Meeting Watch: Park Advisory Commission (18 Nov 2008)

A budget discussion, the renaming of three nature areas, another step in the skatepark project and a discussion regarding a comprehensive bylaws review were among the items on a full agenda for the Ann Arbor Park Advisory Commission on Tuesday. PAC’s chair, Linda Berauer, noted that they had full attendance: “It’s been a while, so it’s great.”

Park operations budget

Karla Henderson, manager of Parks & Recreation, had been invited to provide commissioners with more details about the budget for the city’s field operations unit, which includes upkeep of the Parks & Rec properties. Several commissioners had questions for her. Sam Offen expressed surprise at the line item dealing with vandalism – $117,416 for fiscal year 2007-08, which ended June 30, or 267% over budget. Henderson acknowledged that it could be hard to predict and expensive to clean up vandalized property, including graffiti and broken windows. She said someone with the tag CHU is particularly a problem, and that they’ve been sharing information with the police department to try to deal with it. They also frequently clean up after The Rock at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw, and the sidewalks around it. Some of the increased expenses – including vandalism cleanup and turf care – are responding to feedback they received before voters approved the most recent parks millage, Henderson said.

Commissioner Brigit Macomber asked if Henderson could provide a spreadsheet showing all the revenues and expenses related to the city’s athletic fields. She said that revenues and costs have been shifted between funds and departments, and that it has become confusing to keep track of what’s happening. Henderson said she could provide that information.

Park project updates

Amy Kuras of the city’s Parks & Recreation staff briefed commissioners on projects at Cobblestone Farm, Leslie Park Golf Course and Leslie Park. She reported several renovations at Cobblestone: 1) an awning was replaced with a wood-shingled pent roof, 2) the front door was replaced with one that allows more light into the hallway, 3) interior renovations were made, included refurbishing the kitchenette and the bridal changing room, and 4) a walkway, raingarden and landscaping have been added to the exterior. At Leslie Park Golf Course, changes on the interior include new indoor/outdoor furniture and plans to replace the carpet, while exterior projects include replacing some pedestrian bridges, repairing pathways, dredging the pond and putting up permanent restrooms to replace portable ones. The north and south playgrounds at Leslie Park are also being rehabbed, with new equipment and other upgrades.

Jeff Dehring, a city park planner, talked about major changes at Mary Beth Doyle Park. Over the past three years, the Washtenaw County Drain Commission has worked on changes to the pond there, an effort aimed at improving water quality and flood control along Malletts Creek, which runs through the 81.4-acre park. At the same time, the city has been working on several projects, including installing a new basketball court, moving the playground closer to the parking lot where it can be more visible, adding a gravel path that loops around the area, and reconfiguring an 18-hole disc golf course. (Find out more about the active local disc golf community here.)

Commissioners asked several questions about the project. Brigit Macomber wanted to know how garbage pickup would be handled along the disc golf course, noting that it had been a problem there and at Bandemer Park, where a 9-hole course is located. Access is an issue, Dehring said, since there’s no way for trash hauling equipment to get back into some areas. They’re planning to put more cans along pathways were the equipment is able to pick up the containers.

Park names

The commission quickly and unanimously approved name changes to three city-owned properties:

• 7.7 acres purchased from the Girl Scouts of Huron Valley, known as Camp Hilltop, was renamed Hilltop Nature Area. The land borders the Kuebler Langford Nature Area and is near Bird Hills Nature Area, on the city’s north side.
• 13.5 acres known as Narrow Gauge Woods and purchased from Narrow Gauge Holdings Inc. and Sondra Gunn was renamed Narrow Gauge Nature Area. It’s located off Green Road near King Elementary School.
• 2.25 acres adjacent to Eberwhite Woods, bought from the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was renamed Eberwhite Nature Area.

Bylaws and the city attorney’s office

The commission had planned to vote on some changes to the group’s bylaws at Tuesday’s meeting. Chair Linda Berauer characterized them as mostly minor cleanup, with one substantive change: Adding a budget officer position. Word that the commission was considering changes got the attention of the city attorney’s office and assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald spoke at the meeting, urging commissioners to postpone their vote until after his office had time to do a comprehensive review of PAC bylaws.

McDonald said that city council had asked the attorney’s office to review the bylaws for all of the city’s boards and commissions, with the goal of making them clearer and consistent across all groups. He said they had no intention of changing the function of the commission, but wanted to standardize language to “flatten that bumpy hill out as much as we can.”

What ensued was an animated discussion among commissioners and McDonald. Commissioner Sam Offen suggested voting to approve the bylaw changes at Tuesday’s meeting – then, attorneys could do the review, but with the newly altered bylaws in place. McDonald repeated his statement that the council had asked for a review, and that the commission serves at the pleasure of the council, in an advisory role. He expressed puzzlement at the situation. “There’s something I’m not understanding,” he said. “We’re here to assist you.”

It emerged that the last time the commission had tried to make similar changes to its bylaws some two years ago, they’d been told the same thing – wait until the city attorney’s office can do a review. That review never materialized. This was all news to McDonald, who said he could do the work on a priority basis and return a report within 30 to 45 days.

Berauer said that PAC realizes they serve at the pleasure of council. The question, she said, is how independently can they operate, in terms of their internal governance. If that’s taken away, she said, then “you’re kind of disempowering us.” She apologized to McDonald, saying she was sorry he’d stepped into the middle of a “rat’s nest,” and agreed to postpone the vote until PAC’s January meeting. Review or not, they plan to take a final vote on the changes at that meeting.

Skatepark

Though they didn’t speak during public comment, several people involved in the Ann Arbor Skatepark project – including lead organizer Trevor Staples – attended the meeting until commissioners acted on that agenda item. The item was a resolution to approve a memorandum of intent between the city and the Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee, spelling out how the two entities would interact to design, fundraise and build the proposed skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park. It also laid out a fund agreement, essentially providing the framework for the skatepark committee to begin fundraising through the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. Kevin McDonald from the city attorney’s office said that when the skatepark committee forms a nonprofit, they’ll enter into a more formal agreement with the city outlining how they’ll pay for construction and ongoing maintenance. After receiving unanimous approval from the commission, chair Linda Berauer said, “Good luck, Trevor – you’ve done a great job so far.” The memorandum goes before city council at its Dec. 1 meeting.

Closed session

At 6:30, the commission went into closed session to discuss legal matters with Kevin McDonald from the city attorney’s office.

Present: Mike Anglin (ex-officio), David Barrett, Linda Berauer, Tim Berla, Julie Grand, John Lawter, Gwen Nystuen, Brigit Macomber, Samuel Offen, Scott Rosencrans, Christopher Taylor (ex-officio).

Next meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave.