Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 10-13-1994Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting October 13, 1994 Page 31 Present: Chair Don Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Fiemann, Johnson, Priebe, Wahl and Willegalle; staff Bisek, Blank, Hurlburt and Pederson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the October meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Public Safety Training Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Bildsoe and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to approve the minutes of the September meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present at this meeting. b. Staff Mary Bisek announced that late fall program registration had begun recently and that many programs are already filled. She stated that staff was attending the National Recreation and Parks Association Conference being held in Minneapolis this week. She also mentioned that gym space is becoming more and more difficult to get and that Rick Busch has lost some space this fall in District 281 for adult programming. When asked who is taking the gym space from us, Mary stated that the first priority goes to youth activities, and in this case, youth basketball and indoor soccer have been scheduled in the gym that Rick has had in the past. c. Others. Mona Domaas, 15910 46th Avenue, Plymouth. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. 1994 trail projects. Trail projects proposed for completion in 1994 have been postponed until 1995. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Study of unique open spaces update. Director Blank distributed copies of the scoring criteria established by the open space subcommittee that will be used to rank all 30 of the proposed open space sites. The open space committee is hoping to have a report ready for the November PRAC meeting. b. Accessible playground update. Crews have recently poured the concrete base over which the ribber playground surface will be laid. The accessible playground should be completed by the end of the month. PRAC Minutes/October 1994 Page 32 c. Seven Ponds neighborhood park update. The City Council recently awarded a contract for the constriction of the Seven Ponds playground. This park should be completed in late fall. The Seven Ponds homeowners' association has submitted a list of possible names for the park. Director Blank said that this list, along with some other suggestions, will be discussed at the November meeting. d. West Medicine Lake city park update. Surveying, staking and soil boring work is being conducted this fall. Director Blank anticipates groundbreaking to be sometime next May or June. e. Playfield/highschool update. Director Blank indicated that he meets weekly with representatives from the School District to discuss the proposed playfield/highschool project. He stated that 160 acres of land is available for the project, but it hasn't been determined yet exactly how much of that land the City will own. There are three proposed concepts for the playfield area that are being considered. f. PRAC work plan for 1995 - update from subcommittee. The subcommittee met and drafted some goals. These will be presented to PRAC at their November meeting. g. Neighborhood parks' playground replacement update. Playground replacements are being done at Mission Hills, Schmidt Lake, Hemlock and Timber Shores neighborhood parks. These replacements should be completed in time for next summer's use. Director Blank stated that ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is driving up the cost of replacing playground equipment. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Planning for northwest Plymouth - Community Development Director Anne Hurlburt. Director Blank introduced Anne Hurlburt, who explained that the Community Development Department, consisting of the Planning and Building divisions, is the department that helps the Planning Commission and City Council develop the City's Comprehensive Plan. This plan must then be approved by the Metropolitan Council and be consistent with their plan for the entire metropolitan area. Ms. Hurlburt went on to explain that only the northwest portion of Plymouth remains to be developed, and that the Planning Commission will soon be working on guiding this area (deciding what's to be residential, commercial/industrial and public/semi-public). At the present time, this part of Plymouth is outside the Municipal Urban Service Area (without sewer) and for that reason has not been considered for development by builders. But according to Ms. Hurlburt, the pressure is increasing to develop this area, because the remaining land in Plymouth that is inside the sewer service area is pretty much all spoken for. The new proposed high school is located in the area not serviced by sewer, so this area needs to be guided soon. It will have to be determined how to get sewer service to the high school and how to route and handle traffic. Ms. Hurlburt indicated that past population projections for Plymouth put the population at 80,000 when the entire City is developed, but she feels that 60,000+ is a more realistic PRAC Minutes/October 1994 Page 33 figure. She stated that she believes northwest Plymouth will be guided mostly low- density residential. Commercial/industrial developments usually desire to be near major roads and the only major highways through this area are Highway 55 on the south and 494 on the east. When asked about the status of Schmidt Lake Road in this area, she indicated that it would probably be a two lane road through northwest Plymouth. The routing of the road through northwest Plymouth will have an impact on the Hollydale Golf Course as well as a proposed development. Currently, there are two alternates being considered. One takes the road south which would route it through the golf course, and the other takes it north, crossing the railroad tracks. Staff is meeting with the owner of Hollydale and the developer to determine the best location. The developer is anxious for a decision and has offered to give up some of his property to Hollydale if the road ends up going to the south and through the golf course. Another decision the City needs to make is where to locate the newest water tower, which also depends on the routing of Schmidt Lake Road. The tower could go on the north side or the south side. Ms. Hurlburt stated that the Planning Commission is also working on a wetlands ordinance. The ordinance will establish buffers around the wetlands in order to protect them from development. She indicated that there are 700 wetland areas in Plymouth, and they have been ranked anywhere from low quality to exceptional quality. Setbacks will be established from zero to ten feet for low quality wetlands and from 50 to 100 feet for exceptional quality wetlands. The setbacks will apply to new development only. When asked how this ordinance will be enforced, Ms. Hurlburt said that it would be difficult to enforce, because the staff cannot go out and check everyone's backyard. She said staff will have to rely on neighbors to report violations of the ordinance. Mona Domaas, 15910 46th Avenue, was present at the meeting to request a neighborhood park in her area, which is located in northwest Plymouth. She has been corresponding with Director Blank and the commissioners regarding the lack of a safe play area for the children in her development as well as surrounding developments. Turtle Lake Park is the closest neighborhood park, but access to it means crossing Vicksburg Lane. Another play area is located at Plymouth Creek Elementary, but access to this site means crossing County Road 9. Ms. Domaas is concerned about the safety of the children if they have to cross these two major roads to get to these play areas. Ms. Domaas questioned if there might be enough room left over at the water tower site to build a neighborhood park. Director Blank stated that after consulting with the Engineering department, it was determined that enough space for a play area may exist. Ms. Domaas stated that if the water tower ends up on the north side of Schmidt Lake Road, she and her neighbors face the same predicament --crossing a major road to get to it. She then questioned whether or not the developer, who indicated a willingness to give up some land for the Hollydale golf course, could be asked to donate additional land for neighborhood park. Director Blank responded that the City may consider that option, but no decision can be made until the water tower site and the road alignment is decided. b. Proposal for private swimming pool. Director Blank indicated that he had been contacted by the Plymouth -New Hope -Crystal Swim Club, because they would like to build a 50 meter pool and 25 yard pool both under one roof, and they would like to do it on City PRAC Minutes/October 1994 Page 34 owned land, specifically, somewhere within the confines of Plymouth Creek Park. They informed Director Blank that they intend to raise $4,000,000 to fiend the project. He indicated that he would discuss the issue with them, but first asked that they provide him with a copy of their operating budget, the amount of land they would need, how they intend to handle parking, how they propose to raise money, etc. Any information that he has received prior to the PRAC November meeting will be distributed to the Commission at that time. c. Discuss trail system update. Director Blank was asked by the City Council to research which trails remain to be done in order to complete the entire trail system throughout Plymouth. In addition he was asked to estimate the cost and determine the best methods for getting the work done. Director Blank stated that he estimated the cost at $3,000,000. He asked PRAC for a recommendation to ask the traffic consultant to study trail needs on County Road 6 from Fernbrook to Xenium, on Medina Road from Dunkirk to Brockton, on Old County Road 9 from Polaris to Highway 55, on Vicksburg from Old County Road 9 to Schmidt Lake Road, and on Xenium from the Luce Line to 30th Avenue. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER FIEMANN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DIRECT THE TRAFFIC CONSULTANT TO STUDY THE TRAIL PROJECTS AS OUTLINED BY DIRECTOR BLANK IN HIS STAFF REPORT DATED OCTOBER 10, 1994. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank stated that West Health Campus proposes to build a fitness complex when they constrict their second building and they indicated that a nationally recognized fitness company would be associated with that complex. They approached both the cities of Plymouth and Maple Grove regarding their interest in being involved in a joint venture. Director Blank indicated that Plymouth wasn't interested in fiinding their fitness center. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.