City of Tecumseh Parks and Recreation

Advisory Board Members

Meeting Date: Thursday, July 12th, 2012 at 6:00PM

Meeting Location: Council Chambers at City Hall

Members Present: Kyle Cook, Kristen Columbus, Stacy Downing

Members Excused: Chairperson Larry Ash, Bill Leisenring

Others Present: Shelley Lim

  1. Meeting called to order at 6:01PM. Stacy Downing is chairing this meeting due to Chairperson Ash’s absence.
  2. Quorum established
  3. Approval of minutes from April 12, 2012 meeting. Minutes approved as presented, by consensus.
  4. Approval of meeting agenda for tonight’s meeting. Approved as presented, by consensus.
  5. Director’s report:
  6. Embers Bar and Grill is partnering with Parks and Rec, selling tickets for a Steak Dinner. $1 from every ticket will go to Parks and Rec. Tickets good through July and August.
  7. July 19th is the next music in the park. Nice crowd for the Tecumseh Fiddlers last month.
  8. Dept. has been contacted by an Eagle Scout who’s looking for a project. Suggestion was some footbridges in the North trail, behind Standish Dam. This improvement would be enjoyed by the many people who walk that part of the trail because the footing is very precarious right now.
  9. The River Raisin cleanup was very successful
  10. Mark Johnson, a new resident, approached Shelley with idea of establishing a canoe/kayak livery, for the portion of the River Raisin from Satterthwaite Park to Sutton Rd. This would also be an economic development issue so meeting planned with Mark, Shelley, and Paula Holtz.
  11. USTA tennis program is running again. We have the largest 10-and-under program in Michigan. Also sent out an email about USTA’s adult Restart tennis program, have about 8 people interested so far.
  12. Parents have given positive feedback about the Camp Edition of the Parks and Recreation Guide
  13. Tonight is the final night of baseball/softball camp run by Adrian College coaches; upcoming soccer camp will be staffed by Siena Heights coaches.
  14. The house at AJ Smith Park might need a new roof.
  15. Pit and Splash Pad are both getting lots of use. Splash pad is working perfectly.
  16. Kyle asked about the restroom building at the Pit. Shelley thinks that we might need to downsize. Current problems with tree roots, plumbing and vandalism (the latter due to no monitoring). Will continue discussion in the future.
  1. New business:
  2. Reviewed letter to Lenawee Community Foundation board thanking them for donation to enable building of new community center. Minor grammatical/spelling changes made but content looks good.
  3. Old business:
  4. New community center construction is continuing. Shelley spoke with Brad Raymond yesterday and he reports that work is on schedule, still on track for December opening/move-in. Electrical installed next week, along with concrete floors to be poured. Plumbing and sewer were installed already and ready to be extended into building once it’s built.
  5. Discussion of construction line item in the Parks and Rec budget, Fund 440. Shelley said that the board can track spending on this project as it progresses via this line.
  6. Discussion of assigning prices for future phases of AJ Smith Park, as suggested in a previous master plan.
  7. Kyle Cook asked if there is any coordination with Raisin Twp. Board for the bike trails. Concerned about pedestrians, bikers, etc. with non-city sections of the bike trails. Stacy Downing asked if Chuck (Gross?) was spearheading any efforts in this area. Shelley said that thanks in part to this board, the bike trails have been extended to the city limits. Stacy suggested trying to raise interest in connecting trails among Raisin Twp. Residents, in a grassroots fashion. Stacy thinks the maintenance of trails needs to be addressed in the future.
  8. Stacy asked if there is a map that shows canoeing/kayaking opportunities from Globe Mill Pond. Shelley says that they are currently working on updating it, along with an updated parks and trail map. Will be finished in the next couple of weeks and she’ll see that we get copies.
  9. Public comment: none
  10. Announcement:
  11. Upcoming Swing Dance on Saturday, July 28th and also the upcoming Black Box series at the TCA. Next one is July 26th and features Bill Bynum and Co., who has played at the Ark in Ann Arbor and is very good. Discussed publicity, around town and in Tecumseh Herald.
  12. Next meeting: Thursday, October 11th at 6:00PM
  13. Meeting Adjourned at 6:33PM