Centerville City Parks and Recreation Committee meeting held January 17, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Business Conference Room, 250 North Main, Centerville, Utah.

MEMBERS PRESENT   William Duncan
                                         Gary Goff
                                         Kevin Merrill, Chair
                                         Peyton Smith
                                         Stephanie Wheatley

MEMBERS ABSENT     Steven Blais

STAFF PRESENT        Steve Thacker, City Manager
                                      Bruce Cox, Parks and Recreation Director
                                      Kathy Streadbeck, Recording Secretary

VISITORS           Bill Davies, Rogers Memorial Theater

MINUTES REVIEW AND APPROVAL

The minutes of the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting held November 29, 2007 were reviewed. Kevin Merrill made a motion to approve the minutes as written. The motion was seconded by Gary Goff and passed by unanimous vote (5-0).

SELECT COMMITTEE CHAIR

William Duncan made a motion to reappoint Kevin Merrill as the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee for 2008. The motion was seconded by Stephanie Wheatley and passed by unanimous vote (5-0).

PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT – Report on Council Action

Kevin Merrill reported the City Council approved Gametime as the supplier for playground equipment for Smoot Park, Freedom Hills Park, and Porter-Walton Park. They also approved the expenditure of $160,000 for said equipment. Mr. Merrill said the City Council is interested in swing sets. He explained there is no budget for swings at this time, but this may be something the Committee would like to budget for in the future. The Committee agreed. 

Bruce Cox, Parks and Recreation Director, explained that the bid for the equipment came to approximately $162,000, more than originally estimated by the Committee. After discussions with the supplier the bid was dropped to $151,000. However, the lower bid included the elimination of two track rides and some surface area reductions with regard to ground cover. He further explained that the City Council agreed to increase the original budget amount from $150,000 to $160,000 (due to a $10,000 grant given to the City by Wal-Mart). He explained that with this new budget they come very close to meeting the bid price of the original designs. He asked the Committee which direction they would like to go, i.e., eliminate one item or another in order to save the additional $2,000. He also asked the Committee to pick a color scheme for each playground.

The Committee discussed several options and ultimately asked Mr. Cox to discuss the new budget with the supplier to see if Gametime can give an additional discount. Mr. Cox agreed. The Committee also discussed color schemes for each park. They decided on a blue/green scheme (meadow) for Smoot Park, and discussed several options for the Freedom Hills Park and Porter-Walton Park. The Committee reviewed the survey results (submitted by citizens surrounding the Freedom Hills Park) and decided to approach the residents again before finalizing their decision for the Freedom Hills Park color scheme. Stephanie Wheatley will take this assignment. The Committee discussed a color scheme that would blend with the pavilion and surrounding structures of the Porter-Walton Park. Mr. Cox said he will contact Sherri Lindstrom, City Council Liaison, regarding the color scheme for the Porter-Walton Park. Ms. Lindstrom is an immediate surrounding resident of this park and may be able to provide some information regarding residents’ desires. Stephanie Wheatley also suggested swapping out one of the play panels on the Porter-Walton playground design for a train panel. She feels this would be appropriate, given the close proximity of the playground to the Bamberger Trail. The Committee agreed.

PORTER-WALTON PARK – Select Date for Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

The Committee set Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. for the ribbon-cutting event. They also discussed offering free hot dogs and root beer. 

PORTER LANE PARKWAY -  Plantings and Maintenance Update

This item was postponed until the next meeting.

ENTERTAINMENT IN THE PARK PROGRAM

Peyton Smith reviewed the research done so far regarding a concert/movies in the park program for this summer. He distributed some information regarding pricing for a blow-up movie screen, the process for picking movies, and pricing for showing those movies. He said he continues to get phone calls from performers wanting to perform this summer. He has also received phones calls of possible volunteers willing to work on a sub-committee to organize and run this program.

The Committee welcomed Bill Davies from the Rogers Memorial Theater (RMT) company. They asked Mr. Davies what type of involvement/support RMT would like to give to this program. Mr. Davies said RMT would love to take over this program, but is too busy at this time. However, RMT is willing to help where they can and is willing to be a resource for the City. The Committee discussed sound equipment and asked for Mr. Davies expertise in this area. Mr. Davies suggested the Committee contact Dan Morgan, a consultant in this field. He said RMT does have some sound equipment that may be used by the City, but it is very old and there are better options if new equipment is purchased. He also cautioned the Committee not to use anyone untrained when running sound equipment. He said RMT does have sound technicians that may be willing to work at these events. He also explained that RMT may be partnering with the DATC in running sound technician classes. These classes may produce a pool of students needing internship opportunities.

Steve Thacker, City Manager, said it would be beneficial to pay for some consulting services. He said any sound equipment purchased will be used at several outdoor events, not just this program and it would be helpful to understand the options. The Committee agreed.

Bill Davis cautioned the Committee to audition several performers before contracting with any of them. He also advised them to include in the contract that a performer will not perform anything contrary to what was performed during their audition. He said this has been known to happen and could result in a performance not suitable for the general public. He discussed several contacts that may be appropriate for this program; many of which Mr. Smith has already contacted.

Mr. Smith said he would like to go ahead and put a sub-committee together to start fine tuning this program. He will also contact Dan Morgan regarding outdoor sound and video equipment. He said he will report back to the Committee next month with recommendations. The Committee agreed. 

Stephanie Wheatley said she spoke with a neighbor who owns a 20-foot by 40-foot white vinyl movie screen. She said this neighbor purchased the screen from Kurt Green (a Centerville resident) who works for a company by the name of Creative Color. Bill Duncan said he knows of Mr. Green and will contact him for information and pricing.

PARRISH CREEK PARKWAY – Project Update

This item was postponed until the next meeting.

NEXT MEETING

The next regularly scheduled Parks and Recreation Committee meeting will be held on February 21, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

 __________________________________  _____________________
 Kevin Merrill, Chair                                                        Date Approved

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 Kathleen Streadbeck, Recording Secretary