AGENDA ASTORIA PARKS & RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018 6:45 AM

2nd Floor Council Chambers 1095 Duane Street, Astoria OR 97103

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

A. Individuals must state full name and address B. Each individual is provided 2 minutes

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. July

5. PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ

A. What do you hear?

6. EMPLOYEE & VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION

7. OLD BUSINESS A. Parks Foundation Update B. Implementation of the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan

i. Developing Parks and Facilities Maintenance Plans ii. Capital Improvement Plan

C. Memorandum of Agreement for the Care and Maintenance of Customs House Park D. Astoria Aquatic Center Exterior Signage

8. NEW BUSINESS

A. Staffing Update B. Facilities Annual Closures C. 2018 Regatta

9. STAFF REPORTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS (attached)

10. FUTURE MEETINGS

A. September 26, 2018 @ 6:45 AM in City Hall, Council Chambers B. October 24, 2018 @ 6:45 AM in City Hall, Council Chambers

Parks Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

July 25, 2018 Chairperson Norma Hernandez called meeting to Order at 6:46 am. Present- Norma Hernandez, Jessica Schleif, Andrew Fick, Jim Holen, Eric Halverson, and Michele Tompkins. Staff- Angela Cosby and Jonah Dart-McLean. Public comments

1. George Hague, 1 3rd Street, Astoria, handed out copies of a design for a pickle ball court. He suggested one of the tennis courts at Columbia Field be converted to pickle ball courts, which he estimated would cost about $5,000. He thanked those who installed additional trash cans at the 9th Street Park. He did not believe that park had been mowed in July and hoped it would be soon. He asked that the Board encourage Staff to keep them engaged in any issues that involve other bodies of government, like the Aquatic Center signage. He noted that Ms. Schleif had been doing a great job on Tidal Rock Park and she should give the Board an update on her work. He hoped the park would remain in its current condition rather than being turned into a parking lot.

Approval of Minutes

A. June minutes were unanimously approved with the following correction: • Page 2, New Business Item C – “Director Cosby updated the Board on Maintenance

Staffing.” President Hernandez

A. What do you hear- Jessica Schleif said she heard that the lawn at 9th Street was not mowed, and she saw it herself as well. However, the ball fields looked amazing. Jonah Dart-McLean explained that the new landscaping contractor just started work about a week ago and they should have gone through all the properties by now. Jim Holen said he noticed a lot of people on Cathedral Tree Trail. President Hernandez heard there were issues with the sound for the movie in the park, but a lot of pizza was sold that night. Director Cosby noted that if Staff could fix the sound equipment in the next 10 days, the Foundation would reshow the movie at no cost.

Employee and Volunteer Recognition

A. Jonah Dart-McLean recognized the Chad Gallup, Katie Lee, Mark Montgomery, Matthew Burgher, Kirk Miller as the July employees of the month.

B. Mr. Dart-McLean recognized David Ried [13:14] as July Park Partner volunteer of the month. Old Business

A. Jim Holen gave a brief update on the Parks After Dark Fundraiser. A free Zumba class was offered before the movie and the event was well attended. The Foundation has been approved to receive a $5,000 grant from Walmart and they need to decide how to use the funds.

B. Mr. Dart-McLean updated the Board on Staff’s efforts to implement the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

New Business

A. Mr. Dart-McLean presented and reviewed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the Care and Maintenance of Customs House Park. Rachel Jensen, Lower Columbia Preservation Society (LCPS), said the boundaries of their maintenance area had not been defined in the agreement. Mr. Dart-McLean noted the boundaries would be included in the final signed agreement; Staff was waiting on the City Attorney’s final approval of the draft. After the agreement is approved by City Council, Staff and LCPS can move forward with implementation in late August or early September. Ms. Schleif said she was impressed with the level of detail in the agreement. The Astoria Parks Board unanimously voted to recommend that City Council approve the MOA for Customs House Park.

B. Mr. Dart-McLean presented and reviewed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the Care

and Maintenance of Birch Field. Randy Harris, Friends of Alderbrook Park, said the Friends had hosted two movie nights and a game day, which has increased participation at the park. They have also added a box full of toys and balls for park users. Ms. Schleif thanked the Friends for doing the labor and taking care of the park. The Astoria Parks Board unanimously voted to recommend that City Council approve the MOA for Birch Field.

C. Mr. Dart-McLean explained why new signage was needed on the Astoria Aquatic Center. Instead of replacing the signage that was removed when the building was repainted, a local artist would paint a mural. He hoped the mural would be complete by the middle of September. The project would cost about $10,000 and funding for the project was available in the budget. Director Cosby provided an overview of the Planning Commission’s discussion about the Parks Department’s variance request for the mural. The standard public bidding process would be used to execute a contract with an artist. She offered to send a drawing of the mural design to Board members via email.

Staff Reports and Upcoming Events The following reports were presented to the Board as part of the agenda packet:

A. Maintenance B. Aquatic Center C. Recreation D. Lil Sprouts/Port of Play E. Communications/Marketing

Future Meetings • August 22, 2018 at 6:45 am in City Hall, Council Chambers • September 26, 2018 at 6:45 am in City Hall, Council Chambers

Non-Agenda/Miscellaneous Business

1. Jonah Dart-McLean noted the Summer Movies in the Park schedule had just been finalized and was published on the Parks website. Director Cosby provided details about the movies and the companies sponsoring them.

2. President Hernandez expressed her appreciation for the groups that had been adopting parks. 3. Jessica Schleif provided an update on her work at Tidal Rock Park. Salons are offered every

Sunday and include entertainment, programs and volunteer work to clean up the park.

4. Rachel Jensen announced that on August 4th, LCPS was hosting a historic public park tour for downtown. The tour would begin at Shively Hall at 1:00 pm. Interpretive speakers would be at each park from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and the tour would be self-guided.

Next meeting will be held Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 6:45 am at City Hall in City Council Chambers.

MAINTENANCE

Grounds • Mowing at all properties • Maintaining softball fields for Recreation program use • Supporting Movies in Parks events • Preparing Old Tapiola Restroom for exterior painting

Facilities • Continuing operational support at AAC for mechanical and chemical maintenance • Planning and preparing for upcoming Facilities Closures, Lil Sprouts 8/30-31, AAC

9/4-16 • Repairing vandalism at facilities (Downtown Restrooms, ARC)

Oceanview Cemetery • Continuing mowing grounds, primarily with one part-time temp dedicated to task

AQUATIC CENTER

Swim Lessons: Recreation Coordinator, Natalie Viescas, continues to develop swim instructors and has worked with each instructor to teach safety lessons, Aqua Duck class, and upper level classes which have greatly benefited our program. We have added a Water Safety component to our last day of swim classes each session. During Water Safety-Fun day, students learn important safety skills, such as floating on their backs to get air and how to call for help. They also learn what to do if someone is drowning in the water. After the safety lesson is complete, students are able to go down the slide and play with toys. We have also incorporated the Astoria Aquatic Center Pledge at the end of fun time. We have the students pledge to have an adult with them if they go by any body of water. We conclude with congratulating the students and handing out swim class mementos.

The Parent/Tot Aqua Ducks classes has been brought back to the swim program for the second half of the summer, with a 5 week session Mondays and Wednesdays. For Aqua Ducks, staff help parents learn ways to teach their babies and young children how to be comfortable in the water. We also have a safety lesson that helps the babies and young children learn verbal cues for their future water encounters.

Schedule: The summer schedule continues to run opening the slide daily at 1pm. The facility continues to see high volumes of patrons over the summer months including tourists and out of town users.

Special swim camps with 40- 60 students came in from Rockaway Beach, Ocean Park and Long Beach day camps July 25, 26 & August 9. The Aquatic Center was closed August 4 and 5 to host the “Beat the Heat” swim meet for the North Coast Swim Club. Swimmers competed from the Portland area, Southern Washington, the Oregon Coast and even as far away as Bend. The summer schedule continues to run opening the slide daily at 1pm. The facility continues to see high volumes of patrons over the summer months including tourists and out of town users. On August 4, the Aquatic Center hosted a special swim time in honor of the Coast Guard’s birthday. The facility was closed during the day for a swim meet, but was open 5-8 pm for this special event. All active duty Coast Guard and their family swam for free and the event included special activities, giveaways, birthday cake and snacks. We had over 20 families participate. On August 11 Aquatic staff decorated a float for the Regatta Parade and several Aquatic staff walked in the parade along with other staff from the department. Staffing Aquatic Supervisor Terra Patterson and Facilities Coordinator Mark Montgomery recently renewed their Certified Pool Operator certification through the NSPF. Staff are planning and currently recruiting for an upcoming lifeguard training course September 27-29. Staff are specifically recruiting for lifeguards who can work week days. Staff continue to hold monthly trainings for swim instructors to further develop our new swim instructor’s teaching skills and abilities. Three new cashiers were recently hired and completed training with the assistance of department administrative assistant Gad Perez. Facilities Work has begun on the painted sign for the Aquatic Center. Work is scheduled to be completed no later than September 16. Planning has begun for the upcoming twelve day closure for the facility September 4-16. Several projects are planned for the closure including: replacing drinking fountains, re-grouting locker room tile, reupholstering weight room equipment and plenty of deep cleaning. Schedule: • 8/20-8/30 - Next session of swim lessons begin • 9/4-9/16 - Annual Maintenance Closure

RECREATION CENTER After School Camp We have completed 8 weeks of Summer Camp! We have taken field trips to the pool and Shively Park, the Clatsop County Fair, and the Megler Ferry. We look forward to the last few weeks of Camp and our field trip to the Seaside Aquarium. We have enjoyed water games, balloon and splash ball fights, continuing to learn about different artists through our art projects. The Clatsop County Fair was the highlight of Camp thus far, the kids loved seeing the different animals especially the petting zoo and seeing the brand new baby piglets. We seem to finally be in our groove. Camp has averaged approximately 25 kids per day this summer. In peak weeks, we saw upward of 40 campers per day. Attendance is consistent with averages from last year, although we have experienced greater change in numbers from week to week. In order to better serve our participants moving forward, and to more easily predict attendance numbers and staffing needs, we have opted to change payment policies for after school care moving into the school year; offering lower cost options for those who register two or more weeks in advance. This policy is consistent with current payment options and requirements for Lil Sprouts, as we are working diligently to structure our childcare programs in a similar fashion.

Fitness Despite losing our Fitness Lead Staff, Libby Lawrence, this month (to a full time position within the Astoria School District), participation numbers have remained fairly consistent. Unfortunately, due to this loss, we did have to cancel one cycling class mid-season, but our new classes, Zumba Gold and Family Yoga, have seen steady increases. Zumba Gold now has 5-6 participants on average, and Family Yoga is seeing 4-5 participants on average, both up from 1-2 participants earlier in the season. That being said, we will unfortunately be losing our strongest instructor, Greta Cairns. She has opted to retire at the end of the summer, and we are struggling to fill her role - as she taught 6 classes each week that consistently saw full attendance: including cycling, core strength, and barre. We are working diligently to hire new instructors, and are looking for a consistent cycling instructor in particular. We have been meeting with participants and making announcements in classes to keep our members up to date on the search and the tentative schedule moving forward, in addition to bringing in guest instructors to introduce students to other class opportunities. We are doing everything we can from a customer service standpoint to keep our numbers intact and our participants in good spirits. However, unfortunately we only learned of Greta’s departure recently and it will most likely be another 1-2 months until our class offerings are back on par. Sports Men’s League Softball has wrapped up, and Dundee’s/Budweiser were the League Champions. Co-Ed softball has started, and we have 13 teams; up from 9 last year. Since we have such growth, we have been able to split the league into two divisions; a recreation and competitive. Registration is open for fall sports: 1st & 2nd grade flag football, Jiu Jitsu, Men’s Basketball League and Women’s Volleyball League.

Events We have hosted two Movies in the Park thus far: A Wrinkle in Time and Peter Rabbit. A big “thanks” to our Grand Sponsors, Recology and Arbor Care, and our additional sponsors: Mini Mart, Gimre’s Shoes, Aquafina, and Clatsop Power Equipment. These movies had attendance of about 50-80 people each – slightly lower than expected, however that might have been in part because of the slight rains. We have our last movie of the season set for August 22nd, and anticipate COCO will bring a large crowd. We also participated in the Regatta Parade this last month, and thanks to the fantastic skills from the maintenance team, won the Court Award! We loved having an opportunity to represent Astoria Parks and Recreation in the community. Upcoming Events

• August 27-31, Summer Day Camp, Summer Olympics

• September 4, Women’s Volleyball League and Men’s Basketball League begins

• September 4, Kids Zone and Teen Zone begins

• September 8, Flag Football begins

LIL’ SPROUTS/PORT OF PLAY

Lil’ Sprouts

Things have been a little quiet at Lil’ Sprouts, but we’ve still been having a fun summer, and trying to enjoy the weather as much as possible! Our Daffodil classroom has been diligently tending their garden plot located in the Gray School Community Garden, and found a bountiful harvest of potatoes and strawberries. Our Tulip and Daisy classroom spent time finding different leaves outside, and creating art with them outside.

August 13th, 14th and 15th, 8 of our Daffodil kiddos attended Kinder Camp at Astor Elementary. This gave them an opportunity to meet their teachers, experience typical routines in their schedule, and even ride the big school bus! It has been fun to see these kiddos start their big transition to kindergarten!

We have definitely been having some staffing challenges at Lil’ Sprouts. Even with pay increases, we still seem to be losing quality teachers to full time jobs with benefits, even more so than in the past. Losing so many teachers has put a hold on enrollment, but we’re hoping with a big social media push to hire, and paid advertisements, we will get the right people in the door.

On August 30th and 31st, Lil’ Sprouts will be closed for our annual cleaning and maintenance

closure. This is an opportunity for staff to deep clean toys/furniture, reorganize classrooms, and plan for the beginning of the year. It is also a great time for staff to get to know each other better and build a strong team for the fall.

Port of Play: Port of Play attendance has averaged about 5 kiddos per day, with the highest being 17 on July 7th. There was one birthday party for the month of July and one scheduled for August. Parents’ Night Out, while averaging around 8-10 kiddos per evening, had a high of 14 on August 11.

Upcoming Events

• August 30-September 3 - Port of Play CLOSED for annual cleaning and staff training

• September 8, 15, 22, 29 - Parents’ Night Out

COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING •

After the boost in advertising and social media posting in July, it is time to start gearing up for Fall. In the final few weeks of August, we will be preparing to review needs for fall sport registration as well as preparing for the Annual Parks and Recreation Catalog and Winter marketing push. There will also be a review of our fall fitness as the changes in staffing and

classes begin. We are now advertising on radio to push our ARC fitness classes this month for Zumba Gold as well as for Family Yoga.

We spent a little over $50 on social media ads this month. We used ads to advertise job openings at the Recreation Center and at Port of Play. Non paid ads were focused on highlighting our facilities and remaining camps with great return on investment as reported by the Parents’ Night Out numbers. Astoria Parks’ main Facebook page has 3,381 likes, Astoria Aquatic Center has 1,113 likes, Astoria Recreation Center has 378 likes, and Port of Play has 954 likes.

Constant Contact newsletters are now sent out bi-weekly and both newsletters focused on the Fall sports registration for adults and for youth with an average open rate of 21%. The Astoria Parks webpage had 10,466 visitors since last month. Astoria Aquatic Center, Events, and Park Board agendas were our top hits. Our popular parks this month included: Local Trails (585 visitors), Oceanview Cemetery (520 visitors), and Cathedral Tree Trail (330 visitors).