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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-12-2011MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING May 12, 2011 PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, J. Vecere, K. Wyse Staff: E. Blank, D. Evans, D. Sankey Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson ABSENT: J. Zwack 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION was made by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Vanderwall to approve the February minutes. Vote: 5 Ayes. Motion carried. Note: Commissioner Riley arrived after the vote. 3. OPEN FORUM 4. STAFF UPDATE: a. Staff Presentation: Jackie Maas, Volunteer Coordinator Jackie Maas presented the Volunteer Program Annual Report. She said that 2010 was a fantastic year. We had 1,400 volunteers donating 27,000 hours, the equivalent of approximately 13 full time employees. The majority of time was in Parks & Recreation, which was an integral part in the success of our department. It shows pride and ownership of our neighborhoods. We had 714 volunteers give 15,000 hours, for an equivalent of $320,000 in Parks & Recreation alone. We updated our database last year to a program called Volgistics. The upgrade was led by a volunteer, Jean Anderson, who lives in St. Paul. She is experienced in Volgistics. She contributed 232 hours on the upgrade. Another 40 hours were put in by two other volunteers. It is a huge leap forward technologically for us. Chair Carroll asked if the teen volunteers are YES students. Maas said some of them are, but not all. Also, not all volunteers live in Plymouth. In fact, residents of 28 different communities have served as volunteers. b. Staff Presentation: Travis Karlen, Recreation Supervisor, "Arts" PRAC Minutes/May 12, 2011 Page 2 Travis Karlen explained that his primary focus is arts programming, including dance, music lessons, playgrounds, Friday activities, art classes, and the Entertainment in the Park series. He is the liaison for the Arts Council, which recently rebranded to PAC, Plymouth Arts Council. PAC's signature event is Primavera. We had 70 adult and 50 students display their art this year. Participation was down a little bit this year, perhaps because the Hopkins Art Fair coincided with ours. We recently held the 5th annual public art banner competition. We had 21 individuals enter, and PAC decided to make banners from the top three in each category plus honorable mentions. We will have 26 new banners for exhibiting on the streets. We have a great response to our sponsorship program - $20,000 has been donated for programs. We couldn't do these programs without it. Superintendent Evans mentioned that in the past, we never received more sponsorships than about $5,000. Prairie Fire Theater had 70 participants last year and we turned away 30. This year, we are offering two plays, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. There are only a few openings left. We are offering the Mad Hatters Tea Party, a preschool program for parents and children with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Chair Carroll commented on how impressed he is with Travis' programs. c. Receive 2010 Annual Report and Work Plan Superintendent Evans discussed the Annual Report, which was handed out to the commissioners. She said this is the version approved by PRAC at their February meeting. d. Bassett Creek Regional Trail Superintendent Evans said we would turn over the 36th Ave trail to Three Rivers to manage and bring to their standards. They want to incorporate it into their overall trail plan. The trail also goes through New Hope, Golden Valley, Crystal. Commissioner Anderson noticed that there was a June 14 open house for the project. Evans said Three Rivers will have public meetings for the people in the neighborhoods. e. Gold Medal Award Superintendent Evans reported that we applied for this award in 2003 and 2004 and were named a finalist both times but not picked. We are again a finalist and have great hopes for this year. It will be awarded at the National Conference. We must produce a video to supply to the committee, and Northwest Television is working with us to get this done. Chair Carroll noticed that none of the past winners has been a #1 city.. Evans said this is certainly a plus for us, and only one other finalist has accreditation. Carroll noticed that the winners seem to all be Midwest cities. Evans said that Illinois has park districts and taxing authority so they can do big projects. The National Conference is November 1-3 in Atlanta. f. CIP Project Updates PRAC Minutes/May 12, 2011 Page 3 1) Playfield Lighting Superintendent Evans explained that playfield light projects were in the CIP as individual projects starting next year, updating one park at a time over nine years. If we had done it by that process, we probably would have depleted the Park Reserve Fund. Staff was creative and packaged it into one big project in 2011, and the savings was great. The plan is to use the Community Improvement Fund to make a loan to the Park Replacement Fund, with payback over ten years. Council gave approval. The project has slowed down a bit because of weather. Commissioner Anderson asked if the contractor is picking the order of the projects. Evans said we picked the order and chose Zachary and Elm Creek to be first. We recently met with the associations to give them an update on the projects. Chair Carroll asked about the new lights. Evans said the lights are designed to keep the light from seeping into the neighborhoods as much as the current lights. This is a huge benefit for the community. There will be energy savings from the new lights. Also, the lights can be turned on by staff from home by computer. Commissioner Vecere asked about the timing on the Zachary project. Evans explained that because of new fields being lit, we must go to Planning for a conditional use permit. The fields will be completed one at a time to be as non -intrusive as possible. Commissioner Vanderwall mentioned he doesn't really like turf fields. Evans said we need to provide some because of groups wanting to use the fields so early in the season. 2) Hilde Performance Center Superintendent Evans reported that we are having a problem with the ground being wet at the Hilde. We are trying to get things done where we can. We have a section of trail to do, plantings, electrical, and the fountain. It is going to be tough to get it done by Music in Plymouth. The Civic League asked Council to approve the installation of an endowment monument on the site. The intention of the endowment is to provide money to keep Music in Plymouth going into the future. Al Hilde provided $200,000 seed money for the endowment. 3) Zachary Skating Rink Superintendent Evans said this was in the CIP, and the whole package came in under the $240,000 budget. The project will look very similar to the Plymouth Creek site. Planning Commissioner Kobussson asked how the Plymouth Creek site worked out. Evans said they poured the concrete so late in the year that the cement didn't cure adequately before ice season. The concrete would heat up and melt the ice. The ice got better later in the season. We want to get the concrete poured earlier this time around. 5. NEW BUSINESS PRAC Minutes/May 12, 2011 Page 4 a. Potential Trail Projects Superintendent Evans explained that over the years, we have been putting in trail projects based on neighborhood requests or safety issues. We want to start filling in the gaps. It is always harder to put trails in people's back yards. We will probably do an open house for whatever trail PRAC selects. The Medina Road trail goes from the Greenwood Park entrance to Yellowstone Lane. It provides access to a school. The Carlson Parkway trail is off 494 and Xenium Lane. There is a lot of use by people walking on a dirt trail there. Planning Commissioner Kobusson asked on which side of the road the trail would be located. Superintendent Evans said the south side. Chair Carroll asked if there have been any requests or opposition. Evans responded that there have been no requests, and since we haven't publicized, there is no opposition at this time. The Old Rockford Road Trail is from Vicksburg Lane to Dunkirk Lane. This one is difficult to pave, and the estimate is over $300,000. It would affect a lot of people's front yards and back yards. Chair Carroll asked if we have a sense of how much the Carlson Parkway trail would cost. Evans said that we think it will be within our budget of $130,000. He asked if the department has a preference. Evans replied that we don't, but Medina trail has been in the queue longer. Commissioner Riley said she thought the Medina trail was more interesting. Commissioner Anderson asked if Old Rockford Road is up for any improvement. Evans said we could check on this. Anderson said it would be wise to wait on that trail until after any road project. Evans pointed out that there is a section of trail planned along County Road 24, but the County has said that road will be improved in the future, so we are waiting on our project Evans asked if the commissioners had a preference among these projects. They agreed that the Medina Road trail looked like the best choice. Evans said we could invite the neighborhood to our next meeting to get feedback. Carroll said he was also interested in the Carlson Parkway trail because it was close to a school. Evans said we could invite that neighborhood also. MOTION was made by Commissioner Riley to ask staff to do more development of information on the Medina Road and Carlson Parkway trails and invite neighborhoods to come to a meeting to give feed back. Commissioner Anderson seconded. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. Commissioner Anderson asked about a trail along Vicksburg Lane and Rockford Rd. Superintendent Evans said that area belongs to Comcast, and typically, the PRAC Minutes/May 12, 2011 Page 5 landowner is responsible for building a sidewalk. Chair Carroll also pointed out a stretch of road along Co 6 west of 101 as a possibility. b. Skate Park Superintendent Evans reported that staff and City Council are interested in moving the location of the Skate Park to Plymouth Creek Park. This is the center of Plymouth. Director Blank has always felt that when we have only one of something, it should be in the central park — Plymouth Creek. The A location on the map is the old hockey rink. The B location is the old archery range. Council likes the A location. It is more visible and easier to patrol. Commissioner Vanderwall said he agreed — the archery range is too isolated. Evans said that the Hilde Center is being used by the skateboarders extensively right now. Chair Carroll asked if skateboarding is an activity that will continue into the future. Evans said she used to wonder about this, too, but the demand is still really high. Commissioner Anderson asked if roller bladers could use the skate park too. Evans said she anticipates roller bladers and perhaps bikers could use it. Commissioner Wyse said in his former city, they built a skateboard park. The police officers would park nearby to write their reports to be visible and foster a good relationship with the kids. Commissioner Riley asked if we would shut down the current site. Evans said yes, although we may move some of the pieces to other parks. Most of the equipment is in pretty bad shape, however. c. Plymouth Dog Park Superintendent Evans stated that we have hired a designer for the Dog Park parking lot. We are not sure yet if the entrance will be adjusted or not. It might be aligned with the driveway across the street. The County may require us to add a third lane to the road for the entrance if we move it, so we won't move the entrance if this is the case. 6. COMMISSIONER/STAFF UPDATES a. Director Eric Blank spoke on the transition taking place in the department upon his retirement. We have had several other staff members also leaving this past year. The transition has been well planned out. We have top-notch employees, and they will handle it well. The Commission is an integral part of the department's success. Commissioners have been committed to making the City of Plymouth a good place to live. A meeting was held this week with the Council to discuss the future of the Parks system. We looked back to 1980 and gave a walkthrough of the history of the department. Superintendent Evans put together a powerpoint presentation on what is in our future. Neighborhood parks, trails, a playfield, and our largest project, the Northwest Greenway are still coming up. Nobody else has done anything quite like the Northwest Greenway. It is nature -oriented through the entire 71/ miles. A lot of work is ahead — many key decisions need to be made. Blank is really pleased that we have more money now than we have ever had because we have managed it well. We have $300,000 in the Park Dedication Fund and $4.5 million in the Park Replacement Fund. The Dome has been a moneymaker for us. The Ice Arena has needed some repairs, but we have never needed taxpayer's dollars to pay for them. Not too many ice arenas have accomplished this. We have money in the bank to be used to keep PRAC Minutes/May 12, 2011 Page 6 the Arena looking nice and in good repair. The Recreation Fund has close to $500,000 on hand. We can probably take less tax dollars in the upcoming budget and still grow. My message is thank you for what you are doing," Blank said. Chair Carroll said his hat is off to Eric. Eric has always been fair minded and helpful to the neighborhoods, and he is greatly appreciated. We will really miss him. Commissioner Riley said she struggles to find anyone else who can look back on their body of work and feel as satisfied as Eric should. b. Superintendent Evans reported that we are working with Plymouth Creek Christian Church on Vicksburg and old Rockford Rd. The church is interested in partnering with us for community gardens. We currently have 87 garden plots at our original site, with 46 on the waitlist. We are suggesting that the Church take up the lead on the project, and the city will just consult. 7. ADJOURNMENT Chair Carroll entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner Vanderwall and seconded by Commissioner Riley. Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. The next meeting will be held on June 9 at the Plymouth Creek Center. Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder