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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.22.21 PRAB MinutesCITY OF BOULDER BOULDER, COLORADO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES To listen to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meetings in their entirety, please go to the following link: www.boulderparks-rec.org Name of Board/Commission: Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Date of Meeting: February 22, 2021 Contact Information Preparing Summary: Charlotte O’Donnell, 303-413-7223 Board Members Present: Charles Brock, Alli Fronzaglia, Mary Scott, Raj Seymour, Tara Winer, Jason Unger, Pamela Yugar Board Members Absent: Staff Present: Bryan Beary, Jeff Haley, Jackson Hite, Stacie Hoffmann, Megann Lohman, Stephanie Munro, Charlotte O’Donnell, Chris Passarelli, Ali Rhodes, Christy Spielman, Jonathan Thornton, Dennis Warrington Guests Present: Type of Meeting: Advisory/Regular Agenda Item 1: Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. A quorum was present for the conduct of business. Motion to approve agenda. Motion by Seymour. Second by Brock. Passed 6-0. Yugar arrived at the meeting. Agenda Item 2: Future Board Items and Tours Rhodes reviewed upcoming agenda items for PRAB. Agenda Item 3: Public Participation Kim Bixel, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared concerns about the new restaurant at the Reservoir. Shirley Schaller, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared her family history living near the Reservoir and concerns about increased traffic on 51st St. Jason Smith, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared concerns about the new restaurant at the Reservoir. Eric Tussey, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared concerns about the new restaurant at the Reservoir including the lack of specific operating details in the lease. Tannis Sampson, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared concerns the new restaurant based on bad experiences with past events at the reservoir and about past violations of the liquor license at another restaurant operated by Dine and Dash. Bernee Strom, neighbor to the Reservoir, shared concerns that the restaurant would change the character of the reservoir and that the lease was too lenient. Greg Kass, former neighbor to River and Woods, another restaurant operated by Dine and Dash, shared complaints about River and Woods alcohol and event management. Parker Dodd, president of the board of directors of Boulder Tennis Association, introduced his organization and mentioned several issues regarding tennis courts. There being no one else who wanted to speak, public participation was closed. Agenda Item 4: Consent Agenda A. Approval of Minutes from January 25, 2021 Motion to approve the minutes from January 25, 2021 as presented. Motion by Yugar. Second by Scott. The motion passed 7-0. B. Development and Operations Update The Board had the following questions and/or comments. • Could you tell us more about the focus groups that are taking place for the BPR Master Plan this week? What key stakeholders are included? • The current questionnaire on BeHeardBoulder is complicated and may take longer than people are willing to spend. Is the goal to reach the general community with this questionnaire? Will the complicated language discourage people from taking it? • Are this week’s BPR Master Plan focus group meetings private or open to the public? • How many responses is BPR hoping to receive on the current questionnaire? How does this compare to previous questionnaires? • The current number of responses seems low. Can BPR offer an incentive to complete this questionnaire? Is it possible to do a phone survey? • Are we missing responses from the Hispanic community on this questionnaire? Will BPR be going door to door to get answers? • How can BPR make it exciting to participate in this planning effort? • PRAB members can help spread the word by forwarding the questionnaire or talking to their contacts about what parks and recreation includes. • Though current COVID restrictions allow up to 50% capacity in gyms, this seems like too high of a number. Since the virus is mainly transferred through the air, what HVAC or air filtration improvements have been made? • Given plans for a restaurant at the golf course, is BPR reconsidering plans for neighborhood outreach efforts for that project given the issues with the restaurant at the Reservoir? • Pictures of the playground at Chautauqua look incredible. • The prioritization of youth programming is greatly appreciated. • Will PRAB hear details about the trends of changing programming and uses of indoor recreation as part of the 2022 Budget conversation? • A community member with a disability shared that he had a fantastic experience Scott Carpenter this past fall. Motion to amend agenda to discuss the Reservoir Restaurant Update directly after the 2022 Budget. Motion by Seymour. Second by Unger. Motion to amend agenda to discuss the Reservoir Restaurant Update before the 2022 Budget. Motion by Brock. Second by Scott. Seymour rescinded his motion. The motion by Brock and Scott passed 7-0. Agenda Item 5: Matters from the