Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-05-16 Government Operations Committee Minutes • Government Operations Committee May 16, 2001 Minutes Attendees: Councilor Farnham, Palmer, Crowley, Baldacci; Ed Barrett, Bob Farrar, Frank Comeau, Mike Aube, Keith Mercier, Kevin Frazier, Rod Towne, Gary Walker 1. The meeting started at 5:20 p.m. due to the fact that an executive session was held starting at 4:45 p.m. for the purpose of subordinate committee interviews. 2. Renaming the Community Center on Lower Main Street to Parks and Recreation Center Parks and Recreation Director Comeau indicated that during recent budget discussions the Council had discussed renaming the Community Center to eliminate confusion caused by two community centers in Bangor, one on Main Street and the other center being located on Davis Road. Parks and Recreation staff felt that"Parks and Recreation Center" provides good identification and also identifies it as a center for the community. New signage will be required. A motion was made and seconded to rename the Community Center to Parks and Recreation Center. • 3. Update — Police Athletic League (PAL) Center Keith Mercier of the Bangor Police Department provided an update to the Committee. � Mercier indicated the center was going well. He outlined some upcoming projects are: • paving the roller skating area to be ready by mid to late June; • Tuesday night bike races will be starting soon; • PAL will be sponsoring a bicycle race which is usually a large turnout. This year's course will include the Kittredge Road Trails; center attendance has doubled from last year; • younger kids have been asking for a playground so staff is working on that request; • as part of a Eagle Scout Project, one kid is working on trail work as well as building a deck on the pond at the bottom of the hill; • working with Penobscot County Sheriff's Department to enlist inmates to do ground work on weekends. The department provides transportation but PAL provides supervision. • Winter activities include cross-country skiing. As was discussed at a recent Council budget meeting, PAL needs staffing available during the winter months. Parks and Recreation Director Comeau has requested an additional $3,000 in his budget to expand staffing at the PAL Center. He also has included monies for a new furnace at the Center. • • Mercier indicated that they are looking for monies to build a garage facility needed for storage. PAL has a number of canoes and kayaks and, with the assistance of Fuji Mountain Bike, have purchased mountain bikes to start a PAL Bike Team. One of the first races was last weekend racing Sunday River. There are five riders from Bangor High School and 7ohn Bapst. The riders are provided $250 for race • associated fees and equipment, are required to do five sponsored events in one year, are required to race the Tuesday night PAL races, as well as 25-30 hours of community service as part of their contract. • Kids and Cops, which is modeled after the program in Saint John, New Brunswick, will start shortly. There are 8 kids, ages 10, 11, and 12; it is a weeklong police academy at the PAL Center. The kids were chosen by a counselor at the Y. • Parks and Recreation utilizes the Pal Center two afternoons a week for the AfteRec Program. Councilor Crowley suggested that an article regarding PAL Center be included as a part of an insert in The Weekly. The insert is something the City has started and is to highlight areas that make Bangor a livable city. Mercier indicated he would provide the information. Councilor Palmer asked if there was a way to track the attendance at the center. Mercier said it is something he will look into it. Attendance age is mainly junior high but the younger kids have started to express an interest so PAL staff is trying to target the younger age by having a playground. 4. Bangor Soccer Club — Review/Discussion of Consultant Scope of Services Regarding. Soccer and Related Fields � Kevin Frazier, President of the Bangor Soccer Club, 30 Bryant Street, appeared before the Committee at the request of Councilors pursuant to the recent Parks and Recreation budget presentation for a briefing on the $5,000 request by the Soccer Club. Frazier indicated it will be used by Bangor Soccer Club for the field project study. The study will include full-scale drawings as well as cost estimates. It will also include a management plan and financing the project on an operating basis and how it will maintain itself. In partnership with the City, Frazier felt that the $5,000 didn't necessarily need to flow through the Soccer Club. To date, the Club has invested $3,000, has submitted a grant application to the Maine Community Foundation for the analysis of the project. Frazier feels that the $5,000 is not going to an outside organization but the City is partnering with an outside organization to meet a City goal. City Manager Barrett spoke representing Councilor Tremble, who was not available to attend. Tremble had expressed some general concerns at the recent budget session as to how the study would be set up, who would control it, and if it is appropriate for a group who has a direct interest in the outcome to be directly in charge of the study. If the City is providing the funds, would it be more independent and more objective. Frazier said it was a reasonable concern and that he intends to personally contact Councilor Tremble. Tremble had previously asked Comeau if it was a City program or Bangor Soccer Club. Frazier indicated it is a Club with volunteers providing the program � for the area youth which saves the City money. The report of the Active Recreational Study Committee indicated a need exists for additional soccer fields. City Manager Barrett said the most pressing need has been • met at Bass Park with the soccer clubs using that area. He also indicated there has been discussion of recently purchased school department property on the Griffin Road as a potential location for additional recreation fields. Discussion had also taken place regarding the type of surface for a soccer field, a complex with numerous fields at one location. Costs have not been identified. Baldacci indicated he didn't have a problem with the $5,000 as the Council and staff will be reviewing the report. Crowley asked if the study had been conducted, and Frazier indicated he had a draft. He again stressed the Club would like to do a more formal presentation showing the economics, management plan, draft drawing to insure it is meeting all of the City's needs, not just soccer. The spring soccer rec program has gone from 354 to 460 participants this year. Crowley asked if the study addressed funding mechanisms. Frazier said the suggestion would be for some private funds, some naming opportunities. The additional $5,000 requested of the City would be used toward a feasibility study for a site. Gary Walker, Consultant for the Soccer Park, discussed his work with a professional soccer club in England. Through a partnership with local authorities, he designed a facility for both professional and local community use for a variety of sporting events. He gave the Committee a brochure. He feels it would be beneficial to the Bangor area. � Councilor Palmer's opinion is that if kids are on the field they are not doing thing they should not be doing. He felt is it proactive approach and that the $5,000 was a reasonable amount with some well-planned development. Mike Aube said the Bangor Soccer Club started 7-8 years ago and has dramatically grown evolving into annual spring programs with 480 kids, 180 in the fall. All coaches are required to be licensed. There is a tremendous amount of volunteers, and the difficulty is lack of facilities at which to play. The Club also scholarships kid so that no one is denied access. Crowley found that serving on the Recreation Facilities Committee to be enlightening regarding the need for soccer fields. He felt the $5,000 is long overdue and appropriate. In response to Councilor Crowley's suggestion that this study will be interFaced with the Bass Park study, Barrett indicated there would be. Discussion continued around a multi-use complex for all uses from soccer to health related activities. With no further business to come before the Committee, the Committee adjourned at 5:55 p.m. for further subordinate committee interviews. After committee adjournment at 5:55 pm, Barrett told the Committee that they needed to consider soccer field use on Bass Park properly in that no revenue has been received. The options are to either establish rental fees for use of that field or for the � City to appropriate funds to Bass Park under the general subsidy for non-profit organizations. Crowley suggested charging Parks and Recreation and they in turn get money from the soccer group. Bass Park should not be absorbing the charges. Barrett indicated that he would coordinate with Mike Dyer and Frank Comeau in this regard.