HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 02-08-2007MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
February 8, 2007
PRESENT: Commissioners Anderson, Fiemann, Griwac, Knight, Krahulec, Mohagen,
Pederson, Smith, Singer, staff Blank, Evans, Sankey
ABSENT: Mohagen, Griwac
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers and then
asked for nominations for Chair and Vice Chair to serve during 2007.
KRAHULEC MOVED TO NOMINATE FIEMANN AS CHAIR AND SINGER AS
VICE CHAIR. PEDERSON SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED ALL
AYES.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Krahulec moved and Pederson seconded a motion to approve the January minutes.
Motion carried, all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present at the meeting.
b. Staff Blank explained that the next step in the election process for chair and vice
chair is approval by the mayor. Blank introduced the new commission members.
He then introduced Evans to the new commissioners and explained her duties as
Superintendent of Recreation. He mentioned that during the year the
commission will have meetings at both the Plymouth Ice Center and the
Plymouth Creek Center so they can get a complete run down on those facilities.
Evans introduced Sankey, a member of the clerical staff, to the commission. She
also mentioned how the department is working on the summer brochure and all
the summer programs. She said that the cancellation of Fire & Ice occurred
because of the extreme weather. The cold was just too dangerous for families
with young children to attend. Evans said that she has just finished the Annual
Report. It needs to be approved by the City Council, and it will be handed out at
the next Park Commission meeting. Anderson asked why we don't have a rain
date for Fire & Ice like we do for Music in Plymouth. Evans felt that it would be
hard to draw the people to an alternate date. Blank said that the reason there is
a rain date for Music in Plymouth is that the community looks forward to the fire
works It would be a much smaller event. We would have a group such as the
White Sidewalls, but no orchestra. For Fire & Ice, it would be too hard to get the
volunteers to rebook. Evans said that the fireworks from Fire & Ice will be added
to Music in Plymouth.
Evans presented Ellie Singer her 2006 MRPA award. Ellie's contribution to the
community is outstanding. She has been on the park commission for 6 years
PRAC Minutes/February 2007
Page 2
and is serving as vice chair. She has never-ending energy as a community
member and volunteer. Among her many accomplishments, she assisted with
the state conference, is an ambassador for the senior program, and serves as a
wedding planner. She is a very active advocate for our field, including supporting
the tobacco free parks movement, the open space referendum, youth
sportsmanship, and the Minnesota Sports Alliance summit. She has also been
an election judge, president of Wings Soccer Association, USA Soccer board
member, Minnesota Sports Alliance board member, Primavera volunteer, and
worked on the Juvenile Diversion Project. Her involvement and support for Park
and Recreation construction projects such as the Plymouth Creek Center, third
ice sheet, and the completion of the lower level at the Plymouth Creek Center
was also invaluable. She is obviously very deserving of this award. Evans
presented the award on behalf of MRPA to Ellie. Blank said the award will be
presented to her again in front of the Council. Ellie said that she really
appreciates the recognition. She also feels proud of having suggested that
walking in the dome should be free to the public because it is a very popular
activity.
c. Others. There were no other presentations.
4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. Park Dedication Blank explained that the park dedication fee allows us to collect
land or cash for the park system from the land developers as they start new
projects. The new residential unit fee was set at $6,000, and the commercial unit
fee was set at $7,500. Blank said that based on formulas, we could have
probably raised it higher. In comparison with other communities, our fees are
pretty close. We also look at land values — as developers buy land, we are
competing with them to purchase land for our use. The fee was based on these
three criteria. Krahulec asked what Maple Grove charges. Blank said they also
charge $6,000
b. Zachary Park — Extend time for baseball to make repayment. Little League
Baseball agreed to pay $250,000 towards the redevelopment of Zachary Park.
At the end of the year, they gave $200,000 and asked for an extension for the
rest. Blank recommended to Council that they get a one year extension, and
Council agreed. We will have a ribbon cutting and grand opening probably the
latter half of May.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Update on Comp Plan. Blank said that on March 6, the Council will have a
listening session" on Hollydale Golf Course, which will be a very big issue. From
March through October, consultants for all the city systems will be working on the
comp plan. Anticipate up to two months "slippage" on the time frame. It is hard
to get all the planning commissioners and the council members together during
the summer months. By April we should have some comp plan issues to debate
at PRAC meetings. Blank mentioned that he met with Council this evening. They
PRAC Minutes/February 2007
Page 3
have identified 11 areas that might be ready for redevelopment. They are
looking at the sites and formulating what to do with them. Changing guiding on
certain parcels is a possibility. This needs to be done before we can work on the
sewer and water plans. The southwest corner of Highways 55 & 494 is one of
the sites identified as an area for redevelopment. Possible uses would be a hotel
or apartment building. Once the decisions have been made on these parcels, we
can then continue the overall planning process. This will be a 23 -year plan, since
2030 is the planning horizon.
b. Update on Greenwood Buildina. Blank said the baseball association called him
about 10 days ago and said they were going to start work on the building again,
although this cold wave may have stopped progress for now. He explained that
the Plymouth Wayzata Baseball Association is constructing this
concession/scorebox building. They will then turn ownership of the building over
to City, reserving priority for its use. The grand opening will be in June or July.
