HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 11-12-1998Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting
November 12, 1998
Page 37
Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Thompson, Willegalle, Wahl, Fiemann, Priebe,
Musliner; staff Bisek, Blank, Busch; Pederson; Planning Commissioner Koehnen
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Anderson called the November meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Musliner and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to
approve the minutes of the October meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present.
b. Staff Mary talked about the success of the Plymouth on Parade event. The next big
event is Old Fashioned Christmas on Dec. 6, at Plymouth Creek Park. Santa will be in
the Historical Society building, along with Mrs. Claus. Mary stated that she just returned
from the state parks and recreation conference. A number of the sessions Mary attended
dealt with promotion and public relations. We are currently working on a program called
E -Connect, which involves putting our brochure on the Internet. We are trying to attract
potential employees for the summer by putting up portable signs around town during the
winter holiday break, announcing job opportunities. Commissioner Thompson suggested
contacting the athletic associations and making announcements in their newsletters.
Commissioner Fiemann wanted to know if athletic associations' newsletters could be
attached to the city's web site. Commissioner Musliner suggested tapping into the youth
advisory council for possible employees. Director Blank said he attended their first
meeting to talk about the activity center. Commissioner Musliner asked about the Santa
Mailbox and who responds to the letters. Mary stated that volunteers answer them. Mary
discussed the recent upgrade to the TTR software and a couple of minor problems that
developed. Mail -in registration is lower since TTR was implemented. Of the classes that
are available through touch tone registration, about 35% are being registered for by using
that method.
c. Others. None.
4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION
Director Blank said that on a 4-3 vote, the Council approved partial development of
northwest Plymouth, rather than fiill development as recommended by the Planning
Commission. Commissioner Priebe asked what partial development means. Planning
Commissioner Koehnen said the MUSA will be extended primarily to the area east of
Vicksburg Lane, and to some areas west of Vicksburg generally lying along the Soo Line
Railroad and Schmidt Lake Road.
PRAC Minutes/November 1998
Page 38
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Open space — review and discuss recommendation of Open Space Committee. Bruce
Hesse, 1105 Peony Lane, presented a petition representing 10 families/properties. As a
group, they firmly oppose building a picnic shelter on the Hardenburg site, they reject
parking on 12th Avenue as well as Peony Lane, they oppose widening 12th Avenue, they
want property kept in its current natural state, but support removal of dead trees,
underbrush, etc. They support widening the trails and covering them with wood chips or
gravel. They request that the city forester identify some of the plants and trees with
signs, as a learning tool for school children. They also would like the city to set up a
subcommittee comprised of people living by the park to review future plans for this
property. Commissioner Fiemann asked about the road expansion and where this idea
came from. Blank said he knows of no plans to expand the road. Mr. Hesse said trails
are about two feet wide with lots of overhanging branches and are all very muddy. He
said the hole where the house sat is being filled with dirt. He talked about an access from
8th Avenue. Director Blank said that was private property and the land owner doesn't
want it used as an access. The only access is via 12th Avenue or 11th Avenue. Cal
Baldly, 1115 Peony Lane, was present to reinforce what Mr. Hesse said. He wants site
kept natural, as originally proposed. There is some sentiment for a play apparatus for
children if non -natural uses are considered he said.
Then the issue of preservation was discussed. Director Blank supports the charter
amendment method. It could be as restrictive as the City chooses. The City Council
would then vote on the amendment, which would have to be passed unanimously. The
amendment could require any changes to each site be voted on by the citizens at large in
an election. This charter could be rescinded by another charter amendment. Another
method is to convey the development rights to a third party, such as the Land Trust. The
only way this method could be rescinded would be by an agreement between the City and
the third party with whom the agreement was made, or by the City condemning the other
party's interest in the property. A third method of preserving open space would be to
leave it up to the discretion of the City. Commissioner Priebe favors conveying the rights
to a third party or the charter amendment. Commissioner Thompson is comfortable with
the charter amendment. Commissioner Fiemann prefers the charter amendment. The
general consensus of the park commission was the charter amendment option.
