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062210 PK MINS CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING A. Roll Call Present: Chair Norman; Commissioners Quinlan, Robb, Edmondson, Gaidos, and ; SwaggertPublic Works Director Brown, and Park Coordinator Anderson Absent: Commissioner Trent and City Council liaison Zerby B. Review Agenda Item 5 was moved later in the Agenda as item 8, and all else slid up. Quinlan moved, Gaidos seconded, approving the Agenda as amended. Motion passed 6/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of June 8, 2010 Edmondson moved, Quinlan seconded, approving the Minutes from June 8, 2010, as submitted. Motion passed 6/0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. REPORTS A. Report on City Council Meeting of June 14, 2010 Robb, liaison for the Council meeting, stated that the Council discussed the purchase of the lights at Cathart Park, ultimately approving the purchase with the caveat that consideration to move or relocate the hockey rink within the park be put on hold. Brown interjected that the lights for Cathcart would likely be installed by the end of July. Other items of interest included discussion surrounding City Hall and Park signage, the accessible playground equipment at Manor Park, and the approval of the CUP for Freeman Park little league signage. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 PAGE 2 OF 6 5. UPDATE ON MUSIC IN THE PARK Anderson summarized the summer in the parks additions, including Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade, Kid Power with Rachael, tennis, karate and many others. She stated that staff had merely received one CD submission for Garage Band Jam, voicing her concern that the deadline was fast approaching. Anderson pointed out that last year staff received about a dozen submittals and had expected to be recruiting Commissioners to evaluate them at this point. She mentioned that Excelsior had cancelled their battle of the bands due to lack of interest and hoped we would not end up doing the same. Chair Norman suggested staff touch base with MCE to let them know how Manor Park is coming along and invite them to consider programming in the park next spring. 6. RECOMMEND PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT FOR MANOR PARK Anderson reviewed the 2010 CIP for Manor Park shelter and playground, totaling an estimated expenditure of $185,000. She shared news of a $30,000 award from Boundless Playgrounds to be used in combination with the Hennepin County Grant award of $104,200, to additionally offset the accessible playground costs, estimated at approximately $150,000. She explained that based on the actual anticipated costs for the two projects of $235,000 less the total grant awards of $134,200 would leave a total cash outlay by the City of merely $100,800. Approximately $80,000 less than was originally budgeted for the two projects together. She compared this to getting the playground virtually done for free. Anderson pointed out that two different families with handicapped children in the Manor Park neighborhood had contacted the City and Hennepin County Commissioner Callison to help plead for these awards. The playground manufacturer pointed out that the totally accessible neighborhood park playground would be the first of its kind in the Midwest, noting that Shorewood would be the premier municipality to provide this experience. Anderson indicated that after having met with the manufacturer several times they had designed a boundless playground which would entirely fit within the parameters of the current play structure, even retaining the swing set to the southern edge. She presented the Commission with a color poster of the design and two color samples for them to discuss. Chair Norman stated that, despite the large investment, the totally accessible play set would serve a dual purpose for all children. He noted that the overall investment was less than the original estimates in the CIP and encouraged the Commission to support it. The Commission discussed the color palette and chose the ‘Forest’ sample, browns and greens, as it would better fit into the color scheme for the park and shelter. Anderson pointed out that staff had gone to considerable lengths to try to save money where possible. She indicated that public works staff had agreed to remove the existing play equipment and pea gravel, to allow for the all volunteer installation, and then replace the pea gravel for the rubberized overlay and concrete work provided by the manufacturer. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 PAGE 3 OF 6 Chair Norman asked Public Works staff whether they felt comfortable with the work and if maintenance and vandalism issues could be foreseen. Director Brown indicated that he was comfortable with the work they would be assuming and noted that while some vandalism may occur, the equipment would require no more maintenance than any other playground. Anderson reiterated the fact that the installation would require about 50 volunteers and pointed to each of st the Commissioner asking them to show up with 1-2 additional helpers on July 31 for the install. She st. mentioned that the anticipated installation would occur on or about July 31and that the City would need to recruit many volunteers. Brown stated that several, if not all, of the playgrounds had been installed by volunteer teams in the City of Shorewood. Edmondson moved, Gaidos seconded, recommending approval of the proposed Boundless Playground Design as submitted by Mn/Wi Playgrounds in the Forest Green color palette with green rubber coating. Motion passed 6/0. Director Brown mentioned that, in the past, the Park Foundation has purchased things on behalf of the City to save on the tax expense but he was unsure whether this would be a possibility in this case. Anderson pointed out that the Foundation is always mentioned when filing a grant application, but in this case, neither the Hennepin County nor Boundless Playground grant awards allowed this action. 7. RECOMMEND WALL MOUNT MESSAGE BOARDS FOR THE PARKS Anderson shared the concept of installing message boards at several of the parks within Shorewood in an effort to promote park events to the captive audiences who regularly visit these parks. She acknowledged that, if the Commission chose, a message board could be incorporated into the design plan for Manor Park this year with the remodel. Whereas, future parks, such as Freeman, could be installed as part of the maintenance budget in coming years. Chair Norman commented that, while not all parks would warrant the message boards, he would definitely support them in Freeman and Manor at this time. He questioned how often they would be updated and how vandalism proof they might or might not be. Brown indicated that public works staff generally updates the shelter reservations tacked on the Freeman shelters daily and that the boards would be updated regularly. He also stated that while vandalism may occur, others have them. Anderson noted that she is out often posting flyers around town of park events and would welcome a chance to post and update the park flyers. Brown indicated that the smaller shelter at Freeman would warrant a free standing board with posts. Chair Norman suggested Manor Park be included this year and Freeman be addressed in 2011. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 PAGE 4 OF 6 Quinlan moved, Robb seconded, recommending approval of the purchase of a wall mounted message board to be incorporated into the Manor Park shelter redesign this year and the purchase of the wall mounted board for Eddy Station and free standing message board at Freeman’s smaller shelter in 2011 to be funded from the Maintenance budget. Motion passed 6/0. 8.REVIEW AND FINALIZE CIP FOR 2011 Chair Norman asked the Commission to review the revised CIP park by park to evaluate the projects, timeline, and estimates. SILVERWOOD Gaidos urged the Commission to move the replacement for the Silverwood slide up in the CIP as it is a safety hazard. She indicated that her husband had received a nasty gash from its edge. Brown stated that the slide is a thorn in the side of the insurance provider and that it should be reconsidered. The Commission asked staff to begin investigating a replacement option for a long slide which would retain the character of the current slide but be a safer option. Robb suggested the playground equipment replacement be moved out one year, since its condition is in good shape. MANOR PARK Chair Norman acknowledged that although the tennis court rebuild, potential expansion, and basketball addition are costly items, he hoped staff could create partnerships for potential grant funding in the coming years. CATHCART PARK The Commission questioned whether hard surfacing the hockey rink was necessary at Cathcart since there is a basketball court facility located at this park. Nor did they feel the rink needed to be moved, especially since Council approved the added lights. The replacement synthetic hockey boards were retained, but the hard surface and relocation were removed. Chair Norman asked whether Administrator Heck had had the chance to discuss with Chanhassen the removal of the no parking signs along the road near Cathcart Park to help alleviate some of the parking congestion. Anderson stated that she would defer to Heck and would report back. FREEMAN PARK Brown indicated that resurfacing the Freeman parking lot could be quite a bit more involved than the Commission realizes and that the estimate could double or triple depending on the requirement imposed by PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 PAGE 5 OF 6 the watershed for such a job. Due to the mitigation efforts that may be required by the watershed in order to resurface the parking lot, Brown brought up the wetland restoration project as a potential partnership. Edmondson interjected that, in his opinion, resurfacing and redesigning several of these parking lots is somewhat of a ‘luxury’ given the many other items the Commission and Council wish to accomplish. He noted that, while some of the parking lots are small, they are adequate, and he questioned spending such huge amounts on reconstruction when there are so many items on the wish list. BADGER PARK The Commission chose to move the shelter remodel and update out to 2018 after the tennis courts are moved and rebuilt since the shelter may be situated near where the current courts are. SKATE PARK Brown reported that staff is currently working with the sole quoter for the drinking fountain at the Skate Park. Chair Norman pointed out that a shaped concrete skate surface may replace the need for replacement equipment in 2015-2016, but because this is more costly, those estimates may need to be rolled into the resurfacing project for 2014. GENERAL Quinlan stated that he was trying to smooth out the differences over the years by creating more balanced expenditures within the course of the CIP. Gaidos indicated that she liked the holistic approach that the Commission was taking to accomplish its task of updating the parks. By completing Manor Park this year, planning on tackling Freeman Park in 2011, and moving on to the first phase for Badger in 2012. She felt it made sense to approach the updates on a park by park basis rather than an item here and an item there. Edmondson stated that he could foresee the rink at Freeman being so well received that this will make a great statement in the community for use with Arctic Fever, the hockey association etc. Chair Norman suggested staff look into grants via Kaboom and Kellogg for playground equipment. He stated that he was very happy at this point with the direction the Park Commission was headed and that this CIP portrays a blueprint for 2011 and wish list for beyond. Swaggert moved, Gaidos seconded, recommending the City Council approve the proposed Park Commission CIP for 2011-2019 as submitted. Motion passed 6/0. Robb suggested staff supply the two new commissioners with color copies of the TKDA drawings for their reference. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010 PAGE 6 OF 6 9. DETERMINE LIAISON FOR UPCOMING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS June 28 – Chair Norman July 26 - Swaggert August 23 – Edmondson September 27 – Gaidos 10. NEW BUSINESS There was none. 11. ADJOURN Edmondson moved, Quinlan seconded, adjourning the Park Commission Meeting of June 22, 2010, at 9:05pm. Motion passed 6/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Kristi B Anderson Recorder