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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - January 16, 2025 1 (208) 359-3020 35 North 1st East Rexburg, ID 83440 Rexburg.org | Engage.Rexburg.org Trails, Parks & Recreation Minutes - January 16, 2025 Committee Members: Eric Erickson Eric Isaacson Mark Nygren Doug Stutz City Staff: Eric Erickson – City Council Rep. Bryanna Johnson – City Council Rep. Jon Lewis – Recreation Director Keith Davidson – Public Works Director 5:30 P.M. City Hall Roll Call of Council Members: Council Member Johnson and Council Member E. Erickson Roll Call of Committee Members: Carly Francis, Eric Erickson, Eric Isaacson, Mark Nygren, and Doug Stutz Introduction of Attendees: Doug Stutz said he has lived in Rexburg for 38 years and is recently retired. Cade Klingler said he builds and redevelops locally. He currently is working on a project here in town. Eric Erickson said he is a City Council Member and retired business owner. Eric Erickson said he is a local business owner and has lived in Rexburg for three years. Scott Johnson said he is the Director of Economic Development and Community Affairs for the City of Rexburg. Carlee Francis said she is attending the meeting because she is excited to discuss parks and trails. Recreation Director Lewis said Ms. Francis is the newest member of the Trails, Parks & Recreation Committee. Trent Jorgeson said he works for Cade. JD Hancock said he and Doug Stutz worked on Trails in Madison County Committee for several years and Mr. Stutz played a big part in the creation of bicycle pathways that are seen throughout the city. He has lived in Rexburg for 55 years. Mark Nygren said he is a retired business professor from BYU-Idaho. He has lived in Rexburg for about 25 years and is happy to help serve on this committee. Eric Isaacson said he has lived in Rexburg since 2011 and has been working on the trails at Eagle Park. 2 Director Johnson explained Richard Smith and Mr. Klingler have a development they are looking at building here in town. As part of that development, they would like to build a public park in lieu of the park impact fees they would be assessed for the development. Mr. Klingler explained he and Mr. Smith met with city staff about a partnership between the city and developer. They discussed a couple of the regulations and were informed the size of a city park is five acres. They asked city staff about a three-acre park with all the amenities requested. What would the negotiations look like if the developer were to pay for the park and after it was built turn it over to the city. Mr. Klingler said the park would be accessible to everybody; however, they would still add a couple of smaller options throughout the development. The size of the development is 40 acres surrounding the church just south of Madison High School. They also have a townhome project on the east side of the road currently going down as Pebble Creek. Mr. Klingler explained in communication with city staff one thing that Mr. Smith was very adamant about when they zoned everything from where Motel 6 sits to the next parcel to the next, that they were very content with the current zoning that they have. He knows it doesn’t have a lot to do with the parks, but it does with zoning. Mr. Smith had a few people talk to him and discussed the options of requesting higher density zone; however, Mr. Smith is against requesting a higher density. Discussion regarding the current zone of the properties. There are phases to the Pebble Brook development. Mr. Klingler said part of the development plan is to add twin homes, which are the closest thing to a single-family home. Director Johnson asked if they are planning a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Mr. Klingler replied no, they are not using a PUD for this development. Discussion regarding the placement of the park within the property. The zone of the property is LDR2 which allows a maximum of six units per acre. The size of a city park is generally five acres. A draft rendering of the development was viewed on the overhead screen. 3 Mr. Smith questioned what constitutes 5 acres? If there is a three -acre area for pickleball courts and a pathway surrounding the whole development and the pathway area was included in the five acres. He believes they would achieve the five-acre requirement. Mr. Klingler added there would be other amenities such as disc golf, jogging pathway, and play structure. Committee Member expressed his concerns with sufficient vehicle parking. Mr. Smith explained the draft rendering does not illustrate the vehicle parking lots for the park or the private pocket parks within the development. Discussion regarding roadways connected with the proposed development. Committee Member asked if the potential property owners would have an issue with the lighting for the pickle ball courts. Mr. Klingler replied those are some of the items the committee members could recommend. Director Johnson mentioned the parking issues at