Russian Jack Springs Park VIP Committee Holds Its First Meeting - draft summary

Committee Members

 

The first meeting of the north Russian Jack Springs Park VIP committee was held January 19, 2011 at Williwaw Elementary School from 6 – 8 PM. The meeting opened with introductions of the five community council representatives, stakeholder group representatives and others present. 

A brief exercise was conducted that posed the question “what makes a good park?”.  Attendees were asked to write down five items.  Participants provided the following responses that were shared with the group:

• Maximize use of the park year around
• A commitment to long-term maintenance
• A connection to nature
• Trees/nature/wildlife/urban forest
• Open Space
• Usage appeal to community/community appeal
• Safety (not scared to walks through park, not scared of urban forest, structures, facilities, need lighting)
• Calm/relaxing/sense of solitude
• Clean and safe environment
• Accessibility (parking, access to community/users, neighborhood connection from home to trails to park)
• Loud music/concrete areas
•  Involve people/ to develop ownership for improvements
• Park use survey could reveal what elements are used, how much they are used, for how long and during what season
• Park Plan
• Signage
• Trails and trail connectivity
• Cost Effectiveness (ties to park plan)
• Frequent use
• Reuse/creative plan/stimulating elements/non-traditional elements

Answers to "what makes a good park?"

 Park Planner, Suzanne Little reviewed the scope and responsibilities of the Committee and the group selected a Chair, Carla Hadley and Co-Chair, Tim Benitendi. The Committee approved the draft agenda for the meeting with the motion to approve made by Kep Pierce, seconded by Tim Benetendi and approved unanimously by the Committee.

A brief summary was provided of the 1979 Master Plan, the 1997/98 Master Plan Revisions, and the outreach efforts from last summer and fall. The information that was provided is available in various documents that are posted within the Related Files section. The slideshow is available at this link:VIP Meeting 1 Presentation

The committee was presented with a list of improvements that had been identified by public input to date. This list is available in the Related Files section (link: Now/Later Exercise). The list examined the items and addressed their compatibility with existing Master Plan materials.  The Committee was  asked to rank the items as ’Do Now’  or ‘Do Later’ bringing the paperwork to the next meeting for compilation.

The intent is that this exercise will provide a first level of analysis for potential improvements, with additional ranking and analysis to happen at the second meeting.

The Committee concurred that it would be useful to hear brief reports from stakeholder groups and the Committee was asked to consider what information stakeholder groups needed to provide.  The Committee suggested having the stakeholder groups answer the following questions:

• how the group currently use the park (if they do),
• how they would like to use the park in the future and
• how the group does already or proposes to partner with the MOA to provide services or bring the facility to wider use
• how the group can or does cooperatively utilize park facilities with other users

The list of potential stakeholders that will be contacted for the next meeting may include the following (assuming groups exist for some):

• Tennis
• Soccer
• Softball
• Skiing
• Biking
• Disc Golfing
• Running
• East High School
• Volleyball
• Orienteering
• Horshoes
• Girl Scouts

Stakeholder Group Brainstorming

An initial plan for three 2-hour meetings was developed with the goal of completing a supported prioritized plan of action by the end of the 3rd meeting.  The Committee may choose to hold additional meetings to achieve the goal of completing a supported prioritized plan of action.

The Agenda for the second meeting will be set in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 2nd at 6 PM at Williwaw Elementary School.

The third meeting is scheduled for February 16th at 6 PM at Williwaw Elementary School.