HomeMy WebLinkAboutPark and Recreation Advisory Commission Packet 10-13-1994Regular Meeting of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission*
October 13, 1994, 7:00 p.m.
Public Safety Training Room, 2nd Floor
AGENDA
1. Call to Order
2. Approval of Minutes
3. Visitor Presentations
a. Athletic Associations
b. Staff
c. Others
4. Report on Past Council Action
a. 1994 trail projects - held over to '95
5. Unfinished Business
a. Study of unique open spaces update
b. Accessible playground update
c. Seven Ponds neighborhood park update
d. West Medicine Lake City Park update
e. Playfield/highschool update
f. PRAC work plan for 1995 - update from subcommittee
g. Neighborhood parks' playground replacement update
6. New Business
a. Planning for northwest Plymouth - Community Development Director Anne
Hurlburt
b. Proposal for private swimming pool
c. Discuss trail system update
7. Commission Presentation
8. Staff Communication
9. Adjourn
Next Regular Meeting - November 10
MINUTES OF THE PARK AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
September 8, 1994
Page 25
Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Fiemann, Johnson, Priebe, Wahl and
Willegalle; staff Bisek, Blank and Pederson
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Anderson called the September meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Council
Chambers.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Willegalle and seconded by Commissioner Fiemann
to approve the minutes of the July meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present.
b. Staff. Mary Bisek announced that summer programs ran smoothly with no accidents or
drownings reported. Concert attendance was at its highest ever, although it was always
questionable on Tuesday nights whether or not the concerts would be rained out. Some
fall programs are underway with others beginning in the next week or two. Fall youth
soccer is in progress and is also experiencing its highest ever participation. Two special
events are coming up in September. The 2nd Annual Autumn Arts Fair is scheduled for
Saturday, the 17th, at Parkers Lake Park, followed on Sunday, the 18th, by the History
Fest, at Plymouth Creek Park, featuring an antique car show, fiddler contest and old
time demonstrations. Another special event, the Goblin Walk, is scheduled in October
and is held at Oakwood Park. Mary explained to the new commissioners that the Goblin
Walk is an event for the entire family, which consists of groups of kids and their parents
being escorted through the woods while being told a "story," while volunteers dressed as
goblins wander out from behind trees, etc., and try to scare them. The "goblins" are
geared for younger children. Mary also announced that the National Recreation and
Parks Association is holding its National Congress in Minneapolis from October 12-15,
and PRAC members are invited to attend. One of the featured activities at this year's
session will be tours of the metro area's special or unique park sites.
4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. Awarded bid accessible playground. Director Blank explained that the construction has
begun on the accessible playground. The play apparatus itself will be built in time for
the NRPA National Congress and will likely be a featured item on one of the tours. The
playground is 100% surface accessible, while the play structure has many accessible
features. This will be the largest play structure in Plymouth and will attract many
visitors. The play structure is being featured in a nationally recognized play equipment
magazine.
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 26
b. Reject bid Seven Ponds/Heather Run Park. Only one bid came in on the construction of
this neighborhood park, and it was 46% over the consultant's estimate of $120,000.
The bid was rejected, and staff decided to break up the project into several smaller
components and re -bid it. This should result in the projects' overall cost coming closer
to the consultant's estimate. Another cost saving measure was the decision to complete
some of the work in-house. Hydro -seeding has taken place and grass is already
growing. The DNR approved the construction of trail through the wetlands. The
playground should be installed this fall. The residents have been asked to suggest some
possible names for the park. These will be submitted to PRAC at the October meeting.
c. Approved sale of property at Zachary and Co. Rd. 9. Director Blank explained that 3
acres of property south of Zachary Lane, owned by the City, was recently sold for
159,000. This property was purchased several years ago as part of the Zachary
Playfield and was later separated from the playfield by the construction of new County
Road 9. A city water treatment plant occupies one small portion of the property.
d. Approved sale of Luce Line Trail. The portion of the Luce Line that runs from
Vicksburg Lane east to 494 was recently sold to Hennepin Parks. This sale will mean
future savings for the City in terms of maintenance. The County will now maintain that
portion of the trail, although the City will still retain all of its rights to the various
accesses to the trail.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Study of unique open spaces update. Director Blank reminded the commissioners that at
their last meeting they had passed a motion recommending that the City Council
consider the purchase of as much of open space parcels #4 and #7 as was economically
feasible. Council approved that recommendation and directed staff to begin negotiations
with the owners of those two parcels. At this time, a subcommittee is now working on
the final ranking of the remaining parcels that have been identified as worthy of
preservation. Director Blank believes that it will take the subcommittee about six to
eight weeks to complete this final ranking. Their recommendation would be brought
back before the full open space committee and then forwarded to PRAC for their
review. From there it would go on to the City Council for final approval.
