HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 11-13-2008MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
November 13, 2008
PRESENT: Commissioners: E. Singer, M. Smith, G. Anderson, D. Anderson, P. Knight,
N. Carroll, A. Vanderwall,
Staff: E. Blank, D. Evans, D. Sankey, R Michaud, E. Anderson
Planning Commission Liaison: J. Davis
City Council Liaison: B. Stein
ABSENT:
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Singer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion was made by Commissioner Carroll and seconded by Commissioner G.
Anderson to approve the October minutes with revision noted. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion
carried.
Commissioner Vanderwall arrived after approval of minutes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None
b. Staff Regina Michaud provided information on her area of responsibility and
current programs. She works with preschool through adults, including martial arts,
youth recreation, and special events such as Plymouth on Parade, Yard & Garden
Expo, Summer Carnival and Halloween at the Creek. She also works with health
and wellness. Regina Announced a new Program - Health Fair. Hennepin County is
coordinating a Step it Up Challenge, a fitness challenge among cities, and Plymouth
will participate. Chair Singer asked if the Health Fair would be using the Plymouth
Creek Center and dome. Regina said it will be held in the Plymouth Creek Center,
but not the dome. Commissioner Smith asked if the City hosts race events like a 5K.
Michaud said Park & Recreation does not, but the Fire Department has a 5K, and
there is also a 5K with Music in Plymouth. Director Blank said Lifetime Fitness hosts
a kids' triathlon.
Erica Anderson provided information on her area of responsibility and current
programs. She works with preschool, youth and adult education such as dog
obedience classes, science explorers and foreign languages, including Spanish and
German. She also works on special events like Plymouth on Parade. Anderson also
works with the Yard & Garden Expo with Regina Michaud and Fall Soccer with Dan
Lauer. Erica is also responsible for the adaptive/inclusion program which helps
accommodate special needs participants. We helped 253 kids in 456 programs so
far this year, helping to serve people who might not otherwise be able to take part in
our programs. Commissioner Carroll asked about accommodating allergies.
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Page 2
Anderson said the main one is peanut allergies. Some people are so sensitive that
even air born is dangerous. When we have a participant with a peanut allergy, we
notify parents of children in the program to avoid using peanut products during or
before the class. Chair Singer said soccer coaches are given information on allergic
reactions and the use of epi pens. Commissioner Carroll pointed out that there are
other food allergies of concern, such as eggs.
Chair Singer mentioned that the Yard & Garden Expo is a fundraiser, and all
proceeds go towards the Millennium Garden. She also asked about lawn bowling.
Anderson said Dan Lauer is looking into it. This could be a good activity for adaptive
services.
Diane Evans provided an overview of past and upcoming activities. Evans informed
the Commission that the dome is up, although it took a couple of days because of
windy conditions. Evans gave a brief history of the catering contract at the Plymouth
Creek Center. We were working with Suzanne's until November 2007, when they
went out of business. By the end of November, food testing and tasting had settled
on Medina Ballroom, Mintahoe, and Town and Country. The relationships have
gone wonderfully. Rentals have gone up, revenue has gone up, and complaints
have gone down. We have recommended to the City Council to roll over the
contracts for another three years. We will look at it again at that time. Commissioner
Carroll asked what zumba fitness is. Chair Singer said it is exercise to Latin music.
c. Other:
4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. Approved name of Legacy Greenway Park. Director Blank reported that the
Council approved the name, and signage is being developed.
b. Accepted Outdoor Rink report. Blank said that our current number of nine outdoor
hockey rinks eventually will go to six. The first phase is to close one at Zachary and
one at Plymouth Middle School. These rinks will be flooded as pleasure rinks. We
will evaluate each year and keep track of attendance. Planning Commissioner Davis
asked about the difference between pleasure and hockey rinks. Blank said hockey
rinks have boards, and pleasure rinks use an earth berm. Davis asked if there is
any less maintenance. Blank said no, they are both broom cleaned, shoveled and
flooded.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Update — Zachary Park Building: Blank reported that Armstrong Little League is
continuing to work on this project. They hope to have it enclosed by Thanksgiving. A
lot of volunteer work has gone into it, and so far, they are a little under budget. They
have gotten good bids and many things donated. By the time baseball gets started,
the concession stand should be up and running.
