|
PARKS, RECREATION & CULTURAL SERVICES
Thursday, September 9, 2010 – 7:00 PM
NOVI CIVIC CENTER –
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
The meeting was called to order at 7:00PM with Commissioner Dooley
presiding.
ROLL CALL:
Dooley (Present),
Iszler (Present), Jewell (Present), Policicchio (Present), Staab (Present -
late), Tecklenburg (Present), Wingfield (Present), Kerbrat (Absent), Raina
(Absent).
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
It was moved by Commissioner Jewell and seconded by Commissioner Policicchio
to approve the Agenda as written.
Voice Vote Unanimous
CITIZEN COMMENTS:
None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A.
Approval of
August 12, 2010 meeting minutes
A motion was made by Commissioner Policicchio and seconded by Commissioner
Iszler to approve the Minutes as written.
Voice Vote Unanimous
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
A. Walkable Novi – Commissioners Iszler & Policicchio
Commissioner Iszler stated that the last meeting was primarily the
presentation of the draft and analysis by Norm Cox and Carolyn Prudhomme
with Greenway Collaborative. They were talking about the presentation that
will be happening at the end of the month for public response. They are
putting out a survey for people to respond to ahead of time which will give
them more direction.
Commissioner Policicchio stated that he was very impressed with the
presentation. It was very comprehensive. He feels that it is a well thought
out public plan which will enhance the community. The first workshop is on
September 29th
and there will also be one on October 26th.
Commissioner Dooley asked if citizens are welcome at the meetings.
Commissioner Policicchio stated they are encouraged to come.
Commissioner Dooley asked that for someone who may not know who is part of
the Walkable Novi Committee could they say who comprises the committee.
Commissioner Iszler stated the member list is comprised of City Council
Members, Planning Commission Members and Parks and Recreation Commission
Members. They are David Baratta, Brian Bartlett, Linda Blair, David Grecko,
Elizabeth Iszler, Andrew Mutch, Mark Person, Paul Polcicchio and Dave Stec.
Mark Spencer runs all of the meetings and coordinates the information.
B. Novi Park Foundation – Commissioners Dooley & Staab
Commissioner Dooley stated there is nothing to report for this month.
STAFF REPORTS:
Administration Division – Acting Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Services – Nancy Cowan
Acting Director Cowan stated that in the packet is a media release for the
two completed gardens at Fuerst Park. David Beschke was the lead on the
project. The two formal gardens mark the place of the former barns. It will
be a three season garden with continuing color. There is still one sculpture
to be delivered to the center of one of the gardens which should be
completed in the next two weeks. The sculpture is a Monarch butterfly. This
project was made possible by funds through the Novi Parks Foundation. The
gardens will be maintained by the Novi Beautification Commission and
volunteers.
A. Recreation Division – Superintendent of Recreation – Nancy Cowan
1. Fall Family Fun at Fuerst Park activities
Superintendent Cowan stated the Sports Supervisor position has been offered
to an individual who has accepted it. As soon as all of the paperwork comes
through we will have a new staff person starting on September 27th. She will provide more
information at a later time.
The new edition of “Engage!” is out and also on the website. It is from
September to December.
2. Ethnic Taste & Tune Fest
The International Festival is now going to be on Main Street and tied in
with the Farmer’s Market. It will be Sunday, September 19th. We have a full stage
of performances, great food from all different cultures, arts and crafts and
things for kids to do that will be tied in with the Farmer’s Market.
The FireUP Fest takes place on September 24th. It is our teen event for High
School students. This is partnering with the Novi Boosters. We are looking
for adult volunteers for this event.
3. Fall for Novi Family Festival
Fall for Novi is the morning after FireUp Fest. Novi Parks will have a booth
there. It is a way for people to come and learn about the City of Novi and
all of the services that are provided not only by the City but other
organizations within the City. It is an “open house” day. The hazardous
waste day is now on another day and not on the same day as Fall for Novi.
This should help alleviate some of the congestion around the building.
4.
Our Senior show kicked off today and is a tribute to the USO. Attendance is
looking great this year. There are three more lunch shows and two matinees
left.
5.
This program is a national effort of which Novi Parks is one of only a few
in the state to do this. We have created a full week of fun activities for
parents and children to do outside. It includes things from kayaking to
story time outside. We also have our Fall Family Fun Night and Campout,
which is September 17th.
Anyone can come out to that for only two dollars a person. There is music in
the park, roasting marshmallows, crafts and a climbing wall. If you are a
little more adventurous you could camp out at Lakeshore Park. Breakfast will
be provided in the morning.
We have been without a full time sports supervisor position for a while. We
have tremendous part time staff. Theresa McClure is one of these individuals
who have done a tremendous amount of work with soccer and flag football. The
kick off day for these programs are this Saturday at ITC Community Sports
Park.
Our Adult Softball leagues are now running. We have four more teams than
last fall.
Commissioner Wingfield asked if we have always charged five dollars at the
door for FireUp Fest.
Superintendent Cowan replied that we have.
Commissioner Wingfield stated that his kids have gone and always enjoyed it.
He asked what role the Commissioners would play if they decided to
volunteer.
Superintendent Cowan stated that they could put them any place they felt
they were up to. There are bouncers, the cash cube station, the “Battle of
the Bands” area. We need people to supervise those areas as well as the
games. Our new partner this year is Best Buy who is doing a “Battle of the
Bands” under their tent and giving away prizes. They have sponsored naming
rights for one of our fields as well. We could put you to work from general
supervision to working a station.
MATTERS FOR COMMISSION DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION:
Commissioner Staab apologized for being late. Commissioner Staab then asked
if they were going to see a synopsis of their surveys of the different
parks.
Superintendent Cowan stated that there is a standard that is to happen
quarterly. Our quarters run with the City quarters. In October you will see
the July, August and September reviews. He asked if there was any insight by
what has been seen so far. She believes that the standards give a baseline
and it is subjective so each individual is different as to what is seen or
thought. The more
detailed comments that can be given on the standards are better.
DPS is taking these and categorizing things as short term items, mid-term
items, and long term items. Some of the projects are more capital projects
or larger items that need to be looked at in a different way.
Commissioner Staab stated that he knows the survey is all encompassing and
hits many different facets. He agrees a baseline is essential but a
narrative piece would be helpful as well.
Commissioner Wingfield asked if some of the things like weeds and backstops
or broken benches or picnic tables are presented to someone to take care of.
Superintendent Cowan stated that those go to DPS right away and Matt
Wiktorowski looks at those. If you see anything that needs attention or is a
safety concern please let us know immediately.
Commissioner Dooley stated that he had the opportunity to call Bingo again
this month and he asked Superintendent Cowan to talk about some of the
concerns we had regarding transportation with the seniors. A great story has
come to fruition.
Superintendent Cowan stated we used to have two portions of transportation
which were Community Cab and the City Van transportation program. Around
fifty individuals were using the Community Cab program. In assessing that
the administration brought forth an option that could possibly phase out or
utilize it when our transportation does not run. We went out to bid to look
for a cab company to provide service outside of our normal transportation
hours. We did not receive any proposals so we could not provide the
Community Cab program any longer. We took it upon ourselves to expand our
current transportation hours on weeknights and on Saturdays to accommodate
for doctor appointments and work appointments outside of that timeframe. The
transportation program is quite a large expense. While individuals pay a
fare, there are other funding mechanisms which go into it. We did increase
the transportation fare up one dollar from three dollars to four dollars for
a ride within the City and then also a dollar increase outside the City. We
had some feedback from some of the seniors, especially those who live at
Meadowbrook Commons, that a ride to Busch’s is a pretty short distance and
fairly expensive for some of them. We worked to find a resolution to do a
group trip on Tuesdays, which happens to be Busch’s senior day. As long as
we have six individuals signed up for it, they get to ride there for a two
dollar rate each. We have been working to educate the seniors more. Some of
them felt that the prices were rising and we inform them of the reason. In
this month’s “Enhance,” which is our senior newsletter and is mailed to
everyone 50 and older, we provided a basic pie chart which shows where some
of the funding comes from. It shows that nearly seventy thousand dollars of
the program is still paid for by the City. We are not making money from that
program but working to recover more of our cost for the program. We
understand it is a vital service for individuals in the community.
