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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09-22-03APPROVED Members Present: Mike Eliason, Mark Jacobs, Eric Johnson, Phil Sterner and Steve Wilson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary Others Present: Betsy McMenomy, Rosemount MN 1. CALL TO ORDER: Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: Map of Minea Development was mailed separately to Commissioners. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2003 AGENDA: MOTION by Sterner to approve the agenda. SECOND by Johnson. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 3. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 4, 2003 MINUTES: MOTION by Eliason to approve the minutes of August 4, 2003. SECOND by Sterner. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. APPROVAL OF THE AUGUST 25, 2003 MINUTES: MOTION by Sterner to approve the minutes of August 25, 2003. SECOND by Johnson. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None 5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. Park Plan and Cost Estimate Minea Development – Schultz provided a revised park plan and cost estimate for the city park in the Minea/Centex development and reviewed the changes. The developer, as part of the PUD agreement, has agreed to pay the parking lot cost. Parks dedication for this development is 8 acres of land and 7.4 acres in cash based on the current unit count. This comes to $340,000 with the current dedication fee. This will be enough to cover the cost of the park, which is estimated at $294,723. Schultz told the developer that when they make their cash dedication payment, it would be collected at the current rate at that time. Schultz reviewed the revised map of the park and pointed out that the developer had removed the cul de sac and preserved the treed area as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission. MOTION by Eliason to approve the park plan as presented. SECOND by Johnson. There was discussion on the cost/size of trees for the park, installing a horseshoe pit, and whether there would be space for a soccer field. Per Schultz we could put in smaller trees, install the horseshoe pit and possibly fit in a smaller size soccer field. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. b. Park Signs – The issue of park signs was brought up at the Council Work Session on March 13, 2003. Visibility and consistency of signs throughout the city were among the issues discussed. The City Council also talked about having plantings with retaining walls under the signs, with neighborhood residents possibly volunteering to do the planting and maintenance. Schultz provided examples a number of sign designs and layouts. The type of sign we are looking at is made of recycled plastic material that is low maintenance, durable and not easily vandalized. Signs for new City parks would be included in the cost of new parks, and the cost for replacing existing signs would be paid for from the City’s general fund. The 2004 budget includes funds for replacing four signs. Future replacement of signs would be on an individual basis depending on funds available in the budget. The Commission discussed what should be included on the sign, i.e. park name, address, hours, etc., and they asked whether we could replace all of the old park signs at one time, possibly getting a better price on the signs this way. They asked Schultz to bring back two or three different sign designs, to include an example of how a sign would look with a longer park name such as Chippendale Park, and they wanted to see a sample of the material to be used for the signs. Johnson stated that the Commission has talked about this issue several times and wondered what needed to be done to move ahead and get the signs in place as soon as possible. Per Shultz, the Commission needs to make a decision on the sign design and make a recommendation to the Council. Once the Council approves the signs, we would order and install them. Schultz will bring examples of three options for signs to the next meeting, along with a sample of the material to be used. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Director’s Report – Inflows into the Park Improvement Fund last month were as follows: Dedication Fees - $0; Interest - $567.57; Donations - $0; Expenditures - $176.25. Upcoming Projects – We are doing seeding work at Birch Park and the Dallara Park basketball hoops were installed last week. Bloomfield Park – Construction of this park is nearly complete. There have been some issues with the final grading and seeding. Xcel energy has not gotten electricity to the site. They don’t consider this project a priority as there is no building at the park. Schultz called Xcel and asked them to reconsider the priority of the project based on the fact that there are 400 families in the development who want to use the park, and electricity is needed for the irrigation system, hockey lights, etc. Xcel gave Schultz an installation date of October 6. Player Development Area/Meeting Room-Arena – Construction is nearly complete. Athletic Facilities Meeting – A meeting to gather input for this facility was held on September 15, 2003. Steve Reischauer of RAAA and Matt Carney of RAAA and RAHA attended the meeting. We are looking for input from different organizations and users, and plan to have more meetings to discuss what our future facility needs will be. Jacobs asked what the process would be for moving forward with this. Per Schultz, after we get information from the meetings with the users, the Commission would make a recommendation to the Council as to the number of facilities and amenities needed and possible site, and then see if the Council would support coming up with a design and look at purchasing property for the facilities. Jacobs asked about the timeline for this project. If it’s a referendum item that needs to tied to an election date, we need to work back from that date and map out a process and timeline of what needs to be done. Per Schultz the City Council’s goal was to come up with a recommendation by January 1, 2004. Schultz will put together a timeline/process for the next meeting. There was discussion on the type of facility needed, integrating an athletic complex with walking/nature trails, combining active and passive recreation uses, and what types of activities should be included i.e. soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, aquatic, etc. Future Developments – The sports dome CUP application, the concept plan for the Brockway development, and a concept plan for the town homes to be built south of the business park should all be coming in soon. Update from City Council Work Session – It was decided that the Planning Commission will deal with plans and preliminary plats at the second meeting each month (the fourth Tuesday). This meeting would follow the Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting and would allow the Planning Commission to handle any issues discussed at the Parks Commission in a timely manner. Schultz would make sure that the Planning Commission was made aware of any issues the Parks Commission felt needed to be addressed. DCDH Tobacco-Free Parks Program - Schultz was contacted by the Dakota County Department of Health regarding their Tobacco-Free Parks program. The program is focusing on making parks tobacco-free during youth activities. Schultz told DCDH that he would bring this information to the Commission and City Council. Staff will get more information on this item and bring it back to the Commission. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Sterner to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Wilson. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary