06-27-2011 (Parks & Recreation) Minutes _ Parks and Recreation Board
CITY OF WYLIE
Meeting Minutes
Monday,June 27,2011 —6:30 p.m.
Wylie Municipal Complex—Council Chambers
300 Country Club Road, Building 100
Wylie,Texas 75098
CALL TO ORDER
Announcing the presence of a Quorum, Chairwoman Anne Hiney called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m.
Board Members present: Dan Chesnut, Cristine Price, Gary Robas and Matt Rose and Jim Ward. Absent was
Brandi Lafleur.
Staff members present: Robert Diaz, Board Liaison and Park Board Secretary, Nancy Williams.
CITIZENS PARTICIPATION
No citizens addressed the Board.
BUSINESS ITEMS
1. Consider and act upon approving the Minutes from the May 23,2011 meeting.
Board Action
Board Member Robas made a motion, seconded by Board Member Rose to approve the minutes from
the May 23, 2011 meeting. A vote was taken and passed at 6-0. Member Lafleur being absent.
2. Consider and act upon approving the Minutes from the May 31, 2011 special joint work
session with City Council.
Board Discussion
Member Rose noted there was a correction on the first line under"Work Session" on page one it states
"Bids were received for Founders Park" it should read "Community Park".
Board Action
I3oard Member Rose made a motion, seconded by Board Member Chesnut to approve the minutes from
the May 31, 2011 special work session as amended. A vote was taken and passed at 6-0. Member
Lafleur being absent.
3. Consider and act upon Wylie is HOPE vendor registration to sell crafts at the Olde City
Park September 17, 2011 (or October 29, rain date) for Wylie Rodeo Weekend to fundraise
for Wylie is HOPE.
Board Discussion
Superintendent Diaz reviewed the board report and asked for any questions on the vendor application
noting that they are coordinating with the Wylie Women's League as they schedule their calendars. Chair
Hiney asked if Wylie is HOPE is coordinating their event with the Rodeo. Superintendent Diaz indicated
that his conversation with Candy Erickson led him to that conclusion.
Board Action
Board Member Chesnut made a motion, seconded by Board Member Robas to approve the vendor
registration to sell crafts at the Olde City Park September 17, 2011 (or October 29, rain date) for Wylie
Rodeo Weekend to fundraise for Wylie is HOPE. A vote was taken and passed at 6-0. Member Lafleur
being absent.
4. Consider and act upon Wylie Women's League vendor registration to host the Wylie
Women's League Fall Festival to sell crafts in Olde City Park on October 22, 2011 (or
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November 5th rain date),to fundraise for WWL scholarships.
Board Action
Board Member Rose made a motion, seconded by Board Member Price to approve the Wylie Women's
League vendor registration to host the Wylie Women's League Fall Festival to sell crafts in Olde City Park
on October 22, 2011 (or November 5th rain date), to fundraise for WWL scholarships. A vote was taken
and passed at 6-0. Member Lafleur being absent.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
5. Presentation by Wylie Economic Development Corporation regarding the construction of
parking to benefit Olde City Park. (Presented by Sam Satterwhite, Executive Director WEDC)
Board Discussion
Mr. Satterwhite identified a .2 acre tract in downtown owned by the First Baptist Church that the EDC was
interested in purchasing located south and adjacent to Boyd Studio on Ballard Street to accomplish the
following goals:
1. Participate in the redevelopment of that side of town.
2. Facilitate additional parking downtown.
3. Facilitate additional parking for Olde City Park.
Unable to accomplish the first goal due to the church's unwillingness to sell the property. EDC determined
they could meet the second and third goals by construction of the parking on that lot with 35 parking
spaces and to be reimbursed a portion of those expenses by the church after a certain number of years
or a complete reimbursement if the church sold the property to a third party. Mr. Satterwhite
acknowledged that this is spending public funds on private property which can be touchy if not done
properly.
The EDC is looking for the Board's feedback on the project as well as feedback from the Downtown
Merchants and the City Council. Should any of the three groups express the opinion that it is not in the
best interests of the City; the EDC will drop the project. Costs are estimated to be between $35,000-
$45,000.
Chair Hiney asked what would happen with the parking lot when public events are held. Mr. Satterwhite
stated that it would remain public parking and there would be indicating signage. The church would be
responsible for maintaining the lot. They are also open to the"punch through"to the church parking lot in
the design.
Member Price inquired into the construction costs. Mr. Satterwhite said the costs were estimated at
approximately$1000 per space. She indicated that the bid for the parking at Community Park project
parking is about$1700 per space. Mr. Satterwhite indicated if that were to be the cost it was doubtful if
they could move forward with the project.
Member Ward asked if the church would sell back to us if we could deduct the cost of construction from
the sales price. Mr. Satterwhite said that was a valid question and he would find out. The way the
agreement is formulated is that if they sell EDC gets 100% reimbursement of expenses; if after 10 years
they do not sell, the EDC is reimbursed 75% and the lot remains public parking if they removed the public
parking designation at any time, the reimbursement is 100%.
Member Chesnut suggested if the project is completed that striping be put on the street to indicate it is a
pedestrian area.
The Board informed Mr. Satterwhite that they supported the project.
6. Discuss sizes of trails and sidewalks in residential and commercial development.
Board Discussion
Superintendent Diaz said the kick off Trails meeting included discussions with Chris Hoisted, City
Engineer with regard to width of sidewalks as related to the trails. Members Robas and Ward were in
attendance at the meeting and had questions for Mr. Hoisted and Charles Lee, Senior Planner in this
regard. After the meeting Mr. Lee sent follow up information to all in attendance at the Trails meeting. For
further clarification Charles Lee from the Planning Department was invited to answer any other questions.
Mr. Lee first gave his educational background then his background in Planning. He then explained the
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role the Planning Department takes in City development. Along with traffic connectivity, pedestrian
connectivity is very important to the department, and they look at all proposals whether residential or
commercial from both those aspects.Wylie is 36 square miles and has almost half of that in the flood
plain. On the sustainability programs, a great deal is done by volunteerism on behalf of the developer as
they want traffic in their locations. In the neighborhoods they look at the connectivity and making it work
as best as they can. They sometimes offer different types of incentives to the developers to encourage
wider walks or more trees.
Zoning ordinance with regards to pedestrian traffic states a requirement of a 30 foot buffer with an 8 foot
wide trail to rear of the open space perpendicular to the 30 foot wide exit street. This is the base standard
for walking trails. In a residential development the requirement is for 5 feet sidewalks on both sides of the
road, for commercial property the requirement is 4 foot sidewalks on both sides of the street. These are
the base requirements. They also require connectivity to open space. In a planned development there
may be exceptions that are approved by City Council.
He reminded the Board that changing our minimum requirements in zoning may cause a domino effect in
other areas that may make it difficult to complete some of our capital improvement projects. Developers
can always exceed our requirement, and we encourage that.
Member Ward asked that if a development was to be proposed and we desired an 8 foot trail in an area
that only required 4 foot, could we reject their proposal? Mr. Lee said that would be at the discretion of the
Planning and Zoning Board.
Chair Hiney asked if she was correct in her summation of the ordinance that if an area was designated as
trail then the minimum width would be 8 foot but even and if it was next to a major road the minimum
width was 4 foot. Mr. Lee confirmed her conclusion.
Member Ward asked Mr. Lee how the Board can make sure that the Master Trails plan overrides
minimum standards when an area is designated for trails. Mr. Lee assured Member Ward that the
Planning and Zoning does try to follow those guidelines on a case by case basis. He also cautioned
changing one ordinance can end up causing other ordinances to be changed causing a domino effect.
Giving the example during a major project when right-of-way is necessary then the sidewalk widths are
affected by right-of-way size, road width, etc. Pedestrian connectivity is very important to the Planning
and Zoning Department.
Member Chesnut commented in his neighborhood the 4 foot sidewalk plan will not work in an area with
several parks and a school. Chair Hiney expressed safety concerns over 4 foot sidewalks next to 6 lane
roads in areas with schools. She felt it is necessary to address these issues now if it's not too late. She
said they understood the ripple effect but felt if it was understood they were looking at it from a safety
standpoint things would be more likely to change. Mr. Lee suggested they speak with the City Engineer
and Council.
Member Ward asked Mr. Lee his advice to the Board as to what to do if ordinances weren't change to
avoid the ripple effect that might cause problems elsewhere, the firm designing the Master Trails plan
designs the trails to be 8 to 12 feet in some areas that we don't end up with many sections of different
widths because someone put in the base requirement, someone else put in the desired width, etc. How
can we ensure that will happen if it is not written in the ordinance?
Mr. Lee advised the Board to look at things from a residential neighborhood standpoint, i.e. the Safe
Route programs which allow communities to get funded through grants to provide safe routes to schools.
For the commercial side he advised to allow development to continue to comply with the current
ordinances and let them be evaluated on a case by case basis and when they include trail areas, the
would be required to be built to trail specifications. Mr. Lee acknowledged that would not address the
City's CIP projects putting in 4 foot sidewalks but that it would address future projects if the networks were
addressed on the Master Trails Plan.
Member Robas commented that his neighborhood had a safe route project to the school right next to FM
1378 on a 4 foot sidewalk now that busing has been discontinued the children will have to walk right next
to this major road or be driven by their parents. Mr. Lee said the City cannot require the school districts to
build in specific areas or require busing, they are independent.
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Member Ward inquired once the Master Trail Plan is completed if they could require part of the process
when an area is developed if they are not going to comply with the Trail Plan that they come before the
Parks and Recreation Board to explain why they want to reduce the size of the trails or eliminate one? Mr.
Lee said that could become part of the informal process to project approval. Mr. Lee thought that would
be a good idea. Chair Hiney asked if we could be part of the approval process. Superintendent Diaz
reminded the Board that they are part of the process on residential development but there just hasn't
been any new development lately. Member Ward indicated it wouldn't be necessary for commercial
unless the wanted to vary from the Master Trails Plan. Superintendent Diaz suggested it would be a good
opportunity to address these issues when the completed Master Trails Plan is presented to Council at the
end of the year.
Mr. Lee also reviewed the Neighborhood ACTION plan that was adopted by City Council. Older
established neighborhoods are evaluated and sidewalks are a large focus as the City is installing
sidewalks where none exist and replacing some of the smaller sidewalks. The ACTION plan also Includes
installing rubber material that prevents the older trees from being removed and the sidewalks from
cracking due to the roots. He mentioned this due to its tie in to trails to parks.
Chair Hiney inquired how the Trails kickoff meeting went. Member Ward said it went well with discussions
with the consultants, the City Engineer Chris Hoisted, and Mr. Lee from Planning and Zoning. Most of the
trails are the standard 8 foot but there was some mention of 10 and 12 foot trails. Member Ward said he
was going to push to keep them all at 8 foot due to feasibility and cost with some possible exceptions.
Member Price asked if prior to project starting that a minimum standard trail width and offset should be
set.Ward informed Member Price that the minimum of 8 foot standard is all ready set and the offset is
dictated by space allowances and that there is nothing we can do to change that at this point.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business a motion to adjourn was made by Board Member Chesnut and seconded by
Board Member Rose. The meeting was adjourned at 7:52 p.m. by unanimous consent.
ATTEST:
Wncy (Ham(ar Board Secretary An a Hiney, Chau