HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 09-24 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
Regular Meeting Minutes
September 24, 2007
APPROVED
Members Present: Maureen Bartz,Mike Eliason,Jason Eisold,Sandy Knight,Kevin Strayton
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Dan Schultz,Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl,Recording Secretary
Student Volunteer: None
Others Present: Brian Fahey-Bleick and Dave from sta.keholder groups interested in the athletic
complex and Rick Packer,Project Manager,Arcon Development.
1. CALL TO ORDER: Eliason called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Z. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: Schultz had several additional items for the Director's Report.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 27, 2007 MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Knight to approve the
minutes of the August 27,2007 meeting. SECOND by Strayton. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed.
4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None.
5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None.
6. OLD BUSINESS:
a. Prestwick Place- P�ell�l'lllla�'y Plat—Schultz reviewed the plan and noted that the development has been
scaled down considerably from the original plan. T'he developer is currendy proposing to build 583 housing
units. Parks dedication for the residential development would be 23.32 acres plus 4.8 acres for commercial.
Schultz noted that a Met Council pipeline easement runs through the park area. Staff had previously requested
that the manhole cover be moved. The Met Council has agreed that the manhole cover can be buried and their
only request is that they have access to it if needed. Schultz asked the Commission to discuss whether any type
of dedication credit should be given for the easement. Schultz was recommending giving the credit for 6.7 acres
of land dedication for the residential development which would include half credit for the pipeline easement.
Per Schultz,we will also want something in writing from the Met Council regarding the depth the manhole cover
will be buried at and that they do not have any issues with the plan. Schultz also included a map identifying trails
and sidewalks in the development and a list of four recommendations regarding these.
The possibility of not having overlaid fields was discussed. The idea behind the parks master plan is that this
rype of park is to be for in-house type programs or informal use. There was discussion about making the best
use of the soccer and baseball fields,and being able to use both fields in one season.We have more flezcibility as
far as the fields now that the manhole cover is being buried.
Strayton asked the developer what the timeline was for the project. Per Rick Packer's estimate,Lennar will begin
construction of town homes in late 2008. There was discussion about the pipeline easement and it was
suggested that the ball field be flipped to face the other direction,which would be better in case access to the
pipeline was ever needed. Schultz stated that this is not the final plan,and we will be tweaking it. There was
discussion regarding giving credit for the pipeline easement. The acreage without giving credit for the easement
is 6.38 acres. Packer addressed the Commission and explained that it is a three foot sewer pipe that is buried 35'
deep. No real maintenance is needed other than flushing,and they have no fear of any type of maintenance
issues. Access for maintenance would be through the numerous manholes along the pipeline. The Commission
felt that because there are so many easements that will be dealt with in the future,they did not want to set any
precedent by allowing credit for this easement. MOTION by Strayton that the City Council approve the
preliminary plat with the following conditions: The developer receive 6.38 acres of park dedication credit for the
land being dedicated for the public park,that the developer pay cash in lieu of land for the remaining 16.62 acres
of residential park dedication and for the 4.8 acres of commercial land dedication based on the City's Fee and
Fee Poliry at the time of final plat;the developer follows the requirements for park dedication as stated in the
City's Subdivision Ordinance;the developer add a sidewalk to Street 9,starting south of Street 8 and connecting
to Street 14,add a tra.il to the east side of Street 14 from Connemara to County Rd 42,add a sidewalk to the west
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Regular Meeting Minutes
September 24, 2007
side of Street 17 from Connemara Trail to Street 16,add a sidewalk to the west side of Street 16 from Street 17
to north property line;the developer will bury the manhole located in the park so it will not interfere with the
use of the turf grass areas of the park and provide written documentation from the Met Council as to their
approval of the proposed park plan and their agreement to burying of the manhole at no cost to the City of
Rosemount. SECOND by Eliason. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT by Bartz that if credit is taken away from
the amount in item one,the amount in item two should be changed to 16.94. Ayes: 4 Nay: 1 (Eisol� Motion
passed.
b. DCTC FaClllty Par'tne�3hlp—Schultz brought this item back so that the Commission could discuss their
interest level in participating in the project and to further discuss the financial interest. Dakota County Technical
College(DCTC)will be providing the land(typically the most expensive part of any project),a parking lot for
600-700 cars,concept plans/drawings and putting together a bid,they will take care of demolition as needed,
capping of wells,and they have also talked about being in charge of the construction of the project as it is on
their property. It would be a MNSCU project bid through the state of Minnesota and supervised by MNSCU.
Per Schultz,the City's contribution would be grading,irrigation system,seeding the field and making sure it
grows properly. T'he most important thing is to get green turf in place so we have three additional soccer fields
to play on as soon as possible. DCTC wants to make sure there is conduit/electrical wiring to the fields for
scoreboards and lights,they are also interested in lighting the fields. These items can be discussed further in the
future. Artificial turf is also being considered and DCTC would split the cost with the City.
Schultz was recommending using funds from the parks dedication fund and having the work begin in the
spring. Schultz had provided the Commission with an updated cost breakdown from DCTC for the project
The costs included Grading Plan Egcavating Cut and Fill Earth Work-$150,000-$185,000;Irrigation System
Installa.tion-$53,952-$59,952;and Field Seeding and Growth-$126,000-$216,000. These costs were for
three fields and do not include artificial turf. The estimate for artificial turf was$480,000 to$650,000. Schultz
felt that$400,000 was a good starting figure as far as the City's contribution. Schultz will be bringing this item
back,but was asking the Commission if they would support building the three soccer fields so that we can let
DCTC know,and then we will get a joint use agreement from them for review. There was discussion about use
of fields,the approgimate amount the City would be interested in contributing,and the benefits of artificial turf
and lighting. MOTION by Bartz to tentatively identify$450,000 to help start the process of getting three
fields up and useable as quickly as possible without a lot of egtras,and being respectful of spending a little now
to get a lot later. SECOND by I{night. Eisold was in favor of the project,but asked that we carefully consider
spending this amount on the project and keep in mind the public's perception of it,knowing that we may need
to come back in several months and ask them for a referendum for the athletic compleg.Per Schultz,we are in
the preliminary stages now,and we will have to show that by partnering on this project there is a cost savings
for the City. Ayes: 5 Nays:0 Motion passed.
C. OUtd00�ReCPe8t1011 C0117pleX — Schultz included two new plans in the Commission packets,Preliminary
Master Plan Option 1 and Preliminary Master Plan Option 2. The new plans are based on past discussions and
included four smaller,240'multi purpose youth ball fields,two 315'youth baseball fields,four multi purpose
fields,and eight tennis courts. Option 2 seemed to fit best with the landscape and our designer thought it would
require less grading due to this. Issues to be considered as the plan is refined are the parking lot—getting the
magimum number of spots,moving the maintenance shed,lighting, maximizing the space under the highline
wires,possibly putting ponding there,not having ponding at the end of soccer fields,etc.,to make the best
possible use of the land we have. Schultz had tried to contact all of the groups to gather their participation
numbers and he put all of the information he received into a chart for the Commission to review. Schultz went
through the chart item by item,pointing out each group's requests and needs,and answered questions from the
Commission. Schultz asked the Commission to identify priorities for the site based on the various groups'
needs,so we can come up with one master design,and move forward with planning. The Commission reviewed
the two plan options,considering how they meet the needs based on the information from the chart. Option 2
seemed to be the preferred option.This plan seemed to max+m;7e the use of space.
There was discussion on the triangle shaped property to the south and how it could be used if it was acquired.
The Commission thought that if we are going to include this piece in the plan,we should act now to incorporate
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September 24, 2007
it into the design. Per Schultz,the City Council has been made aware that this properly could tie into the athletic
complex. The expense of this land has also been discussed and the possibility of looking at less expensive land
further to the east for future development. Eisold suggested including a miracle field or adapted fields in place
of the tennis courts. Per Knight,the Commission had previously talked about adding two more tennis courts to
Charlie's Park or to another park that was closer to neighborhoods. I{night asked Dave Wilheltny and Brian
Fahey-Bleik if Oprion 2looked like it would meet their groups'needs for fields. They thought it would. Per
Schultz,if this option is chosen,he will take it to the planner and have them refine it and get cost estimates.
MOTION by Knight to recommend that the design for the Outdoor Recreation Complex be focused on trying
to meet the needs of the community's youth program and that the Commission is in support of taking
Preliminary Master Plan Option 2 into a more in depth design. SECOND by Strayton. Eisold asked for the
cost breakdown for any of the items,such as tennis courts. Per Schultz,eight tennis courts with fencing and a
concrete maintenance strip,wind screens,3"base over 6"of aggregate,with color coating and two bounce walls,
nets and posts,is$350,000 not including lights. Schultz said that the Commission will be looking at the
breakdown of cost estimates in the future. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed.
7. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Director's Report —The park improvement fund balance as of August 31,2007 was $2,114,891.07. No
parks dedication fees,grants or donations were received. Interest for August was $3,900.34. There were
expenditures of$11,362.75 for parks master planning services, outdoor recreation complex planning,Brazil
Avenue trail planning,Phase I for the Outdoor Recreation Compleg,and Prestwick Park planning.
Parks, TP111S 8nd MaSte� PIa11 UpdBte—Staff recendy received a number of updated sections of the
master plans and we are currendy reviewing them. A draft of the master plan should be ready for review negt
month.
Veterans' Memorial Walk After last month's meeting,staff were made aware of the fact that there is a state
statute that allows cities to pay for construction of inemorial projects only after the ciry has passed a referendum
approving the expendituxe of city funds. Staff will be meeting with the veterans this Thursday to discuss this.
City Clean Up Day=I'he City's fall clean up is scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on October 6,2007 at
the Public Works building on Brazil Ave.
Othe�Ite111S—Grants were written for the natural area planting projects but we did not get them. We did get a
gxant for the Koch Trail connection to Connemara Trail. We did receive bids on the planting projects that were
between$10,000 and$24,000. Staff will be shaxing this information with the City Council at their next work
session.We do have funds for natural resource based projects that can be used for this. We also received a
$40,000 grant for building a portion of the trail as part of the interpretive corridor plan on Brazil Ave. Staff has
spoken to the CAP Agency regarding getting access to their parking lot on nights and weekends when thep are
not using it,and also making improvements to the park such as soccer or lacrosse fields. They seem supportive
of allowing us to use the parking lot. We hope to ha�e an agreement rea.dy for the Commission to review in the
near future.
8. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Strayton to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Eisold. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The
meeting was adjourned at 9:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Sonja Honl,
Recording Secretary
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