Commissioner Dooley complimented Superintendent Cowan and City Council for
the resolution to the seniors’ concerns.
CITIZEN COMMENTS:
None
COMMISSIONER COMMENTS:
Commissioner Iszler
stated that she is
looking forward to the Camp Out. It is their third year to participate.
Commissioner Tecklenburg
stated that being
new to all of this; the breadth of things the Parks group is taking on is
pretty impressive. It seems that there is very little opportunity not to do
something.
Commissioner Policicchio
stated that it
seems we haven’t missed a beat since the transition and that we are as
active as ever. It is a good eye opener to really see all of the parks
because we are specifically looking at them. In general, Novi does provide
very good parks which are very well maintained and very well designed and
available for public use. Obviously there is always tweaking that can always
be done. DPS is very responsive. He and his wife were at Fuerst Park and the
grass was a little high. He happened to be here and make a comment and the
next thing he knew there was someone on the phone calling to ask what he
observed and it was immediately taken care of.
Commissioner Jewell
thanked
Superintendent Cowan for all of her hard work in putting everything
together. He stated that Taste Fest is September 24th at the Novi High School. It is put on by the Novi
Athletic Boosters. Immediately after that is the FireUp Fest. He encouraged
the citizens to come out to Taste Fest. Eight to nine of the local area
restaurants will be there. Novi High School is playing South Lyon East High
School in football. Any child from grade K to eight accompanied by an adult
will get into the game free. His September survey is completed and he turned
it in prior to the meeting. He encourages all of his fellow Commissioners to
get theirs done.
Commissioner Wingfield
complimented
Superintendent Cowan on the job she has been doing since the Director has
been gone. He stated that a contract or the roster sheet is signed for Adult
Softball. He said that he has told people it is for risk or liability and
insurance. He asked what the validity is of that.
Superintendent Cowan replied our legal expert, Tom Schultz, could speak more
to that. By National Standards for Parks and Recreation, for any program we
do we are directed to have individuals sign a waiver. You can see a lot of
research out there which says in some instances they may help and in some
they may not as much. It is always best to err on the side of caution. So to
insure the Parks and Recreation Department and City overall and for the
safety of our participants, umpires and everyone involved in any games or
programs it is a basic step of any programming piece we make sure we take
care of wiavers.
Commissioner Wingfield made the comment that after a while the contracts
were thrown out and not worth anything.
Superintendent Cowan replied that there are actually record retention laws
for Michigan that directly apply to Parks and Recreation. Those waivers are
saved from five to seven years and that is a piece of any program we do.
Commissioner Staab
stated he also
appreciated all of Superintendent Cowan’s hard work. He announced that
starting this Tuesday the Choralaires will start with their fall practice
schedule and will be having try-outs. If anyone has questions they can call
his house at 248-348-2919.
Superintendent Cowan stated they can also call the Civic Center.
Commissioner Dooley
stated that ITC
Community Sports Park is looking stellar. He stated when they go to other
cities and other facilities that ours are as good as anyone’s. He asked that
anyone in the community go to ITC Community Sports Park this Saturday for
Opening Day of soccer. He recognized Theresa McClure. Without her expertise
none of this would go as smoothly as it does. She is a tireless worker. She
is there for the coaches, parents and children.
On the 25th
of September, besides Fall for Novi, it is also picture day out
at ITC Community Sports Park. The Novi Athletic Boosters have been kind
enough to sponsor a free hot dog cookout at that time. There will be some
give-aways for families and children.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made to adjourn by Commissioner Jewell and seconded by
Commissioner Tecklenburg.
Voice Vote Unanimous
The meeting was adjourned by Commissioner Dooley at 7:25 pm
DATE APPROVED:
________________________________________
Jay Dooley, Chairperson
________________________________________
Paul Policicchio, Vice Chairperson
|