Agendas and Minutes

Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission (View All)

Regular Meeting

Agenda
Monday, January 22, 2001

City of Ashland

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION


REGULAR MEETING

MINUTES


January 22, 2001





ATTENDANCE:

Present: JoAnne Eggers, Sally Jones, Rick Landt, Jim Lewis, Laurie MacGraw,

Director Ken Mickelsen

Absent: None



CALL TO ORDER

Chair MacGraw called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main.



ADDITIONS or DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA

Business Manager Ann Benedict advised the Commission that the item related to presentation of the GFOA's Certificate of Achievement needed to be deleted.



APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 18, 2000 as written. Commissioner Landt seconded The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no



PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None



UNFINISHED BUSINESS None



NEW BUSINESS


A. Election of Officers

Prior to electing the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair, Commissioners discussed eliminating the position of "Finance Officer" which serves no useful purpose. In response to an inquiry from Commissioner Eggers, Director Mickelsen said that the position was in effect when he became Director 21 years ago and, in all that time, the position has had no duties or functions assigned to it.


Motion Commissioner Landt made a motion to henceforth have Commission officers consist solely of a Chair and Vice-Chair. Commissioner Jones seconded. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


Election of Chair for calendar year 2001 - Commissioner Jones nominated Commissioner MacGraw. There was no second for the nomination. Commissioner Eggers nominated Commissioner Landt. Commissioner MacGraw seconded. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


Commissioner Landt chaired the balance of the meeting.


Election of Vice-Chair for calendar year 2001 - Commissioner MacGraw nominated Commissioner Jones to serve a second term as Vice-Chair. Commissioner Landt seconded. Commissioner Jones indicated her willingness to serve a second term. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


B. Review and approval of swimming pool fees for 2001

Recreation Supervisor Emily Jones presented a staff memorandum dated January 17, 2001 which outlined the proposed new swimming pool fees that Commissioners had discussed in an earlier Study Session. The proposed new fee structure represented modest increases to fees for both lessons and recreational swimming except for lap swimming.


Commissioner MacGraw said that she supported the new fee structure as presented. Commissioner Jones inquired whether or not staff had worked out how much additional revenue the increase would generate for the pool. Ms. Jones said that if the numbers of participants remained similar to last year, she anticipated the increase would generate about $5,000 in additional revenue. In response to an inquiry from Commissioners, Ms. Jones said that she had not brought the historical information with her, but since the pool's opening in about 1984, fees had only been increased once and that was several years ago.


Commissioner Landt said that he believes the proposed fees are reasonable. In addressing lap swimming fees, however, he asked what our fees were compared to other entities. Ms. Jones said that at $1.00 we are on the low end. Commissioner Landt suggested an increase to lap swimming from $1.00 to $1.50 but keeping the lap swim "Punch Card" cost the same, that is, $20 for 20 swims. He said that this way lap swimmers could adjust gradually to the increase in rates similarly to the open swim fees. Commissioner Lewis asked whether or not most people purchased the punch cards or paid individually. Ms. Jones said that most people purchased the card as a matter of convenience. Commissioner Landt also suggested that if the Commission approved the rate increase on a one-time fee basis this year, that staff remind the Commission to review the punch card rate a year from now to determine whether or not it should be increased also.


Motion Commissioner Jones made a motion to approve the new fee structure for the Daniel Meyer Memorial Pool as proposed in the memorandum dated January 17, 2001 with the exception that lap swim fees would be increased to $1.50. Commissioner Landt seconded.


Commissioner MacGraw said that she would prefer to keep the fee at $1.00 but if Commissioners chose to raise it she would prefer to only go to $1.25 which would be a 25 cent increase similar to the increase in open swim fees. She said that as a matter of good will she would not want the lap swimmers to feel that they were being targeted. Commissioner Jones commented that she supported an increase to $1.50 which still isn't very much for a "work out" and there is additional work involved putting up the lane lines. Also, lap swimmers could still purchase the punch card if it was important to keep their cost low. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


C. Review and acceptance of December 2000 Quarterly Financial Report

Commissioners reviewed the Quarterly Financial Report for December 31, 2000. Director Mickelsen commented that all funds were in good shape half way through the fiscal year.


Motion Commissioner MacGraw made a motion to approve the report as presented. Commissioner Jones seconded. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


D. Review and acceptance of Comprehensive Annual Financial Statement for FY 99-2000

Commissioners reviewed the Comprehensive Annual Financial Statement for the year ending June 30, 2000. Director Mickelsen commented that it was the 21st consecutive year that the Commission has received an audit showing no discrepancies or material weaknesses in the Department's accounting system. He noted significant credit for such consistency goes to Business Manager Ann Benedict and her staff.


Motion Commissioner MacGraw made a motion to accept the CAFR for the year ending June 30, 2000 as presented. Commissioner Jones seconded. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


E. Approval of Resolution 01-01 related to banking services

Director Mickelsen explained that when new Commissioners are elected a new form authorizing signatures for banking services needs to be completed and a resolution adopted authorizing the use of facsimile signatures.


Motion Commissioners having reviewed Resolution No. 01-01 related to authorizing signatures for banking services, Commissioner MacGraw made a motion to approve the resolution. Commissioner Eggers seconded. The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


COMMUNICATIONS and STAFF REPORTS None


ITEMS FROM COMMISSIONERS


Commissioner Eggers said that she thought it would benefit Commissioners and the Director to hold a Study Session to discuss the rules and responsibilities of Commissioners and meeting facilitation. She said that she would like use the services of a facilitator to conduct the Study Session. The purpose would be to help the Commission run more efficient meetings and establish clearer lines of communication. She said that she felt it would help the Commission get a clearer focus on its goals and thereby serve the community better.


Motion Commissioner Eggers moved to devote some resources of the Department to hold a Study Session to strengthen the Commission's facilitation of meetings and to clarify Commissioners' roles and responsibilities. Commissioner Lewis seconded.


Discussion of motion As to how a facilitator would be chosen, Commissioner Eggers said that she believed that we have a list of qualified people, and, if Commissioners would like, she would be willing to speak with them to inquire about how they would structure such a session and how much it would cost. She suggested that it would probably be a half-day session. Director Mickelsen said that although such a session was not specifically budgeted for, that, depending on the cost, it could be funded out of the Department's training budget. Commissioner Landt estimated that a half-day session would cost about $500. Commissioner Eggers said that estimate sounded reasonable to her.


Commissioner Jones commented that she would prefer to keep such a meeting to a couple of hours rather than a half-day. She said that she felt that it would be helpful with a new Commissioner coming on board but she would prefer something shorter than a "half-day". Commissioner MacGraw said that she was supportive of holding such a session in concept, that Commissioners putting effort into working well together was productive, but she also wanted to be prudent in the spending of taxpayer dollars.


Chair Landt said that if the motion passed, it was his understanding that Commissioner Eggers would work with staff to put together a Study Session.


The vote was: 5 yes - 0 no


Chair Landt inquired whether or not there was another Commissioner who would like to work in committee with Commissioner Eggers. Commissioner Lewis volunteered to assist Commissioner Eggers and staff in arranging for the Study Session.


Commissioner Jones commented that she did not believe that it had been made public but she wanted to congratulate Director Mickelsen for having been appointed by Governor Kitzhauber to serve on the Council for Physical Fitness for the state. Other Commissioners joined Commissioner Jones in congratulating the Director on the honor.


Commissioner Jones also inquired about some of the light fixtures in upper Lithia Park which were not working and had coils of wire at the top of the poles. Superintendent Gies said that the plan was to underground the wires but because of other projects, this one has been slowed down. It is still on the list of things to accomplish.


Chair Landt said that one of the things that he would like to have the Commission address is a slight modification to the agenda process. In particular, he was interested in having all items which would require action by the Commission be placed on the agenda prior to the agenda being published. He said that this would give Commissioners the chance to consider the item before hand and for the public to be aware that a topic will be under consideration.


Commissioners briefly discussed the idea and decided that review of how the agenda is utilized would be an appropriate topic for discussion during the facilitated Study Session which was being planned. Chair Landt asked that in the interim, if Commissioners wanted to bring up an item which may require a motion, that they contact him so that it could be appropriately placed on the agenda ahead of time.


UPCOMING MEETING DATE(S) and AGENDA ITEMS

Director Mickelsen reported that the site visit to the Bryant property on Scenic Drive with representatives from the Planning Department and the Ashland Landt Trust has been confirmed for Wednesday, January 24th between 11:00 a.m. and Noon.


The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 26, 2001.


ADJOURNMENT

With no further business, by consensus, Chair Landt adjourned the meeting.



Respectfully submitted,


Ann Benedict, Business Manager

Ashland Parks and Recreation Department

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