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100819 Park Packet CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019 7:00 PM AGENDA 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING A. Roll Call Mangold____ Vassar____ Rock____ Hirner____ Gallivan____ B. Review Agenda 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes from September 10, 2019 – (Att.-#2A) 3 . MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR 4. NEW BUSINESS 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Discussion on the CIP- (Att.#5A) 6. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS/UPDATES (Staff reports and updates are not meant for discussion. Discussion items will be listed as part of new or old business.) A. City Council a. South Shore Park Update B. Staff a. Badger Park and Freeman Park Playground Updates b. Cathcart Hockey Rink Painting Party Update 7. ADJOURN Liaison for City Council Meeting on October 14 is Commissioner Gallivan 2A CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Mangold convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Chair Mangold, Commissioners Vassar, Rock, Gallivan, and ; HirnerCity Council Liaison Labadie; Park and Recreation Director Grout; Planning Director Darling Absent: None B. Review Agenda Rock moved to approve the agenda as written. Hirner seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes from August 13, 2019 Vassar moved to approve the minutes of the August 13, 2019 meeting as written. Gallivan seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Determine Status of Southshore Park Chair Mangold gave a brief history of the Southshore Park property. He stated that after the park tours this summer, one of the options to consider was the possibility of selling the land. Planning Director Darling stated that the land was received as a turnback from MNDot and they have told the City that there are no restrictions for the City to sell the property. She stated that the City Attorney will do some title work to make sure that there isn’t anything that was missed, but it looks as though selling the property will be a viable option for the City to consider. Chair Mangold asked for an estimate of what the land would be worth. Planning Director Darling stated that she doesn’t know but would guess that if the City decides to move forward and pursue selling the land, an appraisal would be the next step in the process. Commissioner Vassar asked how much land there was on this parcel. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6 PAGE 2 OF Planning Director Darling stated that it is a bit under 3 acres. Commissioner Vassar stated that she would like to have more information on what this land could be sold for and how it could be used. Commissioner Rock asked if the City should inform the area community before it is sold. He asked if the City would have control over who they would sell it to and what the land would be used for. Commissioner Gallivan stated that after taking the park tour, he would like to continue down the path to look at selling the land. Chair Mangold asked if the Council was aware that this option was being considered. Planning Director Darling stated that it has not been formally presented to the Council for discussion, but was mentioned at one of the recent meetings. Chair Mangold asked what the due process of this will be and whether it should involve public engagement. Planning Director Darling stated that she does not think the process would require a public hearing, but would require a public meeting. Commissioner Vassar asked if the Park Commission would have some sort of say in who the land could be sold to or if the process would be entirely up to the Council. Planning Director Darling stated that decision would be up to the Council. Commissioner Rock asked if any thought had been given to whether the City needed any additional land for anything like a maintenance facility. Planning Director Darling stated that the Public Works site is adequate for the City’s needs but noted that some cities have dirt storage piles or something similar. She stated that she does not think the City will need another area for that type of usage. She noted that if Public Works or any other area of the City was in need of this land, she believes that they would have spoken up by now. Mangold moved to direct staff to move forward with the process to clean up the parcel lines and get an appraisal of the land at Southshore Park for a possible sale and present the concept to the Council for their feedback. Hirner seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. B. Rink Plan and Attendant Pay Scale Planning Director Darling stated that Park and Recreation Director Grout had done a lot of the research into pay scales at other rinks. She explained that the City is already on the higher side of the pay scale once the incentives are factored into the equation. She stated that staff is proposing the idea of a bonus, such as $20 per shift for Friday or Saturday evenings in order to PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6 PAGE 3 OF attract employees. She stated that they would also like to target notice of the positions to the neighborhoods in an attempt to attract adults and retirees for the position and not just students. Commissioner Vassar stated that she thinks the bonus idea is great and thinks it may also bring in more adults as potential employees. Park and Recreation Director Grout noted that last year most of the applications came from hockey players, so Friday nights and weekend nights they were unable to work because they had games. Commissioner Gallivan asked what kind of effect the proposed bonus system will have on the budget. Planning Director Darling stated that it will be $40/week more for each rink, but the length of the season varies based on weather. Rock moved to recommend approval of the bonus pay plan for the hockey rinks for the 2019 season as presented by staff. Vassar seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. Planning Director Darling stated that she would also like the Park Commission to discuss whether or not the City should have 3 hockey rinks. She gave an overview of the total estimated costs of opening, maintaining, closing and staffing each rink. Chair Mangold asked if staff was asking them to consider closing the rink at Freeman Park. Planning Director Darling stated that was what staff is asking because if you look at usage numbers, the Freeman rink was the least used over the last 2 years. She noted that overall usage of the rinks has been decreasing and noted that the variability of the weather has been a factor but a second sheet of ice has also been opened up at Minnetonka High School. Chair Mangold stated that he thinks that the rink at Freeman did not end up being what the Commission had originally planned which he thinks may be part of the issue. He stated that he would support not having ice for this upcoming season, but does not think he would support that decision being forever. He stated that he thinks the layout needs more discussion because Eddy Station is already in place although it has been adapted for various uses without winter use in mind. Commissioner Hirner asked what else Freeman Park is used for during the winter months. Chair Mangold stated that it is only used for Artic Fever because the City doesn’t plow any of the trails. He stated that his fear is that the Commission will decide not to have ice this year and then forget to address the issue again. He stated that it was a long road to try to get ice at Freeman Park and doesn’t want the Commission to forget this. He stated that, as it stands, ice is not working there, but thinks there may be a simple solution that could help, but not for this season. Commissioner Gallivan suggested that staff make sure that this is added as an agenda item sometime this winter so there can be some discussion and planning on ways to get ice back at Freeman Park. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6 PAGE 4 OF Rock moved to recommend discontinuation of ice at Freeman Park for the 2019-2020 season and bring it back to a future meeting to discuss a long-term plan to get it back. Gallivan seconded. Motion carried 5-0. C. Discussion on the CIP Planning Director Darling noted that staff has attempted to double the amount of funds that are coming into the Park Commission budget in order to get some of the more important items completed by 2025. She stated that staff is looking to see what the Commission feels are priorities so the City can start to organize and plan for the projects. She noted that staff is recommending splitting the projects into early priority meaning they would be completed in 2020-2022 and later priority meaning they would be completed in 2023-2025. She stated that there could also be a future priority category for projects that the Commission would like to see done beyond 2026. Chair Mangold stated that it appears as though the current CIP is different than when the Commission last saw it. Planning Director Darling explained some of the changes that had been made and suggested that the Commission throw out the past allocations and talk about what the different priorities are within each of the parks so the Commission can look at what projects can be realistically completed. Commissioner Hirner stated that in his opinion, the Southshore Park should be lower on the priority list until more information is received about a possible sale of this land. Chair Mangold stated that he doesn’t like Planning Director Darling’s suggestion because from his perspective, the Commission’s goal was to look at what they can do within the next 2 years and then look at what needed to be funded for future projects. He stated that it feels like the Commission has been stuck because of Badger Park and has given up on the long-term planning and is just trying to priority plan for the next 2 years. Planning Director Darling explained that the thought process is for the early and later priority projects to be the ones that can be completed with the $650,000 that is likely to be available through the year 2026. Chair Mangold stated that in his opinion, the Commission has been stuck because things have been so underfunded in the short-term that the long-term planning has been lost. He stated that he is happy that the funding has been increased, but noted that it still feels like the Commission is chasing something because there are already things that have been rated as high priority that are getting pushed out because of funding. He stated that the Commission has set the CIP based on what they feel the priorities are, such as the tennis court at Badger Park, but that has been moved around by staff to something completely different. Commissioner Gallivan stated that it appears as though there are a bunch of big-ticket items within a 4- or 5-year window. He asked if the City is in a situation where everything is coming due for replacement at the same time. Chair Mangold stated that historically, for the last 10 years or so, the Commission has had a budget of $42,000/year. He noted that many of the projects have been completed through grant funding, but noted that City Administrator Lerud stated in his staff report that counting on grant monies is not a sustainable option for the City. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6 PAGE 5 OF Planning Director Darling noted that there had also been two large influxes in park dedication fees from the Minnetonka Country Club and Shorewood Landings. Chair Mangold noted that he thinks most of those funds have ended up being spent in Badger Park. The Commission discussed the priorities for each park as presented in the staff report. The Commission discussed the importance of not falling behind on maintenance and making sure that remains a priority at each park. Chair Mangold asked that staff continue to maintain the life cycle of the equipment at each park so there is an ongoing idea of the expected life and when they will need to be replaced. The Commission determined that their top priority is the tennis courts at Badger Park. Commissioner Rock stated that he would like to see a park to be completed top to bottom, so instead of having individual portions or pieces of equipment on a maintenance schedule, the entire park could be on that schedule. Commissioner Gallivan suggested the City put an annual line item for hockey board repair and maintenance into the budget if the replacement is pushed off for 5 years or more. Chair Mangold stated that is something that is outside of the purview of the CIP plan through the Commission. Planning Director Darling noted that there is a repair line item that is under the umbrella of the Public Works budget. The Commissioner determined their second priority is the playground at Cathcart in order to complete the park, and the third would be the trails at Freeman Park. Mangold moved to recommend to the Council that the top priorities for the CIP are in the following order: tennis courts at Badger Park, playground equipment at Cathcart Park, and trails at Freeman Park. Gallivan seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. Planning Director Darling stated that she will come up with a tentative priority for the later priority items for the Commission to discuss at the next meeting. Chair Mangold reiterated that in conjunction with the CIP needs to be a list of the life expectancy of the playground equipment. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Review Park Tours Chair Mangold stated that he would like to give a big thumbs up to the Public Works Department because overall, he thinks the parks were in good condition. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 6 PAGE 6 OF Planning Director Darling updated the Commission and stated that there was a drainage issue at Freeman Park between two of the ballfields. She explained that Public Works had repaired it, but it blew out again, so she had added it into the CIP because it may need a more extensive repair than originally thought. Commissioner Hirner asked about the bathroom/port-a-potty location at Silverwood. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she has not heard anything but will check with Public Works. Commissioner Gallivan stated that the Commission had also talked about installing a bollard so trucks cannot backup onto the basketball court and that has not been put in yet. Chair Mangold stated that because of the weather, the Commission wasn’t able to get to Gideon Glen, but asked everyone to take time to head over there and check out the park. B. Painting of the Cathcart Hockey Boards Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that so far, there are 8 volunteers who have signed up to help paint the hockey boards. Planning Director Darling noted that there is a sign-up sheet on the website and encouraged people to sign up to help. She stated there will be food brought in for lunch for the volunteers. 6. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS / UPDATES A. City Council Planning Director Darling gave an overview of the Council meetings from August 26, 2019 and September 5, 2019 as reflected in the minutes. B. Staff Planning Director Darling stated that the playground equipment for Freeman Park was delivered last week and demolition should be completed in the next few days, if the weather cooperates. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that the City has gotten one estimate to replace some of the timbers and removing the necessary materials at Freeman Park. She stated that she believes there is at least one other quote that will come in. She noted that Movie in the Park was held this past Friday night and about 100 people participated. She explained that she had gotten some feedback that parents would like there to be an option for movies for older kids at future events. She stated that one idea brought up by staff was to show E.T. because that could get adults and all ages interested. 7. ADJOURN Hirner moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of September 10, 2019 at 8:32 p.m. Gallivan seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. 4C CITY OF SHOREWOOD  5755 Country Club Road Shorewood, Minnesota 55331 952-960-7900  www.ci.shorewood.mn.us cityhall@ci.shorewood.mn.us To: Parks Commission From: Marie Darling - Planning Director Meeting Date: September 10, 2019 Re: CIP Discussion Attachments: Memo from City Administrator, Greg Lerud 2019 CIP and Fund 402 Revenues The attached memo from the City Administrator illustrates the proposed additional funds toward parks projects through 2026. The City will have about $650,000 through 2026 toward these projects. Staff recommends starting fresh and focusing on the most important projects first. The following is a list of projects from the previous CIP and more expensive items generated from recent park tours, although no estimates have as yet been calculated. Staff left the priority blank so the Parks Commission could add that item during the discussion and also left one line open on each park for any projects the Commission would like to add. Staff recommends splitting the projects into early priority (2020-2022) and later priority (2023-2025) and future project (2026 and beyond) to speed discussion. Staff would then place the projects within the individual years based on accumulated funds, staffing, etc. Freeman: Project: Estimate: Priority: Overlay Trails $200,000 Eddy Station: sidewalk from picnic area to concessions, paint, fascia work North playground: replace worn handrails $25,000 Repair fence posts around ballfield Concrete repair, little league Manor: Project: Estimate: Priority: Concrete repair around shelter $5,400 Open air amphitheater project design Community Garden Expand playground Paved perimeter walking path Badger: Project: Estimate: Priority: Tennis Courts $350,000 Cathcart: Project: Estimate: Priority: Playground rehab/replace $150,000 Cathcart hockey board replacement $150,000 Cathcart tennis/playground resurfacing $15-18,000 (twice) Silverwood: Project: Estimate: Priority: Playground rehab/replace $150,000 Court resurfacing $4,500 (twice) Slide improvements $10,000 Retaining wall replacement $27,500 South Shore: Project: Estimate: Priority: Park planning $10,000 (not including engineering) Park redevelopment $150,000 Gideon Glen: Project: Estimate: Priority: Drainage Repair MEMO TO: Marie Darling, Planning Director FROM: Greg Lerud, City Administrator DATE: September 5, 2019 RE: Parks CIP Marie, In past years, the parks CIP had many more projects then there was available funding. As a result, the “want-list” items were frequently pushed out to future years. During last year’s budget session, the council indicated that they would like the city to increase the amount dedicated to parks reserve going forward. As a part of this year’s budget proposal, Joe Rigdon and I are proposing to use $50,000 from the equipment reserve and reallocate that to the parks reserve annually from 2020 thru 2026. This amount will supplement the regular contribution, which is scheduled to increase $5,000 per year for the foreseeable future. The result is that between 2020 and 2026, there will be an estimated $650,000 available for park capital projects. As you work through the CIP budget with the parks commission, my suggestion is that you and the parks commission start over with the CIP for the next six years. Wipe the existing schedule out and critically think about what the priorities will be for the available budget. It is not useful for anyone to have a list of projects, but funding not identified. I also suggest that this CIP list be developed as if this is the only funding that will be available. In the past, the city has used excess fund balance as it is available to supplement work in the parks, but that cannot be relied upon each year. The city will continue to seek out grants for available work, but a project should not depend on whether grant funds are available. Projects should stand on their merit and if we are successful in obtaining grant funds, all the better. Finally, one item that has been recently brought up is the idea of selling the old skate park property. Staff will be researching to see if selling is a possibility. It was obtained by the city as reconveyance property and there can be limitations placed on the sale of reconveyance property. It will be extremely helpful to know if the parks commission would like to keep the park property and what to do there, or if there is interest in selling the property, and then using those sale proceeds for work in other parks. I hope this memo is helpful as you as you work with the parks commission. Please let me or Joe know if you need anything additional.