CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF GARFIELD
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING
March 10, 2011 4:00PM
Garfield Township Hall
3848 Veterans Drive
Traverse City, MI 49684
Ph: (231) 941-1620
A G E N D A
Call Meeting to Order
1. Review and Approval of the Agenda - Conflict of Interest
2. Minutes
a. February 16, 2011
3. Correspondence
a. None
4. Business to Come Before the Commission
a. PD-2011- 31 Parks and Recreation Plan - Silver Lake Recreation Area Plan
b. PD-2011- 32 Silver Lake Park - Park Day and Fire Department Open House
5. Review Status of Ongoing Projects
6. Public Comment
7. Items for Next Agenda - April 14, 2011
a. Trail Maintenance
b. Parks and Recreation Plan
c. Review Barns Area grant application
d. Buffalo Ridge Trail
e. Review status of current projects
f. To be determined
8. Adjourn
Garfield Township will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting to individuals with disabilities upon the provision of reasonable advance notice to Garfield Township. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact Garfield Township by writing or calling Kay Schumacher, Clerk, Ph: (231) 941-1620, or TDD #922-4412
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF GARFIELD
Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting
March 10, 2011
Call Meeting to Order: Vice Chairman Bill Scott called the meeting to order at approximately 4:05pm.
Roll Call of Commission Members:
Present: Bill Scott, Linda McGuire, Brian Belcher, Tiffany Wever
Chairman Clark arrived at approximately 4:10 pm.
Absent and Excused: None
Staff Present: Brian VanDenBrand
1. Review and Approval of the Agenda - Conflict of Interest
No conflict of interest was noted. McGuire moved and Belcher seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously.
2. Minutes - February 16, 2011
Acting Chairman Scott asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. Hearing none, he asked for a motion to approve the minutes. McGuire moved THAT the minutes of February 26, 2011 be approved. Wever seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
Chairman Clark then resumed oversight of the meeting.
3. Business to Come Before the Commission
a. PD-2011-31 Silver Lake Recreation Area Plan
The Commission discussed potential future uses at the Silver Lake Recreation Area, including opportunities to expand into presently underutilized areas of the park and other ways to improve user experiences at the park. Some ideas included:
• Expanded t-ball opportunities. Belcher asked if the Traverse City area has a need for additional ball fields, and Clark said it does but funding is the difficulty. Clark suggested an opportunity to expand the existing field to a back-to-back type of arrangement.
• Parking. Potential opportunities to expand parking areas were considered, including to the north of the current north parking lot and also near the current tennis courts.
• Pickleball, bocceball, a dog park, an additional picnic shelter, and an additional restroom were identified as improvements that may be appropriate in the south part of the park near the current tennis courts.
• Expanded trail opportunities were discussed, including improved route finding and distance sign markers. Additionally, Commissioners expressed support for exercise stations (i.e. pull up bars, roll benches, etc) and play areas at different locations along the trails. Additional trees along the asphalt walking path would provide shade for path users, and could be planted on a regular basis, perhaps via the Conservation District's annual native plant sale.
• The potential to develop a small beach area on the park's Silver Lake frontage, volleyball, a skateboard park, disc golf, and a natural amphitheater were also discussed.
b. PD-2011-31 Silver Lake Park Day and Fire Department open house
VanDenBrand said that some Township Trustees and Fire Chief Pat Parker had expressed interest in holding a park fun day and fire department open house sometime over the summer. Commissioners were supportive of the idea, and suggested using the day as an opportunity to conduct surveys of park users for public input for the Parks and Recreation Plan.
4. Review Status of Ongoing Projects
The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the status of ongoing projects.
The Ramoie property acquisition has been completed. A second Safe Routes 2 School public meeting had been held, and the project would be forwarded to the Road Commission for review and approval shortly. An extension of the BVNP Trust Fund grant has been received to allow additional time to work out the final project details with the property owners. Chairman Clark presented his ideas for the future Buffalo Ridge Trail, which have been discussed with and strongly supported by TART.
Commissioner McGuire stated the need for a sidewalk or bike path along La Franier Road, just south of South Airport Road.
Commissioner Belcher stated that it would be helpful to have large maps of each park and the overall park and trail system available in the meeting room.
Commissioners suggested reviewing the City of Traverse City's draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan element at the next meeting.
5. Public Comment
None.
6. Items for Next Agenda - April 14, 2011
a. Review Status of Current Projects
b. Parks and Recreation Plan
c. Traverse City Master Plan - Recreation Element
7. Adjourn
McGuire moved to adjourn at approximately 5:40 PM.
_________________________
Linda McGuire, Secretary
Garfield Township Parks and Recreation Commission
3848 Veterans Drive
Traverse City, MI 49684
