Charles City Parks & Rec hires firm to create ‘master park plan’

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Parks and Recreation Board has signed a contract with a firm to help develop a “master park plan” to help guide the board and provide useful information as members make decisions about future priorities, projects and possibilities.

The board approved signing a contract with MSA for a lump sum fee of $10,000 to analyze the current state of parks facilities in the community, create a community profile with demographics, compile a list of “needs and demands,” establish goals for parks and recreational planning, and make recommendations for each of the city parks.

MSA will produce maps of existing parks and service areas, suggest areas that are not adequately served now, help the board come up with objectives and strategies and an action plan, as well as identifying possible funding sources and finally putting it all together into a comprehensive parks plan.

“I definitely think it’s the way to go,” said board Chair Jeff Otto. “No one in our group could put that together.”

Board member Diane Meyer agreed, saying “absolutely not” could the board members do it themselves.

“No time, and our director doesn’t have the time,” she said.

MSA is a community development consulting firm with headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and offices in five states including four offices in Iowa.

“Deliverables” that MSA will produce include maps of existing parks and service areas; goals, objectives and strategies; an action plan matrix; potential funding sources; and a draft and then a final comprehensive parks plan.

MSA staff would visit Charles City and go to each city-owned park with Mitchell and others who are interested, and would take input from the board members as well as consider efforts the board has made so far to make a list of potential park project priorities.

Charles City Department of Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Mitchell said MSA staff would begin working on the process at the next board meeting, in April, joining the meeting, going over the process and the timetable and then start working on the master park plan.

Mitchell also gave reports on what the various Parks and Rec Board committees had done in the past month, and presented a price plan for the swimming pool and Wildwood Golf Course for the coming season.

Regarding the pool at Lions Field Park, he said the current repairs and renovations to the pool and its mechanical systems should be finished in time to start the swimming season at its usual time around Memorial Day.

“We want to try and find ways to get more people to the pool,” Mitchell said. “So what we’re looking at doing is keeping the prices the same as last year, but we talked about offering a discount if you pay in advance. Try and get more people to commit to being members. They can save a little money if they pay right away.

The proposed season pool pass price is based on the number of people on the pass, starting at $75 for one person, $130 for two, and then $10 more for each additional person.

Daily admission will be $4 for adults, $3 for age 6 to 18, $2 for age 5 and under, and punch tickets will be available for 10 punches for $25, good for 30 days from purchase.

Hours for general swimming are listed as 1 to 6 p.m. daily.

Board member Cory Mutch said the city should market the fact that the pool has been repaired and is in great condition.

For memberships at Wildwood Golf Course, Mitchell said the course was going to begin charging an extra fee for people who pay for memberships with a credit card, because of the fee charged by the credit card companies.

Season ticket prices were listed as $480 cash for a single membership or $500 credit card, $550 for a couple by cash or $570 if paid by credit card, and $590 cash for a family pass, $610 if paid by credit card. New members get a $75 discount on those prices the first year of membership.

Greens fees are $15 for nine holes and $23 for 18 weekdays, and $18 for 9 holes and $26 for 18 holes weekends and holidays.

“If you have not been out to Wildwood lately, they got the front of the clubhouse that faces hole No. 1 painted,” Mitchell said. “And they painted by where the deck is. Then they’re looking at doing the rest of the building this coming year. So we should have everything painted this year. It looks a lot better just getting painted.”

Mitchell said they are working on a system to allow online reservations for things such as picnic shelters or ballfields, as well as pay for items such as registering for tournaments.

“They can sign up for swim lessons. They can get their memberships for the golf course. They can do all that stuff online through the website,” Mitchell said about the system that will be installed in the next fiscal year which begins July 1.

Other things that were approved in the Charles City budget for Parks and Recreation include:

• Replacing the backstop and bleachers at the IC ball diamonds that were damaged in last year’s flooding, using FEMA funds.

• Building a storage building at Wildwood Golf Course to store the course’s rental golf carts and equipment so more individual cart sheds can be rented out.

• New air conditioners for the bar area in the Wildwood clubhouse.