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#03 Discuss and act on location of proposed skate park Community Development Department Memorandum Date: April 6, 2010 TO: City Council FROM: Thomas E. Malone, Management Analyst SUBJECT: Discussion and Action on Location of Proposed Skate Park ________________________________________________________________ I. RECOMMENDATION The Leisure Services Advisory Commission and Plan Commission recommend that the City Council make a motion to approve Monterey Park as the site for a proposed skate park. II. REQUEST At the December 14, 2010 City Council meeting, the City Council requested that the Leisure Services Advisory Committee (LSAC) review alternative sites for the proposed location for a skate park in the City of Janesville. Staff also felt it would be useful to have the Plan Commission review the proposed site as well. On April 5, 2010 Plan Commission reviewed the site to determine if the park was consistent with the City’s Park & Open Space Plan and the Comprehensive Plan and then forward a positive recommendation onto the City Council. III. ANALYSIS A. Leisure Services Advisory Committee Finding On March 9, 2010 the Leisure Services Advisory Committee (LSAC) reviewed four locations in the city for a proposed skate park. There were a number of citizens who attended the meeting as well. Staff gave a summary of each location and followed up with a discussion of the criteria that should be considered. Attached is a copy of the draft minutes from the meeting that contains the discussion that took place. At the conclusion of the meeting the LSAC passed a motion to forward a recommendation that the Monterey Park site be chosen as the location for the skate park. It was a 7 to 1 vote. B. Plan Commission Finding th On April 5 the Plan Commission reviewed the proposed Monterey site location to determine if it was consistent with the City’s Park & Open Space Plan and the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission commented on several issues including coordinating other uses at the site, concerns from Wilson School, flood issues and the use of lights at the facility. At the conclusion of the discussion the Plan Commission voted to forward the proposed site with a positive recommendation to the City Council. The Commission noted that there were still important issues and concerns to work though as the process moves forward. Attached is a draft copy of the minutes from the meeting. C. Site The proposed location at the Monterey Park is situated between the two softball diamonds located southwest of the stadium. Attached is a map that depicts the proposed location of the facility. The foot print of the skate park is estimated to be roughly 100 ft. by 200 ft in size. Staff feels that sufficient area exists between the two diamonds for construction of the skate park. The southeast diamond is the less developed of the two and will likely be impacted. Staff recommends that efforts should be made to leave the northwest diamond available for use. The northwest diamond is better maintained and has lights that can be used. D. Surrounding Facilities The recommended site at Monterey Park has several other facilities and venues located in the area. As stated, there are 2 softball fields. It is also important to note user groups will not be affected as adversely if one of the fields is eliminated because of the addition of several fields at the Youth Sports Complex. The site also has public restrooms that are available for use most of the year, excluding the winter. The restroom facilities are maintained by the City Parks Department. The restrooms are located in the southern portion of the stadium that adjoins the track. The site is also close to Wilson Elementary School, in which a playground is located. Basketball courts are located on the east side of the stadium. The other venues at the site create the opportunity for families and groups with varying interests to be satisfied. Staff feels that the site effectively allows for diversifying family interests. E. Parking & Transportation to Site The proposed site has multiple parking spaces along the loop road around the Monterey Stadium area that should meet the demand requirements of a skate park. Also the bike trail is located along the loop road for bike/pedestrian accessibility and to allow for individuals who are unable to drive to get to the facility. F. Safety & Liability The Police Department has performed an analysis of the location. The surrounding area is open and able to be patrolled and monitored. Other positive safety attributes of the site include access to the bike trail which will reduce the number of kids traveling on the streets and the bike patrol will be able to monitor the trail. The site is also easily accessible to Fire and Police personnel. The site is located away from residential areas and there will be limited noise, traffic and parking issues associated with the site. Monterey Park is occasionally used for both high school and some middle and elementary school sporting/special events such as football games, track and band. This has the potential to create traffic or other issues and will require monitoring during those events to determine actual impacts of the combined uses. Staff has researched the issue of gang related activities at the skate park. A number of other communities with skate parks were surveyed and it has been determined that in most cases only minor incidents occur and that it is important to monitor the area with police patrols. Staff feels that negative behavior at the site will also be less likely due to the open location of the selected site. There would be no additional liability ensured by the city as a result from a skate park being constructed. Wisconsin has a strong recreational immunity statute (WI Stat 895.52) which states that if you engage in a recreational activity, you assume any risk inherent with that activity. According to Ken Horner of CVMIC, Wisconsin’s recreational immunity statute would protect the City from liability from injury to a recreational user of a municipal skateboard facility. However in order to reduce the possibility of liability issues, Mr. Horner states that the site for the skate park should be carefully considered, the structure should be professionally designed and established operational procedures should be implemented. G. School District Concerns The Wilson Elementary School was notified that the LSAC had chosen the Monterey site as the recommended location for the skate park. Wilson Elementary is located directly north of the facility. School officials related a number of concerns to the City on the proposed location. Attached are findings from a recent Wilson School Facility meeting in which the pros and cons of the skate park are discussed. The City feels that the issues relating to possible gang activity will be important to monitor. It will also be necessary to monitor events that utilize a portion of the park such as track meets to determine how the skate park can be coordinated with these programmed activities. A representative from Wilson School will also be in attendance at th the April 12 meeting to comment on the findings and concerns of the school. H. Other Park Uses Janesville Youth Softball has the North and South softball st diamonds reserved Monday through Friday from May 1 through the end of August. Until the flood of 2008 these fields were used on a regular basis for girl’s softball and men’s fast pitch games. The men’s group has since moved games to Milton and the fields are now just used for practice by the Janesville Youth Baseball/Softball Association. There are four newly constructed softball diamonds at the youth sports complex; however, the JYBSA group uses their complex fields solely for games. Depending on the size and orientation of the skate park at Monterey, it may be possible to retain use of the south diamond for youth girls softball practice following it’s construction. Other user groups at Monterey are the Nighthawks, an adult 8 on 8 football group. They start reserving the non-stadium football field in April for 25 bookings. Also, the high school shot put and discus areas are located in the park east of the proposed facility (see location map). I. Floodplain The proposed location for the skate park, along with the play fields in the Monterey area, is located in the floodplain. The proposed location of the facility is located in the flood fringe area where building development is permissible if elevated above the 100-year floodplain elevation. The attached map shows the floodway areas in blue. The proposed location of the skate park is located in the yellow section, which is the flood fringe portion of the floodplain. During the 2008 flood, the proposed location did experience a minimal level of flooding. Staff believes that if this skate park area of the park experienced flooding again, it would not create any permanent damage to the facility or equipment based on construction design requirements and the need to slightly elevate the ground surface area for the skate park. J. Construction There are a number of construction issues that staff has discussed. Staff feels that the soil integrity of the park would have to be investigated; however, since no structures are being built, just a concrete slab, soil issues could likely be accommodated to support a modular skate park. A modular skate park would be made up of an established level pad with bolted items. Staff also supports the use of concrete as the material for the pad because of its durability and longevity which will reduce future maintenance. Staff does not recommend a park that is a bowl type structure due to drainage issues from rain and potential floods. If a drain is placed at the bottom of the bowl then it will surcharge when the river runs high and flood the bowl. If a drain is not placed in the bowl, then there will be no way for any accumulated water to drain. For these reasons staff recommends a level surface skate park be constructed. K. Compatibility with Established City Plans The 2008-2012 Parks and Open Space Plan addresses the need for a skate park and that there is a demand for such a recreational facility in the City. The demand is not specifically defined and is dependent on further analysis. Over the five plus years in which the previous site was selected, a number of other sites have been identified. Staff and the Council felt it was important to look at new sites where the skate park could be constructed. The City’s Comprehensive Plan also states the need for additional and diversified recreational facilities, and a skate park would fall into that category. Monterey Park is zoned Conservancy and designated for Parks & Open Space and recreational use on the City’s future land use map, therefore, placement of a skate park facility is consistent with the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan. É·´­±² Û´»³»²¬¿®§ ͽ¸±±´ д¿§¹®±«²¼ Ó±²¬»®»§ ͬ¿¼·«³ Ù®¿¼»¼ Ú·»´¼ øÚ±±¬¾¿´´÷ Ü·­½«­ ͵¿¬» п®µ п¼ ¢îðôððð ­¯ò º¬ò ͸±¬ Ы¬ îððù Ю±°±­»¼ Ô±½¿¬·±² o É·­½±²­·²ù­ п®µ д¿½» Ý·¬§ ±º Ö¿²»­ª·´´» Ý·¬§ ±º Ö¿²»­ª·´´» Ю±°±­»¼ ͵¿¬» п®µ Ô±½¿¬·±² ÔÛ×ÍËÎÛ ÍÛÎÊ×ÝÛÍ ÔÛ×ÍËÎÛ ÍÛÎÊ×ÝÛÍ Ó±²¬»®»§ п®µ Ü¿¬»æ ìóêóïð ÞòÞ´«³»®ô д¿²²·²¹ Í»®ª·½»­ ÍæÄЮ±¶»½¬­ÄÔ»·­«®»Í»®ª·½»­Ä ðêðïîðïèðîìð ï þ ã ïëð ù Ú»»¬ ͵¿¬»°¿®µÓ±²¬»®»§Ú»¿¬«®»­ò³¨¼ êîìëïì ìïí ìðé ìïç ìðí ëîï êðç êðí ëïë ìêë Ю±°±­»¼ Ô±½¿¬·±² o É·­½±²­·²ù­ п®µ д¿½» Ю±°±­»¼ ͵¿¬» п®µ Ô±½¿¬·±²Ú´±±¼ Ø¿¦¿®¼ ß®»¿­ Ý·¬§ ±º Ö¿²»­ª·´´» Ý·¬§ ±º Ö¿²»­ª·´´» Ú´±±¼©¿§ øßÛ÷ ÔÛ×ÍËÎÛ ÍÛÎÊ×ÝÛÍ ÔÛ×ÍËÎÛ ÍÛÎÊ×ÝÛÍ Ó±²¬»®»§ п®µ Ü¿¬»æ íóîóïð ÞòÞ´«³»®ô д¿²²·²¹ Í»®ª·½»­ ïððóÇ»¿® Ú´±±¼ øßÛ÷ ÍæÄЮ±¶»½¬­ÄÔ»·­«®»Í»®ª·½»­Ä ðëðïððïëðîðð ï þ ã ïëð ù ëððóÇ»¿® Ú´±±¼ øÈ÷ Ú»»¬Íµ¿¬»°¿®µÓ±²¬»®»§ÚÐò³¨¼ Skate Board Park at Wilson: Pros: ? Walking distance for kids ? Positive exercise ? Many of our students like to skateboard Cons: ? We had a basket ball court year a few years ago and had a large problem with gang activity (tagging) going on as one gang would claim the territory. We would have to use our custodial time to go pick up drug paraphernalia, condoms, garbage. ? We fear for the safety of our children (again with what we had occur with the basketball court here.) ? It would interfere with the track meets both for high school and middle school. ? Softball field would no longer be able to be used. ? The skateboard park might dissuade our families from coming to play on our playground after hours. ? Our students are not as mobile as most so they use the field for football. We actually have a Wilson Football team : The Tarheels. ? We have a lot of wildlife that stay on Wilson Park. We have lots of geese, ducks, etc… (FYI-This is also bad as the geese do defecate on the field and our playground equipment….as they would on the skate park.) LEISURE SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES TH MARCH 9, 2010 TH 4 FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, ROOM 416 MUNICIPAL BUILDING Members Present: Betty Schwarz, Steve Ellis, Sandy Hendricks, Jeff Clark, Lynn Jones, Lorie Markus, Jayme Roth, Kevin Reilly and Council President William Truman Staff Present: Tom Presny and Tom Malone Other Citizens Present: Tom Stehura, Dennis Vindedahl, Roger Streich, Fern Streich, Al Draeger, Wendy Vancuar(?) and Karl Dommershausen The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM in Room 416 of the Municipal Building. TH APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 12, 2010 MEETING MINUTES th The minutes of the January 12, 2010 meeting were approved. UPDATE ON SKATE PARK DISCUSSION Chairperson Lorie Markus asked that the guests go around and introduce themselves. Tom Malone gave a short presentation on the four sites being reviewed for the skate park location, 101 Rockport, south end of Traxler Park, 900 block of Jackson and southwest of Monterey Stadium. Tom Malone stated that staff recommends the Monterey site based on accessibility to public restrooms, that it is in the vicinity of other recreational activities and it fits with the overall development plan for the area. Roger Streich raised a concern that the Traxler Park site used to be a landfill site and was contaminated. Tom Presny stated that the site has some DRN development limitations but may be developed. William Truman asked if the schools would allow the skate park users to use the restroom facilities at the Monterey site since they provided maintenance to them. He also asked how many months the restrooms would be open. Tom Presny stated that the restrooms are open for approximately eight thst months (April 15 until November 1). Sandy Hendricks stated she drove by the four park locations and likes that the Monterey site had lights. Tom Presny gave a summary of the use of the softball diamonds at the Monterey site. The Monterey skate park location would be on the south diamond, but the north diamond would still be able to be used for softball. Also new replacement softball diamonds are in the process of being built at the Youth Sports Complex. There was a discussion concerning the safety of the Jackson site. Guests at the meeting stated that parents had told them they would not allow their children to go to the Jackson site. Chairperson Lorie Markus stated that a well lit area that is patrolled would help increase the safety of the site. There was also discussion on the potential of flooding at each of the sites. Tom Malone stated that by State Statute the City could not construct the skate park on the 100 year flood plain and that staff had considered the potential for flooding at each location. Roger Streich stated that the City should seek outside advice to pick a site, to make sure the skate park could be constructed, and utilize a Skate Park Company consultant that might not charge for their site evaluation services. Tom Presny stated that staff had a meeting regarding zoning issues but only generally discussed construction issues. William Truman gave a summary of the sites and stated that prior to the consideration of the Monterey Park location his preference had been the Jackson Street location. Guests present raised concerns about the taverns located in the vicinity of the Jackson Street site. Roger Streich stated that other community skate parks are not centrally located and reiterated that the City should hire a consultant to recommend a site. Betty Schwarz stated that the Police Department’s reports on each of the sites was very useful and had good information. Roger Streich stated that the Jackson Street site restrooms were not usable for the public. He stated that he would like to recommend other sites. He also stated that he felt Palmer Park was the best site. He feels that the Committee is spinning its wheels. William Truman stated that he did not think a consultant was needed and that the Jackson Street site could use the Dawson Field restrooms. Jayme Roth asked the guests present to quantify the amount of usage the skate park would get. The guests stated that it would vary but there could be a use of a maximum of 100 community users at a time. Kevin Reilly stated that clearer direction was needed from the City in order to choose a site. He stated that the Committee was not spinning its wheels and that the Committee had dedicated a lot of time regarding this issue. The Committee further discussed whether there was a need for a consultant. Lynn Jones stated that she felt a mixed use park would be best. Lorie Markus informed the guests present that the Committee was only an Advisory Committee and could only make recommendations. William Truman stated that there would be an opportunity for guests to speak during the public comment session at the City Council meeting. A guest present inquired about the cost of building new restrooms. Tom Presny stated that the City estimates a minimum of $100,000 for construction of a new public restroom. A concern was raised if the skate park would interfere with other activities held at Monterey Park such as football and track events. Also questioned was what the future was for the batting cages at the Jackson Street site. Steve Ellis stated that Youth Baseball did not intend to use the batting cages after their lease was up and that they were not worth reusing. There was a discussion on grant funding for this project. Tom Malone stated that sites in the central City would have a better opportunity to apply for funding. Tom Presny stated that the chances of receiving grant funding for a skate park have always been relatively low. Tom Malone stated that staff had briefly discussed construction issues at each of the sites and that City Engineers had not raised any concerns with the basic information they had on a skate park. However, further research would need to be done. Steve Ellis stated that he was in favor of the Monterey site if the restroom issue could be worked out. William Truman made a motion to forward a recommendation to the City Council that the skate park be located in Monterey Park if the restroom issue could be worked out. If not, the second choice would be the Jackson Street site. Betty Schwarz seconded the motion. The Committee discussed having a Skate Park Company consultant review each of the sites. William Truman stated that City Engineers did not have any concerns with construction issues at the sites. Kevin Reilly stated that he felt the Committee needs a more clearly defined role of what the they need to looking at to make a decision. At this point, William Truman withdrew his motion. He then made a motion to recommend the Monterey site to the City Council, as long as the restrooms can be used. Lynn Jones seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7 to 1. Tom Presny asked for clarification on whether or not they will be seeking the advice of a consultant. William Truman stated that a consultant will not be used. Tom Malone stated that the recommended site would be sent to the Plan Commission for review at th their April 5 meeting. The Plan Commission would review the site to ensure it fits with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Once the Plan Commission reviews this their recommendation will be th forwarded to the City Council for the April 12 meeting. MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA William Truman stated that he would like to review the issue of beer sales at Dawson Field at the May meeting. He also gave a summary of Air Fest that was coming up on Memorial Day weekend. Lorie Markus reminded dog owners to purchase their dog licenses before the late fee is initiated after st March 31. Sandy Hendricks stated that the Friends of Riverside Park were helping the Rock Aqua Jays plan for th the 4 of July event. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM on a motion by Betty Schwarz and a second by Kevin Reilly. The next meeting of the Leisure Services Advisory Committee will be th Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Respectfully submitted: Thomas E. Malone Management Analyst P# (608) 373-3446 F # (608) 755-3196 th Minutes from April 5, 2010 Plan Commission Tom Malone, Management Analyst, gave a presentation of the written staff report. Commissioner Voskuil questioned if a skate park at this location would impact the use of the baseball diamonds. Malone stated that the park would be spaced between the diamonds and should not have an impact on them but if space was an issue the worst case scenario would involve discontinuing one of the diamonds. He further stated that the use of the fields is expected to drop off with the construction of new softball diamonds at the Youth Sports Complex. Commissioner Voskuil asked if the availability of the skate park would coincide with the availability of the nearby restrooms. Parks Director Tom Presny stated that the committee had not discussed this matter but that restrooms were open from early April through November and it was his expectation that use of the skate park would continue after the restrooms were closed for the season. Commissioner Voskuil asked about lighting of the facility and Presny stated that lighting was limited to street lighting along Riverside, however, outfield lighting for both diamonds could perhaps be utilized or relocated for this facility. Commissioner Perrotto stated concerns regarding the distance between the two ball fields on site and the potential for conflicts when there are two games going on at same time. He referred to the map which appeared to show that one of the ball fields would be affected with the construction of the skate park. Cherek stated that the distance between the fields was roughly 500-600 feet and that it was likely the south diamond would have to be removed. Commissioner Perrotto stated concerns about flooding and the difficulty for the Plan Commission to determine if the skate park would be impacted during a flood since they’ve not been provided a footprint to show exact location and size. Cherek stated that staff was confident that with minimal fill, grading and a concrete pad, the structure would not be impacted by flooding. Commissioner Perrotto had concerns about issues that may occur if the skate park was kept open when there are no restrooms available and how that would be controlled. He also asked if the lighting provided would be sufficient or would the skate park need additional lighting. Cantrell responded that he didn’t know if it would be good to have the skate park lighted as it may promote activity in the skate park after curfew. Cantrell explained that the search for a site has been going on for a long time and that staff suggested this site because it has many facilities that other sites don’t have; furthermore, public bathrooms are open during the same time period no matter which site is chosen. He stated that according to the Parks Director, the southern baseball field is in very poor condition and could be replaced with fields being constructed at the Youth Sports Facility. He stated that staff needed to provide an aerial showing the foot print of the skate park in the preferred location because the map provided only shows a large boundary where it could be placed. Cantrell further indicated that lighting has not yet been resolved for the skate park but that this can be addressed when details of the layout come back for Plan Commission review in the future. Commissioner Perrotto stated that while he didn’t believe this location was ideal, he trusted that with all of the research conducted it’s the best possible location. Vice Chairperson Hanewold mentioned that the outfield for the south diamond faces towards the parking lot, rather than facing the outfield of the second diamond, so there is significant open space between the two. Cherek stated that the skate park