Minutes_Park and Recreation Advisory Commission 8 9 11PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
4:30 p.m.,
PRESENT: Robert Blocker, Chuck Harris, Ken Klinge, Evelyn Nadeau and Dave Schlueter
ABSENT: Paul Hoffmann and Karen Lyness
OTHERS: Staff present: Marie Ware, Pat Prevenas, Bob Fritsch and Eileen Trimble
MINUTES It was moved by Schlueter, seconded by Nadeau, to approve the minutes of
APPROVED; the July 12, 2011, meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
VOTE:
FLOODING PARKS: At Miller Riverview Park 5 days of camping were lost but the park
UPDATE: reopened for limited camping on Wednesday. Some of the sites had to be re-
rocked and total damage repairs and staff time is estimated at $20,000. Eagle
Point: there were problems with the spillway by the back gate, detention basin
behind the Indian Room, back road, entrance drive and below Trolley Line
Trail. FDR Park: A large boulder came loose and blocked the road across the
stream. Gay Park had several sink holes. Large sink hole about 10' across
opened up on Hill Street. Leisure Services Manager Marie Ware called Miller
Riverview Park about 3:00 a.m. and told the campground manager to get
people out of all the lowest areas and temporarily move them to higher ground
areas until daylight when it would be safe to travel. There was no damage to
any campers.
RECREATION: Bunker Hill Golf Course lost one and one -half days of golf but
did not sustain much damage. The pools had a lot of excess water.
Commissioner Schlueter asked how much damage was done to Water Sports
Club area, after all the work they had done. Park Division Manager Bob Fritsch
said the water went back down fast and he didn't think there was much
damage.
PARK DIVISION Park Division Manager Bob Fritsch notified commissioners:
REPORT:
• Staff is dealing with flood - related issues. • Things were being spruced up
along Highway 20 from old Family Restaurant to Locust Street. • Staff is
working on trying to get all the campground sites useable by Labor Day.
RECREATION Recreation Division Manager Pat Prevenas notified commissioners:
DIVISION
REPORT: • Eight-week playground program ended last Friday. It served 10,000
children at 18 sites and special events. • June golf is better than 2010, the
course beat all time revenue for snack bar, and best ever month for cart rental.
• Pools had the sixth best July in the last twenty years — 30,000 admissions for
Flora and 16,000 for Sutton. The pools have not been closed a day since June
9th. Sutton's last day of operation is August 14th with the Doggie Dip on
Monday night the 15th and Flora closes the following Sunday with that Doggie
Dip on Monday, August 22nd. • Adult softball leagues are finishing up for the
season but fall leagues will be starting soon. Registration is going well because
continued
August 9, meeting, page two
we are getting a lot of teams from Dubuque Sports Complex where fall leagues
had to be canceled due to flooding damage. • Bid documents have gone out
for Flora Pool Painting Project and they are due back August 24th.
Commissioner Schlueter asked how the Iron Kids Triathlon went. Mr.
Prevenas said it went well with approximately 200 participants, half from
Dubuque and half from out of town. The department provided some of the staff
and the pool and everyone was basically very pleased with the event. This is
the first time ever in the history of the event that the swim portion started out
with participants sliding down a water slide.
DEPARTMENT Leisure Services Manager Ware notified commissioners:
MANAGER'S
REPORT: • Phase III of the NW Arterial trail (between Buffalo Wild Wings and past Hy-
Vee) was paved this week and crews are working on backfilling and finishing
work. • Bee Branch: meeting was held to discuss the design of the
landscaping and plant material in the Comiskey area of the project. Next
month additional meetings will be held on that subject and a meeting with the
neighbors and then there will be a public presentation.
OTHER
BUSINESS:
ADJOURN;
VOTE:
• A lot of thank yous go out to staff in the department and across the city for
flood reaction and help. Volunteer Service Coordinator Mary Bridget Corken,
with a lot of help from Tony Elskamp, did the lion's share of organizing and
carrying out a plan, collecting information regarding citizens that needed help
and what type of help, organizing volunteer crews to give assistance and
working with other departments to do whatever was needed to get the job
done. They developed tools for this crisis and future situations, including
special waiver liability forms for both the volunteers and homeowners to sign.
Mary Bridget called Cedar Rapids and other places that have gone through this
before. Health, Housing, Fire, Engineering and Building Departments along
with people from outside the city organization helped in the community -wide
effort to get assistance to people as soon as possible. Prescott Neighborhood
Resource Center and Comiskey were opened as shelters to assist people and
distribute flood cleaning kits. Centers were open Saturday and Sunday staffed
with a combination of full time and seasonal employees and Red Cross.
• Commissioner Nadeau asked if there were any further conversations about
having a water park by Comiskey as part of the Bee Branch project.
Manager Ware said she hoped to have that worked in with public input and
neighborhood meetings regarding improvements. • Reminder that the
September meeting will be held at the Dubuque Water Sports Club
building.
It was moved by Klinge, seconded by Schlueter, that the meeting be adjourned
at 5:10 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Attest
Chairperson