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Home My WebLink About2007 03.07 PRC MinutesCITY OF APACHE JUNCTION Parks & Recreation Commission 1001 N. Idaho Road Apache Junction, Az. A regular meeting of the Apache Junction Parks and Recreation Commission was held on March 7,2007 6:00 p.m. at the Apache Junction City Hall pursuant to notice as prescribed by law. Present Theresa A. Nesser, Chairman Conrad Pisinski, Vice -Chairman Mona Barton John Kantowski Sandra Schenone Absent Aaron Bradley (unexcused) Staff Present: Jeff Bell, Director of Parks and Recreation Sherri McGahan,,Customer Service Representative CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Nesser called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m. and led the Commission in the Pledge of Allegiance. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA: John Kantowski accepted the agenda as presented.Conrad Pisinski seconded and the motion passed unanimously. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: Conrad Pisinski motioned to accept the minutes of February 7, 2007, regular meeting as presented. Mona Barton seconded this motion which passed unanimously. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Mr. Bell directed the commission's attention to the new Citizen brochure.Inside is a survey requesting community input. We will also have staff canvassing Wal-Mart, Fry's and -neighborhood meetings for input from public who are not using our services:Chairman Nesser asked if the Board could assist with this and if any dates and times were. available yet. Mr. Bell said their services would be appreciated and_we will start this process in April. We will also use MGC staff and high school volunteer club to conduct surveys.We want to make sure that those doing this -are somewhat knowledgeable about our programs.John Kantowski asked about using Pinal County Volunteer Center. Mr. Bell advised the board that this:has been the season for special events - Lost Dutchman Marathon that increased the number of runners this year, -Lost Dutchman Days which was well attended, Superstition Sleepover that had 184 participants (major -increase), a hayride, bonfire, breakfast and is a growing event (used 2 baseball fields).We are heavily involved in the upcoming Antique Tractor Show, too. OLD BUSINESS: Discussion on Parks and Recreation Master Plan (Public Hearing). Mr. Bell said that 8 years ago the City Council adopted the Parks & Recreation master plan document.Some items on the list have been removed since they have been completed.It is time to reprioritize and staff has now prepared a new document and tried to capture input received over the past few years.A Press Release was submitted and printed in both of the local newspapers inviting the public to theMarch 7th Parks & Recreation Commission meeting.Mr. Bell commented on the public's lack of attendance at the meeting, which is not unusual.John Kantowski suggested meeting at the Multi -Generational Center to entice more attendance. Mr. Bell responded that we use the facility for our programs so it could be a challenge to do that.Mr. Bell will identify some of the priorities made by staff in the next news release and request the newspapers to promote the issue.This will be submitted to the newspapers before the next meeting. If we don't get the response from the public, then it is up to the board as representatives of the community to make the decisions. Update and discussion on FY 2007/08 Budget. Mr. Bell provided the board with a copy of the proposed budget for each of the three divisions; Administration, Recreation and Parks. City Manager requested that we try to keep within last year's budget.Some of the personnel costs shown include the step increase.Overall department budget is up $200,000 from last year.A couple of major themes are that Administration division is soliciting for a new customer service representative.Responsibilities have increased and the Account Clerk, who is backup to the Customer Service Representative, does not have the time to assist with backup and recreation staff has been assisting as well. Recreation budget - is not increasing personnel except for part-time and seasonal help due to minimum wage increase.Now that the MGC facility has been operating for a full year, we are now able to fine tune budgets for operational costs. Parks division is looking at changing a part time park ranger to a full time position.This is going to be a planning year for projects.We want to work on a master plan for the 200 acres at Silly Mountain Park and development plans for a dog park.Vice -Chair Pisinski questioned the amount of money we give back to the City and if we get any type of credit for that.Mr. Bell explained how the City looks at what we bring in and our revenues will be around $750,000 but our budget is much more than that. There was further discussion on some individual budget items questioned by the board, that Mr. Bell explained. Department Staff will be meeting with City Budget Committee aroundMarch 20th and Mr. Bell will be able to provide more details at the next Parks & Recreation Commission meeting. Update and discussion on Rodeo Park Improvements. Mr. Bell reviewed the bid tabulation sheet for the bleachers and cover at the Rodeo Park. Permanent covered grandstands are the ultimate goal. There are alternate bleacher types included in bid to provide more options. Staff budgeted $400,000 for bleachers and Sturdisteel came in at $399,597. Not all bid packets have been received yet from the City Clerk's office.Once they are received Mr. Bell will submit them to City Council, hopefully at their April meeting. Value engineering negotiations are still taking place with Valdez & Sons for the concession/restroom as they are looking at ways to reduce costs.Sandra asked how long it would be before the bleachers would be installed.Mr. Bell said it will be a while because of the time it takes for the processes to be completed and presented to council and then it will take approximately four months for completion. NEW BUSINESS: Presentation of New Performance Review Process. Mr. Bell presented the board with the new employee Performance Review packet.He explained the reasons for changing to the new process and form.Supervisors are able to add a personal touch to the new review process instead of the canned answers.There are no more merit increases since the inception of the step program - pay and performance are now separated. Employee reviews are done in August & September. A practice round was done with all employees in January and February to ensure familiarity.Discussion regarding certification for classification was clarified. Sandra inquired about self -evaluations.Mr. Bell indicated that they no longer do them; however, seasonal staff still does them along with peer evaluations, which is provided to the supervisors. Discussion on establishing —Friends of Park" non-profit group. John Kantowski made a request to the board about forming a non-profit group of volunteers that could do fundraising for the Parks & Recreation department. We're always looking for volunteers to help the parks department.He researched the difference between a 501-C3 (corporations) and 501-C4 (allows for admin. expenses and volunteers) and felt a 501- C4 would be best suited for this.He met with Dan Austin of the Winter Visitor's Assoc. to inquire about the procedure. Discussion took place about how Friends of the Library work and Chairman Nesser agreed to talk with President of the Friends of Library board about attending the next Parks & Recreation Commission meeting & will advise Mr. Bell for agenda purposes.Mr. Bell was concerned about information received from the library since they have different funding requirements and recommended that we check with other Parks & Recreation departments to see if they have such a group and obtain information from them.The board expressed interest in learning more about this concept. John Kantowski will continue his research and bring back information to the commission. Chairman Nesser questioned if this commission should not be involved in the formation of this group; could be conflict of interest. Request by the Commission for placement of items on future agendas. Parks and Recreation Master Plan - Public Meeting Update and review of 2007/08 Budget Update and discussion on Rodeo Park Improvements Update and discussion on "Friends of Park" Discussion on pet issues on neighborhood walking trails Selection of next meeting date. April 4, 2007 at 6 p.m. CALL TO PUBLIC: None ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business and hearing no objections Chairman Nesser adjourned the meeting at 7:07p.m. ? 1 ,p!..Re .,A,_ _A meAVFP.'-'''.0 7 =-' r n7.1 Conrad Pisihski, Vice -Chairman