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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 11-12-1992Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting November 12, 1992 Page 45 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Johnson, Wahl, Waage, Gutzke; staff Bisek, Blank, Busch and Pederson; Councilman Edson Absent: Commissioners Watson and Burk 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 Gutzke and seconded by Commissioner Wahl to approve the minutes of the September meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Mary stated that staff is busy working on programs for January, February and March, which will be in the January issue of Plymouth News. If commissioners have any ideas for programs, Mary will need that information by November 23. Several programs are currently being conducted at the new Bass Lake playfield shelter building. Participants seem to be pleased that we are offering activities at this location. Special events to look forward to include Old Fashioned Christmas on Sunday, December 6, cosponsored by the Plymouth Historical Society, and the Fire and Ice Festival on Saturday, February 6, cosponsored by the Plymouth Civic League. As in past years, Mary asked the Commissioners for their assistance with the bonfire and s'mores during Fire and Ice. She stated that the theme being considered for the 1993 Fire and Ice Festival is country -western. Fire and Ice bandanas may be sold as a fundraiser. A country western deejay may be asked to MC, and line dancing on the ice during the time before the fireworks starts is being considered. A couple of new programs being researched for the summer of 1993 include a safety camp offered for 3rd and 4th graders and an art fair at Parkers Lake in September. The safety camp would be instructed by members of our police department and would cover things such as animal/pet safety, bicycle safety, etc. The art fair would feature local artists and would offer children an opportunity for hands-on art activities during the fair. PRAC Minutes/November 1992 Page 46 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. The Comprehensive Trail Plan amendment was approved by Council and forwarded to the Metro Council. New maps of the plan will be printed and available for public distribution once Metro Council approval is granted. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Volunteer coordinator report from subcommittee. A report prepared by the subcommittee was reviewed by PRAC and will be forwarded to the City Council. The report lists other municipalities/agencies that have volunteer coordinators, the possible pro's and con's, the savings that are possible, and the costsassociated with hiring a volunteer coordinator. Director Blank stated that at a recent Council meeting, he learned that $15,000 has been proposed in the 193 budget for such a position. Councilman Edson stated it was his general opinion that the Council is favorable toward the hiring of a volunteer coordinator. He further indicated it is the Council's desire that the Park Commission be the body to redefine the job description, although this individual may not necessarily report to the Park and Recreation Department. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WAAGE AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WAHL RECOMMENDING THAT THE COUNCIL REVIEW THE INFORMATION PREPARED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE PERTAINING TO THE HIRING OF A VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR. The motion carried with all ayes. b. Park development projects update. The three neighborhood parks have been satisfactorily completed and were officially "opened" with the grand opening celebration conducted at South Shore Park on October 3. The two new community playfields are being readied for winter by having their irrigation systems blown out. These two projects are basically complete, although a punch list is still being reviewed. The recreation staff is starting to work on grand opening plans for next spring. The trail along West Medicine Lake Drive being done by city crews is mostly complete. A feasibility study is being done by Strgar-Roscoe-Fausch for the trail along Ridgemount Avenue. If the City decides to proceed with building a trail on Ridgemount, there is a possibility that Minnetonka will get involved in the project. C. Focus groups and surveys report from subcommittee. Commissioner Johnson, chair of the subcommittee on focus groups and surveys, whose members also include Commissioners Burk, Anderson, Director Blank and Councilman Edson, stated that the committee had recently met with representatives from two firms that conduct surveys. One of the firms is from the University of PRAC Minutes/November 1992 Page 47 Minnesota, and the other is a private firm based in Edina. Both agencies recommended that a survey shouldn't be conducted by including a questionnaire in water bills or in the city newsletter. They indicated that the responses may not be scientifically quantifiable. If you conduct a survey supervised by a professional agency, you could expect to get back about 400 good responses. Following that process, focus groups, comprised of Plymouth residents, would form to discuss any needs that surfaced as a result of the survey, such as the need for a swimming pool, ice arena, golf course, etc. It was also stated by the two agency representatives that the next couple of months is not a good time to do a survey, because of the holidays. The subcommittee will meet again on Thursday, December 3, at 4 p.m., to begin working on a Request for Proposal to submit to the City Council. If the survey process is approved by the Council, the cost could be paid for with park dedication funds. It is estimated that a survey would cost approximately $10,000. d. Acquisition of Ess property at County Road 9 and Fernbrook Lane. The process to acquire this property began several months ago, stated Director Blank, when Larry Liles made a presentation to PRAC, requesting that they recommend the purchase of 24 acres of land located northeast of County Road 9 and Fernbrook Lane. At that time, the owner wanted $10,000 per acre. Because this is one of the last heavily wooded sites existing in Plymouth, it was the general consensus of PRAC that this land should be considered for acquisition, thus they recommended that the City negotiate with the owner for the purchase of the property. A city secured appraisal of the property set the value of the land at $206,000, and subsequent negotiations resulted in an agreed upon price of $198,000 spread over three years at 8% interest. Director Blank also stated that the nationally recognized Kids for Saving Earth," based in Plymouth, has indicated an interest in adopting this site as a project for their organization. They would be involved in the design, building and maintenance of the park, as well as maybe doing some fund raising for the park. Funding for this acquisition would come from park dedication funds. This project is currently shown in the approved 1992 capital improvements program at an estimated cost of $250,000. Councilman Edson asked if park dedication funds were adequate to buy property all at once, rather than spread it out over three years. Director Blank stated that the terms of the purchase agreement were a condition of the seller. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER WAHL AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GUTZKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZE THE ACQUISITION OF THE ESS PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF FERNBROOK LANE AND COUNTY ROAD 9. The motion carried with all ayes. PRAC Minutes/November 1992 Page 48 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Adult usage of gym space. Rick Busch, Recreation Supervisor, has been tracking our use of gym space in both Districts 281 and 284. Over the past three years, we have lost 33% in adult usage of available gym space to youth basketball and youth soccer programs. It has always been the policy of the Wayzata School District that first priority for gym space goes to district sponsored programs for youth in grades K-12, followed by youth athletic associations, with Plymouth Park and Recreation sponsored programs for adults being considered 4th priority. According to Rick, we have lost most of our space in Wayzata schools. We are now down to one night a week at Wayzata East Junior High for adult volleyball. In Robbinsdale schools, the situation is better, because Robbinsdale Community Education permits us to assign the gym space. There we use Plymouth Middle School on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, and Armstrong High School on Wednesdays. However, Rick is often asked by youth basketball groups if they can have our space at Plymouth Middle School, despite the fact that they have unlimited use of elementary schools in both Plymouth and New Hope. Commissioner Waage asked if staff had looked into using Osseo schools. Both Mary and Rick stated they have talked to Osseo Community Education but have not had much satisfaction. Mary learned that space could be made available on a very limited basis, such as one classroom, but that rent would be charged. Gym space was almost out of the question. Commissioner Waage offered to speak to the director of Osseo Community Education to see if something could be arranged. When asked if private schools had been considered, Mary stated that they charge anywhere from 25 to $35 per hour per use. Another frustration is the fact that youth groups do not have to make efficient use of the space they are given. An example of this, as illustrated by Rick, is that youth basketball may have only 25-30 kids a night using the gym, playing only one game. When we schedule an adult league, we put 70-80 adults in that same gym, playing three or four games in the same amount of time. Director Blank stated that as a possible compromise, we are considering scheduling adult activities to immediately follow youth activities, with the adults then playing until 11 p.m., or perhaps trying to schedule some leagues on Saturdays and Sundays. Some of these scheduling difficulties may be alleviated in the Wayzata School District, because they may build a new junior or senior high school in the near future. However, the Osseo and Robbinsdale schools will not be adding any new facilities. PRAC Minutes/November 1992 Page 49 Commissioner Johnson suggested that some sort of adult lobbying group may need to form. He recommended that this issue be included in the resident survey. Councilman Edson stated that if Wayzata builds a new facility, we should negotiate with them for use of indoor space, in exchange for maintenance of their outdoor fields. Rick stated that demand for our outdoor facilities is also increasing. The New Hope/Plymouth Athletic Association has indicated a desire to use the four softball fields at Zachary Playfield on a Monday through Friday basis, beginning next summer, which would put an end to our adult softball league. Rick has decided to turn over to NHPAA the softball fields at Plymouth Creek instead, because this site is physically located in School District 281. Wayzata youth baseball has used these fields in the past, but they will be shifted over to the new Parkers Lake fields next summer. The opening of the Bass Lake site will also take some of the pressure off the demand for Zachary. Chair Anderson suggested that this issue be placed on the Commission's January agenda, because it warrants further discussion. Rick announced that the September, October and November employees of the month were softball umpires Dave Kresa, Mike Sankey and Ron Mielke. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Chair Anderson congratulated Director Blank on his selection as the recipient of the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association's Distinguished Service Award. This award is the highest honor that the Association bestows on its members for long and outstanding service in the field of park and recreation. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank indicated that Julie Quarve-Peterson has been touring our park facilities to determine what things may need to be done in order to make them handicapped accessible. She is under contract to do this for all City buildings. On a volunteer basis, she has stated her willingness to help with the design of a handicapped accessible playground at Plymouth Creek Park. Commissioner Johnson suggested starting a "volunteer of the month" club, based on the impressive volunteerism apparent in Plymouth. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. The next meeting is December 10.