Parks and Recreation Committee - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call the meeting of the Park and Recreation Committee Tree Advisory Board, call the meeting to order for September 2nd. Let's begin by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, I have the roll call.

Gary Johnson.

Present.

Kathy Sties. Present. Jennifer Mueller. Present. Thomas Byron.

Present.

Mike Abbott.

Present.

Jay Ahrens. Present. We have six for the quorum.

All right, thank you. Next bullet, election of a vice chairperson.

Okay.

Any nominations? I would like to nominate. Everybody that watched this, raise their hand. No, I'd like to recommend or nominate Jennifer.

I'll second that.

Jennifer. Would you be willing to do that? Sure. Don't miss a meeting.

Okay. So let's take a vote on that. All in favor, raise your right hand, say aye. Aye. All opposed? No. Great. Thank you, Jennifer. Approval of the minutes. You have a minute to lie in front of you. Take a look at those and let me know if you see any corrections or additions.

We just have one minor, probably just a typo on page four. The Saturday, October 10th, the first part about the new business, park beautification. First line, there should be a 10. It's no big deal, but.

Correct.

Thank you.

Okay, anything else?

Yeah, right.

Okay. I make a motion we approve the minutes as... Oh. Okay. I'd like to make a motion we approve the minutes as corrected then. Second. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

I'll take back it. You motion? I second. Yeah.

Okay. Public comments? If there are none. All right. Thank you. Parks and Recreation Committee meeting items, old business, none. New business, discussion regarding a mission statement for the Parks and Recreation Committee slash tree advisories. May I kick this off a little bit? I'm an engineer, so I'm pretty awkward around these kinds of things, but I found something called AI. I went out to AI and asked for what makes a good Parks and Recreation Committee mission statement. And what I pulled up is pretty good, I think, without knowing a lot about mission statements. And I think it'll help us maybe in going forward from here and some of our assignments. So a good mission statement for a Parks and Recreation Committee is, so it's kind of threefold, to enhance the quality of life for all residents by providing safe, accessible parks, enriching recreational programs, second point, and sustainable stewardship of our natural spaces for current and future generations. So it kind of even embodies the tree committee. So to enhance the quality of life for all residents by providing safe, accessible parks, enriching recreational programs, and sustainable stewardship of our natural spaces for current and future generations. That's just a starting point. But it has three areas of focus on it. A mission statement supposedly explains what your core purpose and who it serves, how to deliver it. And the time is more in the present, not the future. So it provides safe, accessible parks, enriching recreational programs, and sustainable stewardship natural spaces. So we can refine it from there or think about that and come back. Assignments about what what do we do in each of those three general areas or what would we like to do? Or what might be be asked to do you know? That would address the quality of life of our Customers the residents providing safe accessible parks enriching recreational programs and sustainable stewardship of our natural space

Well, I like that you used AI. I like that you figured that. It sounds good. I like the overarching umbrella.

Well, we fall under that big umbrella. What sorts of things do we do? How do we serve the community? What do we need out of them?

Was there duties? that were given by the board or has that been fine? I don't know.

The mission statement would just be the general mission statement. The duties and that would be a whole separate conversation.

Right. Come out of it.

And the one thing we have to just be cognizant of, I mean, Candice is on the call tonight, but programming and events is her job. It's her full-time job, so we have to be careful. I mean, enriching is a good word to say that we support and participate in the events that are held, but to say that it's a decision of this that is her job. So can't step on those toes, absolutely not. But I do like the focus of it.

Okay, I'll get that to Jane. We don't have a group text, I guess, but I'll give it to Jane and she can send it.

Do we need to modify that to include the verbiage of advisory capacity or something like that? Well, yeah. So I just as to keep it from, get a good starting point, a type of scenario. And I personally, I wouldn't throw proactive in there somewhere as well, which would help empower us a little more. We take a proactive approach instead of a reactive approach, you know, where we can bring things to the board for them to decide on, Hey, this is our recommendation and, as opposed to waiting for them to say, hey, what are your thoughts on this type of scenario? So that gives us a little more of an active role in what we do. We're not basically sitting around waiting for them to say, hey, what are your thoughts on this? We can, in turn, bring up new business that, hey, we need this here type of thing, discuss it, present it, send it to the board that, hey, this is something that we think that would benefit the city of Fenton Parks type of scenario.

Okay, proactive and advisory. All right, put that spin on it. Okay, any other thoughts?

I need to see it in writing so I can like think through it.

Yeah.

I think it's something we can propose and then we can make a motion to like propose it and then have it put in the minutes and stuff for next week or next month and then discuss it and make sure we're all good with any edits. Yeah.

Okay, good.