b. Accessible playground update. See item 4a.
c. 1994 trail construction projects update. Director Blank shared a construction estimate
for completing five trail projects proposed this year. Segment 1 consists of trail north of
the Parkers Lake North development running from Niagara Lane to Vicksburg Lane,
segment 2 is south of 27th Avenue, running along the north side of the city's public
works property. Both of these segments are in-house projects and will run
approximately $73,000. Segment 3 runs along Northwest Boulevard from 44th Avenue
down to 42nd Place and provides access to the Target/Rainbow shopping area for those
residents living north of County Road 9. This segment totals approximately $34,000.
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 27
These three segments exceed slightly the $100,000 set aside in the 1994 CIP for trail
construction. Council has indicated that they are also very interested in getting two
other segments completed, based on requests from residents. One of these is along the
west side of Northwest Boulevard from 56th to 54th Avenue and provides access to Bass
Lake Playfreld, and the other is along County Road 47 and would serve the residents of
Camelot Estates. The trail along County Road 47 would have to be striped on the
existing roadway, because this road is a rural road with gravel shoulders and ditches.
The shoulders would be paved and then striped as bike path. The estimate for this
project is $172,000.
d. Seven Ponds neighborhood park update. See item 4b.
e. West Medicine Lake City Park update. The concept plan for this park was approved by
the City Council, so preliminary work has begun on this major project. Director Blank
expects that road construction could begin in January or February or sometime in the
spring. Several residents living on 23rd Avenue have expressed their dissatisfaction
over the location of the proposed tennis courts. Director Blank will be meeting with
them after the location has been staked. Perhaps after they see exactly where the tennis
court is planned, they may not be in disagreement over it. He thinks a landscaping
buffer will help settle this issue.
f. Playfield/high school update. Director Blank indicated that the City has been meeting
with the School District to decide which part of the site each of them will own. A third
party has been hired to help iron this out. A preliminary plan on site layout is expected
to be completed within 10 weeks. This is another very complex, multi -faceted project,
with many obstacles to overcome. One major issue is the excess levy which goes to the
voters in November. If voters reject the continuance of the excess levy, the future of
the high school would be in question. Other issues to resolve include an environmental
assessment worksheet, whether or not an EIS is needed, obtaining a wetlands permit
from the Corps of Engineers, and the construction of a bridge over the railroad tracks.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. Review and discussion of park/trail plan and CIP. For the benefit of the most recently
appointed commissioners, Director Blank explained the purpose of the five year CIP and
the Park Dedication Fund and how dollars are allocated to that fund. For every dollar
collected in park dedication fees, $0.70 goes into account 218 which funds trails, city
parks, i.e., Parkers Lake Park, and community playfields such as Zachary. Account
219 receives $0.30 from every dollar and funds the development and acquisition of
neighborhood parks. At the present time, the park dedication fee stands at $940 per
unit. This is the amount charged to an individual or a developer when they build a
house in Plymouth. The City's financial task force is reviewing the park dedication fee
and may suggest that it be increased to $1,250 per unit over a three year period. The
City Council has the option to change the fee to $1,250 beginning as soon as 1995.
Increasing the park dedication fee to this amount ensures that the City will have the
revenue necessary to cover proposed park and trail expenses to the year 2005. Director
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 28
Blank explained another source for funding park projects is the Community
Improvement Fund (CIF), which receives its dollars through pre -paid bond debt.
Before a project can be considered for CIF funding, however, it must be listed in the
proposed CIP for at least two years. At the present time, there are no special facilities,
such as golf courses, ice arenas, swimming pools, senior centers, etc., proposed in the
five year capital improvement program. Based on the survey done last year by the
Minnesota Center for Survey Research, those special facilities are among the top
facilities desired by the residents for development within the next five years. Trails
ranked number one among the residents and are also ranked highly by the current City
Council.
