City of
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
STUDY SESSION
MINUTES
July 20, 2009
Present: Commissioners Eggers, Gardiner, Lewis, Rosenthal; Director Robertson; Superintendents Dials and Gies
Absent: Commissioner Noraas; City Council Liaison Silbiger
Gardiner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Oak Knoll Golf Course Club House, 3070 Hwy 66.
Dials said the Ashland Rotary Club requested the use of a portion of
John Grimbergen,
Discussion Among Commissioners
Commissioners discussed the importance of not disturbing other park patrons and suggested redirecting the race start and finish away from the park entrance. They agreed to place the request on the July 27 regular meeting agenda and asked the organizers to come prepared to answer questions about alternate routes and specific amplification needs.
REQUEST TO PLACE ARTWORK IN
Robertson said a gift of artwork was proposed for placement in the Japanese-style garden in
Dana Bussell said a sculpture titled “Gift” by sculptor Wataru Sugiyama was approved by the Parks Commission for a two-year placement in the
Alice Hardesty said a memorial fund was established for her late husband, former Ashland City Council member Jack Hardesty, a public arts enthusiast. She offered to use the funds to buy “Gift,” donate it to the city, and place it in the Japanese-style garden. She reported attending a Public Arts Commission meeting to present her proposal, which they unanimously approved, and requested a modest plaque to accompany the sculpture. She said the Japanese-style garden would be an appropriate and safe location for the sculpture.
Discussion Among Commissioners
Commissioners asked staff to forward Hardesty a copy of the signs policy to allow her to review the guidelines before submitting a proposal. They suggested discussing her proposal at the subcommittee level. Rosenthal thanked Hardesty for her philanthropy and generosity to the community.
GOLF COURSE UPDATES AND IDEAS
Robertson said the commission previously decided to modify the golf course business model and hired a Golf Operations Manager in February 2009. He said manager Tom Cronin made changes to the club house operations, including purchasing smaller golf equipment items, upgrading and repairing the facility, buying prepackaged food items to sell, obtaining a license to sell beer and wine, and expanding the use of the facility for community events such as weddings and family reunions.
Dials distributed a five-year golf course revenue report showing rounds of golf decreasing over the five-year period.
Cronin said golf course maintenance employees, including Superintendent Drew Moyers and his staff, kept the course in excellent condition. He said the annual pass holders at Oak Knoll, including members of the Men’s and Women’s clubs, were loyal golfers. He said his staff worked to provide excellent customer service and a positive environment for the golfers at Oak Knoll. He spoke of the need to attract new players and said efforts were underway to develop junior programs. He said advertising was being directed to local hotels to capture the tourism market. He said a wedding was held at the club house the previous Friday and the facility was also reserved for future corporate group events and family reunions. He reported that prepackaged food items and beer were selling well. He said recent improvements at the club house included the repainting of both interior and exterior walls. He indicated his intention to transition one side of the interior into a television / socializing area, with the other side used for sitting / reading.
Robertson said the commission previously expressed interest in expanding the uses of the golf course facility. He spoke of the possibility of developing a cart path that could be used by both golfers and walkers, with the walkers directed around the course in a safe and orderly manner. He displayed a drawing of the course with a proposed cart path and spoke of various surface options, including asphalt, compacted gravel, and concrete slipforming.
Robertson said the commission also voiced past interest in the possible implementation of a disc golf course at Oak Knoll. He said his research led him to believe that a disc golf course could be created over the existing golf course for approximately $10,000. He said a similar setup in
Public Input
Bill Anderson, 370 Patterson Street, submitted a letter in which he asked the commission to reinstate the 5-day annual pass for seniors aged 60+ and suggested that they charge 5/7th of the 7-day pass annual fee or $785 for a single player / $1,100 for a couple. He said, with such a system, that more seniors would golf at Oak Knoll rather than using other courses in the valley.
Mike and Jackie Gaffney,
Bret DeForest,
Helen Reinhold,
John Maurer, 1085 Elkader, questioned whether the commission had a golf course mission statement. He said they needed to determine their mission and goals for the golf course. He talked about the importance of marketing regular golf rather than installing disc golf and he spoke favorably of Cronin’s improvements.
Joe Reinhold,
Robertson reported questioning city staff about insurance rates in the event that a disc golf course were to added at Oak Knoll and said they informed him that rates would not increase.
ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATIONS AND AUDITS UPDATE
Energy Analyst Robbin Pearce said a delay occurred with the environmental audits of Parks facilities. She reported scheduling an appointment with Environmental Stewardship Coordinator Linda Chesney to review the current project status and said a walkthrough schedule would be determined in the near future.
Robertson said staff met with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and worked on resolving most of the issues identified. Gies said one unresolved issue—the wash station in the Parks shop—was closed pending further clarification from the DEQ. Pearce said the Parks Department could be certified as a “Green Business” after meeting all DEQ regulations.
OTHER BUSINESS
Robertson reviewed the July 27 regular meeting agenda. Commissioners debated whether to place on the agenda the Webster’s / Sesame space sharing issues on Calle Guanajuato. They agreed to invite Webster’s to speak during the Open Forum portion of the meeting.
Lewis updated the commission on the recent work of the Croman Advisory Committee.
ADJOURNMENT– By consensus, Gardiner adjourned the meeting at 9:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Susan Dyssegard,