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080889 PK MINCITY OF SHOREWOOD PARK COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 U M I N U T E S CALL TO ORDER COUNCIL CHAMBERS 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD 7:00 PM Chairman Laberee called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. ROLL CALL Present: Chairman Laberee, Commissioners Christensen, Lindstrom, Vogel, Andrus, and Wilson; Administrator Whittaker; Council Liaison Gagne; and Park Staff Rep Niccum. Absent: Commissioner Weatherly APPROVAL OF MINUTES Lindstrom moved, Vogel seconded, to approve the minutes of Tuesday, July 11, 1989, as written. Motion carried - 6/0. Lindstrom moved, Christensen seconded, to approve the minutes of Tuesday, July 31, 1989, as written. Motion carried - 6/0. BOND REFERENDUM DISCUSSION /PARK CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT 5 YEAR PLAN • R. Mark Koegler of Van Doren Hazard Stallings, Inc., a landscape architect, was present to give the Park Commission some answers. Koegler was Planning Director for the City of Chanhassen from 1979 to 1982. During this time a referendum passed for the City Hall /Fire Station. He now does park planning for the cities of Champlin, Mound and Chanhassen. Koegler said the fact that the City has a comprehensive plan and a 5 year parks capital improvement plan is the first step. He said people are more likely to vote positively for something if its what they really want. If neighborhood meetings were held to find out what the people in each area want in their parks first, then the plans could be drawn or updated. He said it is important to have a liaison between the Council and the Park Commission so the Council is aware of what'_s -going on_and can offer support. Koegler said various ways of raising money for parks are grants, tax increment financing, the general fund, and bonding. He said when planning • bond referendum it is important not to forget maintenance. It is important to form • Task Force made up of the Commission or the Commission and residents, that this would be the "core" group - the "sales" group. The task force would meet with neighborhoods and do mailings and promotion. He said the reason for the Task Force to be local is because they are familiar with the City and parks. He made it clear that it is a lot of hard work. He said a lot relates to "timing ". The Commission asked him if his firm was hired what his job would be. He said his role could be anything from retainer and consultant to casual guidance. He said volunteer groups can do tremendous jobs, the more diverse the group, the more sucessful they will be. Laberee said he felt the chance of getting a referendum through were slim to none. • Gagne disagreed, he felt the people would come through. The Commission asked what kind of timing they were talking about? Koegler said 6 months to a year. The Commission said a year sounded more feasible. -1- PARK COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 Page two • BOND REFERENDUM DISCUSSION /PARK CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT 5 YEAR PLAN - continued Christensen asked: who would do it? How much would it cost? How long would it take? Koegler said if they did it the bulk of their service would be holding a series of meetings with the Park Commission and the Council to determine their priorities, and formatting the printed material -this would not include printing costs. Christensen asked him what the approximate cost would be for doing the above. He gave an approximate estimate of $5000. Christensen had figured $12,000 and Gagne $10,000. Koegler cautioned the Commission that they had to remember to include legal counsel, bond counsel, and financial adviser as well. The Commission asked him what would happen if they didn't go for or pass the referendum. He said they would end up doing it :piecemeal ". Andrus said that according to Planner Nielsen and Met Council the best scenario they can come up with is a maximum of $293,000 in 10 years. The 5 year Park Capital Improvement Plan calls for 1.25 million dollars at this point and it is not completed yet. The Commission asked Administrator Whittaker if he would recommend 3 or more companies to them that could orchestrate the project and come up with strategies. The Commission discussed the "Task Force ". The idea of including former Park Commission members, athletic groups, and the American Legion was mentioned. SNOWMOBILE ORDINANCE REVIEW Staff explained that she had contacted the Council for feedback on complaints. • She related the areas where complaints were given to one Council member. The other four did not get back to her with complaints. Police Chief Young said that during the 1988 -89 season he had received a total of 1 complaint. The one complaint was March 2, 1989 in the Waterford area. Agendas were also sent to John Arnst and Bill Kullberg because they had requested notice of any action on the ordinance. Arnst stopped in the office to say he had plans and could not attend the meeting. He said the traffic on the corridor was about the same. Bill Kullberg was present along with Dave Hoby and Leroy Bitelen. Kullberg reviewed the actions taken by the Southwest Snowmobile Association last season including contact with the DNR, local police department, and Hennepin County Parks. He said that when they monitored the trail they were surprised to find it wasn't used as much as they thought it would be, and that perhaps the publicity on the City Ordinance had lead many people to use other trails. He said from what they could surmise the trail is used mostly by local people. When asked if the snowmobile use had decreased over the past 5 years he said it has actually increased. He said they are in the process of running a trail from the Minnesota Valley to the Luce Line and haven't had any problems. He also said there are now over 12,000 miles of trails in Minnesota for snowmobile use. Andrus moved, Wilson seconded, to inform the Council that they have reviewed the Ordinance and don't feel that any changes are necessary, that they approve it as it is. Motion carried - 6/0. • CATHCART HOCKEY RINK The Commission discussed the serious safety problem regarding the irun posts that work themselves out of the ground each year and the damage they could do if a player impaled a throat or jaw on them. They realize that Zdrazil has to pound them down but they work back up out of the ground and above the rink boards. PARK COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 Page three CATHCART HOCKEY RINK - Continued Christensen moved, Lindstrom seconded, to recommend to Council that the Public Works Department build a new hockey rink in Cathcart Park just like the one built last year in Badger Park. Motion carried - 6/0. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Railroad Corridor - Rock Vogel moved, Lindstrom seconded, to recommend to the Council that if the Council finds the cost to be acceptable, the entire section of corridor that lies within the City of Shorewood boundaries be covered with the limestone recommended by Public Works Director Zdrazil because the rock on the corridor at this time is too large and hazardous to walk on, and if the trail were walkable people would use it as it is safer than walking in the streets. Public Works Does Wonderful Job! Christensen moved, Vogel seconded, that a letter commending the Public Works Department for all the work they have done in the parks and stating the improvements be written and read to the Council at the Council meeting and to the Public Works Crew. Motion carried - 6/0. Freeman Park - Fence Specifications Christensen moved, Wilson seconded, to recommend to Council that OSM write the specifications for the three fences using George Haun as a consultant; that the • Park Commission and George Haun review the plans and specs before they go out; that Haun supervise and inspect the installation; and that the specs include "proof of product ". Motion carried 6/0. Staff told the Commission that Haun had asked her to tell them that if they went with the galvinized fencing, according to the prices he received, they would be able to irrigate close to 2 fields with the difference in price. The Commission discussed this - Vogel moved, Wilson seconded, to recommend to Council that galvinized fencing be used because of the cost involved - The Commission then discussed it further and decided to get prices on both types of fencing from the specs and make their decision at that time. Vogel and Wilson withdrew the motion until a later date. Freeman Park Warning Track Lindstrom brought up the warning track saying he feels it is He said he has strong feelings about this and cited injuries running into fences. One of the Commissioners said that Hau it and if he was being used for expert advice why is another Lindstrom is going to check with Carl Zieman of Excelsior to is. necessary for safety. regarding people a had advised against opinion needed. see what his opinion Park Playgrounds — Sand Lindstrom moved, Andrus seconded, that Public Works finish sanding around the playground equipment at the other parks when time and money are available. Motion carried - 6/0. PARK COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1989 Page four MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR - continued Forecast Public Artworks Staff reported that a couple months ago a letter was received, along with a questionaire, asking if the City would be interested in displaying artwork in the City. A letter was sent back to them stating that the Commission felt it sounded more like a commercial venture, our concern over resident safety and liability, and questioning if a sculpture was received, what would it be like? The letter also asked if playground equipment is ever done? Another letter was received from them saying they normally specialize in temporary installations, however they are willing to consider permanent works such as playground equipment. They said that for safety reasons special consideration must be put into such a design, and that liability insurance for a permanent installation would then be the responsibility of the owners. The Commission asked Sue to follow up on this. REPORTS • Niccum reported that the City of Chanhassen sent a letter with a price quote for an additional $380. A return letter was sent authorizing the installation and it should be done soon. Gagne filled the Commission in on recycling bins. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Sue Niccum Park Staff Rep