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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPARKS & REC 2015-04-01 M I N U T E S th 739 REGULAR MEETING PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION CITY OF LIVONIA On April 1, 2015 the above meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Livonia was held in the Livonia Community Recreation Center conference room, 15100 Hubbard, Livonia, Michigan. Mr. Mark Johnson, Chairperson of the Commission, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Members present : Paul Condon, Kevin Summers, and Mark Johnson Members absent : Cathy Kevra, Roger Walklin Also present : Dave Varga, Interim Superintendent Tom Murphy, Facility Manager Barb Gamber, Asst. Facility Manager Lisa Wood, LHA Andy O’Brien, LHA Mary Smythe, LHA Mike Featherngill, LHA Upon a motion made by Mr. Summers seconded by Mr. Condon, it was th #3422-15RESOLVED, that the Commission waive the reading of the minutes of the 738 Regular Meeting of the Commission held on March 4, 2015 and that the minutes be approved as submitted. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following results: AYES : Condon, Summers and Johnson ABSENT: Kevra, Walkin adopted The Chairperson declared the resolution. Upon a motion made by Mr. Condon seconded by Mr. Summers, it was #3423-15RESOLVED, that the Commission move New Business 3 to the front of the agenda. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following results: AYES : Condon, Summers and Johnson ABSENT: Kevra, Walkin adopted The Chairperson declared the resolution. Mr. O’Brien LHA Board of Directors Re: Residency Ratio – introduced himself as the President of the Livonia Hockey Association (LHA) and also introduced the rest of the board members. He explained that in the last year the LHA assigned management of the arenas to Livonia Civic Arenas (LCA) due to LHA issues with the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association as being managers as well Mr. O’Brien as tenants of the arena. said the LHA is asking the Commission to consider lowering the resident ratio requirement which is currently 60% to 50%. He explained reasons for the request which include declining enrollment due to changing demographics, economic reasons due to the cost of hockey and that there are other sports opportunities available. He said the association does 2 Commission Meeting April 1, 2015 what they can to entice kids to join such as running numerous clinics such as learn to skate and learn to play for new skaters, also sending flyers through schools and by allowing only Livonia residents to register the first two weeks of the registration period. He said they have also lowered fees across the board up to 50% as well as eliminating the U6 registration fee. The association is Mr. Condon also providing additional developmental opportunities and coaching tools. asked if the Commission should have been aware of the assignment of management to Livonia Civic Arenas? Mr. JohnsonMr. MurphyMr. O’Brien said it went through Law. asked if LHA is in control of LCA? Mr. Johnson said no, they are separate entities. asked which communities take away the most Mr. Featherngill Livonia players and why? said Farmington has 53 Livonia kids and explained it is due to the lack of a second Livonia travel team due to the residency requirements. He said Livonia Mr. Johnson is one of the few Western Wayne County Associations that have a residency ratio. Mr. O’Brien asked what the overall program ratio is? said 60% and explained that in the past they have come before the Commission to request waivers for the girl’s teams and Midget AA teams and Mr. Condon the Commission has been amenable to their requests. asked if other communities’ Mr. O’Brien hockey programs are tied to their recreation programs? said he didn’t believe so as Mr. VargaMr. they are not tied to their cities. asked how long the 60/40 ratio has been in effect? O’BrienMr. Johnson said quite a while at least the length of the lease. said that was one of the Mr. O’Brien provisions to renew the lease but said he couldn’t remember why. said although the Mr. Summers lease mentions the ratio it does not actually specify the number. said it was probably Mr. due to the high demand for the program. There was a discussion of the history of the program. VargaMr. Johnson said the ratio is probably due to the arenas being built with bond money. recommended that the LHA keep coming to the Commission for the foreseeable future as it has been working well and it gives the Commission an opportunity to receive updates from them. He said he would also like to keep the ratio at 60/40. He said that the Commission understands what Mr. SummersMr. O’Brien LHA is up against. asked when they would need an adjustment? said travel try outs are in June and if the ratio was adjusted to 50% it would allow the travel teams to Mr. Summers adjust their counts in regard to going into their try out. suggested to approve no less Mr. Johnson than 50/50. said that in the interim he would like to get some input from Law to see if Mr. Condon we are in violation of anything by doing that. suggested putting this as old business for Mr. JohnsonMr. Murphy the May meeting. said we’ll table it for May and refer it to Law. asked if Mr. O’Brien any non-residents were turned away last year? said they have folded teams due to the