HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 09-08-1994MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
September 8, 1994
Page 25
Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Fiemann, Johnson, Priebe, Wahl and
Willegalle; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Anderson called the September meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Willegalle and seconded by Commissioner Fiemann
to approve the minutes of the July meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present.
b. Staff Mary Bisek announced that summer programs ran smoothly with no accidents or
drownings reported. Concert attendance was at its highest ever, although it was always
questionable on Tuesday nights whether or not the concerts would be rained out. Some
fall programs are underway with others beginning in the next week or two. Fall youth
soccer is in progress and is also experiencing its highest ever participation. Two special
events are coming up in September. The 2nd Annual Autumn Arts Fair is scheduled for
Saturday, the 17th, at Parkers Lake Park, followed on Sunday, the 18th, by the History
Fest, at Plymouth Creek Park, featuring an antique car show, fiddler contest and old time
demonstrations. Another special event, the Goblin Walk, is scheduled in October and is
held at Oakwood Park. Mary explained to the new commissioners that the Goblin Walk is
an event for the entire family, which consists of groups of kids and their parents being
escorted through the woods while being told a "story," while volunteers dressed as goblins
wander out from behind trees, etc., and try to scare them. The "goblins" are geared for
younger children. Mary also announced that the National Recreation and Parks
Association is holding its National Congress in Minneapolis from October 12-15, and
PRAC members are invited to attend. One of the featured activities at this year's session
will be tours of the metro area's special or unique park sites.
4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. Awarded bid accessible playground. Director Blank explained that the constriction has
begun on the accessible playground. The play apparatus itself will be built in time for the
NRPA National Congress and will likely be a featured item on one of the tours. The
playground is 100% surface accessible, while the play stricture has many accessible
features. This will be the largest play stricture in Plymouth and will attract many visitors.
The play stricture is being featured in a nationally recognized play equipment magazine.
b. Reject bid Seven Ponds/Heather Run Park. Only one bid came in on the constriction of
this neighborhood park, and it was 46% over the consultant's estimate of $120,000. The
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
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bid was rejected, and staff decided to break up the project into several smaller components
and re -bid it. This should result in the projects' overall cost coming closer to the
consultant's estimate. Another cost saving measure was the decision to complete some of
the work in-house. Hydro -seeding has taken place and grass is already growing. The
DNR approved the constriction of trail through the wetlands. The playground should be
installed this fall. The residents have been asked to suggest some possible names for the
park. These will be submitted to PRAC at the October meeting.
c. Approved sale of property at Zachary and Co. Rd. 9. Director Blank explained that 3
acres of property south of Zachary Lane, owned by the City, was recently sold for
159,000. This property was purchased several years ago as part of the Zachary Playfield
and was later separated from the playfield by the constriction of new County Road 9. A
city water treatment plant occupies one small portion of the property.
d. Approved sale of Luce Line Trail. The portion of the Luce Line that runs from Vicksburg
Lane east to 494 was recently sold to Hennepin Parks. This sale will mean future savings
for the City in terms of maintenance. The County will now maintain that portion of the
trail, although the City will still retain all of its rights to the various accesses to the trail.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Study of unique open spaces update. Director Blank reminded the commissioners that at
their last meeting they had passed a motion recommending that the City Council consider
the purchase of as much of open space parcels 44 and 47 as was economically feasible.
Council approved that recommendation and directed staff to begin negotiations with the
owners of those two parcels. At this time, a subcommittee is now working on the final
ranking of the remaining parcels that have been identified as worthy of preservation.
Director Blank believes that it will take the subcommittee about six to eight weeks to
complete this final ranking. Their recommendation would be brought back before the fill
open space committee and then forwarded to PRAC for their review. From there it would
go on to the City Council for final approval.
b. Accessible playground update. See item 4a.
c. 1994 trail constriction projects update. Director Blank shared a constriction estimate for
completing five trail projects proposed this year. Segment I consists of trail north of the
Parkers Lake North development running from Niagara Lane to Vicksburg Lane, segment
2 is south of 27th Avenue, running along the north side of the city's public works property.
Both of these segments are in-house projects and will run approximately $73,000.
Segment 3 runs along Northwest Boulevard from 44th Avenue down to 42nd Place and
provides access to the Target/Rainbow shopping area for those residents living north of
County Road 9. This segment totals approximately $34,000. These three segments
exceed slightly the $100,000 set aside in the 1994 CIP for trail constriction. Council has
indicated that they are also very interested in getting two other segments completed, based
on requests from residents. One of these is along the west side of Northwest Boulevard
from 56th to 54th Avenue and provides access to Bass Lake Playfield, and the other is
along County Road 47 and would serve the residents of Camelot Estates. The trail along
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 27
County Road 47 would have to be striped on the existing roadway, because this road is a
rural road with gravel shoulders and ditches. The shoulders would be paved and then
striped as bike path. The estimate for this project is $172,000.
d. Seven Ponds neighborhood park update. See item 4b.
e. West Medicine Lake City Park update. The concept plan for this park was approved by
the City Council, so preliminary work has begun on this major project. Director Blank
expects that road constriction could begin in January or February or sometime in the
spring. Several residents living on 23rd Avenue have expressed their dissatisfaction over
the location of the proposed tennis courts. Director Blank will be meeting with them after
the location has been staked. Perhaps after they see exactly where the tennis court is
planned, they may not be in disagreement over it. He thinks a landscaping buffer will help
settle this issue.
f. Playfield/high school update. Director Blank indicated that the City has been meeting
with the School District to decide which part of the site each of them will own. A third
party has been hired to help iron this out. A preliminary plan on site layout is expected to
be completed within 10 weeks. This is another very complex, multi -faceted project, with
many obstacles to overcome. One major issue is the excess levy which goes to the voters
in November. If voters reject the continuance of the excess levy, the fi ture of the high
school would be in question. Other issues to resolve include an environmental assessment
worksheet, whether or not an EIS is needed, obtaining a wetlands permit from the Corps
of Engineers, and the constriction of a bridge over the railroad tracks.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Review and discussion of park/trail plan and CIP. For the benefit of the most recently
appointed commissioners, Director Blank explained the purpose of the five year CIP and
the Park Dedication Fund and how dollars are allocated to that fiend. For every dollar
collected in park dedication fees, $0.70 goes into account 218 which fiends trails, city
parks, i.e., Parkers Lake Park, and community playfields such as Zachary. Account 219
receives $0.30 from every dollar and fiends the development and acquisition of
neighborhood parks. At the present time, the park dedication fee stands at $940 per unit.
This is the amount charged to an individual or a developer when they build a house in
Plymouth. The City's financial task force is reviewing the park dedication fee and may
suggest that it be increased to $1,250 per unit over a three year period. The City Council
has the option to change the fee to $1,250 beginning as soon as 1995. Increasing the park
dedication fee to this amount ensures that the City will have the revenue necessary to
cover proposed park and trail expenses to the year 2005. Director Blank explained
another source for fiunding park projects is the Community Improvement Fund (CIF),
which receives its dollars through pre -paid bond debt. Before a project can be considered
for CIF funding, however, it must be listed in the proposed CIP for at least two years. At
the present time, there are no special facilities, such as golf courses, ice arenas, swimming
pools, senior centers, etc., proposed in the five year capital improvement program. Based
on the survey done last year by the Minnesota Center for Survey Research, those special
facilities are among the top facilities desired by the residents for development within the
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
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next five years. Trails ranked number one among the residents and are also ranked highly
by the current City Council.
Director Blank then reviewed all the requests that have come in recently from residents
requesting new trails, and commented that staff generally recommends that trails being
considered for development first be reviewed by the City's traffic consultant to determine
traffic volume and speed on the road where the trail will be. In the case of the Medina
Road trail request, Director Blank is confident that off-road trail will be constricted along
this road in the future, but that it would be more effective to study the entire length of the
road all at once, rather than short segments here and there.
There was also a request for a new park from a small neighborhood bounded by Hollydale
golf course on the west, Vicksburg Lane on the east and County Road 9 on the south.
They feel that they are very isolated and that the only access to Plymouth Creek
Elementary, which does have a playground, is via Vicksburg Lane, which has no
sidewalk. Director Blank has talked to them and explained that there isn't a large enough
parcel available to constrict a neighborhood park in this area. The Park System Plan says
that a neighborhood park should be at least five acres in size.
Director Blank also stated that the Amberwoods park issue is not resolved yet and that
Greenwood Elementary has indicated that they are willing to constrict a pre-school play
stricture with help from the City. Greenwood is eligible for a grant up to $10,000 from
the City since they meet the requirement of being a neighborhood park.
In addition to these park and trail requests, which PRAC needs to consider when
discussing the 1995-99 CIP, there is also the issue of special facilities such as public golf
course, swimming pool, etc., for the City. Director Blank said that PRAC has discussed
the idea of a public golf course in the past, and that now may be the right time to begin
reviewing it again. He believes that the sanitary sewer system will be extended into
northwest Plymouth within the next three to five years, making the public golf course land
skyrocket in price, because it will now be eligible for development. The time to buy a golf
course then would be before the sewer system goes through, while the price of the land is
still reasonable. Statistics show that golf courses generate excess revenue, while ice
arenas and swimming pools are not always as successful. Director Blank indicated that
the City Council has set aside funds in 1995 for a city-wide survey, which will ask
residents questions on a wide range of topics covering city services, including parks and
recreation. He suggested that one of the questions we may want to ask is how the public
feels about the City owning and operating a golf course.
Director Blank will ask the Planning Director, Anne Hurlburt, to attend the October
meeting to explain to the park commissioners the process of guiding the land remaining
outside the MIJSA, which is where two of the public golf courses are currently located.
This is a project that the Planning Commission will be undertaking in the near fiiture.
A resident from Seven Ponds, Mike Jones, 3430 Jewel Lane, asked the Commission to
consider installing a trail along Medina Road, which would provide that area safe access
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 29
to the new park, as well as to Greenwood Elementary School. He explained that he
understood the need for the City's traffic consultant to first study the volume of traffic
along Medina Road. Mr. Jones did state that although traffic is not heavy at this time, it
does travel at speeds of 40 mph or more.
b. Discuss council resolution no. 94-507. The City Council has requested that all boards,
commissions and committees submit a work plan prior to January 1, 1995, for the purpose
of integrating the work of these various groups with the goals and objectives of the
Council. This work plan should detail the activities to be undertaken by the board or
commission and how the plan supports the Council's goals and objectives. Director Blank
responded that the goals and objectives outlined by PRAC in their annual report could be
used as a guide in establishing their work plan. It was suggested that a subcommittee of
PRAC members get together and work on this plan and have a draft ready for the
November meeting. Members volunteering for the subcommittee were Don Anderson,
Tim Bildsoe and Ron Fiemann.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Commissioner Willegalle had a number of questions pertaining to Parkers Lake. He wanted
to know how many staff hours had been spent at the Parkers Lake boat launch, during the
campaign to educate the public on Eurasian water milfoil. He was also concerned about
monitoring the number of boats using the launch. The parking lot is meant to hold five cars
and trailers, thus limiting the number of boats on the lake to that amount, but he commented
that several times individuals parked in such a way as to allow more than five, and on
occasion, people would launch their boat and then park in the lot across the road. Director
Blank stated that staff would discuss the situation with the police department about issuing
citations, in addition to placing a sign across the road indicating that no trailers should park
there. Commissioner Willegalle then asked if any decision had been made with regard to the
request for sand volleyball courts at Parkers Lake. Director Blank indicated that we are still
reviewing the best possible location on either side of County Road 6.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
The National Recreation and Park Association's annual park congress is scheduled for
October 12-15, in Minneapolis. PRAC members were encouraged to attend. Mary Bisek
indicated that daily, on-site registration was available if they did not wish to pre -register.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m.