Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 04-11-1996Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting April 11, 1996 Page 16 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Fiemann, Johnson, Priebe, Thompson, Willegalle; Councilmember Wold; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson Absent: Commissioner Wahl 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the April meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the Mooney Lake Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Fiemann and seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the minutes of the March meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Mary announced that registration for summer programs had begun on April 9 and that in three days, over 1,500 registrations had been processed. Some summer classes are already full. She stated that recreation programmers were busy hiring their part-time seasonal staff. Mary stated that we continue to have problems with the school districts' allocation of gym space for our adult programs. More and more space is being given to youth programs, such as indoor soccer, and now some outdoor activities like t -ball are starting their seasons early by practicing indoors. To make matters more difficult, in many cases, these youth programs are not using the elementary gyms, but rather the larger gyms that are needed for adult programs. Mary cited some statistics revealing that 75% of the families in School District 281 do not have school age children. Commissioner Anderson commented that District 281's attempts at passing a bond referendum have failed twice now, and perhaps it can be contributed, in part, to this. Mary also indicated that in the Wayzata School District, adults are given only 15% of the available gym space. c. Others. See item 5f. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Awarded aradina contract on ice arena. PRAC Minutes/April 1996 Page 17 b. Adopted 1996 CIP. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Ice arena/pool complex update. The first contract has been awarded on the grading of the ice arena. The project is on a fast track, with everyone working at lightning speed. Director Blank stated that an independent person was hired to do a cost estimate, which first revealed that we were within budget, then later showed we were $2,000,000 over budget. Everyone went back to the drawing board to reduce costs, which resulted in a number of things being eliminated from the facility. When these were presented to the City Council, they decided to put five of them back into the plans. As of now, one of the things lost was permanent seating on the practice rink. Director Blank stated that all legal documents should be signed by all necessary parties by April 15. Groundbreaking may be scheduled within the next two weeks. Director Blank would like to invite Governor Carlson to the ceremony. b. West Medicine Lake Park update. Director Blank said that more sand had to be placed on the road and settling is still occuring. Also, the bridge had to be re- bid, and the results this time were higher than before. The bridge situation is going to require further study. c. Open space update. Staff is working with the Johnson Brothers on the purchase of their parcel, which the City acquired for $150,000. They have decided to discontinue conversations with Mr. Stewart, who wants $1.4 million for his land. His parcel sits between the Johnson Bros. and Seitzer parcels, and he's been told he's free to sell it, because the City is no longer interested. d. Playfield/high school update. This project is moving along on schedule. Director Blank said that you can now see the high school building from Highway 55. e. Senior citizen needs analysis update. Director Blank explained that a draft report is finished and will be forwarded to the members of the youth sports task force for their review and comment. Following that, it will be sent on to PRAC. f. Continue golf course discussion. Director Blank introduced Craig Scherber and Mike Klatte, co-owners of the Elm Creek Golf Course, and then members of the commission introduced themselves to Scherber and Klatte. Director Blank explained that he would like the City to always have a golf course available for the residents to use, regardless of whether it's publicly or privately owned. Mr. Scherber then asked if the City was planning to buy a golf course. Director Blank responded that the City probably would not buy a golf course as long as one of the three that currently exists remains undeveloped. However, if all three decided to sell to developers, then the City might step in and attempt to purchase at least one of them. PRAC Minutes/April 1996 Page 18 Mr. Klatte stated that he would prefer to stay in the golfing business, because it's been in his family for years, and he loves the game. But he explained that his taxes keep going up with every improvement he makes to the course. He stated that it becomes a catch-22. In order to compete with the larger courses, he must make improvements, but with the improvements come the increased taxes. He explained that he doesn't charge as much as the other courses and for that reason, his course appeals to the "working man." He explained that the costs for maintenance and upkeep of a golf course are very high and that it's a struggle for him to stay afloat. He can't afford to buy the fancy turf equipment. He would like to charge more, but feels that Elm Creek is a tough course and not plush enough to justify a higher fee. Mr. Scherber was asked what his plans were for Elm Creek. He responded that if City sewer is extended beyond Elm Creek he probably would opt to develop the golf course into home sites. He said he would consider keeping it a golf course if the number of golfers were to increase enough to make it more profitable than turning it into home sites. Director Blank commented that when the Elm Creek sewer finally does go through, all property owners will be assessed. Councilmember Wold asked Director Blank to look into whether or not Hollydale's owners had to pay an assessment when City sewer was installed up to their property line. There was some question that the fee might have been waived. Commissioner Fiemann commented that he likes to golf as often as possible, and he supports Elm Creek because of its affordability. Councilmember Wold stated that the City Council is looking at the price of land in the northwest part of the City, to which Director Blank added that the City may consider buying land and building a public golf course on its own if no other arrangements can be made with the owners of the courses in Plymouth. Mr. Scherber said that the private golf course owners in Plymouth might be more willing to keep their courses if the City were to give them all some kind of tax break. Director Blank responded that the City would probably consider any reasonable course of action to assure that its residents had at least one course available in Plymouth. Commissioners informed Mr. Klatte and Mr. Scherber that their goal is to have some sort of plan in place by the end of this year regarding the future of golf in Plymouth. g. Planning for northeast neighborhood park update. Director Blank displayed copies of different concept plans for this park and stated that concept A is the preferred choice at this point. Another planning meeting is scheduled for April PRAC Minutes/April 1996 Page 19 16, at which time a different plan may or may not be selected. If things go well at the second meeting, a final plan could be ready for the May PRAC meeting. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Letter from Pilgrim Lane Elementary. The Pilgrim Lane PTO has requested assistance from the City to help replace their playground, which is approximately 13 years old. Director Blank explained that their request must be included in a future CIP, which they understand. He also mentioned that both Sunset Hill Elementary and Birchview Elementary have recently made similar requests of the City. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank stated that the Henn. Co. regional trail meeting held at Armstrong High School last month was well attended with approximately 165 people present. He felt that 75% of those in attendance support the trail. He explained that an engineering/feasibility report will take about two to three months to complete and that the steps are in place to plan the trail in 1996 and construct it in 1997. The City has allocated $100,000 for the trail and Hennepin County has $1.5 million available to spend. Another public meeting will be scheduled when more information is available to share. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.