Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 06-24-13PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION June 24, 2013 Special Meeting Members Present: Maureen Bartz, Jason Eisold, Mike Eliason, Barb Farrell Members Absent: JoAnne Cope Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary Student Volunteers: CeCe -Amari Gaines Others Present: None 1. CALL TO ORDER: Eliason called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None 3. APPROVAL OF THE MAY 29, 2013 MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Farrell to approve the minutes of the May 29, 2013 meeting. SECOND by Eisold. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None 5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. Parks and Recreation Commission — Goals and CIP Budget — This month's packet included spreadsheets of CIP items and their cost estimates for 2013 through 2021, as well'as a spreadsheet for future years' items. Schultz reviewed the priority CIP items listed in the executive summary. Per Schultz, the wild card in the CIP budget is the parks dedication fees that come in. Discussion of the Athletic Facilities included the following comments: Farrell recommended that the Flint Hills Athletic Fields and the UMore Ball Fields be accelerated and that both be moved up to 2014. Eisold suggested trying to consolidate some of the big arena projects that are spread out over a few years. Schultz will look into this. Eliason asked how the YMCA project is moving along. Schultz told the Commission that a survey had been conducted and the results were positive and showed residents would like a Y. Bartz asked if the Commission could see the results of the survey. The Commission felt it was important that if the City /tax payers are paying for the Y, they should get reduced membership rates, and be able to buy a walking or swimming pass without having to pay for a membership fee. Bartz noticed that the Erickson Park playground equipment is not schedule to be installed until 2017 and asked if that could be moved up. Schultz will check with Public Works and see if this would be possible to move it up a year. Bartz also asked what was on the pedestrian improvement plan. Schultz will look at the plan and let the Commission know. The Commission asked if the outdoor exercise equipment would go through the same process as the playground equipment, with a couple of the Commissioners being involved in reviewing the options. Per Schultz we haven't looked into this much yet. Discussion of the Special Interest Facilities included the following comments: Bartz asked about the meandering river concept the Commission had discussed in the past, and whether people would be able to float in it. Per Schultz it would be like the one in Burnsville, for wading, and it could possibly be located at the Y facility. The Commission didn't think it should be tied to the Y. They had suggested at past meetings that it might be something we could incorporate with a splash pad, because it would provide an amenity for older kids, parents and grandparents, making the splash pad a draw for a much wider age - range. Discussion of Natural Resources included the following comments: Farrell stressed that the buckthorn at Carroll's Woods needs to be addressed soon or it's going to be extremely difficult to remove it all. Schultz suggested that we might be able to hire a company such as Applied Ecological Services to remove it. He will check on the price for something like this. Buckthorn removal would be an ongoing project. Discussion of Trails included the following: Per Schultz, the Hwy 3 underpass is scheduled to begin the end of June, the County is working on getting access to property for the regional greenway, and we've identified areas around Rosemount where benches could be placed along sidewalks/ trails. Schultz will bring some plans for the bench sites to next month's meeting. Schultz briefly reviewed the Neighborhood Parks that are slated for new developments and their estimated timelines. Much depends on the park improvement funds and the rate of development. Schultz will continue to bring the goals and CIP budget item back each month until it is finalized. He will pass along the Commission's comments to the City Council. -1- PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION June 24, 2013 Special Meeting b. Splash Pad — Schultz passed out cost estimates for the various plans that were included in this month's packet and reviewed the three options for Central Park and the option for Schwarz Pond Park. The Central Park location was discussed first. There were questions about the cost of the relocation of the rinks and lights (the Commission thought $125,000 seemed low), and where the rinks should be moved to. Jaycee, Bloomfield, Shannon Parks and the Flint Hills Athletic Fields were all suggested. If the rinks were moved to Bloomfield Park, we'd need to build a shelter and that cost should be considered, too. The Commission thought that if they were moved to Shannon Park, we could possibly replace the two smaller storage sheds with a bigger building that could be include space for storage. We'd also have to consider the effect of the