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.
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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
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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
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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.