b. Update — West Medicine Lake Park Building: Blank said that the Council looked at
all of the capital improvement items for the next 5 years. Because of the economy,
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Page 3
they thought it would be appropriate to delay the project until 2012. They will
examine this further at their study session on December 9.
c. Update — Hilde Plans Blank said that he anticipates that this project will also be
put on hold, possibly until 2010. Chair Singer asked if Council study sessions are
open to the public and whether people can make comments. Blank said people are
allowed to attend the sessions, and it is up to the mayor whether they will take
comments. Singer asked the commissioners for comments. Smith asked about the
sunscreen project for Parkers Lake. Blank said that would cost about $40,000. D.
Anderson asked if Park & Recreation projects were the only ones put on hold. Blank
answered that no, others were also delayed. G. Anderson suggested that it may be
a more advantageous to build now. Blank said the market has actually gotten worse
in the last 90 days. Council will have to decide on an appropriate course of action.
Councilmember Stein said that Councilmember Bildsoe thought the projects should
be postponed. He felt there were $5.5 million worth of projects that could be
postponed.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Receive comments on Zachary Park tennis courts relocation proposal.
Director Blank said the Commission does an annual tour in August to see first hand
what is going on in the park system and to discuss potential projects to recommend
to Council. The Zachary tennis courts were built in 1981. Tennis courts usually last
about 25 years, so it is time for refurbishment, which is scheduled for 2009. We will
probably start in August 2009, in order to work around the Armstrong tennis
program and our tennis lesson program. The courts can be replaced in their current
location. We could also slide the courts 100 feet north to a grassy area, which would
leave room for a future parking lot expansion. We get many complaints on parking
issues. We need to make the decision by March of 2009.
David Bateman, 4525 Arrowood Lane, pointed out his house on the map. He
explained that he had researched the issue. There are seven lit tennis courts in
Plymouth, but only one is close to a home. The rest are far away from homes. Bass
Lake is somewhat close, but the courts are near the garage end of the home. His
property is surrounded on two sides by park. The proposal means moving the tennis
courts from 110 feet away from the back wall of his house to 45 feet away. They
can hear noise from it now, but this will increase by a factor of four - like having
people in his living room. The plan also provides a secluded parking area, which
officers will have to drive into in order to patrol, adding more lights. The courts will
block access to Frisbee golf. His yard already gets a lot of traffic from the Frisbee
golfers. During soccer season, people do congregate in this grassy area. His yard
receives a lot of light from the current tennis courts. Even with the new light
technology, because of the closeness, it will still be a lot of light. It looks like his pine
trees will be right near the tennis court fence. The fence will be rather unsightly from
their deck. People play tennis as early as 7:30 am until at least 10:30 p.m. He also
feels that the configuration of the parking lot will cause a lot of confusion. The park
has been a good neighbor through the years, but he did not expect to have a tennis
court this close. Mr. Bateman presented two proposals:
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Proposal 1. Leave tennis courts where they are. Extend the parking lot to the west.
Move the pavilion. This solution would not impact traffic flow, and there would be
little loss of trees.
Proposal 2. Leave tennis courts where they are. Extend the parking lot to the north.
This would not impact traffic flow. There would be some loss of trees. The lot would
be very visible for police patrol.
Commissioner Smith asked about the feasibility of the first proposal. Mr. Bateman
said changes to grade would be needed, although it would be no worse than the
original proposal. Director Blank said the lot would superimpose over the current lot
and could preserve some trees. Smith expressed concern about removing trees and
thanked Mr. Bateman for bringing in proposals. Blank said they had considered
adding parking into the trees when they added the little league fields. They wanted
to wait until they saw the impact of running the park at full capacity. Commissioner
Knight thanked Mr. Bateman for offering solutions. Maybe a combination of the
parking lot alternatives could be done by adding a smaller strip north and a smaller
strip west. He asked if planting more trees would be of help for the original proposal.
Mr. Bateman said the land strip is very narrow for putting in a buffer zone. He
prefers it open, however. Commissioner Knight asked if it would help if the
basketball court were at the other end. Mr. Bateman said basketball is even noisier
than tennis. It is hard to remediate something that is that close. Chair Singer
thanked him for his comments.
Gina Bateman, 4525 Arrowood Lane, expressed that she did not like the idea of
being on her deck and looking out and seeing tennis courts so close. She will hear
the tennis players' conversations and they will hear hers. How will it affect her
property value? She does not want a fence. Planting more trees is not a good
option for preventing hearing everything and having no privacy. She would like to
invite the commissioners all over to her deck to experience what this would be like.
Eric Olson, 4555 Arrowood Lane, reiterated the point of the parking lot. If it were
moved down, how close would it be to the playground? This almost gives people a
chance to drive up and approach children. Other parks have parking that is further
from the playground. There is a lot of activity at the basketball court, which would
be more difficult for the police to monitor. The park is crowded in the summer time.
There is a lot of light emission.
Brendan Garrity, 4520 Arrowood Lane, stated that he has a great view of the park.
He has two small children, and they go to the play area quite often. The more things
are pulled into the park, the more traffic there will be. People drive into their cul-de-
sac to drop off kids for soccer. Moving the tennis courts will bring more people into
their cul-de-sac to drop off for tennis. Mr. Garrity said he likes the park and living
close to it. He wants to continue to like living close to it. Chair Singer confessed
that she had dropped her kids off on this cul-de-sac at times.
Joe Stein, 4535 Arrowood Lane, said that he is greatly concerned about moving the
courts closer to their homes. People now run across their yard instead of using the
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Page 5
trail. He is concerned about his 10 year old daughter playing in the cul-de-sac
because of the traffic. Having people run through their yard feels invasive.
Chair Singer thanked them all for their comments and for coming to the meeting.
Director Blank said that all of the comments would go into the minutes. The minutes
go to the City Council who will have the final decision. Blank asked if there was
anything the commissioners would like staff to work on. D. Anderson would like to
see some other options at the meeting in January.
b. Approve $10 per hour increase in ice rental rates. Director Blank explained that
the Ice Center is an enterprise fund, and it must cover its expenses. They have
looked at the budget to see what can be done to accomplish what is needed and
have decided on a $10 per hour increase beginning April 1. We will not break a
contract with the associations and schools. This increase would bring in $70,000 for
a full year, and will be about $35,000 to $40,000 for 2009. Other budget moves
include not replacing a full time employee who has left. We had budgeted for a
cooling tower replacement, but it will probably work through 2009. We have
budgeted to pay off $150,000 toward the loan on the third sheet. Blank said he has
met with Wayzata Hockey regarding the increase, and they have a full year
warning. Organizations who benefit from it pay a $5 per hour surcharge to help pay
off the third sheet loan.
Commissioner Carroll asked about the amount of the reserve. Director Blank said i
is $450,000. Carroll asked it we could consider more than a $10 per hour increase.
Blank said we could, but we would incur the wrath of our customers. Everyone
seems comfortable with $180 per hour. Commissioner D. Anderson said we must
be comfortable with this.
Commissioner D. Anderson move to approve the $10 per hour increase in rates for
the Ice Center. Commissioner Vanderwall seconded. 7 Ayes. Motion approved.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION:
Commissioner Smith announced the Oakwood Elementary 50th Anniversary Open
house on Sunday, November 16, from 1-4:00 p.m.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION: Director Blank announced we will have a December
meeting only if we find we have an important item to discuss, otherwise it will be
cancelled.
9. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Singer entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner
Vanderwall and seconded by Commissioner Smith. Vote: 7 Ayes. Motion approved.
The meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
If needed, the next meeting will be held on December 11, 2008, in the Council
Chambers. Otherwise, the next meeting will be on January 8, 2009.
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Donna Sankey — PRAC recorder