Parks & Recreation Commission on November 2, 2023

Agenda

7:00pm, City Council Chambers, 1 Quail Creek Circle, North Liberty, Iowa

 This meeting may be accessed live by the public in person or on the internet at northlibertyiowa.org/live, on Facebook at facebook.com/northliberty or on YouTube at youtube.com/c/northliberty. Meetings are rebroadcast on cable and available on-demand on northlibertyiowa.org.

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes
   1. No minutes for Oct 5^th meeting due to no quorum.
3. Fox Run Playground Presentation/Renderings
4. Reports
   1. Parks Report
   2. Recreation/Pool Report
   3. Questions, Concerns, Updates
5. Community Input / Ideas to Share
6. Upcoming Events
   1. WS Activity Guide; Registration begins Dec 4^th.
7. New Business
8. Old Business
9. Next Meeting
   1. Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 7:00pm.
10. Adjourn

Minutes

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes
a. Richard stated we needed to amend the agenda to approve Sept 7 minutes and there was no meeting held in
October. Motion: Jeremy Parrish, Second: Gwen Johnson, Unanimous approval
3. Fox Run Playground
a. Guy Goldsmith presented options/renderings for playground equipment to go along with Fox Run Pond/Trail
Project. Concrete work to be planned June /July 2024 and Lil’ Tykes Commercial was asked to provide options
since they are a long-time provider, longevity of equipment, and common equipment uses/repairs within all NL
park playgrounds. Three options presented are for size determined by area and rubber surfacing up to $150K
budget. If the Board could pinpoint an agreeable option to get in on discounts before yearend and pricing seems
to be comparable to when planning Centennial Park. Discussion followed which addressed accessibility for all,
ground level features, number of platform levels, slides, mix age-appropriate features, blind spots and safety,
and that enclosed tunnel slides being hot. It was asked if the neighborhood group had any input and Guy
mentioned they wanted slides and swing set may be put it at later date. Changes discussed included color of
double slide from dark blue to gray and disability access features to include kitchen/lemonade stand. Gwen &
Shannon both expressed interest in the 3rd option based on age-mix, disability access, and more of a
neighborhood park feature versus destination park feature due to limited parking access to area. Discussion
continued with no shade components at this time due to costs, rubber surface versus wood chips and
installation was to be done by company versus park staff based on time and liability issues. The board made
decision to go with Option #3 with hopes to change double slide color and change out a ground level feature.
Guy will share a second rendering with changes mentioned above on Option #3.
4. Reports
a. Parks Report
– Park activities such as soccer, baseball, gardens, etc… coming to an end. Limited due to parking lot
project.
– Fall tasks such as mowing, leaf mulching, dog park seeding, landscaping tasks, pruning/removal of dead
or Ash trees, and winterization of splash pad and irrigation systems, and pond features completed.
– Sidewalk grinding, repairs, leveling work has been consuming a lot of time.
– Park staff obtained Certified State Pesticide certification.
– DNR releases fish at Liberty Centre Pond with many fishermen present.
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– Cornerstone Park pervious pavement has totally disintegrated and for safety reasons has been replaced
with concrete. Park staff continues with timber clean up.
– Penn Meadows Parking Lot will be awesome when completed. Currently at about 70% complete with
some items such as grading, seeding, landscaping and painting lines finished in Spring.
– Sidewalk/trail connection along North side of Penn Meadows Park to be completed with North Dubuque
Street sidewalk/trail project south & west side of road towards Liberty HS. A safe crossing to Dog Park
will need to be designed.
– Meetings with Shive Hattery for Admin Building, Penn Meadows parking lot, Next Stage are ongoing.
– Mid-American Trees Please grant helped replace trees at Rec Center site. Island trees replaced and life
expectancy is short due to lack of water/moisture.
– Old Casey’s Site is now city owned. Asbestos results clear, demo can begin. Lynch Excavating to tear
down building. A sewer main exists under foundation so that will be removed, re-worked and site to be
cleared, cleaned up for resale, but under City direction of use. Question raised on car wash site demo;
this is a separate property to be considered.
– Inquiry on burnt house on Rachel and any update as it is an eye sore. Guy does not know of status.
– Continuing to go through a lot of pet waste bags at rate of over 10,000 bags per month. Reminder
residents to only use bags they use in our parks and trails and not stuff handfuls in pockets while
utilizing parks/trails.
b. Recreation/Pool Report
– Shelly reported that October is a busy month for Halloween special events. Moonlight Walk was
postponed a week due to the weather and good weather always brings a large turnout. Great job by
Matt Meseck and his staff. Ashley and her staff offered the Floating Pumpkin Patch and that went well
too. Matt Fielder offered Pumpkin Creations as well.
– Indoor Pool reopened on Oct 11 after repainting project. Pool patrons are excited to be back.
– Rec Team has been planning WS program ideas offered January through April with registration to begin
Dec 4th.
– Shelly touched on upcoming events; Turkey Shoot event was canceled, and Turkey Scavenger Hunt led
to inquiry on explanation that one is a basketball contest while other is a scavenger hunt, no use of guns
or hunting skills. Upcoming events include Elf on the Shelf, Holiday Vendor Fair and Breakfast with
Santa.
– Swimming lessons started with 248 participants and Brian provided updates on leagues. Our tri-city
Supreme basketball for Grades 5-6 will go to Jr. NBA, like Flag Football going to NFL Flag concept.
Jonathan Moore started offering pickleball lessons.
– Recsters BASP going strong. Discussion revolved around a program needing to serve both CCA and ICCSD
students. Shelly stated that we follow ICCSD schedule for staff purposes but will check with Matt F to
see if demand exists to accommodate CCA more. Richard provided past info that ICCSD serves about
6,000 NL students and CCA serves around 3,600 NL students.
c. Questions, Concerns, Updates – none noted.
5. Community Input / Ideas to Share – none
6. Upcoming Events – Shelly previously mentioned upcoming events in her report.
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7. New Business
– Jamie has submitted her resignation, thanks for her service.
– Process will begin to accept applications and fill vacancies.
– Secretary role was discussed and tabled for next meeting.
8. Old Business – none noted.
9. Next Meeting – Thursday, December 7, 2023, at 7:00pm.
9. Adjourn – Motion by Gwen Johnson, Second by Shannon Greene, Unanimous approval

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