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Parks & Recreation Meeting – May 2, 2016

Helena Township, Antrim County Michigan Posted on by

Parks and Recreation Committee Minutes for 05/02/2016                                                   Approved 06-06-16

In attendance: Mike Crawford, Steve Dell, Brad Gerlach, Jim Gurr, Jan Loveland, Ken Masck, Dave Peterson, & Ruth Smith. Special guest: Heidi Shaffer

  1. Community Input: None
  2. Minutes from the 04/19/2016 meeting were reviewed and approved as presented. They will be published online.
  3. Information from the monthly Helena Twp. Mtg. No HT Board meeting since the last P&R meeting. 4. How to get into the meeting room if Dave is not attending? Dave will have keys made.

OLD BUSINESS:

  1. Recreational Passport Grant from DNR – tennis court resurface + sidewalk: Paperwork has been sent to the companies awarded the approved grant work. Steve will contact the project engineer to try to keep this project on track.
  2. Pickleball lines on basketball court at Tennis Court Park. This project was brought to P&R by the Alden Racquet Sports Committee (ARSC). They are requesting a cooperative effort of ARSC and HT to paint pickleball lines on the basketball courts at Alden Tennis Court Park. ARSC is to pay for paint & help with the painting. They will also purchase a pickleball net, and posts. HT is to help paint the total surface, add lines and install the posts. The project was reviewed and approved. An approval letter will be sent to ARSC and this project will be brought before the HT Board at the May Meeting.
  3. Juniper Garden Club request. On hold until pictures are provided.
  4. Kayak launch & Erosion abatement project at Ball Park. The Antrim Co. Conservation District & Ken Masck brought a project before the Committee. They want to partner with HT to have a kayak launch / slide installed at Ball Diamond Park. The committee approved the idea of a kayak launch to be installed on the north end of the property. This will be presented to the HT Board in May. Talk including such items as erosion abatement, a beach area, green belts and fencing were further discussed. Heidi Shaffer will pursue estimates for potential work. Possible grants were discussed.
  5.  Invasive Species Grant for Antrim County. HT is included in the four county area covered by the multi county invasive species grant which has been approved. Tom Clemet (sp?) is the invasive species Coordinator at this time.

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Discuss & decide what Twp. Roads would be the best for a bicycle route. This item is being moved to the Future Agenda items for review in September.
  2. Revision of our five-year-plan. Moved to the June agenda.
  3. Report on our 5-year-plan progress. This is something that we need to talk over as a committee. It will be on the June agenda. The discussion will include how we are going to prioritize needed improvements in the parks based on the current 5-year plan. We also need to consider what might need to be included in the next 5-year plan.

OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED:

  • Meeting dates: July 4th and Sept 5th (1st Mon of month) fall on a holiday. These two meetings will be moved to the 2nd Monday of the month at 7pm.
  • It was reported that Ken Masck worked with Bob Logee to clear downed trees from the hiking path at Coy Mountain. THANK YOU to both Bob and Ken for this extra effort to help hikers safely enjoy Coy Mt… It was also reported that there are ten trees Bob and Ken believe should probably be removed for safety reasons. Dave Peterson will look into getting bids on tree removal.

FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:

                              • Discuss Requests for Memorials in the Parks. (June)
                                • Annual review of Pk. & Rec. website. (Sept. of each year) (Steve/Ruth)
                                  • Discuss and decide what twp. Roads would be best for a bicycle route. Look at the entire county for continuity. (See master plan) (September).
                                    • Discuss 80 acres that HT owns on McPherson Rd. to decide what recreational uses it might provide (Oct.)
                                      • Coy Mountain forest management.
                                      • We were asked by the Helena Township board to come up with a forest management plan for Coy Mountain. (See previous minutes for specifics) Our current plan involves:
                            • Come up with a plan for forest management and improved trail system(s). This might involve bringing in an ecologist, asking Mike Meriwether to speak to the committee again or both.
                          • If an approved trail system is determined before the over-all forest management plan is formulated we may present this plan to the HT board separately.
                        • After our Forest Management plan for Coy Mountain is formulated it will be taken to the HT board for review and action. (Nov)
                      • Look into new sign for Coy Mountain. (Sept.) (Moved this to go with Coy Mt. forest management)
                    • Handicap parking in Helena Township (Discussion). To be discussed when we review each park. INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS TO BE COMPLETED Report on assignments/research/activities since last meeting (Brad, Dave, Jan, Jim, Ken, Mike, Ruth, Steve). Brad:
                  • Work with Heidi Shaffer concerning erosion problems at Ball Diamond Park.
                  • Work with Ken on ideas for improving the Coy Mt. Trail
                    • Dave:
                • Continue work on getting quotes on prices for signage at road endings and parks. When ready send quotes to Ruth to be presented to the HT Board for approval of funding.
                • Obtain bids for tree removal at Coy Mt
                  •   Ken:
              • Work with Heidi Shaffer concerning erosion problems at Ball Diamond Park.
              • Work with Brad on ideas for improving the Coy Mt. Trail
              •  Mike
              • To submit a matrix showing needed park maintenance with estimated costs
              • Ruth:
            • Complete May meeting minutes.
          • Send approved April meeting minutes to Joyce Looman to be published online.
          • Attend HT Board meeting to be available for questions and to report if neede
            •  Steve:
        • Continue as point man for working with the project engineer and the DNR to resurface tennis courts and do walkway in Tennis Court Park.
      • Work with company awarded the court resurfacing to obtain estimates on replacing the bent posts.
    • Start gathering information concerning possible bicycle routes in HT / Antrim Co.
  • Attend HT Board meeting to present the pickleball project at Tennis Court Park.
  • Prepare agenda for June meeting.
    •  Jan & Jim:
  • No current assignments

The next monthly meeting is scheduled for:                                               Monday, June 6th, 2016 – 7pm at Helena Township Offices respectfully submitted by Ruth Smith 05-06-2016

 

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