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HomeMy Public PortalAbout8. Parks and Recreation - March 2023Monthly Department Report – Parks & Recreation Memo To: City Council From: Kurt Wolf, Parks, and Recreation Director CC: Anette Spickard, City Manager Date: 3/2023 Re: Monthly Department Report –March Rec Program Updates & Registrations Program descriptions, free events, and a local resource guide are available at www.mccallrec.com. Staff will continue to include a program waiver as it relates to the recognized risk associated with COVID- 19 exposure while participating in our programs. This waiver is similar to what other municipalities are doing in our region. • Winter Programming:  Indoor Soccer- Finished up in early March. Each Thursday 35-45 people were in attendance. The gym host organized 6-8 teams in quick 5-minute games. Each team played an average of 20-25 minutes in total. Requests from players to continue the program were not accepted as gym space was filled with school sports and MUSA practices.  Field Trips hosted with PLCA4Kids- Have partnered to host rec days at Elk Creek Church gym and swim days at the Holiday Inn.  Tiki Treks- 3rd year hosted at McCall Golf Course every Friday in February from 6-9 pm. Torches are placed along a 1-mile loop and enjoyed by many. This year we have added an additional Friday as we intend to use the torches during the IRPA Conference on March 8th.  No School Fun Day- March 31st is parent-teacher conferences staff will take a dozen kids swimming at Cascade Recreation and enjoy a movie in the basement of Idaho First Bank.  Partnership Development with PLCA: Staff has continued to work closely with the Payette Lake Community Association (PLCA) to build partnerships and pool resources as it relates to the after-school program. The association and program provide an incredible service to the community and staff will continue to explore opportunities to support the association and ensure the long-term sustainability of the programs. Staff is Monthly Department Report – Parks & Recreation working with legal to create a Memorandum of Agreement to continue to provide assistance and bill 501c3 for services and staff time. Hannah Stewart (Facilities & Program Coordinator) has been doing a fantastic job working with Stefanie and Tara to build and strengthen this partnership and understanding of the program. • Events- IRPA Conference Idaho Recreation and Parks Association State Conference was hosted by the City of McCall Parks and Recreation Department. Tara Woods and Stefanie Bork were the lead planners of the conference. The conference was held in McCall, March 6-9th at North fork Lodge, Best Western Hotel, and offsite locations. Fifty-two attendees registered, and twenty vendors/sponsors’ representatives attended the conference. Feedback was positive overall for the conference education sessions, socials, keynotes, and activities were all well received. Two of our department staff were recognized as outstanding parks and recreation professionals, Todd Wheaton and Stefanie Bork. Additionally, Brown Park was selected as the 2023 outstanding parks and recreation facility. Parks Overview and Staffing Restrooms at Legacy Park, Art Roberts Park, & Rotary Park will remain open throughout the winter. All other public restrooms will be winterized and shut down during freezing temperatures. Portable toilets will be placed and incorporated into facilities in conjunction with events such as the winter carnival. Vandalism has become a recent concern at Legacy Park and Art Roberts Park. Each facility recently suffered significant damage and has since been repaired. Parks staff are working with PD to mitigate, and we are revisiting the use of security cameras as we enter the FY24 budget process and the busy summer season. Winter sidewalk maintenance: Parks staff continue to work with public works and adjacent property owners on sidewalk snow and ice removal coordination. As of 3/29 Parks staff has cleared snow 11 days in March with a total daily snow accumulation of 47”. The staff has had to be extremely careful with freeze-thaw conditions not to damage infrastructure or equipment. This brings a season total of 51 days of snow removal with additional storms in the forecast for April. Recent Projects and Task Update: • New Shop: As the snow comes off this spring Parks crew will prioritize landscape improvements and site improvements as outlined in the planning and zoning approval process. This work could not be completed last year due to freezing conditions upon completion of the building. • Rotary Park Restroom Renovation: Parks crew began renovating one of the restrooms to improve insulation values and address ADA compliance concerns outlined in the transition plan. estimate to better insulate and bring into ADA compliance. Project costs will be covered within our operating budget and crews hope to have the one bathroom completed by the end of April and will assess the ability to remodel the other restroom as time and budget allow. • Seasonal Employee Housing Opportunities: Staff is continuing to work with both the Museum board and the State Timber Protective Association on making minor retrofits and Monthly Department Report – Parks & Recreation renovations to the second floor of the bunk house at the museum to provide seasonal housing for SITPA and Parks staff throughout the year. • Employee Housing Unit Opportunity: Kurt Wolf continues to work with the museum board on an opportunity to secure the assistant fire wardens’ house as a city employee housing unit. More to come. • Farmers Market: The department is working closely with the Farmers Market Board of Directors and other City Departments to relocate the farmers market into the downtown core for the 2023 summer season. • Parks & Recreation & Open Space Plan: Logan Simpson, staff, and the parks and recreation committee have begun reviewing the admin draft plan. In April the draft plan will be released to the public for review and comment, additional outreach efforts will include a survey, focus groups, and public meetings. • Outdoor Ice Rink The parks crew closed the rink for the season on March 6. Warmer weather and snow removal made keeping up with rink maintenance an unrealistic challenge. • Potential Projects: Kurt Wolf continues to work with Mile High Marina on an expansion project of the breakwater and marina slips. This project would in turn create a public amenity in the form of a public boardwalk out and around the marina. The Marina is entering into the PUD process with the city. The Parks and Recreation Department will continue to work on partnership opportunities regarding the public amenity associated with this project. More to come as the project takes shape and moves forward throughout the winter months. • Public Boat Ramp Improvements: Construction is scheduled to start in April and parks staff will work with the contractor in preparing the site to execute work as quickly as possible this spring before the lake level starts to rise. In an effort to stretch the budget out further, the Parks staff will be fabricating and building the Hand Railing/Guardrail on the project. As of March 28, all permits have been approved and secured by both City and State agencies. • Working with CIMBA to start constructing a Mtn. Bike Jump Park. CIMBA is working on getting 3D renderings done to convey the scope of work and market the project for additional funding. Conceptual plans are drafted to incorporate something along the paved bike path between Stibnite and Deinhard Lane. The terrain between the pathway and the airport approach is perfect for creating something along these lines and is already used informally for biking, hiking, and running. A project of this nature has the potential to be a fun and unique amenity for our community and visitors alike. It is also a great opportunity to utilize local resources through a grassroots approach to implementation. • Roosevelt Park: Staff have been working with the Kempthorne family and the use of escrow funds to make site improvements to Roosevelt Park. Plans for this site include the use of removable planters that can be used to establish nursery trees and shrubs for the department to implement in other facilities as they get established. During the summer months, it will act as a small pocket park and nursery, and during the winter months, it will function as snow storage.