HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-09-1996Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting
May 9, 1996
Page 20
Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Fiemann, Priebe, Thompson and Willegalle;
staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson; Councilmember Wold
Absent: Commissioners Johnson and Wahl
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Anderson called the May meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the City Center
Lunchroom.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Fiemann and seconded by Commissioner
Willegalle to approve the minutes of the April meeting as presented. The motion
carried with all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present.
b. Staff. Mary announced that recreation division revenues were down the first
quarter of `96. She thinks this may have been due in part to the bad weather we
had. She stated that staff was working on the City's first ever mail -in registration
for swimming. Several hundred registrations were received, and most people
did get either their first, second or third choice. Phone inter -active registration is
still being studied, and Mary indicated that if all goes according to plan, this
process would begin in the fall of `96. An Over 55 Softball league began this
past week, and the participants involved are quite excited that this league finally
materialized, after having been offered and cancelled in past years due to lack
of registrations. Mary announced that the City's volunteer coordinator has now
been with the City three years, and in that time, the volunteer work force has
tripled.
c. Others.
4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION
Council approved the feasibility study for the East Medicine Lake Regional trail.
Another public meeting will likely be scheduled in August or September.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Review ice arena/pool complex. Director Blank announced that trees have been
removed and dirt is being pushed around on the site. Bid packages are out.
The project continues to move on the fast track, with a projected opening
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sometime between December 15 and March 15. At next month's PRAC meeting,
a name for the facility will be discussed.
b. West Medicine Lake Park update. The bridge is back on the Council agenda for
May 15. Director Blank stated that the road is scheduled for paving in October
or early November.
c. Open spaces update. The purchase of the Johnson Bros. parcel is on the next
Council agenda for final approval. The Seitzer property has numerous spruce
trees that are being removed and planted in other parks.
d. Playfield/high school update. The bid package for the playfield complex will be
out next week. The City's portion of the project should be completed by the end
of this year.
e. Senior citizen needs analysis update. The report on the needs of seniors in
Plymouth will be available by next month's meeting.
f. Golf course discussion. Ken and John Hampton, the owners of Hampton Hills
golf course, were present to discuss the future of their course. Director Blank
explained to them that the City is interested in golf courses continuing to exist in
Plymouth, and is concerned that the possibility of future development may cause
some golf course owners to sell their property. The Hamptons asked if sanitary
sewer would bypass their course or pass through it? Director Blank responded
that according to the map, it appears that the sanitary sewer will pass through
the course. The Hamptons indicated they don't need sewer, because they have
their own septic system and their own wells, which adequately serve the golf
course and the family homes that are located there. Mr. Hampton stated that it
is his wish to keep the golf course as long as possible and to pass it on to his
children, with the hope that they would then pass it on to their children. He feels
that a lot of the course wouldn't even be developable because the land is quite
wet. He indicated that the course is about 145 acres in size. He said that he
didn't know how many rounds the course does per year, because they don't
keep records that way. They keep track of the revenue, instead. Mr. Hampton
indicated that he wasn't particularly interested in selling to developers, even
though he's had offers, and if he ever did decide to sell, he would rather sell to
the City. Director Blank asked him what the City could do to help out and
encourage him to stay in the business. Mr. Hampton responded that the course
suffers a lot from storm water runoff and that they've had problems specifically
with the railroad's culverts being directed toward the golf course. He requested
that the City look into the water runoff problems and talk to the railroad.
Councilmember Wold directed staff to refer this problem to Dan Faulkner in
Engineering, because he is in charge of the City's new storm water management
program. The Hamptons asked Director Blank what the City's thoughts are
regarding the golf courses in Plymouth. He stated that the City would like the
PRAC Minutes/May 1996
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golf courses to remain, rather than sell to developers, but that the City also
understands how desirable the land is to developers. Mary Bisek asked Mr.
Hampton if he could rank the difficulty of his course. He explained that average
courses usually have a ranking of 100, and that Hampton Hills' ranking is 106.
g. Review northeast neighborhood park plan. Director Blank explained that if
PRAC is comfortable with the master plan for this park it needs to be approved
this evening and forwarded to the City Council. George Watson, the design
consultant, then made a brief presentation to PRAC, explaining that the parcel is
43 acres in size, with 12.7 acres above the 100 year flood plain. After
subtracting the areas that are wooded and sloped, about two acres remain that
can be developed. He described the various amenities in the park and using a
few colored displays, he showed PRAC how the park would look, describing
where the children's playground, trails, benches, boardwalk, fishing docks, etc.
would be located. He indicated that the majority of the park will be left in its
natural state, and the trail will be paved in some areas and crushed rock or wood
chips in other areas. He explained that the C.P. Railroad wants to formalize the
crossing that people have been using over the years to gain access to that park.
