HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 12-02-2002Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting
December 12, 2002
Page 45
Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Fiemann, Krahulec, Meyer, Musliner,
Rezabek, staff Blank, Busch, Evans, and Pederson, Councilmember
Hewitt
Absent: Commissioner Singer
1. Call to Order
Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council
Chambers.
2. Approval of Minutes
Meyer moved and Rezabek seconded a motion to approve the minutes of
the November meeting. The motion carried with all ayes.
3. Visitor Presentations
a. Athletic Associations. None were present.
b. Staff. Evans updated the commissioners on Old Fashioned Christmas. It
was held Sunday, December 2nd. She estimated that 300 people
attended. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. Hayrides were a popular part
of the afternoon. Culvers from Plymouth donated cookies for the event.
The final special event of 2002 is New Year's Eve Around the World at the
Ice Center and LifeTime. This event is geared for families. Activities will take
place in the pool, gym, and at the Ice Center. Volunteers are needed to
help. The Leisure Times came out for winter/spring 2003. It has a new look.
Evans complimented Pederson for her efforts on the Leisure Times. The
new website has been launched. Park and Recreation has an extensive
area on the website, Evans said. Several of our facilities are highlighted.
There are links to our on-line registration. Other things we are working on
include the annual report, rental policies and procedures for our facilities,
including the Hilde Performance Center. Events coming up in 2003
include: Fire and Ice, the Yard and Garden Expo, Primavera Fine Arts
Show, History Fest, etc. Evans announced that Karol Greupner received
the Dorothea Nelson award from MRPA. Our department has been very
busy working on the party for Mayor Tierney next Tuesday, December 17th,
at the Plymouth Creek Center, beginning at 4:30 pm. We will be giving her
a print signed by the artist, Nancy Patrick Carney, who is from Plymouth.
The painting is a collage of Plymouth scenery. Seventeen additional
copies of the print were purchased that will be made available to sell at
125 each. A total of 300 prints can be available to sell at a later date, the
PRAC Minutes/November 2002
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proceeds of which will go to the Millennium Garden. Copies of the
painting will be on display at the Plymouth Creek Center, City Hall, the Ice
Center, and it will be featured on the City's website.
c. Others. No report.
4. Report on Past Council Action
There was no past Council action regarding Park and Recreation items.
5. Unfinished Business
a. 2003-2007 CIP - approve plan. The CIP includes a change to the 2003 year
figures, Blank explained. The cost of the maintenance garage at the
Plymouth Creek Center was increased from $40,000 to $45,000. The CIP is
showing a number of $5.5 million for the third sheet of ice and parking
upgrades at the Ice Center. Blank said that this would take multiple
partnerships to make it a reality. Those mutual partners may be the school
districts, Providence Academy, and the Wayzata Hockey Association.
Money from Plymouth may come from a revenue bond at $1.1 million,
and then the City would contribute another $1 to $1.5 million. The
playground at the amphitheater area was removed as requested by
PRAC. It may be added again in a later year, after staff has had time to
evaluate if it's needed or not. Zachary ball field repair will take place
within five years, maybe in 2005, Blank stated. LifeTime Fitness is still working
on putting in a spray pool, Blank explained to Councilmember Hewitt.
There is no definite timetable for this. Musliner asked about the money
earmarked for the 10th playfield. Blank said that the property owner might
want the money over a five-year period. Most of the money is in the
community improvement fund. We will structure whatever deal we get
with them to meet their needs as well as our needs. Rezabek wanted to
know what happens to the balance of the money if the hockey rink costs
only $4.8 million? Blank said it would depend on how the deal is
structured. Blank assured Rezabek the architect would not be off by much
with his estimate. ANDERSON MOVED AND FIEMANN SECONDED A
MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2003-2007 CIP. MOTION CARRED WITH ALL AYES.
6. New Business
a. Millennium Garden rental policies and fees. Rick Busch, manager of the
Plymouth Creek Center, gave a presentation on the proposed fees and
policies for using the Millennium Garden. Rick said a number of garden
facilities were surveyed, but there are not a lot of them in the metro area.
Noerenberg was contacted, as well as Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park,
along with several privately owned gardens. He explained that the price
proposed for residents will be $250 and non-residents will be $350. If renters
use the Plymouth Creek Center also, the price for the garden would be
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reduced by $100. He explained the resident requirements, priority for
renting, how long reservations will be held before payment is due, how
wedding rehearsals will work, the cancellation policy, food and beverage
regulations, liquor restrictions, dressing rooms/bathrooms, decorating
policies, how canopies, chairs and tents should be handled and where
they can be located, how photography charges will be determined, and
parking plans. Rick said he has a long list of people interested in using the
garden this summer. He is hoping for approval soon. Krahulec asked
about the rental time. Busch said it's basically a day -long rental period.
Meyer thinks that the number of hours the rental covers should be spelled
out somewhere in the document. Staff discussed a few different options
for how long the rental period would be, Busch said, but it was decided
that it should cover an entire day. Busch said he would try to make that
more clear in the final document. Blank said we decided to allow just one
event per day, as part of the learning process. There may be occasions
where more than one event could take place. Busch said that when staff
met to discuss the policies, an all -liquor policy was considered, but then it
was changed to allow just wine and champagne. Rezabek asked what
happens if they are renting inside and have beer there. Blank said he
thought in that case, it would be okay to bring the beer down to the
garden area, if they are also renting that facility. Meyer suggested
labeling that area of the document "alcoholic beverages," instead of
liquor. A police officer is required to be present whenever any liquor is
served, Busch stated. A lengthy discussion ensued over who is considered
a resident when it comes to charging resident fees. Busch said anyone
living in Plymouth at the time of the rental is considered a resident, along
with businesses and churches physically located in Plymouth. Busch also
said that residents of Plymouth could reserve the garden at resident rates
if they are hosting events for their children, grandchildren, parents, or
grandparents. Events for extended family members, such as cousins,
aunts, or uncles, etc., would incur non-resident fees if they live outside
Plymouth, even if the host is a resident. This was a concern for
Councilmember Hewitt and some commissioners, because it sounded like
a Plymouth resident hosting a family reunion could be charged non-
resident fees. It was decided that the resident requirements portion of the
document needed more consideration before finalizing. Krahulec thinks
the fee for a Plymouth business is not really addressed in the policy. Busch
said he would explain that more clearly in the final document. Fiemann
asked about a wedding being held inside that wants to take pictures
outside. Busch said they could use the garden for free in that case.
Musliner asked if people are charged to take pictures at Noerenberg or
Parkers Lake. Busch said Noerenberg charges, but there is no charge at
Parkers Lake. For the Millennium Garden, photo shoots would be charged
by the hour. Krahulec asked if the residency policy is hard to enforce.
PRAC Minutes/November 2002
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Busch said it can be difficult at times. Krahulec said the document looks
very nice, but there is a typo in the photography paragraph. The word my
should be may. Blank asked if PRAC is comfortable with wine and
champagne being served in the garden. They indicated they were fine
with it, but Musliner thinks beer should be included, especially for
corporate groups that want to hold an event, because they may want to
serve beer. Blank stated that a trail runs alongside the garden, so it would
be impossible to keep the public from passing by the garden. There will be
signs alerting people as they approach the garden that a private party is
in session and asking people to respect that. The renting party would be
told that the serving of the champagne and wine must be confined to a
certain area. Meyer thinks the charges are reasonable and fair. Musliner
was surprised that Suzanne's Cuisine is not required to be the caterer for
outside events. If they had to move inside due to weather, how would
Suzanne's feel about that? Busch said he did not discuss this with
Suzanne's. Blank said any outside caterer would be providing all utensils,
dishes, etc., so if they moved inside, they would bring all that with them.
Fiemann asked about tents that don't require stakes. Blank said they are
weighted. When asked if we would give out names of equipment rental
companies, Busch said that we don't want to get into the business of
endorsements. A question was raised about the criteria that would be
used to approve caterers. We just need to verify that they are licensed,
Blank explained. Rezabek asked if we would be sending this flyer to
groups planning to have weddings inside the Plymouth Creek Center.
Busch said that we haven't needed a lot of advertising for this area, but
we would make it available at wedding fairs, etc.
7. Commission Presentation
There was no Commission presentation.
8. Staff Communication
Blank explained that Don Anderson received the MRPA Parks and Recreation
Board and Commission Award. There will be a luncheon on January 16th to
honor him, as well as Karol and other individuals that received awards at the
MRPA Conference in November. Blank has been planning to nominate Don
for this award for the past year. Blank thinks he has a wonderful rapport with
the audience and a great relationship with the City Council. He invited the
Commission to attend the luncheon. Both Karol and Don will be invited to
attend a future Council meeting where they each will be presented with a
plaque.
The next meeting will be on January 9th.
PRAC Minutes/November 2002
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Councilmember Hewitt said that she would not be our liaison next year, but
that Kelly Slavik would be.
9. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.