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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 02-13-2003Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting February 13, 2003 Page 5 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Fiemann, Krahulec, Meyer, Rezabek, Singer, staff Blank, Evans, and Pederson, Councilmember Slavik 1. Call to Order Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Meyer nominated Anderson for Chair and Fiemann for Vice Chair. Seconded by Rezabek. Motion carried with all ayes. Blank welcomed Councilmember Slavik as our new liaison from the City Council. He stated that Frank Weir is our new liaison from the Planning Commission. 2. Approval of Minutes Singer moved and Rezabek seconded a motion to approve the January minutes as presented. 3. Visitor Presentations a. Athletic Associations. None were present. b. Staff. Evans shared with PRAC the award that Anderson received from the MRPA. She then thanked everyone who assisted with Fire & Ice. The event was a great success - approximately 3,500 people attended. Staff is continuing to work on other special events coming up. Evans handed out a calendar of those events. The next event is Primavera, scheduled for April 10-12 and 14-15. Following that we have the Yard and Garden Expo on April 26 and the History Fest on May 8, 9 and 10. We are partnering with the Native Plant Society on the Yard & Garden Expo. Forty vendors will be at the Expo and will have booths in the fieldhouse. At 2 p.m., when the event is over, all of the plants that were brought into the fieldhouse are sold to the general public. The education days of the History Fest will be a two-day program. The general public can come on Saturday. Evans explained that Karol is busy on scheduling events for the Hilde Performance Center and Parkers Lake. We have quite a few concerts scheduled at the Hilde already, several concerts with the community band, the MN Symphonic Winds, some churches are doing events, a jazz night on June 25, and many other musical events, including Music in Plymouth. We are getting plans in order for the opening of the Millennium PRAC Minutes/February 2003 Page 6 Garden set for June 29th. We are doing some afternoon kids concerts, too, at Parkers Lake. We will also contract with the Prior Lake Water Ski Team to do three water ski shows this summer. Last Friday night we held the Little Sweetheart Ball, a Valentine dance for youth 7 and under. Parents attended with their kids. Another similar event is scheduled for April 25 - Little Spring Fling Dance. We are very busy getting summer events planned, getting information to Nancy for the summer brochure. Evans informed PRAC that the fieldhouse is adding some netting to protect walkers from soccer balls, etc. The netting will go around the entire perimeter of the fieldhouse. Singer stated that Woodbury has had a rash of car thefts while people are walking in their dome. Blank said he hasn't had any reports of that type of activity taking place at the dome, but it does happen occasionally at LifeTime. It was suggested that some signage should be placed near the fieldhouse entrance warning people not to leave valuables in their cars. Right now there are no security cameras in the Plymouth Creek Center parking lot. Evans reminded the Commission that the next meeting is March 6th in the Medicine Lake Room. On the 13th is the Board and Commission reception at the Plymouth Creek Center. c. Others. No report. 4. Report on Past Council Action The park facility rental polices and fees were approved by the Council. The capital improvements budget was also reviewed in a study session. They authorized the dog park and the trail on Lancaster, the maintenance garage at Plymouth Creek Park, and the skate park. They did not approve the BMX course at this time. They were concerned about liability with the BMX course. It can be added in the future, because there is plenty of room for it. 5. Unfinished Business a. Approve 2002 annual report and 2003 work plan. Blank stated that the final draft of the annual report needs to be approved. He noted an error on page 4 under the Northwest Greenway item. Mud Lake should have been Lake Camelot and Palmer Lake should have been Pomerleau Lake. Those things will be corrected before the annual report goes to the Council. The work plan was established with PRAC's help at the last meeting. Some items included grand openings scheduled in the coming months, the CIP, scheduling the Hilde, teen programs, the 10th playfield, indoor tennis, the dog park, and the skate park/BMX course. Krahulec asked how many residents received the dog park notice. Blank said it was about a dozen or so. Blank reviewed the remainder of the annual report. He then discussed what property owners get for their money. The average home value in Plymouth in 2002 was $258,000, and they paid city taxes of PRAC Minutes/February 2003 Page 7 665. Of that, $153 went to Park and Recreation. Some of the services and benefits residents receive include: - 1,000 acres of park and open space, 9 playfields, 31 ice rinks, 35 ball fields that are lined and dragged daily in the summer, 26 parks, 90 miles of off-road trail, the Plymouth Creek Center offered 237 programs for seniors, free walking at the fieldhouse, meeting rooms at the Ice Center are given out free to the community, daily admission for Plymouth residents and reduced fees for Plymouth seniors at LifeTime, the Hilde Performance Center, gardens at various parks, picnic shelters, beaches, eight warming houses staffed in the winter, several special events, the forestry program plants $50,000 worth of trees yearly, and they offer major educational events at schools, 1,362 classes offered by recreation, every resident receives a brochure three times a year, the availability of on-line and touch tone registration, 34 children's playgrounds, we manage the pools at both east and west, mowing and trimming, pick up 70 tons of trash, we provide over 300 jobs to youth in the community, volunteer program for teens teaching them how to lead, etc., archery range, and two disk golf courses. Blank continued to review the remainder of the annual report. He stated he is going to revise the report from the Plymouth Creek Center next year to make it easier to understand. There's a significant amount of people visiting that site. Blank stated that we have the best volunteer program in the state. He noted all the games at the Ice Center, and the work accomplished by the environmental division. This report will go to the City Council at their next meeting. FIEMANN MOVED AND REZABEK SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ANNUAL REPORT AND FORWARD IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL WITH NOTED CORRECTIONS. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 6. New Business a. Consider name for Environmental Park. Blank stated that four names had been suggested by staff. Singer asked about the name Tamarack. Blank stated that we do not have tamarack trees in this park, and it would be difficult to get them to grow there. Meyer liked Nature Canyon. She said it gives the park a little more focus. Valley View is a park in Bloomington. REZABEK MOVED TO CALL IT NATURE CANYON. MEYER SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. Blank asked PRAC if they would ever entertain names like Challenger or Columbia for future naming of parks or facilities, etc. Rezabek said we need to be very careful about doing that. He thinks some people might take it the wrong way. Fiemann suggested that if you do that, put up some type of monument explaining the reason. We currently have no parks named after people. That has been the philosophy since day one of the City Council. The Hilde Center is an PRAC Minutes/February 2003 Page 8 exception, because it is a facility, not a park, and because of the contribution made by the Hilde family, Blank explained. He stated there is a plaque next to the Parkers Lake playground that honors a man who died in a plane crash. His family donated $10,000 toward that playground. 7. Commission Presentation None. 8. Staff Communication The City Council appointed Erik Aamoth as our new commissioner. Blank will be meeting with him next week. Blank said the Mayor was contacted by Wayzata Youth Hockey, and she asked the Council what they wanted to do regarding the request for a third sheet of ice. They set aside a study session for February 25 to discuss the issue. Providence Academy and Wayzata Hockey will attend that study session. 9. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.