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101111 PK MINS CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 MINUTES 1.CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Quinlan convened the meeting at 7:02 p.m. A.Roll Call Present: Chair Quinlan; Commissioners Robb, Edmondson, Swaggert, Kjolhaug, Hartmann, and Gordon; City Administrator Heck; Finance Director DeJong; Park Coordinator Anderson; and late arrival City Council liaison Zerby B.Review Agenda Edmondson moved, Robb seconded, approving the Agenda as submitted. Motion passed 7/0. 2.APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of September 13, 2011 A typo on page 5 last paragraph of item #8 was corrected. Robb moved, Gordon seconded, approving the Minutes of September 13, 2011, as amended. Motion passed 7/0. 3.MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR – there were none 4.PRESENTATIONS A. Michael Greer Eagle Scout Project Scout Greer gave a brief overview of his project. Chair Quinlan complimented him on the idea, voicing appreciation for the project, and asked about ongoing maintenance. Greer stated that there would be little, if any, required maintenance, although the cedar may eventually decay. Heck interjected that the Council and community Gardeners preferred the project retain its organic status, as opposed to using green treated lumber. Edmondson asked about placement. Anderson noted that Greer would be working with staff and Public Works Director Brown on the placement of the bin, so as not to infringe upon any future expansion of the garden. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 PAGE 2 OF 5 Hartmann moved, Swaggert seconded, approving the Eagle Scout candidate Michael Greer’s proposal to build a compost bin at the community garden. Motion passed 7/0. Robb reminded him to work with staff on placement. B.Minnehaha Watershed District MCWD – Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Planner James Wisker, accompanied by Education Manager Leslie Yetka, gave an extensive overview of the departments and mission of the MCWD. Governed by appointed officials and guided by its own Comprehensive Plan and the State Agency, Board of Water & Soil Resources, the MCWD serves over 29 communities, the upper watershed of Minnehaha Creek is fed by the dam at Gray’s Bay which, in essence, all drain to one point, the Mississippi River. The Mission of the MCWD is broken down into 7 areas: 1)Land Conservation & Restoration – work with willing donors to create conservation easements to protect water quality 2)Education & Communication to K-12, as well as policy makers 3)Hydrodata – water quality monitoring & invasive species monitoring 4)Regulatory – rules regarding erosion control, runoff, flood plains, stormwater, and development 5) Grants – opportunities for partnerships 6)Planning – guides everything 7)Projects/Operations & Maintenance Edmondson asked about the ‘grading’ system used by the MCWD to rate the bays on Lake Minnetonka. Wiskers explained that the MCWD uses a standard of measure for phosphorous using many underlying metrics to measure clarity. While it is a detailed, but limited tool, he said there are many intricacies to the process. Wiskers gave several examples of capital projects and partnerships, pointing out that their 10 year comprehensive plan can be changed to meet the needs of various projects. The Urban Creek Corridor Initiative ; because wetlands slow down the water flow and seepage, a creek, once straightened for development, can be redirected to its former ‘natural wavy’ state to slow flow. Wiskers stated that, oftentimes, cities or people come to the MCWD with big ideas to partner with them, or even smaller ideas in some cases for grants. For instance, the low impact development grant program is available for shoreline/streambank restoration for Freeman Park may be one avenue that the city could pursue. In the case of homeowners, stormwater BMP’s can be tapped for small scale individual improvements. Low impact development projects have been done in both Wayzata and Excelsior. Wiskers urged the Commission to come to the MCWD if they want cost effective projects that can make a big difference in the watershed. He suggested the City provide the MCWD with a ‘vision’ to help PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 PAGE 3 OF 5 determine how the creek runs thru the park at Freeman, determine the drainage area, map out the topography, and figure out whether there is a water quality problem or streambank project. Every City is looking for a project, Wiskers stated that the MCWD will provide you all the data it has, which in turn will give your staff ammunition to put together a proposal for MCWD consideration and evaluation – he commented that the ‘squeaky wheel gets the grease’. He suggested the Commission give consideration to the items Anderson had mentioned, the creek, Freeman Park parking lot using rain gardens, permeable pavers/porous pavers or concrete, similar to Mound. Once the city has a proposal, the MCWD will sit down to look at your CIP, as well as its own, and evaluate how it could partner. Chair Quinlan suggested the Commission meet with the MCWD regarding both the Freeman and Badger Parking lots. Wiskers pointed out that, whenever a city plans to make a change, it should look at ways to improve water quality. Hartmann asked how the city would determine where the historic wetland would have been, for instance, at Badger. While the MCWD can provide some old topographic data, Wisker suggested looking at where the water goes currently, pipes, creeks, etc. Chair Quinlan thanked Wisker for attending and sharing the detailed summary and suggestions for the Commission to discuss. C.Parks Foundation – Bill Keeler Bill Keeler, of the Park Foundation, gave a historical perspective on the origination of the Shorewood Park Commission, acquisition of park land, and Park foundation history. He shared a page from the first park meeting minutes of 1975 and mentioned the numerous individuals who laid out the original plans for the City of Shorewood. Keeler pointed out that the Foundation needs a goal in order to raise money. Although a small group of individuals, the foundation members are educating the public about the organization and encouraging folks to donate, deed estates, etc to their 501c3 organization as a tax incentive. He stated that, if the Park Commission comes to them with a project, the Foundation will fundraiser for it, as they’ve done for Arctic Fever and Girabaldi Plaza. Foundation liaison Edmondson interjected that a partnership would be a win/win for both the Commission and Foundation. He recognized the membership, Bill Keeler, Ken Dallman, Jackie Dallman, Twila Grout, Julie Moore, Elaine Love and Theresa Zerby for their efforts. 5. NOVEMBER 8 GENERAL ELECTION DAY - NEED TO DETERMINE DATE FOR NOVEMBER PARK COMMISSION MEETING th The Commission will meet November 15 at the Southshore Community Center at 7pm. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 PAGE 4 OF 5 Tom Robb will be subbing for Edmondson as liaison to the Park Foundation on October 26, 2011 at 5pm, and asked to be reminded of the Agenda. 6. NEW BUSINESS – there was none 7. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS/UPDATES A.City Council Zerby reported that the council approved the trail plan and forwarded it to the Met Council. B.Park Commission C.Staff D.Work Program Anderson pointed out that the Park Commission would be evaluating the 2012 Work Program at their next meeting, as well as, the long term CIP for consideration. Chair Quinlan asked if staff had pulled together estimates for the TKDA plans at Badger Park. Anderson stated that they had not done so, in fact, she reminded the Commission that Badger Park planning was slated for review during 2012, that this would take time, and that staff would appreciate a list of priorities to begin the extensive compilation of the various elements of the TKDA plans. Chair Quinlan stated that the Commission directed staff to begin compiling estimates for all of the TKDA design elements at their previous meeting. Once presented, he noted that the Commission would then identify their priorities based on the estimates. Heck encouraged the Commission to consider their priorities in anticipation of the long term CIP. Zerby asked about vandalism to a sign at Freeman Park, staff was unaware of any vandalism but would follow-up. Robb asked about the exposed ‘conduit’ leading from Badger Park warming house to the ground. Anderson stated that Public Works staff and building Inspector Pazandak were working on those details. E.Quarterly Expenditure Report DeJong presented the Quarterly Expenditure Report for comment, explaining that the Commission will need to consider what sort of annual infusion of funds from the Council would be necessary going forward to accomplish park priorities. Although Grants are not addressed in the long term CIP, DeJong cautioned assuming these to be accessible. Robb stated that there are some things that the Commission just simply can’t accomplish without the influx of grant dollars, a catch 22. These items are priorities, but if the funds partners are not available they cannot be done. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2011 PAGE 5 OF 5 Heck stated that the key take away from the Finance items is that a funding disparity exists and becomes obvious within a few years. The Park Commission will need to really analyze their priorities. He implored them to work on or even move out, some of the priorities so that staff can go after the relevant grants. Once the key really important priorities are identified, then staff, the Commission and Council can leverage funds to get these dollar numbers and complete the projects. Chair Quinlan reiterated that he would like to proceed with the TKDA vision, and wants staff to pull together the best estimates they can so that the Commission can take these numbers to re- prioritize at that point. Anderson pointed out that partnerships for grants exist, such as USTA and the Hennepin County Sport Grant, but the deadlines for these vary, and at this point would be next fall. Heck encouraged the Commission to commit to a project and let staff contact them like USTA. Edmondson stated that he felt the Commission had been working really hard over the past few years to prioritize the CIP. F.Grant Report Anderson shared the list of all grants being submitted for within the City, not just for Parks. Noting that the Organic Waste Pilot Program grant was just awarded to the City in the amount of $16,500 for a residential program. 8. ADJOURN Edmondson moved, Swaggert seconded, adjourning the meeting of October 11, 2011, at 9:35pm. Motion passed 7/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Kristi B. Anderson Recorder