I make a motion to continue this discussion for next month.

Yeah. I'll second that. Thank you, Vice Chairman.

Oh, stop it.

Chairperson. Look at her already wielding her power. If I get out of line, you can whack that.

Okay. Next piece of new business discussion regarding park projects for the 2027 budget. We got a memo from Nikki. Oh. Oh, yeah, we ought to. All in favor of the motion to continue the discussion on the mission statement that...

Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Okay. Thank you. All right. Part projects for the 2027 budget.

and this is the time of year that we kind of discussed where we need to start discussing um or to solidify next month any part projects that you want to push or you want to you know provide to the board to review for the 2027 budget we can still start working on that in november and for our code that it needs to be submitted to them in october so they can have that um to you know review place into the draft budget.

And I apologize, there should have been attachments with that. I apologize. So if they were in the digital company that came, I'm just kind of showing you what this year's projects are.

I think you're aware of most of those, what that looks like.

And then what some were already obtained in our long-range capital plan, items that we should roll from this year. She said she could present those.

So along that line, going back to the mission statement of what we just said, I would challenge each of us because we will meet in October before the October Board of Aldermen meet. that would be the time that we would present it to them. I would challenge each of us to come up with one potential improvement for especially our respective parks that we're in charge of to be considered so that we're, again, taking a more proactive approach.

And we can provide these documents for you to take home. Yeah, and I apologize that those should have been attached, but we'll provide those as far as the you know the current plan that shows that's been recently updated by the board of at mid-year some items have already been rolled to 20 that we know we're going to have to roll into 2027 they didn't take they didn't take off this year um for it could be a variety of different reasons obviously that's something that we just do with our capital plan if it's in the middle of a project we're not completed with it we have to roll whatever funding we need over

um to take care of that but then it'll kind of show you some items that were already addressed in the long range capital plan we know items will still be dressing next year is going to be tree trimming removal invasive species um we're definitely increasing those those uh that costs every year um as you've probably noticed around town that there's quite a bit of that occurring um and the storm damage did not help us that has really

Babic alone has been a challenge and will continue to be a challenge for cleanup just from the street lighting, or I guess what they call the microburst that we were hit with.

Okay.

we'll just provide you with a copy of that and we can continue that also till next month. But just to take a look at that plan, you know, kind of an idea of what's in there, what's already proposed for next year and any additional items you'd want to look at or change the scheme that was already placed on the.

Okay. And I like the idea of trying to come up with a project for your specific area that we're

Think of it almost as a wish list, you know, because these are capital improvements over $5,000. So that would exclude maintenance and things like that, the ordinary run of the mill. But what would help and enrich the residents' lives in your area, in your park that you do a report on? What's going to make it better? it may not be approved, you know, go into that, knowing that full well, but there's gotta be something.

Well, and when you think about it, maybe not just our own park, but would this be a time to look at recommendations for 41 Gravois? You know, we, we didn't do moving the pavilion, but what are we going to do with that property? Community garden or, you know, what, what, out there besides building a pavilion.

Okay, good add. And your project might address the quality of life for our residents by safe, accessible parks or by enriching our recreational programs or sustainable stewardship. Ooh, this is all coming together. I'm starting to shiver all over.

