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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-14-1992Minutes 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 May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 16 haven't wanted to take any fields in the evening away from the adult sports or the youth athletic associations. But this year, we have received numerous requests from working parents who are looking for evening T -ball. We do offer evening T -ball on Sundays, but many people are not able to participate on Sunday evenings and want something during the week. We may consider offering this program in the evening next year. Director Blank stated that he feels we have adequate fields to meet current needs, but we may have a shortage in the future for the 5-9 year old age group. Mary Bisek presented the May Employee of the Month certificate to Anna Shmidov, the founder of the Music for Everyone program, which offers private music lessons in piano, clarinet, saxaphone, guitar, and voice. The program is offered in several surrounding communities, and Anna is the coordinator. She is responsible for hiring the instructors, securing facilities, and billing the different communities. Each community oversees its own registration and coordinates this with Anna. The Music for Everyone program has been very successful. Mary indicated that the first day of registration for summer programs was beyond everyone's wildest expectations. We took in about $25,000 and over 1,000 individual registrations. Mary made several announcements about upcoming spring and summer programs including that the Spring Dance Recital is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, at Wayzata East Junior High. She also mentioned the new volunteer program Helping in Plymouth Parks (HIPP), for 13-15 year olds. The program was designed to help teens develop leadership skills, and to organize and lead children's activities. Those participating will also assist in the summer playground program and day camp. The individuals that enroll in this program would be given first priority when hiring part-time summer help in future years. There was a brief discussion regarding the storage of athletic association equipment on city property. Currently, the Plymouth -Wayzata Baseball Association stores equipment in three small sheds, which are located on Oakwood School property. None of the other associations have approached the City about providing storage for them on City property. A phone survey was conducted by staff to determine if other cities provide storage for their athletic associations. Of the communities contacted, about half provide some type of storage. C. Others. Sharon Maslow, 13210 35th Avenue, and Eileen Hedberg, 13420 36th Avenue, were present to discuss the May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 17 possibility of their homeowners association purchasing some land and deeding it over to the City for park purposes. The parcel they are interested in is currently owned by the developer who is proposing getting it rezoned to high density. This item is on the Planning Commission's next agenda. Mrs. Maslow indicated that she believes the developer is open to negotiating. He's asking $625,000 for the land, which is 16.11 acres in size. Their neighborhood is against the Planning Commission granting the Conditional Use Permit which would rezone the land to high density. The land is bordered on the north by County Road 9, and on the east by Xenium Lane. The closest neighborhood park is Heritage Park, located southeast of them at 30th Avenue and Northwest Boulevard. Director Blank indicated that the Comprehensive Park Plan does not call for additional park in this area. He explained that Heritage Park is meant to serve this neighborhood. He also explained that this neighborhood is not large enough, by Comprehensive Park Plan standards, to qualify for an additional neighborhood park. Councilman Edson 'suggested that the homeowners association ask the City Manager to bring this item to the Special Assessment Committee for their review and discussion. Ron Anderson, 14915 46th Avenue, attended the meeting to request tennis courts in Turtle Lake Park and the installation of trail from St. Barnabas Church down to this same park. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Approved demolition of Parkers Lake Park silos. The City Council was presented with two options for the silos at Parkers Lake Playfield. The options were to improve them or demolish them. The Council chose to have them demolished. The demolition took place the week of May 4. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Volunteer program - continue discussion. Commissioner Waage reported on her meeting with the Mayor regarding the use of volunteers. She indicated that the Mayor would like PRAC to actively seek volunteers for use by the City. The Mayor is aware of the fact that the Park and Recreation Department extensively uses volunteers in many of its programs. He believes that volunteers could help to create a sense of community in Plymouth. Commissioner Waage has experience in coordinating volunteers for the Osseo School District and explained that it's a very time consuming task. She recommended that if the City decides to actively pursue volunteerism, May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 18 they may want to hire a volunteer coordinator. PRAC suggested that staff look into the cost to hire a coordinator on either a part-time or full-time basis. PRAC also requested that they be provided with a list of the volunteers used by the City in the past year. b. Park development projects update. Construction is progressing on schedule at all park sites. The three neighborhood parks, Shiloh, Gleanloch, and 10th Avenue, should be completed by June 1. Some facilities will be ready for use by mid-July at the Bass Lake and Parkers Lake Playfields. The athletic fields at these two sites probably will not be ready until the spring of 193. The sixth and final trail segment, which winds through Plymouth Creek Park, will be paved the week of May 18. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. 1993-97 CIP - review draft. Director Blank explained that the process for selecting items for the 1993-97 Parks CIP includes reviewing the list of proposed capital projects, visiting the sites, and allocating funds. He indicated that the park dedication fund is up compared to this same time last year. He stated that at total build out, it is proposed that the City will have 10 athletic playfields, including the new Bass Lake and Parkers Lake sites. Under the category "land acquisition," Director Blank pointed out some possible locations for future playfields. The site labeled #10 is in the southwest corner of County Road 47 and Fernbrook Lane, immediately west of Mud lake. It would have to be moved slightly to the west, because as it is shown on the map now, Fernbrook Lane, when it is extended to the north, runs right through the middle of it. Site #9 is south of County Road 9 and east of Dunkirk Lane and is currently owned by U.S. Homes. The City negotiated with them a year ago to purchase this site, but at the time, a price could not be agreed on. The City had the property appraised at $875,000, and the developer's appraisal was 1,600,000. Although the site is costly, its advantages include good road access, guiding for public use, and proper grading for a playfield. This site has also been considered by the Wayzata School District as a future location for a junior or senior high school. Eric explained that one of the advantages to cooperatively developing a playfield site with a school site is shared costs. Commissioners asked about the possibility of purchasing less expensive land outside the MUSA boundaries. Director Blank indicated that this is a good consideration, quite often property outside the MUSA is owned by more than one person and must be condemned in order for the City to purchase it. Also, the owners tend to hang onto their land until they are approached by a developer who will likely offer them more for the May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 19 property than the City would. The last piece of property under "land acquisition" is the wooded site between Fernbrook and I-494. As requested by PRAC at the last meeting, Eric provided some information on the history of this piece of property. The site is approximately 19.43 acres in size and has an estimated value of $110,000 according to our City assessor. Hewitt -Peterson is asking $208,000 for the property at this time. The annual taxes paid on the property are $5,500. The current owners acquired the property through foreclosure proceedings in 1990. Under the category "existing undeveloped land," Eric listed neighborhood parks at Mud Lake, 22nd Avenue, County Roads 101 & 24, the northeast site, and the Fernbrook site. These sites are all currently owned by the City for future neighborhood parks. Redevelopment of existing parks includes West Medicine Lake City Park and Hemlock Neighborhood Park. Director Blank indicated that it might be possible to get a federal grant to develop West Medicine Lake City Park. A new site plan could be designed and could include plans for a garden or arboretum. Individual projects include tennis courts at Plymouth Creek Park, a handicapped accessible playground at Plymouth Creek Park, and playgrounds at West Medicine Lake City Park, Schmidt Lake Neighborhood Park, Mission Hills Neighborhood Park and Timber Shores Neighborhood Park. Other new development projects include fishing piers at East and West Medicine Lake City Parks, a warming house at Ridgemount and the Zachary Playfield parking lot expansion. General discussion about the playground at Plymouth Creek followed, when Commissioner Waage stated her concern about how isolated it was. Director Blank agreed that the changing times suggest relocating this playground to a place more visible to the public, although its current site is quite beautiful surrounded by the natural woods and woodchip trail. Also, because this site is within the larger Plymouth Creek City Park, it has been suggested that this playground, when redeveloped, be made accessible to the handicapped, in accordance with the new American Disabilities Act, recently enacted by legislation. Commissioner Johnson asked about the possibility of developing parks in joint cooperation with some Plymouth businesses or corporations. He cited some examples of other cities in the metropolitan area where this has been done. Director Blank indicated that it might be worthwhile to visit some of those sites and to consider this possibility in the future. May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 20 Citizen requests for capital improvement projects included an off-road trail along Ridgemount Avenue from Zachary Lane east to Sunset Hill Elementary School. This project has the support of many residents living along Ridgemount as well as the principals of the Wayzata East Junior High and the Sunset Elementary Schools. Director Blank pointed out that the sidewalk -trail plan done by Strgar-Roscoe-Fausch did not recommend changing this trail from Class II to Class I. There was some discussion about having the consultant do a feasibility study on the cost of changing it to a Class I trail. Although the trail is used by both Plymouth and Minnetonka residents, Director Blank indicated that there is actually more available room on the south side of Ridgemount Avenue, which is the Minnetonka side. To change the trail to Class I on the Plymouth side would require building a retaining wall in some areas, which is a very costly project. Other trail requests have been received from residents for a trail from St. Barnabas Church down to Turtle Lake Park, a trail near Vision of Glory Lutheran Church, completion of a trail through the Fox Forest Townhome development to West Medicine Lake Drive along the railroad tracks, a trail on the south side of County Road 9 going east to Zachary Lane, and a trail from the intersection of Old Rockford Road & Revere Lane to County Road 9 & Lancaster Lane. Other trail connections for consideration with the CIP were indicated on a map provided to PRAC members. Another citizen requested project is landscaping north of the Ryerson Steel facility along South Shore Drive. The residents living there originally requested this landscaping during the 1990-91 fiscal year, but funding was denied at that time. They have resubmitted their petition for consideration with the 1993-97 CIP. The City has also received numerous requests from residents for tennis courts in Shiloh, Green Oaks, Turtle Lake and Heritage Neighborhood Parks. Special facilities to consider with the 1993-97 CIP include an outdoor and/or indoor pool, golf course, ice rink, senior center, field house and nature center. b. Pick date for park tour. It was agreed that the park tour would be on Wednesday, June 10, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Box suppers will be served on the bus. C. Review sidewalk/trail draft plan. Copies of the sidewalk/trail draft plan had been distributed to PRAC members with their agendas for their review. This item will continue to be discussed at future PRAC meetings. May 1992 PRAC Minutes Page 21 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION None. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank informed the Commission that the City Council has been asked to request that Hennepin Parks install a regional trail from 36th Avenue down East Medicine Lake Boulevard to Theodore Wirth Regional Park. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.