DATE: March 21, TO: Marion Mayor & Council

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1 DATE: March 21, 2017 TO: Marion Mayor & Council Park Board Activity Pool Concessions Contract: A new contract for pool concessions was approved with Joe Drahozal for the 2017 season with the same terms as the prior year. Kona Ice MOU: The board approved the renewal of the MOU with Kona Ice to sell flavored ice in Thomas Park, Lowe Ball Diamonds, and at City Square for the 2017 season. Hotel/Motel Funded Summer Concerts: The board approved the contracts for the summer entertainment events at Lowe Park: o He Wears Black-Johnny Cash Tribute, June 16 o Midwest Dueling Pianos, July 15 o Doug Thompson Hypnotists and Gayle Becwar Magician, August 5 Legion Park Disc Golf Tournament: A request from Titan Disc Golf to host their annual tournament on August 12 and 13 was approved. Donation Requests: Consideration and approval of donation of a $100 voucher for school PTO fundraisers at Linn Grove Elementary and St. Joseph Catholic School. Bid Approval: Bid approved from Kromminga Motors for the purchase of a 2017 Land Pride AFM4216 Flex Mower with trade in equipment in the amount of $11,754. Budget: $13,000 Equipment Reserve Kromminga Motors $11, Rexco of Cedar Rapids $11, City Tractor $14, P&K Midwest $14, Titan Machinery $14, Tree Board Election of Officers: Chairperson Scott Hansen, Vic Chair Marilyn Tormey, and Secretary Rodney Bluml. Trees Please! Grant: Greg Wildebour with MidAmerican Energy presented the board with a $1,000 grant check for the street tree replacement program. 1 P a g e

2 Branching Out Grant: Alliant Energy awarded the City a $4,715 grant for trees to be planted at Waldo s Rock Park during the One Day in May event with Marion High School students. Trees for Kids Seedling Packet: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources awarded the department a hardwood seedling packet containing approximately 200 bare root saplings. These will be planted during Earth Week in April by Trees Forever volunteers at the Lowe Park tree farm. Department Report City/Marion Schools Tennis Courts: Bids were received for the joint tennis court project with the Marion School District. The low bidder meeting the minimum qualifications for the work was Woodruff Construction from Tiffin, Iowa. Total bid with alternates was $529,750. The school board will review the bids during its regular board meeting on March 6. This project still requires funding approval by the Marion City Council, as it is part of the overall Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Lowe Park Development: Weather has allowed Trey Electric to begin installing bollards and light poles along the new trail and parking lots at the south entrance to Lowe Park. Sculpture Trail Development: Design, structural and civil engineering planning has started for the Lowe Park gateway Prairie Revival piece. The construction of footings and trail installation will be completed by bidding out this portion of the project. YMCA Project: Staff members from the department and YMCA met recently to kickoff discussion. McGowan House: High winds damaged the front doors at the McGowan house. Park staff removed both doors from the building and made repairs, repainted and reinstalled them. Legion Ice Rink: Due to the above average temperatures in February, the ice rink has been drained and basketball goals installed for the season. Equipment Preventative Maintenance: Operations staff are finishing up winter preventative maintenance. All equipment and trucks are checked for repairs needing to be made including changing oil and filters. This helps reduce down time during the busy summer work schedule and extend the life of equipment. Trucks and tractors receive a thorough cleaning during the winter. Hand waxing is done to help maintain the looks of the equipment for years to come. 2 P a g e

3 Picnic Table/Pool Bench Repairs: Wood repairs, welding repairs, and staining is wrapping up on picnic tables. By mid- March they will all be ready for distribution back into the park system. Benches from the pool were brought to the shop this winter for repairs and repainting. Park Activity: Operations staff have gone through the parks to cleanup sticks, limbs and trash which has fallen or blown in over the winter months. With the unseasonably warm weather, hand raking is being done around playgrounds and high use parks in an effort to get ahead on annual spring clean-up items typically completed in April and May. Staff are also monitoring playgrounds and parks in preparation for higher than normal usage. Playground chips are raked around swings and equipment, trash and sticks are picked up, and garbage cans are emptied throughout our park system. Ash Trees: Arborist Mike Cimprich is working with the Tree Board to establish criteria for determining significant ash trees to be treated to protect against the emerald ash borer. This would be used for ash trees in the rights-of-way adjacent to residential properties. An informational letter will be sent to property owners with trees to be treated. Staff Development: Recreation/Aquatics Coordinator Karlene Hummel completed the Food Managers Safety Course and testing to become a Certified Food Manager, which is good for five years. This is necessary for the renewal of the food permit at the Lowe Concession Stand. As a part of providing continuing staff education, Operations Manager Aaron VanMilligan put together an instructional class on fertilizer and landscape maintenance. Topics included primary and secondary nutrients essential for plant growth, application methods, types of fertilizer, mowing, irrigation, aeration and over-seeding. Forestry staff Mike Cimprich and Ryan Hays attended the ISU Shade Tree Short Course on February 22 and 23 in Ames. Volunteer Work Projects: Faulkes Heritage Woods Workday was a huge success. More than two dozen volunteers showed up February 22 to remove Japanese Barberry on the rare 60 degree day. The next event will be March 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. Forestry staff are planning out the spring volunteer days. This includes Marion High School One Day in May, Linn-Mar Senior Service Day, Earth Week Planting, Urban Orchard Planting, and the Arbor Day Celebration. Bluebird Nestboxes: With more and more development occurring, the supply of natural nesting cavities for bluebirds and other native cavity nesters has been greatly reduced. (from Factsheet) A Marion resident donated four bluebird nestboxes (houses) which were installed along Krumholtz Trail. Chainsaw and Tree Cutting Training: Arborist Cimprich has coordinated a chainsaw and tree cutting training workshop to be held March 30 and hosted by the department. This program is a partnership between the department and the IDNR. An estimated 25 participants from all over eastern Iowa will be in Marion for this specialized training. 3 P a g e

4 Oak Shade Cemetery: There was one burial and three spaces sold last month. Citizen Requests Snow/Ice on Sidewalks: With the lack of snowfall in February and some warm temperatures, there were no complaints reported for sidewalks. Citizen Requests Tree Issues: There was one citizen request in February regarding right-of-way trees. Farmers Market & Community Gardens: Letters were mailed to past Farmers Market vendors and Community Garden participants to prepare for the fast approaching season. Market vendors have been pleased with the Taube Park location and the additional changes made over the past couple of years. The gardens continue to be popular and have a waiting list, even with the additional lots created last year. Spring Break Activities: Recreation staff are offering a few spring break camps and programs to keep the little ones busy while school is out. Programs being offered during the week of March 13 to 17 include: Putt-Putt Indoor Golf Camp, Indoor Bags Tournament, Lil Leprechaun s Day Camp, and Cockroach Races (an educational and hands on program about insects; a partnership program with Wickiup Hill). B-I-N-G-O Night: The second Bingo Night of the season was held Friday, February 17. Another full-house packed The Oaks room at Lowe Park with nearly 140 people in attendance. The next Bingo Night is schedule for Friday, March 10. Youth Recreation Programs: Kid Crafters Class will be held Tuesday evenings in March. Kids, with the help of their parents, will create a holiday or seasonal craft each meeting. St. Patrick s Day and Easter will be the primary focus of crafts this session. Shooting Stars (photo below left and middle), Little Stars Basketball, and Blastball (photo below right) wraps up March 4 at Bowman Woods and Echo Hill. Lil Chefs Cooking wrapped up its last day of classes on February 23. The 15 kids with their parents enjoyed: Pizza Cupcakes, Lasagna Roll-Ups, Frozen Yogurt Covered Fruit Pops, and special Easter Dirt Cups. Pool: Applications for summer help at the swimming pool were due February 10. They have been reviewed and interviews will be scheduled in March. Fourteen members from the 2016 staff not returning; eight of those were lifeguards. The overall number of applications was down considerably this year. 4 P a g e

5 Arts Council: Coffeehouse Night on February 3 with the Bernemann Brothers Trio performing had 70 people in attendance. Performing March 3 is Awful Purdies, and the final Coffeehouse event of the season will be April 7 with Acoustic Open Jam Session led by Lori Blattner. The Gallery exhibit for March and April features Karen Morehead, a ceramic artist, and Kathleen Heubener. On March 30, the Arts Council will be hosting the Red Cedar Chamber s Backlash Bach. Guest artist Isaac Pastor-Chermak, cello, will join Miera Kim and Carey Bostian to bring Bach s Viola da Gamba Sonatas to life in a fresh new way. Originally for Gamba with Harpsichord Obligato, the two independent lines of the harpsichord are played by violin and cello, creating what amounts to a three-part invention. Immerse yourself in virtuoso string playing as Red Cedar Chamber Music presents Bach s masterpieces in a 21 st -century context. The Spring Picnic on the Prairie concert will be held June 17. The performer will be Susan Werner, who hails from eastern Iowa, has launched more than a dozen cds, and performs coast to coast each year. Activity Report from Master Gardeners Lowe Park Greenhouse report by Phil Pfister: Nine Master Gardeners and Interns participated in the Kokedama workshop on Saturday, February 11. The workshop was led by Tina Patterson and Shelby Foley. Tina s goal was to make 20 plants within the time allotted for the workshop, but the well organized and productive team finished the workshop with a total of 49. The Kokedama will be some of the plants on sale at the Winter Gardening Fair and other events. (Kokedama examples at right.) Seeding has started with early flowers, herb, peppers and eggplant. Work sessions are taking place every week on Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. We have had one Thursday evening workshop, with more coming later in March. We are covering and uncovering the shutters and fans almost daily as the sun comes higher in the sky, and stronger, and the temperatures continue to warm. We still cover everything at night to conserve heat. Thanks to a donation by one of our Master Gardeners, we have added another heat mat to help with rooting of the cuttings. We now have one full bench which is heated with heat mats. Since we run the greenhouse on the cool side, this makes a significant difference in the time it takes the cutting to root, and the number of cuttings which actually root. 5 P a g e

6 SAFE ROOM & ARTS CENTER USAGE FEBRUARY Events with alcohol permits: 2 Some reservations use more than one room. Room Paid Free Safe Room 0 1 Amphitheater 0 0 Lobby/Gallery 0 3 Art Room 0 2 Sunburst 0 15 Hickory 9 13 White Oak 0 0 Red Oak 3 0 Red & White Oak 1 13 Entire Facility 0 1 Outdoor (Pond) / Greenhouse MONTHLY TOTAL MONTHLY TOTAL Activity Type Monthly Usage Number of Attendees Gallery Open / Arts Council Activities Seniors Bingo /Dance / Cards Parks / Recreation Marion Girls Softball Registration Marion Boys Baseball Registration 2 55 Meetings / Work / School / Church 3 70 Blood Drive 1 26 Family Gatherings / Showers Rehearsal/Wedding/Reception MONTHLY TOTAL 60 1, MONTHLY TOTAL 76 2,704 Sun setting framed by the Lowe Park Amphitheater. Photo credit Scott Turner, Public Services, taken this winter. 6 P a g e

7 MARION PARK BOARD MINUTES February 8, 2017, 4:00 P.M. Thomas Park Administration and Operations Facility ROLL CALL: ABSENT: STAFF: GUESTS: Chair Patty Wise, Kyle Martin, Terry Speral John McIntosh Mike Carolan, Karlene Hummel, Aaron VanMilligan, Darcie Coberly Nick Longbucco, Doug Peyton, Jay Moore, Jo Moore Minutes Speral noted a missing word on page 1 indicating Martin was nominated as Vice-Chair rather than Chair. Moved by Martin and seconded by Speral to approve the January 11, 2017, regular Park Board minutes as amended. All in favor, motion carried. Reports The January Financial Report was reviewed. No discussion. Moved by Wise and seconded by Speral to approve the January Financial Report. All in favor, motion carried. The January Invoice Report was received and filed. Staff reviewed some of the payments processed: Arbor Day Foundation $ for missing Tree City USA and Growth Awards, Expedited Worldwide Solutions LLC $ for return shipping of playground parts, Iowa Base Inc. $1, for Thomas Park ice rink/basketball court lighting project, and Marion Chamber of Commerce $ for shared cost to repair and replace sound system in Depot. Public Input None. Marion Oxbow Presentation Nick Longbucco, Cedar Basin Freshwater Manager with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), presented information on oxbows. TNC is a global program focusing on wetland restoration. An oxbow is an old stream meander which, over the years, gets filled in with sediment and debris rerouting the water channel. Recreating the oxbow can improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and create floodwater storage. An area has been identified along Indian Creek in Thomas Park towards Menards for an oxbow project. TNC secures funding for the project, applies for the needed state and federal permits, and assists with obtaining contractors. TNC is asking the city to remove debris and trees, provide a soil storage location, and complete seeding. Longbucco has previously met with Carolan and Marion Stormwater Coordinator Steve Cooper, and presented information to the City Council last month. Carolan stated there are still a lot of details and questions to be worked out including quality of soil being removed, timelines, associated costs, etc. Martin indicated the Parks Master Plan includes enhancing the natural greenbelt. The board acknowledged the need to prevent flooding and gave their support to staff to move forward with preliminary work. 7 P a g e

8 Indian Creek Elementary PTO Donation Request A donation request was submitted by the Indian Creek Elementary PTO for their annual Family Fun Night to be held April 21. Moved by Martin and seconded by Wise to donate a $100 voucher to the PTO for their Family Fun Night fundraiser. Martin asked if the vouchers issued last year were used. Hummel indicated they were used for pool passes and recreation programs. All in favor, motion carried. Compact Excavator The purchase of a compact excavator is budgeted for in the capital projects fund in the current fiscal year. The following bids were solicited and received: Vendor Product Cost Martin Equipment 2017 Hitachi ZX50U w/ 12 & 24 tooth bucket 53, Bobcat of Cedar Rapids 2017 Bobcat E-50 w/ 12 & 24 tooth bucket 57, P&K Midwest 2017 John Deere 50G 58, Titan Machinery 2017 Case CX55B 59, Star Equipment 2017 Takeuchi TB260 62, Altorfer Inc Caterpillar 305.5E2 62, The Martin Equipment bid includes a two-year extended warranty from the manufacturer. The excavator budget is $60, Moved by Martin and seconded by Wise to accept the bid from Martin Equipment and purchase the 2017 Hitachi ZX50U with 12 and 24 tooth bucket for $53, All in favor, motion carried John Deere Z997R The replacement of a John Deere Z997 mower is scheduled for the current fiscal year and budgeted for $16, Bids were solicited and received for a 2017 John Deere Z997R with a 72 inch deck and mulching kit, five sets of mulching blades, a spare tire with rim, and a spare caster wheel from: P&K Midwest (Hiawatha) $11,939.40, Bodensteiner Implement (Rowley) $12,084.11, and City Tractor (North Liberty) $15,600. Bids include the trade-in of a 2011 John Deere 997 ZRT. Moved by Wise and seconded by Speral to accept the bid from P&K Midwest and purchase a 2017 John Deere Z997 mower with additional components for $11, All in favor, motion carried. Dolphin Automatic Pool Vacuum In the current fiscal year, a new pool vacuum was budgeted for in the amount of $5, Quotes were received from on-line vendors for a Maytronics Dolphin 2x2 Commercial Cleaner: Pool Partz $4, with free shipping, Pool Supply Unlimited $4, plus shipping, and INYO Pools $4, plus shipping. Moved by Martin and seconded by Speral to purchase the Maytronics Dolphin 2x2 Commercial Cleaner from on-line vendor Pool Partz in the amount of $4, Hummel stated this would be a second unit at the pool. All in favor, motion carried. Men s Locker Room Hot Water Heater The replacement of the pool men s locker room water heater is budgeted at $6,500 this year. Bids were solicited for a 100 gallon commercial water heater installed and received from: Hanna Plumbing & Heating (Marion) $6,240, Brecke Mechanical Contractors (Dubuque) $7,145, and Modern Piping (Cedar Rapids) $8,172. The budgeted amount is $6,500. Moved by Wise and seconded by Martin to accept the bid from Hanna Plumbing & Heating in the amount of $6,240 for the installation of a 100-gallon commercial water heater for the pool men s locker room. The vendor will be installing a Rudd G unit. All in favor, motion carried. Pool Flow Meters The replacement of pool flow meters is budgeted at $6,000 this year. The Water Department has agreed to install the two meters and recommended obtaining the meters from McCrometer Inc. who provides the 8 P a g e

9 same equipment as currently installed; the meters will cost $3,605. Moved by Martin and seconded by Speral to approve the purchase of pool flow meters from McCrometer Inc. in the amount of $3,605 and to be installed by the Marion Water Department. All in favor, motion carried. Lowe Park Development Plan Carolan provided the board with an update of the Lowe Park Development Plan. Trey Electric is currently installing light poles and bollards. The project balance remaining is approximately $388,000. Items remaining to be completed include a play area, restroom, pavilion, landscaping, and prairie grass seeding. Estimates for these items exceed the balance and additional funding of $200,000 is budgeted from LOST funds in To fill the gap, the Parks and Recreation Foundation has shown interest in helping raise funds or the department could apply for a REAP grant. In the current fiscal year, $145,000 in LOST funds is allocated for a pavilion and restroom in Willow Park. With the Alburnett Road Extension project possibly going through the middle of the park, staff are currently on hold with the pavilion and restroom planning. Carolan has asked the Engineering Department to present the project plan at a future park board meeting. The board was asked about utilizing the $145,000 LOST funding for the Lowe Park Development and the $200,000 LOST funding in 2020 for the Willow Park project. Wise feels it is important to complete all components of the Lowe Park Development Plan. Martin asked if the Willow Park pavilion is a replacement; staff confirmed it is a replacement. Martin inquired where the gateway to the park begins. Carolan replied it begins at the street. Speral asked about the timeline for the project. The next phase will be the playground and the earliest the project would begin is the fall. Carolan will the cost breakdown of the remaining items for the project. Receive and File A thank you for monthly building usage from the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center was received and filed. Other Items Doug Peyton with the Five Season s Disc Golf League submitted the Hold Harmless agreement for the annual disc golf tournament to be held at Legion Park on May 20 and 21. He shared he will be updating the map of the disc golf course this spring. Councilmember Paul Draper requested naming the new pavilion at Waldo s Rock Park the Morris Pavilion. Moved by Wise and seconded by Speral to recommend to City Council to name the pavilion at Waldo s Rock Park the Morris Pavilion. The land for this park was donated to the city by Waldo Morris. Carolan stated that an additional four acres were donated for the park which sit under the nearby airport flight path. All in favor, motion carried. Staff Report Staff shared conceptual drawings of the future library project. The concept features public restrooms connected to the library, bike racks with charging stations, and public art. The monthly staff report was received and filed. The cross country ski trail groomer was ordered last month and delivered and staff have it ready for use. 9 P a g e

10 Arborist Cimprich has set up a chainsaw training workshop for March 30. Attendees from the City and northeast Iowa have filled the class. The presenter is Ryan Schlater with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Continuing education units have been approved as well. Large planters were ordered and received for the Art in the Alley area. A couple of the planters were used for signage placement to prevent vehicles from driving in the alley. The remaining planters will be filled when the weather warms up. The art sculpture Liberation was brought inside as a winter project to strengthen the welds and apply some paint touch ups. The City has been designated as a Tree City USA community for 23 year and has received the Growth award for the past 22 years with a plaque or plate being received each time. The forestry staff gathered the plaques and plates from random places, organized them, and hung them for display in the Thomas Park Administrative building. The Curling Clinic was held January 14 at the Thomas Park ice rink. Approximately 25 people attended to learn from and watch the Cedar Rapids Curling Club in action. The Ride to Wrigley bus trip on June 2 was sold out in less than four weeks. BINGO night continues to be popular. The first event of the season was held on January 20 and filled the room to capacity. Board Discussion Time None. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8, 2017, at 4 p.m. at the Thomas Park Administration and Operations Building. Kyle Martin, Vice Chair 10 P a g e