Jane is passing this out, but just to kind of briefly go through that, items that are already, we're looking at for 2027, assuming, you know, any items that are not rolled from 2026 would, oh, okay, sorry, would be the parking lot striping in all of the parks that needs to occur, additional concrete repair and concrete work within our parks. And this will also address things like aprons, but also pavilion pads, right? the larger pavilion pads that have not been replaced. As you know, this year we had a contract with RV Wagner. A majority of that work has been completed, but there are still other areas that need to be addressed. We put a pretty large price tag on that at about $100,000, especially if we're going to start addressing the pads underneath the pavilions. Tree removal and trimming at $500,000. Again, some of that... Most of that does occur in our parks. Occasionally it's within our right of way, but that's in our parks. Invasive species control in the parks. Again, $200,000. We are actually meeting tomorrow with Missouri Native Landscaping Solutions to start looking at what 2027 would entail. A lot of that is starting to become stewardship, though, of these areas, not just increasing the areas. a planning grant for $12,500. I think we should look at the property at 41 Gravois Road that is vacant and has not been developed. I think that that would be an excellent use of the planning grant. The four-bay system design for Budweil Park Lake, that project we're going to hold in the capital plan but it may not come to fruition we are working with invasive control on that hillside and once the invasives are addressed and native plannings occur we're hoping that there may not be a need for a four-bay system because you look at next year we're looking at just fifteen thousand dollars for the design and if you go down to 2028 uh i believe it one time we had it in there sorry we were going to be looking at probably close to 40 000 for the install So what that is, is that's going to be more of a wait and see if we want to look at a four bay system, which would be actually putting in a channel, try to catch the runoff that comes off the hill into Budweil Lake. And in lieu of that, actually addressing that with natives coming down the hillside to where the stormwater would be caught naturally. We still have addressing the drainage issue near the basketball courts in Fenton City Park. That is going to be a larger task as in the question is, are we ripping up all of the concrete to address it? Are we trying to do an overlay? Because the main issue is that it's, as you'll see, it's a pretty large price tag for something that holds water for a little bit, but it's usually off the basketball courts fairly quickly. So, I mean, it's a pretty large price tag if it's a true inconvenience, but it's going to entail engineering and it's going to have a larger price tag due to the concrete replacement. We do want to look at docks at the lower and upper lakes. That's something that Missouri Department of Conservation would be willing to help us with funding wise, but we would have to apply for a grant, but I think that's something worth looking at. Many of the mini shelters around the parks are in desperate need of some repair. we are we currently did some repairs on the ones near the boardwalk if you haven't been in that area they're still they still be finished painting but they replaced all of the boards i believe they came out very nice and we would look at replicating that throughout the parks where the boards are warping what this was as a heftier material so that the boards don't have to be replaced as often or for multiple years in lieu of the constant replacement that's having to occur. And then, of course, our volunteer projects that we put funding in if somebody wants to apply for projects within the parks. Yes, oh and then the nature trail again that is something that's in but was rolled from 2026 because of the fact that that's most likely going to be addressed within the native plan within doing those native areas as we're starting to take the honeysuckle and remove those areas that's actually embedded in that plan.

Thank you.

Good starter. So maybe some of our individual projects.

Stonegate Park. Oh, that is the Budweil Annex, the rename of the Budweil Annex, Stonegate Park.

Okay, thanks.

Yes.

Yeah.

And those will, that'll obviously be rolled till next year. It's still in the design phase. We, the holdup has been MSD approval, plain and simple. It's been months that it's been under review with MSD. And as soon as we receive the approval on that, we will be going out to bid for a contractor and and moving forward. We're hoping to have shovel in the ground. We were hoping to have shovel in the ground by fall. At this point, it may be early next year.

Are we anticipating the, I saw in the 26 one, the repairs to the paths in the park, the asphalt? I know it went out to bid. It is.

The board will be reviewing that tomorrow night, the bids. So if we have a contract signed, we will have that starting as soon as possible. Okay.

Because I was wondering if that needs to roll over.

No. that it would just be rolled over if for some reason part of the project wasn't finished, but that those will usually move pretty quick. Gregory Lane should be, Gregory Lane was supposed to start the last two weeks and it hasn't, or sorry, up here with the replacement on that. I mean, a lot of our projects we have been moving on. I think the only one that's really outstanding is we just need to get it out to bid is the West side retaining walls. the biggest large ticket item that just hasn't been put out to bid yet. And again, that has to do more with obtaining quantities and reviewing different types of systems that could be utilized in the area. And we most likely are going to put it out for alternative bids to do either a single pour, what they call it, Dan, you know the name, where it's just a single, where they would be a single slab where we would no longer have the VersaLock or looking at going back to a lock type system. And it all has to do with what it would entail for the footings.

All right. More on that item. Move along then to the discussion regarding replacement component valiant park playground. Pretty long memo related.

Okay.

And I'll kind of kick this off is that it's, this is, we had a third party come in earlier this year and do an inspection of all of our playgrounds and to note any deficiencies, any items that need to be addressed. In most of the parks, we found that it was replacement items. A lot of it was under warranty or it was under where we were able to get the replacement parts through the companies. We're working with NextGen to do a lot of the repairs on many of the structures. They're currently being power washed. Some paint is going to be anything that was noted within that. I think as you're aware, we found that the old swing set that was quite old, yes, it was quite old, had to be removed. It didn't have to do as much with the structure. There was issues with the structure. It was more the surfacing. The surfacing did not meet any of the requirements. And your surfacing, if you replace that, you're talking a big ticket item for an existing structure that was on its last leg. So obviously we decommissioned that earlier this year. We made the decision pretty quick after we saw the report that that needed to come offline. We also, with the board's approval, we had the same issue with the surfacing of the one on the lower side of Westside. And so that has now been removed. Because again, it's putting that money back into surfacing. So I think a project you would want to look at is what do we want to look at for lower side of Westside? Do we want to look at putting a possible swing set in there, expanding the basketball court? What could be put into that? The board, we knew that it just, at this point, it needs to be removed with the future coming to you guys to say, what would you like to see now replaced in that area? The west side structure came out great. I mean, a lot of that, we were putting in long range plans for replacement, but per the reports, they could go another five, 10 years, as long as we continue to maintain them and- The one issue was with Valiant. We had issues with both. We had a lot of issues, again, with the surface, with failures on the surface. Then came the question of what they call the, I think it's called what the spider tower.

