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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 02/07/2005 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2005 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Rob Barrett, Tom Bierman, Randy Jacobus and Michael Moriarity COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: John Brill, Tom Crain, Jeffrey Gerst and Ian Mackay COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Bob Lambert, Director of Parks and Recreation Services; Stu Fox, Manager of Natural Resources; Laurie Obiazor, Manager of Recreation; Bob Lanzi, Recreation Coordinator and Carol Pelzel, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Cole Johnson, Apoorva Shah and Roby Shrestha I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Chair Barrett at 7:00 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Bierman moved, seconded by Jacobus, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried, 4-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —January 3, 2005 Motion: Moriarity moved, seconded by Barrett, to approve the minutes as presented. The motion carried, 4-0. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION—January 18, 2005 Lambert reported that the City Council awarded a contract to Brauer and Associates for trail planning services. The City Council authorized preparation of plans and specifications to take bids for construction of a grand stand as requested by the Baseball Association at Miller Park. The Council also authorized staff to send out an RFP for an outdoor winter recreational area. Lambert explained that the Council denied the request for a farmer's market at Purgatory Creek Recreation Area. On a vote of 4 to 1, the Council authorized staff to negotiate for acquisition of the Shuldhiess property at 9291 Riley Lake Road and to report back to the Council on the cost to acquire that property. Lambert stated that the City Council authorized staff to prepare plans and specifications and to take bids for the lighting of softball Field#4 at Round Lake Park. The PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 2 Council approved the list of land acquisition needs and ratified the placement of these parcels within the Park and Open Space System Plan. Lambert further explained that on February 1 the City Council discussed the farmer's market request again and they asked the Parks and Recreation staff to propose a farmer's market as a special event in a park. Lambert indicated that staff will look at the various options and costs for a farmer's market and whether or not a one time event would be successful. V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VI. OLD BUSINESS A. SHULDHIESS FAMILY ESTATE—RILEY LAKE PARK Lambert explained that the Commission is asked to recommend to the City Council that they authorize staff to develop a purchase agreement for the Shuldhiess property for a purchase price not to exceed $310,000. Lambert reviewed the history of this property with the Commission and reviewed the reasons for considering purchase of this property at this time. He explained that the property is currently on the market and should it sell, it may be some time before it would be available for purchase again. Proposed future development in this area will drive water and sewer to be extended to serve this parcel. If this occurs, many of the existing variances required for improvements or expansion of this property will go away and someone may want to build a very large house on this lot. Lambert explained that it makes sense to look at the purchase of this property at this time since the price has been reduced. Lambert stated that the City Council has directed City staff attempt to get approvals from the Department of Natural Resources and Interior to remove the LAWCON restrictions from the Grill House and land surrounding it. The restrictions are a result of this property being purchased with federal grant money. The goal of the City Council is to place the Grill property on the market for lease by a private business for use as a restaurant or something similar. If this land is removed from public space, it has to be replaced with property of like value. Lambert explained that if the City receives approval from the state and federal government on the land exchange and if they accept the Shuldhiess property as the exchange of equal value then the City will have something they can trade for the Grill property. Approval from the federal government for the LAWCON trade has to occur before the City purchases the Shuldhiess property. Jacobus asked what would happen with the Grill property if the City did not purchase the Shuldhiess property. Lambert responded that the City Council might still want staff to find property that could be acquired for the exchange. Bierman questioned if it is wise to include in the motion a certain dollar amount not to exceed. This information is public and may put the City at a disadvantage if people know the City's bottom number. He suggested that they use the term"best value"rather than a specific dollar amount. Lambert said they could do that if the Commission and Council were comfortable with it. The Council does have to approve the value or amount of PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 3 purchase agreement. Lambert explained that the owners of the property have agreed not to get another realtor until this has been presented to the City Council. The owners are anxious to get the property back on the market;however, they have agreed not to advertise it for sale until February 15. That is one of the reasons for putting in the not to exceed amount so that staff doesn't have to come back to this Commission or City Council for approval. Lambert said it makes sense to get these homes out of the park. Jacobus asked if they would be accomplishing anything by only purchasing one piece of property. Lambert responded that the remaining lot is only 60 feet wide and has so many restrictions on it that it would not be beneficial to extend sewer and water onto this property. The City would eventually have to purchase that site as well. Motion: Moriarity moved, seconded by Barrett, to authorize staff to develop a purchase agreement for the Shuldhiess property at 9291 Riley Lake Road for acquisition of the property at a cost not to exceed $310,000. The motion carried, 4-0. B. OFF-LEASH DOG PARK RECOMMENDATION Lambert reported that staff did discuss the location of an off-leash dog park at Staring Lake Park at the December 6 Parks Commission meeting. Staff has since walked the property and looked at several options. It was discovered that there are a couple of pinch-points on the site and these involve areas just east of the current cross-country ski trail course. Some residents have expressed concern about erosion on the north-facing slope. One area involves a ravine that has several old abandoned cars in it that would have to be cleaned up, as well as stabilizing active erosion in this area. There is some steep topography that will need to be traversed either using a trail easement across adjacent property or the installation of a set of stairs or modular retaining wall. Lambert explained that staff is proposing that there would be three large swing gates that would be closed in the summer time to keep off-leash dogs within a defined area. There would be two smaller access gates to allow people and dogs to walk into the area during the April through November use timeframe. Staff is also recommending the entire site be fenced with 48-inch high woven wire. Lambert further explained that the site is approximately 5.5 acres and the cost for improvements to use this area as an off-leash park is approximately $25,000. An additional $60,000 is estimated for a bridge to accommodate the extension of the cross-country ski trail over Purgatory Creek. This bridge would provide direct access from the trail. Staff feels this would be a very good addition to the park system and there is a vast majority of people who want to use the off-leash area. This would be a dual use for expanding the cross country ski trails and would provide the cross-country ski team with a place for meets. Fox reviewed the topographic lines of the area with the Commission. Libby Hargrove, 12640 Sunnybrook Road, said the Off-Leash Committee did have an opportunity to review the plans and found them to be delightful and the solution for an increased area for off-leash activity. A lot of people are using the current park, which is inadequate. This gives them something more positive to look at. Based on the area proposed, it appears to be workable and a good joint venture with the ski people. Hargrove PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 4 said she would like the opening and closing of the gates to be influenced by the weather rather than by a specific date. Bill Satterness, 8597 Red Oak Drive, said he was opposed to this proposal. One of the great things about this City is its park systems. He pointed out that in Eden Prairie there are five designated off-leash areas. There is also a proposal for an off-leash park at Bryant Lake that should be operational by the end of the year. Satterness presented information showing the off-leash areas near Eden Prairie. He also explained that there are more off-leash areas in Eden Prairie than in any other municipality in the state. Satterness said they must also consider the environmental costs. Approximately 5.7 acres would be completely excluded from wildlife and a wildlife corridor would be cut off. Both tall grass terraces would be closed off and this area is the cornerstone of 159 acres of wildlife habitat. Barrett asked if the grass terraces would be closed off because of the use or because of a fence. Lambert said they would be installing a 48-inch high woven wire fence, commonly called sheep fence. This fence would allow small animals such as rabbits and squirrels to go through it, and deer could jump over it. Satterness pointed out that the reason for this to be fenced in is to keep dogs from terrorizing animals or people. Basically this area is for dogs and dogs alone. Bierman asked Satterness what solutions he would provide for off-leash areas. Satterness responded that he is not opposed to dogs;however,he would like to see them on a leash when they are in an area such as this. It makes sense to extend the ski and natural trails in this area and he feels there are other places for off-leash parks. Satterness suggested that they objectively evaluate the cost to the benefits. He said they do not know what the benefits are. He also suggested that they do a survey to see how many people will use Bryant Park and how many will go to Bloomington. Satterness said he feels they don't have any facts to quantify the benefits. They know that they will be losing wildlife habitat and there will be erosion. He suggested that they not make a decision at this time but that they first look at what the benefits of doing this might be. Jeff Strate, 15021 Summer Hill Drive, said he represents the Friends of Birch Island Woods Off-Leash Committee. He indicated that they have concerns with this proposal. This area is used for wildlife of various types. The actual demand and/or need should be determined for this off-leash area given new ones already opened or are soon to be opened in Bryant Lake Park, the Golden Triangle and in Carver County. There are other dog walking areas in the City and he feels there is no need to rush forward with this recommendation. Strate said there should be more deliberation. He discussed with the Commission possible alternative areas that may work as off-leash areas in northern Eden Prairie. Moriarity asked if an off-leash park is opened at Bryant Lake Park, would that satisfy the need for additional off-leash space in Eden Prairie. Hargrove responded that they were aware of the Bryant Lake Park off-leash area. She suggested that their petition that was presented to the City of Eden Prairie may have been an influence in developing the off- leash area at Bryant Lake. The petition that was presented to this Commission included 1,600 signatures and the need for an off-leash park was established at that time. The proposed off-leash areas in Hennepin County or the Three-Rivers Park District will be PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 5 some of the best off-leash park areas but they will serve more than Eden Prairie. Hargrove said they feel that Eden Prairie can also afford to have something more locally based in the community. She also indicated that the movement of wildlife