Approved Minutes - 1998-07-21 PM�.7v
LUSCHER FARM AD-HOC TASK FORCE
. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, July 21, 1998
Chair Chip Pierce called the July 21, 1998, meeting of the Luscher Farm Ad-Hoc Task Force to
order at 6:00 p.m.. in the Lake Oswego Main Fire Station Community Room, 351 "B"Avenue.
Members present included Marilyn Brock, Marcia Robertson, Tonsy Sylvester, Jack Hoffman,
Dorothy Rogers, Palisades Neighborhood Association;Pat Collmeyer, Historic Review Board; Chip
Pierce, and Debbie Craig. Jeff Baker, Joan Sappington, and Craig Prosser were excused. Staff
present included Bob Kincaid, Asst. City Manager;Nancy Bantz, Parks& Recreation Director; Gary
Evans, Parks Supervisor; and Kim Gilmer, Recreation Supervisor. Ed McCloud, McCloud Record
Landscape Architects, was also present.
I. OVERVIEW
Bob Kincaid, Assistant City Manager, advised the Task Force that the City Manager assigned him
the task last December of forming a management team to implement the Luscher Farm Master Plan.
He named the team members: Nancy Bantz, Parks& Recreation Director; Mark Schoening, City
Engineer; Ron Bunch, Senior Planner; Gary Evans, Park Supervisor; and Kim Gilmer, Recreation
Supervisor.
Mr. Kincaid reported that the team questioned whether or not the $7 million estimate for the cost of
the master plan, as given by Murase& Associates, was accurate to pay for all the fields, the
restrooms, the pathways, and the barn restoration. They reviewed the estimate and concluded that
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$12 million was a more accurate estimate, which Murase& Associates agreed with. They asked Ed
McCloud of McCloud Record Landscape Architects to review both estimates and evaluate which
was the more accurate.
Ed McCloud, McCloud Record Landscape Architects, mentioned that his company's first project
was a King County parks& recreation master plan and that 95% of their work was still in the public
sector doing parks& recreation master planning projects. He reviewed some of the difficulties with
stepping into the middle of a project cold, such as not knowing the past discussion that led to the
configuration shown in the plan. He commended the Task Force on the excellence of the project.
He said that he had some suggested changes to make for cost efficiency reasons.
Mr. McCloud pointed out that the master plan lent itself well to a phased approach, and addressed
the various site elements very nicely, including siting of passive and active recreation areas, staying
out of the wetlands and preserving other vegetative areas, the biofiltration system, and traffic
circulation.
Mr. McCloud reviewed the design changes and their associated costs that they found as a result of
their review(see attached"Review of Luscher Farm Cost Estimate). He mentioned that the plan did
not show sufficient compliance with ADA standards. He explained how the baseball, softball and/or
soccer fields could be reconfigured and/or resized to provide economies in maintenance, usage,
facilities, and lighting. He commented that apparently the fields were spread out in order to preserve
the sense of a wide open space. He said that the tennis and basketball court were undersized on the
drawing.
Mr. McCloud reviewed a different layout for the parking lot to accommodate more efficiently the
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turnover in parking between games. He explained how they would build the fields using sand for
better drainage and a smaller drainage pipe, stripping the valuable top soil for usage elsewhere in the
1111 park or for sale to top soil manufacturing companies. He explained how a clustered backstop
arrangement allowed more efficient siting of restrooms and a combined use with storage or
concession stands. He pointed out that the rough grading costs were low.
Mr. McCloud reviewed the changes in the cost estimates for the various changed elements. He
suggested increasing the mobilization cost from 1%to 5% - 7%. He pointed out that the master plan
showed less soccer fields than were included in the estimate, and that the estimate costed out fields
as though they were completely separate instead of overlapping. H noted the increased estimates to
meet the ADA requirements, the increased amount of infield soil needed, and the civil engineering
and structure costs for the parking lot drainage.
Mr. McCloud said that the total net change for the active recreation - east area was plus $94,000
while the net change for the active recreation - west area was $37,000. He said that they did not
change the numbers on the barn restoration because they lacked the expertise to properly evaluate it
and assumed that Murase & Associates had hired an expert to provide their cost estimate. However
other additions in the historic farm element totaled a net change of$178,000. He mentioned that
they did not review the passive recreation or transition areas in detail but they did recommend some
minor additions.
Mr. McCloud commented that they could not tell exactly what was included in the master plan cost
estimate for roadway and intersection improvements but they doubted that those would be included
in the Luscher Farm budget. He mentioned reductions in consulting fees, construction costs, and
contingency funds. He pointed out that their total cost estimate came to almost $13 million.
• II. TASK FORCE QUESTIONS
The Task Force discussed why several elements of the master plan had been configured as they were.
