HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 01-12-2006MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
January 12, 2006
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PRESENT: Commissioners Aamoth, Fiemann, Griwac, Krahulec, Rezabek, Pederson,
Singer; staff Blank, Evans, and Pederson
ABSENT: Davis, Mohagen
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Fiemann called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Rezabek moved and Pederson seconded a motion to approve the December 2005
minutes. All ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present at the meeting.
b. Staff. Evans gave an update on the Fire & Ice Festival. Park maintenance was
out on the ice last week and reported that we have four inches of good ice and
two inches of frozen crusty ice. This isn't deep enough to support the event. We
will continue to plan for it, and make a decision in a week or two about whether
or not we have to cancel. Staff is gearing up for summer programs and trying to
get things scheduled, so they will be ready for publication in the summer
catalog. New Year's Eve Around the World had about 100 less participants
than last year, Evans said. Things went well with Life Time Fitness co-
sponsoring. They have a new manager, and the joint cooperation has been
going well. Blank said we signed a new contract with Wayzata Schools to
continue to run the aquatics program. Evans said we were approached 10
years ago by the school district proposing that the city run all the aquatic
programs using East and West Middle School pools. We recently updated the
old joint powers agreement. We spend $1,200 per year to lease the pools.
Blank said prior to the joint powers agreement, both the city and the district
each ran their own aquatic programs. We now run the program solely, and the
school district does the maintenance on the pools. The agreement is ongoing
with no end date. Either party can terminate it at any time.
c. Others. There were no other presentations.
4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. Approved Plymouth/New Hope Little League Baseball request. Blank said the
Council approved this unanimously. We met last week with our consultant,
staff, maintenance, etc. The preliminary design work is underway. We will
probably have to go through the Watershed District if we want to expand the
parking lot. We're looking at three different options for parking. The first year we
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may just do some re -striping to get a few more spaces. We'd like to bid the
project in April or May, Blank said. We've had a couple of change orders on the
PCC in the form of deducts, because the contractor did some poor painting, so
we had to redo it ourselves. We're also trying to close out the contract on the
Ice Center. We still have some issues with the rooftop unit. Rezabek asked
about the tile floor. Blank is going to the Council with a tile proposal in
February. He said it's going to cost about $38,000. Blank will put this on the
February agenda. A 50 -inch plasma TV was installed in the lobby. A second TV
will be downstairs. Fiemann asked about the possibility of changing the lights
on the B rink. The A and C rinks do have better lighting, Blank said, but there
are no plans to upgrade the lighting on the B rink at this time. Fiemann asked
about parking at the ice center and if we've had any complaints. Blank said he
hasn't had any comments about it.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Comp Plan update. A bike forum has been scheduled on February 22 as part of
the process for updating the comprehensive plan. We're trying to find people
who ride their bikes to work, who ride for leisure, and those who are bike
racers, etc. We'll have maps at the forum for bikers to map out their bike routes,
if they bike to work. We're going to try to get coverage by the Star Tribune.
We've received some e-mail from bikers also. Fiemann talked about a group
that gets together on Saturday and Sunday mornings to go bicycling. They
meet at the Panera Bread store. He'd like us to reach out to the group by
advertising there somehow. Rezabek mentioned a great trail system in the
Lanesboro area, where they display very large colorful maps at each trailhead.
Pederson said the bike forum is a good idea to help make us a bike -friendly
community. Rezabek thinks our community definitely has a lot of bikers.
Pederson suggested that we ask the people that come to the forum to become
our bicycle task force. Blank agreed that this was a great idea. The council and
planning commission are holding a joint meeting on March 9, at 7 p.m. That's
the same night as the March PRAC meeting. We could start our meeting at
6:30 and meet in the Medicine Lake Room. That way, any commissioner who
wants to attend the joint meeting could still get in on it. The City Council will
then meet on March 21 alone to start work on the guide plan. Blank talked to
the Wayzata School District. They have just hired a consultant to gather data
on their student population and trends. Later on a meeting with the Robbinsdale
School District will be scheduled. We're meeting with the athletic associations
on February 8 to gather data from them and encourage them to attend
meetings with us, the Council, etc. We need input from them as we start
planning new facilities. Internally, the staff is reviewing things like expansion of
the PCC, and what type of expansion. Other things like a gymnasium, theater,
indoor tennis, and water playground are being reviewed. Artificial ice outdoors
is another topic of interest. Rezabek asked about our outdoor ice rink locations.
Evans said they are listed in the winter brochure. Plymouth is hosting the
MRPA annual conference in 2006. Fiemann asked about a bike path
connecting the Plymouth Station area with the Lowe's shopping area. Blank
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said if there is a need we might do a boardwalk trail from the Lowe's property to
the Fire Station 3 area. Fiemann asked about a park near the Carlson building
on County Road 6. He was approached by a lacrosse group looking for playing
space. Staff wasn't aware of anything in that immediate area.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Review draft of 2005 annual report. Blank explained that Evans and Pederson
did most of the layout. Commissioners thought it was quite impressive. Evans is
hoping for tentative approval this evening after changes are noted. A final copy
would be distributed to everyone in February. The report must go to the Council
in March. Fiemann said on pg. 3, drop the words "this year" when talking about
new commissioners. Pederson suggested saying "our two newest members are
Pederson and Mohagen" as an alternative. On pg. 5, item 6, strike the last
sentence about Pederson. Be consistent about saying Parks and Recreation
throughout the brochure, Singer said. Singer had a question about capital
usage on pg. 12 in the small paragraph, and on pg. 16, in the last sentence
about "collaborative program." Pederson said the document looks great. As
many times as possible, we should display maps, particularly in reference to
the last page. Aamoth thinks the last page is really important and should be
moved closer to the front of the report. After further discussion commissioners
agreed that the back page could stay in its current location. A park map will be
added on the inside back cover. Fiemann mentioned that the paragraph on the
back page referring to the Plymouth Creek Center, Fieldhouse, and the Ice
Center seemed rather redundant, because lower on that same page those
facilities are listed again. It was suggested that the mention of the facilities
could be dropped from the paragraph, and then reverse the order of the photo,
and the list of facilities. Krahulec asked about the order of the administration
page. Should it be moved forward in the brochure? After discussing that the
annual report is PRAC's publication and that PRAC has always been listed in
the first few pages, it was decided to leave it the way it is now. Commissioners
wanted to add some more things to the Work Plan — the bike friendly issue —
the skate park on the east side of Plymouth — the trail connection between
Lowe's and Rainbow Foods — trends in recreation, etc. Blank said these items
could be mentioned as part of the comprehensive plan update. Commissioners
suggested a new no. 8 talking about the major redevelopment of existing parks,
beginning with Zachary Park. Aamoth asked about a bond referendum being
mentioned in the report. That could be item 9 Blank said — long term financial
planning. We'll bring the report back to the February meeting with these
changes; seeking final approval at that time.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Aamoth asked about pond clearing for skating. He was wondering if the parks
department took care of that. A lot of the ponds are platted Blank said, or are
association properties, so homeowners do their own clearing if they want a place
to skate. A question arose then on liability in the case of someone falling through
the ice. Blank said the laws in MN on liability immunity are fairly strong. Most of us
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realize there's a possibility you could fall through the ice if you choose to skate on
a frozen pond or lake.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
We'll start the March meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the Medicine Lake room, so that
commissioners can attend the joint City Council/Planning Commission meeting
being held that night at 7. Blank stated that PRAC meetings should return to the
Council Chambers in February, because construction at city hall is wrapping up.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:18 pm.