HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Minutes 09-13-2012MINUTES OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
September 13, 2012
PRESENT: Commissioners: G. Anderson, N. Carroll, M. Riley, A. Vanderwall, J. Vecere, K.
Wyse
Staff: D. Evans, B. Northway, D. Heitke, L. Luebeck, D. Sankey
Planning Commission Liaison: D. Kobusson
City Council Liaison: G. Black
ABSENT: J. Zwack
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Carroll called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION was made by Commissioner Anderson and seconded by Commissioner
Vanderwall to approve the June minutes.
Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved.
3. OPEN FORUM
a. William Gimble - Three Ponds Issue
Mr. Gimble did not attend.
4. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS (NON -ACTION ITEMS):
a. Small Dog Parks - Lowell Luebeck
Lowell Luebeck, Park Supervisor, gave a presentation on our dog parks with
photographs of the new projects, such as sidewalk/ramp, garbage enclosure built by
an eagle scout, carpeted areas, agility items (which were also installed with help from
eagle scouts), small dog area, shade canopy, bag holder, boardwalk, and etiquette
sign. He also spoke about the two new small dog parks in the hockey rinks at
Plymouth Playfield and Oakwood Playfield. The Plymouth Playfield hockey rink is not
used anymore as a rink, so the dog park equipment can stay up all year. The
Oakwood hockey rink will need to be vacated for winter. The facilities are well
received - people really appreciate them. Commissioner Riley asked if we will
gradually improve the areas. Luebeck said for now they will stay the way they are. We
will see what the users request. We do know that they are lacking shade. Riley asked
if the dog parks are listed on the city website. Luebeck said they showed up on the
website in March or April. Chair Carroll said he was impressed with how much thought
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went into the project with things like the leash and off leash areas. He said little things
like that make it quite impressive.
b. Forestry Operations Presentation — Dan Heitke.
Dan Heitke, Park Supervisor, spoke on the Forestry Department and its operations.
The department is involved in many projects such as reforestation, tree care, tree
removal, and disease management. Our outreach efforts include the Environmental
Fair, Yard and Garden Expo, the bare root tree and shrub sale, the twice -a -year fall
plant swap, spring planting and the annual Planting Plymouth Proud award. The
street tree -trimming program involves about 1500 trees yearly. We are making great
headway with our tree inventory.
We have over 29,000 visits annually to our yard waste site, and it is probably even
higher than that this year. A lot of wood came in this year, and we expect a lot more
trees this fall. Commissioner Riley asked if Heitke has any responsibility for the
Millennium Garden. He said that Kelly is in charge of the upkeep. Director Evans said
that we have a volunteer group of women who do the weeding. She mentioned that
we had two weddings at the Hilde Center this year. Chair Carroll asked why there was
so much more tree waste this year. Heitke said it was probably because we had a lot
of growth this year, and we had a couple of storms. Our contractor, Rainbow Tree,
brings in the wood they cut. Silva Corporation grinds our wood waste, and they
encourage us to bring in more trees. Wayzata, Medicine Lake, and Long Lake also
bring their trees here. Commissioner Vecere asked for clarification on the tree
inventory program. Heitke said we are using GIS. Trees are marked as far as size,
condition and location. It is great information. It helps with reforestation and tracks
when trees are trimmed. Evans said it is an asset management program, which also
tracks park facilities and equipment. We have been building the information for the
past 5 years. Carroll asked about the financial arrangement with the yard waste
contractor. Heitke said we pay about $3 per yard for mulch. Compost is pretty much
cost neutral. Last year's compost went to a farm in Waverly. We paid Silva $10,000 to
manage the leaves and nothing for the wood. Evans said they are asking us to pave
the site because the dirt damages their equipment. This would be at a cost of $60,000.
We may lose the contractor if we don't do this.
c. Maintenance Operations Tour — Barb Northway
Deputy Director Barb Northway gave a short presentation before the facility tour. She
said that the Park Maintenance Division has 14 full time staff and 38 seasonal and
temporary staff. A lot goes on in the department with many duties to be performed, in
addition to coordinating the with the recreation staff. The commissioners then took a
tour of the maintenance facility, including the yard waste site.
5. COMMISSION / STAFF UPDATE (NON -ACTION ITEMS):
a. 2013-2017 CIP Draft Review
Director Evans spoke on the CIP, saying there was still some work to be done on it.
Council will approve it later in the year. The 2013 projects include the trail crossing on
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Cheshire Lane and light replacement at Parkers Lake and transitioning parking lot
lights to LEDs.
Evans said the topic of the Ice Center training facility project came up very quickly.
The Wayzata Hockey Association is interested in adding a training facility at the Ice
Center. Wayzata Hockey, the Providence Booster Club and Wayzata High School
have all expressed interest, and there could be others. The 7,000 square foot facility
would be leased out to a private vendor. Acceleration Minnesota is interested in
running it. The Ice Center is pretty much maxed out on revenue, and through this
added amenity, the City would be able to generate off -ice revenue through a yearly
lease payment of $60-65,000. The training facility would cost $960,000 to build. A
Hennepin County Sport Grant could be up to $325,000. It is viable that the rental fees
would pay off the investment in about 10 years. After that, the revenue will help to
make other improvements on the Ice Arena.
Commissioner Vanderwall asked if it is a dry land facility. Evans said yes, and
mentioned that Acceleration Minnesota trains Wayzata Hockey players currently.
Commissioner Riley asked about the lack of satisfaction with the treatment of
Armstrong Hockey and whether they have turned their backs on using the Ice Arena.
Evans said Robbinsdale School District is no longer using the facility. This is an
unfortunate situation because it put us in a financial bind. We were able to get
Wayzata Girls to move in full time, which helps the revenue situation. We will need to
make up some of the lost game gate money. Riley also asked about a relationship
between Acceleration Minnesota and a Wayzata High School coach. Commissioner
Vanderwall said that Pat O'Leary, a Wayzata boys coach, is involved with Acceleration
Minnesota.
Evans said that Council has not approved of this project yet. We are going to Council
next Tuesday night, and we are just asking for permission to apply for the grant. Chair
Carroll asked Evans for more information on the facility. She said it would provide
training for all sports for all ages. The facility would be in the back of the Ice Center
and operate separately. We assume we would pick up additional ice rentals because
of the training facility. The City of Edina is currently building a 10,000 square foot
facility, and other ice arenas have this type of amenity in place also.
Councilmember Black said Council approved the Vicksburg Lane and Rockford Road
trail projects. Dan Heitke said we just completed repair on the trail on Northwest
Boulevard. We are going into Fazendin Park to do some upgrades. Trails at Plymouth
Creek Park have been updated. Evans pointed out that we have 130 miles of trails in
the city, and some are getting older and in poor shape. We will need to talk further
about repairing more trails each year, perhaps 4 or 5 miles worth. Of course, we must
be careful not to deplete the budget for the infrastructure.
b. Field Turf Replacement Status
Director Evans said we just had a walk-through last Wednesday. The turf is installed
and is being used. It needs a little settling yet, but it looks very nice. Deputy Director
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Northway stated that some rain would help the turf settle. She also pointed out that
one new feature is that there is a Plymouth P on the field now. Evans said there are
more lines on the field because of all the different sports that use it. Chair Carroll
asked if the lines are color -coded. Evans said that they are. Councilmember Black
asked when the dome goes up. Dan Heitke said it is scheduled to go up on October
12, and October 19 is the rain date.
c. Maple Creek Park Renovation
Deputy Director Northway reported that we renovated Maple Creek Park at 27th
and
Weston this year. Every 17 years, we replace playgrounds. In the past, we have
replaced the playgrounds completely. This year, we reused some of the quality parts
such as the poles and redesigned the playground to fit the footprint. Some of it was
replaced with new parts. On the down side, it takes a little longer to do because of
retrofitting and trying to match new to old. We have gotten very good comments from
visitors, although a few have thought it was not a good enough change. We saved
between $30-40,000. Chair Carroll asked how long we anticipate the playground to
last. Northway said we expect it to last about 17 years, as usual.
d. Yard Waste Site Operation
Deputy Director Northway said we have 300 semi loads of wood come in every year
as well as 100 loads of leaves. We run our site very efficiently. The Maple Grove site
charges user fees. Their site costs $250,000 to run yearly. Ours is about $40,000.
Having a contractor take leaves off site helps us to extend use of the site several more
years. Dan Heitke said Hennepin County told us we were supposed to be licensed,
and we have complied. Councilmember Black asked if we have had any discussions
with the Department of Agriculture about emerald ash borer. Heitke said we are
grinding to specs so we can haul anywhere. She asked if that is why we are getting
more dust. Lowell Luebeck said it is caused mostly by the weather conditions on the
day they are grinding. Wind and dryness are the major causes. Chair Carroll asked if
we can wet the wood down when they are going to grind. Heitke and Luebeck said
that would not help because the moisture would not soak into the wood far enough.
e. Upcoming Community / Special Events
Director Evans reported that Plymouth on Parade is on Saturday, September 29. The
Firefighter 5K is also on September 29 at 9:00 a.m. The Lasagna Dinner is on Friday,
September 28 at the Plymouth Creek Center. The Farmers Market will continue on
Wednesdays through October 10. Chair Carroll said he works downtown, and has
noticed an explosion of food trucks coming in to their farmers market. He was
envisioning getting that kind of fun energy for our Farmers Market.
6. NEW BUSINESS (ACTION ITEMS):
a. None
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7. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Carroll entertained the motion to adjourn. MOTION was made by Commissioner
Riley and seconded by Commissioner Anderson.
Vote: 6 Ayes. Motion approved. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on October 11 at the Ice Center
Donna Sankey - PRAC recorder