Director Blank then reviewed all the requests that have come in recently from residents
requesting new trails, and commented that staff generally recommends that trails being
considered for development first be reviewed by the City's traffic consultant to
determine traffic volume and speed on the road where the trail will be. In the case of
the Medina Road trail request, Director Blank is confident that off-road trail will be
constructed along this road in the future, but that it would be more effective to study the
entire length of the road all at once, rather than short segments here and there.
There was also a request for a new park from a small neighborhood bounded by
Hollydale golf course on the west, Vicksburg Lane on the east and County Road 9 on
the south. They feel that they are very isolated and that the only access to Plymouth
Creek Elementary, which does have a playground, is via Vicksburg Lane, which has no
sidewalk. Director Blank has talked to them and explained that there isn't a large
enough parcel available to construct a neighborhood park in this area. The Park System
Plan says that a neighborhood park should be at least five acres in size.
Director Blank also stated that the Amberwoods park issue is not resolved yet and that
Greenwood Elementary has indicated that they are willing to construct a pre-school play
structure with help from the City. Greenwood is eligible for a grant up to $10,000 from
the City since they meet the requirement of being a neighborhood park.
In addition to these park and trail requests, which PRAC needs to consider when
discussing the 1995-99 CIP, there is also the issue of special facilities such as public
golf course, swimming pool, etc., for the City. Director Blank said that PRAC has
discussed the idea of a public golf course in the past, and that now may be the right time
to begin reviewing it again. He believes that the sanitary sewer system will be extended
into northwest Plymouth within the next three to five years, making the public golf
course land skyrocket in price, because it will now be eligible for development. The
time to buy a golf course then would be before the sewer system goes through, while the
price of the land is still reasonable. Statistics show that golf courses generate excess
revenue, while ice arenas and swimming pools are not always as successful. Director
Blank indicated that the City Council has set aside funds in 1995 for a city-wide survey,
which will ask residents questions on a wide range of topics covering city services,
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 29
including parks and recreation. He suggested that one of the questions we may want to
ask is how the public feels about the City owning and operating a golf course.
Director Blank will ask the Planning Director, Anne Hurlburt, to attend the October
meeting to explain to the park commissioners the process of guiding the land remaining
outside the MUSA, which is where two of the public golf courses are currently located.
This is a project that the Planning Commission will be undertaking in the near future.
A resident from Seven Ponds, Mike Jones, 3430 Jewel Lane, asked the Commission to
consider installing a trail along Medina Road, which would provide that area safe access
to the new park, as well as to Greenwood Elementary School. He explained that he
understood the need for the City's traffic consultant to first study the volume of traffic
along Medina Road. Mr. Jones did state that although traffic is not heavy at this time, it
does travel at speeds of 40 mph or more.
b. Discuss council resolution no. 94-507. The City Council has requested that all boards,
commissions and committees submit a work plan prior to January 1, 1995, for the
purpose of integrating the work of these various groups with the goals and objectives of
the Council. This work plan should detail the activities to be undertaken by the board or
commission and how the plan supports the Council's goals and objectives. Director
Blank responded that the goals and objectives outlined by PRAC in their annual report
could be used as a guide in establishing their work plan. It was suggested that a
subcommittee of PRAC members get together and work on this plan and have a draft
ready for the November meeting. Members volunteering for the subcommittee were
Don Anderson, Tim Bildsoe and Ron Fiemann.
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Commissioner Willegalle had a number of questions pertaining to Parkers Lake. He
wanted to know how many staff hours had been spent at the Parkers Lake boat launch,
during the campaign to educate the public on Eurasian water milfoil. He was also
concerned about monitoring the number of boats using the launch. The parking lot is
meant to hold five cars and trailers, thus limiting the number of boats on the lake to that
amount, but he commented that several times individuals parked in such a way as to allow
more than five, and on occasion, people would launch their boat and then park in the lot
across the road. Director Blank stated that staff would discuss the situation with the police
department about issuing citations, in addition to placing a sign across the road indicating
that no trailers should park there. Commissioner Willegalle then asked if any decision had
been made with regard to the request for sand volleyball courts at Parkers Lake. Director
Blank indicated that we are still reviewing the best possible location on either side of
County Road 6.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
The National Recreation and Park Association's annual park congress is scheduled for
October 12-15, in Minneapolis. PRAC members were encouraged to attend. Mary Bisek
indicated that daily, on-site registration was available if they did not wish to pre -register.
PRAC Minutes/September 1994
Page 30
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m.
DATE: October 10, 1994
TO: PRAC
FROM: Eric J. Blank, Director, Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: TRAIL SYSTEM
Staff needs a recommendation from PRAC recommending that the City Council ask the City's
traffic consultant to study proposed trails at the following locations:
County Road 6 from Fernbrook to Xenium
Medina Road from Dunkirk to Brockton
Old County Road 9 from Polaris to Hwy 55
Vicksburg Lane from Old 9 to Schmidt lake Road
Xenium Lane from Luce Line to 30th Avenue
EB/np
SCORING CRITERIA
BIOLOGICAL REVIEW
1=70 6=60 11=50
2 = 68 7 = 58 12 = 48
3=66 8=56 13=46
4 = 64 9 = 54 14 = 44
5 = 62 10 = 52 15 = 42
THREAT OF LOSS
1 year 15 points
2-4 years 10 points
5 or more years 5 points
ESTIMATED COST PER ACRE
0-$30,000/acre 5 points
over $30,000/acre 0 points
BY EXISTING CITY ORDINANCE
0-25% 10 points
26-75% 6 points
over 76 % 2 points
OPEN SPACE SCORE RANKING EXAMPLI•F,
These are the examples which the subcommittee asked me to prepare. I will be contacting you
regarding an upcoming subcommittee meeting.
Eric Blank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Biological Review 70 68 66 64 62 60 58
Threat of Loss 5 5 10 15 15 5 15
Estimated Cost Per Acre 5 5 0 0 0 5 0
Protected by Existing
City Ordinance 10 10 10 6 6 6 6
TOTAL 90 88 86 85 83 76 79
These are the examples which the subcommittee asked me to prepare. I will be contacting you
regarding an upcoming subcommittee meeting.
Eric Blank
October 4, 1994
Ms. Mary Bisek
Superintendent of Recreation
City of Plymouth
3400 Plymouth Boulevard
Plymouth, MN 55447
Dear Mary:
I wanted to submit some proposed 'official' names for the Seven Ponds/Heather Run
neighborhood park. I recall you requesting this information prior to 10/7/94.
Here are our suggestions:
1. Leuer's Park (Previous farmer/land owners)
2. Ponds Run Park
3. Heather Ponds Park
4. Zitur Park (Previous City Council member, deceased)
Our preference would be Leuer's Park. I would hope this would be given consideration.
I'm not sure exactly how the name is chosen but that is our Association's first choice.
There seems to be a consensus to preserve a bit of the history of the land and this part of
the city.
I'll be anxious to hear the outcome as well as get an update on the status of the park itself.
I'll call you in about a week or so. Thanks for your help and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Nettie Lynch
Park Committee Chairperson
Seven Ponds Association
September 26, 1994
Mr. Eric Blank
Director
Plymouth Park and Recreation
3400 Plymouth Boulevard
Plymouth, Minnesota 55447
Dear Mr. Blank:
Thank you for meeting with me Friday, September 16 to discuss some
of my questions and concerns regarding a park for our neighborhood.
I am defining our neighborhood as North of County Road Nine and
West of Vicksburg. I would like to address some of the issues you
presented today, along with some comments and questions regarding
the minutes of the September 8th meeting of the Park and Recreation
Advisory Commission.
First of all is your statement that the city requires a minimum of
five acres and a population of 3,000 residents in order to quality
for consideration of a neighborhood park. While I can understand
the City's rational regarding this point, let me express mine. I
received information from the financial department, that for every
100 of property tax, $2.57 goes to park and recreation. The
houses in our area pay annual property taxes ranging from $5,000 to
7,500. Taking $5,000 as a figure, this means an annual dollar
amount of $128.50 goes to benefit other parks, trails et cetera, of
which our neighborhood has none. While we may not have the
resident numbers necessary (according to city standards) to
generate a park, let me put forth this argument. I have lived in
this neighborhood for six years, most others for ten. If we
multiply the annual figure we pay of $128.50 to park and recreation
times ten years we get $1,285.00. If we multiply this by ONLY ten
houses we get $10,285 having been contributed towards a park system
that does not benefit our neighborhood. Oxbow has approximately 26
residences. Our neighborhood is approximately ten years old and we
have already contributed a minimum of approximately $33,410 to the
park system. This figure does not include any cost of park
dedication fees mentioned in number six of the agenda. But let me
get to this point.
Our neighborhood is no longer this small. I was unable to get
actual residence counts from the city. These are approximate
numbers of a physical count of houses I conducted:
Golf View 51
Deer Run 13
Fawn Creek 27
Autumn Hills 14 (additional new phase started/not
Total NEW 105 counted)
It is my understanding, according to the minutes, "that a park
dedication fee of $940 per units is charged to an individual or
developer when they build a house in Plymouth." This figure will
be larger in 1995. That means these new developments in our
neighborhood have contributed, according to my math, $98,700. I
think these dollars reflect that our neighborhood should be given
serious consideration and priority for a park.
I inquired as to the City's ability to acquire land. I know the
golf course is a dilemma, but can we really wait for someone else
to make a decision before we do what is in the best interests of
all residents? If we wait ten years to see if the golf course is
sold, along with the ten years we have already waited, is this in
the best interest of all residents? What if the land is never
sold, do we do without a park? I questioned how much land the
water tower was going to be on, and whether a park was feasible
there. You were going to check.
I would like to ask that our neighborhood be put as a top priority.
We do not have any trails or parks, and we are bordered by two very
busy streets, County Road Nine and Vicksburg -- soon the addition
of Schmitt Road. As I mentioned in my previous letter, the golf
course does not benefit the children. Also, our children have
lost, due to the new developments, a sledding hill and a dead end
hill they used for playing. Where will they play now? In the
street? With all the developing and traffic increasing in our
neighborhood, we need a safe place for children to play!
I am also somewhat perplexed with the concern for a trail system
serving Camelot Estates. While the response to our request quoted
from the minutes was that we are a "small neighborhood", our
numbers compare at approximately 140 houses. Lake Camelot's
numbers total 186. (I am referring to Numbers 5c. of the minutes
and 6.) It would appear to me that Lake Camelot's numbers are not
significantly larger than ours.
I also have a question as to what year the developments of Seven
Ponds and Heather Run were built (Number 4b. of minutes)? It would
seem only fair that consideration be given to developments that
have existed longer and have been contributed funds longer for the
purpose of a park.
I agree with you that private parks put in by developers are not to
our advantage. I do not believe they promote community spirit and
camaraderie. If we do not see a City public park soon, this will
happen. I would not like to see this, as it creates potential for
animosity between community developments.
I believe the park and recreation department tries to do what is in
the best interests of all residents. Our neighborhood is seeing an
immediate increasing need for a park and hope that you will
consider our neighborhood a top priority. We want a safe place for
our children to be able to play, that fosters community allegiance.
Thank you again for your time and attention in meeting with me and
returning my phone calls. You were very open and helpful to all my
questions and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Mona J. Domaas
Oxbow
15910 46th Avenue North
Plymouth, MN 55446
557-0908
cc: City Council
Park and Recreation Advisory Commission
Residents of OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Parkers Lake Pavilion Calendar
OCTOBER -1994
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1
11-4 L.OSTREM
WEDDING REC.
545-2662
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9:30-11:30 SC 9:30-10:15 SS 7:30-12:30 HCAC 9:15-12:15 PD
10:45-11:30 ITT SUE BANGERT
475-4288
6-7:15 MUSIC FOR
6:30-7:30 BCW 6:30-7:30 BCW KINDERFOLK 7:30-10 BRIDGE
CLUB
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
9:30-11:30 SC 9:30-10:15 SS 9:15-12:15 PD
10:45-11:30 FFP
COLUMBUS DAY 1-3 B -DAY PRTY
HOLIDAY FOR
1-2:30 ART TANGENMAINTENANCE
6-7:15 MUSIC FOR 553-9861
6:30-7:30 BCW KINDERFOLK
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
9:30-11:30 SC 9:30-10:15 SS 9:15-12:15 PD 8:30-1 PRE•SCH.
10:45-11:30 ITT SPECIAL
6-10 K. WALKER
6:30-7:30 BCW 6:30-7:30 BCW 6-7:15 MUSIC FOR HALLOWEEN PRTY
KINDERFOLK see Nancy P.)
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
9:30-11:30 SC 9:30-10:15 SS 9:15-12:15 PD
6:30-7:30 BCW 10:45-11:30 FFP
30 31
DAYLIGHT HALLOWEEN
SAVINGS ENDS 9:30-11:30 SC 6:30-7:30 BCW 6-7:15 MUSIC FOR 7-11 J PETERSON
6:30-7:30 BCW KINDERFOLK 941-9660