facility would be approximately 100 feet wide by 200 feet in length and that a more detailed plan illustrating this footprint on the site will be provided. Commissioner Zolidis asked what would be done to combat the issue of geese droppings in the area. Malone stated that issue would have to be dealt with but that the more activity going on in the park, the less likely the geese will want to enter that area. Vice Chairperson Hanewold indicated that the Commission had not scheduled a public hearing for this item but would like to allow for public comment at this time. The following persons spoke regarding this matter: ? Miles Symons, 4063 Kingsford Drive, stated that he disagrees with this location for the skate park because of the gang activity in the area. He also expressed concerns about the distractions that activities at a skate park could cause during baseball games. He felt that Lions Beach would be a better location. Commissioner Perrotto indicated that he felt there were more amenities offered at the Monterey Park location and that gang activity could appear at any location so it was important to know how security issues would be addressed. Commissioner Voskuil added that the police department looked at this location and indicated that they felt it was an open area that they would be able to easily patrol and monitor. ? Matt Symons, 4063 Kingsford Drive, stated that he’s spent time in other skate parks in Beloit & Whitewater where kids of every type and ability skate and get along. He added that there has always been enough parents around to monitor and step up if something goes on. He felt that making a decision on a site for the skate park would help with fundraising efforts. In talking about the differences between the baseball diamond use and skate park use he indicated that you don’t usually see kids playing ball unless it is organized but that there are always kids at a skate park. ? Roger Streich, 79 S Huron Drive, has been involved 6-7 years with development of the skate park. He indicated that if a bowl skate park design is the preferred option for the facility then we may need to find a different location to accommodate it because of potential water drainage limitations at Monterey. He stated that the site location decision should be open to the public to let the people decide where they’d like the facility. Commissioner Perrotto commended Mr. Streich for his persistence and agreed that the City needs alternatives to keep kids occupied and that we need to proceed with this project. He said that he didn’t believe any site was perfect but was interested in moving forward with this particular site. ? Mrs. Roger Streich stated that the committee has been meeting since February of 2003, that the kids questioned originally indicated that they wanted a bowl in the skate park but that hasn’t been taken into consideration with the latest decisions on the facility. ? Chris Cass, 470 Mohawk Road, indicated that the skate park committee and Leisure Services Advisory Committee have worked together since the beginning, that several proposals have been brought forward and that they can’t move forward with fundraising until there is a decision on a site. He added that most parks & restrooms have a closing time and that if a site was chosen without restrooms then addition of them would just be an added expense. Commissioner Voskuil asked how many sites had been looked at up to this point and Presny stated that back in 2004, there was an initial review that included all City Parks. After the initial review, the sites were narrowed down to twelve and then three of those locations were recommendations that came before the council. Commissioner Werner stated that the Commission is at a disadvantage because as a committee they’ve never been able to compare and evaluate different sites but that he has confidence in the Leisure Services Advisory Committee and therefore made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Voskuil, to forward a positive recommendation on the basis of the LSAC’s recommendation that the Commission find the proposed location of the skate park at Monterey Park consistent with the City Parks & Open Space Plan and Comprehensive Plan and then forward that positive recommendation onto the City Council advising that the Plan Commission has not reviewed this site compared to other sites, has not looked at the financial aspects of this site and has not looked at the effect of flooding on the structure. Commissioner Werner added that he’d like to save one of the baseball fields, take into account concerns that Wilson School and/or the School District may have, and take into account concerns regarding lighting, restrooms, crime prevention when reviewing future construction plans. He also indicated that if a bowl is what is wanted, the Plan Commission and City Council should take that into consideration during the location process. The motion carried on a 5-0-0 vote.