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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 10-12-1995Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting October 12, 1995 Page 33 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Fiemann, Priebe, Wahl and Willegalle; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson Absent: Commissioner Johnson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the October meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Bass Lake Room located on the lower level. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Priebe and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to approve the minutes of the September meeting. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Mary discussed the recent special events that took place in September. Attendance and exhibitors were both up at the Art Fair, while attendance at the History Fest was down a little. Future special events include the Goblin Walk at Oakwood Park on Saturday, October 14, and Old Fashioned Christmas on Sunday, December 10. c. Others. There were no other visitors. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Approved purchase of Olson property. This is the parcel next to the new high school. The closing was October 11. b. Approved name Elm Creek Playfield. Council approved the name Elm Creek for the ninth playfield. c. Approved Mighty Ducks ice arena grant. Council approved the submittal of the ice arena grant. The City is requesting funding for two sheets of ice. d. Referred study of senior citizen needs. The seniors recently made a presentation to the Council requesting that the City begin some sort of study on senior citizen needs in Plymouth. The Council has since referred this to the Park Commission and Youth Sports Committee. PRAC Minutes/October 1995 Page 34 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Private swimming,pool update/Wayzata School District pool study referred from Council. This issue has been referred to the Youth Sports Task Force, staff and the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission. Mayor Tierney has also sent a letter to the School District acknowledging that the City is interested in studying the issue of a jointly operated swimming facility. b. West Medicine Lake Park update. Bids will be opened on October 13 for phase 1, which includes the road project and two parking lots. All permits are now in, and the City did recently approve the off-site wetland mitigation. c. Open spaces update. The parcel located in southwest Plymouth has been split into two pieces, as a tax break for the owner; the northwest site near the high school was closed on October 11, and the Mission property site near French Park is being paid off at $25,000 per year for four years. Negotiations are still in progress on the southeast site near the intersection of County Road 73 and 1-394. An offer has been made but not accepted at this time. d. Playfield/high school update. The final cost estimate is being worked on. Musco Lighting has made a cost estimate on lighting the fields, etc. The Girls Softball Association had requested a 200 foot permanent fence, but they have now conceded to portable fencing. Grading of the NURP pond has begun and from there, grading will begin on the playfield portion. The City discovered that the owners of Elm Creek Golf Course have been encroaching on this property for some time and using it as a dumping grounds. They've also been taking dirt from the site. They've been given until October 13 to restore the site to its original condition. e. Study of youth sports facilities --review report. Director Blank explained that the report will be mailed to all the athletic associations that serve Plymouth youth, as well as to other groups and agencies that appeared before the task force and made presentations. They will be asked to make comments on the report and to attend a meeting on Monday, October 23, to further discuss the report. After additional fine tuning, the report will be back on the November 9 PRAC agenda for a recommendation to the City Council. Director Blank explained the nine major issues identified by the task force in the report: the projected growth of all youth activities as the City continues to grow; the extreme shortage of indoor ice time for ice hockey and figure skating; the continued demand for indoor gym space for youth basketball, soccer and adult volleyball and basketball; lack of adequate facilities for girls' fast pitch softball; a large demand for fields to accommodate children beteween the ages of 5 and 11; lack of available pool time for competitive swimming at the club and high school level; the growth of indoor soccer; PRAC Minutes/October 1995 Page 35 developing fair and equitable fee schedules for the use of City facilities; developing appropriate maintenance of school district facilities such as baseball and softball fields. There was some discussion then about the proposed field house at the new high school and why that particular location? Director Blank explained that it was because of the available space and ample parking. He also stated that the cost would be shared by the School District and the City. The field house could be used for things such as indoor soccer, track, golf, archery, flea markets, etc. Commissioner Bildsoe asked Director Blank if the City's plan is to have its available fields used to the maximum, with more demand than supply, or the other way around? Director Blank responded that he believes it is important to have a reserve available to meet future needs, or for growth in other areas. Commissioner Wahl asked about available land at the workhouse site and if any plans had been discussed with the County regarding a golf course there. Director Blank said the City did get into a cooperative program with the County this past summer on community gardens and that we may consider a jointly run greenhouse/nursery next year. There is also a possibility that a driving range could be built on workhouse property sometime in the future. Commissioner Fiemann asked why the issue of golf was not addressed in the sports facilities report? Director Blank said that golf would be addressed in the future, but that right now, staff needed to concentrate on the youth sports facilities as directed by the Council. Director Blank indicated that the youth sports task force wants a consultant to verify the costs for building the facilities that are outlined in the report to make sure they are accurate. In order to accomplish this, a recommendation to the Council would be necessary. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER FIEMANN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BILDSOE RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HIRE A CONSULTANT TO DO COST ESTIMATES ON THE FACILITIES PROPOSED IN THE YOUTH SPORTS FACILITIES REPORT. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. Commissioner Priebe suggested that a statement be added to the report saying that certain facilities, such as golf, have not been included in the report. Director Blank said that he would mention this to the task force but that it might be more appropriate for PRAC to add it when they make their recommendation in November. f. 1996-2000 CIP update. Director Blank explained that he had no new information on the CIP at this time. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Senior citizen needs analysis. Director Blank explained that representatives from the Plymouth Seniors Club made a presentation to the City Council recently PRAC Minutes/October 1995 Page 36 asking that the City begin looking into the needs of Plymouth seniors. The Council appointed the Mayor and Councilmembers Wold and Lymangood to serve on a subcommittee to study this issue. Director Blank asked if any PRAC members would be willing to serve on this subcommittee, too. Commissioners Anderson and Priebe offered their services. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION A request was made by Commissioner Priebe to notify commissioners whenever there is a meeting at the City Center that might be of interest to them, or where their presence might be helpful. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank announced that the City received a $40,000 grant from the Outdoor Recreation Grant Program to be used on the West Medicine Lake Park project. He also stated that the trails approved for construction this year are now under construction. He explained that the in-line hockey rink surface has been painted a tan color, so that it will be more reflective, which will help when it comes time to flood it for the ice hockey season. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:52 p.m.