Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 04-09-1992Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting April 9, 1992 Page 10 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Burk, Gutzke, Johnson, Waage, Wahl, Watson; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson; Councilmembers Edson, Tierney, and Vasiliou 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the April meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Waage and seconded by Commissioner Wahl 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 at this meeting. b. Staff. Mary Bisek made several announcements including that staff is busy working on summer programs, which will be advertised in the May issue of Plymouth News; swimming lesson registration is scheduled for Saturday, May 16; the spring Ballet and Tap Recital is May 20; a new spring Shape -Up Challenge gets underway the week of April 13, with city employees competing with other companies located in Plymouth to earn points; the International Folk Arts Celebration held March 21 was well organized, with five or six groups providing entertainment and about a dozen or more crafters displaying and selling their handcrafted items. Attendance was disappointing, but could have been due to the snowstorm. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION The Council voted 3-2 to deny the acquisition of the Forster property. The Council felt the money could be better spent on the acquisition of property in northwest Plymouth. Council also recommended that an aquatic study be done on Parkers Lake during 1992, with the possible application of the chemical Sonar to control milfoil to be done in 1993. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Volunteer program - continue discussion. Commissioner Waage reported that she had not had time to contact Mayor Bergman for more information on the role PRAC should be taking in the volunteer program. She stated she would be calling him within a day or two and would report back at the May meeting. PRAC Minutes/April 9, 1992 Page 11 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Review request from Hewitt -Peterson to purchase land for park. Hewitt -Peterson and Associates approached city staff recently requesting that the city consider acquiring approximately 10 acres at a cost of about $208,000. This land is located north of County Road 9 just west of 494 and east of Fernbrook Lane. The city currently owns two other parcels of wooded land in this same area. In addition, the City's comprehensive plan does contemplate that more land in this area will be acquired via park dedication when the property to the north is developed. Larry Liles, representing Hewitt -Peterson, stated that this land was platted once already, in 1988, but that the Planning Commission reguided the property from LA 3 to LA 2, so those plans were later scrapped. In order to build there now, a lift station would have to be installed, which is quite costly, and something the city has indicated they are not very eager to do. Another option is to run the sewer lines down from the north, also a costly venture and not a very practical one from the city's standpoint. Commissioner Burk asked Mr. Liles for an estimate on the cost of the homes that would be built on this site, if the city did not buy the land for park purposes. Mr. Liles estimated. somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000, with the lots selling for about $40,000. Commissioners asked Director Blank what the future plans are for the land the city currently owns in this area. He stated that nothing definite has been proposed for this site. He also stated that PRAC needs to decide if it is appropriate at this time to acquire more of the woods than what is proposed in the comprehensive plan, if the asking price is reasonable for this property, and to also keep in mind that part of this property would likely be obtained through park dedication when the land is developed. Commissioner Burk indicated that he felt the asking price was too high, and if he was asked to make a recommendation right now, he would vote against purchasing the land. Commissioner Johnson indicated he would rather see the money spent on the development of West Medicine Lake City Park, which has been in the comprehensive plan for many years. Commissioner Wahl stated the land is a valuable piece of property and the city should acquire it for future park purposes. He also believes the asking price is a matter the Council should negotiate, not the Park Commission. Councilmember Edson commented that the price of property should not be mentioned during PRAC discussions when considering a particular property's acquisition. PRAC Minutes/April 9, 1992 Page 12 Commissioner Watson stated she needed more time to consider the acquisition, because PRAC had been given the information just two days prior to the meeting. Commissioners agreed that before they can make any decision, they want to know the assessed value of this property, who owned it before, and the history of the property up until now. They also want to know what funds are available to acquire property. Director Blank responded that this information will be part of the CIP discussions, which will begin during the May meeting. Commissioners unanimously agreed that they could not make a decision at this time. The representatives from Hewitt - Peterson stated they would be willing to wait for an answer for at least 30 days. The Commission discussed this timeline and decided that it might not be sufficient either, so they suggested that Director Blank inform Mr. Liles that they may not have an answer for him until after they've had a chance to review the CIP, scheduled for PRAC discussion during the months of May, June and July. Councilmembers Edson, Tierney and Vasiliou agreed that asking for a decision with such a short time to consider it, was not very practical. They also stated that Hewitt - Peterson's plans to come before the Council by April 20 was not very realistic, since they have not presented their proposal to the Planning Commission yet, either. Councilmember Edson indicated that the Council is interested in long term development and the acquisition of land. However, before PRAC makes recommendations to acquire more land, the Council wants to be sure that PRAC definitely sees a need and has a plan in mind for the land. He stated that he voted against acquiring the Forster property, because he did not see a definite need for it, and he also believes land acquisition should be considered in northwest Plymouth. He also was not comfortable with the parks portion of the CIP being changed at the last minute. He further stated that the Council would like to see PRAC take an aggressive role in debating the long range goal for parks, identifying land in northwest Plymouth that is needed, developing existing land and maintaining current facilities. The Council would also like to have more communication with PRAC and would like PRAC to hold something similar to Town Meetings in order to get the views of the citizens, the athletic associations, etc. Councilmember Tierney indicated that she voted in favor of purchasing the Forster property, because she had been assured that it was what PRAC wanted. I PRAC Minutes/April 9, 1992 Page 13 Councilmember Vasiliou stated she voted against the acquisition, because no one could answer how access to this property was going to be obtained. She further stated that a turn lane off County Road 9 would cost approximately $92,000, which she didn't believe had been considered in the overall price. She also remarked that during Town Meetings, the residents are not indicating any needs when asked if there is anything the City should be providing them. The most verbal residents"are those that want trails kept free of snow in the winter. b. Request for use of soccer field. A resident of Plymouth contacted Director Blank regarding the use of a soccer field on a regular basis for an adult team comprised of people from all over the metropolitan area. When he was informed that our fields are in such great demand by Plymouth residents that we are unable to schedule them for outside groups, he indicated he'd be attending the PRAC meeting. Since he was not present and hasn't contacted the Parks Department since his initial conversation with Director Blank, there was no need to discuss this item further. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Commissioners questioned Director Blank about what items would be discussed at the joint meeting. Director Blank stated it was up to the Commission to decide, but that one of the items will be the sidewalk -trail plan prepared by Strgar- Roscoe-Fausch, who will also attend the meeting. Director Blank also indicated that a petition has been received by the City from residents living along Ridgemount Avenue near Wayzata East Junior High and Sunset Hill Elementary. Some of these residents live in Plymouth and some in Minnetonka. They are requesting that the two cities jointly construct an off-road trail along Ridgemount to provide safer access to these two schools. The trail plan calls for a striped trail on the road, which is what is currently maintained here. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank stated that work on the new 10th Avenue Park began on Monday, April 6, and that as soon as the road restrictions are lifted, on or about April 13, crews will move into Shiloh and Gleanloch neighborhood parks to begin work there. Work will also begin again on Parkers Lake and Bass Lake Playfields. The Council would like PRAC to recommend which trails should be plowed next winter when they begin their budget work for 1993. The Council is often receiving calls from residents asking that the new trail along Schmidt Lake Road be part of the snow removal plan. PRAC Minutes/April 9, 1992 Page 14 Councilmember Tierney remarked that the athletic associations are in need of some place to store their equipment. She commented that there are three small garden -type storage sheds on Oakwood School property, but this is not sufficient or very secure. She wondered what other cities do in terms of storage of athletic association equipment. Director Blank responded that staff had conducted a survey of other cities, and the results will be shared with the Council and PRAC. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:41 p.m. Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting May 14, 1992 Page 15 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Burk, Gutzke, Johnson, Waage, Wahl and Watson; Councilman Edson; staff Bisek, Blank, Busch and Pederson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the May meeting to order at 7:25 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Waage and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to approve the minutes of the April meeting as presented with a correction on pg. 12, para. 6, that Councilmember Tierney supported the Forster property acquisiton, and wanted assurance that FRAC was involved in that process. The motion carried with all ayes. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present at this meeting. b. Staff. Rick Busch introduced himself and briefly described some of his responsibilities, including being the staff liaison to all the athletic associations, attending their board meetings, scheduling all athletic complexes for the associations' activities, as well as the programs sponsored by Plymouth Park and Recreation. Rick stated that the February Employee of the Month was Amy Lou Asche, one of the temporary employees he supervises. Amy's positions have included basketball scorekeeper, youth t-ball/softball/baseball instructor, and warming house attendant. Rick explained that over 200 adult teams are playing softball, Monday through Friday evenings, using Zachary and Plymouth Creek softball fields. The Zachary complex is also heavily used on weekends by groups holding tournaments. Rick indicated that almost all fields in Plymouth are in use every weekday evening by either organized youth sports or Plymouth Park and Recreation sponsored programs. Both new playfields, Bass Lake and Parkers Lake, will also be in constant use once they open. Responding to a question from Commissioner Waage, Rick indicated that groups wanting to get together for an informal game of softball may find an open field on a Sunday morning or afternoon. Commissioner Gutzke asked Rick if there are enough softball/baseball fields in Plymouth to accommodate all the groups wanting to use them. Rick feels that even with Parkers Lake and Bass Lake, there will still be a shortage. He explained that at the present time, we offer a daytime youth t -ball and instructional softball/baseball program, because we