CC 07/15/2019 Minutes - Special Meeting

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CASSELBERRY CITY COMMISSION Minutes of July 15, 2019 - Special Meeting Page 7 of 11 Wheel Park —The only recommendation by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for modification is to eliminate the 16,900 square feet pump track expansion area. Mr. Cas Suvongse of SK Consortium, the consultant for this project, gave a brief overview of the original design presented to the neighborhoods, explaining that the tracks flowed together and noting that the original plan called for building the middle section first in the initial phase and then expanding to both sides. He advised that deletion of the 16,900 square feet pump track would result in a cost savings of approximately $600,0004700,000, but the whole track was designed for expansion in the future anyway. One of the members of the design team, Mr. Tim Payne of Team Pain Enterprises stated that it did not make sense to delete the pump track designed for older and more experienced riders, as that would only encourage them to use the one intended for younger riders. Also, he did not feel the cost savings was enough to warrant cutting off a rideable feature of the $9 million project and recommended that the City Commission reconsider and allow the pump track to remain part of the project as originally planned. Public Participation (Wheel Park): The following individuals came forward to address this item: 1. Mr. Walt Bagley, 614 Doheny Way, expressed concerns that in looking at all the cost estimates he did not see anything about the community garden that was originally proposed, and questioned whether the land proposed for the 16,900 square feet pump track would be left vacant if the pump track was deleted from the plans. He also inquired about the possibility of adding the pump track at a later time utilizing funding from sources outside the referendum and expressed concerns that the current concept could possibly be changed by a future City Commission when the time came for actual construction of the project. 2. Ms. Colleen Hufford, 527 Queens Mirror Circle, suggested that it might be possible to scale down the skate park portion of the project to provide cost savings and using all of the south end of the project for multi-purpose fields. She added that the pavilions could be shared by both areas, and she felt there could be more creative ways to bring the project costs down while making it multipurpose for use by more people. No one else came forward. MOTION: Commissioner Busch moved to approve the recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for Wheel Park to delete the 16,900 square foot pump track expansion area from the proposed improvements. Motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Aramendia. Discussion: A lengthy discussion ensued which included: concerns about some of the negative feedback which had been received relating to the proposed improvements to Sunnytown Park and Wheel Park and the need to have a product for which the residents would support a tax increase to have constructed; possible need for reevaluation of the park design; cost of design and construction of skate board parks in other areas; concerns about the amount of impervious space and impact of the park development as proposed; concerns about the cost of creating a new 10 -acre park and the cost involved to prepare the site even prior to adding amenities; need for direction from the City Commission about the possibility of scaling back the size of the project as a cost savings measure; confirmation that the proposed deletion of the pump track would result in only an approximate $700,000 reduction to the overall $9 million dollar proposed project; possibility of the Wheel Park becoming a destination park unique to the area and a game changer for the City; concerns about how the cost of the Wheel Park may affect completion of other ongoing projects in the City; the fact