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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 09-10-1998Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting September 10, 1998 Page 27 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Wahl, Priebe, Musliner, Willegalle, Fiemann, Thompson; Planning Commissioner Koehnen; staff Bisek, Blank, Greupner, Pederson, Peterson; members of the Open Space Committee (Sjaarda, Astin, Pezalla) 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the September meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Musliner pointed out that the Planning Commission's public meeting to discuss northwest Plymouth was August 27, and not August 23, as stated in the minutes. A motion was made by Commissioner Willegalle and seconded by Commissioner Fiemann to approve the minutes of the July meeting as presented with that correction. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. b. Staff Karol Greupner discussed the Autumn Arts Fair and the change of the location to the amphitheater instead of Parkers Lake Park. There will be over 30 juried artists displaying their works. Food vendors will give 15% of their revenue to the city. There will be musical entertainment throughout the day along with activities for kids to participate in. Karol discussed the Plymouth on Parade event which is October 10. She distributed some information about that, including a map of the parade route. This is a first of its kind event. It has a budget of $10,000 and is co-sponsored by LifeTime Fitness. This is one of two events they have agreed to jointly offer with the City. Mailings have been done to community groups, schools, businesses, etc. We've had a wonderfid response from different organizations that want to be in the parade, be in the LifeTime building with displays, etc., or that want to make a financial contribution. The parade starts at 2:00. There are 24 units in the parade so far, with more coming in daily. The start of the parade route is on 34th & Harbor Lane, and the end of the route is at the lower level parking lot of the Ice Center. The parade route will be blocked off by 12:30. Following the parade there will be events going on at LifeTime Fitness, the ice center and in the parking lots. The community band will be performing, and the Westside Players will be performing some songs from "Meet Me in St. Louis." Food vendors will be set up in the parking lot. Display areas will be set up in the corridor between LifeTime and the Ice Center where various organizations can display their brochures, fliers, etc. Activities will be going on in LifeTime Fitness following a 60's theme, with a sock hop in the gym, and a beach party in the pool area. The Ice Center will have on-going skating free to the public. The Park and Recreation Department will be represented in the parade by a zamboni, our figure skating school students on rollerblades, our gymnastics participants, and some of our soccer players will be marching along with their coaches. PRAC Minutes/September 1998 Page 28 The Parks Department will have a float in the parade with special guest Smokey the Bear. There will be a dedication in the Ice Center of a piece of art that was donated by the Radisson in Plymouth. It will be installed on the wall above the doors leading into the main ice arena. We're looking for 1960 vintage convertibles to be in the parade. Karol extended an invitation to PRAC to join in the festivities. The grand marshal hasn't been determined yet, although several names are in the running. Mary said fall youth soccer, fall adult softball and football are underway and fields are very busy. She praised Mark and his maintenance staff for their hard work in keeping fields in such great shape. We are in desperate need of WSI's and have had to cancel one entire night of swimming classes due to a shortage of teachers. She urged PRAC that if they know anyone who might be interested in teaching swimming lessons to get in touch with us. We have begun working on our winter brochure, so if PRAC has any programming ideas, they should be submitted as soon as possible. c. Others. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION The Council approved the hotel complex on Highway 55 and voted to accept the donation of the Little Peninsula as recommended by PRAC. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Elm Creek Playfield update. The high school phy. ed. classes are using the soccer fields this fall. There is a meeting set up for next Monday with different school officials on how to best use the fields after a rain storm, etc. Staff is talking about establishing a red light/green light system to help protect the fields. On days when a field should be in resting mode" following a heavy rain, for example, a red light could be placed on the field to signify no use by the school or anyone else. Ron Fiemann asked where football is being played this year. Director Blank said it's at Central Middle, but the high school would like to move it to the new playfield starting next year. b. East Medicine Lake regional trail update. This project is in its final stages. The Park District would like to have some type of grand opening dedication next spring. c. Activity center/fieldhouse update. Director Blank mentioned the public meeting the Council is having