HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 05-10-2012MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
May 10, 2012
PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, J. Zwack
Staff: D. Evans, B. Northway, J. Maas, D. Heitke, P. Buck, D. Sankey
Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson
City Council Liaison: G. Black
ABSENT: J. Vecere, K. Wyse,
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 Zwack and seconded by Commissioner Riley to
approve the February minutes.
Vote: 5 Ayes. Motion approved.
3. OPEN FORUM
Donna Sankey spoke on "Dropbox" and using it for accessing our agenda packets.
4. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS (NON -ACTION ITEMS):
a. Volunteer Program Presentation - Jackie Maas
Jackie Maas presented the Volunteer Program Annual Report. In 2011, we had a
fantastic year with 1,859 volunteers, an increase of 30%. We logged 27,062 hours,
equaling $578,044 in contributions in kind. This is equivalent to13 full time employees.
Parks & Recreation uses about 63% of the volunteer hours, and this plays an integral
roll in the success of the department. Over 1000 volunteers were scheduled for
special events. The summer teen volunteer program had 60 participants. We had a
tree inventory project volunteer. A retiree adopted Fire Station 1 and took care of the
landscaping. We had groups from companies, organizations and churches that
participated in projects. This year, we have volunteers working at spring events
coming up including Planting Day and Recycling Day. A volunteer is working on
writing a request for a grant from Home Depot. A group from Home Depot has been
cleaning up the city cemetery. Volunteering empowers people of all ages to gain
skills and encourages them to help others. Chair Carroll asked what per hour rate
was used to figure the value of contributions. Jackie said it comes from Independent
Sector and was about $21 per hour.
Director Evans said Nancy Anderson started the volunteer program and Jackie has
built it up. She is an important asset to the city.
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b. Playground Renovation Plan Presentation - Dan Heitke.
Dan Heitke is a Park Maintenance Supervisor and started working for Plymouth in
1980. He reported on Maple Creek Playground, which has some weathered parts and
is starting to show its age. In order to save funds, we will attempt this year for the first
time a renovation instead of replacement. The posts will remain, and the decks and
slides will be replaced. A roof will come off a deck area, and the concrete border will
stay. The parts will be painted. We are excited to see how this goes and will let the
commissioners know the results. The wood fiber base under the playground is
wheelchair accessible and safe for the fall height for the structure. Chair Carroll asked
if the fall height is the distance a child would fall. Heitke said yes, and safety is taken
into account. We try to keep the playgrounds up to current standards. The upcoming
renovation schedule includes Plymouth Creek playground in 2013 and Schmidt Lake,
Heather Ponds, and Mission Hills in 2014. Chair Carroll asked about taking the roof off
the playground. Heitke said the color won't match, it is dented, and we are trying for a
new look. Chair Evans asked about the play value. Heitke said the roof looks nice on
a playground, but he thinks it will look great without the roof, too. Carroll said kids like
covered areas, which also provide some protection from sun. Heitke said we do have
shade structures in most of the playgrounds. Evans asked how much it would cost to
replace. Heitke said about $2,000. Commissioner Anderson asked about donating old
playgrounds to Poland. Heitke said he has contacted them and told them they can
have the old parts if they like. We will recycle as much as we possibly can. He
showed the plans for the playground and explained what is being refurbished and
what is being replaced.
c. Yard Waste Site Operations Presentation - Paul Buck
Paul Buck, City Forester, spoke on yard waste operations. Most yard waste comes
from trees: leaves, logs, limbs, brush. No grass clippings or food waste are allowed.
The site is used mostly by residents, but it is also used by school districts, city
contractors, and the cities of Long Lake, Medicine Lake, and Wayzata. We have an
average of 29,000 annual visits. The operation is located by the public works building
on two acres - one of the smaller sites in the area for this type of operation. We are
open Wednesday -Sunday from April through November. One of the biggest
challenges is cross contamination of different types of waste. We have a seasonal
employee covering the hours to supervise usage. We changed the site access by
establishing a looped traffic pattern. Annually, we have 10,000 cubic yards (100 semi
loads) of leaves turned into compost. It is all gone for this year. We will have a good
supply in the fall again. It costs $25,650 to run the compost operation each year. We
have 30,000 cubic yards, or 300 semi loads, of wood waste. It is ground into chips
and used for trails and mulch in the parks, plus some for residents. The total cost to
run the wood waste site is $34,510. We sent RFP's and got 10 responses. Sylva
Corporation from Princeton was chosen. They provide free grinding of the wood
waste. They charge $10,000 for processing leaves. We also get a 33% discount on
wood product for under the playgrounds. To expand the operation, we would have to
find a new location because we are very full right now. Commissioner Zwack asked if
there is demand for more capacity. Buck said not at this time, although it could
change with more building in the city. Having Sylva taking care of the leaves will help
open up some space. Councilmember Black asked why we need to open up space.
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Buck said we need Sylva to come in and grind the wood more often because citizens
keep bringing it in. If we could use the space where the leaves are, it would leave
more room for the wood.
d. Update on the Emerald Ash Borer — Paul Buck
Paul Buck reported that to the best of our knowledge, we don't have emerald ash
borers in Plymouth right now. The EAB is on the east side of Minneapolis. We are in a
quarantine area. Sylva grinds the wood in the yard waste site to less than an inch. We
took out 300 ash trees last year and replaced them with 9 different varieties of the 1-
1'/2 inch size. The plus side to using smaller trees is that the trees will usually start
growing faster, and the cost is considerably less. Commissioner Zwack asked if Buck
is getting many questions from homeowners. He said not yet. He does get calls from
people thinking they have caught an EAB, but it is usually the tiger beetle. Buck
attended a round table on EAB recently where they discussed the need to have a
consistent message for the public. We need to keep the public aware of the situation,
but not panicking. Zwack noted that it is different for a city forester to manage the
problem for a city compared with a homeowner with one or two trees. Chair Carroll
asked about the round table. Buck said it was hosted by the Humphrey Institute with a
good mix of people from various groups. Commissioner Anderson asked how the
insects travel. Buck said they fly in the spring. Transporting infected wood moves
them more quickly and longer distances.
Councilmember Black mentioned that people have told her that at some of the park
facilities, they have noticed grass in the street. She asked Dan Heitke to remind our
seasonal workers about this. Barbara Northway mentioned that there are other
agencies doing mowing also. We do mulch while mowing to try to help keep the grass
out of the street.
5. COMMISSION / STAFF UPDATE (NON -ACTION ITEMS):
a. Distribute Annual Report
Director Evans presented the printed form of the annual report which was distributed
to the commissioners.
b. Land Acquisition Presentation — Neighborhood Park
Director Evans reported that Council gave approval for purchasing property on
Dunkirk Lane for a future neighborhood park. The 5 -acre parcel is considered a mini
park.
c. Plymouth Dog Park
Barbary Northway, Deputy Director, spoke on the upgrade to the dog park. We added
paving, landscaping, a well, play equipment, and recycled turf from the Fieldhouse. It
is a very well used park. Often there are few parking spaces left. People are very
appreciative of having this space for their dogs. A recycled bus shelter will be
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installed for a weather enclosure. Commissioner Zwack asked how neighbors of the
park are responding. Northway said she has not had any complaints during her time
with the City. We do have boundary markers and signs asking people to be
respectful. Director Evans said we have had less than a handful of complaints in the 8
or 9 years the park has been in existence. Commissioner Riley asked for more detail
on the hockey rink dog parks. Evans said Lowell Luebeck will be working on this
project. The locations will be Oakwood Playfield and Plymouth Playfield. We need to
clean up the hockey rinks, check the grounds, display rules, and have a place for
bags. Right now, the crews are extremely busy with mowing grass on playfields, but
they will get to it. Riley said that the City of Crystal uses a lot of woodchips to keep
mud down inside the hockey rinks. Evans said that Plymouth playfield doesn't get
used as a hockey rink anymore so it can be used as a long term site. Oakwood
Playfield has to be able to be turn back into a hockey rink each year. Councilmember
Black asked if there are any plans for the rink in Zachary Park since we took one
down. Evans said the space is used as a pleasure rink.
d. Up -coming Community / Special Events
Director Evans spoke on the Healthy Living Fair, Yard & Garden Expo, and Primavera,
which were great successes. The Yard & Garden Expo generates revenue to go
toward the Millennium Garden. Primavera was held on the same weekend. On May
19, the kids will have a grand opening for the skate park. It is getting a ton of use. We
try to stay ahead on keeping the park clean. We have put up signs that say if the park
is not kept clean, we will have to close it to clean it. Kids are policing it. They are also
using the hockey rink for roller hockey and practicing skateboarding. The Grand
Opening is scheduled for May 19 from 12-3:00, in collaboration with Td
Lair. May 19 is
also flower planting day from 9 -noon. Talk to Jackie about volunteering if you are
interested. Councilmember Black spoke on Recycling Day, also on May 19, from
7:30-2:00.
6. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS):
a. Trail Projects - Table top discussion, review & prioritization
Director Evans and Deputy Director Northway discussed with the commissioners the
potential trail projects that are possible throughout the city. They discussed pros and
cons of various sites to begin the process of choosing and prioritizing upcoming
construction projects.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Carroll adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on June 14 at Plymouth Creek Center.
Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder