HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-13-1994MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
January 13, 1994
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PRESENT: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Burk, Gutzke, Mikula, Wahl, Watson; staff Bisek,
Blank and Pederson, Planning Commissioner Witt
ABSENT: Commissioner Johnson
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Anderson at 7:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Director Blank stated that PRAC needed to elect a Chair and Vice Chair for 1994. Chair
Anderson indicated that he was willing to continue in that position. The commission
unanimously agreed that Don Anderson should be the Chair in 1994. Nominations were
then sought for Vice Chair. Commissioner Wahl stated that he was willing to serve in that
capacity. Commissioners unanimously approved Mark Wahl as Vice Chair in 1994.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Gutzke and seconded by Commissioner Burk to
approve the minutes of the December meeting as presented. The motion carried with all
ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present at the meeting.
b. Staff. Mary Bisek announced that the senior coordinator's position had been doubled to
20 hours per week. Plymouth has had a senior coordinator for 12 years, and the position
has been at 10 hours per week all that time. Based on the Census Bureau's findings that
the senior population in Plymouth is growing at a rate faster than the general population,
staff asked that the budget for this position be increased in 1994.
The sixth annual Fire and Ice Festival is scheduled for Saturday, February 5. Mary asked
commissioners if they would again supervise the bonfire and the selling of s'mores. A
sign up sheet was circulated, so that commissioners could choose a time slot.
Mary announced that the Panthers Ski Club (for students at Plymouth Middle School),
co-sponsored by Plymouth Middle School and the City, is doing well. This is the City's
third year of involvement with this program. Ski trips are planned every Friday after
school, from January to mid-February, to area ski resorts.
PRAC Minutes/January 1994
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Mary indicated that the volunteer coordinator is very busy placing volunteers in various
positions throughout the City. She is presently working with a man retired from
Northwestern Bell who is studying ways to make our swimming registration procedures
more efficient.
c. Others. See item 5.a.
4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION
Council approved the reformatting of the Open Space committee as recommended by PRAC.
This committee will now be comprised of one citizen from each ward, one Planning
Commissioner, one Council member, and four members of PRAC.
Council also authorized negotiations to begin for the purchase of homes within the
boundaries of West Medicine Lake Park.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Request for City to take over Amberwoods Park. Director Blank stated that staff had
completed research they had been asked to do at last month's meeting. Regarding using
the playground, staff was informed by Superintendent Landswerk that the School District
does not have any objections to people using the playground equipment during school
hours. As far as access is concerned, Director Blank indicated that there is internal
access to this site via a trail system, which does not require that people walk on County
Road 101 or County Road 24. In reference to the play equipment not being suitable for
pre-schoolers, Director Blank said that the equipment does appear to be designed more
for K-6. A concern was raised at the December meeting that a precedent might be set if
the City accepted ownership of this private park. Director Blank indicated that he now
took a neutral stance on this issue based on the fact that we currently maintain public
neighborhood parks in close proximity to at least five other private neighborhood parks,
and thus far, these private parks have not been offered to the City. Director Blank also
stated that when the preliminary plat for Amberwoods was approved back in 1972, the
developer did pay a park dedication fee of $10,000, which he was unaware of at the
December meeting. Director Blank then commented that if PRAC was inclined to accept
the property, that the upgrade not take place until 1995. This would also require an
amendment to the Parks portion of the CIP.
Pat McDonald, President of the Amberwoods Homeowners Association, indicated that
the trail access referred to by Director Blank was not usable in the spring because of
flooding, causing portions of it to be underwater much of the time. He also stated that
the trail's surface is pretty impassable in the winter by strollers, etc., because of how hard
and uneven it is. Mr. McDonald continued to stress his feelings that the playground
equipment is not suitable for pre-schoolers.
Mary Hernandez, 3405 Urbandale Lane, announced that she had spoken directly with the
principal of Greenwood Elementary, who had made it quite clear to her that people
should not use the play equipment during school hours.
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Mary Lindman, 3850 Walnut Grove Lane, stated that the trail access to Greenwood from
Bridlewood Farms stops at the property line. She also indicated that she would not
permit her preschoolers to use the equipment at Greenwood at the same time as the older
children, because she didn't feel it would be very safe to do that. She urged the City to
accept the donation of Amberwoods Park and to go the extra "mile" to install trails
throughout the area, thus providing access to the park for the other neighboring
developments.
Pat McDonald surmised that when the new park is built on the east side of County Road
101, kids will cross that busy road to go use that park, which he feels will be very unsafe.
Commissioners inquired about the cost to maintain Amberwoods on a yearly basis.
Director Blank stated that it would be approximately $3,000 yearly for things such as
weekly mowing, trimming, fertilizing, trash removal, playground inspection, etc. The
cost to build a new playground would be about $17,500. When asked what it would cost
to remove the tennis courts, Director Blank indicated that it would not be reasonable to
take out the tennis courts as long as they are in good shape.
Robert Karaniemi, 18010 33rd Avenue, said that there isn't any access from his
development, Boulder Crest, to Greenwood. The closest park to him is in Churchill
Ponds. In the past, he has used Greentree West. He strongly supports the City accepting
the donation of Amberwoods, but he would also like the City to buy a vacant lot in
Boulder Crest and build a a park there, too.
Libby Collins, 3195 Walnut Grove Lane, stated that this issue is not going to go away.