Okay, and you do.

And if you've noticed at the footing of that where it's coming up, from the I don't get on yes okay in in the surfacing so before we do the surface we know that that component it could cost us to get it placed and again Candace who's on she's our parks and rec supervisor she is actually a certified playground inspector also is that that although we see kids on it all the time it could be deemed to be a little bit of a liability sure it is Yes. So what we are suggesting is that before we can get bids to have the surface replaced, and most likely we're going to go with the turf surface that you see now up at Budweil. If you haven't been up there yet to feel or even watching the install was kind of interesting on how that goes in. And it's definitely a different texture when you walk on it. Those are the, they say, the more durable, long-lasting, and especially with flooding, different things like that, that it's more durable in those types of environments. Again, it's a large-ticket item, and you have to base the surface based on the structure. So what we need to do is select a component to replace this, what am I going to call it, the spider? So the rope climber is that we need to replace that.

And we're going to take that down, take that down.

And what we're doing is providing you the options. So Candace is online tonight and she can kind of, I think, walk you through the different options. Candace, can you hear me? Okay. Yes, I can. Okay. Cause Dan says he can't.

But I can now.

Okay. Is that, you know, Candice is the, she's the one that got, you know, these different options through the vendor to take a look at. You can see there's a cost difference, but there's, you know, multiple points of amenities. And I'll kind of let her take it from there with the different options for review and just looking for a recommendation to take to the board.

Okay. So the first option is called an inversion climber. Can you guys hear me okay? Okay. Okay. The first option is an inversion climber and that is the most expensive option. But since we're looking at replacing a large piece of equipment, I think it would be a good idea to replace it with another large piece of equipment. So that is a good option. Now it does have some flexible components on it. However, all of the attachment points into the surfacing are solid. So we should not have the same issue with pulling the surfacing up. So that would be a good option. The next option is the Hurricane Bridge Climber. It's a lot more cost-effective, but it is a much smaller piece of equipment. The next one is the Horizontal S Ladder, which many of you probably know is like the monkey bars. I do think that one is a good option as well. That one is approximately 13,000 plus shipping and installation. And then the last option on here is the crossway climber. Cost for that one would be about $8,000 plus shipping and installation. I think that one would be a good option as well. But I think for the play value of the structure, I think the inversion climber would give the most play value.

Yeah, that hurricane bridge climber we have at the back park, in the back of Fenton Park. So there's already one really close. I would definitely not do that. Which one was that? The second one, the hurricane bridge climber.

There's something very similar. Gotcha.

And yeah, the inversion climber is kind of similar to the idea of that rope climber that kids can be on it and climbing, where the monkey bars are kind of, that's if you have the arm strength. So not everybody can do that kind of thing.

Yeah, there's one at Valiant. There's one of those, not at Valiant. I mean, Westside. Westside, yeah.

So something unique would be the Inversion or the Crossway Climber. Okay. I like the Inversion Climber also.

That was my pick.

Yeah, it's just the, it is the biggest. I can see for play value for more kids, that's,

And again, that structure overall was rated to be well, that it's something that should last us for at least another, I would have to look if they stated in there, but I know it was, they said it was one of those, you know, five plus plus plus years, as long as we continue to make it.

All right, any other questions for Candace? Looks pretty good.

I like that you brought us options right away. That was very nice. And Candace put a lot of hard work into this.

She did.

By the way, maybe nobody else had the experience I did. We went up to the weekend and dogs and went over and walked. My wife didn't want to walk the dogs on the grass or the turf because But I walked across there, and I don't know if anybody else has. I just got a shock every time I touched something. Is there some kind of threads they can put in that?

Yes. No, we have talked to the manufacturer regarding that. Our public works director got himself shocked a couple of times taking a look at it. He stated that that is something that it's because of how new it is and that that will be subsiding. But, yeah, it was a little shocking. What's causing it? It's the material.

How new it is, and it'll go away gradually.

Yes, we had a conversation about, huh, that was a little shocking when it happened. Yes, so we have been told that that will subside, that it's just because of the surface being as new as it is.

Maybe we just advertise it. It comes with shocking.

It's a shocking experience. President, maybe it's me. Does it seem like the sidewalk is narrow between the parking lot and the parking cell?

We have had that statement, but it is ADA compliant. It is the full forefoot.

I thought so, but I don't know why it seems narrow.

Yes, and in retrospect, we all looked at it and said, yes, we should have done five, but it is ADA compliant.

Yeah, I thought it was. It just seemed narrow.

It did. We actually went out there and measured it because.

Okay, Candace, again, thanks for your good work.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

I guess that was the last item on.

Do we have to make a motion that we prefer one specific thing?

And as it's your park.

What?

You're assigned a valiant.

I am. Oh, okay. I get what you're saying. Okay, I make a motion that we move forward with the inversion climber.

I'll second.

All right.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Okay. Through the vote. Three advisory board items. No old business, new business. Updating Park Beautification Day on October 10th.

I can just kind of give a small update is that it's happening on October 10th. Please bring your own gloves because the ones we give out are like Mickey Mouse gloves. Candace and I have had a discussion that we will be providing, if I'm using the correct terminology, trowels. We don't seem to provide those in the past. This year's focus, we actually met with a landscaping company today, is going to be the island where the colomer tree was placed. We're going to have all of the rock removed in advance of the event and have amended soils put in the area so to make planting easy. Do you know which island I'm talking about that's in the parking? It's in the middle of a parking lot. For years and years, it was bare. We planted a colomer tree last year, a very tall. It separates the entrance and exit of the, I'm trying to find a.

It's north entrance.

Yes. Yes, the parking lot at north entrance. Yes. Yeah. Yes, so that bare island that's been there, it gets a lot of sun. Yes. We're aware that it's getting a lot of sun, so we'll be working for a landscape design. and getting the plants ordered so that they'll be there the day to help plant those. And then understanding that it's fall, so we'll focus on the woodies and the items that we can focus on in the fall, and then go back in the spring and add the items that we can add in the spring. We're also going to look at the island, what we call, I think you guys call it the Triangle Island, that we have put mulch on multiple years. Everybody's going to be a little sad about this. They're gonna go in and scrape a lot of that mulch off. to get that leveled out. My back hurts from the last one. I know, because we can't get to the soil. It's getting a little deep. We put a lot of mulch there last year. We think we'll be able to work with the existing soil. They'll get that soil ready to go, and we're going to be providing multiple, I think up to, what did we decide, 20 additional plantings in that area. But it'll be a nice soft dirt to get it done with brand new trowel.

Are we going to get that machine that put the hives in there?

The shovels that have no points are left back at the shop.

So we can actually dig.

But there will be no mulch putting replacement. So again, the goal with that island is going to be to get enough plantings in that area, especially with some ground cover that we'll come back and do in the spring to where it'll be limited weeding and mulching and mulching.

Yeah.

that's kind of what we've developed regarding the tree we're going to work with a contractor with one of the city's contractors because we want to do large trees to replace around the pickleball courts and then fields one and two where we had to take down those trees those were ash trees if anybody and they were we knew that just number one the new concrete that was put in that area wasn't going to help their roots uh we're going to make sure they're large shade trees and we're We're looking at probably, what did we decide today? A two to a two and a half caliper, which will be a fairly large tree when we plant them to where they have to come in with a backhoe.

So they mature so that it's not going to get, okay.

And then we're looking at then also obviously replacing the ones, but we want to have those done professionally because they're going to be pretty costly to have those put in. We do have that. But we can all stand by them and take a photo when they're done.

With our troughs.

With our little troughs. But I do want you to know that we are getting those trees addressed. So fall is the best time to get that done. And then just making sure we're watering. But when they come in, they're also going to add the moss. They're going to add the better soils. They're going to get them done correctly because we want those to take and provide shade in those areas. I know the main goal. Yeah, it was the main goal. And then, of course, if we have additional time, there's always weed pulling to happen in that park.

All right. Great. Thank you very much. Let's see. New business. I guess nothing else for Tree Advisory Board. We'll move on to park reports. Cutwheel and Annex. Or Stonegate.

Okay.

Oh, Stonegate. My part. My uncle. Yeah, the park looks good. The bathrooms look great. Playground.

Like I said, I had to get on this plane. I even videotaped myself.

I was like, oh, this is fun. I found that the, oh, we do need a trash container over there. Okay. Because, unfortunately, people have left their trash, which I picked up, which I don't like. And then there's a, over on the other side of the lake, going towards the little runoff There's a bird feeder and then there must have been another bird feeder on the tall post and that post is leaning. So if they could, you know, but other than that, everything looks good.

And they should be starting the concrete work in that area as soon as they're done in Fenton City Park.

All right, thank you. Mayor Mack Greenway, that one's mine. I've kind of elevated the urgency around. We'll probably want to go ahead before we wait for the asphalt to show up over there. About 50 or 100 feet south of where Riverside Drive ties in, there's a big depression on the left-hand side of the walkway. It takes up about half the walkway. I'm guessing it's eight inches deep, maybe more than that. And if somebody comes down there riding a bike or somebody's not quick on their feet... I think they might have a problem. So I'd like to at least recommend at a minimum we put some cones up around that, hope they don't get stolen.

We have tried the cones. They walk away pretty quick. What Dan and I discussed is that what will probably go out is with orange paint. And just so that it's very noticeable that it's there because the orange paint hopefully won't walk away. But we are losing cones faster than we put them out. They've gotten expensive.

Yeah, gravel in it or something to pick it up. Yes, we will definitely take a look at that. I'd be remiss if I didn't bring it up and kind of say we need to do something, I think. Got some graffiti on a Highway 30 bridge on the concrete.

Yes, and currently just a statement regarding that right now that is not under the maintenance of the city of Fenton. We had an agreement with MoDOT. The lease has expired. We are working through, that's actually going to the board next Thursday to enter into a new different type of license for that, for the maintenance. So currently that is something that we're not in there maintaining.

Okay. Boardwalk looks pretty good. If you recall, that got a picnic table on one end and three new benches, one on and a couple off the side. There's a cap missing on one of the posts, and it could still use a power wash. We just had that power washed a little over a month ago. Birds have been busy.

Birds have been busy.

I guess they land there. And I'd still like to see at least one or two trash cans, although they don't have to be trash cans if we can get our hands on those dog stations, because that's what our gripe is. We walk our dogs and we carry three bags of poop all the way up to the 44 Highway 30, I should say. But anyhow, there can be dog stations if we got that. All right.

I've got a question for the Merrimack Greenway there. When you go past 44 and it comes down to the right side, goes kind of to the right of the woods and then comes back up again, is that part of our area? You know what I'm talking about, right? When you pass the freeway, it dips down to the right Right when you pass the bridges, it dips down to the right down by the river, splits away from the road. Is that part of our area?

It's MoDOT right of way. It's Great Rivers Greenway Trail, but we have an agreement to assist with that.

Okay. The reason I ask, because I bike that a lot, and it's completely overgrown. So I got a hold of Great Rivers Greenway, but I didn't realize after I called them that ours or yours, Gary. And so I got a hold of them and they fixed it. But I didn't, after I did it, I'm like, well, maybe that's something we should have done. I wasn't sure. Anyway, it was done and they did it. But I thought, well, I probably should have said, Gary, you need to get on that. But I wasn't sure if that was something we should do or did I do the right thing talking to them?

Yeah, I'd have to take a look because it's either us or it's going to be MoDOT.

Okay. You know what I'm talking about where it splits? Now the road cuts real hard, soccer drive, and then the trail goes to the right, and then if you veer to the right, you go to Soccer Park.

That goes out of city boundaries.

Yeah, that's out of the city. I didn't know where the boundary was. That may actually be St. Louis County jurisdiction.

Oh, okay.

Well, the Greenway took care of it. Good. They didn't do it. They hired a guy.

Yes. And speaking of the Merrimack, Great Rivers Greenway contacted both Dan and myself about a month ago that they're looking at programs to start doing sealing of pads.

And they want to work with the city of Fenton to start sealing those areas throughout.

But then understanding that we're getting ready to have path replacement done, they're going to look at that for possibly, they wanted to do it this year under their budget. We're going to wait till 2027 with having new asphalt put down.

So that'll be something that'll most likely be coming forward in 2027.

I stopped at the stop sign there. I've been drawn the line. I tried to talk about doing something different around the stop sign and turn it left and the lights that flash. It was totally a mistake, I guess. Okay. Anyhow. So that'll take us to Riverside and Valiant, right?

I feel like we talked about Valiant already, so we're probably pretty good with that park. I mean, with the changes that are going to get done. It got trimmed.

Yeah. All the trees.

All the trees are trimmed. And, I mean, obviously the park's getting looked at, so that's good. And the surface scene. Riverside, we're going to be doing the parking, striping soon, so that hopefully will be good. So I really have nothing other than like Fenton City Park. And I know Mary's not here to talk about Fenton City Park. And so maybe it is something that I need to add to the list for possible 2027, but we took out those swings. Is there gonna, can we put swings on this side of the hill? You know, now that they're in, you know, on this side, they're over here and now they're at west side, but now there's no swings over there at the main park.