Pat Collmeyer pointed out that the reason that the parking lot had been arranged as it was was
because there was no access from the private road. Marilyn Brock mentioned that the homeowner
adjacent to the tennis and basketball courts still did not want those located where they were. Mr.
McCloud commented that in a redesign, they would try to incorporate the courts in the more active
area. He agreed that it was best to stay away from the wetlands and in the flat areas. Ms. Collmeyer
noted that they had decided not to centralize the backstops in order to retain the open space as a
natural amphitheater and to retain the viewshed. Jack Hoffman commented that the ballplayers had
requested that the fields not face the setting sun.
At Chair Pierce's request, Mr. McCloud reviewed in more detail the reasoning behind the reduction
in the consulting and construction fees and the contingency fund. He held that the consulting fees
were high and should be reduced to an average of 10%. He said that 4% he allowed for the
construction fees represented one and a half persons for a year. He pointed out that the athletic
fields would have few unknowns during their construction and required less contingency funds.
Reducing the contingency fund to an average 15% for the entire project saved $1 million. He stated
that their revised master plan included all the elements that were needed to meet the codes. He
commented that in a project of this size, the overall number tended to stay fairly consistent, even
with shuffling the various elements around.
Mr. McCloud said that he thought that the annual operating cost estimate of$140,000 was low,
especially with the maintenance inefficiencies in the field layout in the original plan.
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The Task Force discussed the probable reaction of the citizens who had opposed clustered backstops
and field lighting. Mr. McCloud said that he thought that pulling the structures together in one
• location was as valid a concept as spreading them out on the perimeter. He mentioned that the
master plan was designed around the farm elements. If the outbuilding (not the barn) was removed,
then they could slide the fields over closer to the road. He agreed that the fir trees near the barn
should be retained.
Ms. Collmeyer mentioned that they promised the neighbors (who attended all the hearings) that the
backstops and potential lights would be screened by trees on the outside edges. Mr. McCloud
acknowledged the difficulties of the public process and arriving at consensus but reiterated that the
arrangement of original master plan would be expensive and difficult to maintain. He mentioned the
social benefits of clustering the backstops in developing camaraderie in the community. He
confirmed to Marcia Robertson that their plan contained the same number of soccer fields as the
original but their arrangement allowed more usage of the facilities by different sports.
III. TASK FORCE DELIBERATIONS
Chair Pierce asked for discussion on what to do now, given the significant shift in the master plan
cost and design suggested by Mr. McCloud. They discussed where they would get the money,
noting the other bond measure items already under consideration by the Council, such as downtown
redevelopment, the library, and athletic fields/open spaces.
Mr. Hofinan reported that the Council agreed to put a $13.9 million bond for open space and field
improvements on the November ballot and to discuss the field improvement projects at the July 28
meeting. He said that Councilor Prosser would probably encourage including the Rassekh property
and some of the Luscher Farm work in those projects.
• The Task Force discussed the necessity of a public awareness campaign before they asked for a bond
measure for Luscher Farm. Suggestions included developing the passive area for activities, and
beginning the plantings.
Mr. McCloud confirmed that their bottom line cost estimate of$12 million was comparable to the
staff cost estimate of$12.5 million. He confirmed that the project could easily be broken up into
phases of whatever dollar amounts were wanted but he mentioned the need for developing a logical
order to the construction of the various phase elements so that they did not have to undo or redo
elements. He said that he has frequently seen municipalities break down large projects into a series
of smaller projects.
The Task Force discussed the transportation improvements required for the project. Mr. Kincaid
said that they did not know exactly what the County would require from the City in terms of street
facilities. He confirmed that staff did not intend to include the transportation improvement costs in
the Luscher Farm budget. He explained that staff was working on the two portions of Luscher Farm
- active and historic - as two separate projects.
Ms. Collmeyer pointed out that a budget for a phased project would not hold in any case because the
costs would change in the future. She spoke to making any design changes very carefully and
explaining to the public their reasons for making the changes. Ms. Robertson commented that the
estimated annual operating costs would significantly impact the Parks & Recreation Department's
budget. Chair Pierce requested further information.
Mr. Kincaid reviewed the staff's efforts to find grant funding for the historic farm project. He said
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that $300,000 was approved to restore the barn to prevent further deterioration. He said that they
applied for a grant to do a needs assessment on the barn with the Oregon Heritage Commission. He
• stated that staff was working on grant application packages for both the Regional Strategies Program
and the Agricultural Program of the Mt. Hood Economic Alliance. He mentioned the possibility of
funding from the Clackamas County Tourism Council also.
Mr. Kincaid reported that staff was approached by Oregon Tilth, a nationally recognized
organization promoting organic foods and gardening, to set up an educational research center on a
small portion of Luscher Farm. Kim Gilmer, Recreation Supervisor, said that they had a better
chance of getting grant funding if they had a partnership with Oregon Tilth. She commented that
Oregon Tilth would be more actively involved at the site than the Oregon State Extension Service
which would probably only teach classes. Oregon Tilth would have someone on site and provide
educational programs for the community. She said that Oregon Tilth was interested in heirloom
orchards and heirloom landscaping around the farmhouse as well as a small demonstration garden,
possibly three acres total.
Mr. Kincaid said that the grant applications were due in November with an award in January. He
mentioned the need for a parking lot on the farm in order to run programs there. He reviewed the
land use issues, commenting on their complexity and difficulty, as this involved the County, the City
and Metro. He said that they needed to extend water to the barn for fire protection. Gary Evans,
Parks Supervisor, stated that they have installed a security system at the farmhouse with periodic
visits by the maintenance staff
The Task Force discussed whether or not they should hold a public hearing on this new information
to allow the neighbors an opportunity to respond to it. Debbie Craig spoke against a public hearing
at this time, arguing that they were not going to do anything right now and there was no reason to
. stir everyone up about changes to the plan when those changes might be changed again in the future.
Chair Pierce spoke against continually revising the plan, as has been done with downtown
redevelopment, and for holding the hearing now to explain the new information and shift the
emphasis to the fundraising needed in the future.
Mr. Hoffman suggested a funding strategy of allocating $500,000 to $1 million each year for the next
three years to Luscher Farm and then going out for a bond in 2002. He said that they needed more
direction from the Council on whether or not the phased approach was acceptable. Chair Pierce
pointed out that a phased approach would increase name recognition and visibility for Luscher Farm.
Ms. Craig reiterated that they should not hold the public hearing now but wait until they were ready
to build the field and then tweak the fields as needed.
Chair Pierce pointed out that they knew at this time that the master plan was fundamentally flawed
from a financial basis. He commented that there would have to be a public process at some point if
they moved to a phased approach. Ms. Craig indicated that she thought that official recognition by
the Task Force of the master plan's financial flaw was sufficient at this time. She pointed out that
with the two artificial fields possibly installed at the high schools, the sports people might decide in
three years that they did not need that many fields.
Mr. McCloud mentioned that in a phased project, the plan would be changed. He stated that he did
not see the master plan locking them into these exact configurations. He said that as design
professionals, he would expect the level of changes he has suggested to be within the purview of the
person doing the design development for the project. He said that they have not fundamentally
changed the zoning of the site or the parking location. They have simply organized the elements a
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little differently. He commented that although the backstops were a contentious issue, he did not
think that the Task Force had to apologize for a design professional suggesting these changes that
4111 were simply part of the normal process.
Ms. Craig spoke to recognizing that they had two plans, and waiting until they were ready to build to
look at them.
Ms. Collmeyer asked if staff has explored grant options for funding the natural resource area
development. Mr. Kincaid said no. He suggested that they wait until after the Council has decided
whether or not to include the Rassekh property in the bond.
Chair Pierce proposed that the Task Force reconvene, following the Council's decision on the
Rassekh property, to develop a long term funding strategy for recommendation to the Council.
Ms. Robertson asked Mr. McCloud if they found any problems with the farm area and parking lot
configuration. Mr. McCloud said that they looked at it from the standpoint of efficiency but because
they did not completely understand how the barn would be used, they did not examine it closely.
Ms. Craig asked what they would do if the Council did include Luscher Farm in the bond. Mr.
Hoffman suggested installing the parking lot near the barn, roughing in the pathway system, doing
some plantings, and doing something for the active recreation area on the Rassekh property. Ms.
Gilmer commented that they hoped to get grant money for the parking lot through their partnership
with Oregon Tilth.
Ms. Robertson asked for clarification on meeting ADA requirements in the trail system. Mr.
McCloud said that the requirement was that the programs be accessible but there was a loophole for
• exterior development at recreation sites which mitigated what they had to put in. Ms. Collmeyer
expressed concern that installing concrete paths and hedges would destroy the historic character of
the farm area. Mr. Cloud suggested installing soft surface trails with crushed granite; it was more
expensive but it did give the character the Task Force wanted.
A reporter from the Review asked if listing Luscher Farm in the bond measure might hurt their
chances of getting grant funding. Ms. Gilmer said that it could do so.
Ms. Craig asked for clarification on extending water to the property. Mr. Kincaid explained that
there already was water in the area for the PGE pump station. It was a matter of hooking up with
that line as opposed to extending a brand new line past the Urban Growth Boundary. He reiterated
that they wanted the water for fire protection purposes only. He said that they would not sprinkle
the barn, as it was not required for the currently proposed uses.
V. ADJOURN
Chair Pierce adjourned the meeting.
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