The Parks and Recreation Committee met 06/21/2021.
They had one action item which was a request for the Trout Museum of Art to use Houdini Plaza for a Private Event on August 27th, 2021.
They also listened to two informational presentations, one giving an update on Reid Golf Course and the other giving an update on the two public pools.
Director Dean Gazza explained to the committee members that the Trout Museum had requested to use Houdini Plaza for a special event and the city has a policy that requires the Common Council to approve such requests. He noted that the Parks and Recreation Department has reviewed this request with the Fire Department and other city departments and none of them had any issues with it.
Christina Turner, the President of the Trout Museum of Art, appeared in order to answer any questions. She said they held a similar event last year but, due to Covid guidelines, it had been restricted to only 50 attendees. This year they planned to open it up to about 300 people. She said that in the past they had held events that featured a large tent, but they weren’t doing anything like that this time. The tent they would erect would all be 10’x10′ or 10’x20′ along with some furniture. There would be a band that plays for the last hour, and the event was slated to end at 10pm or 10:30pm. She said that it was a ticketed event, but when the band played if members of the public were standing around and listening no one was going to ask them to leave.
Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) wanted to know, given that this was a private event held in a public space, would there be a delineation between those two spaces so the public could understand it was a private event.
Ms. Turner said they typically pub of sandwich board signs and have something that keeps people out. She said they also hire the Police Department to be on the corners of the plaza–not to keep people from sitting near the fountain, but just to be available if someone does become disruptive. She said that has happened a few times in the past and it was usually handled very quickly. She noted that the Trout Museum holds a lot of events that are on the plaza, most of which are public. This yearly event is the only private one they hold. As an organization that is 80% financed by fundraising dollars, they need to hold events like this once in a while.
There were no other questions and the request was approved unanimously.
They then moved onto the Reid Golf Course Participation, Revenue and Expense Report
Things seem to be going very well for Reid. There were a lot of activities that either did not happen at all or started late last year that have now returned in 2021.
Director Gazza noted that last year Covid disrupted their start time. In 2020, they didn’t open until April 24th, whereas this year they opened on March 26th, which is closer to when they generally open. They target the beginning of April, but the good weather this year allowed them to open even earlier normal.
In 2020, carts were not available until April 30th and the driving range was not open until May 16th. This year both were available on April 2nd.
Last year, no customers were allowed into the clubhouse until May 16th which really hurt their food and beverage sales.
This year they’ve seen an increase in pass sales and, in fact, maxed out their business passes. They think the increase may be due to stimulus money, and are very happy they have sold so many passes.
The Junior Program which was cancelled due to Covid in 2020, is returning this year. He noted that team rounds increased because the East, North, and Lawrence golf clubs all played this spring whereas none of them did in 2020. The 3,4,5 tournament returned this spring with 26 two person teams.
The revenue and the number of rounds played are both up. Last year’s revenue was $188,900 YTD and this year’s is $314,000 which is the fastest start they’ve ever had. They think it will be a record year, and he pointed to the fact that last year they were averaging 6,000 rounds and this year they were over 10,000. He said they thought people gravitated toward golf last year because it was one of the only things they could do during the pandemic, and they are hoping that those people really enjoyed that experience and now have a new hobby that they will continue.
Right now, he was really happy to give a good first report and hoped that they wouldn’t get a lot of rain in August and would be able to finish strong.
Alderperson Joe Martin (District 4) thought they made a very good decision a few years ago. [He didn’t specifically say what that decision was, but I do vaguely recall that they made some organizational changes a few years ago.] He said a lot of people had said they made the wrong decision, but they are now seeing for the first time in some years that it’s really exploding now and he was pleased with the start. He said he’s been over in the clubhouse and down along the patios watching the golfers and all golfers can talk about is how nice the course it. I’ve been over in the club house and down along the patios watching the golfers and all they can talk about is how nice the course is. He asked Director Gazza to pass on his thank yous to Golf Course Superintendent Jeff Plasschaert and his crew.
Director Gazza said they held the city tournament that weekend and one of the comments they got was that Reid had the best greens in the area. He said they were lucky to have Jeff. His knowledge was second to none and it really shows.
They then moved onto an update on Erb and Mead Pools.
Director Gazza said that it was really hot the day the pools opened as well as for several days afterward. They were able to open at 100% capacity. [Note: I’ll mention this because other people may also have had this impression. I had thought that they were going to have capacity limits, but they are currently stating on their website that they do not have capacity limits although that may change depending on the “Covid landscape” in the community.] On opening day they had 1,462 people at Erb and 821 at Mead. In the first 12 days they’ve had 11,000 people at Erb and almost 6,000 at Mead, so almost 17,000 total. He said it was taking a lot of work. They have a new staff member named Olivia who’s been working hard every night. She replaced an outgoing staff member, so is new to the position, but fortunately she came from a position where she was managing 5 pools and now only has two, which is easier even if it’s still a challenge.
He said that at Erb they do have parking issues and they have had a couple incidents with kids getting out of school and fighting. They’ve had nothing major, but there was a report of two moms fighting over something. (This elicited some chuckles from the committee.)
He said he just got two emails just about Mead pool and how well it’s being operated. A new person in town said that the staff and the way things were was just incredible.
The other Parks and Recreation programing is all happening and available and has seen strong participation.
Alderperson Schultz mentioned the proximity of Mead Pool to the nearby roundabout and Richmond Elementary school. He wondered if there were ever any incidents with the traffic and the school when children were being released for the day.
Director Gazza said nothing had been reported and he wasn’t aware of anything.
Alderperson Martin said that was his district so he really watches is closely. They have had a terrific response from drivers in the roundabout. He said that they knew a roundabout would be the best thing for that location due to having a lot of rolling stops previously and it has turned out well. [I can attest, that roundabout is great.]
Alderperson Joe Prohaska (District 14) said Erb Pool was in his district. He got nothing but positive comments other than people wishing the parking was better and that the pool was open longer. Given that the park is in a residential neighborhood people understood there wasn’t much that could be done about the parking, but he wondered if some day the hours of the pool could be extended so people could enjoy it longer.
Director Gazza said they could talk about that. He said that in most cases a pool is a huge expense because of the limited timeframe they were open the shortening of days as the summer progresses; it was remarkable how much more quickly it gets dark even toward the end of July. But they were aware of how popular Erb is.
When a pool gets older and not as many people are participating, gaining revenue is a challenge and a pool just becomes an expense, as illustrated by Erb prior to being remodelled. Maximizing the use would be good.
He also noted that staffing can be an issue. They were fully staffed at the start of the season and then over the first couple of days, because the people they hired were younger, they lost 6 people who said they got different jobs. They almost had to reduce hours, but luckily had a good turnout for replacement candidates and were able to hire new people right away.
Alderperson Nate Wolff (District 12) asked if they were having any shortages of chlorine.
Director Gazza answered no. There is a shortage of chlorine for hot tubs and residential pools, but the type of chlorine that they as a municipal pool use is still available and they have had no issues.
Alderperson Martin added that they use ultraviolet treatment at the Erb Pool. They learned about doing that from the water treatment plant and it is working very well. It has helped them reduce the amount of chlorine they put in the water which is good for young children and particularly babies.
No one had any further questions and the meeting adjourned.
View full meeting details here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=869123&GUID=83F70C5F-0D3B-40DA-9776-C62F090EA531&Options=info|&Search=
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