So we actually have, thousand in this year's budget to replace the park um okay so we are going to the rear yes okay to look at both because we've been told that that's that structure in the back it's it's older it is older but it's it's still good too small for it is small for that area what was nice in our report is we asked the person who did our um the the in the sorry, inspector that did our report with ideal to look at it. And they said that structure could be movable to another area where we could take the structure in the rear, the existing one and move it somewhere else, possibly in our park that could be better utilized in a smaller area. That was in the budget. The board had asked though earlier this year that we hold off on that area because we wanted to see how this got completed and done and the final product. So I have a feeling that's going to be back in front of you guys in 2027. Okay. Yep.

And the other, just to add on to that was doing the surface for another set of swings. And then we decided to do another playground, either move it or put a new one in, then you're coming back and, you know, disturbing it again, when you could just do a new playground and the swings at the same time, have the surface done. But there will be swings back in there eventually.

And other than like the paths, obviously in Fenton City Park that need to get replaced and have needed it for a long time. And I guess when you guys do the paths, you'll probably do like around that triangle island, like the curbs because it's falling apart also.

Yeah, the curb that got hit.

Yeah. So other than that, I would say, you know, it's looking good. The concrete work looks really good. Oh, we see Dan.

No, I'm here. Yeah. I'm not sure who might've hit that curb, but anyway, but no, that is fully going to be replaced around that triangle. I think that contrast can be approved or moved to the board meeting tomorrow night. So yes.

Yeah. I was just trying to help out since we didn't have a video on Fenton city park. But yes, that curb that was damaged. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Damn it.

Correct. That is correct. How did that happen? It just happens sometimes.

One Arbor day. A miracle. God.

Okay. While we're on Fenton city park, what I'd like to mention, we've got those monument signs into the park. And on the, north entrance they did some landscaping and put in a big big yeah big tall grasses and it's it falls in this site triangle so that may need to be cut down or removed is what i would like to recommend the ornamental grass on the north side okay yeah you do have to pull up on that

All right, west side, Jay.

So not too, too much stuff. The trail from the pavilion down to the pond could use some cleanup, maybe like a weed eater. The invasive plants that were cut back are starting to grow back significantly. The pond, as we know, has got a lot of algae. I was just curious, Dan, as far as, I know we have those floating islands in there now, but I forgot, what's the timeframe before they start taking effect?

So in this little address, Mr. Abbott's response to the American Lotus up at the Preston Lake area also, we had to stop treating the algae due to the lake temperatures. There are federal regulations on how much we can place once the temperatures of the water go above 82 degrees. We're going to be working with the Department of Conservation this fall on basically, as they put it, nuking that lake. It is an eyesore. I'm not going to lie. It has been a battle for the past four years. So we're going to take very invasive measures to address that. you know, the issues that we have at Westside Lake. I don't know how to best put it. There have been items in the lake that have been, you know, either planted that are invasive, introduced somehow. The coontail had to have been induced. You know, it's not native to the area. But regardless... we're going to be doing some very invasive work to that lake this spring or this fall to address the issues, the algae with everything going on at Westside Lake.

Okay. Thank you.

The last conversation I think I know I had with, Missouri Department of Conservation I know Dan is contact with them all the time was that they were hoping we could start in September but right now the temperatures are not they're not I figured that had a lot to do with it it has to be yeah it has to do with the temperature of the water and yeah because we we did make the decision a few months ago that we are we're going to have to go probably the nuclear option right I kind of figured where we may we may lose some

I don't think there's much fish left in there, honestly.

But we are working hand in hand with the Missouri Department of Conservation. They're very aware of it. It's just, we are, you know, we just ask for everybody's patience. I know it's been a long four years and we've tried everything. Okay. I have to.

People ask me and I tell them we're working on it, but I just can't decide to ask tonight. The last thing I had on my list was the retaining wall. And I know you mentioned that before. What's the timeline on that?

Timeline on that is I am waiting for a certain public works director to get me quantities so we can get the bid package out.

Oh, yes.

That is our last bid for this year. Yes. So we'll, we should, I mean, we still plan to move forward with that this year.

And is that all the retaining wall or just a certain section?

It is just, it's not behind, we're not doing the one behind the restroom. We're going to be planning those with natives. Those are still in.

They are. I'm talking about just the walkway.

It's everything else. I figured. Okay. Unfortunately, because it's just that we can't find that stone anymore either. Okay. As I stated, we'll probably look at two different options, one being kind of what you know is the VersaLock, what we have there currently, versus what, Dan, is it a continuous pour? What's the name I'm looking for?

It's basically what you'll see in a house foundation pour. I mean, it's going to be rebar reinforced. You know, some is going to take the loads of what's behind it. I mean, those Versalock walls, they're, I mean, I'll be honest with you. I was a part of installing those walls 20 plus years ago. They're good for about 20, 25 years. The pressure of the soils, doesn't matter what you put in, we'll push them out. So we're looking for more of a solid foundation pour.