She feels that if the City does not accept Amberwoods, it will just be a matter of time
before residents from Saddlewood and Bridlewood come in requesting a park.
Becky Engen, 3205 Urbandale, said that Greenwood School comes over and uses the
tennis courts in Amberwoods every spring. Amberwoods has never charged them
anything for this.
Commissioners Burk and Watson stated that they support accepting the Amberwoods
property. Commissioner Gutzke asked if the City would ever consider donating funds to
a development, so they could upgrade and still keep their private park. Commissioner
Burk asked how you would go about keeping others out of the park then, because it
would still have its private status.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER BURK AND SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER MIKULA RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY ACCEPT THE
DONATION OF AMBERWOODS PARK AS A CITY PARK AND RESEARCH THE
STEPS NECESSARY TO INCLUDE THE PARK IN A FUTURE CIP, SO THAT THE
IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE SCHEDULED. HE FURTHER REQUESTED THAT
THE AMBERWOODS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MAKE A FORMAL
WRITTEN REQUEST OF THE CITY TO ACCEPT THE PROPERTY. THE MOTION
CARRIED WITH ALL AYES.
b. Capital improvements program revision. Director Blank stated that some revisions were
necessary to the 1994-98 CIP. These include increasing fiinds available in the
community playfields and trails account in 1994 and decreasing funds in the
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neighborhood parks account. Instead of developing the Cardinal Ridge park in 1994 at
a cost of approximately $185,000, additional land will be acquired at a cost of $90,000.
The development would then be pushed back to 1995, thus increasing funds required in
the neighborhood parks account that year. The reasons for acquiring additional land is
due to Daniel Development's park dedication of 23+ acres, nine on high ground and 14
acres of wetlands. Their dedication is 3.1 acres above what is required, thus, the City is
considering acquiring the extra. The developer has indicated he would sell it for
30,000 an acre. This acquisition, plus what we already own at this location, would
make Cardinal Ridge our largest neighborhood park. The park is now proposed for
development in 1995 in the revised CIP and would include playground equipment, as do
our other neighborhood parks.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND SECONDED
BY COMMISSIONER GUTZKE TO ACCEPT THE REVISIONS TO THE 1994-98
CIP AS PROPOSED BY STAFF AND DATED 1/12/94. THE MOTION CARRIED
WITH ALL AYES.
c. West Medicine Lake Park master plan update. Director Blank stated that a subcommittee
consisting of Commissioners Wahl and Watson and himself reviewed applications from
20 different residents interested in serving on the West Medicine Lake Park Focus
Group. Of those 20 residents, the subcommittee is recommending eight, four men and
four women, based on criteria such as address, age, number of children, years living in
Plymouth, and their reasons for wanting to be involved in this process.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WATSON AND SECONDED BY
COMMISSONER WAHL TO ACCEPT THE INDIVIDUALS RECOMMENDED TO
SERVE ON THE FOCUS GROUP. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES.
Director Blank stated that three meetings will be scheduled with the focus group to work
on the master plan. He indicated that he would ask Commissioner Johnson to be a
liaison to the focus group.
d. Study of unique open spaces update. The Council is in the process of interviewing
citizens from each ward for appointment to the Open Space Committee.
e. Accessible playground update. Director Blank said a meeting was held with the City
Attorney for direction on how to properly bid the project.
PRAC Minutes/January 1994
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6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Review draft of annual report. A draft copy of the 1993 Park and Recreation Advisory
Commission Annual Report was reviewed for additions and corrections. It was
suggested that a new goal be added about the study of open spaces. Commissioners were
asked to contact the Park and Recreation secretary within the next couple of weeks if
they discover typing errors, etc., so that final copies can be assembled in time for the
February meeting.
b. Review park rental policies and fees for 1994. Annually, the park and recreation staff
reviews the park policies and fees that have been in effect for the previous year and
makes recommendations for changes in fees, etc. Regarding the park facility rental
policy, no changes have been proposed in fees. No changes were proposed in the Parkers
Lake Pavilion policy or fee schedule. Regarding the Parkers Lake picnic shelter, staff is
proposing an increase from $30 to $35 for half-day rentals, and from $60 to $70 for fill
day rentals. New in 1994 is a policy for the rental of Bass Lake. Staff is recommending
that Bass Lake be available to Plymouth non-profit groups such as homeowner
associations, crime prevention, etc., free of charge, with a $25 key deposit. For
Plymouth residents who wish to have private parties, staff proposes a rental rate of $15
an hour, with a two hour minimum and a $100 damage deposit. Staff proposes that
canoe racks at Medicine Lake and Parkers Lake rent for $40 for residents and $45 for
non-residents. Those rates were $37 and $40 in 1993.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER GUTZKE AND SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE 1994
PARK FACILITY RENTAL POLICIES AND FEES, WHICH INCLUDES ATHLETIC
FACILITIES, BASS LAKE SHELTER, PARKERS LAKE PAVILION, PARKERS
LAKE PICNIC SHELTER AND CANOE RACKS. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH
ALL AYES.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Commissioner Burk suggested that the Park Commission sponsor some sort of fiun run to
help introduce residents to the city's trail system.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
Director Blank thanked Commissioners Burk and Gutzke for their service on the Park and
Recreation Advisory Commission. Mr. Burk and Mr. Gutzke will not seek re -appointment
when their terms expire on January 31.
9. ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.