on September 28 to hear concerns from citizens regarding the proposed location of the activity center. He then displayed some new concept plans prepared by the architect and explained in detail the layout of both floors of the activity center and the surrounding grounds. There will be a parkway -type driveway leading to the activity center, a possible bowling green area, a series of gardens, etc., and nerp ponds. Proposed future tennis courts would be located near the Park Place Apartment tennis courts. There would be no removal of any mature maple or oak trees. Somewhere around six acres of the site would be hard surface. The parking lot would accommodate 300 cars, 250 for the activity center and 50 for the field house. The seniors fireside room would be their social gathering place. Our senior citizen program coordinator would office out of this building as well as the senior outreach worker. Planning Commissioner Koehnen asked if she was PRAC Minutes/September 1998 Page 29 a city staff person. Director Blank explained that she is hired by Senior Community Services which is funded by United Way. The senior committee has seen this plan and is pleased with it. The next group to see it and give input will be the Fine Arts Council. Director Blank explained that when the bubble is removed in the summer, the area becomes an outdoor soccer field. He explained that a group of citizens submitted signed petitions asking that it be moved. Staff has been asked by the Council to research other locations for the bubble. Commissioner Fiemann talked about how the community was notified of the election, with mailers and items in the paper and the city newsletter. Director Blank responded that only seven people showed up at the first meeting to discuss the proposed activity center. The Council has indicated that they will make a decision on Sept. 28 regarding the location of the activity center. Commissioner Priebe asked if it was essential to have the bubble and the activity center on the same site. Director Blank said no, but that it's easier to manage if they are in one common location. The seniors wanted an indoor track in the bubble and this is another reason it's important to have them connected. Commissioners asked Director Blank about the language in the bond referendum, and he explained that it only addressed the financing of the project. It did not talk about the location. There is a group that will be presenting a counter petition to the Council favoring this site. Commissioner Wahl asked about the cost of just the bubble. Director Blank said it ran around $800,000. Together the entire project would cost about $3,500,000. Commissioner Fiemann remembers discussing why this location in Plymouth Creek Park would be suitable for this facility. He recalls that several council members were present at these discussions. Director Blank said the opposing side is also out looking for other locations and that they will be meeting with the Wayzata School District next week. Both Wayzata and Armstrong high schools are apparently willing to take the bubble, but then the Council would have to decide which school district's offer to accept. If the bubble is moved, the building would have to be redesigned and this would inevitably delay the entire project for some time. Commissioner Fiemann asked if there is any landscaping that could hide the bubble on the north side. Director Blank said that many of the people opposing it did not realize that the bubble would only be up in the winter. Director Blank encouraged PRAC to attend the meeting on the 28th. Commissioners asked if it would help to make a motion reaffirming their earlier recommendation to locate the activity center in Plymouth Creek Park. Director Blank said that it would. COMMISSIONER FIEMANN MOVED TO AFFIRM PRAC'S RECOMMENDATION THAT THE LOCATION OF THE BUBBLE AND THE ACTIVITY CENTER REMAIN IN THE PLYMOUTH CREEK PARK AREA AS PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS IN THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT PLAN. COMMISSIONER THOMPSON SECONDED. ALL AYES. Commissioner Fiemann wanted it noted that this was a unanimous decision. Commissioners Anderson and Fiemann will both try to be at the meeting on September 28, as well as Thompson. d. Review open space committee report. Mark Peterson, Superintendent of Parks, gave a brief summary of the history of the open space committee and the developments that have taken place over the last couple of years. He then introduced Tony Pezalla, David Astin, and Marlin Sjaarda, some of the members of the committee present at the meeting. David Astin is a science teacher at the high school. His position on the open space committee is as liaison to the high school. The working partnership between the school PRAC Minutes/September 1998 Page 30 and the city started in the fall of 1996 with the planting of wild rice in the mitigation pond along Elm Creek. The goals were to increase the diversity of the wetlands and to introduce students to the indigenous culture and their relationship to this plant. Elders from four nations were invited to help with the planting. The partnerships with the city have enabled hundreds of students to have a facility which will allow field research and on going projects at the high school. No other high school, except Stillwater, has