[2:47] Hey Mark.
>> Good evening.
[3:33] » Good evening. Welcome to the Parks and
Rec Committee meeting. Today is August
[3:36] 5th. It is 5:30
p.m. If I could get a roll call, please,
[3:41] Mindy.
>> Mrs. Cooper.
[3:43] » Here.
>> Mrs. Crawford.
[3:45] » Here.
>> Mr. Long.
[3:46] » Here.
>> Three present, we have quorum.
[3:49] » Good evening. Welcome to the Parks and
Rec Committee meeting. Today is August
[3:53] 5th. It is 5:30 p.m.
and I will call the names
[3:59] Mrs.
Mrs.
[4:01] Here.
[4:07] » I think so. I should check the audio.
>> Okay. Okay, we'll try.
[4:11] Yeah, it's recording and that's live.
Um, technical difficulties. Moving on.
[4:18] I'm looking for an approval of the
minutes from the July 1st Parks meeting.
[4:22] » I'll make a motion.
>> I will second that motion.
[4:25] If you get a roll call, please.
Mrs. Crawford.
[4:28] » Yes.
>> Mrs. Cooper.
[4:30] » Yes.
>> Mr. Long.
[4:33] Three A's, motion approved. Thank you.
Are there any visitors that would like
[4:38] to speak to the Parks and Rec Committee
this evening?
[4:40] » Well, we're going to have Aaron come up
and do a presentation. We don't have any
[4:43] visitors, but we do have an announcement
of a new employee. So, let's do that.
[4:48] » Yes. So, in the audience, uh, we have
Adam Teach. He is the engineering
[4:54] technician. Uh, his first day was on
Monday. He comes to us from GSI, uh,
[5:00] which is a a company that does, um,
material testing, uh, but has a lot of
[5:06] construction in his background. He's
already been out to J.R. Smith Park. Um,
[5:11] so he's aware of what's going on over at
that, uh, $3.5 million project, um, as
[5:17] well as a lot of the other construction
that's going on. So, please, if you see
[5:21] him out and about or if you have
questions, his, uh,
[5:26] email is No, I'm just kidding.
Please feel free to reach out to him via
[5:30] email. I'm happy to give his contact
information. What's his title?
[5:34] » Uh, engineering technician.
>> Welcome to the family.
[5:39] » Great.
>> And then, did you want to move to Mr.
[5:42] Nobler after
>> he's
[5:43] » Is he on the He's not on the agenda in a
more specific He's going to do the
[5:48] presentation on the Old Orchard Park.
>> Oh, okay. Then we will just transition
[5:51] right into unfinished business with Old
Orchard Park. And then I would like to
[5:55] invite Mr. Noblet up to the podium.
[5:59] » Hello everybody. Thanks for having me.
Um Aaron Noblet, consulting arborist
[6:04] with the city. Um talking about
potential management strategies for Old
[6:09] Orchard Park. Um
Let's go ahead and go to the next slide.
[6:16] Uh
just a comparison. Rosecrans Park on the
[6:19] left here compared to Old Orchard.
Rosecrans is my a my basically a mature
[6:25] woods
where you have, you know, just a mature
[6:27] stand of oak, hickory, beech, maple.
And there isn't much you have to do to
[6:32] make it beautiful other than keep out
the invasives, which we've been doing
[6:35] over the last handful of years. Where
Old Orchard is what
[6:40] you would consider the early stages of
forest succession where it was a Old
[6:45] Orchard with some apple trees.
Otherwise, I'm assuming it was just kind
[6:48] of cleared land.
And then it was just left unmanaged. So
[6:52] what you get is this kind of explosion
of growth that kind of just is real
[6:56] thick and
some people might say unsightly, but you
[7:00] get a combination of beneficial native
vegetation and exotic invasives that
[7:06] don't belong there. Um so that's kind of
a summary of just And And with time,
[7:12] over decades and decades,
with proper management, it will
[7:16] eventually look more like Rosecrans and,
you know, be more appealing and a
[7:20] healthy forest.
Um if that's the goal of the city. So I
[7:25] guess go to the next slide.
>> Can I ask a question on that slide
[7:28] though? Is the majority of what I'm
looking at at Old Orchard Park
[7:32] trees or
invasive other stuff? In those
[7:36] » It's a combination.
>> Okay.
[7:38] » So you've got native trees and a and
maybe some exotic invasives like calorie
[7:44] pear. Luckily, not a lot of the
flowering pear has moved in there.
[7:48] More of the invasives being in the
understory where you've got I'll get
[7:51] into that a little bit.
>> Okay.
[7:53] » Um want to go to the next slide.
So, what can we do to help speed up the
[7:59] recovery? Um
you know, just the the most basic thing
[8:03] we can do if we're to you know, say we
don't have a lot of resources to put
[8:06] into this park or we just want to do
you know, just the bare minimum it would
[8:10] be
kind of a routine annual or maybe two
[8:13] times a year invasive species removal
project
[8:17] where we're removing the honeysuckle,
privet, multiflora rose, poison hemlock,
[8:21] flowering pear, and Japanese barberry.
And I'm there's probably some in there
[8:25] that I'm missing.
Um so, getting those invasives out of
[8:28] there so that they're the beneficial
native vegetation can thrive. Cuz it
[8:33] kind of chokes it out and if you leave
it too long, it can be just you know,
[8:38] get even worse and be harder harder to
manage.
[8:41] And then if there's openings to plant
Ohio natives, you know, help that
[8:45] process along where we can plant
trees and shrubs and you know,
[8:50] pollinator-friendly flowering plants as
well
[8:53] in the process.
>> Is the removal of the invasive species
[8:56] species something that our services team
can do with your supervision?
[9:02] » Yeah, I think so. Yeah, just
identifying.
[9:05] That's the biggest thing is making sure
that we're not removing beneficial
[9:08] plants. So, making sure that we're
properly identifying it.
[9:11] And it's not huge stuff. So, you can you
can cut it and then very carefully treat
[9:16] it with an herbicide like basically
paint it on the stump. If we're able to
[9:19] totally uproot it, then we don't have to
use herbicides at all. But sometimes
[9:23] that's not feasible if there's you know,
plants are just too big.
[9:26] » So, you're not talking about big
machinery or
[9:28] » Well, it depends. I'll get into that a
little down the road if we it depends on
[9:32] the
the vision that the city has for it. But
[9:36] for the majority of the park, I would
say and I was kind of
[9:40] I did quite a bit of investigating to
figure out, okay, what's actually back
[9:44] here? It may have looked like weeds, but
there's a lot of
[9:47] good stuff in there mixed in with stuff
that we don't want in there. So, I think
[9:51] for the majority of the park, I think
kind of hand selectively removing the
[9:54] invasives and leaving it natural and
letting it go through that cycle of
[9:58] forest succession. It's going to take a
while, but
[10:01] but if there's an opening into it later
where if we wanted to have a heavier
[10:06] hand managing an area, I've got some
ideas for that, too. So.
[10:10] » But, for step one, likely our services
team could do the work with your
[10:14] » Yeah.
>> supervision and knowledge and
[10:16] » Yeah. It'd be good to pick a
I don't know. It'd be nice to do it
[10:20] when the ticks aren't as active, you
know, like early winter.
[10:26] Um
and just, you know, maybe
[10:30] designate a few days to it and and just
once a year go at it until we get it
[10:34] under control.
And unfortunately, you can't just say,
[10:37] okay, we're done now.
Then you have to be proactive. You just
[10:41] got to you kind of get a feel for, okay,
this likes to pop up here. But, once you
[10:45] get the bulk of it done after those
first several years,
[10:48] » You can identify that stuff when it's
cold out.
[10:51] » Yeah. And then it's just kind of like
proactive maintenance from there.
[10:55] Um if we if we designate it, you know,
year after year and then it's just kind
[10:59] of like we it pops up and you're you're
being more proactive than reactive.
[11:04] So, if you want to go to the next slide.
[11:08] Grapevine is another
it's basically that's an apple tree. The
[11:12] stone age consumed with grape vine. So,
from an aesthetic, grape vine is native,
[11:16] it's beneficial to wildlife, but in this
case, it's just, you know, it's choking
[11:21] out trees that we would want. It's
choking out some of the wild apple
[11:24] trees, but it's choking out black
walnuts and hackberries and other trees
[11:29] that we would want to release and
so, I would say grapevine control would
[11:34] be important at this stage. Um
carefully, you know, cutting and
[11:37] carefully treating the the the fresh cut
stump with an herbicide.
[11:41] Um that alone, getting the grapevine
under control of invasives is going to
[11:46] really, you know, from the aesthetics of
the park, it won't look like as much of
[11:50] the stuff
of a rat's nest.
[11:53] Um
I'm going to go on to the next slide.
[11:58] So like critical features in this park
is Prairie Creek does run through it and
[12:03] it also runs through Evening Street Park
on the other side of Granville Street.
[12:08] So like thinking of Prairie Creek
uh as we want to preserve riparian
[12:14] buffers on both sides of the creek,
which would be a vegetated area that
[12:19] acts as a filter.
Uh so contamination, you know,
[12:22] contaminants, pollutants that might be
coming down into the creek can be up
[12:27] taken up by the trees and you know, it
it basically just acts like filtration
[12:31] to protect the water quality of the
creek.
[12:34] So if you were to ask like Delaware
County Soil and Water Conservation
[12:37] District, they're going to say anywhere
that you can have a riparian buffer, a
[12:41] healthy riparian buffer along the creek
is good, you know, because this creek
[12:47] spills into Hoover Reservoir, which is
the drinking water for
[12:51] a bunch of municipalities south of us,
so
[12:55] just kind of being good stewards of the
creek. Uh
[12:58] so I would say within the park,
definitely preserving
[13:01] the forest with
is adjacent to the creek as much as
[13:05] possible and just focus on on on basics
there.
[13:08] Uh again, Delaware County Soil and Water
is
[13:12] that's kind of their bread and butter,
what their goals are for protecting
[13:16] water quality and their, you know, soil
erosion, so they're really
[13:20] up to speed on that. Um
if you want to go to the next slide.
[13:26] Um
on the other side of Granville Street
[13:29] where
the library side, you know, I would like
[13:33] to get there and Delaware County so on
the water where you can see the grass
[13:37] goes all the way up to the creek.
We did plant a row of bald cypress and
[13:42] some swamp white oaks there, but I know
that they like to talk about creating no
[13:46] mow zones
where you allow vegetation to grow up of
[13:49] course trying to get
natives to take over and then they kind
[13:53] of have it on a mowing rotation which
creates a buffer
[13:57] and then planting trees to create shade
which will cool the water which the
[14:02] hotter the water is and the water is
more you're going to get a bacterial
[14:05] growth and so
considering maybe seeing what they would
[14:08] say for maybe managing that side of the
creek a little better so we're not
[14:12] because I'm assuming they're maybe
putting lawn chemicals straight up to
[14:16] the edge there.
Um
[14:19] so that would be something to consider.
We do have some really good trees
[14:22] growing though so that's that's a good
start but I know that they might be big
[14:26] on no mow zones where you kind of create
a meadow along the creek and then
[14:31] allow trees or plant trees
uh in combination.
[14:36] Um and that could go in the NPDES report
as being proactive. It could go under
[14:42] the Tree City USA report that we're
you know, we're creating right earning
[14:47] buffers along Brandywine Creek.
And basically any tree the city is
[14:50] responsible for that's that's a good
idea or frankly so on the water or
[14:54] they'd be the ones to help out with
that. Um
[14:58] do you want to go to the next slide?
Um
[15:02] at the back of the park there's kind of
a grassy meadow area. It's got a lot of
[15:06] golden rod and wing stem and some other
good stuff
[15:10] but it also has poison hemlock which is
a pretty nasty plant. Um
[15:16] Jake last year did some
the the service department did some
[15:20] management of that but it pops up every
year. So, within the meadow area at the
[15:25] back of the park, we're really going
after that poison hemlock. That's a
[15:27] critical. The time to hit that is in
March when it's about that high off the
[15:31] ground
and just spray it when it's when it's
[15:34] low because it needs to be 8 to 10 ft
tall and makes, you know, spraying
[15:40] you're spraying everything else around.
So,
[15:42] and just a word on that, the property
behind Old Orchard where the meadow is
[15:48] that the HOA owns is just covered in
poison hemlock. So, it'd be good to
[15:52] maybe work in combination with them and
see if they'd be interested in helping
[15:56] manage it. Otherwise, the seeds are just
going to keep falling over.
[16:00] And then, um it is a pretty neat little
meadow area though that'd be beneficial
[16:04] for pollinators and wildlife. Um
so, maybe figuring out
[16:10] what's the best way to manage that. Is
it should be mowed every 3 years? Could
[16:14] we sprinkle other seeds in there to get,
you know, more flowering plants going
[16:19] that are native?
Control invasives, you know, you can put
[16:22] up bluebird boxes. So, there's a lot of
things that could go on on the meadow
[16:27] side at the back of the park. That's the
massive pile of massive plant back
[16:31] behind there for reference.
So, it's it's kind of neat to have it
[16:36] there. Um
you know, cuz it is different than the
[16:40] forested section of the park.
Uh if you want to go to the next slide.
[16:45] So, the old apple trees, you know,
they're just
[16:49] they're in rough shape. You know,
they've they've a lot of them are half
[16:52] dead or covered in grapevine.
So, the idea of reviving them, I mean, I
[16:57] would say the ones that are healthy
enough to keep around, keep them around,
[17:01] kind of prune out the dead.
But, the idea that it will ever be a
[17:05] functional orchard again, I mean, to
grow apple trees is major maintenance
[17:09] with
pruning and treatments. They're really
[17:12] susceptible to all kinds of fungal
diseases. So,
[17:16] you know, these places that are drawing
quality apples, either whether they're
[17:19] using an organic program or they're
using synthetics, they're they're really
[17:24] spraying and
and controlling disease. So,
[17:28] the I I would say it's nice to keep the
old health apple trees that still have
[17:33] some life life left to them, but in
general, they're pretty dilapidated.
[17:38] So, I think eventually just letting the
the Ohio native forest trees take over
[17:44] would be the ultimate goal in the long
run.
[17:47] And um
>> So, that definitely wouldn't be your
[17:50] recommendation to plant apple trees.
>> Well, maybe in one section I'll get I'll
[17:55] go to the next slide.
>> Yeah, that's where I was going with
[17:57] that.
>> like
[18:00] just to kind of honor the
history of the park,
[18:04] you know, around Johnny Appleseed, maybe
some dwarf
[18:08] disease-resistant apple trees would be
cool. That I think that'd be a way to
[18:12] kind of commemorate the history of the
park,
[18:16] but
keeping it simple, you know, and and
[18:19] that would be something manageable where
they could be pruned and
[18:23] and kept nice.
Um
[18:26] Apple trees in general are they're
they're wild, you know, like it
[18:30] you should see like Lenz's orchard.
They're pruning those like constantly
[18:33] even the way they look.
So, that would be an idea.
[18:38] Um
do you want to go to the next slide?
[18:42] And then something
I'm almost finished here, but just
[18:45] something to consider if we if we did
want to have a more heavily managed area
[18:50] of the park while it's going through
that those stages of forest succession,
[18:55] I thought it might be an idea to create
like a natural play area where we would
[19:02] be more aggressive with mowing down the
overgrowth
[19:06] um
and
[19:08] if there would be more like a focal
point of the park and it could be a
[19:13] place for, you know, benches for sitting
or
[19:16] um a big thing now that parks are doing
is they're using like rocks and tree
[19:20] stumps to create play spaces for kids.
>> Mhm.
[19:23] » So, boulders
I would say only plant Ohio natives
[19:28] except for the apple trees around
Johnny. Um
[19:32] you know, it could look really pretty
and um I don't know if when I worked at
[19:36] New Albany the developers would
as they were digging they would stash
[19:40] the boulders up on the side and the city
would come pick them up and put them in
[19:43] the park.
>> Sure. That's a good idea.
[19:45] » Which was and we and if I really want to
go to the next slide.
[19:51] So, this is in Rose Run Park in New
Albany
[19:54] an example of a play area like that. Uh
and it's kind of this park Rose Run
[20:01] was right along Rose Run Creek
over by like between Market Street and
[20:06] 62.
Um
[20:09] back behind the library and mellow
mushroom and all that.
[20:12] And it was just it looked like old
orchard when they started 15 years ago.
[20:16] And if you walk through it now, I mean
they heavily managed it.
[20:20] But
um
[20:23] it it's just kind of shows what it can
look like with time and patience and
[20:28] kind of controlling the invasives.
But that, you know, it's it's just a
[20:32] simple rocks, benches, logs and
Ohio native planting landscape.
[20:40] Uh but if you're ever in the area there
it it it's really
[20:43] that'd be a good representation of kind
of what it can be.
[20:47] » And on the picture that you superimposed
that onto ours you had it sort of in
[20:52] front like along Granville.
>> Yeah, it wouldn't have to be. I mean it
[20:55] could be wherever makes sense. And what
what my concern that I would have is
[21:00] like how high is the flooding?
>> Mhm.
[21:03] » That because we wouldn't want to like
put mulch and plants there and then it
[21:07] floods away so yeah so up higher maybe
up it makes sense and figure out how
[21:12] high the water comes you know when we
get extreme rainfall
[21:16] but I don't know if I was just thinking
maybe visible from Granville just
[21:20] because it's kind of pretty focal point
but just an idea if we wanted to do
[21:25] something a little more
heavy-handed with management
[21:29] and you know a lot of that
what would be removed in the process you
[21:34] probably have to like use a forestry
grinder
[21:38] and preserve whatever trees are you know
want to keep in the process but for the
[21:43] most part a lot of it will go and
I don't think we'd be cutting down
[21:46] anything special you know so
what's that material on the ground then
[21:52] is that just
I think just mulch
[21:57] just mulch and boulders and benches
[22:02] but they definitely like they definitely
plant only Ohio native landscaping plant
[22:07] which is most which is common in most
parts these days
[22:11] so
I'm going to go to the next slide I
[22:14] think that's all I have
I have a question do you think there's
[22:17] enough room to do something like this
and still have some of the dwarf
[22:24] apple trees
I mean I didn't
[22:27] measure it out or anything I was just
trying to come up with
[22:30] I walked through the park with
reservation parks their their resource
[22:36] manager and they were talking about how
they like to do these natural play areas
[22:40] any opportunity they get so I just and
charm our park if you've ever been back
[22:44] there at the Granville little thing
along the side of the creek
[22:49] but yeah I think there'd be room and you
know depending on how big we would want
[22:52] this space to be but
I think it could be like a good focal
[22:56] point or
as the rest of the park is going through
[23:00] the
kind of the ugly stage where you would
[23:02] have a pretty spot, you know.
And it's walking distance from downtown.
[23:07] People can walk down to the coffee and
whatever else. So, just an idea.
[23:12] » It's a great idea. I like it.
>> It's right
[23:15] It's just within walking distance of the
apartments, of the communities.
[23:19] » Yeah, there's people back there quite a
bit. There's a the connectivity.
[23:23] You have the trail, so it could
potentially get a lot of traffic.
[23:29] So, that's that's basically all I have.
[23:34] » Love it, Daryl.
>> I think I do, too.
[23:38] Appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having
us.
[23:40] » Yeah. So,
um yeah, Aaron Aaron, thank you so much.
[23:43] We appreciate that. So, yeah. I mean,
yeah, obviously we've talked to Johnny.
[23:47] We've talked about trying to do
something with that park. This would be
[23:51] a relatively low-cost option, at least
to get started. As you've already
[23:57] checked out, I mean, sounds like our
service team could do some of it, not
[24:01] all of it, but uh maybe to get ourselves
started or something. So,
[24:05] Yeah, I think what we're really looking
for is
[24:07] » potential collaboration with Delaware,
with Franklin County,
[24:11] with their soil and everything he said.
>> Yeah, I definitely jotted down some of
[24:15] those notes as well. I think we'll we've
got a relationship with soil and water.
[24:18] We'll follow up with them up regarding
the the creek.
[24:21] » said, with the tree city you know, it's
just a lot of good It's all good. I
[24:25] think what I'm hearing is it's not
terribly We're not talking about a $4
[24:28] million project here, but we are talking
about things that will are beneficial to
[24:32] the city and to our residents and
potentially our younger residents as
[24:37] well, if we go that route. So,
>> Yeah.
[24:39] All right. Well, we'll keep uh
>> It makes our passive park a little bit
[24:42] more enjoyable.
>> Yeah.
[24:45] » Yeah.
For sure.
[24:48] Yeah.
Yeah, so we'll
[24:50] uh we'll have the team. So, we have our
tree team.
[24:53] That's Alyssa, Jake, uh Aaron. Um you
know, kind of keep digging a little
[24:58] deeper, figure out what we could maybe
do later this year, dig into next year,
[25:03] etc., etc. So.
Yeah, I love that. Like it.
[25:07] » Thanks.
Appreciate it.
[25:09] » Anything else to add, Mark?
>> I was, uh,
[25:13] » Yes.
>> I'm supportive of cleaning up that area.
[25:16] I know I've been through there a couple
times with my kids. I know with the
[25:19] future development of that space, I know
a lot of residents are already down
[25:22] there. I think that'd be a really great
investment, long-term and short-term as
[25:27] we continue forward. I like the
I'll say
[25:33] less developed part of a park, right?
So, the idea of just walking through the
[25:37] woods than to have a huge development or
expense of upkeep.
[25:42] » Right.
>> And we're doing that at the Arsenal. So,
[25:44] we're looking for that. We have it
there, and then there's so many
[25:48] health benefits to kids just being in
nature and playing on natural
[25:52] » Absolutely.
>> Is that each and everyone can
[25:55] » Yeah.
>> I'm supportive to just short walks, too,
[25:57] and with your coffee in the morning,
whatever you
[26:00] » Yeah. And as that area over there with
Mr. Genovese's property gets developed,
[26:04] it's just a good spot.
>> Yeah.
[26:08] » Thank you.
>> Okay. Do we have a J.R. Smith Park Grant
[26:14] update?
>> Yes.
[26:47] » So, not as big of an update I was I was
hoping for this month. Um, we got a
[26:52] quote on some additional items and I
didn't receive it until
[26:57] an hour before the meeting. So, I'll
have more to share on that next month,
[27:01] but on packet page 19
slide.
[27:06] So, these are some items that were
removed from the bid documents that we
[27:10] reached out to our um
playground supplier. So, we can get all
[27:15] of these back with the ODNR funding. Um
>> We removed these for financial reasons.
[27:21] » Okay.
>> now with the extra funds from ODNR, we
[27:24] can bring all of them back
>> Okay.
[27:27] » and add to it as well. So, the drinking
fountain with the
[27:32] refillable water bottle, um the grill,
about six benches, and a bike rack.
[27:39] » I remember years ago um too and the
bench that you're showing here has them,
[27:44] but I remember years ago having somebody
from I think it was Source Point maybe
[27:49] out and recommended when we put benches
in that we have those side handles on
[27:55] them like it's showing in that picture.
So, I just want to make sure we do that.
[27:59] It um
It helps with getting in and out of
[28:01] benches, I remember.
>> And those are also the same ones we have
[28:05] at the reservoirs, too. So,
>> Yeah, perfect.
[28:07] » keeping it consistent.
>> Yeah.
[28:09] » Um I don't have pricing on all of it
yet. Well, I have to dive into it, but
[28:13] that's what's included in with the
quote. Um go to the next slide.