It'll just come down to, you know, cost and longevity. So what we'll probably do is take it out to bid and have both options put in front of the board to make the decision on, on which, on which way to go. Because again, what I found out was this was interesting as the footings that they have to do when they do the continuous. Okay. Thank you. It's going to come down to what's the big cost difference going to be.

Okay.

It's very big.

Mike.

Famous, looking pretty good. Grass is being mowed. They've brush-tauged some of the native-grown areas. The bathroom light's been fixed. They replaced the debris shield on the main spillway at the lower pond. That was good. I don't know if you've been up there, but they've paved the driveway throughout the park and the parking lots, asphalted them. They're good and look nice. Put some speed bumps in. There are some ruts where people have had to drop off the ledge to pass other traffic, but they'll probably grow up in grass. The other, we've already talked about the excessive American lotus plants, but we're waiting for the heat for it to cool down, and we're missing a handicap parking sign at the main parking lot. It's required by code. That's it.

All right, thank you. Anything else for Benton City Park?

i drove through there when i was doing here's memorial today as a matter of fact um and from a curse i didn't get out and walk the path through it because it was 100 degrees south but uh the yeah i know the uh the benches at the pickleball court look awesome i i gotta admit they're There were people out there playing pickleball in 100-degree heat. I was like, oh, okay, better you than me. But from a cursory glance, there wasn't anything that was outlandish or really stood out or anything. Everything was clean, upkept. I didn't see anything that really denoted needing attention. Like I said, it was just from the driving through, driving through the parking lots and everything.

My wife had some friends from down south, one of the Catholic churches, that came up for the tournament with St. Paul's, and they were very complimentary of not only St. Paul's, but how the park looked.

One thing in Fenton City Park, back by Pavilion 1, the water fountain, the low child's water fountain has very, very low pressure. The other three have good water pressure, drinkable, but the child's is not. It just kind of dribbles out.

That's not the dogs, is it? No, the dogs worked fine. Okay. All right, well noted. It's Heroes Memorial in Old Town.

Heroes Memorial, the only thing I really noticed, the flags look better. There's weeds in the paper bricks inside all of the inscribed. It's the time of the year. There's always going to be weeds. That was the only thing that I noticed. Like I said, they got the flags rectified where they're the right size. Old Town Park Plaza, it's the same as last time. We unfortunately have the Gentleman, I think, might be living in the old town, the pavilion down there, but it's a bit of a mess. But other than that, it's all, you know, surface clutter more than anything else. Yeah. And then on a side note, this may have been something to bring up in the park side of things. Dan, I don't know if you have any projects that you would like to accomplish that you don't have time for, but I'm associated with a local Boy Scout troop, and I know that there's several Boy Scouts looking for Eagle projects. So if there's something that you might want to get done that you don't have the time, et cetera, et cetera, you know, a smaller project, not like resurfacing a parking lot or something. So send them over to me and I can pass them along.

Okay, I will do.

All right. Announcements from city staff and Aldersman Mills.

Sorry, we've gone over the projects in the park, so I'll turn it over to Robin.

Actually, we have 9-11. Yeah, I got it on there.

So the first event that's coming up is the 9-11 event on September 12th. It is at 10 a.m. at Benton City Park at the Heroes Memorial. That's kind of when you said about the weeds. They're sort of I'm gonna hit them all at once and make sure that they're all gone for the event. Candace has been working really hard and planning that event, getting in touch with the fire department. They're gonna bring the fire truck and put their big giant, you know, how would they hang the big flag? Because this is the 25th anniversary of The police are coming with their color guard. It's going to be a more in-depth event that hopefully will have good attendance and people will actually come out and remember. So that will be starting at 10 a.m. on September 12th. And then Candace has also been working on, they decided to extend the food truck night like they did last year one more time for October and have it be a Halloween event. They're going to have the stilt walkers, the, well, this is all, I mean, this isn't set in stone yet, but stilt walkers, face painters, balloon artists, fire breathers, traveling magician, We have the band Close Quarters coming. Mark Close's band is going to play the event. So it's probably going to be really well attended, but a whole lot of fun. Costume contest again. A lot of stuff for the kids, more kid-centric and bounce houses. It's going to be a pretty good event.

Do you have a date for that yet?

Yes, it's October 16th.

We're not handing out candy.

We are not handing out candy. The fire department is going to hand out candy.

Great. All right, anything else? No, that's it.

Last food truck event is September 18th. Yep.

Okay. So the next Parks and Recreation Committee and Trade Advisory Board's October 5th, back on our kind of regular schedule. Need someone to make a motion to adjourn?

I'll make a motion. I'll second.

Thank you very much, everybody.