Department A. Reservoir Restaurant Update This item was presented by Rhodes. The Board had the following questions and/or comments: • It feels like BPR is being reactionary to neighbor complaints. What public process happened already and what may have been missed? • What issues occurred at the restaurant River and Woods, operated by Dine and Dash? How can BPR ensure those issues do not occur at the Reservoir? • Will private events be evaluated on a case-by-case basis? Will the impacts of traffic and the total number of people be regulated? • For concerns related to traffic safety at night, has BPR asked the county traffic engineer and sheriff about adding a speed hump or something to physically slow cars? • Waiting for crashes to occur before making modifications is reactive, while Vision Zero aims to be proactive in preventing crashes before they happen. • The evening session of the BPR meeting with neighbors had lots of questions and concerns shared. Staff showed willingness to collaborate with neighbors on solutions like including them in a future sound check. Another good thing that came out of the meeting was the discussion of the Good Neighbor Agreement and the draft will be reviewed by neighbors. Neighbors also brought up concerns of headlights shinning in houses at night which was a concern that had not been considered before. It was great to have council, staff and neighbors discuss this topic together. • The advisory board’s role is to advise staff, but the board does not make decisions for staff in this case. • Will the restaurant operations and any concerns be reviewed every year? Agenda Item 6: Matters for Discussion/Information A. 2022 Budget Strategy This item was presented by Hite, Passarelli and Hoffmann. The Board had the following questions and/or comments: • Given that the financial recovery may be longer than expected, recommended that staff focus on taking care of what we have. • Is the projection for income from sales tax developed by the City of Boulder or BPR staff? • Does BPR currently have any debt? • Has BPR considered the impact of a potential $15 minimum wage? • Has BPR considered potential impacts of federal COVID recovery aid? • By 2026 BPR would be nearing the reserves we had pre-pandemic. Why is BPR focused on recovering reserves so quickly? Agenda Item 5: Matters from the Department (continued) B. Safe and Welcoming Public Spaces This item was presented by Rhodes. The Board had the following questions and/or comments: • Park Rangers could be a positive presence in the parks and could be better than police. • The staff work to clean-up encampments and parks is greatly appreciated. • The skate park under the library would be a positive addition. Where in the process is this idea? When might that project be completed? • Are staff considering regulated camping in parks? PRAB’s letter to council stated that they did not support unregulated camping, but regulated camping in parks was not discussed. • Support for positive activation of spaces and all the ideas presented. • In-house cleanup has many advantages. • Public spaces will likely be in high demand again this summer. Garbage and other negative uses may be a problem during this busy time. • Is there an update on the possibility of having restroom attendants? • The clean restrooms at Harlow were appreciated. • PRAB’s letter, which did not support camping, did represent many voices in the community. Agenda Item 7: Matters from the Board A. PRAB Community Engagement Updates (verbal) • Brock and Winer attended the Microaggression and Bias Training offered by the city. • Is it possible to use this time for PRAB members to raise any other topics of conversation or questions? • In the past, PRAB did use this time for open discussion and it sometimes created pressure to share unrelated information. • PRAB members can use the time to share any comments or questions if they have them. • It would be helpful to receive update on all properties. •Can staff include an update about activities at the Harbeck House at the March meeting? •The PRAB Chair and Vice Chair meet with staff to set the next agenda three days after the last PRAB meeting. If PRAB members send requests to the Chair and Vice Chair before that meeting, topics can be discussed for addition to the next month’s agenda. •It would be helpful if PRAB members can keep the same subject area for responding to community emails for more than one year. •No other board in the city handles emails like PRAB agreed to last year, but some boards showed interest in adopting a similar system depending on how it works for PRAB. •The email responses will shift based on what projects or topics need attention at any time. Agenda Item 8: The next PRAB meeting will be held Monday, March 29, 2021, 6:00 p.m. virtually (via video conference). Agenda Item 9: Adjourn: There being no further business to come before PRAB at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 p.m. Motion by Fronzaglia. Second by Yugar. The motion passed 7-0. Approved by:Attested: ________________________________________________ Raj Seymour Board Member Date _____________________ Charlotte O’Donnell Administrative Specialist Date ________4/13/2021