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PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION

2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 414 Arlington, Virginia 22201

Meeting Minutes January 22, 2019

Commission Members Present: Bill Ross, Chair Duke Banks Sergio Enriquez Michael Grace Colt Gregory Caroline Haynes David Howell, Vice Chair Cindy Krech Shruti Kuppa (via telephone) Mark Lincoln Julie Mullen Kevin Rachlin Syed Waqar Shah Guests: Jesse Boeding Shirley Brothwell, Chair of the Arlington County Sports Commission Dean Foster Ian Harvey Andrea Walker County Staff: Marco Rivero, Principal Planner, PRC Staff Liaison Peter Lusk, Athletic & Facilities Services Division Chief, DPR Rebecca Schmitt, Assistant to Department Director, DPR PRC members not in attendance: Steve Finn Chairman’s Introduction and Review/Approval of Meeting Minutes The Commission considered their December 2018 Park and Recreation Commission (PRC) meeting minutes. With no objections, the Commission approved the minutes as presented. Public Comment: Jesse Boeding, former member of the PRC, spoke about the Level of Service (LOS) data and summary of results associated with the Plan for Our Places and Spaces (POPS). Ms. Boeding summarized her concerns about how information requests to DPR have been dealt with and how

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DPR data on field usage and POPS consultant advice has been used. Ms. Boeding added other concerns about how the public engagement process was conducted. Agenda Items Long Bridge Park Fees Update [Pete Lusk, DPR] Peter Lusk, DPR, provided a brief presentation on the Long Bridge Park Fees Working Group background and recommendations provided by the group. Rebecca Schmitt, DPR, was also present and answered questions accordingly. The discussion period that followed revolved around several questions and issues, including the fee methodology, non-resident fees, responses to surveys, fee proposals and recommendations. There were questions asked regarding the use of facilities for large scale events, membership details (possible wrist band system), operation fees for buildings, existing memberships and discounts to DPR programs, family passes, and other items. The chair of the Working Group (Paul Holland, former PRC member) will provide a presentation at the DPR budget work session with the County Board in March 2019. The proposed fees/recommendations will be considered by the County Board in April 2019. Former PRC member, Andrew Walker, was also present and provided her thoughts on the Working Group process and recommendations. The presentation has been posted to the main PRC webpage on the following link (under “2018 Meeting Schedule” within the December “Meeting Materials”). 2019 Plan of Action for the Park and Recreation Commission [Bill Ross, Chair] PRC Chair, Bill Ross, reviewed the 2019 Plan of Action for the Commission and a discussion ensued on some of the objectives for the next year. Some points raised during discussion were associated with the role of the PRC in their advisement to the County Board and how to strengthen public engagement processes with DPR. Furthermore, the was discussion on possibly expanding the plan to include further details on “enhancing coordination with other commissions and committees on areas of overlapping interests” and an added statement about assisting DPR staff with their public engagement efforts. The PRC will provide a final copy of the 2019 Plan of Action to the County Board in the coming days. Follow-up: Attached is a copy of the 2019 PRC Plan of Action which is now available on the PRC website. Staff Report 4MRV – Jennie Dean Park Staff is beginning the design development phase for the Jennie Dean Park, Phase 1 project. A community engagement process will begin by 1st Quarter, 2019 to design the various park elements. DPR staff will be attending Civic Association meeting at Nauck, Shirlington, and Douglas Park in January to spread the word about the upcoming engagement process. It will be a distributed/democratic process and will follow the County Manager’s Six-Step Public Engagement Guide for Capital Projects at the “Involve” level. Survey work and technical investigations at the site are on-going.

Alice West Fleet Elementary School

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Exterior wall construction is over halfway complete and interior wall construction is underway. Water service to the building was activated in early December. Other site activities include tie-in of building storm water piping to underground mains, and setting of various site storm structures and piping. The future bus loop has been put on grade and stone sub-base installed to stabilize the grade. The loop is serving as an access road for construction vehicles within the site during construction, and for emergency vehicle access to Jefferson Middle School. Some projects anticipated for completion this month include: the completion of gym/library structural wood ceiling/roof and the installation of standing seam metal roofing on top of roofing underlayment. Modified construction hours allow for longer construction times during the week as well as on weekend and holidays to meet the anticipated school opening in September 2019.