COMMISSIONER FIEMANN MOVED TO RECOMMEND THAT THE COUNCIL
PURSUE THE CHARTER AMENDMENT OPTION FOR PROTECTION OF ALL
OPEN SPACE SITES AS OUTLINED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY IN HIS LETTER
TO DIRECTOR BLANK. CHAIR ANDERSON SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED;
SIX AYES, ONE NAY. Commissioner Musliner voted nay, because she feels
comfortable allowing the City Council to establish the length of time the open space
properties should be protected.
The commissioners then discussed the petition that had been presented by Mr. Hesse.
They were in agreement that the picnic shelter should not be built and wanted reference
to it stricken from the open space committee report. Director Blank said it probably
wouldn't be following protocol to make any changes to the actual report, but rather
PRAC could suggest to the Council that they make the change. COMMISSIONER
PRAC Minutes/November 1998
Page 39
MUSLINER MOVED TO RECOMMEND THAT PRAC RECOMMEND TO THE
CITY COUNCIL THAT THEY OMIT THE OPTION OF A PICNIC SHELTER FROM
THE HARDENBURG OPEN SPACE SITE. COMMISSIONER PRIEBE SECONDED.
MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. Commissioner Wahl stated that he is not
comfortable with the idea of posting 12th Avenue as no parking. Other commissioners
agreed. Director Blank said there are no plans to install a parking lot or to widen 12th
Avenue.
b. Activity center/fieldhouse update — Del Erickson, architect. Mr. Erickson shared the
following information with PRAC regarding the activity center/fieldhouse plans: there
will be a 300 car parking lot with options for expansion. The main door is a plaza area
centered between the fieldhouse and activity center. There is a two stage pond with a
waterfall between them. There is space allotted for fiiture tennis courts or expanded
parking. The drop off area accommodates buses, includes a covered walkway, and the
main entrance into central lobby area has automatic opening doors for the handicapped.
In the central lobby area there is an open stairway, reception area, and toilet facilities
adjacent to the entrance area. Access to the fieldhouse is via stairs or elevator. The
elevator is in a position to be shared by both the fieldhouse and activity center. The
banquet room accommodates 350, and can be divided into two or three smaller rooms.
There is a raised platform in one corner. The north and west face of the main room has a
bay window that takes in the view of the park. On one side of the main room is a
catering kitchen which can also fiinction as a teaching kitchen. The Fireside room, which
is also the senior area, will have a fireplace and a kitchen. An open deck surrounds this
room. There is a snack lounge on the lower level, with fiiture spaces planned for
conference rooms, music room, and a tiered meeting space for workshops, etc. There is a
second set of bathrooms on this level to serve the fieldhouse and future expansion of the
lower level. There is 2,250 square feet of finished space and 10,000 square feet of
unfinished space on the lower level. Commissioner Willegalle asked if Mr. Erickson had
the opportunity to meet with the arts council. Mary said the arts group has a concern
about storage of art projects. Mr. Erickson explained that there is 1,000 square feet of
general storage for them. There will be a game room in the fieldhouse, because it has
proven to be such a popular attraction at the ice arena. One end of the fieldhouse will
accommodate batting cages when the bubble is up. 100 yds. x 60 yds. is the size of the
large soccer field, which can be divided into two smaller fields. Director Blank and Mr.
Erickson visited the Stillwater fieldhouse and will incorporate some of those ideas into
our plan. Shortening the dome by 20 yards made it fit better on the site and kept us from
encroaching on the wetlands. The dome is bolted into a concrete curb which will be level
with the field. When the bubble is down in the summer the curb will be at grade level, so
that no one will trip on it when they are out on the field. As far as the timing of the
project, the design development stage has been approved. Next is the design schematic
stage, which we hope to have completed by the end of the month. Then we would begin
working on the constriction documents. Director Blank said he hopes we can go out for
bid by the end of February and get the contractor started in April. The plan now is to
open in March of 2000. Commissioner Anderson asked how administration will be
handled. Director Blank said he has discussed this with the finance and administration
departments and his plan is to have a personnel package ready by March, 1999.
