MARION PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT M E M O R A N D U M

Transcription

1 MARION PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 17, 2015 TO: Marion Mayor & Council SUBJECT: February to March 2015 Staff Reports Park Board Activity Approvals: The bid and purchase from Pool Tech Midwest (Cedar Rapids) for a pool chair lift in the amount of $3,344. The bid and purchase from Brecke Mechanical Contractors (Cedar Rapids) for a 97 percent efficient pool heater in the amount of $43,600. The bid and purchase from Boland Recreation (Marshalltown) for outdoor fitness equipment by Greenfield Outdoor Fitness in the amount of $28,905. Memorandum of Understanding for the Lowe Greenhouse Operations with Linn County Extension. Receive and File: Requests for fee reductions or waivers from Rotary Club of Marion East Cedar Rapids (June 13 Lowe Park Amphitheater), CROP Walk (October 11 Thomas Park English Pavilion), and Marion 1st United Methodist Church (June 28 Lowe Park Amphitheater). Monthly staff report and 2014 Parks & Recreation Annual Report. Nicotine Free Parks: Discussion with City Council regarding implementation of an ordinance prohibiting tobacco, nicotine products and vaporizers in public parks. Department Report Forestry/Tree Board: The next forestry training class with the IDNR is scheduled for March 26. The topics for this session are Tree ID, Technology and Out Reach; the session runs from 8:30 to 3:30 at Lowe Park. Park employee Mike Cimprich continues to work on the Tower Terrace planting plan for the One Day In May event. The second Faulkes Woods restoration project that was scheduled for February 14 th was canceled due to the cold. The event was rescheduled for March 6 th. Lowe Park Development: The parks director met with the Local Option Sales Tax Committee on February 18 to request an additional $350,000 from the fund be allocated for the development of additional parking lots and park roads in Lowe Park. The Committee voted that the item was an appropriate use of the funds. This recommendation will now move on to the City Council for review and approval. 1 P a g e

2 Master Parks System Plan: A steering committee for the project is being developed and the department has been working with Confluence to develop the overall project calendar. A kickoff meeting with the steering committee is tentatively scheduled for April 1 and the first public involvement meeting will be held the first or second week of June. Safe Room Door Upgrades: The department has been informed by Linn County Emergency Management that they have moved all radio communications to narrow banding. The department has been working with Radio Communications (Hiawatha) to develop a new system for responding to Tornado Warnings. Currently the department is looking at a dial up system that will allow staff to remotely unlock the safe room door in the event of a tornado warning. Donnelly Park Bridge: Shoemaker & Haaland continue to work on the development plan for this project Uptown Tree Removals: Breeden Tree Service removed some trees from the Seventh Avenue Uptown area between Tenth Street and 12 th Street earlier this year. The ash trees had decorative grates around them at ground level and over time the trees grew into the grates not allowing for the tree removal service to grind them below the sidewalk. Park crews cut and chiseled the metal out of the trees and removed the grates, then rented a stump grinder and removed the stump. Oak Shade Cemetery: There were two burials during the month of February and three spaces sold. The Friends of Oak Shade Cemetery have been meeting on a regular monthly basis. Plans are underway for their spring cleanup on March 28. They will focus on the Town Lots and the Pioneer Section. Staff Development: As part of our continuing staff education, Operations Manager VanMilligan put together an instructional class on welding. The first stage of the lesson was a large group informational course that introduced employees to the basic operation of welding equipment. The second stage was one-onone with the instructor putting what was learned into practice. Everyone was given an informational packet with step by step directions on proper usage of welding equipment and can be used as a reference guide for future use. Citizen Requests: During February, the department received 10 contacts regarding sidewalks not being cleared. After proper notice was given, only one sidewalk needed to be cleared by staff. One property is being shoveled on a regular basis by the Department due to multiple violations. Ice Rink: In a continued effort to improve our operations and to serve the public better a couple of items were addressed this month. The poor lighting at the ice rink received a few comments on the City s Facebook page. A brighter light was installed at the ice rink in Legion Park with the help of Mark Barnds and Alliant Energy. The light helps extend the hours of the ice rink to 9:30 at night. 2 P a g e

3 In the past when the surface of the ice became damaged, the top of the ice was shaved with a John Deere 1445 and snow blower attachment would help level the surface. Next a broom attached to the 1445 was used to polish the surface of the ice. If the damage was too great we would flood the surface with an inch of water to gain a level surface. This could only be performed a limited number of times during the season before the water is no longer contained by the rink and the rink is closed while the water freezes. After some brainstorming, a method using the 4720 tractor with a 3-point sprayer on a 12 spray bar was developed. The sprayer is filled with hot water from our power washer in the wash bay and then used to apply a new thin layer of ice to the ice rink surface which quickly levels the surface and is useable for skaters in minutes. Parks Facilities Maintenance: Repairs were made to walls in the Lowe A&E building to fix normal wear and tear due to rentals and the settling of the building. Staff patched rips and cracks in the dry wall that had occurred during the course of the year, the areas were sanded and then painted in preparation for next year s rentals. Some light fixtures at Lowe A&E building had quit working over the year and needed ballasts replaced. Due to the high ceilings in the building a lift was rented to complete this repair. Organization: Chainsaw and handheld blower racks were made. Keeping these items organized and hung frees up shelf space in the shop and create a clutter free storage area that is easy to maintain and easy to use. Equipment Repairs: The mechanism to shut and lock the tailgate on the F-350 dump truck was rebuilt by employees. Rear sections of the dump box were cut out and replaced with new metal to strengthen the points where the tailgate attaches. Damaged 2x12 side boards were also replaced and a brake light issue was addressed during the rehab. General Park Repairs: The sign at Elza Park was removed and repainted by Scott Sagers. The windows in the caboose at City Square Park are being rebuilt. The glass is being replaced with ¼ plexiglass to help prevent break in and vandalism to the caboose. Recreation Programs: In February Kid Crafters had 12 kids ages 3 to 5 participate in this youth craft class. Kids created Valentine s Day and St. Patrick s Day themed crafts. Cork N Canvas on February 12 had nine painters. This was the last adult class we have scheduled at this time. Our next class will be a Kids N Canvas on March 16 during spring break. Karlene Hummel, right, and her daughter display their masterpiece created at the Cork N Canvas class on Feb P a g e

4 We had over 70 people attend our first BINGO night at Lowe Park on February 20. A mix of families, adults, and seniors packed into the Oaks Room for their chance to take home some cash. Many people brought food and/or drink to enjoy while they played. We obtained a BINGO license from the city and the equipment was leant to us from Witwer Healthy Aging Services who programs senior activities at Lowe Park during the week. Our next Bingo night is scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. Our annual Adult Team Trivia Night was held on February 21 at Lowe Park. Eight teams of adults (64 people total) competed in this growingly popular event for the adults. It was an exciting and fun evening as the night came down to the very last question in the tiebreaker round. First and second place teams took home prizes for the evening. Winterfest was postponed from February 14 due to extreme cold and held on February 28 at Thomas Park. Participants took part in: curling, broomball, sledding, snow-painting, a bird feeder craft, and more. Hot chocolate and a mix your own trail mix bar was available in the Safe Room for people to warm up. It was estimated that roughly 200 people attended the event between 1 to 4 p.m. PeeWee Basketball (K-1 st Grade), Little Stars Basketball (4 year olds) and Blastball (3 year olds) will have their last session on March 7. The players, coaches, parents, and staff are all been having a great time. These programs are instructional focusing on basic skills, sportsmanship, socialization, and FUN! The March Little Chefs cooking class has 19 kids ages 3 to 5 year old registered; this will be our biggest one to date. Sessions were offered in both the morning and evening. Kids will try their hand at a variety of kid friendly recipes to make and take with them. The EGGStraordinary Egg Hunt, our night time easter egg hunt, is full again for the second year in a row with several weeks before the event on March 27. County Wide Networking: We have been meeting with Linn County Directors, February 6: Staff from Linn County DNR and Hiawatha, Cedar Rapids, and Marion Parks and Recreation Departments meet each quarter to discuss what is taking place in the county. Each department talks about their big projects, exciting news, budget concerns, and issues on hand. This forum allows the groups to bounce ideas off each other and look at ways to work together to improve the quality of life throughout Linn County. 4 P a g e

5 Swimming Pool: Applications are being reviewed and interviews will be conducted in March for staffing. Local daycares have been contacted about swim lesson scheduling. The lesson cards are printed and ready for the big sign up day on April 18. Arts Council: Coffeehouse Night on February 6 was at full capacity with 156 people in attendance; approximately 40 people were turned away. Coffeehouse Night on March 6 features Ben Schmidt and Larry Mossman. On April 10 Natalie Brown will perform at the last Coffeehouse Night scheduled for the spring. The current gallery display is It s a Family Affair with work by Marci B. Wright and Thomas E. Cook. The artist reception and gallery talk will be March 12 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Red Cedar Chamber Music Concert/Silent Film Event will be held at Lowe Park on March 26 at 7 p.m. ACTIVITY REPORT FROM MASTER GARDENERS Lowe Park Greenhouse report for March 2015 by Phil Pfister: The Lowe Park Greenhouse and Demonstration Gardens volunteers provided items for a sale table at the Winter Gardening Fair, on February 21. On February 14, the group held a workshop to prepare all the items for the sale, which included ivy topiaries, succulent gardens, small wreaths of dried flowers, kitchen wreaths of dried peppers, garlic and herbs on a cornhusk base, and pansy basket gardens. Head grower Shelby Foley led the workshop. Participants in the workshop were: Barb Brown, Judi Dolezal, Sandy Fiegan, Peggy Green, Doris Hardt, Coleen Kint, Karla McGrail, Kay McWhinney, Mary Mikkola, and Kathy Rhodes. The sale was an overwhelming success, with all items being sold and grossing over $600. The proceeds will benefit the programs for both of these groups. We have added an additional seeding, transplanting and propagation work session starting on Thursday, February 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. Work sessions are now Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The amendment with the City of Marion for the 50/50 utility share is in process. 5 P a g e

6 SAFE ROOM & ARTS CENTER USAGE FEBRUARY Events with alcohol permits: 4 Some reservations use more than one room. Room Paid Free Safe Room 0 3 Amphitheater 0 0 Lobby 0 2 Art Room 0 5 Sunburst 5 13 Hickory 4 2 Sunburst & Hickory 0 0 White Oak 6 3 Red Oak 0 1 Red & White Oak 3 10 Entire Facility 1 0 Outdoor / Greenhouse 0 0 TOTALS* Activity Type Monthly Usage Number of Attendees Building Visitors n/a 43 Gallery Open / Arts Council Activities Senior Nutrition 1 6 Seniors Bingo 3 48 Senior Dance Senior Cards 7 66 Parks / Recreation* Meetings / Work / School Event Blood Drive 1 33 Hip Hop 4 60 Family Gatherings / Showers Rehearsal/Wedding/Reception TOTALS 55 2,350 *Parks / Recreation number includes PeeWee Basketball Photos. Weather related school delays and cancellations affected Senior Dance twice, Senior Bingo and Senior Cards once but some people still attended Cards. Partnered with Marion Blue Zone on Winterfest and a cooking class in February. 6 P a g e