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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 10-09-2003MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING October 9, 2003 Page 40 PRESENT: Anderson, Aamoth, Fiemann, Krahulec, Meyer, Rezabek, Ritchie, Rodriguez, Singer, Planning Commissioner Weir, staff Abel, Blank, Evans, and Pederson CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Center Ice Meeting Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Singer pointed out an error on page 33 of the September minutes regarding the size of the lawn area in the Reserve park. It should have read 1/2 acre, but it had been left blank. KRAHULEC MOVED AND SINGER SECONDED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WITH THAT CORRECTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. No athletic association representatives were present at the meeting. b. Staff. Evans talked about the success of Plymouth on Parade last weekend. There were a total of 85 parade vehicles. Approximately 3,000 people attended the day's event. Following the parade, there were activities at the Ice Center, LifeTime Fitness and at the amphitheater. Next year the parade will be September 18 and combined with the Autumn Arts Fair. Evans also mentioned the pancake breakfast held that morning which is a fundraiser for the Plymouth Senior Program. Five hundred people attended, which is an increase of 100 over last year. Evans said staff is gearing up for next week's programs scheduled during MEA. We are hosting our third Bridging the Gap event, a Gym, Swim & Movie event, and the Little Costume Ball. On the 26th of October the Rockers perform, their first concert of the season. The winter catalog will be out in early December. It will look a little different this time, because we are going to a four-color cover. Evans also pointed out that new on our website is a virtual tour of the Plymouth Creek Center and Millennium Garden. She stated we would do a virtual tour of the Ice Center in the future and of the Fieldhouse. Evans recently visited the dog park and reported that it is very popular. She reminded commissioners that on October 28, the tobacco policy goes before the City Council. PRAC Minutes/October 2003 Page 41 c. Others. See item 6a. 4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION a. Approved ice center architect contract. A contract was approved with Ankeny Kell for a 6.9% fee on the estimated construction budget of 3,825,000. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Update on Ice Center. See item 6.b. b. Update on Plymouth Creek Center. The finishing of the lower level is on the Council agenda for next Tuesday night. The project is estimated to cost $1,050,000 with four add alternates. We will use all park dedication funds for this project. Blank would like to begin construction in late January. Singer reminded commissioners that next Tuesday is also the farewell reception for the city manager. Nineteen of the 20 Plymouth Potpourri pictures have been sold. The proceeds help fund the Millennium Garden. c. Update on Reserve neighborhood park. The City Council approved the concept plan. A playground structure was chosen and that is out for bid now. Blank said he'd like to get the basic grading done this fall, and if the weather holds, the playground could also be substantially completed by November. We hope to have the entire park completed by July of 2004. Krahulec asked about plans for traffic control on Schmidt Lake Road coming out of the Reserve Park. Blank said he would check with the engineering department on this. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Review Vietnam Scout Dog Memorial. Blank explained that Don and Sue Johnson came to see him regarding a memorial bench in West Medicine Lake Park that honors Johnson's brother, Dick. They now want to add to that memorial, which they would pay for completely. Blank explained that we have no war memorials in any of our parks at this time. We have a plaque at the base of the flagpole at Parkers Lake honoring all individuals who sacrificed their lives for the sake of peace. The Johnson's distributed some color photos of the bench and a color photograph of Dick Johnson with his Scout dog, Buck. They explained that Don's brother served in Vietnam in the 60's. He became a scout dog handler, and the dog's job was to sniff out the enemy. Mr. Johnson said these scout dogs saved the lives of over 10,000 US soldiers. Mrs. Johnson said we did a very bad job of welcoming home our soldiers when the Vietnam War was over, and she feels this would be a nice way PRAC Minutes/October 2003 Page 42 to honor the scout dogs and their handlers. After the war, scout dogs had to be left behind, because there was fear of the spread of disease contracted from Vietnamese dogs. Many of the German Shepherds were destroyed at the end of the war. There are no memorials to these dogs or their handlers. Mrs. Johnson said the bench is very popular. People stop and put flowers on it during the winter holidays and on Valentine's Day. The memorial would consist of a woodcarving next to the bench and could include the inscription "this sculpture honors the Vietnam Scout Dog and his US soldier handler whose efforts saved over 10,000 US soldiers' lives." Meyer asked about the size of the woodcarving. Johnson said it would be life size, but the man would be kneeling down next to the dog. Meyer questioned if it would be permanent and seated in a concrete base. Blank said yes. Fiemann asked how the woodcarvings weather. Blank said the ones in the amphitheater are seven or eight years old and are still in good condition. Rezabek asked about the sensitivity of the memorial and who might object. Blank said it's hard to know how people will react. Blank reminded commissioners that this area is where a major pavilion may eventually be built. The bench that is there now may have to be moved when that occurs. Ritchie asked if there have ever been any other requests for memorials. Blank said there was a request two years ago for an angel sculpture to be placed in the Millennium Garden honoring children who have died. Anderson asked if the Johnson's had approached anyone else about this memorial. They said no. Fiemann said if we approve this it could set a precedent for other requests of this nature. Anderson agreed with Fiemann. Krahulec asked how the bench came to be. Blank said people can donate money to put in benches, plaques, trees, etc. Rezabek said Noerenberg Gardens puts in benches and trees as memorials. Fiemann believes it is a very nice idea. Meyer asked about the park near Lund's on Wayzata Blvd. She believes that entire park is a war memorial. The Johnson's said they want it to be in West Medicine Lake Park, along side the bench. Rezabek suggested that instead of a life size wood carving, maybe a plaque with the appropriate wording and a carving of the dog on it would be more suitable. Anderson said this request needs more thought before a final decision could be made. Blank said we could do some more research by checking with NRPA to see how other cities handle these requests. If the memorial is approved, the Johnson's want it in place by next Memorial Day, if possible. b. Review Ice Center operations - Bill Abel. Abel distributed some statistics on the ice center. He stated our ice center is one of the top six busiest in the state, with only two sheets. He explained how we host both the high school boys and girls hockey teams and the youth hockey teams from PRAC Minutes/October 2003 Page 43 Wayzata and Armstrong. Both high schools have their own locker rooms, coaches' rooms and equipment storage rooms at the Ice Center. The Olympic ice sheet seats 1,000 people and has standing room for an additional 400. The parking lot can accommodate 730 cars. In 2002, 3,414 hours were used on the Olympic sheet. Between the Olympic and Professional ice sheets, an average of 18.5 hours is used every day. About 9,000 people have attended public skating sessions this year through Sept. 30. The concession stand has generated over $50,000 in revenue through the end of September. Vending machines have generated $20,000. Our Learn to Skate school has 600 children participating and receives revenue of $90,000. It costs about $530 per day in gas and electricity. From mid June to mid August, Abel said he has to turn people away, because the facility is so busy. Blank explained that it is Abel's job to operate the ice center as a business. No tax dollars are used to operate this facility on a day-to-day basis. In order to meet our future obligations we need to set aside $95,000 per year to run this facility. This building has never been shut down in six years for anything other than to close a rink for resurfacing. This facility will be a million dollar annual operation once the third sheet is up and running. The number one things we do here is make and sell ice. This is one of the cleanest facilities in the country, Blank said. Krahulec asked what our share is of commissions. Abel said 50% comes from games, 35% from candy and food, and 30% from pop. Coke comes in three times a week to fill the pop machines. When we don't have enough spectators in the building to open the concession stand, Abel said people use the vending machines. Blank said commissioners can take a tour of the building following the meeting. Blank then talked about the figure skating program and how its structure has changed over the years. The position of Skating School Director was recently terminated and has been replaced by two coordinators supervising the 15 instructors. Blank said that our commitment to the female skaters continues to be strong and that we are very proud of the accomplishments of the Figure Skating program. In their third year at the Ice Center they won the 2000 ISI World Championship. Blank then spent some time going over the plans for the addition of a third sheet of ice. Rezabek asked how we figure out how much parking will be needed. Blank explained that one parking stall is allowed per every four seats, according to the city ordinance. We will meet that code when the third sheet is added and the parking lot is expanded. Blank said we have negotiated a contract with Providence Academy. They have to buy 225 hours from October 1 to the end of March for 15 years. They can buy more, but not less. They will give us $500,000 cash up front plus another $500,000 five months later. We are negotiating with Wayzata Hockey as well. We need to go back to the City Council with a concept plan that all parties agree to, a PRAC Minutes/October 2003 Page 44 budget, a cost estimate, and signed contracts with all parties. The architects would then begin preparing detailed construction documents, followed by an award of bid in Late January or early February. Site work could begin sometime in April. We would try to have the project substantially completed by mid to late November. Fiemann said that he volunteers time with the Wayzata Hockey Association. He explained that they started a Mites program for girls and that the program has grown considerably in just two years time. c. Review outdoor rink locations for the 2003-2004 winter season. Blank explained how pleasure skating rinks were everywhere when he started back in 1980, every pond and every small park seemed to have one. We have maintained 30 sheets of ice over the last 10 years. Our parks crews also help clear streets, trails, parking lots, etc., before they get to maintain outdoor ice. These smaller rinks have seen fewer and fewer hours of maintenance. Sometimes crews could only get to a rink three or four times during the entire winter season. A decision needs to be made about possibly closing some of these smaller rinks that are not used as much as the larger rinks that have warming houses. Our volunteer coordinator secured two individuals last winter to document attendance at two of these smaller neighborhood rinks, Green Oaks and Pilgrim Lane. Attendance was taken twice a day for three weeks. At Green Oaks, only three people were observed skating during that three- week period. Pilgrim Lane's attendance was better, but still disappointing. All of these smaller rinks are in close proximity to larger rinks with warming houses. Any maintenance hours saved by closing smaller rinks may be added to the larger rinks. Blank is recommending the closure of some of the less popular rinks, specifically Circle, Kilmer, Pilgrim Lane, Sunset Hill & Green Oaks. Rezabek agreed. REZABEK MOVED TO CLOSE THE FIVE RINKS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF ON THE LIST OF NINE PLEASURE SKATING RINKS. MEYER SECONDED. FIEMANN AMENDED TO REQUEST A FOLLOW UP EVALUATION ON THOSE REMAINING FOUR RINKS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE MAINTAINED. MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Krahulec asked if the memorial request would be discussed again at another meeting. Blank said staff can pose a question at the NRPA website on how memorial requests are handled by other cities and bring the findings to the November meeting. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION None. PRAC Minutes/October 2003 Page 45 ADJOURN Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.