HomeMy Public PortalAboutPR Dept. Rpt. Jan. 2019Memo /
To: City Council
From: Kurt Wolf, Parks and Recreation Director
CC: Anette Spickard, City Manager
Date: 1/28/2019
Re: Monthly Department Report –January 2019
Winter Rec Programs & Registrations:
The Youth Basketball program has 93 youth registered where last year there was 87. Games have begun and will continue until the end of February.
The first out of three sessions of Tots and Tykes ran twice a week, from January 15-25. Nine youth and their parents/guardians participated in the class. Most signed up for the next
2 sessions, as well as a music and cooking program for toddlers starting in February and April. Parents have given positive feedback on the movement program and space during the winter
months. The Rec Supervisor continues to work on classes and programming efforts for the summer activity guide, due to go out to the public April 22.
Special Events:
The loaner equipment program has been heavily used this winter, as the snowshoes, youth xc ski gear and kinder sleds are rented out every weekend. Quaker Hill generously donated 8 pairs
of xc skis, boots and poles. Ponderosa State Park used the snowshoes 3 times during their annual free ski/snowshoe day. Lessons and equipment were provided free to patrons.
Re Mastered was a success this year with 94 participants.
Parks staff and the Rec Supervisor participated in the Winter Carnival parade and drove Library staff and children in the parade. The group efforts landed the McCall Library and Parks
& Recreation Department 1st place for group float. Parks and Recreation staff-built study stands in the back of three mini-trucks for librarians to soar above the crowds during the
parade.
Parks Overview and Staffing:
Staff will continue to work on punch list maintenance projects as weather permits and working on summer equipment repairs and or modifications. Projects include: Picnic tables, equipment
paint touch ups, trailer modifications, fabrication, planning, and irrigation system mapping with GIS department.
Parks staff attended the Idaho Horticulture Expo January 16-18. The Expo offered educational opportunities as it relates to industry standards and CEU credits to maintain herbicide applicators
license and arborist certification. Staff included Eddie Heider, Monika Trapp, Al Becker and Tyler Padgett.
Winter Carnival:
Parks staff worked jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and Public Works to prepare for Winter Carnival. Extra attention was given to sidewalks and areas not usually maintained by Parks
staff to mitigate for larger crowds and prepare for the parade route and vendor court at Legacy Park. The first weekend appeared to go off without a hitch, snow and ice where managed
well by the parks crew, and janitorial needs were no worse than in years past. The snow bike race at Riverfront Park went well without any issues directly impacting parks. However,
comments were received after it was over about the impact to residents living in River’s Crossing.
Riverfront Park Opportunities:
The City has received funding through the DEQ 319 grant to mitigate stream bank erosion. A site visit and meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers and Idaho Department of Water Recourses
went well and the permit should be issued the first week of January. Work to lay the bank back above the Ordinary High-Water Mark (OHM) has begun and is going well despite winter conditions.
Sediment controls are in place and once the permit is issued, the contractor will begin placing rock in the river as per the design and permit specifications. Planting will take place
in early spring.
Waterfront Improvements North of the Marina & Brown Park:
The University of Idaho has begun working on a feasibility study for the event center/boat house concept on the waterfront and permitting is still underway for the dock systems North
of the Marina. The University of Idaho Landscape Architecture class visited McCall and met with department staff and toured Brown Park, North of the Marina and Riverfront Park, they
will be completing design projects based off these sites.
The City Economic Development Planner helped the department submit Idaho Department Parks and Recreation (IDPR): Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF)
grants to further fund site improvements and ADA accessibility on the water front from north of the Marina and throughout Brown Park. Grant awards will be determined in March.
The McCall Redevelopment Agency voted to fund up to $125,000 in match funds with the IDPR WIF Grant for the non-motorized use area north of the Marina. Idaho Department of Land (IDL)
encroachment permits have been submitted.
Central Idaho Historic Museum Site:
Staff continues to work with the museum board regarding the future of the site and museum operations. Staff has re-introduced the potential for the department to relocate to the museum
site as plans are formalized with the new Library. These conversations are purely conceptual and so far, they have been very positive.
Staff is working with Public Works on snow storage and parking agreements with St. Luke’s as construction progresses and the future of the site is more accurately defined.
Wooley Boardwalk Pathway Connection:
Survey and preliminary engineering work is complete on the pathway connection project. The bid manual will be released Friday, February 1 and bids will be accepted until Thursday, February
14. The 404 encroachment permits and mitigation plans submitted last month have been approved and secured with the appropriate governmental agencies. Project schedule is yet to be determined
but it is still our goal to get piers installed this winter/spring and project completion by June 30.
Spring Mountain Ranch HOA as shown support, in writing, for planting pollinator species on the site.