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061306 PK WS MINCITY OF SHOREWOOD PARK COMMISSION WORK SESSION 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD SHOREWOOD CITY HALL 8:00 P.M. OR IMMEDIATELY TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2006 FOLLOWING PARK MEETING MINUTES 1. CONVENE PARK COMMISSION WORK SESSION Chair Davis convened the Work Session at 8:16 p.m. A. Roll Call Present: Chair Davis, Commissioners Young, Westerlund, Moonen and Norman; City Engineer Brown Absent: Commissioner Hensley and City Council liaison. B. Review Agenda 2. MASTER PLAN — OPEN SPACE Westerlund asked if the Open Space study performed by the LCEC was part of the Comp Plan. Brown stated that the Master Plan contains the Open Space study dated March 2003 and that the LCEC committee has not re -upped since its sunset date. While some of the items with regard to land trust have been implemented, the committee has not continued on. Young stated that it was difficult to page between the various documents and suggested that dates footnoted at the bottom of each page might have been useful. Brown asked for the Commission's feedback after reading the document. He asked whether the Commission felt it had a desire to participate with open space or not. Young stated that his first reaction would be to confine his own limited expertise to the subject of parks, as he would be able to make a huge contribution to the open space discussion. He felt the scope of open space far exceeds the general role of a park commissioner to be. Norman stated that open space appears to be a very broad template; whereas, parks fit the role of Park Commissioners. He believed that the City Council should continue to work with the DNR etc. identifying and designating a park as a `park' or as `open space', then once identified an area can fall within the authority of the Park Commission or not. Chair Davis recalled the trail process discussion as linear parks and the footwork performed to determine under which umbrella it falls. Westerlund stated that, having seen the document explaining what the LCEC did prioritizing pieces of land the city should consider acquiring, the question remains who is left to carry on the implementation. While she did not know whether it should fall under the Park Commission, she questioned who championed the charge of `open space'. She noted that, at least, there is documentation which identifies space that, if it becomes available, it is worth pursuing. While there are different groups now who will help offset PARK COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2006 PAGE 2 OF 3 the costs of acquiring open space, she asked `who was minding the store'. If, after mutual discussion, the City Council acquires a parcel and feels if falls within the umbrella of the Park Commission, then the Commission could oversee it. Brown commended the Commission for its thoughtful consideration of who is championing the cause. While the Commission felt it's role to be clearly parks, unless the City Council changes the charge of the Park Commission, this question remains. Young questioned where the `hornets nest' was raised, since the Commission's discussion was restricted entirely to discussing open space within parks and not across the city itself. Brown stated that the Council has been defining spaces as part of the overall Master Plan for the past several years. Westerlund questioned when and how the Commission stirred up anything with the City Council by discussing parks. Brown stated that the question has come up in the past with regard to who is handling `open space' and when Chair Davis appeared before the City Council, one Council member took offense to this question. Young maintained that the scope of `open space' should be handled by someone else unless the City Council changes the designation to fall within the Park Commission. Having reviewed the open space document, Brown noted that the Commission better understands the concept. Similar to the trail planning process, this responsibility has been accepted by the City Council due to its intricacies, which may be the case with open space. Young stated that the Commission should get the stamp from the City Council that they are comfortable with the breadth of responsibilities of the Park Commission currently. While not necessarily a Park Commission charge, Westerlund noted that new inventory information may have come to light since the sunset date of the committee and someone should be overseeing open space. Norman believed the Commission should open the work session by stating the Commission has been discussing and reviewing the documents pertaining to open space and this is how we see our role - that we simply have been referring to the open space within our own parks. In fact, he stated that he has always assumed the Commission was talking about park open space within the individual parks and not city wide; although he can now understand the confusion since a great deal of work has been done to identify open space via the LCEC. Brown stated that the Mayor would likely be administering the meeting, but with the new clarification, the Commission could jump in with staff help to direct or head off and miscommunication. Norman stated that from what he has heard of the remarks to date, there simply appears to have been a miscommunication. PARK COMMISSION WORK SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2006 PAGE 3 OF 3 Young interjected that, if there had been a City Council liaison present at the Park Commission meetings the past months, this miscommunication likely would not have gotten to this point and the City Council would know the context in which the Commission was referring to. Brown stated that this should be viewed as a charges and roles meeting and that, in addition, to an overall goal statement, the Commission should present the list of things that need attention in the parks. Westerlund concurred, suggesting the Commission remind the City Council that we have not been investing in our parks over the past five years and it is time to put some TLC back into the parks. Brown reminded the Commission of the Work Session scheduled for June 26th at 5:30 pm. 3. ADJOURN The Commission adjourned the Park Commission Work Session of June 13, 2006, at 8:50 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Kristi B. Anderson Recorder