists. Beach Storage/Lockers – Staff continues to investigate different options for locker storage to promote alternate means of transportation to the lakefront. Patrons could rent a unit for the summer leaving their belongings on site. 3 BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT: The changes in operational procedures will have a significant fiscal impact on the lakefront operations budget this summer as they are non-budgeted costs. All costs are estimates at this time. Golf Cart Shuttle – The cost of 2 golf carts for the summer will be approximately $5,400.00 School Bus Shuttle – The contractual cost of a School Bus to operate as our shuttle for 33 weekend and Holiday days will be approximately $18,480.00. The shuttle service will run from 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Memorial Day to Labor Day this summer. Staff will monitor it on stormy days to see if we can shorten shuttle times and staff to reduce cost. Additional Shuttle Staff – The staffing of the Deerpath parking lot will add approximately $2,970.00 in staff costs as well. The total effect on the operating budget at the lakefront this summer will be approximately $26,850.00 in additional costs with our recommended plan. RECOMMENDED PARK BOARD ACTION: Staff is seeking 1) approval of the 2019 Lakefront Operational Procedures and 2) approval to move the recommendation forward to City Council.