residency requirement. He said 60/40 is the ratio for the overall program but they hold individual Mr. Summers travel teams to the ratio per their by-laws. said we will check if the ratio pertains to Mr. Johnson the overall program or per team. said we will investigate. LHA board members left the meeting at 7:22 p.m. Reports from StaffMr. JohnsonMr. Varga – asked if all three courses are open and it is wet? said they are all open and they are dry. Mr. CondonMr. Varga asked about the moveable floor in the lap pool. said we don’t know what’s wrong with it. He said we believe the motor is working but it won’t move so we intend to lubricate it Mr. Murphy once the pool is drained. explained that the contractor quoted $15,000 to fix it. He said the floor manufacturer is from Germany and the North American service unit is out of Canada. He said the floor hasn’t been moved in a year but that fortunately the floor stopped moving at the seven Mr. Condon foot level so no swim meets had to be cancelled. asked if there is reasonable access? Mr. MurphyMr. Condon said no and explained how it is accessed. said it seems there should be Mr. Murphy some local mechanical companies that could do it when the pool is empty. said a local company was considered but the issue is liability if we have unauthorized people work on the floor or Mr. Condon someone gets hurt. asked that since there is no warranty, what are they going to be Mr. Murphy liable for? He said the companies have insurance and it shouldn’t stop you. said local pool companies won’t touch it. Mr. JohnsonMr. Varga asked if the vinyl gym floor was for the competition at Churchill? said yes, First Robotics. 3 Commission Meeting April 1, 2015 Mr. CondonMs. Gamber said he heard the Home Expo went well. said it was a great day and there was good traffic. She said it will probably start earlier next year. Upon a motion made by Mr. Condon seconded by Mr. Summers, it was #3424-15RESOLVED, that the Commission move New Business 1 to the front of the agenda. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following results: AYES : Condon, Summers and Johnson ABSENT: Kevra, Walkin adopted The Chairperson declared the resolution. Ms. Gamber Business sponsorships of facilities and programs – passed out and explained information to the Commission. She said Masri Orthodontics has expressed interest in sponsoring the skate park and since we don’t have established pricing, input is needed on the value of Mr. Varga opportunities. said this has been discussed at various times with the administration and they have been hesitant but the Mayor is supportive now with his only objection being anything Ms. Gamber inside the rec center. said she has been approached by several businesses in the last month regarding their interest. She said we would put out a tasteful product and that this is done in other communities. She explained some options of sign sizes and prices and said she would like to Ms. Gamber be able to give Masri an answer for the skate park. explained that this information is a Mr. Condon proposed draft and we need decisions on approval steps. asked where the pricing Ms. Gamber came from? said it is a combination of other communities and the cost of the Mr. Condon programs. said the sponsor should pay for the sign and we just rent the space. He said he loves the idea and it should have been done a long time ago. Everyone agreed the sign size Mr. Varga should be consistent. said values have to be considered for areas not used all year Mr. Condon around. said he is not sure about putting signs in the parks as they might distract from the peaceful setting and that we should start slow. There was a discussion that the ball fields at Ms. Gamber Rotary would be off limits as they are under LJAL control. asked who would install the Mr. JohnsonMr. Summers signs? said we would at no charge. suggested telling Masri that the Commission needs until the May meeting to give direction. He asked her to get their sign proposal and email it to the Commission. There was a discussion of the size of the sign and where it would be located on the skate park. There was a discussion of the price for Masri. Upon a motion made by Mr. Condon seconded by Mr. Summers, it was #3425-15RESOLVED, that the Commission approve sponsorship of the Community Recreation Center Skate Park by Masri Orthodontics for the price of $1,000 for the year and that the Commission will approve the size of the sign that Masri Orthodontics will purchase. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following results: AYES : Condon, Summers and Johnson ABSENT: Kevra, Walkin adopted The Chairperson declared the resolution. Mr. Condon said we’ll put this on the May agenda as old business. Ms. Gamber left the meeting at 8:00 p.m. 4 Commission Meeting April 1, 2015 Mr. Summers said to make sure that copies of this information gets to Mrs. Kevra and Mr. Walklin Mr. Johnson asked if Mr. Varga had any General Updates. Mr. Varga said at Idyl Wyld there is striping going on in the parking lot, there is some work being done on one of the bridges to stabilize it and we will have to potentially purchase a new bridge and that the water has finally been turned on. He said there are some new LED lights at the Botsford walking path that DTE is putting in at no cost. He also said we are looking at getting a company to replace and sponsor T-signs