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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 08/01/2005 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 1, 2005 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Rob Barrett, Tom Bierman, John Brill, Tom Crain, Randy Jacobus, Michael Moriarity and Geri Napuck COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeffrey Gerst and Ian Mackay COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Bob Lambert, Director of Parks and Recreation Services; Stu Fox, Manager of Natural Resources; and Carol Pelzel, Recording Secretary 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, 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —JUNE 6, 2005 Crain corrected the minutes to show that he was absent from the meeting. Motion: Motion was made by Jacobus, seconded by Napuck, to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion carried, 6-0-1 with Crain abstaining because of absence from that meeting. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION—July 5 and July 19, 2005 Lambert reported that the City Council awarded the contract for the Anderson Lakes Parkway trail project, from Franlo to Neill Lake Road. In response to a question from Moriarity, Lambert explained that the City will replant the trees that will be removed in accordance with the requirements of the City Code. Lambert stated that the Council did accept the recommendation from the Parks Commission to form a committee to consider a veterans memorial. A request for residents to serve on this committee was placed in the local papers and only one application was received. Lambert suggested that the Commission discuss this item further later in the meeting. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 2 The City Council approved the hockey shooting area at the Community Center as recommended by this Commission. The Council also approved the Park Referendum with four questions, rather than the three recommended by this Commission. Lambert explained that the Council discussed many of the same issues that this Commission had discussed regarding the number of questions to be placed on the ballot and came to the conclusion that there should be four questions. Lambert pointed out that like this Commission, all of the Council members support the referendum and feel there should be four questions on the ballot. The City Council approved the development of a master plan for the Cardinal Creek Conservation area. At their July 19 meeting, the City Council accepted awards from the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association (MRPA) for four projects in the City. Lambert explained that 26 projects were nominated for awards this year and 16 awards were presented with Eden Prairie receiving four of those 16. The projects receiving the awards were: Purgatory Creek Recreation Area; Riley- Jacques Barn Rehabilitation; The Gathering Bridge; and Eden Prairie International Festival. The City Council also adopted a resolution calling for the park referendum. V. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VI. OLD BUSINESS A. EDENBROOK CONSERVATION AREA TRAIL PLAN Lambert explained that staff has been working on developing a trail plan for the Edenbrook Conservation Area since early this year. A citizen's task force was formed and that task force worked with the consultant Jeff Schoenbauer of Brauer and Associates. Schoenbauer will present to the Commission the final proposal for the trail plan and will explain the process used in developing the plan. Schoenbauer said that this evening they will be discussing Edenbrook and Riley Creek Conservation Areas and at a future meeting they will discuss the Lower Purgatory Creek. Schoenbauer reviewed with the Commission the background of this process and discussed the key goals for this plan. He explained that they are now into the formal review process and explained that there was an overwhelming consensus that all of these trails in the Conservation Areas should be nature trails. He reviewed with the Commission the proposal for the Edenbrook Conservation Area trails and presented aerial images of the site and explained that they are trying to create a core system of trails. Jacobus indicated that one of the things that was brought out in the City survey to the residents was that they wanted additional bike trails. He asked if there would be bike trails in this Conservation Area. Schoenbauer responded that the Task Force asked for hiking trails only. They felt bike trails would require changing the character of the trails desired. Lambert PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 3 said that at each of these meetings it was pointed out that the City has a good bike trail system but few natural areas for walking. The Task Force felt it would be nice to have a Conservation Area preserved in the City. In response to a question from Barrett, Lambert explained that there would be a connection to bike trails with signage indicating pedestrian only. Schoenbauer stated that Edenbrook is well suited for nature trails and if they allowed bikes, they would have to change the boardwalk and widen the trails, which would increase costs and change the context of the area. Crain asked if there is any ecological work that needs to be done to this area. Schoenbauer answered that the City has already begun doing some of the work. As the trail system is developed they will be taking care of those areas as necessary. An unidentified member of the audience asked if this proposal will result in increased traffic and questioned where the users of this area would park their vehicles. Schoenbauer responded that there is some parking in the area and that they are recommending that a parking lot be initially developed for ten cars with the capacity to expand it to 20 cars. They do not anticipate an increase in traffic since most of the use will be by people walking from the neighborhood. Schoenbauer pointed out that it is not illegal for people to park on the streets. Some residents have asked if they could get no parking signs posted on the streets but it was recommended that they wait to see if it will be necessary to post no parking signs. Schoenbauer said that in the past they have not found parking and traffic to be an issue. Crain asked if signage has been discussed. Schoenbauer responded that signage would be addressed in the master plan. It was suggested that when the City includes a map of this area on the City's web site, the parking area be identified. Barrett asked if the nonpaved trails would be ADA compliant. Lambert explained that these trails will not be in compliance with ADA,however, they will have some accessible entry points. Due to the grades and terrain, these trails are not all accessible. The law does allow for the development of these kinds of trails. Bierman questioned where the funding for this project comes from. Lambert responded that funding comes from park dedication fees and a request will be made to the Watershed District to fund 50 percent of the cost. Lambert explained that once the plan has been approved, a final plan would be brought back to the Commission after which a master plan document will be developed. At that time Staff will recommend forwarding a request to the Watershed District for funding for the first phase of this project. Motion: Brill moved, seconded by Crain, to recommend approval of the Edenbrook Conservation Area Trail Plan as per the recommendation of the Edenbrook Conservation Area Trail Planning Committee and the consultant. The motion carried, 7-0. RILEY CREEK CONSERVATION AREA TRAIL PLAN Schoenbauer, consultant for the project, explained that of the three conservation areas under consideration, the Riley Creek Conservation Area Trail Plan had the fewest issues. Most of the questions asked were how it would affect the adjoining properties. These nature trails are PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 4 consistent with those in the Edenbrook Conservation Area Trail Plan. Schoenbauer reviewed with the Commission the proposed trails in the Riley Creek Conservation Area. All of these proposed trails are consistent with the natural trail theme. In Phase III of this plan, Jacobus questioned if the City owns the property needed to cross Dell Road from Crestwood. Lambert explained that Phase III would not be done until the City received ownership of the trail. When that property is developed, improvements will be made to Dell Road and at that time an underpass will hopefully be constructed. Mr. McLaughlin, 9999 Dell Road, asked if the master plan will also prohibit bike paths in this area and if the plan can be altered to allow such paths. Lambert responded that the master plan would recommend that the trails be designed as walking trails, not bike trails. Future Councils may decide to change the master plan; however, it would not be easy to change the plan once it has been adopted. Lambert suggested that the master plan indicate a bicycle trail connection from the Settler's Ridge creek crossing north under County Road 1 to connect to the LRT. Motion: Motion was made by Moriarity, seconded by Bierman, to recommend approval of the Riley Creek Conservation Area Trail Plan as per the recommendation of the Riley Creek Conservation Area Trail Planning Committee, city staff and the consultant. The motion carried, 7-0. B. EAGLE FILD BASEBALL STADIUM BIDS Lambert reported that the City received bids for the Eagle Field Baseball Stadium on July 7. The estimate was $850,000 with $600,000 coming from the Park Fund and $250,000 from the Baseball Association. Eleven bids were received with the low bid being $100,000 over the initial cost estimate. Lambert said staff believes the reason for the high bid is because the cost of steel has gone up considerably. Due to the timing and the back order of steel, some of the construction would require winter construction methods. Also, the City does not have a firm commitment for the $250,000 from the Baseball Association at this time. One member of the Association had offered $100,000 but this person has apparently withdrawn that committment and that money is no longer available. The Board is also reconsidering putting all of their money into this one project. Lambert said should this Commission and Council accept a bid, staff would go back to the Baseball Association and ask for a commitment for partial funding of this project. The Commission may also consider rejecting all of the bids and to go out for bids at a later time when the market may be better for this type of project. Jacobus questioned if they received a commitment from the Baseball Association and the stadium could be built in late summer and early fall, would the price come down. Lambert explained that a number of the bidders were concerned with the rapid increase in the price of steel and that the delay of delivery of the steel would push the project into winter construction. If the Commission decides to move forward with this project, they may want to consider waiting for delivery of the steel and start construction next August. Lambert said that should the Commission decide to rebid the project, he would recommend that they rebid it in January or February when the bids may come in at a lower cost. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 5 Jacobus said he feels this stadium would be a great asset to the community but if the necessary funding is not available he would not recommend that they move forward. Lambert said they have the plans for a very nice stadium and he feels that eventually it should be built. Crain asked if there has been any exploration of corporate funds for this project. Lambert explained that the Baseball Association did talk to corporations about naming rights. Lambert said this was an attractive project when they had funding from the Baseball Association. Moriarity said he does not feel this is the time to move forward with this project. Bierman said he is somewhat apprehensive in not knowing what it will cost next year to construct this stadium. He said he was impressed by the fact that all of the bids were so close and that the bids probably won't be that much different next year. They may even want to consider granting naming rights for the grandstand for a $100,000 contribution. Bierman said with the upcoming referendum, they might even want to consider putting some of those funds towards this project. Bierman said he feels this is a good investment for the community now. They have $600,000 in Park Funds and if necessary, they do the project in phases. Jacobus said he does not want to see this project fail because of the lack of$100,000. If they are only short $100,000 for funding, Jacobus said he would recommend moving forward. But if the difference is $350,000 they need to be fiscally responsible and he would not recommend moving forward with the project at this time. He suggested that staff talk to the Baseball Association informing them of the bids received and ask if they are willing to give the City $250,000 for this project so that they can move forward with it. Lambert said that as it stands now, the City would have to provide an additional $200,000; $100,000 that is above the estimate and an additional $100,000 less from the Baseball Association. At this point the City has received no commitment from the Baseball Association for$150,000. Lambert said staff was supporting this project because of the huge contributions that were to come in. Those contributions do not appear to be available any longer. In response to a question from Barrett, Lambert explained that if the Commission rejected these bids, they could rebid the project in January or February. Lambert suggested that they wait until after the referendum and after they determine whether or not the Baseball Association will be interested in making a contribution to this project. Motion: Motion was made by Bierman, seconded by Napuck, to reject bids for the Eagle Field Baseball Stadium for Miller Park due to the cost of the project compared to the cost estimate. The motion carried, 7-0. Barrett asked that staff contact other cities that have similar stadiums to find out how those cities funded their stadiums. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 6 C. NATURAL AND SCENIC GRANT APPLICATION NOTICE FROM DNR Lambert reported that the City received a letter from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources informing them that the City's application for the Local Initiatives Grant Program was denied. Lambert said this did not come as a surprise when looking at the other projects and how much land could be acquired for the same amount of money. In out-state Minnesota you can buy 400 acres for what it would cost to purchase two acres in the metropolitan area. D. BIRCH ISLAND LAKE WATER LEVEL INVESTIGATION Lambert explained that a copy of the Birch Island Lake Water Level Investigation report prepared for Nine Mile Creek Watershed District was included in the Commissioner's agenda material. This report indicates that the reason for the lowering of the water level was because of T.H. 62 road construction. The report recommends solving the water level problem by boring drain tile underneath Highway 62. Staff is recommending that the Commission support the plan to make the necessary improvements and that the City request that Hennepin County participate in paying for these improvements. Brill asked if the water quality from the drainage of this water is any different from drainage from other lakes. Fox explained that the water coming in from the north would be no different than the water coming into Birch Lake from other sources. Napuck said she wanted to disclose that her property adjoins what used to be Birch Island Lake and that her voting on this item would not provide any financial advantage to her. She said she wholly supports asking Hennepin County to fund a portion of this project. Motion: Motion was made by Barrett, seconded by Brill, to recommend the City Council include the proposed corrective measures in a basic water management petition to the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District, and furthermore, to determine if Hennepin County will participate in these costs. The motion carried, 7-0. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. POLICY FOR GUIDELINES REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY FOR FALLEN TREES ON ADJOINING LANDOWNERS' PROPERTY Lambert explained that the Commission is being asked to adopt a policy regarding the responsibility for the clean up of fallen trees. In the past, the City has always assumed the responsibility for any trees on City property that had fallen onto private property. The new proposed policy would follow State law regarding the responsibility for clean up of trees that have fallen due to wind or other natural causes. Lambert further explained that where the tree falls, no matter who owns the tree, the property owner is responsible for the clean up of the tree. If the tree falls on City property, the City will clean up the tree to their property line. If the City's tree falls on private property, that property owner is responsible for cleaning up the tree on their property. Lambert stated that City ordinance should follow State law. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 7 Bierman stated that since they have a policy on fallen trees they should consider a policy on how live trees are treated. Lambert said the reason they are developing this policy is because they are changing the way they have been handling fallen trees in the past. This policy will be consistent with State law. Motion: Motion was made by Napuck, seconded by Brill, to approve the guidelines regarding responsibility for fallen trees on adjoining landowners' property. Bierman asked that the motion be amended to include "consistent with Minnesota State Law". Vote was called on the amended motion with all members present voting aye. The motion carried, 7-0. B. REVIEW OF PARK REFERNDUM INFORMATION FLYER Lambert distributed to the Commission a copy of the park referendum information flyer and asked for their comments. The Commission recommended various changes to the flyer including the following recommendations. Barrett suggested that they show the property tax increase on an annual basis rather than on a monthly basis. Lambert explained the reason for showing monthly is because most people pay their taxes with their house payment on a monthly basis. Bierman said he prefers that it be shown monthly and perhaps they could show it both ways. Barrett said he would like to see something other than coins used in showing the cost to taxpayers. Jacobus, Moriarity and Bierman said they preferred the use of coins while the other Commission members would like to see a dollar bill used. Brill pointed out that the second paragraph of the Mayor's letter should be revised. He felt it was too negative. He suggested that they remove the sentence "We told you no last year". Moriarity suggested that under Question 3, they clarify the reason for the renovation of Forest Hills Park and not indicate that it was requested by the School District. He suggested that they eliminate the words "School District and". Bierman said that the last line of Question 3, should show the number of acres they will be acquiring for park land. Lambert indicated that it is difficult to quantify the number of acres. They are proposing $1 million for park land but they do not know how much it will cost per acre. They may also use some of those funds with matching funds. Jacobus said the front page of the flyer should indicate that this is a park referendum. They need to let the residents know that this concerns them. Under Question#4, Bierman suggested that they use the word "Upgrade" in the last bullet under"This money would be used for the following projects;"rather than the word "Update". Lambert suggested that they use "Upgrade to today's standards ...". PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 8 Napuck asked if there was any thought to having the question regarding the Community Center placed first on the ballot. Lambert responded that the City Council did discuss this. The pool question does have to follow the Community Center question. The way it is presented in the flyer is the way the City Council approved the order of the questions. Barrett recommended that the questions run across rather than up and down making it for easier reading. Moriarity asked if the cost to taxpayers includes operating costs. He asked if this is misleading since the City's budget may increase if these projects are approved. Lambert explained that the City's annual operating budget is approximately $30 million and should these items pass, that budget could increase by about$100,000. Barrett asked that different pictures be used for the front of the flyer. He felt that one of the pictures presented a religious overtone. Bierman suggested that they use a picture of the athletic fields to depict the four items that will benefit from this referendum. VIII. REPORTS OF STAFF A. DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES The following items were provided to the Commission as information items only. No formal action was required. 1. Approved minutes of Town Meeting of June 22, 2005 2. Unapproved Minutes of June 23, 2005 Lower Purgatory Creek Conservation Area Trail Planning Neighborhood Meeting 3. Excerpt from Member Connection, page 3 "My Philosophy of Recreation" 4. Copy of letter to Riley Purgatory Bluff Creek Watershed District Board regarding Preliminary Master Plan for Riley Creek, Edenbrook and Lower Purgatory Creek Nature Trails 5. Private Data Release Form 6. Unapproved minutes of the June 13, 2005 Eden Prairie Senior Referendum Information meeting 7. Article on "Danger in the Dog Park" from Parks and Recreation magazine 8. Verbal report on City Council agenda item from Leslie Stovring regarding the Water Quality Improvement Projects Barrett asked for an update on the person who illegally cut the trees at Anderson Lake. Lambert reported that this case has been forwarded to the County Attorney and they will press charges for trespassing. The City is supporting prosecution of the individual. Brill asked for an update on the arson that occurred with the slide at Staring Lake. Lambert explained that they have talked to two or three slide companies. One of the companies is looking to see if they can manufacture this slide. Their engineers may not be willing to approve a slide design that is so high and steep. Fox reported that the manufacturer rep is taking this slide to their manufacturer and he feels confident that they can replicate the PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION August 1, 2005 Page 9 slide in some similar manner. They are also working with engineers to clean up the keystone in this area. Moriarity said there have been discussions regarding BMX renegade parks. He asked if the City has considered putting in a BMX park. Lambert said the City did have one at Flying Cloud for many years. There were several problems with the park and it became a racecourse. Fox indicated that this was a big attraction several years ago but extreme jumps have become very popular now. Lambert said they are expanding Round Lake Skate Park and it will be designed to accommodate bikes. Bierman thanked the City for making it easier to use the bike path at Staring Lake. He suggested that they remove the do not walk signs on the cross country trails and he asked that some of the pine trees in Purgatory Creek be replaced since they will not come back. B. MANAGER OF RECREATION SERVICES C. MANAGER OF PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES IX. NEXT MEETING Because of the Labor Day holiday, the next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for Monday, August 29, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Jacobus moved, Bierman seconded, to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried 7-0 The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.