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111020 Park Minutes CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY CLUB RD PARK COMMISSION MEETING SHOREWOOD CITY HALL TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION MEETING Vice-Chair Hirner convened the meeting at 7:01 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Commissioners Schmid, Hirner, Gallivan, and Garske; Planning Director Darling and Park and Recreation Director Grout Absent: Commissioner Mangold B. Review Agenda Gallivan moved to approve the agenda as written. Garske seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes all. Motion carried 4-0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Park Commission Meeting Minutes of October 20, 2020 Garske moved to approve the minutes of the October 20, 2020 meeting as written. Schmid seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. 3. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were none. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Approve Donation of Park Bench from Resident Lynette Trygstad Commissioners discussed bench details, placement, and positioning. Garske moved to recommend approval of the donation of a park bench from resident Lynette Trygstad. Gallivan seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes all. Motion carried 4-0. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Badger Park – Discussion on Grand Opening Commissioners discussed the best time to hold a Grand Opening where there would be the most opportunity for people to attend and concluded that they would like to try for a Wednesday evening in mid-June. They noted that they would like to have multiple food trucks, exhibitions of lacrosse, tennis, and pickle ball. They recommended that individually packaged ice cream treats be available for attendees. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 PAGE 2 OF 5 Twila Grout, Park and Recreation Director, noted that to advertise for this event the City can use social media, such as Facebook, the newsletter, the electronic sign, and the City website. Commissioner Gallivan suggested that it might be a good idea to get the local small businesses involved if possible. Planning Director Darling stated that staff has some direction and can work on some of these details and bring item back for the January agenda to finalized the plans for a Grand Opening celebration. B. Equipment and Facilities for Seniors – Survey and Cost Information for Various Equipment for Parks Commissioner Gallivan stated that he likes the survey that staff has put together and feels it will be very helpful in terms of garnering feedback to narrow the field down in terms of what types of things seniors would like to see. Commissioner Garske stated that he likes the idea of having something like the Little Free Library that could house some of the necessary equipment. The Commission discussed pricing for different pieces of equipment and the option of having various stations throughout the trail system, but noted that the individual stations throughout the park would have a higher cost. Commissioner Gallivan stated that he would like to move forward with the survey and get the feedback from the residents to help shape the direction for the Parks Commission. Planning Director Darling suggested that it may be helpful if there were photographs of the equipment included in the survey. There was a consensus of the Parks Commission to have the survey available on-line in Survey Monkey, but also have some paper copies available to be turned into the City. Commissioner Garske noted that he understands that the idea is for this equipment to be used by seniors, but asked if the Commission wanted to get feedback from others. He noted that for example, he could see his family utilizing bocce ball or the corn hole equipment. He suggested that perhaps the City collect feedback from others and ask them to include their age range within the survey. Park and Recreation Director Grout stated that she agreed that much of this equipment would be used by more than just the senior population throughout the City. Schmid moved to direct staff to finalize the survey including pictures and include a question regarding age range and distribute it to residents through the methods presented. Garske seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all Motion carried 4-0. PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 PAGE 3 OF 5 C. Freeman Park – Drainage Correction Project near Field 4 at Freeman Park Planning Director Darling stated that she was not aware of how quickly engineering was moving on this project. She explained that she found out that Public Works has been maintaining the gully along the first baseline on this field after every rainfall. She stated that this field is used very frequently. She stated that this item was taken to Council at last night’s meeting and they made a motion to approve moving forward with the low bidder to fix the drainage issues, contingent upon the Parks Commission approval. Vice-Chair Hirner asked how other CIP projects will be impacted if funds are used for this repair project. Planning Director Darling stated that because the tennis courts at Badger Park came in under budget, there is a little wiggle room in the CIP and this should not greatly affect future CIP projects. Commissioner Gallivan stated that $70,000 had been earmarked for this in the CIP, but the projection is that it will cost $80,000 and confirmed that Planning Director Darling was saying that because of the tennis court project will be lower than expected that will make up the difference, Planning Director Darling stated that it won’t quite cover all of the difference, but it will be close. She stated that she hopeful that there will also be some fund reserves left over at the end of the year which staff would ask the Council to earmark for this project and will also continue to look for grants. Hirner moved to concur with the City Council action and recommend approval of the drainage correction project near Field 4 at Freeman Park as presented. Gallivan seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. D. Fire Lane Discussion – Discuss Information Requested from September 1, 2020 Joint Meeting Planning Director Darling stated that at the joint work session meeting with the Planning Commission, the Commissioners had asked for additional information on how vacations are processed, the cost to provide additional maintenance, and the tax implications if adjacent property owners receive additional property through a vacation. She reviewed the points from the meeting that had general consensus by the Commissioners. She gave a brief overview of the vacation process and noted that it can only be undertaken if it is in the public interest to vacate the property. She reviewed the notice requirements that are necessary, including the DNR. She explained the tax implications for the receiving property owners and noted that it depends on the location and whether the property is on Lake Minnetonka or Lake William. She stated that it would cost about $25,000 to open up all ten of the fire lanes so there is a walkway down to the lakeshore or to the top of the bluff. She noted that Public Works staff is very concerned about any changes to the ditch in Fire Lane 6 because it is important for stormwater purposes. She stated that the City Attorney has explained that there will not be any increased liability to the City if they open up the fire lanes and encourage greater public access. Commissioner Gallivan stated that he felt the conclusion was that more information was needed for Fire Lanes 3 through 6 and would need a second discussion. He stated that he thinks the decision can be made about Fire Lanes 8-10 and Fire Lanes 1, 2 and 7. He stated that he would like to keep the process going so it does not linger on. He stated that he would like to simplify PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 PAGE 4 OF 5 things for staff so the vacation work can happen all at once and not piecemeal. He reiterated that he believes another joint meeting with the Planning Commission will be necessary to discuss Fire Lanes 3 through 6. Commissioner Garske noted that he had just joined the Park Commission so he did not have a chance to tour the Fire Lanes. Commissioners discussed vacating Fire Lanes 8, 9, and 10, but to hold off on completing that process until the process for the remaining Fire Lanes can be determined. The Commission discussed the pros and cons of vacating the various fire lanes. Gallivan moved to recommend approval of vacating Fire Lanes 8-10, but delaying the action until there is resolution on the other Fire Lanes in the City, and holding another joint meeting with the Planning Commission to discuss the remaining fire lanes. Hirner seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. Hirner moved to recommend Fire Lane 2 be removed as a fire lane, but kept as a utility access for the lift station maintenance and also remove it from the ordinance and zoning map. Gallivan seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. The Commission discussed potential issues with snowmobile access for the fire lanes and the possibility of putting up signage to stop people from using the fire lanes during certain hours. Planning Director Darling noted that last year, the City put in jersey barriers to stop snowmobile access. She noted that the direction was given from Council to enforce the current ordinance until the City made a change. Vice-Chair Hirner asked if there would be jersey barriers put in place for this coming season. Planning Director Darling stated that it had not been discussed, but is something that could be brought up at the next Council meeting for direction. Schmid moved to recommend the City install jersey barriers to stop snowmobile access on Fire Lane 3. Garske seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. Park and Recreation Director Grout suggested that the specific fire lane should be outlined in the motion. Schmid amended the motion to recommend that the Council install jersey barriers to stop snowmobile access on Fire Lane 3. Gallivan seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0. 6. STAFF AND LIAISON REPORTS / UPDATES A. City Council Planning Director Darling gave an overview of the November 9, 2020 City Council meeting. B. Staff PARK COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 PAGE 5 OF 5 Commissioner Garske asked about the discussion regarding buckthorn at Freeman Park. Planning Director Darling stated that she has not heard if the City has submitted the grant application, so she does not have an update yet. Park and Recreation Director Grout asked if the Park Commission would like to meet in December. There was a consensus for the Parks Commission to meet in December. 7. ADJOURN Gallivan moved to adjourn the Park Commission Meeting of November 10, 2020 at 8:36 p.m. Garske seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Ayes – all. Motion carried 4-0.