PRAC Minutes/November 1998
Page 40
c. 1999-2003 CIP. After receiving a report from engineering, Director Blank took out the
reference to replacing the parking lot at Parkers Lake in 1999. It just needs routine crack
filling and minor repairs. Commissioner Willegalle asked about playground
improvements for Birchview. Director Blank responded that Birchview was upgraded in
1997. There was some discussion about which schools' playgrounds had been upgraded
recently. They were Oakwood, Pilgrim Lane and Greenwood. Further engineering
studies need to be done on the lighting at Zachary Playfield. Director Blank said that
population projections show that the number of school age children is holding steady
making it somewhat difficult to plan for fiiture parks and even puts the size of the 10th
playfield into question. CHAIR ANDERSON MOVED TO ACCEPT THE 1999-2003
CIP AS PRESENTED. COMMISSIONER THOMPSON SECONDED. THE MOTION
CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. Commissioner Wahl asked about the youth sports fields
upgrade. Director Blank said it would either be Greenwood or Central Middle. Director
Blank also reviewed the list of items not included in the CIP. Commissioner Willegalle
asked if the skateboard park would be reconsidered in the future. Director Blank said the
issue is dead as far as this Council is concerned.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Report on athletic field use. Rick Busch explained the data on the charts. Three years
ago a task force studied the trends in the uses of athletic facilities. On soccer field usage,
Busch explained that they are not all fiill size fields. For the U6 and U8 teams, four
teams can go on a full size field. For U10, two teams go on a fiill size field. The total
number of teams playing soccer in 1998 have already exceeded the year 2005 projections.
Six new fill size soccer/football fields were added at Elm Creek Playfield this fall and
one fill size field was created at West Lutheran High School. U6 soccer no longer uses
hockey rinks. The soccer field the high school owns and maintains is in poor shape
because of the high school marching band using it. The other five fields are maintained
by the city and are in much better shape. Commissioner Willegalle asked if more soccer
fields will be available next summer. Busch said the six at the high school will be
available next year but they weren't this past summer. For baseball/softball field use,
numbers are holding steady and are not meeting projections. Four new baseball/softball
fields were added at Elm Creek Playfield, and adult softball was transferred there from
Zachary. A 90' baseball field was added at West Lutheran. In 1999, two 90' fields will
be added at Wayzata High School and one 60'-75' field will be added at Armstrong.
Commissioner Thompson said Plymouth -Wayzata Youth Baseball is averaging more kids
per team than in previous years. They are completely revamping the 9-12 year old group.
She said they need some fields with fences, so the kids can know what it's like to hit a
home run. Commissioner Wahl asked why they increased team size. Commissioner
Thompson said field pressure dictated that. Director Blank asked if portable fences
would be acceptable. Commissioner Thompson said yes. Director Blank explained that
there's been a decline in adult softball but an increase in adult soccer. Commissioner
Thompson asked if there's growth in other sports. Busch said there appears to be an
interest in rugby.
PRAC Minutes/November 1998
Page 41
b. Dog park referred from City Council. Distributed at the meeting was a large packet of
reading material on dog exercise parks in other communities. Mark Peterson attended the
session at the state conference on dog parks and brought these materials back. Our City
Council has received a number of requests for such a park in Plymouth. Commissioner
Priebe wondered about the significance of the three Hennepin County parks where dogs
are allowed to nun. Crow -Hassan, Elm Creek and Lake Sarah are all somewhat rural and
they require a special permit, which costs $25 per year. Director Blank said park staff
will do a search on the Internet about this issue in other parts of the country and report
back at a fi ture PRAC meeting.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
None.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
The next meeting is December 10.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.