HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-09-20201 Approved Minutes
January 9, 2020
Approved Minutes
Park & Recreation Advisory Commission
Thursday, January 9, 2020
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Tricia DeBleeckere, Vice Chair Dick Burkhardt, Commissioners: Margie DuPuis, Ann
Hoekstra, Marilyn Sunseri, Vita Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT: Michael Swanson
STAFF PRESENT: Parks & Recreation Director Diane Evans, Deputy Director Barb Northway, Recreation Manager
Kari Hemp, Creek Center Manager Chris Fleck, Office Support Specialist Sarah Josephs
COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES: City Council Member Jim Wilis, Planning Commissioner Bryan Oakley
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair DeBleeckere called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Vice Chair Burkhardt and seconded by Commissioner Sunseri recommending approval of
the November 14 Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting minutes as written. With all
members voting in favor, the motion carried.
3. OPEN FORUM:
4. PRESENTATIONS (NON-ACTION ITEMS):
4a. Parks & Forestry Operations
Deputy Director Northway introduced Commissioners to the Parks & Forestry division. This division
manages, repairs, and protects parks, open spaces, park assets, and natural resources. The park
system currently includes over 1,700 acres of land with 67 developed parks, 12 open spaces, the
Northwest Greenway, 174 miles of city trail, 18 park buildings, 55 shelter structures, the Plymouth
Creek Center/Fieldhouse, the Plymouth Ice Center, and the Hilde Performance Center. They are also
responsible for lawn and snow maintenance along right of ways, medians, parking lots, the Fire
Stations, City Hall, the Maintenance Facility, and utility sites.
The division is housed at the Maintenance Facility on 23rd Avenue. The team is made up of 23.6 full
time staff. Making up that number are 6 managerial, supervisory, technical, and support staff. There
are 17.6 full time maintenance crew members during the growing months of April – October and 16
during the snow months. There are 20 part time seasonal/temporary crew members hired on during
the growing months.
The staff are a highly trained group of workers. They have a range of certifications and licenses
including; Class A Commercial Drivers License, Certified Playground Safety Inspector, Certified
Pesticide License, Certified Arborist, Tree Inspector License, Chainsaw Certification, Smart Salt
Certification, as well as other on-going safety certifications.
During the growing months their top tasks are mowing, maintaining athletic fields, constructio n
projects, forestry, and inspections of playgrounds, weeds, and other assets. Staff also complete a lot
of park support during the evening and weekend hours, as well as help set up and tear down at
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special events. Staff are also responsible for building cleaning and maintenance, as well as collecting
garbage and recycling throughout the parks and trails. The Yard Waste Site sees a large number of
residents each year bringing their leaves and grass clippings as well.
During winter months the staff switch their focus to clearing trails and sidewalks of snow, clearing
pakring lots of snow, preparing and maintaining outdoor rinks, tree trimming, and other repairs and
maintenance as needed.
The top five contractors that the division works with to complete all of their tasks are; tree
maintenance ($147,000), asphalt and concrete ($93,000), lawn service ($92,600), portable toilets
83,000), and integrated pest management ($50,000).
The managerial team works on preparing and planning for improvements and renova tions of the
parks and assets within the parks. They also manage and plan out CIP projects and look for new
ways to implement technology to make tasks more efficient. They also work on updating ordinances
and policies for the division.
Looking ahead to the next decade, staff anticipate challenges to include asphalt, water/drainage,
work force, recycling, and invasive species. In terms of water, new areas are flooding in heavy rains
that are making previously usable fields now unusable. At times, water is covering assets such as
covering a trail. Staff are working on adding storm basins and drainage tiles to improve older parks.
4b. Plymouth Creek Center Playground
Manager Fleck shared photos and a 3D map of the playground renderings for the indoor playground
at the Plymouth Creek Center. The playground is made by Burke and would be assembled by St.
Croix Recreation out of Stillwater. The idea behind the playground was to take a typical outdoor
playground and bring it indoors in a 7,000 square foot container.
Flooring around the playground is proposed to be a poured in place surface to increase accessibility
for all to access the playground and its features. The playground includes a 2 -5 year old area and a 5-
12 year old area.
Commissioner Burkhardt suggested for Manager Fleck to keep maintenance and cleaning needs in
mind with the flooring and surfacing choices as the site will want to make sure spills and messes are
easy to clean up. Another consideration is to use materials that do not create a lot of static as that
tends to attract and collect dust and other small trash.
Lighting and seating components are still being determined. Architects plan to use a combination of
lighting components and technology to create a unique experience inside for all ages. Staff are also
mindful of the best entrance option and ways to ensure a smooth traffic flow through the building
and the playground. They want to make sure that they can accommodate many people in the
playground, but without it feeling too crowded.
The next step is to continue making any adjustments to the plans and eventually include in seating,
lighting, and entrance flow locations. Installation of the playground wouldn’t take place until
fall/winter of 2021 or early in 2022. In the meantime, they are working with contractors to choose
color options, establish safe fall zones, and ensure all building codes are met.
Commissioner Wilson asked what the anticipated capacity of the playground would be. Manager
Fleck shared that they are expecting the playground capacity to be 200 people, and would have
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seating inside for up to 50 people. They will work closely with Fire to determine the appropriate
capacity, but are hopeful to be near 200 people.
Noise concerns were brought up and how they would affect users in other parts of the building.
Manager Fleck shared that there are several opportunities to use decorations or design themes to
incorporate acoustic panels, fabric, or other sound proofing features.
Commissioner Sunseri asked how the number of users was going to be monitored during the day.
Manager Flecked shared that the plan right now is to handle in a similar way to how open play is
run. If an admission rate is used, that revenue can be applied toward maintenance of the playgrou nd
and would provide an accurate count of how many people are in the gym at a time. If it is decided
not to charge an admission rate a check-in process will still be set up to help control safety and the
amount of people inside.
5. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS):
5a. Draft 2020 Work Plan
Director Evans presented Commissioners with a draft of the 2020 Work Plan. Once approved, the
work plan will be forwarded to City Council. The work plan covers what the department plans to
work on this year as well as other initiatives on the horizon.
This year staff will be working with Wayzata School District to update their Joint Powers Agreements
in place that expire this summer. Currently the city as agreements for use of the pools for aquatics
programs, use of the community gymnasiums, and has playfield infrastructure in place on the school
property.
The Lake Camelot boardwalk along CR 47 has already been replace this year.
New playgrounds will be installed at both Swan Lake Park and West Medicine Lake Parks. Open
Houses will be scheduled for February for residents to share feedback on playground designs.
East Medicine Lake Park is schedule to have parking lot improvements made. Improvements are also
scheduled for the Plymouth Historical City Hall building.
Park improvements include moving the bocce ball courts to Elm Creek Playfield and resurfacing the
tennis courts at Plymouth Playfield. Plymouth Creek Playfield will have work completed to improve
drainage problems, as well as resizing a ball field. The ballfield lights from Oakwood will be installed
at Parkers Lake Park.
Staff are waiting on new bids to complete trail gap 113 (near Fresh Thyme/Goodwill) to provide a
crossing along Vicksburg Lane. A trail is also scheduled to be installed from 32 nd Ave along Elm Creek
to the driveway of Wayzata High School.
The Northwest Greenway South Trailhead is scheduled to be installed starting this year. Other large
projects include a new automation system at the Fieldhouse dome, new PIC dasher boards, and
replacing PIC water heaters.
Motion by Vice Chair Burkhardt, seconded by Commissioner Sunseri, recommending the approval of
the 2020 PRAC Work Plan.
5b. Plymouth Creek Center Exterior Design
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Staff presented Commissioners with three proposed options for exterior color schemes for the
Plymouth Creek Center. Commissioners are asked to share their feedback and choice of color
scheme.
The first option is deep blue with a light concrete base. The second option is light gray with a dark
concrete base. The third option is light gray with a bronze concrete base. There is not a cost
difference between the three choices.
Discussion amongst the Commissioners took place. Commissioner Sunseri felt that the deep blue
against the fieldhouse wall looks out of place. She prefers the grey and bronze options as they have
a more outgoing feel to it. Knowing that the outdoor lighting will change the look of the walls as well
would add an interesting effect.
Commissioner DuPuis shared that the bronze color adds a nice richness to the outside of the
building. Grey is also a color that will last forever and look nice on the building.
Commissioner Hoekstra asked if there would be an energy savings by having the darker color
keeping the building warmer in the winter. Director Evans was going to check with the architects to
see if there was a potential savings by choosing once color over the other. She also added that the
lighter colors would be easier to maintain as the darker colors would show dirt quicker. She prefers
options 2 or 3.
Vice Chair Burkhardt likes the look of the blue contrast on the building.
Chair DeBleeckere mentioned that while the blue looks good now, and is trendy now, she fears that
it may make the building look dated in a few years once the color is no longer as popular. She also
wants to consider which color would look better in the background of wedding photos that are
taken in the Millennium Gardens. With those considerations, she prefers Option 2 or 3.
Commissioner Wilson inquired if public art would be installed along the exterior of the building since
the exterior options are very plain. Direction Evans shared that with outdoor lighting and the sun
reflections, it will give the building exterior a unique look. At a minimum though, space would be left
available for a future installation if an installation is not available or decided on at the time of the
building reopening.
6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATE
The 2020 Special Event calendar is included in the meeting packet. The first event of the year is
Skate the Garden on January 16 from 6-8 p.m. at the Millennium Garden rink. After Hours at the
Creek will be held on Friday, January 24 from 6:30 – 10 p.m. at the Plymouth Creek Center and
feature a comedy performance by Mary Mack. Fire & Ice will be held on Saturday, February 1 at
Parkers Lake Park from 3 – 7 p.m.
A new event, Discover Plymouth, will be held on Saturday, April 18 at the Plymouth Fieldhouse.
Bark in the Park will be on Saturday, May 30 at the Hilde Performance Center.
The Farmers Market will start up in mid-June at the Parkers Lake Playfield parking lot.
Vice Chair Burkhardt thanked Commissioner Swanson for serving on the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Commission for the past 6 years. Mr. Swanson’s service to the commission and to the
City was very much appreciated. He was a great addition to the commission.
7. ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Commissioner Sunseri, seconded by Commissioner Hoekstra, recommending
adjournment of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission meeting. With no objection, Chair
DeBleeckere adjourned the meeting at 8:33 p.m.