South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District
January 16, 2013 –Regular Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting Minutes
I. Call to Order
Commissioners Present: Joel Gerlach, Mark Helpenstell, Jim Porter (at 7:20 p.m.), Matt Simms and Don Wood
Staff Present: Tom Fallon, Carrie Monforteand Peggy Nelson
Don called the meeting to order at 7:00p.m. The attendance sheet is attached for permanent records only.
II.Election of Officers for 2013 Board of Park Commissioners
Matt made a motion to maintain the current slate of Park Commissioner officer positions and Joel seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
III.Public Comment
Suzanne Turner introduced herself as part of the staff of Island CountyPublic Health and said they will be moving into the building at the end of January. Suzanne said she was still waiting for final approvalfrom Island County on the office building sub-lease.
Meg Wingard and Bob Miller introduced themselves as part of the Holmes Harbor Sewer District(HHSD). Stan Walker, an HHSD Board member, proposed that the District take over running Holmes HarborGolf Course. Stan said the HHSD has to maintain the golf course according to their sewer permit and the current golf course owners have offered to sell the course to the HHSD. Stan said the HHSD has signed a letter of intent with the owners of the golf course but the HHSD cannot run a golf course but the Park District could. Stan said the HHSD would purchase the fairways only and they are looking for someone to operate the course because the greens are workable. Stan said the Park District could lease both the clubhouse and the facility for three years. Stan asked if thePark District was interested in running the course and if so, he wants to form a committee between the two districts and lease the course to the Park District for $1 per year. Stan said they currently employ staff that is capable of maintaining the course and the course probably will not make money but will produce $200,000 in revenue per year which would cover expenses. Stan said they will need to negotiate how to deal with a surplus or deficit of funds at the end of the year.
Don said he thought it was something worth investigating with the Park District staff and the HHSD. Matt said that golf courses were an option per thePark District’s Comprehensive Plan, so running the golf course should be investigated. Matt said the biggest issue would be figuring out what the needs of both the HHSD and the Park District’sare to run the facility. Tom said the course would be separate from the Park District maintenance-wise. Matt asked if there were maintenance records and Stan said yes but they are suspect. Stan said the course has to run on the revenue it generates. Stan said it would not be the best course but it is playable. Stan said the equipment is worn out and would be operated under the Park District’s authority.
Mark said he wanted to see a write up about the golf course and have a discussion with the HHSD. Stan said he was concerned about the irrigation system. Joel asked how many staff it would take to operate the course. Stan said it would takethree-four maintenance staff and one-two staff to run the clubhouse. Stan said the HHSD stores water during the year and theowner of the golf course owns the water stored by the HHSD which is used to irrigate the course. Don asked for a proposal from Stan on the Park District running the golf course. Meg asked the commissioners how long it would take them to make a decision on the course and Matt said the decision making is going to take awhile because they might have to go to the voters for a levy to run the course.
Stan said thecourse needs reconditioning and the Park District could purchase the property in the future, including the clubhouse. Meg asked if the course was leased to the Park District, could the HHSD expect the lease to be a long term proposition. Don said they would have to review if the course was feasible after one year and reevaluate running the course but if it was making money, the Park District could continue running the course for a longer term. Jim said that if the Park District needed to make a large capital purchase, they might have to go out for a special levy. Stan said the levy probably would not pass and they willjust have to work hard to make it work. Stan said they will continue to mow the golf course as necessary.
Jeff Jacobsen from the South Whidbey Parks and Aquatics Foundation introduced the new president, Krista Loecher, and vice president,Lisa Herzinger. Krista said she will be expanding the Foundation’s website and the Foundation Board.
Matt distributed a handout regarding the South Whidbey Aquatic Wellness Center which was developed by the Foundation. The handout included a business plan with operating costs, etc. for a wellness center which would include a pool. Matt said the Foundation could run a capital campaign to raise money to offset the capital or maintenance costs of the center. Matt said the handout wasdeveloped to help raise money for the center. Matt said heasked theFoundation to confirm the numbersin the handout andasked the commissioners to review the handout also.
Krista said the wellness center would not be built unless it was well planned. Krista said they were working on developing a survey and planning for a capital campaign. Jeff said he wants the center to be focused on aquatics but Don said they need to focus on more than aquatics. Jeff said they need to think modular but Don said he wants to incorporate space for District staff in the center. Don asked where the center would be located because the previous community center location would cost a lot more than $250,000 for infrastructure. Matt said the Foundation would have to check into the location and construction costs for the center. Matt said the centers that are staying open are the ones with a combination of activities. Matt said the last bond measure for a pool received strong support even though it did not passand the Foundation has not given up on running swim programs at Island Athletic Club and Useless Bay Country Club.
III.Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Regular Meeting on December 18, 2012, were unanimously approved in a motion made byJoeland seconded by Mark.
IV. Treasurer’s Report/Voucher List Approval
Summary Treasurers Report
Matt reviewed the Treasurer’s Report. Matt said that the year ended in the black even though revenue was less than budgeted because expenses were lower.
The ending fund balances, per Island County, were as follows:
- The Maintenance and Operations Fund was $190,132.28.
- The Capital Fund was $500.61.
- The Project Fund was $125.50.
- The Reserve Fund was $211,798.44.
- The Bond Fund was$6,922.31.
Voucher Approval
In a motion made byMatt and seconded by Jim, the Board unanimously approved the Maintenance and Operations Fund Vouchers #5235through#5287 in the amount of $43,292.60 and electronic tax payments in the amount of $4,146.76.
V. District Reports
A. Director’s Report
A Director’s Report was not given.
B. Program Report(to be attached for permanent records)
Carrie discussed her Program Report which was distributed to the commissioners. Carrie said that the South Whidbey Yacht Club wants to install a temporary dock at Lone Lake and the commissioners hadquestions about storing the dock. Carrie said the Yacht Club would provide more information at a later date.
C. Maintenance Report
Tom said they were able to mow everything since the weather had dried up. Tom said he and Don spoke with Debra Waterman, who owns property adjacent to the Sports Complex, and she will be removing some of the bigger trees that border the Sports Complex.
Tom stating that the truck was having mechanical issues and he would like to purchase a truck soon but the State Treasurer’s Office does not have financing available until August. Peggy stated that the District had $30,000 more in cash than budgeted because not the entire Capital budget was spent last year so they were considering paying cash for the truck instead of financing it. Don suggested that Tom get pricing on some trucks and look into other means of financing the truck. Jim said they may want to leverage out the purchase of the truck and maybe use the extra cash to do some other things that help the public.
VI. Unfinished Business
- Sub-Lease Office Building
Matt said he had reviewed the Island County sub-lease but was waiting to hear back from Keith Higman from Island County Public Health.
B.Director Position Hiring Process
Don said the commissioners need to decide on a date to conduct the interviews and they would discuss this further in Executive Session.
C. Comprehensive Plan Programs
This item was discussed during public comment.
VII. Executive Session – Personnel
The Regular Meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m. and moved to Executive Session to discuss personnel issues at 8:50 p.m. The Executive Session intended to return to the Regular Meeting at 9:50 p.m.
The Executive Session returned to the Regular Meeting at 9:50 p.m. but returned back to Executive Session immediately, intending to return to the Regular Meeting at 10:15 p.m.
The Executive Session returned to the Regular Meeting at 10:14 p.m.
VIII. Adjournment
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 p.m.
January 16, 2013, Meeting MinutesPage 1 of 4