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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-23-Park-Board-Supplement Page 1 Director’s Report |January 23, 2024 Park Closures at a Glance • Flowing Well Park: While the damaged pump has been replaced and the pipe between the well and wellhouse unfrozen, the wellhouse remains closed pending results of required testing. Presuming there was no breach in the pipe while frozen, anticipate no issue with the test results allowing for the wellhead’s imminent reopening. • Hazel Landing Park: Due to planned work by Carmel Utilities at the 106th Street lift station impacting the entrance drive, the park will close to the public on or after January 29th. The timeline for the White River Pedestrian Bridge project will determine if this is a temporary or long-term closure, as the bridge project will also require Hazel Landing to be closed. 2024 Budget CCPR is awaiting release of 2024 funds from the City for the Non-Reverting Parks Capital Fund 103. This budget includes $2 million for the Monon Boulevard spray plaza upgrades, phase 1 sign replacements for the Monon Greenway, and design and phase 1 construction of the Chinese Garden. The City is currently assessing the impact of the loss of LIT to Fishers, among other factors, on the City’s 2024 budget. This assessment has not impacted our 2024 General Fund budget to date. Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan Pending input from the Park Board following PROS Consulting’s presentation at the January 23rd meeting, CCPR will work with the consulting team to prepare the proposed Capital Improvement Plan to achieve the capital priorities, including projected funding needs and implementation timeline. We will also work to begin identifying a date and time for a joint meeting between the Park Board, City Council, Mayor, Township Board, and Township Trustee to provide an opportunity for input to ensure broad buy-in for the plan. This joint meeting will likely be in early-spring. Park Impact Fees The City Council introduced a resolution on January 8th with proposed changes to the Unified Development Ordinance to alter the process for approving future park impact fees. The resolution was discussed by the Council’s Land Use and Policy Committee on January 19th, with additional refinements anticipated before the resolution is returned to Council for consideration. There appeared to be a consensus with Committee members that Council approval should be required for park impact fees. Presuming a resolution is adopted by Council, the proposed ordinance changes must first be reviewed by the Plan Commission before returning to City Council for final adoption. Concurrently, I have begun discussions with Mayor Finkam with the goal of identifying a solution to the type of volume of impact fee credits recently issued that is both beneficial for the community and can be supported by the Mayor, City Council, and CCPR. All conversations have been productive and positive. Director’s Report | January 23, 2024 Page 2 As part of the various discussions, CCPR has proposed developing a Central Core Greenspace Vision Plan to prioritize and guide the future acquisition, development and operation of parks, greenways, and open space for the next five to 10 years within the central core. Building off CCPR’s Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan, this vision plan would further identify the park and recreation amenities most needed by current and future residents of the central core. Finally, this new plan will serve as the foundation for establishing a more coordinated process for providing parks, greenways, and open space within the central portion of the city. This proposal has been well received by elected officials to date. Presuming everything continues to move forward to resolve concerns regarding impact fee credits, CCPR will issue a Request for Information to seek a qualified consulting team to lead the visioning process. Solar Eclipse With Carmel in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on April 8th, CCPR has been coordinating closely with the City of Carmel and other municipalities. Our primary goal is to maintain safety for our park staff and visitors, access for essential services, and minimize property damage in anticipation of the volume of people who will come to the region to witness this rare event. All CCPR parks will be closed with barricades and signage late afternoon on Sunday, April 7th to help prevent unauthorized overnight parking and camping. Park entrances will be reopened on Monday, April 8th at 10 am, with CCPR staff stationed at the parks to monitor parking lots, waste, and crowds. Staff will also count incoming vehicles, closing the park entrance once parking lot capacity has been met. All restroom buildings will be closed on Sunday with portable toilets deployed at each park. With staff deployed for monitoring and traffic control, this will significantly reduce the burden to maintain the restrooms, which require significant upkeep during periods of high visitation. Temporary waste containers will be placed in the parks, reducing the frequency in which staff need to empty permanent receptacles. Liners will be pulled as necessary and set to the side of the receptacles as a time saver, if necessary. Some locations will have dumpsters available to assist with trash collection. Once crowds dissipate following the eclipse and the sites properly cleaned, parks will return to standard operations. West Park – Jim Engledow Commons Two of the new shelters have been constructed. The third shelter that includes a storage area is currently under construction. This project should be complete in time for peak rental season. The new staircase and concrete infill of the scramble between the lower and upper playgrounds has been completed. Posts for the new shade structure for the upper playground have been set, with the shade sail to be installed this spring. The artificial grass infill for the upper playground and under the embankment slide will also be completed this spring. White River Greenway North Extension Three bids for the project were received today (1/23/2024), with the apparent low bid coming in at $4,960,000. Bids will be reviewed by SJCA and the design team, in coordination with CTI (our owner’s representative). We anticipate having a recommendation for the Park Board’s consideration at the February 13th meeting. The project is being funded by a $4 million READI grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) received through the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority (CIRDA). The remaining balance is anticipated to be funded with park impact fees. Director’s Report | January 23, 2024 Page 3 White River Pedestrian Bridge The preconstruction meeting for this project has been scheduled for February 21st. More information regarding the construction timeline should be available following this meeting. In addition to the bridge over White River connecting Hazel Landing Park to Fishers’ Heritage Park, the project includes a new parking lot near the entrance to Hazel Landing Park and multiuse trail along Blue Woods Creek connecting the bridge to the Hazel Dell Parkway perimeter path. The bridge project was initiated by Clay Township as part of their Impact Program through issuance of a $4.3 million bond in 2020. CCPR will contribute up to $3 million ($1.5 million for the trail and parking lot and $1.5 million towards the bridge), which will be approved through an agreement between the Park Board and Township currently being drafted by legal counsel and anticipated to be presented to the Park Board at the February 13th meeting. Also contributing to the project are Delaware Township ($1.4 million), Hamilton County ($1.1 million) and City of Fishers ($400,000). CCPR will be responsible for managing and maintaining the bridge upon completion.