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021114 PK MIN CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Chair Quinlan convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Acting Chair Edmondson; Commissioners Kjolhaug, Mangold, Dietz, and Sawtell; City Council Liaison Hotvet; City Planner Nielsen Absent: Hartmann, Quinlan Edmondson thanked Kjolhaug for all his years of service as this was his last meeting. He encouraged all Park Commissioners to engage themselves in park issues and activities. B. Review Agenda Mangold moved to approve the agenda as written. Sawtell seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of January 14, 2014. Commissioner Kjolhaug moved to approve the minutes of the January 14, 2014 meeting as written. Mangold seconded the motion. Motion carried 5-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. FREEMAN PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN REQUEST FOR WATER Edmondson stated the use of rain barrels for the community garden’s water use has been a pilot program at Freeman Park. He stated he would like input on the water issue. Dietz stated the request for water upgrade is appropriate. Kjolhaug asked how much the garden and water has been used. Nielsen stated the users are all from The Ponds area that rent garden spaces at Freeman Park. He noted other renters are from other areas. Nielsen stated the users are requesting a cost estimate for a water line for water for the garden. He explained how the water would be provided. He noted the Park Commission had anticipated there would be this request. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 5 PAGE 2 OF Mangold stated he is opposed to this request. He believed the money should be put into other areas and not the path. He stated for the cost proposed, the garden at the other location could be increased where water is already provided. Sawtell stated the cost of moving rain barrels out there and keeping them full must be costly. Edmondson asked if there have ever been any complaints about water not being there. Nielsen stated he didn’t hear about any complaints. Mangold asked what Public Works perspective is on the amount of work involved. Nielsen stated it is just one more thing they have to do. He stated it is similar to the skate park site where rain barrels were provided, and it would just be easier to provide a permanent water source. Edmondson stated he is leaning toward one more year of rain barrels at Freeman Park. Kjolhaug stated this is a great thing for the city to be providing. If we are at maximum capacity, it may not be enough to justify putting in a permanent water line. He stated the site near Freeman Park is a good fit for the seniors in the area. Commissioners requested an estimate for a water line. Dietz stated he would also like to know if there are more options to add additional plots. Edmondson stated he would like the users to let us know what their thoughts are on future needs at the garden. 5. SKATE/DOG PARK Edmondson stated this proposal was reviewed at a previous meeting. Staff received input from St. Louis Park on how they operate their dog park. Nielsen noted St. Louis Park only adds wood chips to their dog park. Their site is ¾ acre. The users are responsible for cleaning up after their dogs. He reviewed a possible ½ acre site at the proposed location. He also reviewed a possible cost of $11,000. He noted some of the trees would need to be encompassed into the site. He noted some of the larger dog parks have trees on the site. Edmondson noted the Carver Dog Park is only about five minutes away. He noted a dog park in Duluth is just mud now with nothing left of the landscape. Mangold didn’t think it was a good thing to see when you first come into Shorewood. Dietz stated the issue is what the community might think about having a dog park. We don’t have any information about that at this point. Mangold stated we are looking at losing all our expansion area at the garden if there is a dog park. Edmondson stated another question is whether the antiquated skate park will remain on the site. If we don’t need the skate park, there is more room for a dog park. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 5 PAGE 3 OF Mangold stated if Nick Swaggert wants to continue the survey of residents in the area, he should do so. This should not remain a priority at this time. Edmondson stated Swaggert should be contacted to continue his survey of residents and have the question of the skate park continuation be added as a survey question. Nielsen believed the survey is a great start to begin talks about this park’s future. 6. HOCKEY RINK AT FREEMAN PARK Nielsen stated a new drawing has been made available this evening showing a north/south configuration in the parking lot. He stated this works better in terms of using the parking lot. Commissioners discussed the portable rink construction. Nielsen discussed storage when not in use. He discussed the water source. Sawtell stated the use of Crescent Beach was suggested at the recent City Council meeting. Nielsen stated a small trailer would also need to be hauled in there. Commissioners discussed concern with shift in the ice. It was also noted it is an access to the lake for fishing in the winter. Mangold questioned the value of having a full-sized rink or having pond hockey style. He didn’t believe there is a lot of intense usage. Kjolhaug stated that is why it is important to get the user groups to come in and discuss usage. He stated it is common for a game to be in progress at one end and pleasure skating at the other. Hotvet discussed the possibility of a rink similar to Cathcart in Excelsior at some point. Commissioners and staff discussed the mechanics behind flooding an area for skating. Nielsen noted when an area is flooded for skating; the frost goes deeper and kills the grass. Sawtell asked if it would be possible to get results of the survey of current usage of the rinks. Nielsen stated organized hockey doesn’t use the ice any more. He stated from what he was seeing, Tonka Bay does not accept organized games because of the need of open skating. Edmondson asked that user groups be invited to a meeting. Hotvet suggested that someone with kids who play hockey also be invited to a meeting. She stated she had heard residents do not want to pay to play hockey in Shorewood. Nielsen stated he would invite groups to the next meeting. Commissioners discussed portable lighting. Nielsen stated there is no reason why lights cannot be placed. They could also be used for parking lot lighting. He stated the only issue is the cost. Mangold stated hypothetically, lighting would cost between $70,000 - $90,000. Nielsen stated he would get additional information on lighting costs. Commissioners discussed the possibility of a skating oval track. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 5 PAGE 4 OF Dietz suggested a trail be created to skate from Crescent Beach to Excelsior. 7. REVIEW CIP Commissioners were provided with a copy of the CIP. Nielsen indicated work on Badger Park in 2014 will not be a reality. He stated it is too late to do anything. The City Council wanted to talk about the Southshore Center first. They all agree the Center should be tied to the park in some way. Nielsen stated engineering has indicated it is too late to get plans and specs done for this year. If there is anything else that can be done in the way of prep work for 2015, it could be done. Hotvet stated there is some fine tuning on the concept that the Council has also requested. Commissioners and staff discussed the process following a Park Commission recommendation. Nielsen discussed how the City Council reviews recommendations in order to make a final decision. He stated the slowdown occurred because of the Southshore Center discussions. Nielsen discussed park projects which can be completed in 2014 because of the Badger Park delay. He suggested projects not be pulled forward until Badger Park is nailed down. He stated we can’t rely on park dedication fees because we are fairly well developed at this point. The determination needs to be made where funding will come from. It is the City Council’s job to find the money. He stated the bottom line is the Commission will keep plugging along and make recommendations. Commissioners discussed removing maintenance issues from the CIP and how the issues should be defined. Nielsen stated he would have DeJong attend a meeting to discuss this issue. Kjolhaug believed there should be a rink at Freeman before the one at Badger Park is removed. Part of the Badger plan is to find a place for the ice that will be lost. Edmondson stated the determination can be better made following the next month’s meeting. Kjolhaug asked how most cities fund their parks. Nielsen stated it is similar to what Shorewood does – they determine how much they want to budget. Mangold stated Freeman hockey should be included in 2014, roof at Freeman, and resurfacing at Badger Park. 8. NEW BUSINESS Edmondson stated liaisons are needed for City Council meetings. The following dates were scheduled: April Edmondson May Hartmann June Mangold July Dietz 9. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS/UPDATES A. City Council Hotvet reported on recent City Council actions. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 5 PAGE 5 OF Edmondson thanked the Commission for their engagement in the meeting this evening. B. Staff Nielsen stated the City Council is looking at going to a 5-member Park Commission and Planning Commission in the future. Part of the reason is there aren’t any applicants for open positions. Nielsen stated there will be more information at the next meeting. 10. ADJOURN Kjolhaug moved, Mangold seconded, to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of January 14, 2014 at 8:42 p.m. Motion carried 5-0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Clare T. Link Recorder