Minutes - Parks and Recreation Commission - 06/12/2008 - Joint with CC

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Commissioner Shryock was pleased with the new parking arrangement and thollcght that it fit better into the property. Chairperson Johns questioned if the City had already owned the easement that was used for the parking area and entrance to the park. Parks Supervisor Riverblood advised that the City did already own that easement. He advised that this new entrance point has high visibility to passersby but is also far enough from the rest of the park to allow relaxation throughout the park. Chairperson Johns questioned if the Police and Fire Departments would rather have two entrance/exit points. Mr. Schombauer advised that with a small parking area one entrance/exit point would be sufficient and added that they really could not accomplish another entrance/exit point for that parking area. Parks Supervisor Riverblood added that the ten foot wide bituminous trails would easily accommodate an ambulance or fire truck if needed. Mr. Schombauer advised that this design is really something that the residents wanted and he encouraged the City to spend the money to construct the park well. He advised the City to work with the landowners to incorporate the lake into the park more in the future. He advised that in terms of estimating the cost the base cost for the park would be about $335,000 with additional contingency and design fees, for a total of about $425,000. He advised that they also did estimates on maintenance of the park and life cycle costs of the equipment throughout the pmk He wanted to make sure that the City was able to budget for the maintenance of the natural items in the park, and inc~ude t~at in their yearly budget. He advised that they are usually conservative in the cost estimating process and advised that they have been seeing good bids come back on other projects that they had taken part in this year. He advised that for the most part the bids had come in 20 to 30 percent less than originally budgeted. He advised that if the Commission wanted to work within a given budget they could set their priorities and go from there but encouraged them to first focus on the trails in the park. He advised that they are in good shape as far as the fee standpoint for their services and might actually come in under budget, even with the changes that had been made throughout the process. He stated that if the firm continues on in this process they feel that they could come in under the $55,000 that is stated in the budget as there is a good working relationship between the City and the design firm. He advised that this is very doable with the budget that has been discussed and advised that they would love to continue on in this process with the City. Parks Supervisor Riverblood reminded the Commission that the Parks CIP had a scheduled amount of $300,000 dedicated to the Sunfish Lake Park development and encouraged the Commission to forward this on for the approval of the Council if they liked the design of the park. He thought that the interpretive stations, although somewhat costly, would be a good addition to the park as it is something that the residents suggested and also add a touch of class and help the people to interpret the environment. Park and Recreation Commission/June 12, 2008 Page 3 of 11