[28:16] So, additional items that we asked him
to get pricing for was some shade
[28:21] covered benches, um some swings
especially.
[28:25] » We don't have We don't have any swings.
>> We don't have swings and we were looking
[28:30] um
Sorry, do you want to go back to space
[28:32] two?
So, oops.
[28:36] Right over in this area
would be where the swings would go.
[28:40] There's enough space because you have to
have that Essentially, I believe it was
[28:44] 20 ft on each side for the swings, for
the safety zone. So,
[28:50] that's essentially where they would go.
Um
[28:53] » And so, I'm going to go
down two more. Yeah.
[28:56] » And we would do a three-bay, so six
swings total, and we would do two of the
[29:01] ADA, two regular, and then one toddler,
and then one
[29:05] » [clears throat]
>> tandem swing as well.
[29:08] Um it can be covered or cannot be
covered, either or. Um
[29:13] but we were looking at the benches with
the shade covering at the splash pad and
[29:18] the playground.
>> Okay, if you want to go to the next one.
[29:22] » So, these are just some of the shade
structures that we received quotes for.
[29:26] Um these would be at the splash pad, so
maybe two or three,
[29:32] probably one on each side, just so to
offer, you know, cuz right now there's
[29:37] no shade, and since we have this extra
funding, we can now get the more more
[29:42] extra amenities, essentially. So.
>> No shade other than trees that will be a
[29:48] a little bit small at first.
[29:52] » So,
at a quick glance of the quotes,
[29:56] all of that plus these shade structures,
we only hit maybe 135,000 max. So, we
[30:04] still have a lot more. So, we can do
more if you guys like the direction of
[30:09] this, and we are looking into the
security cameras. We are going to
[30:12] coordinate with PD about that as well.
>> So.
[30:15] » I was just going to ask him about that.
I know money came from a couple
[30:18] different places, um but so with
security or cameras, yeah. I thought
[30:23] there was something else.
Not signs, cuz you guys are working on
[30:27] signs.
>> Uh lighting. I think the lighting was
[30:30] the other thing as well. Um
>> Or maybe like an entrance feature was
[30:35] something we talked about, too.
[30:40] » The entrance feature?
Just like a separate one. Like so we
[30:43] have the
>> It's just something we
[30:45] » drew up.
>> Yeah.
[30:47] » It was something that was pulled from
the original plan since we were looking
[30:51] at signage.
>> Yeah, was it?
[30:52] » Mhm.
>> We could get quotes if that's something
[30:55] that committee would like to see.
>> Yes, I would.
[30:58] » I think it's important to keep in mind
that we don't have to spend the money
[31:03] right now. We have time.
>> So we can look at adding items. We can
[31:08] evaluate the park.
>> And we can add
[31:10] » See what we're missing.
>> Yeah, I I think the key thing that we
[31:13] need to keep a lookout for now is
anything that would be important to
[31:17] consider while it's under construction.
>> Mhm.
[31:20] » Um that's certainly something we're
looking at with some of the other funds
[31:24] such as that pavement replacement around
the Lions building, uh full depth uh
[31:29] replacement of the pavement that's below
the Lions building. It was in um
[31:33] disrepair.
Um so we have some additional funding
[31:37] outside of the ODNR uh that we'll be
able to utilize that for. But if we can
[31:43] put it as a change order into the
existing contract, we'll save money on
[31:47] certain items. Other items may need to
be designed at a later point in time and
[31:52] installed um when we have a little bit
more information such as the park um or
[31:58] the trail extensions that we discussed.
>> And this still includes like what you
[32:02] were telling us about with the sidewalk.
Like that was all still in there.
[32:06] » Yes, we So
>> So that was a different
[32:09] » Yes, so Alyssa was talking about the
ODNR funding and some of the items we
[32:13] evaluated and shared and pulled out. We
are we have very specific items that uh
[32:19] we need to utilize the earmarked
$375,000
[32:23] for uh parking improvements, sidewalk,
uh trail extension, possibly some road
[32:30] and other um
improvements uh in the city street just
[32:36] outside of um the Lions building. We're
actually not touching that segment
[32:41] between the 37 widening project and um
when we do the mountable curb at Cherry
[32:47] Street. So, that's the location we may
be able to look at doing some
[32:51] improvements to maybe um not have a gap
in the the brand new area and then some
[32:57] landscape improvements, as well.
>> That sounds good.
[33:03] » These items you're getting for a bid, is
it a It sounds like it's a matter of
[33:07] these
We probably have funding to do all of
[33:10] these. It's a matter of picking which
ones we want.
[33:12] » Yeah, so these were initially included
in the bid, but we removed them for cost
[33:17] reasons. Um but now with [clears throat]
that additional funding from ODNR, we
[33:22] can now add all that stuff back in.
>> Okay.
[33:26] » Yeah, we had originally talked about
potentially looking at donations um to
[33:31] try and add some of this back, but now
that we have funding, um I think that's
[33:35] the avenue we're going to go, but if you
do know someone who wants to sponsor a
[33:38] bench,
so something that would be available.
[33:43] » Melissa, do you know
um at other parks if these grills are
[33:49] utilized, if folks use these at parks?
>> I think they do. I um
[33:54] I personally never grilled out on them,
but I think I've seen other people do. I
[33:58] know
So, my parents live across from Hanna
[34:01] Park, so I grew up there in
um Gahanna and that they always use that
[34:06] grill. That grill's used all the time.
If you look at it, it's all charred and
[34:10] everything, so.
>> And I we would place them, I would
[34:12] suppose, near the
pavilion.
[34:16] » Yeah, near the shelter house, but at a
safe distance for fire.
[34:20] » Is it just one grill or is
>> Yeah, we just have one.
[34:24] » two or
>> We could do two. I don't know how I
[34:27] think one would probably be plenty, but
if we want to do two, we can definitely
[34:30] do two.
>> It says grill on here, is that what you
[34:33] added?
Yeah, we had had it originally. Yeah, I
[34:37] think it was one of the grills up on the
shelter.
[34:40] » Mhm.
>> Yeah, I think we just had one initially
[34:43] that was removed.
[34:49] » I know Berkshire Township just installed
a newer facility by the Township
[34:54] administrative building. Mhm.
And I saw their grill and it's already
[34:59] been utilized, so
>> Okay, I was just curious. I wasn't
[35:03] saying anything. No, I was just curious
if folks do that.
[35:08] » As far as the shade structures go,
what's the maintenance on that or
[35:11] durability?
>> So, the maintenance actually
[35:15] see here.
>> Definitely a question I asked as well
[35:19] when we were talking about them.
>> Yeah, so the service life with proper
[35:23] maintenance is 20 years with them.
They're relatively low maintenance and
[35:29] these like the actual shade pieces,
those detach, so they can just remove
[35:36] those, store them for the winter, and
then reinstall them when in spring.
[35:41] » So, somebody has to take them down every
year and put them back up.
[35:44] » And remember where we put them, right
Daryl?
[35:46] And remember where we put them.
>> You're saying they don't easily tear or
[35:52] » No, I don't think they are that
>> You're saying they have probably about
[35:55] 20-year lifespan and by then maybe the
trees are grown in.
[35:58] » Yeah, and they're they're a mesh
material, so air is able to get through
[36:02] them.
Um, but certainly we'll have to look at
[36:06] what the manufacturer's recommendations
are as far as wind is concerned and be
[36:10] aware if there is maintenance or we need
to
[36:14] maybe unhook and one of the sides during
storms. Those all be considerations that
[36:19] we'll have to look at because it
definitely will have some upkeep if we
[36:23] don't maintain it, 20 years is um not
going to be their service life.
[36:30] » I like the the idea of the shade
structures, especially as the trees are
[36:34] growing in.
I just remember multiple times being at
[36:37] a playground being like, especially the
new ones, and the trees just are not big
[36:41] enough.
But to that question, do we have enough
[36:44] trees where maybe in the future the
trees are providing the shades instead
[36:48] of the structures? But I'm thinking
splash pad, it doesn't look big with any
[36:53] trees over there.
[36:56] » Yeah, I mean it's definitely something
from a landscaping perspective that we
[36:59] can we can add to the site. I I would
think once we get the trees installed,
[37:05] we should reevaluate, you know, whether
or not we want to bring in some
[37:09] additional. I might know Oh, he's not
here anymore. But I might know someone
[37:12] who who could take a look at it to see
if if that would be a benefit.
[37:17] » Yeah, so so my recollection when we were
going through the design process, mostly
[37:21] we were trying to get I think trees for
screening and
[37:25] more so than shade, and the idea was
then we would do shade structures to
[37:28] support that. I think there was some
concern about getting trees too close to
[37:32] the splash pad because they can be
dirty, believe.
[37:35] » Yeah, that that creates a problem in
term Yeah, so.
[37:38] » Yeah, I I would agree with that as well.
>> I was just I was saying that the I'm
[37:41] just roots can get wildy.
>> Okay, good call. Yeah, all right.
[37:47] » Yeah, if we want to do shade structures
for playgrounds, they
[37:51] have a million to choose from.
[37:56] So that's kind of where we're at and
[38:01] so far with the grant funding, but yeah.
[38:06] » Something that we mentioned before that
I'd be interested in learning more about
[38:10] financially is if it would be possible
to put in seating like they have at the
[38:15] dinosaur park, the dinosaur splash pad
in Delaware. They have like permanent
[38:20] seats and tables.
And if we're going to have shade, it
[38:24] would be nice to have somewhere for the
adults to sit.
[38:27] » Yeah, because in addition we were
talking about like adding They're not
[38:31] permanent, but more benches and maybe
some picnic tables over there. But we
[38:35] can look into the permanent.
>> I'm just curious since since Delaware
[38:40] did it, let's let's see what they did
and what it would cost and is it
[38:43] possible with their
engineering people with their
[38:48] spacing and stuff.
[38:57] » So maybe just a a quick point on the
status of the JR Smith Park. So we
[39:01] talked about grant funding, but where
are we on the construction piece? And
[39:04] that is one of the things Adam's getting
very familiar with at
[39:08] the park.
For better or worse.
[39:11] » Do you have anything?
That's in our monthly report.
[39:14] » we do have that later. Sorry.
>> Oh, okay. I'm happy to give it now
[39:17] though if you would like.
[39:20] » No.
>> No, okay.
[39:26] Okay, so we're we're good with the grant
update. The update was what we're
[39:30] thinking about at. Okay. Moving on to
Sunbury Sizzlin' Sounds, which if you've
[39:37] looked at your agenda, they are coming
tonight. So probably not a ton we need
[39:41] to get into because they're going to
talk at council, but it's just probably
[39:44] like a
[39:46] It's on our matrix, I suppose. This is
just to bring it to the
[39:49] » parks meeting, but we'll hear more from
Civic themselves this evening.
[39:54] » And you can ask your questions then if
you have any.
[39:56] » Yep.
>> Okay, we have a monthly park update.
[40:01] And so that your sizzle stuff is in here
as well.
[40:05] But then it looks like the park update
starts on page 37.
[40:12] Melissa, is this you?
>> Yes, I will get the slides pulled up.
[40:55] Okay, so Freedom Park. So, I was out
there earlier back in July and I noticed
[40:59] there were new bridges. Not sure if you
put them out there
[41:04] or where they came from, but there's
yeah, a nice new bridge and new walking
[41:09] path type thing, so
that is all up Freedom Park. You can go
[41:14] to the next one.
[41:17] Now we have the J.R. Smith Park updates.
>> Those bridges you're you're referring to
[41:20] the disc golf or
>> Yes. Yeah, the disc golf course.
[41:25] Okay, so J.R. Smith Park is moving
along. If you were along um State Route
[41:32] uh 37 last week, uh they were moving
fill
[41:37] um
offsite. We ended up with just over 100
[41:42] truck loads. About 12 cubic yards per
per truck uh coming in, so it was
[41:49] » [gasps]
>> it was quite the race, but we also had
[41:52] our public works team um
moved dirt from the wastewater treatment
[41:57] plant uh
because we are removing um
[42:02] a lot of excavation material for the
clarifier installation down there.
[42:08] Um it's a 70-ft diameter
um
[42:11] clarifier that's about 20 ft deep. So,
it's a massive hole. We have a lot of
[42:18] excess dirt that the plan is to just
mound it between the wastewater
[42:22] treatment plant and the middle school.
Um, so, our our team moved 40 truck
[42:27] loads. Um, they're slightly smaller
trucks than some of the offsite loads,
[42:32] but we were happy that, um, that they
were able to contribute and and help
[42:36] with this process. Um, about half of the
100 came from our wastewater treatment
[42:43] plant as well. So, we were able to, uh,
negotiate a a a
[42:48] lower fee because they were able to get
dirt at a much closer location. But,
[42:53] they still had to pay the hauling
company and, uh, load, uh, the material
[42:58] themselves. So, really happy that our
contractor, Simonsen, and of course, um,
[43:04] our members of the wastewater treatment
plant were very welcoming, uh, so that
[43:08] we could coordinate, um, and benefit the
city and save a little bit of money.
[43:14] Um,
status of the park. Um, with all that
[43:18] dirt, we are able to, uh, really start
to look for some vertical, uh,
[43:24] components. If you go out there today,
you will see, um, pipes that are coming
[43:29] up from the ground where the splash pad
is going to be. Splash pad, um, provider
[43:34] has been out, um, getting ready to, um,
get that installed. I don't know if it's
[43:40] being poured later this week or next,
uh, but I'm going to try and, uh, find
[43:44] out and
uh, hopefully bring some pictures for
[43:47] that component. Uh, same with the
shelter house as well. They've worked on
[43:51] the underground connections, uh, so we
should be seeing some some vertical
[43:56] movement there as well.
And
[43:59] » substantial completion
>> Uh, and, uh, timeline for the park is
[44:03] still looking at October, uh, with the
caveat that they'll have some internal
[44:08] components at the shelter house to
complete.
[44:12] Some
[44:16] Reservoir Park, um the sign will be
installed tomorrow.
[44:20] So, we'll get pictures of that once it's
completed.
[44:25] Uh Sunbury Memorial Park
>> a question about the Reservoir Park. Is
[44:29] there
I assume no. Any easy way to maintain
[44:34] the paths
that are around the reservoirs, the
[44:39] walking paths, because some of them are
They're just so cracked.
[44:44] » Okay.
>> And we haven't had them for that long,
[44:47] but I don't know if that material just
cracks easily.
[44:51] If there would be any point in repairing
them, would they just crack again?
[44:55] They're close to water. There's lots of
animals up there, birds, so I don't
[45:00] know, but some of them are They're It's
pretty unsightly. So, how pretty the
[45:05] area is to walk on it is.
>> Yeah, I I know we discussed whether or
[45:09] not we could put some rejuvenator down
on some of the paths in the city.
[45:13] Um it's something that I can have um the
manufacturer for that um that fill, that
[45:20] uh black surface resurfacing agent, uh
come and give a quote and also assess
[45:25] whether or not it makes sense. Um often
times you uh use a rejuvenator on um
[45:31] you know, a surface that's maybe 2
>> 3 years old?
[45:36] » Yeah. Um but it it's certainly something
that with a surface that isn't being um
[45:41] as heavily traveled as a road, we may be
able to uh utilize that as a a way to
[45:47] » Yeah, I'm just saying
some of the areas they look brand new,
[45:51] and then some of So, I don't know if
people are walking on one side I mean,
[45:55] you have to get around. I don't know. I
don't know what it is, but some of the
[45:58] areas are pretty bad.
>> Okay.
[46:00] » Some are beautiful.
[46:04] Okay, thank you.
>> That's worth doing. I will say I know
[46:07] last year when I talked to Jake a little
bit about this, we
[46:10] this and the other trails, I think we
did go out and do some crack repair work
[46:15] on the other trails, but we didn't do it
on this particular one and I don't
[46:19] really know why. So, we'll we'll follow
up with Jake to see if maybe he thought
[46:23] it maybe he just didn't get to it and
we'll try to get to it this year, but I
[46:27] do like the idea of some kind of a
um
[46:30] you know, rejuvenator or something to
help preserve the asset.
[46:33] » Yeah. That looks pretty good. And I
don't know if you guys have been down
[46:36] there during the day or in the evening,
but that
[46:38] floating dock is getting a lot of use.
Our my kids, their friends,
[46:44] sometimes they don't like going down
there cuz there's too many people on it.
[46:47] So, it's definitely getting
>> That's good.
[46:49] » It's used, yeah.
And I was walking, obviously, on the
[46:53] path and I saw a kid, I don't know, 16,
17 years old and he pulled out a fish
[46:58] and it was
it was like I mean, I could see it from
[47:01] up where I was and it was really
impressive. They're having a lot of fun
[47:04] down there.
Yeah.
[47:11] » Okay, Sunbury Memorial Park,
at the Events Committee, we discussed
[47:16] the Unmarked and Unforgotten Memorial
being moved into the cemetery.
[47:21] » I think we're talking about Are we
talking about that tonight, too?
[47:23] » Yeah, it's on the agenda.
Yep.
[47:27] » And then
we also talked about
[47:30] » Have you talked any more about that
little building?
[47:34] » I don't remember which committee we were
in when we talked about that.
[47:37] But this was
>> This one. Yeah, it's probably going to
[47:39] be this committee.
Um
[47:41] we haven't talked a lot more about it. I
I think other than again, I
[47:46] I don't think that the recommendation is
to save the building. I think the
[47:49] recommendation is to take the building
down, preserve the marble, you know, for
[47:53] maybe some other use in the future. We
just haven't I think executed on that.
[47:58] » Okay, I was just curious. Now I see the
building every time we go by. I never
[48:02] noticed it before, but
>> Yeah.
[48:04] » Okay.
>> So, we probably I just we needed have
[48:06] Jake
prioritize that a little bit more. I
[48:08] think he would like to get that building
down. I mean, it's
[48:12] it's a little bit of a
risk. I mean, there's some risk
[48:15] associated with it cuz the when we had
the structural
[48:18] » I I had a question. Yeah, the structural
evaluation team.
[48:22] » Last year, they were they were saying
that the the marble is starting to pull
[48:25] away from the brick a little bit. That's
so again, we want to try to not only And
[48:29] we don't keep anything in the building.
Yeah, so we've got that back building.
[48:34] We did originally. It used to be where
they would store the mowers and any any
[48:38] equipment they had to maintain the
cemetery.
[48:40] » Okay.
>> But, yeah, whatever they've got now,
[48:42] they've moved to that back building.
>> Okay, thank you.
[48:48] Um we also had uh three burials for this
month.
[48:52] Um for Town Square,
[49:01] uh Town Square, we had the second
Saturday market, the Young Makers and
[49:05] Family Market. Although it rained, they
did have a great turnout, so it was
[49:10] great to see all those people come out
and support them.
[49:13] Um on our historical marker sign, there
is a crack on it. Um so, Jake is working
[49:20] on getting that fixed. And then the 4th
of July parade, um
[49:24] well, it wasn't actually on the square,
just figured I'd include that. It was a
[49:28] great turnout. I actually believe it was
the largest parade that we've had so
[49:32] far. So,
Um
[49:35] » These are participants, or
>> Yeah, like
[49:39] » Cool.
>> Number of
[49:40] floats, or entries?
>> Floats, floats.
[49:45] And then we know that said, so
Uh we had a couple of service days in
[49:51] July.
Um the first one is City North Church.
[49:56] They were on Sunday, July 12th, and they
cleaned the waterway at the cemetery. Um
[50:02] they also cleaned some headstones, and
then they also painted the bridges at
[50:07] the Fallen Heroes Memorial and the
bridge that the Eagle Scout built at the
[50:13] Kessel Disc Golf Course.
And then we had Bright City Church on
[50:17] Saturday, July 18th. They did the mall
trains around the um around the square,
[50:23] so.
I didn't have any pictures for the
[50:25] service day, so
>> You put a picture of yourself in there.
[50:28] » And some more. 4th of July.
>> Who is
[50:32] » And the mayor's son.
>> Who is
[50:34] that? Leland?
>> Yeah, so.
[50:38] » I'm going to fill in the blank space.
>> Yeah, so we appreciate that the service
[50:41] team was able to increase the size of
the tree rings. I know that has been a
[50:44] topic for some time.
>> Yeah, and Aaron said he wanted to know
[50:46] that.
>> Yeah, Aaron said before he left uh how
[50:49] much he liked seeing the tree rings out
there. The other thing I would note
[50:53] that's not on here, Bright City Church
was going to begin to paint some of the
[50:57] bases of the uh poles. You probably
They've They've gotten beat up over time
[51:02] with just mowing, trimming, you know,
whatever kind of happens around it. I am
[51:07] pleased to say that the service team
started painting some of the bases. And
[51:11] if you look up here on the Cherry Street
um going toward the the 90° turn there
[51:18] on the right-hand side, they started to
paint those. They look
[51:21] » You mean that like the curb?
>> Oh no, no, not the curb. So they did
[51:24] some curb painting, but but I'm talking
about the the light poles and the
[51:28] decorative light poles. Uh actually,
some of them even I guess have the They
[51:32] also are the signal poles as well. Just
the lower level of the lower portion of
[51:37] it. You'll note that there's kind of
this I don't know.
[51:41] What am I trying to say? It's like a
I don't know.
[51:44] It's a cover over the base of the
>> And they're painting them.
[51:47] » They are painting them and they they've
been beat up and looked pretty bad for
[51:50] some time. So,
they're going to work their way all the
[51:53] way up Cherry Street. They'll get to
some of those that are out, you know,
[51:56] further to the west, but but they've
started out down here. So, you need to
[51:59] look at those.
>> too, so.
[52:01] » Yeah.
[52:04] I like
[52:06] » Um for our monthly tree update, so for
tree pruning,
[52:11] they pruned 65 littleleaf linden trees
along Woodchuck and Fairland.
[52:16] So, there's some nice before and after
pictures.
[52:19] And then our our streets department I
don't know if Aaron did.
[52:24] Aaron and streets. I think it was Aaron.
Um
[52:29] and then some other forestry updates,
they did mulch
[52:33] some tree rings around the trees at
Evening Street and along West Granville
[52:37] Street. They also planted six new
arborvitaes at the Columbus Street
[52:42] parking lot.
Um we have some potential tree removals
[52:47] on Saffron,
in North Vernon Street, and then also
[52:50] over at Old Church Park. So, those will
be evaluated soon.
[52:55] And then Jake is also reviewing the
nursery for the large caliper trees for
[53:00] the square. So, we're hoping to get
something for
[53:04] planting in the fall.
So.
[53:07] And that
>> Okay, so you remember that dates back to
[53:10] when we took the tree down earlier this
year, commitment to put larger trees in.
[53:14] So, they are yeah, looking for as large
as trees as they can get to get in the
[53:18] space. I think they've identified the
species, they're just trying to find the
[53:22] trees themselves. So.
[53:26] » [laughter]
>> Anything else from staff?
[53:28] » That is all the updates I had.
>> Anything from the committee?
[53:32] I'm looking for a motion to adjourn.
>> I'll motion.
[53:35] » Thank you.
>> I'll second.
[53:37] » Thank you.
Roll call, please.
[53:40] Uh Mr. Long?
>> Yes.
[53:42] » Mrs. Crawford?
>> Yes.
[53:43] » Mrs. Cooper?
>> Yes.
[53:46] » Three years
meeting adjourned.