Ballston Pond Retrofit/Beaver Pond Park Improvements Project in design. A public meeting is scheduled for January 30 at 7:30 PM at Arlington Central Library, Bluemont Room (2nd floor). The plans for the Ballston-Beaver-Pond-restoration and information about construction of the improvements planned for 2019 will be presented.

The Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award

• PRC members tightened the scope of the award to focus on people or groups who have participated in multi-year, hands-on efforts to improve or maintain parklands, natural resources and habitats, and outdoor public spaces. Additionally, volunteer activity should accomplish or achieve significant and durable benefits.

• The name of the award has been changed from The Bill Thomas Outstanding Park Service Volunteer Award to The Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award.

• The paper nomination form has been converted to an online form. • Additional edits have been made to the award webpage based on PRC input. • Nomination deadline is February 1, 2019.

Bluemont Park (Neighborhood Conservation Project) The sidewalk/trail entrance connection to North Manchester is complete and trees were planted at the new entrance in November. Invasive plant removal and reforestation are ongoing and will resume second quarter 2019. New site furnishings and signage will be ordered and installed first and second quarter 2019.

Dawson Terrace Park

• Excavation prep for playground install along with stakeout & layout – Ongoing • Partial concrete walk and curb has been installed.

Edison Park (Neighborhood Conservation project) This project was approved by the County Board as part of the Neighborhood Conservation bundle in November 2018. The project is currently in design.

Fairlington Park Project

• Play equipment installation ongoing. • Foundation installation for remaining play equipment in progress. • Under drain work – Complete. • Filter pave installation – Complete. • General site grading work in progress. • Area outside the steps/seat wall was graded and sodded.

Glencarlyn Park Ground water management to the footers continue to be an issue. There is ongoing

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communication and conversations with the structural engineer and the geotechnical engineer on what to do with the pier footers. Consultant resubmitted the shelter’s structural engineers spread footer redesign on January 4, 2019, awaiting an approval.

The Heights Building (formerly known as the New Secondary School at Wilson) No adjustments have been made to the contractor’s schedule this month. All structural slabs have been poured. Cistern walls and lid are complete. On the interior, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing system rough-ins have been continued up to level 3. The window wall installation, exterior sheathing and framing work has continued to enclose the structure. Brick installation has started. Curtain wall installation is scheduled to be complete this month. Temporary heating is currently fueled by propane. Natural permanent gas is scheduled to be installed this month. The electrical vault construction to house the transformer is under construction and will be completed this month. Anticipated school opening is still September 2019. Long Bridge Park and Aquatics & Fitness Center There are two rigs on site, one installing aggregate piers and the other grouted piers. They are averaging 20+ aggregate piers depending on site conditions. They are averaging 10+ on the grouted piers. They are 55 percent completed on pier installation. Aggregate piers should be completed by next week. Century Link will be starting within the next few weeks to consolidate two hand hole boxes to one and out of the area of construction of the esplanade wall. Pool submittals are coming to the County for review. Long Bridge Park Field 1 and 4 Replacement Staff is working with the consultant team on providing draft construction documents to review by the end of next week. Lucky Run/Allie Freed The second phase of reforestation was completed in Fall 2019. Invasive plant removal will resume second quarter 2019. McCoy Park Improvements Deck complete, boulders set, furnishings installed and the balance of the concrete walkway is complete. Punchlist walk occurred on 1/11/19 and items noted for correction will be distributed to the consultant. Furnishings received, except for the boxed container, chairs and bench.

Mosaic Park Erosion and Sedimentation (E&S) controls are in along with the construction fence. Materials and mobile crane are currently on site. The bridge components on-site erection of the bridge has been extended into February. Park Improvement Bids due on January 16th. Nelly Custis Park Construction team continued the tree removal and demolishing of play equipment. Oakland Park The project has gone out to bid, with an anticipated County Board meeting for award of construction contract in March 2019.

Powhatan Springs Skate Park Work is advancing at a furious pace on the skate park elements. The two, large bowls and many of the street-style skating elements have been installed. The current work effort is focused on pouring the concrete deck areas between skate features and installing the snake zone. Lights have been installed as well as the posts for the shade structure. The athletic field remains open during

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construction. The project is on track to be completed late winter 2019 with final landscaping to occur in spring 2019. RHP+ Construction continues at the Wilson School site and the school is expected to open in the fall of 2019. Penzance continues demolition and excavation of the Rosslyn Highlands Park, Fire Station #10 and 1555 Wilson Blvd site. The Fire Station is anticipated to be completed summer 2021. The park is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2021. Construction documents are currently being prepared for the playground (on the APAH Queens Court Site) which will start construction in 2021. APAH has submitted for permits for their site and anticipates the undergrounding of utilities on 18th Street North to start later this winter, with their building starting in summer 2019. Site Plan Review

• SP #233 1501 Arlington Blvd. (Best Western Site) ▪ Will be scheduled for Planning Commission and County Board hearings

in February • SP #72: Harris Teeter Site/American Service Center

▪ Two Mixed-Use Buildings (685 Residential Units) ▪ New Harris Teeter and ground-level retail ▪ Thee-level structured parking garages (923 parking spaces total) ▪ New Public Park (0.5 Acres) ▪ First SPRC meeting anticipated no earlier than February 2019.

Tyrol Hill Park

• Land Disturbing Activity (LDA) permit has been renewed and may be closed out following final park development activities.

• Reviewed closeout documents with the DPR Parks and Natural Resources (PNR) park manager.

Urban Forestry Office Updates

1. The Urban Forestry Commission will be transitioning to a new Chair next year, Phil Klingelhofer, and will have some new vacancies to fill, as Steve Campbell and Paul Campanella cycle off. Nora Palmatier will remain on the commission.

2. All tree planting is complete for the season. Our tree planting coordinator is working to mark sites for the spring season.

3. Staff has worked to begin updating the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Guidance Manual, to improve tree preservation and planting on all projects that fall under this ordinance. This will hopefully be completed in early 2019.

4. Staff is working to preserve the County Champion Sweetgum, along 26th St N, off Military Rd. The developer at this property is interested in preserving this tree.

5. Planning and forestry reviewed a preliminary site plan project (501 N Randolph St) across from Glebe and Randolph Park. The project proposes tree canopy in the form of street trees, and a roof-planted plaza. The project is seeking additional benefits to justify its density increase, and is exploring park enhancements.

6. Staff is reviewing the final plans for the Ballston Pond project. The project will be removing a high number of trees, as part of its restoration, but most of these trees are on our invasive plant list, and will be replaced with native species.

7. Tree maintenance staff are preparing to work on snow clearing the weekend of 1/12/19. Snow storms will redirect our work from our current workload of tree maintenance, to some extent, this winter.

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Commission Member Reports Purple = Information provided at PRC Meeting

• 26th Street North and Old Dominion Drive Site Master Planning Task Force (David Howell) • This week and the next two meetings, subcommittees will discuss park facilities and

other County related facilities for the salt facility (anything that is on the table).

• 55+ (TBD) • Alcova Heights (Colt Gregory) • APS (Jim Meikle) • Bike Element MTP (Steve Finn)

• The Bike Element Working Group did not meet in December. Currently, it appears the Bike Element Master Transportation Plan Update will go to the County Board with a Request to Advertise at the February 23 meeting with approval in either March or April. Public comment ends January 22. The presentations to all committees and commissions is complete, to include a pop-up presentation to the Civic Federation in December.

• Budget/CIP (Duke Banks/Caroline Haynes) • Civic Federation (Duke Banks)

At a Special Meeting of the Civic Federation on January 8th, a resolution concerning the methodology of the Level of Service as used in the Public Spaces Master Plan was considered and voted upon. Bill Ross, Chair of the PRC, has forwarded to the Commissioners copies of the Resolution that was adopted by a vote of 66-17-3.

This is a significant vote total in the Civic Federation exceeding the “yes” vote total of the Land Acquisition resolution which recommended 3 acres per year for a goal of 30 acres for the next ten years. That resolution passed by a vote of 63-1-1. It is important to note that the goal of 30 acres over ten years is embedded in the draft PSMP.

To help the PRC Commissioners better understand the backdrop of the resolution the following information is provided.

1. Initial request to provide overview of Public Spaces Master Plan.

• On October 5th Irena Lazic of DPR approached the Civic Federation requesting 15-20

minutes to give a presentation at our November meeting concerning the Public Spaces Master Plan.

• On October 2nd Elizabeth Carriger of the Public Art Project Manager requesting to make a brief presentation to CivFed at our December meeting.

• In consultation with our acting Chair of the Board of Directors of CivFed we

responded on October 11th to both with the following message:

Dear Ms. Lazic and Carriga,

We recently received requests from both of you to make presentations at the Civic Federation.

Irena requested 15-20 minutes at our November 13th meeting to discuss updating the Public Spaces Master Plan, a sub-element of the Comprehensive Plan.

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Elizabeth requested time at our December 4th meeting to give a brief presentation on updating the Public Arts Master Plan as a sub-element of the Comprehensive Plan.

Unfortunately for both dates our calendars are already booked, and we cannot honor the requests.

Instead, we suggest that we explore a possible future program in 2019 whereby both of you consider helping us formulate a program possibly with our Park and Recreation Committee, concerning the challenges Arlington faces in providing open spaces within the context of anticipated population increases being projected along with added density.

Likewise, if you have time sensitive information you would like to share with our membership consider writing a max 1,000-word article that we could publish in our Newsletter. Newsletter deadlines for the November issue is November 1, and November 22 for the December issue

Please let us know if this is feasible on both your parts, and if you will consider writing an article for the Newsletter.

Look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Best,

Duke Banks, President Arlington Civic Federation

cc: Lois Koontz, Acting Chair - ACCF Board of Directors Kit Norland, Acting Chair - ACCF Parks and Recreation Committee

• As noted in the message we provided an opportunity for DPR to insert an article in

our Newsletter, which DPR provided, and we inserted.

2. Concern by some that the CivFed request to the PSMP Advisory Committee was too limited to the very narrow focus of the Level of Service analysis. • It must be emphasized that the request was made to address the Level of Service

issue because this is what the resolution was all about. The resolution was not about the PSMP.

• Those raising the concern do not appreciate CivFeds ‘bottom up” approach concerning how resolutions are presented at CivFed. Any delegate or alternate from a member organization can present a resolution that must be given due consideration. The President forwards the resolution to appropriate committees for review. In this case the resolution was forwarded to four CivFed committees, none which suggested that this resolution could not be considered without reviewing the entire PSMP.

• It is important to note that the committees noted that there have been dozens of presentations concerning the PSMP, but none concerning the LOS methodology.

3. Other issues concerning who would represent the County and civility. • In putting the program together, we had several email exchanges concerning who

would participate on behalf of the County plus the need for civility.

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• As mentioned last month we also received some questionable emails that several of members of our Board of Directors felt were inappropriate and presenting misleading information to the general public.

• Attached please find copy of my comments at the meeting that addresses some of these concerns plus a civility statement that I promised to staff and Board Chair Dorsey. The section highlighted in yellow is specifically because of the inappropriate emails we received.

• Also included is a Supporting Document that was provided to CivFed delegates and alternates which present background information in support of the resolution, plus the presentation provided by proponents.

• Crystal City Review Commission (Kevin Rachlin) • Joint Facilities Advisory Commission (JFAC) (Bill Ross) • Lee Highway President’s Group (Cindy Krech/Julie Mullen)

• On January 30th, between 7 and 10 PM, at the Washington and Lee High School is the first meeting of the Lee Highway Planning group. Details of the meeting will be in the next report in February.

• Long Bridge Fees Working Group (Provided by former PRC member, Andrea Walker) • Long Bridge fees working group is subset of the Long Bridge planning committee.

The proposed fees, discussed below, must be approved by LB planning which is scheduled for Jan 31. The fee schedule then goes to the County Board for approval in Feb.

- Note: • No reciprocity of passes w/APS because of incompatibility of

computer systems. But limited reciprocity w/55+. For example, LB annual pass can be used in place of 55+ gold fitness pass, but not vice versa. (No way to limit use to fitness and not pool.)

• Fees (and reciprocity) will be revisited once operational data (2 years after pool opening?) is in hand.

• LB is a DPR project and will be administered as such; no APS involvement.

