EXECUTIVE BRIEFING For the Edmond City Council and Members of the Boards and Commissions May 11 News from Boards and Commissions Parks and Recreation Advisory Board The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met May 19 th, and discussed the following: The Board entertained a presentation for UCO to build a handicapped dock at the Outdoor Adventure Recreation building at Arcadia Lake. The dock would include a sloped kayak ramp for launching and docking kayaks or canoes. UCO would build and pay for the cost of the dock and ramp. The Board approved of the proposal. A report was made on the Youth Lacrosse league s success this season. Participation numbers for the season reached 402 players. Edmond has been a leader in establishing the sport in Oklahoma. There was discussion by the Board on naming the new park on Route 66. Members took no action but will submit ideas for names at the June meeting. The Director reported that documentation for reimbursement has been submitted to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Upon approval, reimbursement is projected to be $39,621. The dock was a 75% State, 25% local project. For more information, please contact Bailey Guerrero at 359-7637. Fish and Game Commission The Edmond Fish and Game Commission met on May 10 th, the following was discussed: Commission members heard a request to allow Personal Water Craft (PWC), jet skis, sea doos, etc. to use the entire Lake on Monday-Thursday. Currently PWCs are restricted to an area south of Spring Creek Park all week long. The request is to allow PWCs to utilize the Lake on the week-days where other water craft is minimal. Staff supported the request as a way to increase revenues during a period of activity that was less when compared to Friday thru Sunday. Commissioners expressed concerns of how this might create problems with bank fishing. A motion was made to approve the request and judge the results at the end of this season. The motion died due to a lack of a second. The Commission received reports on the April maintenance and revenue activities: Maintenance activity centered on opening of all Parks and getting facilities in order.
The new Edmond Park pavilion is completed and now in use. New playground equipment has been ordered for Scissortail Campground pavilion. Roadways in Spring Creek Park were repaired by the Edmond Street Dept. Revenues for April 2011 were up $7,000 over April 2010. Year to date revenues are up $62,000, compared to a year ago. For more information, please contact Earl London at 216-7641. Finance/Audit Committee The Finance/Audit Committee met on May 26 th. The Committee reviewed and accepted the engagement letter from Crawford & Associates, PC for accounting and consulting services for a fee not to exceed $35,000 in FY 2011/2012. For the remainder of the current fiscal year, and FY 2011/2012, the following internal areas were discussed and approved for audit or follow-up review: Municipal Court System, Arcadia Lake, Information Services, A/P & Purchasing, Land Development Fees, Utility Services, and Pelican Bay Aquatic Center. A new fee schedule was approved for Gracelawn Cemetery and will be presented to City Council for final ratification. The 457 deferred compensation investment policy statement was updated by Great-West Retirement Services. A budget of $1,200 was approved to promote National Save for Retirement Week for employees in October 2011. A GASB 54 update was deferred to a later date. New business, a credit card merchant service request for proposal has been issued; bids are due June 23 rd, 2011. For more information, please contact Lisa Murray at 359-4528. KickingBird Golf Advisory Board Hosted the following events: Hosted the 2011 UCO/KickingBird Classic April 3 rd -5 th. Nineteen NCAA Division II schools participated. Hosted the 2011 Demo Day on April 9 th, had over $15,000 in golf club sales. Hosted the UCO Professional Golf Management 54-Hole Individual Stroke Play Championship April 29 th May 1 st. Hosted the first Family Fun Night of the season on April 30 th. Thirteen families participated. Discussion Items: The greens were aerified on April 11 th and 12 th There were 3,337 paid rounds of golf for the month of April, resulting in $176,000 in revenue. For more information, please contact Brian Soerensen at 341-5350. Alarm Review Board The Alarm Review Board met on May 17 th. Three appellants appeared before the Board and all received some type of relief from their alarm count. 2
For more information, please contact Jennifer Hunt at 359-4588. Urban Forestry Commission The Commission meeting was held May 11 th ; the updates for this month are: Community outreach: in an effort to make the most effective and impacting use of time and resources there will be changes to the way our community outreach programs are structured. The Urban Forestry department will be looking for opportunities to conduct a greater number of smaller topic/interest specific outreach programs. The department will also be looking for ways to expand Urban Forestry s presence at Public Works Open House. The commission will begin a review and revise Edmond s Annual Urban Forestry Resources Plan. As specified in our municipal code, a progress report will be prepared for and presented to City Council. Ryan Ochsner has been representing the commission and city on the development of a regional Community Garden Coalition. The coalition is forming with the leadership of the YMCA and will serve as a resource for anyone wanting to start a community garden. The commission received a letter from the Oklahoma Tree Bank thanking them for their E-Tree Award. For more information, please contact Ryan Ochsner at 359-4799. Edmond Planning Commission Pending applications and preliminary plats or plats under review are printed every other week in the Edmond Life and Leisure and are posted on the City of Edmond s website at www.edmondok.com. May 3 May 17 1. Legacy Cleaners Sign Variance Approved 4-0 2. Mason Spencer Easement Closing Approved 4-0 3. Petra Industries Site Plan Continued Indefinitely 1. Ranken Energy Site Plan Approved 3-0 2. Birnam Woods Preliminary Plat Continued to June 7 3. John Gravitt Deed Certification Approved 4-0 For more information on specific planning items, please contact Bob Schiermeyer at 359-4791. 3
Visual Arts Commission (VAC) The Visual Arts Commission met on May 11 th. The Commission members approved the partnering with Randel Shadid on a piece called Zephyr to be located at the Boulevard median just north of the Bowman median cut. Total cost of the piece is $19,000. Commission members reviewed three applications for art pieces from various private contributors: Windsong total cost $5,900 African Sunset total cost $16,500 Daphne II total cost $17,500 Commission members planned out the dedication for the Big Wish to take place June 11 th and the dedication tour of public art during Edmond s Liberty Fest. Edmond Life and Leisure will be doing future articles on the public art program along with the dedication tour activities. For more information, please contact Kelly Neal at 359-4574. Edmond Historic Preservation Trust The Trust met on May 3 rd and discussed the following: School house repairs are now completed and the building is ready for public viewing. As clean-up of the project was being completed, it was discovered that the sewer line to the restroom building is broken. Arrangements are being made to expedite its repair. School house history booklets have been distributed to the 5 th grade teachers in the Edmond Public Schools and the local faith based schools. Currently the Trust has four vacant positions. They discussed the appropriate size of the Trust and if this was a good time to recommend a change. They also discussed the large number of trust members that were new and thought it would be good to set aside a workshop time to discuss the history of the group and the directions the group wants to pursue. To start that process at the next meeting they will be reviewing the bylaws as they relate to the trust indenture and the amendments that have occurred in their bylaws to gain a greater knowledge of their organizational roots. For more information, please contact Steve Commons 359-4769. Edmond Arts and Humanities Council (EAHC) The Council met on May 17 th and discussed the following: Grants were awarded to Up Stage Theater and to two projects with the Oklahoma Center for Arts Education. Remaining money for the current fiscal year was appropriated and approved. Most of the money will be used toward grants and to repay the City of Edmond for a loan from Acoustacadia. 4
For more information, please contact Diane Self at 216-7635. Edmond Bicycle Committee The Committee met on May 13 th and discussed the following: The status of the Bicycle Master Plan and the work of the sub-committee working on this project. Bike to School/Work Day scheduled for Friday, May 20, was reviewed, going over routes and rider assignments. The Texas 4000 charity bike ride from Austin to Alaska scheduled to ride into Oklahoma City on June 10 th, stay over at Oklahoma Christian University and Edmond on Saturday, June 11 th, and ride out on June 12 th. For more information, please contact Jan Fees at 359-4796. Convention and Tourism Advisory Board The Board met on May 17 th, the following was discussed: Action Items: Grant request for the 2011 Triple Crown Sports Girls Youth Fast Pitch Tournament scheduled for June 3 rd -7 th, was approved in the amount of $1,500. It is anticipated the event will bring in 200 teams and will utilize fields from Norman to Edmond. Discussion Items: National Tourism Week activities were reported on by the Director. Staff worked with all 12 state travel information centers as well as military travel offices at Tinker Air Force Base, Ft. Sill Army Post and Sheppard Air Force Base on promoting Edmond. There were several display print ads run in local publications promoting what tourism dollars produce for Edmond. Other activities included local newspaper editorial coverage, a proclamation by the Mayor, co-hosting Business After Hours at the Fairfield Inn and staff attendance at the Ok Travel Industry Association s spring educational seminar at the zoo. The week ended with a live radio remote at Two Hearts Inn. The remote was a cooperative effort with the Edmond Convention and Visitor s Bureau (ECVB), Discover Oklahoma television show, Oklahoma Today magazine and Magic 104fm radio station. It featured a live interview with Lt. Governor Todd Lamb discussing tourism and finished with a call in activity to win an Edmond vacation package. The package included lodging at Two Hearts Inn, golf for 2 at Coffee Creek, golf for 2 at Fairfax, $50 shopping in downtown Edmond gift certificate, $50 in chamber cheques and a $70 gift certificate to Boulevard Steakhouse. Director s report: The staff reports, group booking report and grant report were reviewed. 5
The Director reported on working towards obtaining accreditation for the ECVB through Destination Management Association International (DMAI). She has sought assistance from City of Edmond accounting, human resources and legal departments for assistance with portions of that application process. There is not an accredited convention and visitor s bureau in Oklahoma at this time so the ECVB could be the first to obtain this documentation of excellence. For more information, please contact Cathy Williams-White at 216-7781. 6