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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 04-25 PRC Minutes PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting Minutes April 25, 2011 APPROVED Members Present: Maureen Bartz,JoAnne Cope,Jason Eisold,Barb Farrell Members Absent: Mike Eliason Staff Present Dan Schultz,Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl,Recording Secretary Student Volunteer: None Others Presen� None 1. CALL TO ORDER: Eisold called the meeting to order at 6:59 p.m. JoAnne Cope,new Parks&Recreation Commission Member,was sworn in. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 28,2011 MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Bartz to approve the minutes of the March 28,2011 meeting. SECOND by Farrell. Ayes:4 Nays:0 Motion passed. 4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None 5. DISCUSSION(Response to Audience Input): None 6. OLD BUSINESS: None 7. NEW BUSINESS: a. Election of Parks and Recreation Commission Chairperson and Vice Chairperson—The current Chair is Mike Eliason and the current Vice Chair is Jason Eisold. MOTION by Farrell to nominate Eliason as Chair. SECOND by Bartz. Ayes:4 Nays:0 Motion passed. MOTION by Cope to nominate Eisold as Vice Chair. SECOND by Bartz. Ayes:4 Nays:0 Motion passed. b. 2011—2012 City Council Goals—Staff will be meeting with the City Council to discuss how to progress with the work plan for the 2011-12 goals. Schultz included the list of goals that may involve the Parks and Recreation Commission in the executive summary and reviewed each of them. This was an update only. When Schultz has more information he will bring it back to the Commission. c. Discussion of Future Amenities—'I'he executive summary included a number of potential Parks and Recreation amenities that have been discussed as part of the 2011 Capital Improvement budget planning process,as well as some new items. Schultz reviewed each of the items and then asked for input from the Commission. Cope asked about a sculpture gardens at the Library/Steeple Center. Per Schultz,this is something that could be included in a master plan for this area. Farrell mentioned that she would prefer a multi-purpose building,instead of a one-purpose senior center. Schultz said the he envisions a senior center as a multi-use faciliry. Bartz asked if repairing the Shannon Parkway underpass was being looked at. Per Schultz,late last fall there was discussion about potentially adding a two-inch asphalt overlay to the underpass. He will follow up with our Engineering Departrnent regarding this. Bartz also mentioned that instead of a splash pad,an outdoor water amenity like the aquatic area in Burnsville(near the performing arts center)would appeal to a wider range of ages. Eisold mentioned that St. Paul's Highland area has a similar interactive water feature. Schultz will look into this. Schultz also mentioned that we are going to start doing an annual report including RA.AA,Dakota Rev and RAHA,that will include usage assessments to help determine what our needs are. Eisold asked for comprehensive information on supply and demand for field use,such as the number of participants for a specific sport,the facilities that were used,and a breakdown of use by hour,if possible. We would then know the number of hours of play scheduled at each field and the condition of each field. This would give us - 1 - PARKS � RECREATION COMMISSION Regular Meeting Minutes April 25, 2011 a baseline for each facility which would help us to set up a field rotation plan so we can maintain the fields to the best of our ability. Eisold asked about setting up a turf maintenance plan for the disc golf course,possibly charging a user fee to recoup the costs for maintaining the course,and about the possibility of expanding the disc golf course. He also asked where we were at as far as the Lafarve property. Per Schultz,the developer had made a number of requests regarding waiving or lowering fees,no formal application has been made,and the project is currendy on hold. Eisold asked about updates to Erickson Park,including updating the bathrooms and the facility. Per Schultz,we have recently been discussing possibly replacing the shelter building. He also mentioned that there is no sewer system,only septic tanks,at Erickson Park. He agreed that we could use improvements at this facility. Schultz mentioned that he has talked to the City Council in the past regarding paving the road and parking lot at Erickson Park,but the City Council did not consider this a priority and there were no funds for these improvements. Per Schultz,we should include all of these items in our discussions about amenities. Schultz also informed the Commission that we are currendy working on a management plan for dealing with the Emerald Ash Borer,and possibly developing an ordinance covering this. As part of the management plan,staff has already completed a survey of all of the trees along boulevards and in parks in the City. We will discuss this again in the future. This item will be brought back,as we will need to prioritize the list of amenities. d. Director's Report-The park improvement fund balance as of March 31,2011 was$1,401,655.08. We received a grant to reimburse$45,000 to the City for the Family Resource Center playground. No parks dedication fees or donations were received. There was no interest for March. There were egpenditures of$3,369.48 for WSB Engineering fees for the UMore project. Parks Dedication Fees—The City council discussed the parks dedication fees and decided to keep the fees the same as they were in 2010. The City Council did ask that we do an analysis on a couple of variations using a capital improvement budget that would assist us in setting our parks dedication fees. We will start work on this and bring it back to the Commission in the fall. U.S.Homes Corporation—Prestwick Place—The developer has changed the density from medium density residential to low density residential. This change will be going to the Planning Commission for approval. Farrell thought the park seemed small for the development,the parking lot seemed large,and she asked about building fields on pipelines. Per Schultz,this park is the same size as Connemara Park and Winds Park,so it is a good sized park for this development. He thought the parking lot may have been changed a bit,and can bring information on this back to the negt Commission meeting. Schultz explained that we do often build parks on pipelines,and this has rarely been an issue. Bartz noted that there are sidewalks on common space in one area of the development and asked who would maintain the sidewalks in this area and take care of snow removal. Per Schultz,these are all valid concerns and we will look at this item again when the plan comes back to the Commission. Turf Issues at Dakota County Technical College—Due to the heavy use,the newness of the turf,and the soil not being the best,the fields have some dead patches. We are working on resolving this issue and may try to repair the turf in phases. 8. ADJOURNMENT-MOTTON by Bartz to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Farrell. Ayes: 4 Nays:0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjoumed at 8:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sonja Honl,Recording Secretary -2 -