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080806 PK MIN CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Davis convened the Meeting at 7:01 p.m. A. Introduction of New Park Commissioner Chair Davis introduced new Park Commissioner Trent to the Commission. B. Roll Call Present: Chair Davis; Commissioners Young, Norman, and Trent; City Engineer Brown; and City Council liaison Lizée Absent: Commissioners Westerlund, Moonen, and Hensley C. Review Agenda Item 11A, Report on the Dog Park, was added to the agenda. Young moved, Norman seconded, approving the Agenda as amended. Motion passed 4/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of June 13, 2006 Young moved, Norman seconded, approving the Minutes of the June 13, 2006, Park Commission Meeting as submitted. Motion passed 4/0. B. Work Session Park Commission Meeting Minutes of June 13, 2006 Norman moved, Young seconded, approving the Minutes of the June 13, 2006 Park Commission Work Session as submitted. Motion passed 4/0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Peter Knoll, fundraiser for the Freeman Park Family Plaza project, shared his disappointment regarding the maintenance of the plaza garden. He noted that the original plan called for mulch and a couple of flower gardens for the memorial garden which would be maintained by the City. Chair Davis commented what a nice addition the plaza has been to the park and how well used it has been this summer. Knoll questioned whether the City had agreed to maintaining the plaza from the start, as well as, sprinkling the vegetation over the summer. He suggested that a lower maintenance bed of plants and rocks be considered in order to reduce the need for ongoing care. As this is a highly visible area, he hoped the City could rethink the design and propose a better solution. Chair Davis stated that the plaza had been added to the Adopt a Garden program list recently. She pointed out that the beds contain the wrong plants and mulch for that site and suggested enlisting the support of a volunteer group or master gardener to redesign the site. PARK COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 PAGE 2 OF 6 Knoll questioned whether the City would commit to the ongoing maintenance of the gardens. This had been acknowledged in the original agreement. Though he had questioned the success of the adopt a garden program at first, Brown stated that he has since found it to be a successful format and would support adding the plaza to the list. Lizée suggested a notice be sent to Shorewood Oaks and the Minnewashta schools to enlist volunteer support for the plaza. Knoll maintained that the plaza should be a showcase for the park rather than the eyesore it is currently, as it is a highly used center of activity. Chair Davis indicated that Knoll would be notified when a volunteer group adopts the plaza garden maintenance. 4. REPORTS A. Report on City Council Meetings Lizée reported that the City Council held its budget meeting the previous evening and all looked good. Young asked where the Council stood with regard to the renovation or new construction of the City Hall. Lizée stated that they hope to know by the end of the year which direction the renovation or new construction would take. Brown reported that improvements, such as trimming the trees, clearing out the ditch, installing parking ballards, and overall dressing up of Crescent Beach had been completed recently. B. Update on RFP for Manor Park Planting Project Brown stated that WSB had been working on an RFP for the park planting project and that nothing would likely occur until next spring. He acknowledged that additional research must be done with regard to the lily pad growth. Young noted that it appeared that fewer geese were frequenting the area and reasoned it could be in part due to the longer grasses at the shoreline. C. Badger and Manor Tennis Court Status Although a temporary solution, Brown was pleased to report that the Tennis Court Doctor had repaired both the Badger and Manor park courts. Noting the cost of the repair, Norman stated that it will be interesting to see how long the temporary fix holds up to the elements. Brown indicated that the cost for the repairs were $17,000-18,000 per court. 5. PRIMARY ELECTION ON SEPTEMBER 12 NEED TO DETERMINE DATE FOR SEPTEMBER PARK COMMISSION MEETING PARK COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 PAGE 3 OF 6 Norman moved, Young seconded, to recommend September 13, 2006 as the alternate Meeting date for September. Motion passed 4/0. 6. COMMUNITY REC 2006 FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER REPORT (CRR) Anderson, of CRR, reported that the spring sporting season document collection process was a success, although ongoing field issues continued to arise as 2-3 sports organizations found themselves vying for time. She recommended that consideration be given to the field conditions at Badger Park so that usage can be assigned for 2007. Via the park priority policy, and negotiations between the sports organizations, found lacrosse at Manor Park this year, which placed increased demand on a neighborhood park. CRR increased their monitoring efforts at Manor to evaluate the impacts, noting that this would not be a long term solution. Brown commended CRR for their ongoing efforts on arbitrating these issues between the sports organizations and the City. He acknowledged that the time and attention devoted to these efforts has been augmented this year and noted that further attention will need to be given to Badger Park for 2007, as a proposed solution to the equation. 7. BUCKTHORN PROJECT – NEXT STEP Chair Davis stated that she would like to see the buckthorn project go out to the community, via the neighborhood level. She indicated that she knew of many areas where people would be willing to conduct their own neighborhood projects in November, but would need a way for the debris to be carried away. Brown stated that the debris is mulched up when taken away; however, due to the high gas prices this has become increasingly difficult for the city to afford. Brown stated that while the city could pick up the debris, the cost of disposal is expensive. He noted that the fall clean up day has been eliminated, and the spring clean up day is still under discussion. Due to the final costs involved, Brown indicated that a city wide fall buckthorn event could be quite expensive for the city. Young stated that there needs to be a built in incentive in order to get people to participate in the buckthorn project. Brown stated that he would check in with NRG, the disposal company, and put together a framework of the costs based on assumptions of participation levels to outline some of the costs for the next meeting. Norman suggested treating this as a National Night Out campaign of sorts to project costs or require that people sign up in advance as neighborhoods to participate. Lizée suggested the Earth Club at the High School be contacted to participate, as kids have the energy to get things done. Chair Davis suggested this be revisited in September. She indicated that she would contact some of the good neighborhood leaders who participated last year for their thoughts. 8. WINTER COMMUNITY ACTIVITY – NEXT STEP PARK COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 PAGE 4 OF 6 The Commission chose January 20, 2007, as the proposed date for the Shorewood Winter Community Activity. Norman suggested that if the City of Shorewood chooses to go forward with the winter activity, it should do so on its own accord unless other communities wish to tie in with their own programming. He stated that the event should first be a success here before promoting it on a broader scale. Norman suggested the City identify one park this year to focus events and volunteered to put together a plan. Brown concurred, stating that the community event could start small this year and work its way up to a larger program in years to come. Brown stated that he would have Park Secretary Grout solicit interest from the surrounding cities to gauge their interest for January 20, 2007. 9. IDENTIFYING ADOPT-A-GARDENS Young stated that the Adopt a Garden program seemed to be a natural fit, especially for the Shorewood Ponds neighborhood to adopt the Freeman plaza. Brown stated that he would send out a mailer to the neighborhood residents to solicit their interest in adopting the plaza garden. In addition, Brown stated that he would examine the costs to assist volunteers with the gardens and expected to budget about $100 per garden next year. Chair Davis suggested volunteers donate from their own gardens to save on costs. Lizée noted that perennials and prairie grasses would be a good fit for the plaza and that the seniors who frequent the area might enjoy volunteering in their park. Trent suggested the City post a small sign within the plaza garden itself that says it is looking to be adopted. The Commission agreed this would be a good idea. Brown pointed out that, contrary to earlier comment, the irrigation system was extended to reach the plaza garden last spring and has been running. He noted that dressing up the garden itself might in fact; deter the cut through traffic and trampling that happens currently. Brown stated that he would post an ‘Adopt Me’ sign in the garden, send out a flyer and insert something into the newsletter about the need for volunteers. 10. AUTHORIZATION FOR EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS (AEOF) - DRINKING FOUNTAIN AT EDDY STATION Brown stated that the CIP had scheduled up to $12,000 for such improvement to drinking fountains. He pointed out that a water line and waste line already exists and asked the Commission for their authorization for the expenditure of funds so as to move to the City Council for approval st at their August 31 deadline. Brown added that he felt the proposed fountain would fare well with regard to vandalism Trent moved, Chair Davis seconded, to recommend approval of the authorization of the expenditure of funds not to exceed $5,000 for the purchase and installation of one drinking fountain. Motion passed 3/1. PARK COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 PAGE 5 OF 6 Young denied, as he felt the expenditure to be a waste of funds with the proliferation of water bottles available he felt there was a minimal need, and vandalism is too high. 11. DISCUSSION ON BADGER FOOTBALL AND HOCKEY RINK LIGHTING PROJECT Brown stated that he was surprised by the costs to replace the lighting at Badger Park. Although he knew it would be an expensive project, he did not realize to what degree and informed the Commission that the project would need to follow the public bid process as do expenditures that exceed $50,000. Although he hoped to see the improvement project completed by this fall, Brown indicated that the Park Commission must determine if they wish to proceed with this outlay of cash from their CIP budget. Young stated that he felt strongly that these problems would not go away and that the costs would not likely come down; therefore, he felt they should proceed with the public bidding process. Young questioned the life span of the proposed new lighting. Brown stated that the estimated life span of a new lighting system was 25 years. Norman stated that, typically, it is nice to look at 2-3 bids before choosing to proceed. He asked if Brown had contacted other communities. Brown stated that he had contacted other communities and that the one contractor they had been in contact with was one of the larger ones in the area. He asked whether the Commission was comfortable going forward with this even though it would eat up a big chunk of its CIP funds. Norman stated that this is the direction the Commission has acknowledged that it needs to go in and these types of long term investments must be made. Chair Davis stated that she was uncomfortable moving forward with this expenditure without the input from the other commissioners absent this evening. Brown stated that staff could get authorization from the City Council to advertise for bids and report back to the Commission on the bid process at its next meeting. The Commission could at that time decide not to proceed and deny the expenditure. Chair Davis pointed out that the Commission could call a special meeting or hold their September th meeting the 6 in order to get the approvals made. Young moved, Norman seconded, to recommend to City Council that they hold open the bid process for lighting at Badger Park. Motion passed 4/0. 11A. DOG PARK UPDATE PARK COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 PAGE 6 OF 6 Chair Davis reported that the Park Foundation asked for clarification whether the Commission’s offer to provide matching funds up to $5,000 in donations was still valid. Brown stated that he believed the Commission had agreed to earmark $5,000 from the CIP in 2006 for the Dog Park. He indicated that he would review the past minutes to determine whether a commitment was made and suggested that if the Commission chose to follow through on said commitment the amount could be moved to the 2007 CIP. 12. DETERMINE LIAISON FOR AUGUST 21 CITY COUNCIL MEETING Chair Davis agreed to act as liaison for the August 21, 2006 Council meeting. Chair Davis asked how vandalism in the parks was this year. Brown stated that it appeared to be down overall. 13. ADJOURN Young moved, Norman seconded, adjourning the August 8, 2006, Park Commission Meeting at 8:40 p.m. Motion passed 4/0. RESPECTFULY SUBMITTED, Kristi B. Anderson Recording Secretary