This Month's Secretary Is Kelsey Beccue
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It is the mission of the Urbana Park District to: Improve the quality of life of its citizens through a responsive, efficient, and creative park and recreation system, Pursue excellence in a variety of programs, parks, and special facilities that contribute to the attractiveness of neighborhoods, conservation of the environment, and the overall health of the community. NOTICE AND AGENDA OF MEETING URBANA PARK DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (UPDAC) TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2021 7:00 PM LARGE PAVILION IN CRYSTAL LAKE PARK 206 W. PARK STREET URBANA, IL 61801 I. Call to Order – Welcome New Members and Introductions II. Public Comment Any member of the public may make a brief statement at this time within the public participation rules of the Board. III. Approval of the Minutes of the June 22, 2021 Meeting IV. New Business A. UPDAC Year‐in‐Review B. Upcoming Programs and Projects Upcoming meetings: V. Reports September 28, 2021 A. UPDAC Chair October 26, 2021 B. Board Representative November 16, 2021 *third C. Director’s Report Tuesday due to Thanksgiving D. Capital Projects Report VI. UPDAC Member Comments and Open Discussion VII. Adjourn ***This month’s secretary is Kelsey Beccue*** Note: The Meeting Agenda and Supporting Materials are on the UPD website at http://www.urbanaparks.org/documents/index.html; choose the “Public Meetings” category and search for the meeting information you wish to download. UPDAC Agenda – August 24, 2021 1 URBANA PARK DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (UPDAC) MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021 7:00 PM‐8:30 PM ONLINE VIA ZOOM URBANA, ILLINOIS 61802 The meeting of the Urbana Park District Advisory Committee (UPDAC) was held Tuesday, June 22, 2021 remotely via Zoom at 7:00 pm. The notice and agenda of the meeting were posted at the park district administrative office and at the location of the meeting. Copies of the notice and agenda were received by each member of the committee and by local newspapers, radio, and television stations at least forty‐eight hours before the meeting in compliance with the Open Meetings Act of the State of Illinois. A copy of the notice and agenda is attached to the minutes. Also available for inspection are all documents that were reviewed or approved at the meeting. UPDAC Members PRESENT ABSENT Laura Hastings, Chair X Gary Ambler X Nicoline Ambrose X Kelly Boeger X Jonville Chenoweth X Tomas Delgado X Heath Isome X Ben Kaap X Jean Paley X Ashley Price X Sarah Roper X Howard Schein X Travis Schiess X Amita Sinha X Timothy Stephens X Also present were; Board Vice President, Nancy Delcomyn Park Commissioner, Cedric Stratton Executive Director, Tim Bartlett Superintendent of Recreation, Corky Emberson Superintendent of Planning and Operations, Derek Liebert Project Manager, Andy Rousseau Park Planner, Kara Dudek Michelle Kelly, Upland Design Office Manager, Kelsey Beccue UPDAC Minutes – June 22, 2021 1 I. Call to Order Laura Hastings called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. II. Public Comment There was no public comment. III. Approval of the Minutes of the April 27, 2021 Meeting and the May 25, 2021 Meeting Laura Hastings made a motion with a second by Jean Paley to approve the minutes of the April 27, 2021 and May 25, 2021 meetings. A roll call vote was taken, motion passed unanimously. IV. Discussion A. Innovations in Play Design Tim introduced Michelle Kelly from Upland Design and her background working with UPD, and spoke about the planning process that went into the current Prairie Play playground along with the upcoming replacement of that playground. Kara began with some information on the maintenance activities at Prairie Play and the steps the district is taking to begin preparing for the replacement of Prairie Play. Kara shared some of the playgrounds staff have visited while researching options for replacing Prairie Play. Sites included McHenry, Monticello, Crystal Lake, and the costs associated with the replacements. Michelle then spoke about the work she has done replacing Leather’s structures with other park districts. First, she shared her work with Cary Park District and Kaper Park, where the planning process included sharing idea images, public input meetings, and multiple plan designs before selecting the replacement. The cost for the play equipment was $231,000. Next, she spoke about Hiawatha Playground in Chicago Park District ($80,000). Standout features of the playground include sensory play with music, berms, play circuits, and shaded areas. Greenlake Park in Buffalo Grove Park District had a playground replaced with a new playground with a pollinator theme ($114,000). The design came from the overall master plan for the park. The equipment is a mix of custom and off the shelf pieces. The safety surface has inlaid bees and butterflies, and interpretive information about pollinators. Wheeler Park in Geneva Park District ($120,000) has a space theme with a rocket play tower, and interpretive information about space. Features include custom interpretive panels and a command module with a scavenger hunt. Multiple manufacturers were used to execute the overall design. UPDAC Minutes – June 22, 2021 2 Wolf’s Crossing Community Park in Naperville Park District ($175,000) features rubber surfacing, separate play areas for different age groups, a zipline, accessible path, plenty of seating, sensory play area. Bison Playground in Schaumburg Park District ($2.8 million) is a completely custom design with a fabricated bison, water play, climbing features, rubber surfacing. Ashley asked about the price point increase for more natural materials. Part of the reason it is so expensive is because it is an “all‐in” price, since equipment pieces could not be bought off the shelf. Ashley asked about budget also, and Tim said we would go into it after Michelle’s presentation. Maggie Daley Park in Chicago Park District is mostly custom from a manufacturer in Europe. Features include large towers, bridge, ground level climbers, seating, lighthouse, boat, whale shade sculpture, hillside slides. An unnamed park in New Zealand shared by Nancy Delcomyn has great examples of the incorporation of nature into play. Features included an accessible table, wood stepping stumps, fort‐like structures, and climbing nets. Centenary Lake Park in Australia has some play areas where they provide structure for building. Michelle also shared some custom wood play structures from Kompan in different designs. Miracle Field in Ames, Iowa ($500,000) features equipment from Landscape Structures, and is a highly accessible playground. Rubber surfacing is featured along with sensory play and swings. The playground is a mix of custom and off the shelf pieces. Central Park in Maple Grove, MN ($1 million) features multiple play areas for different age groups, a tower, rubber surfacing, shade features, and climbing nets. Pioneer Park in Mesa, AZ ($2 million) features a large custom, geometrical looking play structure with multiple climbing levels and slides, and a bridge. Michelle then discussed some trends in playgrounds including sensory play such as water, sand, music, and quiet spaces. Nets are also very popular right now, along with ziplines. She went on to say that kids benefit greatly from play, and it’s important to make sure all kids have the opportunity to play. Upland Design created a criteria based design for dynamic play which include, movement, space, diversity, circuits, seating, safety, nature, social inclusion, imagination, and community engagement. Travis commented that accessibility would be imperative for the new Prairie Play playground, as is planning for accessible features to seamlessly incorporate into the playground. He also commented that a strong central theme would be important. UPDAC Minutes – June 22, 2021 3 Laura thought incorporating sculpture into the new playground would be great to dovetail with the overall identity of Meadowbrook Park. Laura also said she appreciated that we are looking at shared spaces. Ashley commented that she thought the presentation was very inspiring and mentioned that she has been talking with people about Prairie Play, and has heard people say they hope for wood or more natural materials. Tim Bartlett asked about fencing in playgrounds, and Michelle said we are seeing more fencing because it makes playgrounds safer for kids and caregivers. Amita commented that she thought having the same type of color tones as the current playground would be ideal. Amita also asked if there would be opportunities to build and create, and Michelle said that it can be tricky to keep a balance of safety with those types of materials not becoming hazards in other play areas. Howie commented that he helped with the original and he loves it, but is ready to see it replaced, and mentioned that shade would be really important. Tim mentioned that UPD tries to provide a variety of play types at different parks, and suggested UPDAC might visit UPD parks to take notes on what we already have when considering what we want to create at Meadowbrook. Jean mentioned that getting the same community involvement as with original Prairie Play might not be possible. Sarah commented on the accessible features of the various parks shown, and mentioned that the rubber surfacing would be important for increasing accessibility. Jean commented that everyone loves water play. Laura echoed that accessibility for caregivers is also important. Michelle provided some information on the pros and cons of engineered wood fiber and rubber safety surfacing. Ashley asked about the longevity of wood structures versus plastic/metal/composite structures. Derek responded that UPD spends more time maintaining Prairie Play than other playgrounds partially due to size. The wood posts are degrading and would require extensive redesign of parts of the playground to replace. Derek spoke about the differences in maintaining metal/plastic playgrounds versus replacing wood playgrounds. Tim mentioned that there will be space and plans for a new destination play experience in Urbana that includes a sprayground, and noted parking is a critical component for that type of play feature.