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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 09-14-1995Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting September 14, 1995 Page 29 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Priebe, Wahl and Willegalle; Planning Commissioner Ribbe, staff Blank and Pederson Absent: Commissioners Fiemann and Johnson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the September meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Priebe and seconded by Commissioner Willegalle 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. No recreation staff were present, but Director Blank discussed how our fall youth soccer program continues to grow, with 200 more children participating in 1995 than in 1994. There was an increase in 1994 of about 200 as well. With our current facilities and the difficulty in securing coaches, staff feels that soccer enrollment may have to be limited next year. Director Blank announced two special events in September sponsored by the City; an Art Fair on Saturday, September 16, at Parkers Lake Park, and a History Fest on Saturday, September 23, at Plymouth Creek Park. c. Others. None. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Council approved the acquisition of the Ess property, which adjoins the land the City currently owns that has been designated as environmental park. This acquisition will now permit the City, if they so choose, to build some girls softball fields. The City is currently lacking in fields of the appropriate size for girls high school softball. Also, by having this additional land, the environmental park could be expanded to include such things as an environmental education center. b. Council approved the purchase of the Mission open space property. PRAC Minutes/September 1995 Page 30 c. Council approved the purchase of the Hartenburg open space property. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Private swimming pool update. Director Blank stated that he met with the Wayzata School District and a private swimming club regarding the possibility of building a swimming pool in a joint three way project between the City, the school district and the private club. The School District has indicated that they have $1.5 million to contribute to such a project. b. West Medicine Lake Park update. Progress on this project has been fairly slow due to some permits being tied up in the environmental process. However, Director Blank is expecting Council authorization on September 19 to go out for bid on Phase 1, which is the road and bridge portion. A contract for this work could then be awarded in mid-October, with the actual work possibly beginning in November. c. Open spaces update. Director Blank indicated that the acquisition process on three of the four sites has been fairly smooth and that there is adequate funding available for the final site. The last site, however, may be somewhat complicated by the fact that a realtor has gotten involved and is trying to sell the land to a developer. Director Blank said that if that happens, the City will simply deal with the developer if necessary. d. Playfield high school update. Director Blank stated that the contractor is busy working on the construction of the three buildings that will comprise the high school. Dirt is being stockpiled on the site to be used in conjunction with the construction of the bridge. The NURP pond is in as well as wetland mitigation. Sewer and water lines are in. Some grading of fields could take place later this fall. e. Study of youth sports facilities update. Director Blank and Rick Busch are planning to reconvene this committee within a couple of weeks. Members of PRAC that are on this committee are Don Anderson, Mark Wahl and Henry Willegalle. f 1996-2000 CIP update. Director Blank discussed the request for tennis courts in Turtle Lake Park. He explained that tennis courts planned in Plymouth Creek Park have been in the CIP for the past five years but keep getting bumped for other more pressing items. These are the courts that would be for use by the residents requesting courts in Turtle Lake Park. So far, the policy of the City has been to build tennis courts at our playfields PRAC Minutes/September 1995 Page 31 and not in neighborhood parks. Director Blank feels that this policy may change in the future, but at the present time, there is still need for a few more neighborhood parks to be developed. Director Blank explained that when Shiloh Park was upgraded a few years ago, the Park Commission recommended that tennis courts be included in the upgrade, because many of the residents requested it, but the City Council took it out of the final master plan before approving the plan. g. Recommend Mighty Ducks ice arena grant. Director Blank indicated that staff is preparing a Mighty Ducks ice arena grant application and explained to PRAC why there is a need for indoor ice in Plymouth. He explained that conditions of the grant state that there must be joint cooperation with other agencies if a grant is to be considered for award. Several agencies have made a commitment to the City of Plymouth that they would cooperate in such a project, including School Districts 281 and 284. Others, such as the City of Wayzata, Plymouth -Wayzata Youth Hockey and the Wayzata Lions Club have indicated an interest in contributing financially to such a project. Contributions may total about $675,000. The amount of the grant would be 250,000. The entire project is estimated at approximately $4,000,000. This would be for two sheets of ice, which, in the long run, according to Director Blank, is more profitable. Single sheets of ice tend to lose money. When asked how the City would fund the balance of this project, Director Blank explained that it would probably be through a bond referendum. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER BILDSOE AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WAHL TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR A MIGHTY DUCKS ICE ARENA GRANT. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Name for ninth playfield. Director Blank explained that playfield number 9 needs an official name, and that staff s recommendation is Elm Creek Playfield. He stated that if PRAC preferred a different name, staff would come up with a few more possibilities and bring them back to the next meeting for further consideration. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BILDSOE TO ACCEPT THE NAME ELM CREEK PLAYFIELD AS THE OFFICIAL NAME FOR THE NINTH PLAYFIELD. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. PRAC Minutes/September 1995 Page 32 b. Review citizen survey results. Director Blank went over the results of the latest citizen survey. Unlike the survey conducted a few years ago, this one was a city-wide survey, rather than just park -related. Park issues rated quite well, with 92% of those surveyed liking our park facilities and 94% approving of the job that park maintenance does. Sixty-eight percent want a community center study done. Ninety-four percent want the City to save one of the three golf courses in Plymouth from being developed. Director Blank indicated that Hampton Hills and Elm Creek could both become 9 - hole executive courses, with Hollydale remaining as the only 18 -hole course in Plymouth. The owners of Hollydale have indicated they want to stay in the golf business, although Lundgren Bros. has offered to buy their land. Director Blank said that if the City decided it wanted to acquire a golf course, the current owners would need to be persuaded to sell to the City rather than to a developer. Even though the property at all three courses is guided public/semi-public, a developer would likely win a case for having it re -guided residential. The Park Commission indicated their interest in pursuing this issue and keeping it on the PRAC agenda for future meetings. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION None. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.