rink lights on the neighborhood. Option 2 seemed to allow the best plan for Leprechaun Days to continue at Central Park. Eisold pointed out that flooding the splash pad to use if for skating in winter wasn't a good idea because of the damage to the concrete that would result from skates going through the ice. Option 3 had the fewest changes to Central Park and was the least expensive. The Commission asked about the impact on businesses next to Central Park and issues that could come up, such as parking. Schultz mentioned that these businesses have already had issues with users of Central Park asking to use their bathrooms. The Schwarz Pond Park location was discussed next. Eliason asked if the splash pad could be moved to the left, with a meandering river feature installed around it. Per Schultz, we could definitely move it to that area. Schultz explained that getting water, sewer and electricity to the site were the biggest challenges for this location. The Commission pointed out that we wouldn't need to move rinks, monuments, playgrounds, etc., at this location. Eisold asked that the information on water systems, water treatment, etc., in the "Notes" section of the plans be thoroughly researched before we move forward. Farrell also mentioned the need for water conservation, keeping in mind the cost of water and the recent news items about depletion of aquifers. Bartz asked about the long term maintenance of the above ground water features, what features are the most versatile. Per Schultz we'll have some of each type of feature — in- ground and above ground. The Commission stressed the parking issues at Central Park and the need for bathrooms to be open when the splash pad is in use. After much discussion, the Commission agreed that a scaled down splash pad might work best at Central Park. The plans presented seemed to be trying to put too much into a park that is already very busy. Eisold suggested incorporating a smaller splash pad into Central Park, with minimal extra parking and keeping one of the rinks, so we could still use the park for Leprechaun Days. Then we could add a second splash pad, to be located at Schwarz Pond Park, to the 2016 CIP. MOTION by Eisold that the Parks Commission recommends Central Park Concept Plan Option 3, with a scaled down version of a splash pad that has a smaller square footage, that the design plan could also include other outdoor water features /amenities to be named later, and that a phased -in approach should be considered when designing the project. The plan should include a smaller splash pad, keeping in mind the busy nature of this park and designing something that is conducive to fitting within the park. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. c. Jaycee Park Playground Equipment — We mailed 600+ postcards to residents who live in the neighborhoods around Jaycee Park notifying them of a public meeting at Jaycee Park to discuss the new playground equipment. Six neighbors attended the meeting and offered input. They had the following comments: include sensory items for kids with special challenges; don't include overhead components and equipment that aren't accessible to kids unless an adult lifts them up or needed adults to help them use (write this into specs); include rock or rope climbers, spring rockers, lily pad rocker, more swings, a bucket swing and a tire swing; there was concern the temperature of slides; dark surfacing materials get really hot; the park area is now three tiers — we'd like to eliminate at least some of the steps and try to get it to two levels -we could possibly include a boulder wall. They also asked for something new /different. We will try to include a variety of features and incorporate a climber. They also asked for a basketball court. There was some talk of a natural themed park with logs and boulders, but Jaycee Park may not be the best place for this. Possibly the new park in the Bella Vista development would be a good location for this theme. Schultz will bring this item back with an RFP to the next meeting. -2- PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION June 24, 2013 Special Meeting 7. NEW BUSINESS: a. Director's Report - The Parks Improvement Fund Balance as of May 31, 2013 was $491,254.55. No dedication fees were received. No grants were received. There was interest of $12.62. There were no donations and no expenditures. Summer Programs — Summer programs are in full swing and going well. We had a successful Safety Camp on June 7. Eagle Scout Project — Two Eagle Scouts made improvements to tee boxes at the Brockway Park disc golf course. The course is well used, and we get a lot of compliments on it. Flint Hills Athletic Complex — The City Council approved grading at the site, grading started last week and it's looking good. The general improvement project was put out for bid. Twelve contractors purchased plans, but only two submitted bids. The bids came in a little over budget, but we hope to save some money on the parking lot portion of the project. 8. ADJOURNMENT - MOTION by Bartz to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Farrell. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary -3-