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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-13-2010MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING May 13, 2010 PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, D. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, J. Zwack Staff: D. Evans, E. Blank, R. Michaud, C Anderson, D. Sankey City Council Liaison: B. Stein Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson ABSENT: Commissioner: J. D. Nelson 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair G. Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Commissioner Vanderwall and seconded by Commissioner Carroll to approve the February minutes. Vote: 5 Ayes. Motion carried. Commissioner Carroll abstained from voting because he was not at the February meeting. 3. OPEN FORUM none 4. STAFF UPDATE: a. Staff Presentation. Regina Michaud, Recreation Manager, has been with the department for nine years. She explained that her position has a mix of administrative and programming duties. She supervises the recreation supervisors, handles the marketing, and supervises the production of three activity guides each year. Her main programming focus is health and fitness for preschool through adult. Commissioner G. Anderson asked about the date of the Walk with the Mayor event. Michaud said it will be on Monday, May 17, at 6:00 and is 1.5 miles long. Michaud also mentioned that Greg Anderson is offering a Bike Ride to Midtown program again this year on June 26. b. Staff Presentation. Cindy Anderson, Recreation Supervisor, is proud to have been part of the team for over 20 years. Her position seems to be constantly changing, bringing new challenges. She supervises the lifeguarding of the beaches. Specialty and safety programs include CPR, first aid, kayaking, and wakeboarding. Anderson also supervises the middle school and teen ski and snowboard trips, gymnastics, and day camps. Commissioner Carroll asked if we offer a babysitting class. Anderson said we offer the Red Cross Babysitting Class about 2-3 times quarterly. It is a very popular class. PRAC Minutes/May 13, 2010 Page 2 Director Blank thanked Cindy for the wonderful job she does. c. 2010 CIP Trail Project Update Director Blank announced that a week ago, the Council authorized staff to proceed with planning the trail to run about a half mile from Fire Station 3 to Lowes. Consulting firms are providing feasibility studies which will be done in six to seven weeks. Neighborhood meetings will be conducted. We will have PRAC look at the plan and give recommendations, and the neighborhood will be invited to give testimony. Work would start in late October. The crossing of the wetlands will begin in winter with installation of footings for the boardwalk. The project will continue into spring and would be completed perhaps in June. This will be a very desirable, scenic trail. It has been in the plan since 1980, when it was thought it would be built along with Medina Road. Medina Road will not be built, so the project has changed. Commissioner G. Anderson said it is a super great connection, and he is looking forward to its completion. He is wondering about whether there will be places to secure a bike at the businesses, since there are none now. Blank thought this was a very good point, and the City will work with area businesses. Superintendent Evans said that as development comes in, bike racks are one of the things that are discussed, and they are encouraged by the Planning Department. Commissioner Carroll thinks this trail is a great project. He asked if the trail is only half mile long. Blank said there is an additional section that goes down to Maple Creek Park that makes the entire trail about a mile long. Since the City usually does'/2 mile sections for yearly trail installations, this is a much bigger project. We also need to deal with wetland mitigation issues, which we have done before on other projects. People love the boardwalks and trails near wetlands. It is more challenging, however. d. Northwest Greenway Design Director Blank explained that during the planning stages of the park system, major parks were planned with the lakes in each quarter of the city. The northwest section does not have a lake to incorporate into a major park, so the Northwest Greenway was designed to become the major feature in this section. We are near completion of the land acquisition for the Greenway. We will sell a second set of bonds for $2.5 million. We sold $2.6 million in bonds two years ago. This allows us to string out the payments in a way that benefits the City. We are anticipating a very favorable tax rate on this second series of bonds. We are trying to be conscious of steepness of grades for ADA accessibility and also for people with strollers. The building of the Greenway should be accomplished sooner rather than later so that the current homeowners are in agreement with it. As properties are sold, the new owners are not always aware that a trail will be going in near them. We will soon be working on the Capital Improvement Budget for 2011-2015, and we may need to find funds for the project. It is important to keep the community involved. Commissioner Carroll asked about putting up temporary signage along the edge of the property. Blank said there are signs every 150-200 feet to mark where the private property ends and public property begins. Commissioner Carroll felt that signs which let people know what is going on are a good idea. Barry Warner, Senior Vice President of SRF Consulting Group explained that the initial PRAC Minutes/May 13, 2010 Page 3 master plan was done in 2002. This plan created a framework, a long-term vision. Significant progress has been made in the land acquisition. He showed a diagram that identifies the system of open space and park and trail amenities, including a paved trail and a turf trail for use by horses. There is an ongoing coordination with Three Rivers Park District to tie into their Medicine Lake Regional Trail. The regional trail will be completed from the north to County 47 this summer. Some of it has been completed south of 47. The section east of Lake Camelot is still open. The trail around Lake Camelot is completed, and it is part of the Greenway. Forethought will be given to connecting with neighborhoods along the way. We will also deal with linkages for new neighborhoods. A trail will encircle the wetland basin west of Vicksburg. There could be a grass trail for equestrian use. Horse -pulled hayrides or sleigh rides could be possible for programming. This is an important connection to the western part of the community by Wayzata High School. An important factor is what Peony Lane will be in the future. An alignment will be selected by Engineering, with a connection into Maple Grove. This does have implications for the planning of the Greenway. Recommendations will be made in 6-8 weeks. A developer will be exchanging soil on city -owned property which will result in graded space for use in the Greenway planning. Putting a trail through the Elm Creek Highlands area is challenging because of topography. Vicksburg Lane is an important north -south road. We are proposing a bridge over the road. This provides an important opportunity to create a strong bold statement to the community of what the Greenway is. The segment east of Vicksburg will establish alignment between Vicksburg and Cheshire. One parcel may have the size to accommodate a horse club. Mr. Warner hopes to bring back more information to the July meeting. Commissioner Zwack asked what the approximate total distance of the trail is. Mr. Warner said it is about 3 miles from 494 to Peony, although looping trails will increase the mileage. Commissioner Carroll asked about alignment for Peony. Mr. Warner said that the proposal will be announced in about six weeks. Circumstances have taken some of the original possibilities off the table. Commissioner G. Anderson asked if County 47 will be turned over to the City and what issues will be addressed. Mr. Warner said that is a possibility for the future. Commissioner Zwack asked about the grade at the crossing at Vicksburg. Mr. Warner said the access will adhere to current ADA standards, which 8% for a short distance, but 5% is the general guideline e. Upcoming Community/Special Events Superintendent Evans mentioned the Healthy Living Fair. It will probably be even bigger next year with more vendors. The Bridal Fair attracted over 200 brides. The Plymouth Creek Center was acknowledged as one of the top wedding locations by Tie the Knot". More than 1400 people visited thel0th annual Yard and Garden Expo. Staff thinks it was one of the more successful events. It took over 120 volunteers to put it on. The 14th annual Primavera was held in mid April. The event is free to the public PRAC Minutes/May 13, 2010 Page 4 and showcases juried art. Just under 900 people attended. Volunteers are about to start marking trails with hearts every 1/10 mile. "Plymouth Has Heart" was Eric Blank's idea. By Monday, there will be some hearts on the Hilde trail. The summer programs get started the second week of June, and we are already planning for fall. f. Annual Report Evans presented the final version of the annual report to the commissioners. g. NRPA Accreditation Update Superintendent Evans reported that we started working on the NRPA Accreditation process in the latter part of 2009. Accreditation allows us to be benchmarked with a national organization that shows our citizens we provide services that are efficient and of high quality. Only 100 agencies are accredited so far, including only a couple in Minnesota. There are 144 standards. Officially, we are notified of approval in October at the national conference. Commissioner Carroll asked about the accrediting body. Evans replied that it comes out of the National Parks and Recreation office. Educators set up the standards and trained people how to assess agencies. Commissioner Zwack asked if there are benefits that being accredited will bring to the City. Evans said that it assures the city of our quality and that we are organized. It also helps with succession and becomes our operational bible. Commissioner Carroll said it was like downloading Eric's brain. Evans said yes, it was much like that. h. Hilde Performance Center Update Superintendent Evans said that at the last City Council meeting, the Council approved Phase 1 of the improvement project for the Hilde Performance Center. It involves the interior portion of the Center, grading, ADA accessibility, enhancements for concessions and vending, additional seating, and a showplace area in the middle of the complex which could be used for smaller events and perhaps for weddings. We had eight bidders, and the bids came in low. It was budgeted for $1.1 million, and the lowest bid was $834,000. Construction will begin on July 12, after Music in Plymouth, the Prairie Fire Theater event, and the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 11. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of October. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Selection of Chair & Vice Chair Commissioner G. Anderson asked for nominations for chair and vice chair. Commissioner Carroll nominated Commissioner Greg Anderson for Chair. Commissioner Riley seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. Commissioner D. Anderson nominated Commissioner Carroll for Vice Chair. Commissioner Zwack seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. b. Parks & Recreation Department Strategic Plan Superintendent Evans stated that the Strategic Plan was developed for long term and short term goals for the department. All department divisions worked on the planning of these goals. We will be working on it throughout the year and revamp it in 2011. Commissioner Riley asked what is the distribution of this document, who has access PRAC Minutes/May 13, 2010 Page 5 to it, and is it posted on the website. Evans explained that right now it is internal, although it is out on the web as part of the Park Commission information packet. Commissioner Carroll wanted to commend Evans on the thoroughness of this document. It is very well done and appreciated. Commissioner Zwack agreed and was impressed with the document. Commissioner D. Anderson moved to approve of the Strategic Plan. Commissioner Carroll seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. c. Parks & Recreation Fee & Revenue Policy Superintendent Evans said that part of the accreditation project is the Fee & Revenue Policy. The goal is to make the policy available and to highlight the different budgets we deal with, the various funds attached to the budgets, and how reasonable fees are determined. Commissioner Carroll had a suggestion on how to word a portion of Page 1 to use the word "charged" instead of "attached." Commissioner D. Anderson moved to accept the Fee & Revenue Policy. Commissioner Vanderwall seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. d. Consider Renaming the Egan Dog Park Superintendent Evans explained that the Egan Dog Park is a highly popular, highly used park. However, when area publications come out with a listing as Egan dog Park, it causes confusion as to where the park is located. May people assume it is in Eagan. Staff feels the name should probably be changed and had suggestions such as Plymouth Canine Park, Plymouth Offleash Dog Park, and Plymouth Dog Park. Staff recommended Plymouth Canine Park. Chair Anderson asked if Plymouth Canine Park is used, what would we call a second one. Commissioner Zwack asked if there are any repercussions for taking off the name "Egan." Evans said staff isn't concerned because the citizens normally call it the Plymouth Dog Park anyway. Commissioner Riley said she feels Plymouth Dog Park is a better name then Plymouth Canine Park or Plymouth Off leash Dog Park. Commissioner Carroll said when he first heard of Plymouth Canine Park, he thought of a race track. Evans said staff is really open to suggestions and comments. Commissioner Vanderwall felt keeping it simple is probably the best — Plymouth Dog Park. Commissioner Zwack said he is in favor of having the word Plymouth in it. He favors Dog Park. Commissioner Carroll moved to call it Plymouth Canine Park. Commissioner D. Anderson seconded. Vote: 3 Ayes 3 Nays. Motion failed. Commissioner Riley said going for a "classier" name doesn't really fit with the park itself. It is just a bunch of happy dogs. She requested a revote. Commissioner Riley moved to name the park Plymouth Dog Park. Commissioner D. Anderson seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. PRAC Minutes/May 13, 2010 Page 6 e. E -Bike Presentation Superintendent Evans reported that a request came from Three Rivers Park District to consider allowing ebikes on trails. They are hoping that all of the cities, counties, and the state can be on the same page. She presented to the commissioners the material that Three Rivers had presented to the department. The issues are allowing the ebikes on trails and does a rule change need to occur. They have been around since the 70's. They are different than motorized bikes because they have pedals. They look very similar to a regular bike. They go less than 20 miles per hour compared to 30 for motorized bikes and are powered by electricity. They cost in the range of $1500- 2500. Minnesota law allows them on road shoulders. Right now, they are prohibited on trails. They are popular in Europe and are increasing in popularity here. People who are using them are previous bike riders who may have health issues, commuters, and people running errands. Younger people may find it a viable alternative to cars, and they are considered green. Chair Anderson served on a committee to review the issue for Three Rivers. He was not sure about it at first, but some of the reasons for using them are legitimate. They fill another nitch, but he hopes this does not attract people to using motorized bikes on trails. Commissioner Carroll asked about safety considerations because they can go 20 miles an hour on the trails. Evans said it probably isn't different than bike riders riding at high speeds. Three Rivers has not been concerned with that issue. Commissioner Zwack asked if you can tell what it is when it goes by you by the sound. Evans said they do not make any sound. Zwack asked if anyone has thought of the issue of people who want to use the trails for escape and quiet, and how they would feel about an ebike going by. Chair Anderson said they are very silent and do not make noise like an engine. Evans road one at a seminar and found it an interesting and pleasant experience. Chair Anderson said it is more of an adult type of item, not likely for kids. 6. COMMISSIONER UPDATE Commissioner Doug Anderson said he has enjoyed his tenure on the Commission, and it has been fun to see a different side of how things work and how much work the Council, Commission and staff do. You really need to applaud staff because they work with these issues full time. Chair Anderson welcomed Commissioner Zwack to the commission. Commissioner Carroll thanked Commissioner D. Anderson for his service and wished him luck in the future. 7. ADJOURNMENT Chair Anderson entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner Carroll and seconded by Commissioner Riley. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. The next meeting will be held on June 10, 2010 at the Plymouth Creek Center. Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder