HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 11-25-02APPROVED
Members Present: Mike Eliason, Mark Jacobs, Eric Johnson, Jason Scribner, Phil Sterner
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary
Others Present: None
1. Call to Order: Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Additions to the Agenda: None
Approval of the November 25, 2002 Agenda: MOTION by Johnson to approve the agenda of November 25, 2002. SECOND by Scribner. Ayes: 3 Nays: 0 Motion carried.
3. Approval of the October 28, 2002 Minutes:
Johnson asked if we have any idea what the passage of the Open Space Referendum would mean for us and also asked about the Parks Master Plan. Staff stated that the county is in the
process of determining how to proceed now that the referendum has passed. We hope to get more information once the new county commissioners are sworn in after the first of the year.
Staff informed the commission that we had trouble with our printer last month, so we were unable to print and distribute the Parks Master Plan. It will be ready this week and will
be distributed to the commission. MOTION by Johnson to approve the minutes of October 28, 2002. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion carried.
4. Audience Input: None
5. Discussion (Response to Audience Input): None
6. Old Business:
a. Parks Dedication – Staff went over the changes that have been discussed at Commission meetings since May 2002 regarding the Parks Dedication portion of the Subdivision Ordinance.
Staff included copies of the Subdivision Ordinance with the proposed change noted in Subd. 5.6, B. 2. changing the amount from 5% to 10%, and a survey from Ingraham and Associates
of Park Dedication Fees for other cities in Minnesota. Johnson questioned whether the increase to 10% would be high compared with other cities and would discourage developers. Staff
stated that 10% is the norm and shouldn’t be a deterrent to developers. Also, the Council does have the authority to increase or decrease the percentage. This item would require a
public hearing before the ordinance is brought to City Council for consideration. MOTION by Eliason to recommend amending the subdivision ordinance by adding to section 5.6 #2 the
category of “other” to commercial and industrial subdivisions and increasing the dedication percentage from 5% to 10%. SECOND by Sterner. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion carried.
7. New Business:
a. 2003 Fees & Fee Policy – Staff asked the commission to review the fees for 2003. At this time, staff had no recommendation to increase fees at the community center, parks, or ice
arena. A study is being done of the current land values in surrounding communities to help determine parks dedication fees. The survey will include five land use areas: Residential,
Medium Density, High Density, Commercial/Industrial, and Other. The completed survey should be ready for the December meeting.
After review by the Commission, any increase in fees would be brought to the Council for the
January 7, 2003 meeting, and if approved, the increases would go into effect January 2002. Eliason asked about the priority use of parks by groups who may be selling or giving away
their park time to other groups for tournaments, etc. The city may be losing revenue due to this. Staff will include wording in the use policy to address this and bring it back to
the Commission for review.
Scribner asked when prime time ice fees were last discussed and raised. Staff stated that fees were raised last year and we don’t intend to raise the fees this year. There was
discussion regarding the cancellation policy for the ice arena. Eliason suggested including something in the fee policy to the effect that the entire cost of ice rental is due up
front and is non-refundable if the scheduled ice time is cancelled at any time. Staff stated that we could word this so that we can work it out with groups like RAHA and RHS. Johnson
asked staff to bring back information next month regarding the percentage of ice time used and how most groups/individuals are paying, so we have this information before any change
is made in the policy. Both of these items will be brought back to the Commission at the next meeting.
b. Director’s Report -
Park Improvement Fund balance as of October 31, 2002 - $583,535.35
We also just received $62,400 from Biscayne Pointe Fourth Addition. This amount is not included in the October ending balance.
Bloomfield Park Improvement Project - Bids for the for this project close on November 26, 2002. Staff has received a number of calls expressing interest in the project, and expects
five or six bids. Staff will bring the numbers back to the December meeting, then it will go to City Council for the December or first meeting in January for consideration.
Future Park N-4 – Staff has been unable to get access to the property. The owner has been contacted via e-mail but has not given permission for us to look at the property.
Skate Park - We have received a $10,000 donation from the Jaycees. The Trust Fund was tapped out for this year, but staff will write to them again after December 15, 2002. Staff met
with Council Member Riley last week regarding the project and she expressed interest and support for it. Per staff, the new council members and mayor are receptive to working on this
project.
Meeting Date Change - Staff asked about moving up the next meeting one week to December 16, 2002, due to the Christmas holiday falling during the week of the regularly scheduled meeting.
The commission agreed to the change in date. If the council chambers are not available, we will move to a conference room.
8. Adjournment: MOTION by Sterner to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Scribner. The meeting was adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Sonja Honl,
Recording Secretary