is caused by the increased population and not by off-leash areas. Hargrove stated that there is a need for people like herself that need a place to walk with their dogs and to give them the freedom to run. She said that people would rather walk than stand and watch their dog. This area is also for people. Jacobus asked how they anticipate most of the dog owners would access the park. Hargrove said she would drive to the park and walk in. Other people who enjoy walking around Staring Lake may walk to the off-leash area. Bierman said they might end up seeing more dogs on the trails in Staring Lake. Hargrove said most of the people who walk around the lake already walk with their dog. She did not feel dog traffic would increase. Jacobus said he is concerned about the number of people using this park and walking around Staring Lake and that there may be a problem with non-dog owners. Barrett pointed out that this area is not incredibly close to Staring Lake and it appears to be relatively secluded. Jacobus asked if they could restrict access on the trails from Staring Lake. Lambert responded that would be difficult. He said he feels that 90 percent of the users will be driving to this off-leash area. Lambert said he does not feel it would be a good use of staff time to study if an off-leash area is needed. It appears that all off-leash areas have one common problem and that is over use. He said they need to determine how to manage these areas. Lambert indicated that 90 percent of the use will occur between the first tree line and the entry point and that will be the area that they will monitor for over use. This will be one of the City's highest used areas for their$25,000 investment. Lambert said staff feels this is a very good investment considering the number of people that will use this facility. Lambert pointed out that Strate had suggested that they look at Edgewood Park and he said he feels this is something they should look at. Lambert said that Satterness had some good comments and staff will look at not extending the north fence in that area. Lambert said staff is trying to find spaces to accommodate this need but they do not have a lot of options. Moriarity said it appears that 90 percent of the users will go to the first tree line. He suggested that they stop the fence where the easement is needed. This would save the ravine area and the smaller area would save some wildlife. Moriarity said he is not convinced that they need to make this area as big as they are proposing. Lambert responded that the eastern 90 percent of the site is of little value if the dog park blocks access to it. This is for the people and not so much for the dogs. It is the people who want to walk and exercise their dogs without having them on a leash. Bierman said there has been discussion on the number of off-leash areas in the City. He said he does not consider the skating areas as real off-leash areas. They are nice but not much of an area and it is a band-aid fix. They are not taking anything away from the people. They are still able to walk in this area without a dog. Bierman questioned the urgency of moving so quickly on this item. He received the information on Saturday and was unable to look at this area. Bierman asked if there was a compelling need to act on this PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 6 item this evening. Lambert said there was nothing critical about having to make a decision tonight. If the Commission wished, they could continue this item to give them an opportunity to view the area. This item could be brought back to the Commission on March 7. Lambert mentioned that they are only recommending the off-leash area at this time and not the bridge for the cross-country ski trail. The bridge project is estimated to cost$60,000 that is in the budget. An additional $30,000 is in the Capital Improvement Plan for the off- leash area. Staff would like to include the bridge project with the trails project in the Watershed District. Bierman said he is in favor of an off-leash area but would like to vote after having an opportunity to review this site. Barrett said the reason he likes this site is because it is a relatively unused site. This would utilize part of the park that is not utilized, for a minimal cost, and would take care of the need for an off-leash area. Also, there would be no neighbor issues. Jacobus asked if they felt that by approving this, dog traffic around Staring Lake would increase. Lambert said he did not think it would significantly increase. Jacobus said he is concerned that should this park become popular, dog traffic will increase tremendously around Staring Lake. If they do not think this will happen,he is in favor of the off-leash park. Lambert said they may see a few more people walking their dogs to this area but he does not think they will notice a difference. The vast majority if the users will drive to the site and access from County Road 1. Barrett said he would be in favor of approving this item this evening. He said he did not know what they would be gaining by continuing this item. Bierman asked if there should be any concerns with the archery range and its proximity to this proposed area. Lambert answered that it will be an active archery range in the spring and it is designed so that arrows do not leave that area. Moriarity said this will be a multi-use park and extending the cross country ski trails is a good thing. Jacobus said if they do not feel it will be adding dog traffic on Staring Lake he can support this proposal. Moriarity said he also is in favor of moving forward with this request this evening. He was not sure that one month from now would change anything. Motion: Barrett moved, seconded by Moriarity, to recommend the City Council authorize approval of the off-leash dog park and expansion of the cross-country ski trails south of Purgatory Creek, and further to negotiate an easement on the property to the south in order to traverse the slope for cross-country skiers for an estimated cost for the project of $25,800. Lambert suggested that Bierman take a look at this area and get back to him with any questions or concerns he might have prior to the February 15 Council meeting. Vote was called on the motion with all members present voting aye except Bierman who abstained. The motion carried, 3-0-1. VII. NEW BUSINESS PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 7 A. FUTURE REFERENDUM—FEASILIBITY STUDY Lambert explained that at their first meeting in January the City Council listed their goals for the year. They indicated that one of their main goals is to address park needs that were not accomplished by the failure of the referendum. The Council wants to meet with this Commission to discuss what the park needs are and how they can accomplish those needs. Lambert said that one of the most controversial questions is how to address the pool needs. He suggested that they think about different options on how to address those needs and whether or not pool needs would be a separate question. Lambert asked that the Commission recommend that the Council authorize staff to spend money for a revised concept plan and feasibility study to address priority needs. Lambert said he does not believe they have to do all of the things on the referendum. They may want to have a phasing plan and to fund some of the projects with revenue bonds and some with donations. Lambert asked that the Commission support staff doing a concept plan with a breakdown and different options. They can meet to discuss some of those options and determine how to break them down. Lambert said staff does not want to go through all of the work and effort and raise expectations of people and have the referendum defeated because they made the wrong decision on pool needs. It is important to do some real study on what their options might be. They need to be open to looking at all pool needs in the community. Lambert said they would address outdoor pools with this plan. It will have to be phased in and the first phase may be accomplished with revenue bonds. They could build on a successful program that would allow for expansion in phases. Barrett asked if staff had any idea as to what it would cost to do such a plan. Lambert said they did not but staff would work within the budget. Motion: Jacobus moved, Bierman seconded, to recommend the City Council authorize staff to prepare a revised concept plan and feasibility study for the Community Center improvements that would address the priority needs of the Community Center and pool options, and to prepare a recommendation on what items should be considered for a future park referendum. The motion carried, 4-0. B. MARCH 7 MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL Lambert reported that a joint meeting with the City Council has been scheduled for March 7. The meeting will be held from approximately 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to discuss significant capital improvement issues in the park system. The regular Commission meeting will begin after the joint meeting with the City Council. C. UTILIZATION OF THE FORMER FITNESS CENTER AND UPPER LOBBY AT THE EDEN PRAIRIE COMMUNITY CENTER PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 8 Lanzi explained that staff is recommending that the front half of the former fitness center of the Community Center be converted to a meeting room rather than a video arcade and to utilize the upper lobby as an arcade area. Moriarity said he could appreciate the need for meeting rooms. Barrett asked if the racquetball courts are being used. Lanzi said their use has remained constant. Bierman said acoustics seems to be an issue. He asked if anything would be done to the acoustics of the meeting room to improve the noise level. Lanzi said he does not have an answer for that; however, they don't anticipate that this meeting room will be as noisy as Meeting room C because it is adjacent to the racquetball courts. Motion: Bierman moved, seconded by Jacobus, to approve the plan to convert the front half of the former fitness center to a meeting room rather than a video arcade, and utilize the upper lobby as an arcade area with three or four arcade video games and one bubble hockey game as required. The motion carried, 4-0. VIII. REPORTS OF STAFF A. DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES 1. Sports Facilities Committee Update Lambert reported that the Sports Facilities Committee had their first meeting on January 10. The Committee has gone through about half of the Priority Use Policy. B. MANAGER OF RECREATION SERVICES C. MANAGER OF PARKS AND NATURAL RESORUCES 1. Cross-Country Ski Race at Staring Lake Park Barrett explained that after the last Commission meeting when they discussed approving paths in front of the sliding hill area a letter was sent asking that trails not be groomed unless the City has given their approval. Lambert stated that they did not want the trails groomed west of the ball field at Staring Lake Park. Fox reviewed with the Commission what was discussed at the December meeting and he reviewed with the Commission an event that had occurred at Staring Lake Park on February 1. Staff had received a call from a concerned parent that there was a ski meet taking place at Staring Lake Park. The cross-country ski coach had groomed ski trails up to the playground plaza just east of the building, well beyond the area the Commission and city staff approved. He also ignored our request to inform the City of any plans for ski meets on City property. Lambert explained that this is being presented to the Commission as an informational item only. He indicated that he had discussed the issues regarding the grooming of ski PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION February 7, 2005 Page 9 trails in Staring Lake Park with Mike Grant of the School District. Lambert said he told Mr. Grant that City staff would no longer deal with the cross-country ski coach directly but that he would have to go through Mike Grant with any requests for grooming of trails. IX. ADJOURNMENT Bierman asked who owns the parking lots of the facilities adjoining the Purgatory Creek Recreation area. Fox responded that each restaurant is required to provide a certain number of parking spaces for their facility. Bierman said that as they begin to plan events, they need to be sensitive to those businesses and their parking facilities. They may want to consider enforcement of no parking at those facilities during special events. Motion: Bierman moved, Jacobus seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.