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Session 1937 October 11,2004 Mr. Ollendorff stated that Ruth Park Golf Course has been regularly upgraded and maintained, however, there has not been a long-term Master Plan for nearly 20 years. Many of the plan elements have been discussed and even worked on over the years, but on a piece-meal basis. While there is little new here, each part and concept is put together in a thoughtful, comprehensive manner for the first time. The impetus for this process resulted from pressure from various sources for each aspect. City staff and Park Commission agreed that piece-meal would not work given the inter-relationship between the parts. Each piece has a constituency and a legitimate place in the Master Plan. A five-month very deliberative and participative public process was prepared and accepted by the Park Commission last spring, including a wide variety of viewpoints. The City Manager agreed with the Park Commission recommendation that the Master Plan (September 29, 2004) for Ruth Park be adopted. The Master Plan includes: major cart path improvement, environmentally appropriate drainage and storm water run-off corrective action, a teaching facility with practice range, forward tee reconfiguration, and several amenities ranging from signs to distance markers and benches. The feature which has drawn the highest level of citizen attention is the practice hitting area. The favored alternative selected by the Park Commission causes minimal reconfiguration by utilizing the first fairway for that purpose. The ninth hole will be converted into the first hole and the new ninth hole will utilize part of the existing hitting area. The recommended finance option pays off all improvements in ten years, combining private and public funding with minimal risk to University City. Approval of the Master Plan at an early date permits improvements to begin during this off-season. Mr. Ollendorff recommended that the City Council take no action this evening. Councilmember Brungardt, who is Park Commission liaison, agreed that it would be premature to ask the Council to act since there are unanswered questions. He suggested that over the next couple of weeks the Councilmembers forward those questions to him so that information may be obtained and presented to Councilmembers. Requests have all ready been received for expanded information relating to financing and for Councilmembers to schedule visits to and receive an explanation of the site. He hopes this can be accomplished in the next few weeks so that the Master Plan for Ruth Park can be adopted with any proposed changes so that the City can proceed. Mr. Wagner expressed concern about the funding of this project. He wants the Park Commission to prepare a written report on the funding options. He personally opposes private funding of public land. He asked the City Manager to consider seriously separating the driving range from the overall Master Plan. He wants to vote on those issues separately. Ms. Welsch wants the Park Commission to issue a report in one document setting forth plans, options and financial options. She wants arguments, suggestions, and visions all Page 8