PRESENT:

Lyra Done, Chair Bob DeLaney, Vice-Chair Ali Boelts, Member Karen Chatterton, Member Susannah Myerson, Member John Scheuring, Member

EXCUSED:

Greg Roberts, Member

Susannah Myerson was present at 6:41 p.m.

ALSO PRESENT:                      Ainsley Legner, Parks and Recreation Director
                                            Matt Michels, Senior Planner

MOTION: A motion was made by Vice-Chair DeLaney and seconded by Member Chatterton to approve the February 16, 2010 study session and regular session minutes as presented.

MOTION carried, 6-0.

~ Town Council budget study session on March 31, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.
~ Deadline for submittal of packet materials for April 20, 2010 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting is April 7, 2010.
~ Next Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Meeting is scheduled for April 20, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hopi conference room. 

No report.

Oro Valley Senior Planner Matt Michels presented the following:
~ The background on Section 26.5 of the Zoning Code.
~ There are several areas concentrating on enhancing and refining requirements with focus on the following:
  1. In lieu fee: to give money instead of land to be used by the Town for park land. They would like to determine if this is fulfilling the need to the end user.
  2. The parameters of recreational areas means where we want the areas.
  3. The specific active and passive recreational amenities for the demographic.
  4. More specific requirements for amenities.
  5. Crime prevention through environmental design.
  6. Amount of recreation area requested. This item is limited by 2008 propositions.

Mr. Michels asked for the board’s opinion in order to better serve the community.

Further discussion followed regarding:
~ The project team members.
~ This zoning code lacks definition but there are standards for amenities.
~ This revision could assist with control of amenities. 
~ The timeline was reviewed.
~ The Town of Marana has superb codes and Tom Ellis may be a good resource. ~ An addendum to this would be best practices to use as example.

CALL TO AUDIENCE: Bill Adler, resident, explained that it was reasonable at the time the code was created to allocate one acre of land per every 85 units but this is now out of date because most developments are smaller and space ends up being too small and usable. Developers instead donate money but the code is about parks space and it is not about money. He recommended the following:
~ The in lieu fee should be omitted.
~ Developers should have to pinpoint primary users and allocate the appropriate amount of space for that demographic.
~ The Town should require developers to put money into escrow so for home owner associations to access once the development is established.
~ This should be in place before Arroyo Grande is annexed.
~ This group should participate in the process.

The board discussed the following:
~ It would be a mistake to get rid of in lieu fees because a park may not make sense in some areas.
~ It would be beneficial to build a park in Arroyo Grande. It would be better if the park was under the Town’s control. 
~ Chair Done requested that this item be a "radar" issue for the future.

The consensus of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is that this money should be used for Naranja Town Site. Council Member Spoerl and Council Member Latas have voted to bring back this issue to the Town Council to determine potential ways to spend the money for enhancement of Naranja Town Site to make it more usable. 

Parks and Recreation Director Ainsley Legner stated that there are no new reports on this issue. We have gone through the priority list. The Town Manager’s recommended budget will be complete in April.

The board discussed the following:
~ Usage on all the properties. Staff will provide this information to the board. 
~ Park walking usage metrics. Ms. Legner offered to provide that information based on staff estimates. However, the numbers will not be acquired through actual park counts.

Member Scheuring stated that the signs arrived on February 26, 2010 and Parks staff will install them in the next weeks.

Further discussion followed regarding:
~ Photos and information about the signs should be in the Vista and provided for the Northwest Explorer.
~ Thank you letters will be sent out to the artists who contributed.
~ Nature and bird walks attendance.
~ A "Friends of the Oro Valley Parks and Recreation" group could be established to add information to Facebook, among other tasks.
~ Advertising in the water bills may help get the information out to the public. The process for this will be provided at the next meeting.
~ A bulletin board at Town Hall could provide advertising space.

Ms. Legner informed the board that there will be a Parks and Recreation Fair at James D. Kriegh Park on Saturday, April 24, 2010. It will be a simple event to highlight different activities and programs within the department. The board members are welcome to attend and may have a tent if interested. Member Chatterton expressed interest in attending and sharing information about dog parks and dog issues.

Chair Done explained that BASIS charter school is coming to Oro Valley. It will be located on a parcel near Steam Pump Village. There is open space (75,000 sq. ft.) behind that area and the Town may allot $157,000 worth of permits in exchange for the open space donated to the Town.  The appraisal would be decided between both the owner and the Town and if it does not reach the $157,000, the balance would come out of the sales tax that has been obligated to Steam Pump Village. This item has not been finalized and should stay in the board’s radar. Maps were distributed and reviewed which illustrate Town owned areas. 

Staff will distribute photographs of the area to the board.

a.	CHAIR DONE - FINANCE AND BOND COMMITTEE

~ The Finance and Bond Committee has not met recently.
~ Chair Done attended the Budget Retreat.
~ Chair Done is interested in returning to the Budget and Bond Committee once her term on this board is complete.

b.	VICE-CHAIR DELANEY - TOWN COUNCIL

There will be a new mayor and two new council members selected in June. Mary Snider will take her position on the Town Council on March 26, 2010.

c.	SUSANNAH MYERSON - PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

The meeting was cancelled.

d.	GREG ROBERTS - HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION

No report.

e.	KAREN CHATTERTON - DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD

Construction will begin soon on the BASIS charter school. This will increase traffic but it will also slow traffic which may increase the visibility of Steam Pump Ranch. BASIS plans to have the facility built by August 1, 2010. They will have two chemistry sites and a cafeteria, so there are waste disposal implications to be aware of. The pick-up and drop-off of students could impact traffic. 

No report.

~ The Budget meeting will be on March 31, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Because the Town Manager’s recommended budget will not have gone to Town Council yet, we will review the budget workshop follow-up items.
~ Due to budget constraints, the egg hunt is cancelled this year.
~ Due to the spring pool closure, there will not be an egg dive event this year.

No report.

~ Off leash dog issue
~ Seat on the board for youth going into management or leadership

The board agreed to hold the Adopt A Trail Clean up on Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. Member Chatterton volunteered to pick up the necessary items on Friday, March 19, 2010.

The next Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hopi conference room.

MOTION: A motion was made by Vice-Chair DeLaney and seconded by Member Boelts to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 p.m.

MOTION carried, 7-0.

Prepared by:



Danielle Tanner
Senior Office Specialist