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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 11-09-1989Minutes of the hark and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting November 9, 1989 Page 41 Present: Chair Edwards, Commissioners Beach, Freels,, Vanson, and Rosen;, staff Blank and Pederson and George Watson from Brauer and Assoc.. Absent Commissioner Anderson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Edwards called the November meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 2., APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Hanson and seconded by Commissioner Beach 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 at this meeting. b. Staff, There were no reports by staff, c. Others, There were no presentations by others. 4 REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION There, was no report. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. ComQrehensive Park and Trail Plan Update - George Watson. As part of updating the City's Comprehensive Plan, the park and trail plan portion has to be updated as well. Mr Watson explained that in order to do that effectively, research of national, state and local park standards had to be done.. He indicated that national park standards have not been updated since 1980, thus state standards also have not been updated. Mr. Watson did make a comparison using local communiti'.-. He chose the cities of Minnetonka, Eden Prairie and Maple Gr <,re, because like Plymouth, they are all located in the western suburban metro area, have been fairly rapid in growth and have similar population characteristics. Because the park and recreation department has received requests for more baseball fields, Mr. Watson concentrated some of his research on learning where Plymouth stands on the number of baseball fields per current demand and future demand based on the population. He indicated that Plymouth has five 90' baseball, fields at the present time, but our current standard would indicate the need for 10. In the area of softball fields, the City is meeting the current demand. There is also a need for approximately three more hockey rinks. Mr. Watson then discussed the need for a future playfield in the Elm Greek area, which is north of Highway 55 and west of Vicksburg Lane. This area has a, number of zones including LAR (Living Area 'Rural) and is projected to have a population of 20,980 when completely developed. With that figure in mind, Mr. Waton explained that Elm Creek will need 52 acres of playfield. Some ofthis acreage is being satisfied by Greenwood Elementary School, in the form of fields and a neighborhood, park. If a new single playfield were located at :Dunkirk Lane and Old 9, it would mean that people living in, the extreme northwest corner of the City would have to travel almost two and a h.lf, miles to this site, while the standard: service radius to this type facility is one to one and a half miles. Mr. Watson suggested that the City continue to look for one of two potential playfield sites in the Elm Creek area. Regarding; the Bass Lake community, the area ;needed for a playfield is 32 acres;. This neighborhood is bisected by Interstate 494, therefore, the park plan recommends that two sites be considered, one on each side of the freeway. The Bass Lake Playfield site has already been acquired and is proposed for development in 1990. This site is on the east side of ,494. The site originally proposed for the west side of 494 is no longer availe,*le. Mr. Watson will continue to lcrk for alternate sites for this second playfield and will have this information to staff by 'November 22. Commissioner Rosen asked where the new junior high in the northwest area will be, and staffindicated that the District is looking into the Elm Creek area or In Medina. The junior high will likely have several playfield amenities, such as baseball fields, hockey rinks, tennis courts, and a pool, Commissioner Beach asked Mr. Watson to find out what the outdoor pool standards are and report back on this as well. b. Community Center. Director Blank reported to the commissioners that the community center plans are being put on hold for the new Council to discuss. (The Commission adjourned for a brief time to sit it on a special meeting of the City Council which was being held in the Council Chambers. They were present to hear the Council make a motion approving the final design plans and construction costs and postponing any further discussion on the project until after the first of January, 1990.`) Director Blank thanked the commission for all the time and effort they had put into the community center project. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. New Plats There were no new plats. 7 COMMISSION PRESENTATION Cheir Edwards reported on the National Recreation and Parks Association Congress she attended in San Antonio, Texas, in October. She was very grateful that she had been permitted to attend and felt that she learned many useful things.