1. CIM
C IT Y C O MM IS S IO N IN F O R MA TI O N ME MO R AN DU M
May 1, 2018
ADMINIS TRATIVE BRIEF
CHRIS COTTEN
PARKS & RECREATION DIRECTOR
Animal Shelter
Vanessa Cowie applied for the $175,000 grant in 2017
due to a 25% increase in animals coming into the
shelter. The check was presented at the Friends of the
Animal Shelter Fundraiser in February, and the funding
will assist with purchasing equipment and consumables
necessary to provide low-cost spay/neuter to publicly
owned animals. The intent of the program is to reduce
the number of animals entering the facility. Some of the
funding is also designated to make minor changes to
some of the animal enclosures, in an aim to improve the
standard of care to sheltered animals.
Instructional
-We just received a $1,000 grant from Capitol Federal
Savings for the Salina Senior Games, and have applied for
another.
-This year we have taken 9 Trips & Tours, co-sponsored the
Annual Saline County Spelling Bee, and started a new Senior
Fitness Class.
-We held a Gymnastics Meet at the Fieldhouse in January,
and the Golden Years Spring Festival had over 300 attendees
from 15 communities in Kansas in the Fieldhouse as well.
Therapeutic Recreation
-Therapeutic Recreation offers two different cooking classes
each month. One is at the Salina Emergency Food Bank, and
one in the City/County building. Participants help to prepare a
dish and are responsible for cleaning up their own area, and
doing their dishes.
-Mileage Club meets 2-3 times a month for a group walk. We
provide mileage logs to record the steps/miles they walk on their
own, and we give incentives to encourage the participants! We
provide free transportation due to a grant from the Greater
Salina Community Foundation.
-In February we had our Valentine’s Dance. This year, the
dance was after Valentine’s Day, so Linnette contacted the
Local Dillon’s stores and they were able to donate balloons,
roses and carnations, table decorations, and table cloths -
allowing us to decorate at no cost to Parks & Recreation.
Lakewood
-Lakewood has done 16 walks & tours, 24 in-class
presentations, 5 birthday parties, 1 facility rental, and 4
field trip groups so far this year.
-The photo is the test for Eco Meet for High School
students. Eco Meet is a scholastic competition that
challenges teams of 4 students to study and engage in
wildlife, ecosystems, and interpretive aspects of Kansas.
We have 10 Regional spots across the state and
Lakewood is one of them.
-Lakewood continues to improve the quality of the
fisheries by adding largemouth bass and anadditional
stocking of catfish.
-Lakewood has applied for 2 grants to continue to acquire improvement dollars for the
center. We have partnered with the Smoky Hill Audubon Society and First Connection in the
grant writing process
Salina Fieldhouse
-The Salina Fieldhouse had a total of 20,460
participants using the facility from January to March.
This figure includes tournaments, rentals, and
programming participants.
-This facility has increased existing programming and
enabled new programs includi ng indoor soccer, futsal,
and indoor golf.
Kenwood Cove
-We are getting ready for Kenwood Cove
th
opening on May 26 including painting, bridge
refurbishment, cleaning up leaves, and getting
de-winterized.
-Membership sales are ongoing for Kenwood
Cove, and we have booked 8 Exclusive
Rentals for private parties at Kenwood Cove
-Spray pads at Hawthorne Park, Centennial
Park, and Jerry Ivey Park will be open next
week. Hours of availability are subject to
change due to cold weather.
Parks & Forestry
th
-Salina was awarded Tree City USA for the 28
consecutive
year! This recognition shows that we do our best to save the
trees as opposed to just cutting them down.
-In order to qualify to be a Tree City USA City you need to have a
Tree AdvisoryBoard, spend at least $2 per capita, try to
replenish what you have to take down, recognize Arbor Day with
an event of some sort, have the Mayor approve of the event, and
have your declaration read publicly.
-The Parks Department finished
the update of the Oakdale Formal
Garden. They tore out the broken
and dangerous limestone and
replaced it with stamped concrete
that is ADA compliant(right).
-The Parks Department
completed the ADA sidewalk
update at Sunset Park (left).
The playground at Oakdale Park is still being installed.
This is brand new equipment and includes a rock wall, a
climbing wall, balance steps, multiple slides, monkey
bars, and many other fun activities for Salina to enjoy.
-The Parks Department replaced the old conventional
incandescent lights in the restroom, outside the restroom, and in
the shelter at Indian Rock with new LED dawn to dusk lights.
These will be much more energy efficient.
-They also replaced the lights in the tennis court restroom. The old
lights were on 24/7/365 days a year. There are 10 new lights. The
inside lights are on a motion sensor and the outside lights are on a
dawn to dusk sensor.
Athletics
Field Maintenance worked to
construct new bullpens for
safety purposes to move
pitcher warm-ups off the
warning tracks.This bullpen
brings an updated look of
professionalism to Dean
Evans.
Soccer
Soccer programming has had a very busy and productive
year so far.We started the year with 3 different programs in
the Salina Fieldhouse for the first time.
We ran a Youth 3 v 3 league, an Adult 7 v 7 league, and a
High School Futsa l program.All three were very successful.
The Youth 3 v 3 was a first time program and we ended up
with 2 divisions and 6 teams in each division.We dida
league play and then ended the season with a tournament.
Positive feedback was heard from all participants and it was
a great jumping off point to having big numbers next winter.
The Adult league was also a brand new league. We had 5
teams in the league, but were contacted by 2 others after
play had already begun, so I think this is the low end of what
an indoor winter adult league will have.Again, a very
successful league season ended with a fun and very competitive year end tournament.
The high school Futsal, while not a new program, was run in the Fieldhouse for the first time.
We had 8 teams at it was a huge success.
We are now running a spring outdoor
youth league.We have 120 kids in the
program, well above the highest number
(previously seen in the low to mid
80's).Planning continues for a
developmental or competitive league,
summer programming includes a camp
and 3 v 3 league.We are in talks with
Challenger/British Soccer to do a
tournament.Next fall will be the kick off
for Puma FC and Parks and Recreation
combined team participation and league
play.Our goal continues to be to expand
activities and participation at the
Fieldhouse.
Salina Municipal Golf Course
-Pictured is our Senior League, which averages around 85
golfers every Thursday Morning.
-The Golf Course Irrigation Professional Design Services will be
used to design and develop bid specifications and cost estimates
for the Golf Course Irrigation Project, that was identified in future
CIP needs. The project will consist of cost estimates and designs
needed to plan for the replacement of the failing 50 year old
irrigation system. Work on this is underway.
Bill Burke
Facility Maintenance and Field Maintenance worked
together to install eight brand new scoreboards at all the
fields at Bill Burke.
Special Events
th
On February 14 the Salina Fieldhouse hosted their First
Annual Daddy Daughter Date Night. This informal event
included dancing, food, pictures, and games. It was very well-
received. Other parent/child events are in the works.
This year, the Annual Easter Egg Hunt took place at
East Crawford Recreation Area on March 31st. There
were over 350 participants.