Park Street Park. Mr. Klingler said they would make sure sufficient parking is available. Council Member E. Erickson said it sounds like they are wide open as far as what amenities they are planning. Mr. Smith said he looks at how the parks in the city are utilized by the community members. Ball diamonds are an absolute must because they have a purpose for the community; however, ball diamonds do not serve the needs of individual residents. At Porter Park and Smith Park, the periphery is part of the parks that are heavily used. Discussion regarding secondary irrigation for the proposed park. Committee Member Francis asked if the five-acre regulation could be changed. Director Johnson said the committee could recommend a change of the city code to the City Council. Committee Member asked what it would take to be able to send out some type of survey through the Rexburg website to determine what residents desire to have in city parks. Director Johnson said when the city was determining what to include in the Baney Dairy Park a parks and recreation survey was submitted to residents. The number one items were pickleball courts, walking trails and play structures. Mr. Klingler said if there are any other recommendations from the residents those are the items they will consider having in the proposed park. He has had conversations about soccer fields and understands soccer is a big thing; however, some fields have been underutilized in places like Utah and Arizona and now those fields are just sitting there unused. Committee Member Nygren suggested building four pickleball courts where people can come together and play rather than just a single court. He said there is also the factor of the noise created from playing pickleball that needs to be factored in terms of proximity to homes. Mr. Klingler said they would try to place the pickleball courts further from the residences at the back towards Smith Ranch Road or across the street in Pebble Creek near the clubhouse. The vehicle parking spaces would be placed behind the pickleball court. Committee Member Nygren asked about the other type of amenities such as a basketball court, sand volleyball. Mr. Klingler said the amenity count and feasibility will determine if the other types of amenities could be built. Mr. Smith said there is a difference between regular usable friendly pickleball courts and the pro-style pickle ball courts. Mr. Smith said the development is Mr. Klingler’s, he is the landowner. He informed Mr. Klingler that a park would be useable. Mr. Klinger said even if they were to go over the 5 acres, he would be fine with that because they want to have a good park. Council Member E. Erickson said the committee has made some recommendations regarding the kind of amenities they would like to see in the proposed park; however, to make any kind of recommendation to the City Council, they will need to have a rendering of the park plans. He added from his point of view the park is a great idea and would be a great addition to the city. The park has the potential to be a destination for people to play pickleball. 4 Mr. Klingler explained instead of trying to fit more amenities, he would like to make the park more meaningful, and Mr. Smith has mentioned to him that pickleball is a big deal here in Rexburg. Discussions regarding the many national pickleball tournaments. Committee Member Nygren said one of the long-term goals this committee has is connectivity and connecting the city parks together. He asked Mr. Klingler when designing the park to consider the connectivity of the parks not immediately but in the future. Director Johnson explained the next steps would be for Mr. Klingler to bring back a finalized rendering of the proposed park to the committee. The committee members will then make a recommendation to city staff. City staff will review the proposal to determine all the maintenance costs if the city were to take over the ownership of the park. The last step would be a recommendation to the City Council. Discussion regarding the park impact fees for the proposed development. Director Johnson said the Public Works Director would have those calculations. Mr. Smith mentioned how important and what a good thing it is to have a developer come and build a park to hand it over to the city and get rid of that maintenance. He said if the developer were to make the park private there would be no way to police the park. Mr. Klingler said he is confident he can come up with a park that the city will appreciate. Mr. Smith mentioned up around Poleline Road and Millhollow Road there are hundreds of people that walk, run or bike to the temple. This area is heavily used. He explained years ago there was a deal where a walking path would start at Hidden Valley and come up through the Cecil Satterwhite property to tie into 7th S. Mr. Smith said if the city started planning that walking pathway it would be beneficial. 5 Discussion regarding the right of way that would be needed for the pathway. Adjournment: