##VIDEO ID:MWbcnOdRdXk## e e e okay good evening and welcome to the September 16th 2024 meeting of the Victoria Park and recck committee I would like to start with calling the meeting to order um let's start with the Roll Call and we'll start on this end sure Greg McCurry Terry Co Mary Larson Jacob Paul Jenna Smith Alissa Nelson all right thank you um next up on the agenda is the approval of the minutes from the um September 16th I just realized I said it was September 16th it is October 21st the date is wrong at the top of this cheat sheet um we're going to approve the minutes of the September 16th meeting um were there any corrections or additions to those meeting minutes I'd make a motion okay there's a motion approve motion to approve in second all favor say I I I opposed okay motion passed thank you all right next uh petitions proclamations suggestions or complaints from citizens committee members or staff Christian have anything okay I just have one question about the and I think I brought this up a while back and I haven't been over there lately was there any plan to paint the roof over near the front of the entrance of the rec center it's not currently um in our plan but that would be um something that would fall under our agreement and so that's something that we would have to discuss at a later date gotcha could the area the roof that it's like the paint looks like it's peeling off right yeah on that front section okay right but that would be school district responsibility it just looks terrible when you pull up to the rec center it would be a mix of both I will note that that design style is something that we also looked at when we were doing the fire station design review um I was part of that committee so I have some little insight or knowledge there um one of the things that the architect did know with that specific design style that is known to flake and it is extremely hard to replace um so we did realize that when it came to okay we're not redoing that design style when it comes to this new building cuz we're going to end up 20 years and I believe it was even closer to 10 when it really started to peel um in a whole new building so yes it is on our radar okay just thank [Music] you anybody else have anything okay anything from the staff yes so just some things that are coming up and some updates for you um so I hope everybody plans on attending the uh Halloween and Victoria event that is coming up so that is uh run in conjunction with um the Lions Club uh Victoria Business Association and the city and so participating downtown businesses while trick-or-treating the Lions Club will be doing activities at our Bayfront Park and the city will be hosting a composting event so I hope you guys come and encourage everyone to participate the event is on the 26th which is a Saturday and the entirety of the event is from 1: to 3: um and more information about that can be found on our website and social media um also uh just a quick update about uh Deon Park 1 um based on some of the feedback that we uh had regarding um the most recent installation we are um moving forward with processing um uh purchase and uh moving forward in the future for installation so depending upon when we get that equipment in um we're hoping that by Spring 2025 we'll be able to um install that new equipment so these features will um increase the age range um for play and so it'll create it to be a little bit more of a fully inclusive family space um and so that work is already in motion um and then another update is just the winter winterization of a lot of our Park facilities and amenities um staff are going to be preparing for those changes um we are set to start that winterization process and have it completed by November 1st or weather pending um it is quite warm this week so if it ends up being really warm we might hold back on some of those amenities to allow people to utilize those features um but some of the things that will be winterized would be the bathrooms that are attached to our Park shelters removing the kayak rack um or launch off um the werman lake uh Pier um taking out the portable restrooms at our uh park locations and then eventually removing those tennis and Pokéball Court um Nets um again all weather pending but the target date is November 1st and that is all I have for you okay thank you um we have any other comments from staff or okay moving on then we have no old business and then on to new business we have the discussion of the park signage for this one we're going to turn it to Alyssa awesome well first I want to say thank you committee members for having me here it's felt like ages and I'm excited to be back presenting in front of all of you um as you saw in the Agenda Report tonight um we are talking about a potential new project which is Park signage update um one of the the most important areas that you all identified as well as city council during the and it was right around this time last year the 2023 Park survey where we identified and asked the community um about you know any thing that they want to see improved in the future when it comes to our Park and trail Network and that goes into future amenities they'd like to see how we're maintaining the parks now um just a wide variety of how we're doing on programming as well as the recreation center but more or less the the main feedback we received from that and that was discussed here um was that we need to make a priority the maintenance of our current 26 Parks we know we're growing and we know we're going to be adding more and more of those out lots and park areas and trails but we have to make sure we remember and keep at the top of mind the parks that we have today um and that's just not the day-to-day maintenance of making sure you know the weeds aren't there and the grass is cut the mulch is in our playgrounds um but it's also the maintenance of those Park elements that truly make it special whether it's the Park equipment like playground equipment um or like bike racks um garbage cans and as we're talking today um Park signage if you've looked in any of the park signage that we have today we kind of have a hodgepodge we also have many of our Park signs that happen to be damaged in need of repair um we have a lot of parks that actually don't have any signage whether that's from them being broken and taken down um we've had a park sign stolen um in the most recent years yes creatively stolen um and we've also just had some parks that never received proper signage to really wel welcome and welcome patrons and really provide that entry point for anyone that wants to visit um and even sometimes the importance of entrance signs is just to identify a park some of our parks that do not have Park signs are more of our Natural Parks which then they just turn tend to turn into um looking more like an out lot or private residence lot rather than what they actually are there for is just Green Space to be enjoyed by the entirety of the community now why are we talking about this now obviously this is a pressing priority um for the community as we heard in the Parks and Recreation survey it's a priority of the Recreations committee and then it's also a big priority for city council um and there are further discussions of the park survey and really identifying what's that next step for the city of lakes and Parks one of the major things that they identified is that maintenance but also making sure that we're maintaining the core element to our parks that entry point meaning those Park entrance Point signs um one of the big areas that these Park signs help with is providing a cohesive look to our ire entire parks and Trail Network um as you walk through the city of lakes and Parks one of the things that they've identified is that they want people to know that they happen to be in Victoria whether they just hopped on a trail from Lake monotona Regional Trail and they toled down to Kirk locken um or they ended up in Goodman Park after just taking a Str off a Park Avenue they want people to know exactly where they happen to be um and one of the major ways you can do that is making sure your Park signs happen to be the same look the same feel um having that cohesive brand in style so why are we again talking about this now we have the vision we know that the one problem is it's been a year we just never really have had the funds so one of the areas that Council has identified through arpa dollars the American Rescue plan act dollars which is money we receive from the federal government um at the end of Co they um previously earmarked those funds to be used for critical water infrastructure at the end of Co um we were able to upgrade a majority of our critical water infrastructure um what we call SC making sure that the programs that run our wells our lift stations our water treatment plant is up to date and we're able to do that under budget which gives us this influx of funding um about $100,000 actually which this fall Council allocated towards let's get these Park entrance signs replaced and let's do them if we can all at once now there's a caveat to this um arpa dollars we have to be under contract for this project by the end of this year so December 31st of 2024 and even if we're under contract the project has to be done the dollars have to be spent by the end of next year December 31st 2025 so we happen to be under a very escalated timeline um since this decision to allocate this funding was just made um this fall um as part of that Council also asked staff to start with the design process um and just really hit the ground going when it comes to replacing these signs so we don't have to send this money away um back to the federal government now I kind of talked about maybe this is going to go yes um on really why there's importance of Park signage so I'm not going to get into this um in too much detail but I do want to show some of the photos of where we're looking at um some of our Park signs today so this is Church Lake Park you can see the location of it is probably not the most ideal it's tucked back in the corner um next to a utility building um it's kind of behind the shade but you see um that the um logo that's placed on here is fading a lot of our Park signs look very similar to this whether they're not in ideal locations or the vinyl pieces are fading or as in this next case completely coming off this just happens over time with wear and tear um we know this it's just what it is with this type of material um so we're seeing this a lot throughout the city's Park and Recreation system now when we're talking about what we could replace these signs with um City staff through the visioning of city council have identified bringing in the city of lakes and Parks as the key theme throughout our Park signage look and design and feel we really truly brought in more of the natural elements the natural amenity is really blending it in to Nature um as part of the core vocal thought is part of the um design style that we're bringing for you today um the other piece that goes along this is our city branding over the last 5 years we've really done work to have a cohesive style throughout all of our city um amenities that goes digitally so we did a website refresh we've obviously redone a majority of our marketing equipment as well as Graphics um throughout these last couple of years but also on the physical facilities that we have um obviously we just did a recreation center paint job um utilizing the same coloring um that you see at our other uh facilities that we have within the city um as I noted earlier I happen to be worked I happen to be working on the um fire station the new Fire Station design committee one of the things that we talked about most as part of those discussions is really ensuring that that building inside and out as well as the Landscaping is really tailored into bringing in the more natural look um and classic look that we tend to see as part of the entirety of Victoria so um before I really jump into these and as you're absorbing this first sign review um we do have four different tiers um that we're presenting as part of this the four different tiers and I'll go into each one of those is really based on the different type of Park whether it's the type of size of park or the amenities within the park or the usage of the park um but really the different type of Park um so when we're looking at this tier one we're looking at more of a grander esque similar to what we saw in the inspiration signage um made for those larger Regional and Community Parks when I say Regional and Community Parks what parks am I really talking about those parks that really bring people together from outside of the community um for events or different programming um the parks we're talking about here is detail Park as well as lions tier two is similar in nature um to tier one except it is tapered down tier two is really geared towards our larger neighborhood parks larger neighborhood parks um I obviously have the examples or the list of the parks on the screen Our Lake bridge or lake towns um our raps cities there are larger about five acre parks that happen to be in the middle of neighborhoods they tend to have um a larger number of programming that the city of Victoria or other amenities entities do um whether that's our t-ball program or you're renting Park shelters or um soer soccer fields are quite heavily used in these areas they also tend to have parking lots so you do need some sort of signage that says here's this very clear entrance into this specific Park the other piece to this as you see in number one and number four is we'd also use the second tier sign to indicate the second entrances to detail and lions there are two different entrances into those Parks um obviously we have our main entrance point but then we would utilize this lower tier to indicate that secondary entrance into these spaces you also notice that these go shorter and height one of the key elements we thought about when it comes to this sign is you are in neighborhoods you don't necessarily want to be as intrusive to the residents that happen to live nearby or close to that Park tier three um we're looking at our smaller neighborhood parks as well as those secondary entrances for our larger neighborhood parks the only larger neighborhood park that needs that secondary entrance is Lakeside Estates they have two entrances one to the parking lot and then there's a cisac entrance um that's frequently or more frequently used by The Neighborhood there um the rest we're looking at those smaller neighborhood parks they don't necessarily have parking lots there is Deer Run does have one but a majority do not these typically are entering points by either Trail sidewalk system or um just entering in from the neighborhood itself self and tier four our last tier um more of a sign post style um and this is for our more Natural Parks parks that don't necessarily have signage signs that we don't necessarily want to be extremely obtrusive um to the open landscape in those Parks as well as our one Urban Park which is right next door Bayfront Park which currently also does not have a sign indicating um where is located with these signs I also want to note um because we typically do not see signs currently at a lot of these locations we also don't have um park hours or Park rule signs what Our intention is um is place the park rule signs on the back of this post so we're not necessarily having to have multiple signs within a very small space or just within a very small entry point we're able to use this sign um in multiple facets and multiple functions and on that note I do want to just make this um this note that we are talking about Park entrance signs but we also understand that there's a real key importance to other signs that you see in Parks like wayfinding signs or those Park hour signs that's our probably what I'm going to call our phase two as part of this we want to make sure our park entrance signs are taken care of as part of this but making sure that our next phase and being really conscious of that we need to provide those other features and making sure though those are utilizing the same brand utilizing the same look um and most of the time wayf finding is something that we don't necessarily see within our Park system so really being conscious of where those signs are going um within the park system and that could be like lions we don't have any sort of map when somebody enters it especially for some sort of tournament they don't know what fields are going to or along the trail system um you all did a wonderful job helping coordinate walking routes for a city but you might not know that they're there in l you're on our website so having some sort of sign that says here's a QR code or here's where you are on the city of Victoria trail map um could be that next phase for us at just elevating our experience within our parks and trails system as we are today so I already talked about funding um but really the the reason we're bringing this forward to you all um is because we know $100,000 is going to go a long way but just based on some preliminary numbers that we're receiving we might not be able to get to all of our Parks today and obviously we have some recommendations for you just for you all to Noodle about but as our Park users and as our champion of parks we really want to hear you know if we have to prioritize certain parks to getting this new amenity which park should we prioritize first which Parks or maybe we should put on the back burner um and what are those parks in between so as I just mentioned there's just some examples we threw on the screen for you but I'll skip past that um other considerations like I mentioned Rap City Sign was stolen so that Park does not currently have a sign even though it's a large um neighborhood park regularly used for Park usage um we do have a couple signs that are broken Lake town detel uh detel does two needs two signs the tier one sign as well as that secondary sign so if we do one we'd