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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 02-08-1996Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting February 8, 1996 Page 7 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Fiemann, Johnson, Thompson, Wahl and Willegalle; Councilman Wold; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson Absent: Commissioner Priebe 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the February meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Mooney Lake Room. Director Blank introduced Kathleen Thompson, explaining that she has replaced Commissioner Bildsoe, who was appointed to the Planning Commission. A motion was made and seconded to reappoint Don Anderson as the Chair and Mark Wahl as the Vice Chair of the Park Commission for 1996. The motion carried with all ayes. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Fiemann to approve the minutes of the January meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Mary Bisek announced that registration for spring classes began on Feb. 8, and that some classes were already fill, or close to filling after just the first day. She stated that the City is part of a group called CONECT Collaborative, which was formed to provide services to low-income apartment dwellers. As part of this project, we are offering swimming lessons to some residents using the pool in their apartment complex. A long-term project being studied now is inter -active phone registration, a customer service the City would like to offer in the fi ture. Recreation Supervisor Karol Greupner is working with a new arts committee that will help with the fall arts festival. Mary stated that the group is looking for new members, so if the commissioners are interested or know of others who might be, they should get in touch with Karol. Work has begun on the `96 History Fest, which is scheduled for August 10. Commissioner Johnson asked about the financial implications of cancelling Fire and Ice. Mary stated that the decision to cancel was made early enough to cancel performers and donations of food items. A couple performers asked for half their fee but said they would PRAC Minutes/February 1996 Page 8 apply it to next year's performance. The makings for s'mores had already been purchased, so the unopened graham crackers and marshmallows were donated to the Food Shelf, and the candy bars will be sold to City employees. The fireworks company wanted half their fee also, and Mary said that part of the event was handled by the Civic League, and she was informed that it had been taken care of. c. Others. None. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION There was nothing to report on this item. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Review ice arena/pool complex. Director Blank reviewed the results of the special election and explained that it passed by a 3 to I margin. He also indicated that the voter turnout was about the same as for the November election and slightly less than the open space election. He stated that meetings with the architect have been held almost on a daily basis and that work on the project will continue to move along at an extremely fast pace. One project that needs to get done quickly is the relocation of the amphitheater for Music in Plymouth, which must be ready by July 2. The re -design of the site is going to the Planning Commission for a public hearing this month. Director Blank then reviewed the latest architectural drawings for the Life Time Fitness Club and the ice arena. He stated that this Life Time Club will have one of the largest child care centers in it of any of the other clubs. He described the layout of the club and what would be located on each floor, cautioning that these are preliminary plans and could likely change. Next he reviewed the ice arena plans and stated that these plans were posing some challenges, due to the fact that the arena's locker facilities must be designed for both male and female athletes. He explained that the second, smaller rink may be ice only five months out of the year, and the rest of the time could be used for other events, such as in- line skating, flea markets, extra gym space, etc. The large Olympic size rink will have seating for 3,200 and the smaller rink could seat up to 1,000. There will be areas set aside for accommodating spectators with wheelchairs. There's also a special area designed for cable equipment to set up for purposes of televising events. There will be storage areas underneath the walkways that could be used by youth athletic associations for things like storing soccer and baseball equipment, etc. He explained that the locker facilities are not large enough to accommodate both the Wayzata High School's boys' and girls' hockey teams at the same time. One year the boys will be using the facilities, while the girls use the high school's arena, and the next year, they would trade places. Director Blank informed PRAC that the entire site package which includes the ice arena, Life Time Fitness facilities and pools, has to be submitted to the City by Friday, February 16, in order to stay on schedule, so that constriction could begin by April 1. Director Blank added that there are only four manufacturers of steel trusses, and they are about PRAC Minutes/February 1996 Page 9 four months behind in production. He stated that he would like to have the ice arena open by December or early next January. He plans to put together a job description for an ice arena manager, so the position could be filled by July 1. He is hoping that the first event in the new arena could be a game between Wayzata Hockey and Armstrong Hockey, which could bring spectators from all over Plymouth and pretty much fill the arena. Commissioners asked when Life Time expected to open. Director Blank responded that they are hoping to be open by November 1, but the City's agreement with them states that they cannot open until the ice arena opens. Since they are the constriction managers for the entire project, they will move as quickly as possible to get the project completed. Commissioners asked what happens if Life Time chooses not to build on this site. Director Blank said that we would still constrict the ice arena, but he wasn't sure how the pool situation would be handled. b. West Medicine Lake Park update. Constriction has stopped for the winter. The surcharge on the road is going slowly and taking longer than planned. The consultant will be attending a PRAC meeting in the next month or two to begin looking at phase two of the project. c. Open spaces update. Director Blank said that a deal has been reached with two of the owners, one for $145,000 and the other for $150,000. The third owner is still asking $1.4 million for his piece which is situated in the middle of the other two. d. Playfield high school update. The high school building is under design now. The outdoor grounds package will be out for bid in mid-March, and the budget for this portion is $1.6 million. Director Blank stated that the City did some restructuring of its tax increment fiend and is giving $700,000 to the School District for two gym stations which were dropped from the plan due to limited District fiends. e. Senior citizen needs analysis update. A draft of the report was sent out to members of the sub -committee for their review. A final report will be put together in the next few days and will be sent to the Youth Sports Task Force for their review, from there to PRAC and then to the City Council. f. Continue golf course discussion. No new information was available. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Update on proposal from Plymouth -Wayzata Youth Baseball to place signs on outfield fences. Staff researched eight other communities and discovered that none of them allows outdoor advertising. In addition, our City ordinance does not permit it either. When asked if it was okay to do short term advertising, Director Blank said that it was allowed up to ten days prior to the event. PRAC Minutes/February 1996 Page 10 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WILLEGALLE DIRECTING STAFF TO CONTACT MR. JENSEN AND INFORM HIM OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCE ON OUTDOOR ADVERTISING. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. b. Approve annual report and 1996 work plan. Director Blank reviewed the 1996 work plan which includes developing a plan of action to save one or more of the private golf courses in Plymouth from development; designing and constricting a park in northeast Plymouth in the Cardinal Ridge area; working in cooperation to develop a new playground at Greenwood Elementary School; the completion of phase one of West Medicine Lake Park and the start of phase two; the ongoing review and updating of the City's comprehensive trail system plan; including planning for a pedestrian bridge across 494 at County Road 9, for which the City has been notified that they will receive a grant in 1999; review of operational riles and regulations for the newly acquired open space, working with the Planning Commission on planning northwest Plymouth, developing recommendations on a scholarship program for low-income residents to use the ice arena and Life Time Fitness swimming pool facilities; and working with seniors toward the goal of building an activity center to meet their needs. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER FIEMANN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WAHL TO APPROVE THE 1995 ANNUAL REPORT AND 1996 WORK PLAN, AND FORWARD IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL, WITH ONE CHANGE IN ITEM 8 OF THE WORK PLAN, DROPPING THE WORDS "PENDING THE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION ON FEBRUARY 6". THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. c. Facility Rental Fees and Policies. Director Blank briefly reviewed the proposed fees and policies for renting park facilities in 1996 and explained that staff is recommending keeping the fees the same as in 1995. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WAHL AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER JOHNSON ACCEPTING THE 1996 PARK RENTAL FEES AND POLICIES AS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMM[_]NICATION None. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.