• Fees (presumably just the “term” passes discussed below) are eligible for sliding-scale reduction (25%-75%) based on income.

• Long Bridge Working Group Recommendations:

A. Two types of passes: 1) “Swipe” passes, which are per visit and most popular per last

summer’s statistical survey of Arlington residents and 2) “Term (?)”, i.e., 6-month, “Indoor-Season” (think school year) and

annual. Note: Group decided against a monthly pass and opted instead for 25 visit pass.

B. Fees: 1) Swipe: Daily ($5-$9-$6—child, adult, senior); 10-visit ($45, $81, $54

or 1 free visit), 25-visit ($110, $198, $132 or 3 free visits) 2) Term: 6-month ($200-$360-$240—child, adult, senior—based on 40

visits); Indoor season ($275-$495-$330—based on 55 visits); annual ($350-$630-$420—based on 70 visits)

3) Other: Family daily--$25; “Matinee” (low-user timeframe--10-2? Seniors and lunchtime workers?) -- $5

4) Surcharge for non-residents: 25% for day pass; 30% for repeat pass

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• Basic agreement for Crystal City BID rep’s recommendation that those who work in

Arlington (and their families) pay the resident fee.

• All fees were benchmarked against APS and other jurisdictions. The swipe passes compared favorably w/other jurisdictions. The “term” passes, no. Alexandria was cheaper w/APS being cheapest of all. But LB’s unrestricted hours and amenities (1, 3, 5-meter diving options, lazy river, fitness rooms, etc.—plus parking) must be considered.

• Natural Resources Joint Advisory Group (NRJAG) (Haynes/Howell) • Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC) (TBD) • Public Facilities Review Committee (PFRC)

• Arlington Education Center Reuse (Sergio Enriquez) - The Joint Building Level Planning Committee and Public Review Committee

met on December 19, 2018 regarding the Education Center Reuse Project. In the meeting, the project parameters and updates were conveyed by APS staff. Part of APS’ staff presentation encompassed educational specifications, defining base project scope and alternates as well as proposed schematic design options.

- During the schematic design options, the contracting staff detailed and asked members to vote on two transportation alternatives that involve three various of transportation modes (vehicular, pedestrian, and cyclists). Many members did not feel comfortable voting on the options minutes after receiving the presentation. They felt like further consideration and providing feedback to their groups was necessary. Therefore, it was decided to postpone the vote to a future date.

- Furthermore, another vote was performed during the meeting, which encompassed design appearance of window shapes of the building. Staff provided three alternatives for site and building design. Votes were casted (by raise of hands) and they were able to get majority vote on one design.

- In terms of PRC’s involvement, the plaza and roof terrace improvements are part of the “base scope.” I asked if lights were planned to be added to the multi-use space and if so, if they would follow push button timers for these lights, as modeled in similar multi-use spaces in parks. The answer was that they were not sure of it yet.

- During the public comment period, there were some residents who voiced their opinions against the transportation models as it would hinder safety of cyclists. These points were taken by staff.

• Plan for Our Places and Spaces (Caroline Haynes) • Open Data Advisory Group (Duke Banks) • Site Plan Review Committee (Bill Ross)

• 600 N. Glebe Rd. – Harris Teeter Site (Bill Ross) • PenPlace Phase I (Shruti Kuppa)

- No updates • Best Western Site (Shruti Kuppa)

- No updates • American Legion/APAH (Shruti Kuppa)

- The January 7th meeting was the last scheduled meeting for this project before it goes to the full planning commission for review and discussion. Echoing

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public comment, there was a song emphasis on preserving the current community value. Although there is no green/open space designated on this site, greenery in the form of planters and boundary markers were proposed by the applicant. Moving forward, the project will further contend with transportation flow issues in order to meet the needs of the neighborhood.

• Market Common Clarendon (Bill Ross)

• Sports Commission (Steve Finn) • On December 20, 2018, the ASC met. The first topic was the ASC’s proposed letter on

the Pops process. The primary issue for the letter and the ASC was defending fields, primarily diamond fields, from assertions by community groups that the fields are underutilized or of lesser priority than open space. The ASC discussed the impact of certain documents provided community groups via FOIA requests and the misperceptions created by, or inapt use of, these documents. The ASC believes that field resources in the County are barely keeping pace with current and future demand and that repurposing of fields will impair the sports activities in the community. The other topics discussed, was follow-up of the Aquatics Committee's request for a change to O&M Fee Cost Recovery. The ASC believed this request from the Aquatics Committee represents a departure from past practice and requires further study and input, not least whether this change will impact other sports fee arrangements in the County.

• Urban Forestry Commission (David Howell) • The December UFC meeting had four primary agenda items. Caroline Haynes

provided a summary of the history of the POPS process. At the time of the meeting, the comment period was closed, but additional comments from the Commission can be sent to the advisory group. Dean Amel, the UFC representative for the Commission (ex-officio) to the POPS process, gave an overview of the plan. A discussion followed regarding field lighting specifications, quantifying nature, the E2C2 letter on the process, prioritizing preserving natural areas, biophilic cities, green walls, mountain biking, in-fill and site plan development. Commissioner Keane volunteered to write up comments on behalf of the Commission, to reflect the discussion.

• Mr. Verweij asked the Commission for suggestions on the shape of a potential composition of the steering committee for the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan update. The Chair expressed concern about the lack of the words “urban forestry” in the title of the update. The commission expressed a preference for an expedient process, with a committee of around 6-10 members, and to use a contractor to facilitate meetings.

• Chair Nora Palmatier discussed the importance to the board of the letters drafted by the Commission. Reference was also made to the 2014 Advisory Group Handbook that underscores how advisory groups set the tone for “civic participation” and provide the venue for “constructive engagement on issues that matter for all Arlingtonians."

Other Business

• Letters to the County Board o Best Western Site

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▪ 10 and 12 story buildings being considered for review (off Route 50 near Rosslyn).

▪ PRC supports consideration for bird-friendly glass on architectural facades.

▪ This project will contain a financial contribution for park spaces in urban areas in Arlington.

▪ PRC letter will be written to provide guidance for the County Board.

o American Legion/APAH ▪ This is a new affordable housing development near the YMCA building; the

American Legion property will now be converted to residential development (half of the affordable units will be offered to veterans).

▪ No public open space provided with this project (but this is in accordance with the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) guidance).

▪ There was discussion on expanding the Ball Family burial ground for public open space possibilities (casual use space).

▪ Further discussion to encourage connectivity throughout the site (pedestrian friendly) and screening options for the area.

▪ PRC letter will be written to provide guidance for the County Board.

• POPS PRC Comments Letter (Continued Discussion) o The latest schedule now shows the County Board considering the Request to

Advertise (RTA) for POPS in March 2019 and final consideration in April 2019. o Biophilic principles, access to amenities (through maps), and other topic areas

were provided with more information within the updated POPS. o Besides Level of Service (LOS) in POPS, other comments were provided:

▪ Action verbs should be used for the POPS (not “consider”). ▪ Amplify the desire for people who play sports on designated courts and

fields as a quality of life consideration (not just for casual uses). There are intangible desires to use fields/courts (not necessarily through organized sports/leagues).

o Public Comment on POPS: ▪ Shirley Brothwell, Arlington County Sports Commission Chair,

discussed that the POPS could have recommended more sports rectangular/diamond fields, but it is not a realistic approach to do so. The FOIA data requested from POPS process, originated from the Four Mile Run Valley (4MRV) process where there was a desire by certain members of the community to eliminate a diamond field. The Sports Commission feels that the draft POPS is a reasonable document (it is not a blueprint but a starting point to develop data that will help shape future, LOS needs).

o The representation of data (through numbers, symbols, colors, etc.) should be discussed further.

o Provide a system in place/action step for future, field usage collection data. o Recognition that continued data collection is needed to supplement the POPS. o Requirement of collecting and aggregating data may be a recommendation. o Discussion on the final letter will be differed after the County Board chair provides

further guidance on POPS. The PRC will work on a draft letter on this process, and discuss it further at the February 25, 2019 meeting.

• Update/Status on 2018 Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award

o Announced that final nominations will be accepted until Friday, February 1st.

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o Commissioner Kuppa will participate on the nomination process/committee for this year’s awards.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Next Meeting: February 26, 2019, 7:00 p.m. (Azalea Room, Lobby Level)