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: April 21, 2015 TO: Marion Mayor & Council SUBJECT: March to April 2015 Staff Reports Park Board Activity Marion Farmers Market: The Board met with market vendors to discuss the Farmers Market. For the 2015 season the market will be located at Taube Park and the daily fee was reduced to $10. Staff will look into new promotional opportunities. Fee Waiver or Reduction Requests: The Board denied a request to reduce the Lowe Park Amphitheater rental fee from $1,000 to $500 from the Rotary Club of Marion East Cedar Rapids for June 13, A request was denied by the Board to waive the English Pavilion rental fee of $75 from the CROP Walk for October 11, The Board denied a request to reduce the Lowe Park Arts & Environmental Center and Amphitheater from $1,000 to $500 from the Marion 1 st United Methodist Church for June 28, Purchase Approval: The purchase of acoustic panels and installation for the Thomas Park Safe Room was approved from DB Acoustics in the amount of $4,600. Kona Ice: The Board approved the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with Kona Ice for the 2015 Season to vend product in Thomas Park and for the Swamp Fox Festival with the addition of Lowe Ball Diamonds. Receive and File: Request letter for a memorial bench from Northway family. Pool concessions 2015 price list. The 2015 Work Program for Parks Operations. The 2015 Work Program for Recreation and Aquatics Division. Monthly staff report. Department Report Forestry/Tree Board: The Sustainable Urban Forestry Assistance and Training Session 2 was held on March 26 at Lowe Park. Session 3 is scheduled for May 20 and will include outdoor identification of trees and a small tree planting project. Arbor Day will be observed on Friday April 24 with a tree planting at the Marion Police Department. Master Parks System Plan: The kick-off meeting with the steering committee was held on April 1. Committee members discussed many issues and worked on setting the foundation for the project. An open house to gather public input is scheduled for April 22 at Lowe Park. ImaginArt in the Alley Project: Park staff have been working with Shive-Hattery and the project leadership committee to develop a maintenance and planting plan for the project. When completed the department will be assume responsibility for maintenance and plant care in the project area. 1 P a g e

2 Safe Room Door Upgrades: The department has selected Graybill Communications to update the remote lock/unlock system for the door. Cost for the upgraded equipment is $1, When completed, staff will have the ability to unlock or lock the safe room using a smart phone or other cellular device. Donnelly Park Bridge: Shoemaker & Haaland continue to work on the development plan for this project. Expenditures to date total $11, Tree removals were done by staff and Breeden for site preparation. Oak Shade Cemetery: There were two burials during the month of March and no spaces sold. Friends of the Cemetery completed the spring cleanup of Oak Shade Cemetery. Volunteers removed old holiday decorations and placed them into a dump truck. They also picked up all sticks and limbs and set them into piles along the cemetery roadways for our staff to later remove. Lowe Park South Entrance: City Wide Construction has resumed construction on the new entrance into Lowe Park. They are finishing up the curb and gutter of the roads they stubbed into the park last fall and will reconnect the asphalt trail when all concrete work is finished. Citizen Requests: During March, the department received 24 contacts regarding sidewalks not being cleared. After proper notice was given, two sidewalks needed to be cleared by staff. One property is being shoveled on a regular basis by the Department due to multiple violations. Ice Rink/Basketball Court: The ice rink in Legion Park was drained and the concrete was swept, the basketball goals were brought out of storage, reassembled and the rims were set to 10ft. Krumboltz Trail Cleanup: The Public Service Sewer Department made improvements to the banks of Indian Creek along the Krumboltz trail bridge. They removed sand that had built up from floods and installed broken concrete along the banks and the bridge embankment that were washing out. This will greatly improve the flow of water under the bridge and prevent future washouts. Winter Clean Up: With end of the snow removal season staff began cleaning city parking lots and sidewalks to remove sand that built up over the winter. Working with the Public Services Department all sidewalks and brick areas along 6 th and 7 th Avenue were swept into the street so the street sweeper could clean everything up. Work was done in the mornings before staff arrived so the parking lots at City Hall, the Library, the Police Station, Lowe Park, Thomas Park, Oak Shade Cemetery and all city parks could be cleaned. Watering Trailer: Using an existing 400 gallon water tank and an older 12 trailer staff fabricated a new water trailer. This will be used in combination with our current trailer to water gardens and recently planted trees throughout the city. 2 P a g e

3 General Park Season Preparations: The Little Free Library boxes in Thomas and Lowe Parks were removed for maintenance, sanded down and a fresh coat of paint applied. Both Little Free Libraries were reinstalled and have been filled with books by Marion Library staff. The caboose window project at City Square Park is complete. After minor vandalism last summer, the windows completely removed and revamped with thicker plexi-glass and stronger panes. Picnic tables have been brought out of storage and placed throughout the park system to meet the demand of park users as the temperature begins to rise. Crews continued cleaning up trees, branches, and sticks that had fallen throughout the park and trail systems during the winter months. Trail repairs are being performed as the weather warms up. The trail was bladed and groomed to bring back a level walkable surface. Recreation Programs: Cockroach Races were held on Saturday, March 14, at Lowe Park. This partner activity with Linn County Conservation Wickiup Hill featured naturalist, Jenny Corbert, presenting an educational program on cockroaches and how they play a role an important in nature. The 25 kids in attendance choose their racer (cockroach) with trophies awarded to winners. Little Leprechaun s Camp took place during spring break on Monday, March 16. This new program featured an afternoon filled with all things St. Patrick s including crafts, cooking, games, hunting for a pot-o -gold, and more. Little Chefs wrapped up on March 26. This was the biggest class to date with 5 kids in the morning session and 13 for the evening session. Kids tried their hand at frozen yogurt covered fruit pops, lasagna cupcakes, mini fruit pizzas, and personal pan pizzas. The 2 nd annual EGGStraordinary Egg Hunt was held on Friday, March 27 at Lowe Park. Over 70 kids registered for this popular glow-in-thedark Easter egg hunt. The kids started with a couple of holiday themed crafts (crowns and a weave your own basket activity) before being surprised by the Easter Bunny himself. After bundling up and putting on glow sticks, everyone headed outside to search for the mysterious glowing eggs. Staff have received great feedback about this event. UPCOMING: BINGO Night is scheduled for Friday, April 17; and Tiny Goal Kickers Soccer begins April 13 with 10 teams of 4 year olds and 14 teams of 5/6 year olds. 3 P a g e

4 Baseball/Softball: The first baseball tournament to be held at the Lowe Ball Diamond Complex is scheduled for April 18 and19. The Marion Boys Baseball and Peg Pierce Softball Leagues held registration days in March at Lowe Park. Now they are busy putting teams together and scheduling coach s meetings. Practices will begin the week of April 13 for baseball and April 20 for softball. Our registration deadline for PeeWee Baseball/Softball/Blastball/Dream Team is Friday, April 10. Practices begin the week of May 18 and games start Thursday, June 4. Swimming Pool: Brecke Mechanical Contractors will be replacing the main pool heater and have begun removal work of the existing unit. The new heater is being shipped from California and should be delivered to Brecke by April 10. Pre-approval applications for rebates have been turned in to both Alliant and Mid-American. Interviews for pool staff concluded the week of March 23. All staff, new and returning, have until April 16 to return their paperwork. On May 8 staff will begin filling the pool for the season. Swimming Lesson mass registration day is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 8 a.m. to noon. Arts Council: The final Coffeehouse Night for the spring is Friday, April 10, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Natalie Brown will be performing Arbor Day Celebration at City Hall Left: Mayor Bouska reads Arbor Day Proclamation, with Tree Forever Executive Coordinator Nancy Beadle and Director Mike Carolan at his side. Below: Tree Board Members and Staff demonstrate proper tree planting methods to Council Members and City employees. Join us for the 2015 Arbor Day Celebration April 24 Noon Marion Police Department 4 P a g e

5 SAFE ROOM & ARTS CENTER USAGE MARCH Events with alcohol permits: 3 Some reservations use more than one room. Room Paid Free Safe Room 1 4 Amphitheater 0 0 Lobby 0 2 Art Room 0 3 Sunburst 1 20 Hickory 8 11 Sunburst & Hickory 0 0 White Oak 5 4 Red Oak 3 1 Red & White Oak 5 10 Entire Facility 1 1 Outdoor / Greenhouse 0 0 TOTALS* Activity Type Monthly Usage Number of Attendees Building Visitors n/a 98 Gallery Open / Arts Council Activities Senior Nutrition 1 10 Seniors Bingo 4 75 Senior Dance Senior Cards Parks / Recreation Meetings / Work / School Event 8 91 Blood Drive 1 28 Hip Hop 4 60 Family Gatherings / Showers Rehearsal/Wedding/Reception TOTALS 75 2,432 5 P a g e