Lacey, Washington

Present:
Commission:  Gary Hanson, Paul Royer, Alex Mitu, Shawn Smith & Lu Carlson
Staff:  Lori Flemm, Liz Spiller
Excused: Glen Crandal

The meeting was called to order at 5:33pm, by Chairman Shawn Smith.  
Additions or deletions to the Agenda
Additions: Lori has additions to the Director’s Report.

Minutes
The November 28, 2011 minutes were unanimously approved and placed on record.

Calendar
Thursday, February 16, 7pm, Council Chambers, City Council work session:  2011 Park Board Achievements & 2012 Work Plan are first on the agenda.  Lori encouraged Commissioners to attend if possible.
Regional Park Board meeting:  Rescheduled date will be announced soon.

Correspondence
No correspondence.
 
Old Business
a) Jacob Smith House
Lori reviewed the history of the Jacob Smith House and how the City came to own it, then showed the revised site improvement plans from the Senior Design Team from Saint Martin’s University.  The Lacey City Council approved $300,000 in committed funds for JSH site improvement, 10-12% of which must be set aside for the Building Improvement Fund.   Commissioners recommended 12% in the BIF and will consider again once a cost estimate is available.  After much discussion, Commissioner’s listed their top priorities for the site:
Shawn: Parking lot, gazebo/outdoor feature
Lu: Parking lot: need to bring up to code, as required by other businesses in the City
Paul: Parking lot, outdoor feature if funds available
All would like to see the interior staircase moved to open up the room, but this would be very expensive and may not enhance the use of the building as renovated parking and outdoor features would.  Of the 3 parking lot options developed by the SMU students, option #1 was the preferred plan.  Commissioners would like to see 10% parking added to the plan, to maximize parking and better accommodate facility users.  Lori will present a cost estimate as soon as it is available.  

New Business
a) Draft 2012 Park Board Work Plan
The draft of the 2012 Park Board Work Plan was reviewed and approved.
b) Draft 2012 Park Director Work Plan
Lori provided a draft of the 2012 Work Plan for the Parks & Recreation Department.

Director’s Report
a) Disc golf course layout & agreement:  Chris Gilbert will attend the February Park Board meeting and will have a proposal ready for Commissioner’s review.
b) 2011 budget report:  Lori reported a $120,000 revenue increase for 2011, which was the result of $60,000 increase in program revenue and $60,000 decrease in expenses.
c) Wonderwood Park Forest Management Plan progress:  Kiwanis came and cleared out downed wood in Wonderwood Park, then chopped & delivered the wood to local needy families.  Komachin Middle School students helped staff replant seedlings in the park.  Shawn commented these are both great services that the community should know about.
d) Polar Bear Plunge:   The 2012 NY Day event had 517 registered plungers, hundreds of spectators and brought in $433 in donations for the Summer Lunch Program.
e) Ethic Celebration; The 2012 Ethnic Celebration received a $10,000 grant from the Nisqually Tribe!
f) Senior Center Expansion update:  on schedule
g) Fun Fair Parade:  Sean Finney is working on the parade route for Lacey Spring Fun Fair.  The parade received $5,000in sponsorship and $1,000 from lodging tax.
h) Hanson memorial bench:  Rachel Hanson will donate $1,000 for a memorial bench for her mother at Woodland Creek Community Park.
i) Winter Program registration:  $1,000 decrease from 2011 Winter registration.
j) Storm damage:  No major damage from the recent snow storm.  Parks are closed, restrooms locked until tree hazards can be removed.
k) Emergency sheltering:  Red Cross approached the City about using the Lacey Community Center as a warming shelter during the recent snow storm, so this may be a topic of discussion and possible policy development in the future.  Lori asked Commissioners to think about possible issues for discussion at the February meeting.  Since the Community Center does not have shower facilities, sheltering may not be possible.
l) Bally’s tennis:  Bally’s/PacWest recently closed their doors and has left a huge need for indoor tennis facilities.  A local tennis pro approached the city about putting a ‘tennis bubble’ over the courts at Rainier Vista.  The request was denied as the courts are not lighted, would require extensive wiring/lighting, use would exceed park hours and paid lessons/instruction are not in line with current park policy.  Commissioners concurred with the decision.
m) Community Gardens:  LPRD will partner with St Mark’s again this year, to promote free, community garden plots at the church.
n) Bring Home the Bacon Award: The Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau recently awarded the Regional Athletic Complex their “Bring Home the Bacon Award”.

Commissioner’s Report
No report.
Chairman’s Report
No report.

Citizen Comments
No citizens present.

Committee Reports
a) PARC Foundation, Paul Royer: Paul reported the City of Lacey received $1,250 from the PARC Foundation raffle.  There was some discussion about off leash dog areas and Paul said Lacey was not interested in developing any such area, as a recent newspaper report confirmed the problem with dog owners not disposing of pet waste properly.  There was a report that the Olympia staff had discouraged pet waste cleanup by volunteer groups.
b) Specialized Recreation Advisory Group, Shawn Smith:  Shawn said the last meeting was cancelled.    

Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 7:29pm.

Next meeting:  Monday, February 27, 2012 at 5:30pm at the Lacey City Hall.