at the golf courses. He explained that the companies would follow the same sponsorship guidelines that we have here and would provide the sign and the revenue. He said the Mayor is OK with this. Communications LCRC Package Totals – March 2015 – There were no comments. Mr. Murphy LCRC Code of Conduct – March 2015 – explained one incident. Mr. Condon LCRC Comment Card Report – March 2015 – commented that he didn’t notice a burning smell in the elevator. Mr. JohnsonMr. Murphy asked about the MAC Gym scheduling. explained that situation. Mr. CondonMr. Murphy asked about the cleaning schedule for the lockers. said the custodians Mr. Condon look through them all and clean the dirty ones. said to make sure the locker cleaning is on a regular schedule. Mr. Johnson said the following items are informational. He said he was reminded by Mr. Walklin that before golf course equipment is purchased using the 409 account, the Commission wanted to Mr. Condon review it. said the Commission doesn’t want to tie things up too much but when there are going to be expenditures like this, it was decided that the Commission didn’t need to approve them but should be made aware of it before it happens. He suggested that at the beginning of the year T.J.W. gives Commission a list of anticipated purchases before it goes to Council if possible. Mr. Varga asked if it would be possible to bring them to a Commission meeting individually before it Mr. CondonMr. Johnson goes to Council. said that is not necessary. said we don’t want to stall the process of them getting equipment and the Commission understand that things may come up Mr. CondonMr. Johnson during the year. said he is just looking to get a heads up. said Mr. Mr. Condon Walklin’s position is more the use of the 409 account. said this is what the 409 was set up for and said next year the Commission just needs an informational letter at the beginning of the year as a golf course update. Letter to Council Re: Beverage and Snack Vending Service Agreement Letter to Council Re: Award of service contract to solicit ads for the “L” Magazine Letter to Council Re: Purchase of golf course equipment Letter to Council Re: Request to purchase Star Trac fitness equipment Letter to Council Re: Request to purchase Precor fitness equipment Letter to Council Re: Request to purchase Octane fitness equipment Old Business Mr. Varga Clement Circle Pool – said we have finished our portion and it was sent to the Law Mr. JohnsonMr. Department yesterday. asked if those folks will have access to other facilities? Varga said they have free passes to either of the other outdoor pools. Mr. Varga Whispering Willows Restaurant – said they opened today and they had a huge crowd. 5 Commission Meeting April 1, 2015 New Business Mr. Varga Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training at Rotary Park – said this will be th on September 19 at Rotary Park. He said he would check with LJAL on the use of the fields. Letter from Dave Varga Re: Change to House Rules XI. Individual Room Rules, A. Locker Rooms Mr. JohnsonMr. Varga and Lockers – said the problem is how to identify a transgender individual. said the point is that we have a rule and direct them to use the family locker room. There was a discussion of transgender/transitioning individuals versus people with deviant intentions. There was Mr. Johnson also discussion of people possibly claiming a violation of their civil rights. said it would Mr. Murphy be hard to enforce but at least there is a policy. said as society changes this may have Mr. Condon to be amended. suggested that this be tabled till Mrs. Kevra and Mr. Walklin are Mr. Johnson present. said he would like to get Law’s position on this. He said we need to be Mr. Murphy proactive and we do have a neutral remedy by having the family locker room available. said this changes our policy of single adults not being allowed to use the family locker room without Mr. Summers having a child with them. suggested trying to define this so if something happens we can tell them that it has been defined in the rules and if they fall into this category they know they Mr. Johnson should have gone to the family locker room. said this will cause legitimate individuals to follow the policy. There was a discussion on the definitive source on finding out what transgender Mr. JohnsonMr. Varga and transitioning means. said to run this by Law. suggested putting up a Mr. Johnson sign that the family locker room is for families, transgender and transitioning. said to table this until next month. X-Item Mr. Request from Sgt. Brian Kahn Re: Installation of emergency warning siren at Botsford Park – JohnsonMr. Varga asked is this an actual siren? said yes it is, there is no other siren in the area. Mr. Johnson said the more sirens the better. Upon a motion made by Mr. Summers seconded by Mr. Condon, it was #3426-15RESOLVED, that the Commission approve the installation of an emergency warning siren at Botsford Park by the Livonia Emergency Preparedness Department. A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following results: AYES : Condon, Summers and Johnson ABSENT: Kevra, Walkin adopted The Chairperson declared the resolution. The Chairperson called the meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. MARK JOHNSON, CHAIRPERSON PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2015 AT 7:00 P.M.