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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark, May 1, 20141 PARK COMMITTEE MINUTES May 1, 2014 The Park Committee of the Grant County Supervisors met on May 1, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 266 on second floor of the Administration Building, Lancaster, WI, pursuant to the last meeting of March 18, 2014. Robert Keeney, County Board Chair called the meeting to order. Verification was made by the County Clerk, Linda Gebhard that the meeting was in compliance with the open meeting law, published in the Herald Independent, posted in two places and on the county website. Members present: Donald Splinter, Dale Hood, Robert Scallon, Vern Lewison, and Daniel C. Timmerman. Also present were Robert Keeney, County Board Chair and Randy Hamann and Richard Wilkinson, River Access Employees. Agenda: Donald Splinter, seconded by Vern Lewison, made a motion to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Minutes: Donald Splinter, seconded by Dale Hood, made a motion to approve the minutes of September 9, 2013 and March 18, 2014 meetings. Motion carried. Election of Officers: Robert Keeney opened the nominations for Chair of the Committee. Vern Lewison nominated Robert Scallon. Dale Hood made a motion, seconded by Donald Splinter, to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Robert Scallon to be elected as Chair of the Parks Committee. Motion carried. Robert Scallon, Chair asked for nominations for the Vice Chair of the Parks Committee. Vern Lewison nominated Donald Splinter. Dan Timmerman, seconded by Vern Lewison made a motion to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Donald Splinter to be elected as Vice Chair of the Parks Committee. Motion carried. Robert Scallon asked for nominations for Secretary of the Parks Committee. Vern Lewison nominated Daniel Timmerman. Dale Hood, made a motion, seconded by Donald Splinter, to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Daniel Timmerman to be elected as Secretary of the Parks Committee. Motion carried. Parking Pass 2013 Sales: Linda Gebhard, County Clerk reported that in 2013 a total of $3,576.85 was collected for the sales of the parking passes for the boat landings of Glen Haven, Wyalusing and O’Leary. Parking Pass reduced rate for senior citizens: A motion was made by Vern Lewison, seconded by Dan Timmerman that there would be no senior citizen discounts for the purchase of the Parking Passes for the boat landings for Glen Haven, Wyalusing and O’Leary. Motion carried. 2 Follow up on Boscobel Boat Landing issues with DNR-Todd Johnson, Extension Office: Todd Johnson was unable to attend the committee meeting but sent the following letter of explanation for the committee to review. “At last year’s boat landing tour, we discussed several issues regarding the Boscobel Site: a). Constructing a separate beach/landing area for canoes b). Increasing parking by backfilling the slough c). Removing garbage receptacles and instead, having a sign that reads, Please Pack Out What You Pack In. d). Reviewing the existing signage for parking and making changes Following the site visit, I contacted WDNR and spoke with both Matthew Sequin and Brian Hefty about our concerns/ideas. They agreed that a site visit would be the logical first step; however we were unable to find a time/date that aligned with the Parks Commission last fall. Todd Johnson’s Current Status: I am currently working with both Matthew and Brian from the WDNR to set up a face-to-face meeting at the landing with members from the Parks Commission. I would like to hear what they have to say before we spend time/money making improvements or writing grants. Please let me know what time and dates work best. In addition, I will serve on WDNR’s planning team for the Wisconsin River corridor plan in hopes of representing Grant County’s interests.” Other Boscobel Boat Landing updates and citizen concerns regarding signage: Robin Baumiester, Secretary of the canoe business, stated that she felt the current signage at the Boscobel Boat Landing are not clear. She stated that there were to be specific signs installed that stated canoe loading and parking designation, but to date; no further signs have been installed. After discussion, Robert Scallon stated that this issue may have to go on hold and further discussion would be more appropriate when the Parks Committee held their tour of all the boat landings so they could assess this issue visually. John Ducharme, previous City Clerk of Boscobel addressed the committee with some concerns he had. He stated that he know the boat landing was located in the Boscobel City limits but to his knowledge the County was to maintain the property. The city had talked of purchasing addition property to the west of the boat landing but this had never been done. The purpose of purchasing additional land would be to allow the canoe traffic to utilize the west side landing and the fishing boats could use the VonHaden Boat Landing. John asked what the annual cost was to Grant County to maintain the landing, Linda Gebhard; County Clerk stated that the county receives $10,000.00 in grant money to maintain all ten landings and an additional $1,000.00 for the Bridgeport landing. Different issues were addressed that had happened at the Boscobel Boat Landing through the years. John DuCharme suggested that the city and county should come together to form a long term plan on the expectations of this landing that could work for everyone. Steve Wetter, Mayor of Boscobel was also present. Both Steve and John DuCharme stated that the potential for attracting more tourism was very promising in that area. They stated that a master plan for tourism needs to be addressed. Steve Wetter stated that he has been working with the DNR and DOT in regard to some of these tourism ideas and they are on board with these ideas such as establishing a bike trail, a walk way, and more camping area potential. 3 During discussion it was suggested by the committee that the concerned Boscobel citizens meet with the Economic Tourism and Resource Committee to expand on the tourism potential of the Boscobel Area. Also the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board could possibly be of some help. Other potential contacts were given, Patricia Goplin of the Blue River area and Mark Sethney, UW Platteville Tourism Counsel. Proposal for new steel roofs on bathrooms at Woodman and Glen Haven: Vern Lewison, seconded by Daniel Timmerman, made a motion to accept the bid from Roger Herbers to replace steel roofs on the bathrooms at the Woodman and Glen Haven Boat Landing for a cost of $1,722.78. Motion carried. Wyalusing Boat Landing Grant Money: Todd Johnson included the following explanation regarding the grant money for the Wyalusing Boat landing in the letter he sent to the committee in his absence: “The grant monies that we have received for improvements to the Wyalusing Boat Landing will be unavailable after June 30th, 2014. All work to be reimbursed by WDNR needs to be done prior. The monies can only be applied to the Wyalusing site. Todd Johnson’s current status: a). Original grant award from WDNR was $66,547 (which is 47% of the total project cost of $143,094). b). The total of all grant payments from WDNR to date is $52,215.63 with a remaining grant balance of $14,331.37. c). Itemized project costs with supporting documentation received to date total $111,978.80. d). To receive the grant balance of $14,331.37, WDNR will need a final payment request and documentation totaling at least $31,115 ($143,094 - $111,978.80) by June 30th, 2014. e). There are no options for extending the deadline.” Other Wyalusing Boat Landing update and concerns: Todd Johnson goes on to say: “At our last Parks Commission meeting we discussed the possibility of extending the wing dam upstream to redirect the water current to address sand/silt deposits on the new landing. Austin Engineering would be working with the Army Corps of Engineers on a hydrologic survey and determine next steps. Todd Johnson’s current status: I’ve contacted Austin Engineering and I am currently waiting for a status report.” Larry Austin was present at the committee meeting and stated that he had heard back from the Corps of Engineers and they quoted a price of $25,000.00 to pay for the cost of a study. The committee determined that this cost was not feasible and they decided not to go any further with this solution. **The committee made the decision to direct Todd Johnson to close out the grant with WDNR for the remaining monies in the grant for the Wyalusing Boat landing; no further construction costs will be incurred. Randy Hamann informed the committee that for this season, Allan Orr will continue to install the dock for the county at the Wyalusing Boat Landing. This may be the last season that he will be offering this service; he is in the process of selling his business. Glen Haven Boat Landing concerned citizen letter of complaint: A letter from the Township of Glen Haven was sent to the county stating concerns regarding the Glen Haven Boat landing not being safe for 4 use. They sited parking lot and boat launch are in need of repair, there is a deep drop off that trucks have been getting hung up on and people stepping into. They stated that they would not mind paying the parking launch fees if there would be more maintenance done on the landing. After discussion the committee asked that Dave Lambert, Highway Commissioner and Travis Kramer, Engineer go to landing to survey what the Highway Department can do to remedy some of the problems with the staging area. Possibly a cement platform could be constructed to take care of the drop off and they could fill in some of the parking lot holes with patch. Other Glen Haven Boat Landing updates and concerns: The committee discussed the parking passes, this has not been a big hit in that area, and there is a lot of citizen resistance in purchasing these. O’Leary Boat landing purchase of anchors and chains for buoys: During the winter season, the buoys had broke away from their anchors, the committee directed Randy Hamann to purchase new anchors and new chains to replace the lost ones. Tanner and Michael Jansen will install the buoys when the water goes down. Other O’Leary Boat Landing update and concerns: A motion was made by Donald Splinter, seconded by Daniel Timmerman to continue to pay Tanner Jansen $100.00 per season to continue to install and remove the buoys from the O’Leary Boat Landing at the beginning and end of the boating season. Motion carried. Randy Hamann informed the committee that there had been some damage done to some of the posts at this boat landing Updates on remaining boat landings, Blue River, Woodman, Millville, Potosi, McCartney, Banfield, Bridge Port Boat: Randy Hamann and Richard Wilkinson stated that there had been very little damage throughout the winter months. There was so much snow this winter all the landings were isolated from the public use. Date of Tour: The date of Thursday, May 29th, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. was set to meet at the Administration Building for the Boat Landing Tour. A rain date was set for Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. if the first date would happen to fall through due to high water. The County Clerk will call ADRC to set up use of a van to transport the committee on those days. Public Comments: Robin Baumiester, canoe business owner again asked the committee if there were going to be new signage placed at the Boscobel Boat Landing. The committee reiterated that during the boat landing tour they would assess what signage is needed. They did agree to raise the trailer parking sign higher so it was more visible. Robin asked is the rumor she had heard that if vehicles were parked in the wrong designated areas would they be towed. Robert Scallon stated that that is a definite possibility. Robert Scallon stated that he had discussed stronger rules to be set for the boat landing with Todd Infield before he passed away. They had sited the rules from the Village of Cassville, but felt that they were too stringent and would not work well for the Boscobel Landing. Adjournment: Vern Lewison, seconded by Daniel Timmerman, made a motion to adjourn the meeting pursuant to the next meeting on May 29, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. or rain date June 5, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. for the Boat Landing Tour. Motion carried.