Loading...
111009 PK MIN CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Acting Chair Davis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Acting Chair Davis; Commissioners DeMers, Quinlan, Robb, and Edmondson; City Council liaison Woodruff; Park Coordinator Anderson; and City Administrator Heck Absent: Chair Norman and Commissioner Trent B. Review Agenda Update on the Park CIP was moved from Reports to Item 7. Edmondson moved, Quinlan seconded, approving the Agenda as amended. Motion passed 5/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Joint Park Commission and City Council Meeting Minutes of October 13, 2009 Quinlan moved, Robb seconded, approving the Minutes of the Joint Park Commission and City Council Meeting of October 13, 2009, with the changes submitted by Council member Woodruff and approved by the City Council at their regular meeting. Motion passed 5/0. B. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of October 13, 2009 Robb moved, DeMers seconded, approving the regular Park Commission Minutes of October 13, 2009 as submitted. Motion passed 5/0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR 4. REPORTS A. Report on City Council Meeting Woodruff reported that the City Council discussed the CIP for all departments in a work session. He noted that the City would be sending a letter to the County and the Three Rivers Park District requesting they standardize the signage and eliminate the trail crossing striping to deter confusion at the crossings. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 2 OF 7 Woodruff went on to explain that the Council decided to go forward with testing sediment in Manor Pond to get a handle on what it would cost the City to dredge the pond if the sediment is considered hazardous waste. Robb asked what the obligation would be if the sediment is deemed hazardous. Woodruff stated that, if the sediment is deemed hazardous, the City doesn’t have to dredge nor is it obligated to do anything with the soil material. B. Update on Hennepin County Youth Grant Anderson reported that the City Council chose not to pursue the Hennepin County Youth Sports Grant this first round and encouraged staff to coordinate its efforts with the hockey association and obtain answers to some of the questions that the Commission and Council rose. It suggested staff consider alternate locations, such as Badger, and partnerships for the future grant applications with the County. Davis asked where Badger Park came from in the discussion. Heck added that the City is unsure whether it wishes to proceed with the refrigerated rinks at all and staff may wish to consider alternate locations like Badger for an improved rink and warming house rehab. He noted that lights were already installed at Badger rink and that there was water and sewer readily available, which might make this a more amenable location than creating a new facility at Freeman. Robb pointed out that more and more articles are showing up in the paper, such as those in Blaine, that indicate how rinks and especially refrigerated rinks are being shut down due to high maintenance and operating costs. Davis noted that, unfortunately, the grant had come up too soon and too fast for proper consideration to be given. She felt it better to take our time to plan and do our best homework. She noted that she would like to see Freeman as the City’s premier location for outdoor rink facilities. C. Update on Tennis Court Reservation Policy Anderson explained that she had spoken to Dan Carlson, of Carlson Tennis, earlier that day and that he had expressed his desire to expand the relationship he held with the City last summer. He indicated that he was interested in beginning to plan now in order to avoid some of the staffing issues that arose last summer. He was pleased with the overall spring block party and free Friday events but acknowledged that he was ill prepared to host many lessons last year and hoped to remedy that for 2010. Anderson suggested the Commission hold off on trying to evaluate the reservation policy until it’s been further tested. She stated that she would continue to work with Carlson, as well as, others to bring more lessons to the parks. D. Update on Manor Pond The update had been covered within the City Council review. While thought to be classified as a wetland in the 1930’s, Heck noted that the pond had been dredged soon after, since that time the classification has changed and the MCWD no longer PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 3 OF 7 considers the pond to be a wetland but instead a storm water pond. Heck added that testing was expected to be returned within two weeks, at which time, staff will report back. Acting Chair Davis asked where the funds to perform the dredging were anticipated to come from. Woodruff pointed out that, since it is considered to function as a storm water pond, the funds would likely come from the storm water fund. E. Update on Arctic Fever Davis stated that planning for Arctic Fever was coming along nicely and that a 5-10K cross country ski race was in the works as was the addition of movies offered in tents on the lake. Anderson added that the Southshore Community Center was going to get in on the action of Arctic Fever by hosting an outdoor Snow Soccer Game on Badger field, if Tonka United Soccer Association agrees to participate. 5. REVIEW DEMONSTRATION COMMUNITY GARDEN Patricia Hauser, of the Demonstration Community Garden Committee, stood up and thanked the Commission for its ongoing support for the Community Garden. She shared photos and the volume of produce donated to the ICA food shelves. She asked the Commission to give consideration to their request for an expanded community garden with plots at South Shore Community Park, as well as, an added water source for the location. Anderson interjected that the CIP shows a drinking fountain addition for the park which could contain a hose adaptor for the garden use. She mentioned that the garden would contain roughly 10 plots, one of which would continue to be a demonstration site as noted by the garden team. Furthermore, she stated that it would be staff’ recommendation that the City purchase and install fencing around the perimeter of the garden in order to control the size and aesthetics of the project. She noted that the price for non-residents was listed at $45.00 but did not show up on the copy. Sandy Ahlstrom, of the garden committee, suggested the City consider running the garden north and south as opposed to east and west in order to get closer to the water source and add gates to either end for easier access. DeMers suggested moving some picnic tables to the side near the garden for their use. Heck noted that the City could install a coated steel fence around the perimeter of the garden space. Anderson indicated that staff had estimated the need for 650 s.f of fencing material at 4-6’ in height for the project. In addition, until the drinking fountain were installed, public works would be asked to place up to 10 rain barrels at the site, but noted that the access to water would be appreciated from the public works perspective as well. She reminded the garden team that the City does use herbicide in its parks, though the contractor would be directed to avoid the garden area. She suggested the Commission consider making a recommendation to the Council after it reviewed the CIP under item 7. Woodruff noted that the Commission should consider the start-up costs and expenses as outlined. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 4 OF 7 DeMers pointed out that that start-up costs for the installation for the fencing would be a one time cost and the drinking fountain was planned for the skate park anyway. 6. REVIEW MANOR PARK AMENITIES/VISION Anderson stated that, while it might be important to figure out the pond issues first, the Commission should take the time to consider what uses it is looking for from the Manor Shelter. Anderson stated that she and Administrator Heck had met with members of MCE last week to discuss what kinds of programs and facilities they would be looking for to run out of Manor Park. They were pleased to hear the City was considering making the necessary improvements to the facility to support their programs for that end of town. Anderson stated that it would be staff’s opinion that if the building were expanded to include proper facilities to house MCE programs, Friday programs supported by the City, and made available for rental within the community by adding restrooms, water, sewer, a potential storage area, and multipurpose room – similar to Eddy Station at Freeman Park, the warming house element would be of secondary use to the main purpose of providing programming. Woodruff stated that the item was returned to the Commission to determine what it is the Commission wishes to accomplish with this building. The Council questioned what the specific function of the facility should be and what the Commission would like to see it capable of supporting. Robb interjected that he didn’t know there was confusion on what the perceived function of this building was to be and stated that, in fact, the Commission has always been under the impression that the building was specifically being expanded to support programming. Davis stated that she envisioned doing only the absolute minimum with regard to the expansion and improvements to the building. She concurred that the goal has always been to provide programming to the east side of Shorewood. Heck pointed out that there are many talented people at the staff level that could help to create a design addition that houses the restrooms. He suggested the Commission make this type of recommendation that they have a desire to provide programming to the east side of Shorewood, move the winter storage out of this facility, add bathrooms, water and sewer, as well as, a multipurpose classroom. Acting Chair Davis moved, Edmondson seconded, that the Park Commission recommend to the City Council that the Manor Park Shelter be cleaned up, winter storage moved elsewhere, bathrooms added to the facility, running water and sewer be made available, review the lighting and roof conditions making the necessary alterations, completing necessary ADA improvements, and that an interior work table be added to the facility all to support the end goal of offering programming and a more complete facility for public use on the east side of Shorewood, taking into account city programming opportunities and partnerships with other user groups. Motion passed 5/0. 7. REVIEW UPDATED CIP FOR PARKS PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 5 OF 7 Anderson pointed out that the proposed Park CIP that was distributed incorporated many changes made at a staff level and presented to the City Council for review. She stated that she would hand the discussion item over to Administrator Heck to provide insight into how and why he had recommended many of the changes. Heck stated that upon review of the park system and the overall improvements for the next several years, it was he, with some staff input, that redirected some expenditure within the CIP in order to accomplish multiple items within parks. In the interest of time, Heck admitted that he had presented this proposed CIP to the City Council the previous evening for their opinion, which he recognized was out of the established process and parameters, for which he should have shown the CIP to the Commission for their input and support prior to sharing it with the Council. Robb asked whether this was done because the City Council had expressed concern over what the Commission had proposed to spend the money on and how much of it had been designated. Woodruff explained that, within a statute driven timeframe, the City must provide a rd recommendation for their CIP by November 23. Quinlan questioned what total funding was available to the Commission. While he wanted to understand the items within the new CIP, Quinlan was pleased that all of the different staff representatives got together in the same room to go thru the numbers. Council member Laura Turgeon interjected from the audience that the Commission deserves to know what their budget is every month. For instance, the Commission failed to spend more than $16,000 of the $147,000 they had intended to spend on improvements this year. Davis asked staff to provide the Commission with a treasurer’s report every month. Anderson stated that she has and will continue to ask the finance department for updated figures. Heck stated that he will ensure that accurate figures are shared under reports each month. Based on his quick calculations, Heck believed the Commission had somewhere around $430,000. He reviewed the finance departments CIP figures. Heck noted that within Silverwood Park, the City was scheduled to install the picnic shelter come spring, as well as lay a bituminous parking lot. Heck pointed out that Anderson and public works staff pointed out that since the parking lot and shelter were to be done, there was a large cottonwood tree which borders the park and has been uprooting the curbs and parking lot which should be removed. Hence the increased expenditure. In addition, Heck pointed out that the current metal slide within the hillside should be replaced with an approved slide by their insurance providers, thus the increase for equipment/slides/benches. Within Badger, Heck pointed out that not only are the courts scheduled to be overlaid, public works staff suggested the trees be removed and/or trimmed to eliminate the excessive droppings and promote drying out of the area over the courts. With regard to Manor Shelter, Heck stated that he chose to error on the high side estimate for the shelter renovation as a place card holder which can be revised or remain. With regard to Cathcart Park, Heck noted that, although Chanhassen does not wish to participate on major improvements, they will continue to provide for mowing and trimming for the park. With PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 6 OF 7 this in mind, the Commission had still planned to make some necessary improvements including the installation of tot pieces and improvement of the hockey lights which are in disrepair. In an effort to provide for aesthetic control, the Commission may wish to also purchase and install the fencing for the skate park garden. Heck noted that, since there was a drinking fountain slated for installation in 2011, it made sense to make this improvement available for use in 2010 for the garden plots which will alleviate the stress put on public works also. Heck also presented the concept of improving the rink and warming house facility at Badger Park in coordination with the hockey association using the Hennepin County Grant. Davis questioned where the expenditure for picnic tables came from. Anderson interjected that public works reconstructs up to 30 tables annually and suggested the Commission consider purchasing 3-5 new rubber coated metal picnic tables for the parks each year. Davis suggested staff check to see if they could find a manufacturer which would provide us with some economies of scale if we purchased more benches. Woodruff pointed out that the Commission can afford what is being proposed. He suggested the Commission leave the improvements as slated for Cathcart now as a place holder for more discussion next year. Davis reviewed her list with the Commission. The items that the Commission felt should be revised from what was proposed by staff included incorporating the staggered tennis court overlay schedule back-in to the CIP, moving the proposed tot piece expenditures to be split amongst all the parks in 2010 and 2012, revising the Badger Park warming house spruce up to $5,000 which will allow for the paint job, roof work and sidewalk fix and move the $50,000 hockey rink improvement/addition to an outdoor Freeman oval and rink. In addition, the bocce ball/horseshoe and bleachers proposed for Cathcart were removed from the CIP, while the directional sign and blacktopped strip at the Skate Park were moved to 2010 in conjunction with the additional garden improvements slated for that year. Davis reiterated that, in her view, Freeman should become the place for winter sports activities with the addition of outdoor rinks, though not necessarily chilled rinks. She urged staff to continue to pursue grants to tie to any of the proposed improvements. Davis stated that while she is all for more rinks, she is not necessarily supportive of chilled rinks given the ongoing burden of chilled rinks. Heck pointed out that two staff employees have now taken grant writing classes and will begin to focus efforts on pursuing these opportunities. Woodruff suggested staff consider adding 10 picnic tables per year using some economies of scale. He noted that the revised CIP, though front end loaded, represented good expenditures of funds if the Commission shared their reasoning. Quinlan felt the Commission had spent a considerable amount of time in the panning phases for each of these expenditures over the course of this year, with help from staff and TKDA updating PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 7 OF 7 the Master Plan. Since we spent little this year, he felt justified in the proposed expenditures for 2010. In fact, Quinlan asked to move the park signs item into 2010 also. The Commission felt the 2010 project list to be considerably full and agreed to place the signs item in 2011, but suggested staff use the later part of 2010 to initiate the process for installation in early spring of 2011. DeMers concurred, noting that the Commission had been slowed waiting for and executing the process and plans with TKDA and he looked forward to moving on with some of these items for 2010. Acting Chair Davis moved, Quinlan seconded, approving staff’s proposed CIP with the changes discussed, contingent upon each Commissioner’s review via email. Motion passed 5/0. 8. DETERMINE LIAISON FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS OF: TH NOVEMBER 16 - Davis TH DECEMBER 14 - DeMers TH JANUARY 25 - Quinlan TH FEBRUARY 9 - Edmondson MARCH - Robb 8. NEW BUSINESS DeMers moved, Davis seconded, to recommend to City Council the purchase of one Pace Car Action Ride or tot piece for each (5) of the parks to be purchased yet in 2009. Motion passed 5/0. As this item would likely fall under $1000 per park, Woodruff thought this item would probably be considered a consent agenda item for the City Council. Davis explained that the NPRA, National Park and Recreation Conference would be held in Minneapolis in October of 2010 and recommended that the Park Commission should either join and/or attend the conference. She suggested staff look into the costs associated with the membership and conference and report back Woodruff stated that, although somewhat set, this would likely be a general fund budget item and he could see supporting sending some staff and a few Commissioners to the conference to report back. Anderson asked the Commission to return to the Community Garden Plot staff recommendation and make a motion having considered their CIP for 2010. Edmondson moved, Davis seconded, approving the staff recommendation to City Council that the Community Garden Plot project move forward for 2010 at the South Shore Community Park following the proposed guidelines and installation of the perimeter fencing. Motion passed 5/0. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 PAGE 8 OF 7 9. ADJOURN Acting Chair Davis moved, DeMers seconded, adjourning the Park Commission Meeting of November 10, 2009, at 10:02 p.m. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Kristi B. Anderson Recorder