He stated that a non -signalized crossing would be the least expensive and that
the train would blow its whistle at a non -signalized crossing, while it would not
do the same at a signalized crossing. He explained that the most expensive
access at this site would be a bridge crossing, however, most people would
continue to cross the railroad tracks where they always have. Another access
point to the park could be through the Cardinal Ridge development, but this is a
private development, so the access would have to be worked out with them.
Another issue of concern to the residents is the color of the play equipment.
They want it to be as neutral as possible, so it blends in with the surroundings.
They prefer earth tone colors such as green and beige or wood -type structures.
Commissioner Priebe voiced a concern regarding the attraction children have for
water and what was being done to keep them away from the water's edge. Mary
Bisek responded that there are no steep slopes leading to the water and that the
ponds' edges are not manicured but rather have tall grasses and cattails
bordering them. She explained that toddlers usually will not wade through this,
because they don't like to have things brushing against their faces. As for the
bridges and docks, these all have railings, which should help prevent kids from
falling off. Commissioner Fiemann commented that he didn't see any plans for a
hard court area anywhere in this park, so he was concerned about the basketball
players in the neighborhood. George responded that this was not a facility that
would really fit well in this park, because of the park's nature. He also felt it
would not be a popular activity with the residents around this park.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND SECONDED
BY COMMISSIONER PRIEBE TO ACCEPT THE MASTER PLAN AS
PRESENTED FOR THE NORTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD PARK. THE MOTION
CARRIED WITH ALL AYES.
PRAC Minutes/May 1996
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6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Birchview Elementary School playground request for funding. Marie Egger,
representing the playground committee, made a presentation to PRAC and
requested funding for their new playground. She explained that this park is the
neighborhood park for this area, as well as the school park. She displayed
several drawings showing the equipment they've purchased thus far, and the
equipment they would like to still acquire. The park is being built in three
phases, she said. She indicated that the project is being installed completely by
volunteers and that they've saved thousands of dollars doing it this way. Other
sources of funding for Phase I have included about $15,000 from the Birchview
PTA's fundraising efforts and cash donations and $2,900 from the school district
in various areas, such as securing ADA suitable equipment, site amendment fee,
etc. Fundraising efforts will continue as well as soliciting donations from
businesses and civic groups, so that the project can proceed with Phases II and
III. Ms. Egger requested that the City consider a contribution of at least $15,000
toward this project. Director Blank then explained to PRAC that the first school
playground improvement the City helped finance was in 1985, and it was Pilgrim
Lane Elementary. After that first request came in, the City decided to develop
some guidelines that all school groups had to follow when requesting funding
from the City. The guidelines stated that the City would contribute up to $10,000
in matching funds. Director Blank explained that the policy is now over ten years
old and should perhaps be updated. A contribution of $10,000 may not be
realistic anymore, when you consider that a playground can cost from $50,000 to
100,000 to build. A good time to redo the policy would be at the time of
planning the 1997-2001 parks CIP, according to Director Blank.
b. Sunset Hill Elementary School playground request for funding. Director Blank
stated that the City has also received a request for funding from Sunset Hill for
upgrading their school's playground, and a request has now come in from
Pilgrim Lane, which was the first school to get funding, back in 1985.
c. Letter from Carol Creelman. Director Blank explained that Mrs. Creelman is
interested in replicating the log cabin on County Road 6 for personal and
historical reasons. She has offered to fund the project herself. The log cabin
would serve as an educational tool and could be used by the Plymouth Historical
Society when discussing the history of Plymouth. Director Blank explained that
the cabin is in such poor condition that it would probably fall apart if any
attempts to move it were made. Mrs. Creelman is proposing to have an exact
replica of the log cabin built somewhere in Parkers Lake Park. It's possible that
a log or two from the original cabin, or a block of stone from the chimney, could
be salvaged and incorporated into the new cabin.
d. Pick date for annual park tour. A couple of dates were discussed, with
Thursday, May 30, being the preferred choice. The bus will leave City Center at
PRAC Minutes/May 1996
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4 p.m. and get back around 9. Box lunches will be served. Invitations will be
sent to the Council, the Planning Commission, the Water Quality Committee,
and other staff.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Commissioner Willegalle announced that the Parkers Lake Improvement
Association submitted an application for and subsequently received a full $10,000
matching grant from the DNR for the construction of NURP ponds at the new high
school site.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
None.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.