probably want to do both Lion's Park um that South entrance the parking lot entrance that most people are familiar with has no signage even though it's probably the most regularly used um entrance into that park space um additionally one of the things that city council thought through I'm in discussing with lions and our partners Victoria vix is that having some sort of ability for them to utilize that sign to have some sort of I'll pull that sign back up um like Victoria event here or lion fish fry here or Vick's game tonight at 7 so what we would look at for something like that is probably a similar black bar on the bottom here that those type of organizations would be able to use and advertise their events um as the event is coming through and then the last one and it's not necessarily A consideration just something to think through and something we want to be cognizant of is that Madison Park um for those who were around during this time Madison Park was previously named Watermark Park um but I believe in 2016 might be a 2017 but either way um the park was renamed to Madison Park to honor U Madison MZ who unfortunately passed away after a long um battle with cancer um she was a young girl and her family happens to live across the street from Madison Park so obviously the city honored the park after her but another piece to that the community helped pay for um a specialty sign to be made um at both entrances to that Park so if we were to replace that sign we would want to mimic those features that they included on the current sign that's shown before you so the dragonfly the heart as well as the pink writing we also have the opportunity just to leave this park sign as is until it absolutely needs to be replaced and at that point have a conversation with the family of what happens next so with that um like I said we came up with just a recommendation but we really want to hear what your thoughts are about what do we go where do we go to next what are our next steps what do we need to be thinking about um for our first priority on staff side is just replace any of those broken or stolen signs those are really our key um priority areas in addition to getting that Parks uh the Lions Park sign up so then we can help advertise um our partner events the the Lions and the Vicks this secondary priority would then be the rest of the tier one and tier 2 signs um for those larger neighborhood parks those tend to be our most utilized Parks we tend to have more of our programming in those spaces our third um and fourth would be staff analyzing what are more traffic Parks um and just splitting them between um what more traffic parks are not when I say that I mean instead of just going tier three and tier four we know that Kirk lock even though it's a tier four is probably more regularly used than win Green Park so we'd probably put that at tier three um as well as Bayfront Park as a tier four sign and then move maybe some of the tier 3es down to this fourth priority so with that I did a lot of just rambling all at once um so I'm going to pass it back to you shair um just to see if you have any questions from the committee or if you just want to open discussion um yeah I'll just open up the floor to the committee to see what questions or comments you have right now for Lissa I I just was wondering how far the you think the budget I mean obviously you can't do all of them correct we are getting preliminary numbers from our vendor and manufacturer probably the biggest I wouldn't say the biggest cost but probably the biggest stretch of our dollar is going to be come to the installation piece so we could probably afford all the signs today but we couldn't install them all so that's where we're trying to figure out how do we make this money work um to get them all replace next year but just knowing that we I think the cost of the signs themselves were close to $100,000 it was about 60,000 just for the installation piece and that was just a guesstimate because one of the things that we have to talk through the installer is um is exactly where these signs are being located it's going to cost more if we're in a specific area that might have a ditch or need some minor grading then versus a flat property or flat piece of land that already had a sign there so the installation is kind of where we're fluctuating but even still we're we're probably above budget just to do all both of those from a priority standpoint I think it's the parks that get outside visitors because it reflects on our community I've talked about that with the rec center right when people come and visit our town we want to put the best foot forward we can I think and so when you go to a soccer complex and you don't know what field to go to I've been there and you park on the wrong side of it and you walk you know across um I that would be a priority for me is that making those larger facilities easier to navigate um I think would be a priority for me and it welcomes people to our town and then that of course leads to them having a good feeling about being here which is always good so I had a question kind of on a similar note are the signs going to say like Victoria on them are they going to question so the SS as current um do not have that Victoria logo or identification on them that's definitely something that we could add one of the key pieces that we did do as part of these designs is make sure the addresses on them obviously that helps the individual user if they're you know like printing off the old map or identifying it through our Parks and Recreation trail maps um but it also helps us as staff if we're doing projects for contractors right now there's sometimes challenges when we don't have addresses on our signs um or it just indicates you know South Lake Virginia Shores Park and it doesn't have an address they might just blow on by it without realizing that's where they need to go that's a good question though because obviously that the design is where my head goes because it's what I do for a living but I did I would say I like the visual elements that the city of Victoria has even if it's not the city logo there's some elements along with it like the waves that you see on our agenda tonight there's some ways I think you could make it more Victoria you know the other thing is on that vertical sign uh the one where the writing's this way that's not ADA Compliant so you can't have I'm assuming these signs have to be ADA Compliant and so you can't it's my understanding you can't have text running vertically for an ADA compliance sign so just something to think about I think we need to like is it I mean the contrast is obviously there so you don't have to worry about that but there could be some considerations with that if you're installing new signs you know and I know that some of that's for road signs and different things so I don't know if it totally applies in this case um but you might want to make sure that this absolutely and that's one of the things when we talked to our manufacturer and we obviously helped in the design process and made sure like we gave them kind of what we were looking for and then they produced this which is actually something that they accomplished one of the main areas and we talked about specifically this one is can we turn it um or is that something we're not compliant with so that is something that we'll be okay with having for these type of signs okay but I think that's a great thought we were on the same page as well one of the other areas as we were talking through um the city of lakes and parks and some of those one of the areas that we did talk about and maybe that was something missed here but on the side panel having something etched in there or even wood burned into um the wood part um so that could be something that we do after the fact too from a long sorry go ahead go ahead no from I love the idea of using natural materials in wood but I also know it's not going to last um so so what considerations given to other things that maybe look natural but would last longer very fair question and that's something I didn't mention in the presentation I do have in my notes is one of the things I want to point out to this image as well as the rest um the first is the base of the the image one of the key things that we talked about in doing this is obviously maintenance and we talk to our Public Works about specifically what they want to see because they're the ones that have to maintain this sign um after the fact so the base um right now our asss they two posts with clearing underneath that makes it really challenging for them to upkeep when it comes to having the mower run underneath or not having the mower on underneath and having to just come back out and weed whip specifically for that so one of the reasons that we chose a design like this is to help with the maintenance the other question we ask them is really specific towards that wood type of material um what we found when we talked to the manufacturers if even if we had like more of a they have like a fake wood material it Fades really fast we actually can see it we have a similar sign for the former public Workshop just um straight east of here we had a brief period where we use more purple designs now we've kind of gone back to the historic blue that Victoria has done over the last few years um that sign has quite faded um so at least with this we're able to continuously maintain it through staining obviously that does take time but our current sign structures are wood as well they're just painted so that's something that we're not necessarily adding onto the team it's just more of a continuation of our current process the other piece that we've had um or thought that we've had people do in the past um is rely on our boy scout groups um when we talk to Eagle Scouts about potential projects one of the things we've had them do in the past is help with the either staining or the painting of our Park signs so there's just some many ramblings to talk about maintenance and just kind of the look of these signs one of the best days is when I got the track Decking at my house and I don't have to do it stain it anymore I'm just saying there's got to be a product that requires no maintenance and I love the idea of not have you know they don't have to mow or weed whip around it but there's got to be something that wouldn't require any maintenance I would think but it's probably more expensive some that hard Brazilian hardwood and such yeah um I think to your point having some element of design in there that gives a nod to Victoria I think is important yeah I agree I mean so the waserman signage is pretty unique um and even that says city of Victoria the the one on the road says city of Victoria on it I love the look of the the signs in general I love the the natural look of it so I guys nailed that one um I don't really have any further as far as like the prioritization I think you guys are on the right track um hit the big parks first the ones that are most publicly visited hit the ones where the signs are broken or missing um and really prioritize that way yeah I really like the way that you've made your priorities here I don't know that I would change anything anything else for us to consider or think through right well again thank you for having me back and presenting on this or allowing me to present on this topic it's been a very fun project although it's kind of been a whirlwind project over the last couple of weeks but we've really enjoyed it and we're really excited to to bring these forward I think it's going to and I think we all think it's going to make our Parks um just really transformed into the great a many that there already are so thank you thank you thank you all right so jenet is that 61 and 62 or is that well that that was the entirety of it that was the same y great any other business we have to discuss all right well with that could I have a motion to adjourn I motion to adjourn I'll second okay all in favor say I I oppos okay we are adjourned e