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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-24-05APPROVED Members Present: Leslie Defries, Mike Eliason, Eric Johnson, Mark Jacobs Members Absent: Kelly Sampo Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary Student Volunteer: None Others Present: None 1. CALL TO ORDER: Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: Additional information for item 6. a. 3. APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 MEETING MINUTES and SEPTEMBER 12, 2005 WORK SESSION MINUTES: September 12 minutes – 5. Old Business, Athletic Complex, change the fifth sentence from “Schultz mentioned” to “It was mentioned” and add 105 acres to Option 3. MOTION by Jacobs to approve the minutes of the September 26, 2005 meeting, and the September 12, 2005 work session as amended. SECOND by Defries. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. 4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None. 5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None. 6. OLD BUSINESS: a. Rosemount Interpretive Corridor Plan – Schultz handed out an updated version of the trail plan and reviewed the additional information that had been added to the various segments. The main goals of the trail are to create a connection from downtown Rosemount to the Mississippi River/Spring Lake Regional Park, to include interpretive stop-off areas along the way that will give the trail educational value, and to preserve and restore natural areas along the trail to benefit the environment and make it a more enjoyable area to bike, walk or run or roller blade. Per Schultz the trail will probably be developed from west to east, and we will work on getting the necessary easements as development occurs. This is a long-term project that could take up to 15 years to complete. The City is planning to hold an open house in November where the public will be invited to give their input regarding the trail. After the open house, this item will be brought back to the Commission for a recommendation. b. Updated 2006 Capital Improvement Budget (CIP) – Schultz reviewed the items being proposed for the Parks and Recreation Department and provided the Commission with a draft CIP budget for 2006 listing all of these items. He had also asked the City Council to include $10,000 to be used for smaller items such as the portable toilet enclosures. Projects using these funds would not need to go to the City Council for approval. Schultz was recommending that the Commission make a motion in support of including these items in the 2006 CIP Budget. MOTION by Jacobs to recommend that the City Council approve the Parks and Recreation Department items as listed on the attached 2006 CIP Budget dated 10/11/05. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. Schultz informed the Commission that the City Council will be discussing the CIP budget at their work session on Wednesday, October 26, 2005. 7. NEW BUSINESS: a. Fees and Fee Policy – We review the City’s Fees and Fee Policy annually, looking at the Community Center rental rates, ice rental rates, park facilities rental fees, parks dedication fees and other fees. Schultz asked if the Commission had any specific fees or fee comparisons they would like him to look into. Schultz will include those items on the questionnaire that our staff will be sending out to other cities. Eliason would like to see a comparison of ice time, banquet facility fees, and how much Community Ed is charging for gym time. Johnson asked for the percentage of ice time used and at what times. How much of the use is at non-peak times? Schultz will provide the Commission with the ice scheduling book which contains information on who uses the facility every hour. He will also ask our scheduler to check to see what other cities do, for comparison. Per Eliason, it would be interesting to see what RAHA’s ice time is, and what is available after that. Schultz will bring back a report of the general items that we look at each year, as well as the items requested by the Commission. b. Wensman Outlot – Wensmann Homes owns a .23 acre piece of land just east of the old Dodd Road right of way and they have contacted City staff to see if the City would be interested in this site. Schultz did not see any benefit to the City in acquiring this piece of property unless we were to obtain the unused right of way for old Dodd Road. This right of way is owned by the City, but once it is vacated, it goes back to the original owner. Johnson asked if we could find out who the original owner was. Per Schultz, we could ask Wensmann Homes to do a title search on this piece of land. He will talk to them about this and bring this item back to the Commission. There was no recommendation on this item. c. Director’s Report – The park improvement fund balance as of September 30, 2005 was $1,099,275.76. We have received the parks dedication fees from CPDC for the Brockway development. Those funds will be included in the October balance. All of the expenditures in September were for Meadows Park. Pedestrian Facility Improvement Plan – This item is going to the City Council for review on November 15. Schultz will provide them with the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting minutes so they are aware of the Commission’s recommendations. Schultz also attached information on grants from the MN DNR and the Transit for Livable Communities that we will be looking into for funding. BMX Area – The BMX area opened October 21. Staff met today with kids who were using the facility and they were excited about it and how quickly it was completed. There were as many kids using the BMX area as the skate park. Pine Bend Cemetery - Bernice Wenzel from the Pine Bend Cemetery Association contacted City staff to ask if the City would be interested in taking over the maintenance, operations and ownership of the cemetery. The cemetery has been in existence since the 1800’s and approximately one-third of the site is still available for burials. There is a $20,000 CD that is used for maintenance of the cemetery. Staff has asked the Association to contact area churches to see if they might be interested in taking over the cemetery. This item was included as an update for the Commission. Dakota County Technical College (DCTC) Softball/Baseball Field – DCTC has talked with City staff about the possibility of refurbishing their baseball field for softball use. Previously the field was maintained by City staff and used by the City and RAAA for softball. When DCTC started its baseball program, they made changes to the field so that it could not be used for softball. DCTC now uses another field for baseball. They would like to work with the City to revert this field back to a softball field to be used by the City and RAAA. We would need to meet with DCTC staff to work out the maintenance details. This item will be brought back to the Commission when we have more information. Brockway Park – Staff will soon begin the process of having construction documents put together for Brockway Park. Work on the park should begin in the spring of 2006. When the plans are ready, Schultz will bring them back to the Commission for review. Jacobs asked if Commission members should attend the City Council work session to discuss their position regarding the pedestrian improvement plan. Per Schultz, they could attend. The City Council will be discussing this item but will not be taking action on it at the work session. Jacobs asked Schultz to e-mail the Commission if he gets more information on this. 8. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Jacobs to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Defries. Ayes: 4 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary