HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 04-24-06Approved
Members Present: Jason Eisold, Mike Eliason, Mark Jacobs, Eric Johnson, Kelly Sampo
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Dan Schultz, Director of Parks and Recreation and Sonja Honl, Recording Secretary
Student Volunteer: Jonathan Nutzmann
Others Present: Tom Luing, RAAA Board of Directors, 14116 Crocus Way, Rosemount
1. CALL TO ORDER: Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: New Business d. Choose Chair and Vice Chair; New Business c. Director’s Report, Pulte Homes Concept Plan.
Mayor Droste gave the oath of office to Jason Eisold, new Parks & Recreation Commission member.
Mayor Droste thanked the Commission for their work and spoke briefly about the growth of Rosemount and the challenge of moving forward with the athletic facility.
3. APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 27 MEETING MINUTES: MOTION by Jacobs to approve the minutes of the March 27, 2006 meeting. SECOND by Eliason. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed.
4. AUDIENCE INPUT: None.
5. DISCUSSION (Response to Audience Input): None.
6. OLD BUSINESS:
a. City Code Update – Schultz presented the Commission’s recommendations as far alcohol use in city parks to the City Council at their April 12, 2006 work session. The City Council
felt alcohol should be allowed at all parks and park shelters as long as a permit is secured. They agreed with allowing the use of wine and strong beer as long as the use follows the
City Code. They did not support the unrestricted use of alcohol in all parks. Schultz plans to bring the City Code changes to the City Council in June.
b. Athletic Complex – The athletic complex was discussed by the City Council at their recent goal setting meeting. The City Council understands that this is a need, but they all do
not feel it is a top priority. Input from residents, RAAA, RAHA, and input from the individuals who schedule field use, as well as input from the Parks and Recreation Commission, would
help the City Council in making their decision. Having Rosemount residents, RAAA and RAHA members contact the City Council and Mayor directly was also suggested. Discussion continued
regarding what would be needed in order to move forward with the athletic complex. Schultz and City Administrator Verbrugge recently met with Diane Koebele of Flint Hills Resources
regarding land for the facility. The City is now waiting to hear from Flint Hills Resources on their decision. Schultz also has talked to the Apple Valley Parks and Recreation Director
and the retired Parks and Recreation Director from Eagan regarding their experiences with developing athletic facilities. Apple Valley recently acquired 35 acres for a future athletic
facility and Eagan once built an athletic facility in a corn field, and eventually development happened around it. It is important to plan for the future and acquire land before the
entire city is built up and no land is available.
A joint meeting with the City Council, RAAA and the Parks and Recreation Commission in June was suggested. The Commission thought it would be a good idea to meet with RAAA before the
June meeting to map out what needs to be done, to get the message out to the public, and to begin work on adding information to the athletic associations’ web sites, etc. Tom Luing
from the RAAA Board of Directors addressed the Commission. He agreed with everything they had discussed and admitted that the public may not realize how difficult it is for the athletic
associations to schedule their activities. RAAA will try to get the word out to their participants. He agreed that a meeting with the Commission and RAAA would be a good idea. Providing
the City Council with statistics on population levels versus facilities, combined with RAAA scheduling data would be helpful. RAAA was recently approached by an individual interested
in a lacrosse program, but because RAAA doesn’t have facilities to meet the needs of existing programs, adding anther program wasn’t an option. The Commission would like to meet with
the local athletic associations the week of May 8 to go over what needs to be done. They asked Schultz to put together a list of contacts for the various athletic associations, boosters,
etc., invite those people to the meeting, and schedule a room at the Community Center by the end of the week.
Agenda items to be discussed included: what are the current and future needs; what are the options if we don’t do anything, i.e. lighting neighborhood park fields, etc.; looking at
how other cities such as Eagan and Apple Valley have addressed this issue; coming up with a plan for what needs to be done before meeting with the City Council in June; finding out
who the stakeholders are and having them contact the City Council regarding the issues being faced, i.e. turning away additional sports such as lacrosse, eliminating baseball tournaments,
having teams that are larger than optimal, etc. The Commission asked Schultz to speak with Steve Reischauer to find out how often we’ve lost fields because of other cities’ needs.
The community is facing tremendous growth and we should look at building an athletic facility in the same way that we look at building a fire station, water tower, roads and sewer.
7. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Park Dedication Fees – Schultz provided an updated parks dedication survey that was completed last fall, reviewed the survey, and explained how we collect fees and how our rates
compared with other cities. Our fees did not increase for 2006 and Schultz asked the Commission if they would consider including in the fee language that the parks dedication fee would
be based on the fair market value at the time of payment, or “X” amount of dollars and/or value based on the appraisal, an agreed upon rate between the city and the developer. In the
past, every time we set a new rate, by the time it is approved, property values are already higher than the new rate. Schultz also wanted the Commission to look at the Commercial and
Industrial collection rates.
b. Park Improvements –
Winds Park Baseline Fencing - Two quotes were received for the addition of baseline fencing at Winds Park that was requested by RAAA: one bid was for $4,800 and one was for $5,575.
The fencing would protect the players’ bench, as well as spectators, from being hit by balls. Schultz recommended installing the fencing using parks dedication money from the fund
that was budgeted for smaller projects.
Central Park Electrical Services - Staff has not met with the special events committees regarding the electrical services improvements they requested for Central Park. Staff will
be meeting with the committees soon to discuss this further.
Schwarz Pond Park Ag-Lime Trail - A resident called to request improvements to the ag-lime trail between the parking lot at Schwarz Pond Park and the Rosemount High School baseball
field. This is a steep trail that was cut as a shortcut for players and spectators to get to the ball field. If the trail is improved, Schultz recommended relocating it slightly and
having the high school involved in sharing the cost of improvements. Improvements will probably not be completed this year. Sampo asked if we could revisit this item at a later date.
Schultz will take pictures of the trail to bring back to the Commission.
Chippendale Park Dome Climber - There is an old “dome climber” at Chippendale park that should be removed. Schultz will bring back pictures of the climber and provide some replacement
alternatives for this spot.
MOTION by Eliason to recommend the installation of baseline fencing at Winds Park. SECOND by Jacobs. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. Per Schultz, we will try to get the fencing
installed before the season starts.
c. Director’s Report - The Park Improvement Fund Balance as of March 31, 2006 was $1,691,728.05. Parks Dedication Fees in the amount of $47,000 were received from JJT Business Park.
Interest for the month was $4,604.55 and there were expenditures of $27,040.26 for Woodland Restoration Grant and swing pads. The City was also reimbursed $25,928.53 for work done
on the Interpretive Trail Corridor. This reimbursement came from a SEP Grant that was being held at US Bank and will be included in next month’s report.
Trail/Sidewalk Plan Update – The 2006 projects are currently out for bid. If they come in as expected, they will go to the May 2, 2006 City Council meeting.
Meadows Park – Over 100 trees will be planted and the park will be slit-seeded with hydro mulch installed. Work should be completed in approximately three weeks, weather permitting.
Pulte Homes Concept Plan - Staff met with Pulte Homes and reviewed their concept plan for the McMenomy property. The plan includes 665 units on 330 acres. Based on the concept map,
it was hard to tell if the land set aside for parks would be suitable for neighborhood park needs, and whether there would be good access to the parks. This is the first draft from
the developer and staff will be talking to them further regarding the plan.
d. New Chair and Vice Chair - MOTION by Sampo to nominate Johnson for Chair. SECOND by Eliason and Jacobs. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. MOTION by Jacobs to nominate Eliason
for Vice Chair. SECOND by Sampo. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed.
8. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Eisold to adjourn the meeting. SECOND by Sampo. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Sonja Honl,
Recording Secretary