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Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission 121 E. Maple Street, P.O. Box 178, Mason, MI 48854 AGENDA Telephone: 517.676.2233; Fax: 517.244.7190 The packet is available on-line by going to bc.ingham.org, choosing the “Events Calendar,” and clicking on Monday, November 16, 2020 Monday, November 16, 2020 5:30pm PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING Meeting via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/97558553953?pwd=T1k0YytCc3VEOUhoZHU3OStQcUxDUT09 Meeting ID: 975 5855 3953 Passcode: 880737 Or one tap mobile +19292056099,,97558553953#,,,,,,0#,,880737# 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes Minutes of October 26, 2020 regular meeting will be considered - Page 3 3. Limited Public Comment ~ Limited to 3 minutes with no discussion 4. APPROVE THE AGENDA Late Items / Changes/ Deletions 5. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Millage Cash on Hand: Tim Morgan - Page 10 6. ACTION ITEMS A. Meridian Land Preservation Board Prescribed Burn at Lake Lansing North: Emma Campbell- Page 12 B. East Lansing Project TR033 - Page 14 C. Trails and Parks Millage Sixth Round Application Scoring - Page 16 D. New Trail Project Estimate: MSU to Lake Lansing - Page 29 E. New Trail Project Estimate: Holt to Mason - Page 31 F. Millage Consultant - Page 34 G. Hawk Island Picnic Table Planks - Page 37 7. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS A. Director - Page 38 B. Park Managers - Page 40 C. Administrative Office - Page 46 D. Millage Coordinator Report - Page 48 E. FLRT Trail Ambassador Report - Page 61 8. Correspondence & Citizen Comment - Page 63 9. Board/Staff Comments 1 Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission November 16, 2020 Page 2 10. Limited Public Comment ~ Limited to 3 minutes with no discussion 11. Upcoming Meetings A. Date: Monday, December 14, 2020; Time: 5:30pm Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Virtually Via Zoom 12. Adjournment Official minutes are stored and available for inspection at the address noted at the top of this agenda. The Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as interpreters for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting for the visually impaired, for individuals with disabilities a the meeting upon five (5) working days notice to the Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission by writing to the Ingham County Parks Department, P.O. Box 178, Mason, Michigan 48854, or by calling 517.676.2233. 2 DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING INGHAM COUNTY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION 121 E. Maple Street, Suite 102, Mason, Michigan 48854 October 26, 2020 The Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission held a Regularly Scheduled Meeting virtually via Zoom website. Board Members Present: Matt Bennett, Cherry Hamrick, Simar Pawar, Paul Pratt (entered at 5:32pm), Commissioner Emily Stivers, Stephanie Thomas, Commissioner Chris Trubac, and Michael Unsworth Absent: Steve James and Chris Swope Also Present: Park Director Tim Morgan, Administrative Office Coordinator Nicole Wallace, Hawk Island Park Manager Brian Collins, Lake Lansing Park Manager Coe Emens, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Wendy Longpre, Tanya Moore – Spicer Group, City of Lansing Park Director Brett Kaschinske, FLRT Trail Ambassador Lauren Ross, and Valerie Lafferty Call to Order: Chair Bennett called the Regularly Scheduled Parks & Recreation Commission meeting to order at 5:30pm Minutes: Moved by Commissioner Stivers and Supported by Ms. Hamrick to approve the September 28, 2020 minutes of the regular meeting as written: Yes-7; No-0. MOTION CARRIED. LIMITED PUBLIC COMMENT None. LATE ITEMS / CHANGES / DELETIONS None. NEW PARK RANGER - ZACHARY SHAFER Mr. Morgan announced the new Park Ranger, Zachary Shafer. DISCUSSION ITEMS Millage Fund Spreadsheet ~ Ms. Moore reviewed and provided an overview of the millage fund spreadsheet. The report lists every grant project and all expenditures of the millage, which includes staff positions and consulting contracts. Ms. Moore stated this is a living document and information changes frequently. Mr. Morgan stated we will share an updated report once a month and post on the website. Mr. Unsworth suggested staff email the link each month to the Park Commissioners too. East Lansing Project TR033 ~ Mr. Morgan stated Ms. Longpre coordinated a meeting with the Road Department and thanked her. Mr. Morgan stated this is an issue of addressing safety and he supports this project. Ms. Moore stated the Road Department doesn’t have additional funding for this project. The Road Department’s stance as it stands now is it is functioning. Ms. Longpre stated they pushed the Road Department to promote the position that improving that intersection is a benefit to them, so that instead of waiting ten years to improve it, we do this now, which has value. The Road Department did not view this in the same fashion. 3 MINUTES OF THE MEETING Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission October 26, 2020 Page 2 They prioritize the age of the signal, condition and whether it requires repeat maintenance to keep it working. This is not a traffic signal that is in their top ten list. Ms. Longpre stated the City of East Lansing is asking for the full amount to do this improvement. Ms. Longpre stated this intersection is a barrier, and they want to make this a safe crossing. This is an essential component of this project and they can start construction in early summer. Mr. Unsworth asked if there was any crash data for this area. Ms. Longpre stated she has not looked at that, nor asked the Road Department if they did. Ms. Moore stated Bill Conklin said the way the intersection functions now is safe. ACTION ITEMS East Lansing Project TR033 ~ Mr. Bennett said the Parks Department requested this resolution to be deferred to the next meeting, so it will go to the same round of meetings when the sixth round millage applications are reviewed. Mr. Pratt said this project may compete with the sixth round of millage applications. Mr. Morgan stated it was not his intent for this to compete with the sixth round applications, rather, have the Board of Commissioners look at the big picture. Ms. Pawar stated she is in support of this project, but one concern is we may be opening up to future Road Department projects that will ask for money, and we need to tread carefully. Commissioner Stivers said she agrees with Ms. Pawar and she will argue for this to the full board for funding. Commissioner Stivers said she would like to discuss this at the same meetings as the sixth round of millage applications. Ms. Longpre said when they first started to discuss this project a number of years ago, she met with the Road Department and outlined the proposal to improve pedestrian access. At that time, the representative was open and would be willing to work with the City of East Lansing. Between that time and now, there was a change in staff and the new staff is no longer willing to do the pedestrian crossing. Additionally, they looked further into the condition of the lights, and they are too old and it can’t support additional lights, like the push button. This brought us to the point where the Road Department said it needs to be redone to improve the crossing. There was a tentative plan in place, and some of the various items in the plan changed. This has been three to four years in the discussion stage. Mr. Morgan asked for the initial estimate. Ms. Longpre said the original estimate was $50,000, and there is $30,000 left in the White Park project. Mr. Pratt stated he will defer to Commissioner Stivers for the timing of when the resolution will be presented. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER STIVERS, SUPPORTED BY MR. UNSWORTH To defer the resolution for approval to recommend an amendment for additional funding in the amount of $400,000 for Agreement TR033 City of East Lansing Northern Tier Trail Connection through White Park to the 11/16/20 Park Commission, 11/30/20 Human Services Committee, 12/2/20 Finance Committee and 12/8/20 Board of Commissioners meetings. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Absent: Chris Swope and Steve James. MOTION CARRIED. Maintenance/Operation of Soldan Dog Park and the Non-Motorized Pathway through Scott Woods Park and Lansing River Trail from Potter Park to Maguire Park Mr. Morgan stated this is a continuation of the agreement with the City of Lansing. It is a great cooperative agreement between two County Departments and the City of Lansing. Mr. Kaschinske said this agreement covers where County and Lansing trails meet. Mr. Kaschinske said the County staff does a great job. If there is a tree down, the City will have a contractor come in and take care of that, but 4 MINUTES OF THE MEETING Ingham County Parks & Recreation Commission October 26, 2020 Page 3 otherwise, the maintenance is completed by County staff. Mr. Collins stated we have had no issues in the past, and he is in support of renewing the agreement. Mr. Morgan stated the Zoo is also in support of this agreement. Mr. Bennett asked if there is any payments involved. Mr. Collins said we collect the fees for the Soldan Dog Park. Mr. Kaschinske said primarily this is a maintenance agreement. Ms. Hamrick stated she uses this area a lot, and she really appreciates these trails are kept up very well. Mr. Pratt stated he agrees with Ms. Hamrick, and he runs on these trails weekly. RESOLUTION #16-20 TO RECOMMEND CONTINUING AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF LANSING FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF SOLDAN DOG PARK AND THE