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Home My WebLink About06/12/2018 - Minutes 0 MINUTES � � � City of Renton ° Board of Park Commissioners Meetin� Tuesday,June 12, 2018, 4:30 pm At Renton City Hall, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057 NEXT MTG: 8/14/2018 1. CALL TO ORDER-In Attendance: Members: Marlene Winter,AI Dieckman, Larry Reymann,Tim Searing,Shun Takano, and Troy Wigestrand City Staff: Leslie Betlach, Parks Planning and Natural Resources Director; Cailin Hunsaker, Parks&Trails Director; Margie Beitner,Administrative Secretary I Guest: Anadalay Contreras, RHS Student Chair Marlene Winter called the meeting to order at 4:30pm. Roll call was taken. All board commissioners were present except for Cynthia Burns. Tim Searing motioned to excuse Cynthia, Larry Reymann seconded, all were in favor, motion carried. Cynthia Burns was excused. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Troy Wigestrand made a motion to approve the agenda as presented,AI Dieckman seconded; all were in favor, motion carried, and the agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES AI Dieckman motioned to approve the minutes as presented;Troy Wigestrand seconded, all were in favor, motion carried,and the May minutes were approved. 4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS/PUBLIC COMMENTS Marlene Winter noted that she thought the student/youth candidates may be attending the meeting. 5. BOARD COMMUNICATION Trail Ranger Program—AI Dieckman spoke briefly about the trail rangers program and reported some usage statistics for the period of April 31 thru June 1. Cedar River Trail Users: Approx. 2,673 Bikers using excessive speed: Almost 500 (47 @ 11 to 13 mph;281 @d 14 io 16 mph;and 156 @ 17+mphJ Walkers: 1,500 Joggers: 300 (just shy of 300) Misc.: 173 (this category includes Skate Boards, ln-line Skates, dog walkers) A discussion followed about bikers going excessive speeds on the trail and the amount of citations issued. A question was raised about larger bicycle groups using the trail for training, etc. AI Dieckman noted that at times groups of approximately 100 will use the trail; however they usually break up the group and start 15-20 cyclists at a time from one location. The Parks Commission is concerned that someone will be seriously injured if there is not more done to control excessive speeds. The board members talked about sending notifications to bicycle groups or reaching out to their membership to increase awareness. Cailin Hunsaker indicated that she could prepare something for these groups and reach out to the bicycle clubs and report back. � Wheelchair Accessible.American Sign Language(ASL)interpreter available upon request. For this or other assistance,please call 48 hours in advance:711 (TDD)or 425-430-6600(voice). Parks Commission Meeting June 12,2018 Page 2 of 4 Larry Reymann stated that the board has discussed this before regarding the need to contact the bicycle groups in the area and stress the trail rules before more people get hurt. He recommended taking City Staff's lead in what steps to take next. If 20%of the trail users are in excess of the speed limit there should be more warnings or citations being issued. This is difficult because budgets and staffing do not allow for enough officers to regulate and enforce the trail rules. Marlene Winter asked if it would help if Cailin provided these stats to the Police Department. AI Dieckman also mentioned that another issue in addition to excessive speed is that bikers do not always stop at crossings; one area being the chicane(crossing at Golf Course, under the freeway). Shun Takano pointed out that this becomes a liability issue for the City. There should be some effort to correct the safety issue. Cailin Hunsaker noted that the Trail Rangers Program was formed to help resolve some of these issues and reduce liability. There was also discussion about the portion of the trail that is owned by King County where signs show 15 mph and City signs show 10 mph. This trail is part of the same system and yet shows two different speed limits. Troy Wigestrand suggested the City be more proactive in communicating this to the public. Once we develop correspondence and have City approve it,send out information to other bike clubs. Mar�ene also commented that if there was more visibility of Police on the trails writing citations,then others might consider the consequences and adhere more to speed limit signs. AI Dieckman mentioned that he has talked with staff from the Police Department and previously the Police used people in the Cadet Program to monitor the trail and write tickets; however this program is not available now. Marlene Winter introduced Anadalay Contreras,student from Renton High School and welcomed her to the board meeting. Anadalay is one of the applicants for the youth position on the Parks Commission. 6. DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS a. Nomination of new Chair: Larry Reymann advised boardmembers he would need to leave the meeting early and wanted to move up one item on the agenda;the motion to appoint a new board chair. Larry Reymann made a motion to appoint Tim Searing as the new Board Chair. AI Dieckman seconded, all were in favor, motion carried. b. Parks,Trails and Community Facilities Initiative: Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Report—Tim Searing;Tim gave a brief overview of the presentation that was given to Committee of the Whole on June 4,2018. (Presenters: Tim Searing, Chair and Bob Reeder,Vice-Chair, CAC) The CAC consisted of 18 members selected by Council to study the Parks Plans(3 Strategic Plans: Civic Core Vision and Action Plan, Parks, Recreation and Natural Areas Plan, and the Trails and Bicycle Master Plan). The CAC was asked to look geographically first and then at the areas that needed parks. This committee was tasked with determining priorities and needs of the community. See attached copy of PowerPoint presentation for detail and statistics. Discussion followed regarding the various property locations and why certain projects were selected as priorities. As part of a $70M list of projects prioritized for Council this includes 43 Major Maintenance Projects; 11 new or expanded park projects across the City and$1.5 M in contingency funds. Wheelchair Accessible.American Sign Language(ASL)interpreter available upon request. �or this or other assistance,please call 48 hours in advance:711 (TDD)or 425-430-6600(voice). Parks Commission Meeting June 12, 2018 Page 3 of 4 May Creek McAskill Project and Philip Arnold are two of the projects listed. Leslie Betlach also explained what the Sam Chastain Trail project would involve: This would extend the Cedar River Trail, by the mouth of the river where the Boathouse is,extending the waterwalk,there would be a soft surface trail on land (triangle piece on Boeing property) and would connect to the walkway in front of Hyatt-Regency and Coulon Park—all pedestrian trail. The Cedar River Park project would mean expanding the existing aquatic center,additional parking and reconfiguring the play fields. Troy Wigestrand mentioned that the McAskill Property would make a good location for a Dog Park. People would have to drive to it and there would be no kids or pedestrians. Larry Reymann noted there are tangible benefits for this levy proposal. Properties are not going to be there in the future and this is an opportunity to enhance our parks. It is also recognized that the CAC committee is made up of Renton Citizens not just government representatives. This is something the citizens want as well. Marlene Winter agreed that if the City doesn't have insight to involve the community and plan ahead we wouldn't have the nice parks because the land would be consumed by buildings and business. AI Dieckman also mentioned that if the$70M doesn't make it to the ballot,then they will present a$13M Major Maintenance proposal to Council. A questions was asked about new projects and how long they would take to implement. Leslie Betlach explained that it can take up to five (5)years to get projects going-there is a public process to Master Plan, Design and Construct, along with permitting and public input meetings. Troy Wigestrand asked about park level of service (population vs. park acreage). A standard of 12.11 acres per 1,000 population was adopted in the Parks Plan. It was noted that if the City is going to put this levy on the November ballot they need to make its decision by August 8,2018. Larry Reymann made a motion that the Parks Commission officially supports the recommendation of the Community Advisory Committee to proceed with the$70M Levy process. Troy Wigestrand seconded; all were in favor, motion approved. c. Next Meeting Topics—The Park Commissioners are still interested in touring the Kenyon Dobson property, May Creek Trail and the new portion of the Eastside Rail Corridor Trail for the August meeting. City staff will make arrangements. 7. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT a. Cailin Hunsaker advised the Farmers Market is open and she invited all members to stop by. There is a new setup this year—they closed Logan Avenue South. Opening day was busy;vendors are now on the street as well and atmosphere feels safer with Logan closed. There was a question about the Parking Garage and potential retail space; what is the City doing to prevent empty buildings. Cailin mentioned Wheelchair Accessible.American Sign Language(ASL)interpreter available upon request. For this or other assistance,please call 48 hours in advance:711 (TDD)or 425-430-6600(voice). Parks Commission Meeting June 12,2018 Page 4 of 4 that the Police have offices there right now. Leslie also noted that this is part of the Civic Core Plan to work on retail spaces. b. Anadalay Contreras addressed the board—she is very interested in topics mentioned during the meeting and excited to hear they will be making changes and improvements at the Transit Center. Cailin asked what grade level she is in and if she had any special interests. Anadalay is currently a Sophomore and will be a Junior next fall. She is a musician and plays several instruments;she belongs to two clubs and will be the President next year for the Acapella (singing)group. She is in the Honor Society for Band and the group is working with the community to open up doors for music performances. She plays the flute, piano and guitar. Marlene Winter also asked how she felt about attending the Parks Commission meetings at the scheduled time. Anadalay stated that she would like it very much and feels it has been very informative. 8. OLD BUSINESS a. Student Board Member Applicants—There are two youth member applications on file. One applicant attended June meeting. 9. INFORMATION Flyers and handouts for upcoming department's programs and events were distributed. • Sunset Celebration at the new Sunset Neighborhood Park and the new Highlands Library will be held June 16 (11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.) • The Juneteenth event is lune 16(at Renton Community Center, Renton History Museum, and Carco Theater)and June 19(at Carco Theatre) • Renton Fabulous 4th of July at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park • Renton River Days at Liberty Park—July 27-29, 2018 • Renton History Museum Summer 2018 Programs(Flyer) AI Dieckman commented that Summer Concerts will be starting up at Coulon Park. Park Rangers will encounter issues with dogs and bikes in the park, etc. There is a need to have staff visible to deal with issues. Cailin Hunsaker will check into this matter and report back. Cailin also mentioned that the city is looking at an alternative entrance into Coulon Park from East-Side Rail Corridor. A short discussion followed about approaching park patrons who are not following park rules and regulations or people with dogs; and for rules applying to emotional support dogs. There is a potential$500 fine for having dogs at Coulon Park. Unfortunately, it is more of an enforcement issue and not having the capacity to enforce park rules. 10. ADJOURNMENT Tim Searing motioned to adjourn;AI Dieckman seconded,and all were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 5:52 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Margie Beitner,Administra ve 5 etary 1 Minutes approved by:Marlene Winter, Board Chair Date � Wheelchair Accessible.American Sign'Language(ASL)interpreter available upon request. For this or other assistance,please call 48 hours in advance:711 (TDD)or 425-430-6600(voice). • CITY OF RENTON o BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS � SIGN-IN SHEET ' . Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 4:30 pm At City Hall, 1055 S. Grady Way, Renton 98057 Do you Name Address Email Phone wish to speak? 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