such a site. He indicated how grateful he was for the opportunity to do these partnerships. Tony Pezalla spoke of the benefits of Plymouth purchasing the open space. He explained that the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden started basically the same way as our open space project, and he discovered while working on the committee that Plymouth is cutting edge in this area. He feels the Open Space Committee is confident that city staff is capable of doing a fine job of managing the future use of this open space. A tougher issue for the Open Space Committee was the matter of preservation. The committee recommends establishing conservation easements on each site to be held by the Minnesota Land Trust or some other non-profit organization. These easements should be perpetual in order to protect these resources for fiiture generations. Commissioner Priebe commented that he was disturbed by Ms. Nixon's assumption that the reason for recommending conservation easements is because of the fear that fiiture leaders would not abide by the guidelines established by the committee. Director Blank indicated that he has not had the time to do any research on the easement concerns. His current plan of action is that the Open Space Committee report will be passed on to the City Council after PRAC's comments have been added as an addendum. The Council wants to hear everyone's comments on this. PRAC will be making a recommendation on it at a fiiture meeting. Director Blank said it will remain on the agenda until PRAC feels it's ready to be forwarded to the Council. He also stated that PRAC could hold an information meeting on the report and allow other groups and the public to make comments. Commissioner Priebe said we should address the issue of a public meeting very cautiously. He doesn't want a public meeting to imply to the residents that this is open to debate. Director Blank said that wasn't his intention. Commissioner Wahl said we should have a public information meeting mainly to discuss the issue of conservation easements. If the Minnesota Land Trust gets involved, this needs to be explained to the public. Beth Nixon mentioned spending $10,000 to $15,000 on conservation easements. Commissioner Wahl wasn't sure where that figure came from. Chair Anderson thinks the Land Trust will be an issue with the Council. Mark Peterson said that initially the Land Trust was brought up as the way to go. It is a way to assure that fiiture Councils do not change the land uses that have been purchased as open space. Commissioner Wahl said that the deeds for each property state that after 15 years, the agreement on how the open space is maintained expires. Commissioner Thompson is concerned about fiiture Councils not being allowed to make changes to these parcels, however, she thinks that 15 years isn't restrictive enough, but 100 years may be too many. Commissioner Priebe wants these parcels to be protected for the long term. Commissioner Fiemann thinks the parcels need to be protected longer than 15 years, also, and he's concerned about the statements regarding restricted access to the parcels. Notices will be sent to residents living around the open space parcels inviting them to come to the next meeting, as well as general announcements of the meeting appearing on cable TV and in the local newspaper. PRAC Minutes/September 1998 Page 31 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Draft CIP for 1999-2003. Director Blank said no action is necessary on this proposal tonight. Projects in 1999 include West Medicine Lake Park — the covered bridge, boat dock, park signs, and two drinking fountains. The 494 bridge/trail has been in the works for three years. A federal grant has been approved for 1999. There is a lot of red tape in using federal money for a trail/bridge across a freeway. Elm Creek Playfield park building with bathrooms. Activity center/fieldhouse. Replacing neighborhood park playgrounds. Commissioner Musliner asked if Parkers Lake playground is on that list. Director Blank said not all parks have been evaluated yet. Youth sports fields upgrade — the Wayzata School District they will be proposing a referendum for fall and some of that money could be used to help with this. Art in the Park, swings at Shiloh Park, the development of Mud Lake Park is a possibility, ice center misc. items, and Zachary Park lighting. 2000 — activity center, trails, payment for stage, fields upgrade, playground replacement, land acquisition of 10th playfield, picnic shelter at Zachary Park, 22nd Avenue & Vicksburg Lane mini -park, new playground at Elm Creek Playfield, electronic community bulletin board, and special gardens at the activity center. 2001 — another payment on the stage, trails, two playground replacements, land acquisition for 10th playfield. 2002 — final payment for stage, trails, pavilion at West Medicine Lake Park, playground replacement. 2003 — trails, playground replacement. At next month's meeting, the CIP will have costs attached to each item. Action by PRAC could be taken at the November meeting. Commissioner Wahl asked about trails at West Medicine Lake Park. Director Blank said woodchip trails are currently under constriction. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION None. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.