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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.aa. Request for Amendment to LAWCON Grant to Build a Public FacilityCITY OF ROSEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: October 7, 2003 Staff from Independent School District (ISD) 196 have asked the City of Rosemount to submit a letter to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requesting an amendment to a Land and Water Conservation Fund ( LAWCON) Grant awarded to the City of Rosemount and ISD 196 in 1980. The request is an attempt to seek approval of building a public facility on a LAWCON assisted site. Public facilities are considered items that do not support the original outdoor recreational internet of the grant. Public facilities include items such as water towers, well houses, etc. - ISD 196 would like to lease a portion of their land that is covered by the guidelines of the LAWCON Grant to a private — commercial recreation business. The commercial business plans to construct an inflatable dome to house indoor athletic events. To start the process of amending the original grant agreement, the DNR has requested that the local unit of government that was awarded the grant make the written request to seek the amendment. City staff have met with ISD 196 staff and have prepared the attached letter for your review. Should this request for an amendment be approved by the DNR, the letter would then be sent forward to be reviewed by the National Park Service Regional Office in Omaha, Nebraska and then to the national office in Washington D.C. Should the Council be in support of the attached letter, staff will prepare the letter to be signed and sent to the DNR for their review. AGENDA ITEM: Request for Amendment to LAWCON Grant to AGENDA SE CTION Consent Build a Public Facility. PREPARED BY: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation AGE "6 A ATTACHMENTS: Letter to DNR WILL BE PxovinEn PRIOR To APPROVED BY: MEETING RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to approve the submittal of the written request to amend LAWCON GRANT Number 27- 01040. COUNCIL ACTION: � k S O F RO SEM O UNT 6 t ck_�� October 8, 2003 CITY HALL 2875 145th Street West Rosemount, MN 55068 -4997 Phone: 651 - 423 -4411 Hearing Impaired: 651- 423 -6219 Fax: 651 - 423 -5203 Via Facsimile and U.S. Mail (651) 296 -6047 Mr. Wayne Sames Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155 -4010 Re: Construction of Public Facility on L &WCF Assisted Site — Irish Dome Dear Mr. Sames: We are writing on behalf of Independent School District No. 196 ( "School District ") and the City of Rosemount ( "City "). The purpose of this letter is to formally notify the Department of Natural Resources ( "DNR ") and the National Park Service ( "NPS ") of a proposed project to construct a domed, recreational facility on a Land and Water Conservation Fund (L &WCF) Assisted Site. In the event that the DNR and the NPS consider the domed, recreational facility to constitute a "public facility" within the meaning of Chapter 675.9.3.D of the L &WCF Grants Manual, then we seek the specific approval required by that section of the L &WCF Grants Manual. BACKGROUND As you are aware, the School District is currently pursuing a project to erect a multi - purpose, domed, recreational facility ( "Facility ") on School District property. The Facility will be used primarily for recreational and athletic purposes. The Facility will bed permanent inflatable ` structure with an athletic turf surface that can be configured into various types of athletic fields, primarily for softball and soccer. The School District cites the many new recreational opportunities the proposed Facility will provide for public school students and the larger community as its reason for pursuing this opportunity. The proposed Facility will be placed on property that is covered by a LAWCON grant awarded in the late seventies to the School District and the City. It is our understanding that DNR is in possession of the relevant grant documents. The School District is partnering with a private organization named Irish Dome L.L.C. on this project. DNR recently reviewed a proposed lease between the School District, Irish Dome L.L.C. and the City. The proposed lease governs the responsibilities of the parties with respect to the proposed Facility. The proposed lease was also reviewed by the NPS. The parties have Mr. Wayne Sames October 8, 2003 Page 2 of 5 revised the proposed lease in accordance with your recommendations and the recommendations of Bob Anderson of the NPS. A copy of the revised lease is enclosed. The ISD 196 School Board and the Rosemount City Council are scheduled to consider the proposed lease at their respective meetings on October 27 and November 3, 2003. At the time you reviewed the proposed lease, you advised us that the Facility may be considered a "public facility" such that it must meet certain specific criteria. You requested this submission to respond to the criteria. REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL OF A PUBLIC FACILITY It is our understanding that there are eight (8) prerequisites for the construction of a facility on an L &WCF Assisted Site. These prerequisites are described in Chapter 675.9.3.D of the L &WCF Grants Manual. It does not immediately appear that the Facility, as currently proposed, constitutes the type of facility that would trigger the limitations placed upon the construction of a "public facility." As you are aware, the Facility is clearly intended to create more opportunity for recreational activities, not less. As will be explained elsewhere in this letter, the specific portion of the L &WCF assisted site upon which the Facility will be placed is currently home to baseball, softball and soccer fields. The facility will continue this exact use of the site. Further, it will enhance usage by allowing for year -round play. It does not appear that this type of a facility requires approval as a public facility. In the event that the DNR and the NPS determine that the Facility falls within the definition of a "public facility" such that DNR and NPS approval of the construction is required, we believe that the eight (8) prerequisites for the construction of a public facility can be easily satisfied. Each of the eight (8) prerequisites is addressed below: 1. All design and location alternatives have been adequately considered and rejected. Irish Dome L.L.C. and the School District have considered design and location alternatives and rejected other options. As stated above, the concept behind the Facility is to expand the recreational opportunities available to the community. The Minnesota wintertime is long and characterized by very low temperatures and significant snowfall. These factors have the effect of limiting outdoor recreation. A domed recreational facility will allow community members to continue to use the L &WCF assisted site for recreational pursuits even during inclement weather. There is not another design that will offer such opportunities without compromising outdoor resources. The parties considered other location alternatives that are not on an L &WCF assisted site. The entire campus of Rosemount High School was considered as a potential site for the Facility. Markings were laid out on three different locations and configured in various ways to encompass the Facility's size requirements. Only one site emerged as a realistic possibility. The other two sites were rejected because use of these sites for the Facility would restrict current classroom use Mr. Wayne Sames October 8, 2003 Page 3 of 5 of athletic fields and force classes to use less convenient fields which would shorten class periods. Further, the alternative sites would have provoked more significant concerns about available parking space than does the selected site. The L &WCF assisted site will enhance, rather than compromise, classroom use of recreational property. In order to fulfill most of the Facility's parking needs, the project includes construction of a new parking lot on a remnant piece of L &WCF land adjacent to the facility. :There is also the possibility of utilizing an existing parking lot adjacent to the site that is owned by the City, although terms of that use have not yet been negotiated. 2. The proposal has been adequately reviewed and recommended at the State level. It is our understanding that the DNR received information and input with regard to the project, and that it meets with DNR approval. 3 & 4. The structure and use of the Facility is compatible with outdoor recreation, will increase outdoor use and outdoor use remains the overall primary function of the site. The L &WCF assisted site as a whole encompasses both City property and School District property. The portion that is managed by the City is comprised of a public park complex with playground equipment, picnic tables, a pond and woods, and a parking lot. The portion of the L &WCF assisted site that is managed by the School District is made up of lower fields and upper fields. The lower fields include a baseball field and two soccer fields. ' The upper fields include two fields that are used as softball and baseball fields in the spring and soccer fields in the fall. Smaller practice fields adjoin the two fields. The proposed Facility will be placed on the upper fields. The School District fields (both upper and lower) are generally used by public school students during the school year, but they are also used by members of the general public for pick -up games and scheduled activities. The school use is generally limited to about three hours per day, Monday through Friday during the months of August, September, October, April and May. The proposed Facility is expected to substantially increase recreational use of the L &WCF assisted site during the day, in the evening, and on the weekends twelve months a year by school and community groups. The increase in recreational use is anticipated because an indoor facility increases recreation during inclement weather (as explained above) and during evening hours due to the advantages of indoor lighting. The current users of the fields will not be displaced, rather they will now have the advantage of a year -round facility. Several community groups have already expressed their intention to increase their usage of the site due to the benefits of an indoor facility. Although the erection of the Facility is expected to greatly enhance recreational use of the site, outdoor use will remain the overall primary function of the site. The remaining outdoor portions of the L &WCF assisted site will be still used for baseball and soccer by Rosemount High School teams, as well as by community groups such as the American Legion team, the town team, the. senior Babe Ruth team, the RAAA and Dakota REV. The City park complex will remain intact. Mr. Wayne Sames October 8, 2003 Page 4 of 5 Further, it is believed that the increased use of the School District property due to the Facility will actually attract more users to the outdoor portions of the overall L &WCF assisted site. The School District believes that this will happen for two reasons. First, the site is out of the way and tucked away from the main road. The development of the Facility on the site will increase the public's awareness of the overall site as a place for public recreation, both indoor and outdoor. In addition, it is expected that parents who drop off their children for an activity in the Facility may choose to remain on the outdoor portion of the site to pass the time while waiting for their child or to play with other children in the park complex or on the School District's outdoor lower fields. 5. Potential and future benefits to the total park's outdoor recreation utility are identified and contrasted with any costs or detriments. A net recreation benefit is the result. The benefits to the total site's outdoor recreation utility are identified in our response to items three and four above. The cost or detriment is self evident in that one portion of the site (the School District's upper fields) can no longer be used as outdoor fields. Although this portion of the site can no longer be used as outdoor fields, it is believed that the Facility will attract many more users than the outdoor upper fields attracted, thus resulting in a net recreation benefit. In addition, as explained above, it is expected that with more users coming to the area to access the Facility, the use of the remaining outdoor portions of the L &WCF assisted site will increase. 6. The Facility is under the control and tenure of the public agency which sponsors and administers the original park area. This is addressed in the enclosed proposed lease agreement between the parties. The proposed lease incorporates the suggestions of the DNR and the National Park Service. 7. The proposal has been subjected to specific public review. The Facility has been the subject of public review. Additional opportunities for public review exist in the future. The School District presented a report regarding the proposed Facility at an open, publicized School Board meeting held on May 12, 2003. Two Rosemount community members voiced their support of the Facility at that meeting. No community members spoke in opposition to the Facility. The minutes of that School Board meeting are attached and relevant portions of the minutes are identified. The minutes were later published in the newspaper. The lease between the parties is currently expected to be on the agenda for the October 27, 2003, School Board meeting. Once again, members of the public will have an opportunity to voice their opinion of the project. In addition to the School Board meetings identified above, the City has held public meetings at which the proposed Facility was considered. Staff has discussed the Facility at a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. The City Council has also passed a zoning text amendment to Mr. Wayne Sames October 8, 2003 Page 5 of 5 allow for this type of facility within the zoning code through the application of a Conditional Use Permit. Copies of the minutes of the Planning Commission and City Council meetings related to the amendment are enclosed. Irish Dome L.L.C. has submitted its application for the Conditional Use Permit. A public hearing is scheduled at the Planning Commission on October 14, 2003. The City Council is expected to act upon the Planning Commission recommendation at its regular meeting on November 3, 2003. In general, the community response to the proposed facility has been positive. Based on the absence of negative response, it appears that the community views the Facility as a welcome new recreational resource. Letters of support are enclosed for your review. 8. All applicable Federal requirements for approval and operations are met in accordance with Section 650.1. The School District and the City will comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations. Please accept this submission on behalf of the City of Rosemount and the School District to allow for a domed recreational facility on L &WCF assisted property. Please let me know at your earliest convenience if any information is missing from our submission or if we have not adequately addressed the eight (8) prerequisites for the approval of a facility on L &WCF assisted property. It is our understanding that once DNR has approved this submission you will forward it to the NPS for final approval. The School District respectfully requests that you expedite this process to enable the parties to commence construction before the end of the construction season. Thank you for all of your assistance with this process. Sincerely, William H. Droste John Currie Mayor Superintendent City of Rosemount Independent School District 196 Enclosures cc: Jill Coyle, School District Attorney Michael Manning, RHS Athletics Director Jamie Verbrugge, City Administrator Dan Schultz, Parks and Recreation Director Randy Skalberg, Attorney for Irish Dome, LLC