c. Update on Open Space. Blank said that we are currently working on the
purchase of some wetland parcels in southeast Plymouth. This wetland/tree
complex south of LaCompte Park would correspond with the open space areas
already purchased in the other four quadrants of the city. The southwest area
has what is often referred to as the Hartenberg property. The northwest
quadrant has the parcel north of Wayzata High School. The northeast parcel is
the 20 acre area next to French Park. We purchased this for $300,000 and sold
it to Three Rivers Park District for $100,000. They then incorporated it into
French Park. The plan for the southeast area is to connect these parcels to
LaCompte with a trail around the wetland. Johnson Brothers owned the most
southerly parcel and used part of it to put remnants of a demolished highway in
as landfill. This area now has houses on it. The wetland area next to the
housing development was dedicated to us. The area just north of this was
owned by Don Stewart who wanted $1.5 million for the 13 acres. Negotiations
broke down. His children now own the property and are asking for $350,000. By
March 10, we will have a fair market appraisal for the property. Blank thinks it
will come in at $250-300,000. Open Space bonds will not be sold until the
money is actually needed. The Public Utility Commission issues permits for
power lines, through nature cayon and they had to pay this city fair market value
for the land they used. For the right to use one of the City's sites, they paid
500,000. An amount of $200,000 went into the park dedication fund, and
300,000 went into the open space fund. We will be able to use this to purchase
the Stewart site. In the long term, we will continue to negotiate to acquire the
other parcels in between the currently owned pieces. Fiemann asked if we will
purchase the areas just south of Lacompte. Blank said the owners do not want
to sell. We may possibly be able to buy enough property to make a trail to
connect to the lower section to give access from LaCompte to the wetlands.
Fiemann asked about the Zachary Lane upgrade possibility. Blank said that the
corridor of County Road 73 will eventually need study and upgrade.
PRAC Minutes/February 2007
Page 4
Northwest Greenway. Blank pointed out the city -owned property in the Elm
Creek Playfield next to Wayzata High School and the treed area north of it. A
developer has purchased land up to County Road 47 which will allow the
Regional trail to be completed. We own the eastern and western shores of
Pomerleau. Krahulec asked about Hampton Hills. Blank said that the Hampton
Hills property is owned by a national developer, and they are planning high-end
houses with large lots. We will be able to acquire a piece of land near the lake. It
will take 5-8 years to fully develop. They will pay the park dedication fees at the
time of final plat of each section. A landowner on Juneau Lane came in and
offered to sell a 200 ft parcel which has trees. It would become part of the trail
corridor. The map in the information packet shows where the paved trail would
go through the woods. We are three parcels away from being able to connect
Lake Camelot to Vicksburg Lane. It is possible that within 24 months, we could
have 1/3 of the Greenway land acquired. Blank mentioned that a group who
owns another parcel is willing to sell, and negotiations need to be done. They
have 7/10 of an acre of buildable land because of wetland setbacks, and it is a
landlocked parcel. We are having it appraised to arrive at a fair market value.
Fiemann asked about the status of the Begin property. Blank will meet with one
of her children to discuss how long she may she want to live on her property
during the summers. We will honor her wishes. Fiemann asked about a piece of
property owned by the Wayzata School District. Blank said that it is being held
until the school district decides if they will ever need to build another elementary
school. There may be a possibility of joint use in the future. Fiemann asked if
land values have come down at all in light of recent downturn of housing starts.
Blank has heard that some may have gone down and some have held steady.
He feels that we are in a good position on the Greenway endeavor. Fiemann
asked about Elm Creek trail. Blank said that it is getting very close to
completion. Three Rivers is anxious to get it done. The hangup is the Cheshire
Road corridor. The development process includes dedicating the right of way
along the road. They have been very sensitive to the environment and to the
City's issues. Anderson asked if there will be a tunnel for the trail under County
Road 47. Blank said 47 would have to be raised 10 feet to accommodate a
tunnel. At first, the trail will be at street level, but when the road it is upgraded,
the tunnel could be done. Anderson asked if the county would give 47 to the city.
Blank said this has been discussed, and that it comes with a need for a $5 million
upgrade. Taryn Hills has paid for upgrading part of 47 as part of their
development. We could institute area assessment for roads, in which people
who want to develop land that is dependent on 47 as an arterial street would
have to pay a fee for the needed upgrade. Maple Grove has been doing this,
and we may institute it too. Mark Peterson is doing a cost estimate for building a
boardwalk 800 feet long over the north end of Pomerleau. Developing a usable
piece of the Greenway will get people out there and using the trail, and it will
make them excited about the whole project. Smith asked about Hollydale.
Council will be talking about this March 6. Lawsuits have been filed in cities such
as Eagan and Mendota Heights over golf course development. Neighbors want
the land to stay a golf course. The Hollydale property has many millions of
PRAC Minutes/February 2007
Page 5
dollars of land value. Smith thought that the notice about the March 6 meeting
should go out further into the neighborhood than 750 feet. Blank said that there
will also be newspaper articles and notices.
6. NEW BUSINESS
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
Blank said that there may not be a March meeting because of a lack of information
to present. There will be more to talk about in April. PRAC will get involved with the
capital improvement budget, which must go to a public hearing held by the Planning
Commission. This is a 5 -year planning document. Council doesn't want it to go to
public hearing containing something they don't like. Therefore, the document must
be worked on to get to a point where they can approve it. This year, we will work on
a neighborhood park in the Seven Greens area, so we will have a lot to work on at
future meetings.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m.