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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 07-14-1994Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting July 14, 1994 Page 21 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Johnson, Mikula, Priebe (observing), Wahl, Willegalle; staff Blank and Pederson Absent: Commissioner Fiemann 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the July meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Willegalle and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to approve the minutes of the June meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff None were present. c. Others. None were present. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Council approved the master plan for West Medicine Lake City Park. A soils analysis consultant and survey work consultant will be hired as soon as possible to begin their respective tasks. Director Blank briefly discussed the letter received from residents who oppose the location of the tennis and basketball courts. He shared with commissioners a copy of his written response to these residents and indicated that when the design consultant begins the more detailed work on the location of these particular facilities, the residents will be invited to come in and discuss their concerns. Commissioner Johnson commented that the individual who wrote the letter objecting to the location of the basketball court has a son who frequently plays basketball at Commissioner Johnson's residence. b. Council approved the master plan for Seven Ponds neighborhood park. Excess fill from another development has been delivered to this site, which will reduce some of the constriction costs. Director Blank hopes to have bids from contractors in by August I with Council awarding the constriction contract on August 15. Work could then begin on or about September 1. Staff is meeting with a resident who is next to one of the proposed trail entrances. c. Council officially approved the 1994-98 CIP at a recent meeting. Many projects that were part of the 1994 capital improvements budget were delayed, but will now be able to get underway. d. Council awarded the constriction contract for the accessible playground to Earl F. Andersen and Associates. Director Blank said it will take approximately six weeks to build the playground and about another six weeks to install it. This is one of the largest playground manufacturers in the country, and this particular play stricture will be a major feature in their next catalog. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Study of unique open spaces. Director Blank explained that the Open Space Committee has been meeting every other week for the past several months reviewing several sites and attempting to prioritize them for preservation and possible acquisition. There are two sites at the present time that are proposed for development in the immediate future. Both sites have been ranked high for preservation, and the Open Space Committee has made a recommendation that both of these sites be acquired. One is the Daniel Development site, located near Cardinal Ridge in the northeast corner of Plymouth. The City currently owns a large parcel adjacent to this site which has been identified as a future neighborhood park. Director Blank stated that Council has directed him to negotiate the possible purchase of additional land here, because the developer has indicated a willingness to sell some of the property to the city. The other site is adjacent to French Park and is owned by Mission Partnership. Commissioner Wahl stated that Hennepin Parks has indicated that if this site is acquired, they will accept the property as part of French Park and will manage it, if the City will help to acquire it. Director Blank indicated that negotiations to acquire this site have begun with the hiring of an appraiser to determine the value of the property. The owner of the property and the city are sharing the cost of the appraisal. Some residents from Cardinal Ridge were present on behalf of acquiring additional property from Daniel Development. Robert Hammer was concerned about a July 31 deadline that was given to the City by the developer to acquire the property or else development would begin. Another resident commented that she thought the deadline had been relaxed, once it became apparent that the developer and the city were discussing the possible acquisition of some of the property. Carla Novak, another Cardinal Ridge resident, commented on the natural features of the area and stated that it was one of the things that attracted her to the area in the first place. She encouraged the City to acquire the property. Ken Wendinger, also from Cardinal Ridge, commented that these are prime wetlands, a valuable asset to the city and should be preserved. The following motion was made by Commissioner Wahl and seconded by Commissioner Johnson based on a recommendation made by the Open Space Committee at their meeting just prior to the PRAC meeting: WHEREAS, SITES 44 AND 47 ARE HIGHLY RANKED AND ARE UNDER THE THREAT OF DEVELOPMENT, AND WHEREAS SITES 44 AND 47 EACH HAVE THEIR OWN UNIQUE NATURAL FEATURES, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL PURSUE THE ACQUISITION OF AS MUCH OR ALL OF BOTH SITES AS IS ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. The motion carried with all ayes. Commissioner Wahl asked for PRAC's indulgence to modify this motion if necessary before forwarding it to the City Council, if it had not been properly interpreted from the earlier Open Space meeting. Chair Anderson commented that the work of the Open Space Committee isn't finished at this time and that they will continue to meet on a regular basis. They still plan to present some sort of master plan to the Park Commission and City Council on the overall ranking of the individual sites. Commissioner Bildsoe asked if money had been set aside for the acquisition of these properties. Director Blank commented that the 1994 CIP has allocated $250,000 for this purpose. Commissioner Mikula urged both PRAC and the Open Space Committee to give strong consideration to the larger parcels when considering which sites to preserve. b. Accessible playground update. Director Blank discussed the awarding of the constriction contract and indicated that actual constriction is about 12 weeks away. Commissioner Wahl commented on the severity of the parking problem at Plymouth Creek Park and how it will get worse after the accessible playground is installed, because many of the parking stalls will be assigned to the handicapped. Director Blank said the parking problem will be alleviated somewhat by different scheduling of one of the soccer fields. 1994 trail constriction projects. Feasibility reports are being done by Strgar-Roscoe- Fausch. Commissioner Johnson asked if our trails are smooth enough to accommodate in- line skaters since this is such a popular activity. Director Blank responded that the City has a budget for overlaying trails with one-half inch of asphalt to make them smoother. This is done on a trail by trail basis only as trails need to be resurfaced. Director Blank commented that due to the increasing popularity of this activity, PRAC should discuss at a future meeting the possibility of paving a hockey rink for the purpose of in-line skating and roller -hockey. d. Seven Ponds neighborhood park update. Discussed earlier under Item 4b. 6. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business to discuss. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Commissioner Wahl made a motion thanking Commissioner Mikula for her commitment and dedication to PRAC. This was her last meeting. She is moving to California in August. Commissioner Willegalle asked how the concerts were going at Parkers Lake. He wondered if there had been any complaints of noise. Director Blank said the concerts are well attended, and he has not had any negative comments. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank introduced David Priebe, who is replacing Lynn Mikula on the Park Commission. Mr. Priebe will begin officially in September. Director Blank announced that he would like to cancel the August meeting if possible, because he will be on vacation the week of the regular meeting. Possible items for discussion on future agendas include: Reviewing the trail system plan for possible changes, etc. If changes are recommended, a public hearing would have to be held by the Planning Commission. Studying the items ranked high in the survey done last year by the Minnesota Center for Survey research. The 1995-99 CIP. The possibility of acquiring park land for the Amberwoods area neighborhood park. After deciding to keep their privately owned park, some of the residents now want the City to provide them with a new neighborhood park. Related to this, the Greenwood PTO has indicated their interest in the City upgrading the playground stricture at Greenwood Elementary. The Wayzata School Board has now purchased 130 acres for their new high school site. Thirty acres are remaining for the City to acquire for purposes of the 9th playfield. Director Blank stated that the School District will not proceed with the actual design of the school until after the November election. They will be asking for excess tax levy in November and if the voters don't approve, the school will not be constricted. If the tax levy is approved, and the school constriction begins, it will take approximately two years to complete. The school is scheduled to open in the fall of'97. The associated 30 acres that the City intends to purchase would be used for an adult sports complex. Upon completion of that playfield, all the adult games that have been scheduled at Zachary Playfield would be moved to this new facility, and the Zachary complex would be turned over to youth athletics. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.