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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 01/06/1997 �i 1997 k 4 a JANUARY 6 1 MINUTES Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE � f i i of AGENDA PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,JANUARY 6,1997 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Claire Hilgeman, Chair; Bruce Bowman, Richard Brown, Don Jacobson,Vicki Kocning,David Kracum,John Wilson i STUDENT MEMBERS: Jennifer Freemyer,Melody Hasse i COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources; Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Laurie Hclling, Manager of Recreation Services I. ROLL CALL j 11. APPROVAL.OF AGENDA III. APPRoyAL OF MINUTE L'S-DECMBER 2. 1996 IV. PETITIONS RFQUrSTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. Lei= V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS i A. N= ,j VI. OLD BUSINESS 3 A. Eden Prairie Baseball Club RcQuest 4't" B. Commission Work Plan Update VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Possible Code Change to I�loodplain Section_Ur Non-Occu iR c�Agriculture Building B. Recommendation for Consultant to Evaluate Swimming Pool HVAC System and Disinfectant System C. -Set,Special Meeting with Athletic Association Repre entatives to Discuss Standardv and Priorities for Use of City Ballfields and Facilities i j D. Review Special Mecting with City Council-January 7. 1997.6:00 p.m. I i. 1; APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES MONDAY,JANUARY 6, 1997 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Claire Hilgcman, Chair. Bruce Bowman, Richard Brown,Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig, John Wilson COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: David Kracum COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities; Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Elinda Bahley,Recording Secretary i STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Jennifer Freemyer, Melody Hasse I. ROLL CALL 'rhe meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m.by Chair Hilgcman. r 11. APPROVAL.OF AGENDA I 1 MOTION: Koenig moved, seconded by Brown, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried 6-0. 111. APPROVAL OF MIN TES-DECEMBER ? 1O96 f i Don noted page 1 I under the first motion,the subcommittee would be made of two Commission members,not three. ! Koenig commented on page 13,third paragraph from the bottom,cupola should be plural.and on page 14,the first motion,cupola again should be plural. Page 13.the fifth paragraph, change the Heritage Preservation Committee to the Heritage Preservation Commission. Lambert noted Koenig was misspelled on the first page under Commission Members, f and on page 13 toward the bottom of the page. is i�: I Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6,1997 MOTION: Wilson moved,seconded by Jacobson,to approve the Minutes of the December 2, 1996 Eden Prairie Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission as amended. Motion carried 4-0-2 with abstentions by Hilgeman and Brown. IV. PETITIONS REQUFSTC AND COMM NI ATIOIVC A. None V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS A. Jyone V1. OLD QUSINESC { A. Eden Prairie Baseball Club Request Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated December 20, 1996,from Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities; a letter { dated December 16. 1996, from Dan Klinkhammer, Minnesota Youth Athletic Services, a fax dated December 31, 1996. from the Eden Prairie Baseball Club; and a letter dated December 19, 1996, from Brad Hewitt, Eden Prairie Baseball Club. Lambert explained at the December 1 1 meeting representatives of the Eden Prairie Baseball Club(EPBC)were asked if they had bylaws and if they had rules that were addressing the issues that they opposed in the operation of the Eden Prairie Baseball Association (EPBA). The EPBC said they do and would fax it to the City on December 12. It did not come until January 2. It was not actually drafted or incorporated until December 27 so they gave inaccurate statements when they said they had articles of incorporation and bylaws,as well as a tax exempt number on December 11. According to the l Articles of Incorporation,they do not have many of the rules that they were accusing the EPBA of not having. One of the major concerns of the EPBC was who can vote in the EPBA. In the EPBC's rules, only parents of children that are on the team can vote. However,they have only invited certain children to be on the team and they have not opened it up to the community. Therefore,this is a catch 22 type 1 2 `� i t Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,,lanuary 6,1997 of situation.One of the things that EPBC was demanding of the EPBA is that "any resident of the community"should be able to vote for the EPBA Board of Directors. "The only requirement should be 18 years old,resident of the community,and simply have an interest in baseball." This is much looser than the EPBC's own Articles of Corporation. It was very disappointing that they were making numerous demands of the EPBA and then to imply they had rules that covered all those things when, in fact,they did not have anything written and didn't write their own bylaws with the same criteria they demanded of the EPBA. The bottom line is that it was very apparent that a lot of things were said between people that have caused such hard feelings for at least three or four of the parents of the EPBC that they're going to provide their own team no matter what. They want to see that the EPBA makes the changes and operates with the changes before they would go back to that organization. The City does not have detailed enough standards or definitions of priorities to pick between two local athletic associations. Staff recommended finding a field for the EPBC for next year as a one year deal only. This would allow the Parks Commission to work with representatives of all the different associations on standards of field usage and a much more detailed definition of priorities. The City has to get more involved. Staff believes they can offer the EPBC one field use per week.at Franlo Park for games or practice. i i Jacobson commented he shared the same feelings with Lambert about the meeting that EPBA was misleading about their documents. Bowman said he was very disappointed in the EPBA's practices and policies. He believes if the Park and Recreation Department was more involved in reviewing what the policies were,this whole thing could have been avoided. He was also disappointed in the lack of adequate policies !'. they said they had and was concerned about whether they came up with a tax status number. They have one group accusing a number of items which they appear to be just as bad or worse. He supported staffs recommendation as it single one year deal only until the City gets their policies and procedures set in place. Lambert noted the EPBC has not presented a tax number yet, and it is unlikely they could have one for several months if they were incorporated on December 27. r 3 1 it Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday„January 6, 1997 Koenig was concerned about setting it precedent for the other athletic associations and splinter groups. Lambert disagreed because this is decision is for a one time basis only. They don't have policies and are now going to develop policies so from here on anything prior to the policy is null and void. Wilson commented there isn't any question that the EPBC doesn't have a tax number because they were only incorporated on the 27 of December. The problem with the EPBA is even though they have lots of house teams,they have a limited number of travel teams relative to maybe the number of travel teams that hockey has. Hockey has a book of policies and procedures that's as thick as a phone book so they can deal with all the things that come up. Hilgeman stated she was uncomfortable with staffs recommendation because the memo says the fields will have to be taken away from another organization like girls'softball. This just isn't fair to them. There needs to be one season of cooling off and they should do it in Bloomington like they said they would if they don't get a field. Lambert explained last year they opened up Miller Park and gave girls'softball four lighted fields which is equivalent to eight fields. They booked a lot of those fields and gave single teams an entire field for a season. That team, in effect, got seven day exclusive use every week for a team that might use it one or two days a week. This is one of the reasons for having some standards on how many uses per week each team is going to get. The Parks Commission and the City Council should decide this,not the have athletic associates dictate it to the City. Hilgeman noted she now supported staffs recommendation based on Lambert's assurance they will be utilizing space that was not fully utilized j before. Brown commented these kids played last year in the travel team league in Eden Prairie. lie said if the City is going to have a trial why would it not be equally fair to ask the EPBC to give the EPBA another year trial. The EPBA made the changes the EPBC was asking for. He was disappointed about how the adults acted since they are supposed to be teaching sportsmanship. He s suggested giving the EPBA,with their changes, a year trial with an open door that any member of the club,any team player,or any parent could come and complain and let the City know what's going on. After all, there has been years of successful operation up to this point. He doesn't like people making demands to the Commission. They need to say the City runs the fields. He wits not in favor of giving a year trial and they would be giving in to it policy that he feels is not conducive to the way the City should run. 4 i 4 1 1 Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,3anuary 6,1997 Fie needs to look at 2000 kids and not be worried about 20. He suggested delaying a vote on this until further information. 1-lilgeman noted that the meeting on December I I was an attempt to see if the two groups could work and stay together. Lambert said the Commission would not receive any new information if they delay the vote. The City Council gets this in two weeks and the Commission needs to make a decision. He noted what has kept limitations on travel teams hasn't been facilities so much as it has been talent. The association decides how many travel teams they want based on how many teams they think could be competitive in those leagues. The Commission has to remember these people are all volunteers. They volunteer a lot of their time to provide recreation for these kids. A lot of them are on the Board of Directors for years because you can't get that many people that are going to volunteer that much of their time. Even though the EPBA may have evolved into"a good old boys"club over the years,it was not done with malice or intentionally. They are making changes very quickly. MOTION 1: Brown moved that the Commission refuse the request of the Eden Prairie Baseball Club,that the City can not supply a field due to the fact they may not have any. The motion failed for lack on a second. Koenig expressed concerned about miscellaneous use of the fields for company use or neighborhood use. Lambert replied the only field they have j tried to keep open and not reserve for athletic use is the field at Staring Lake Park. They keep that open for company picnics, family reunions,and things ; of that nature. Every other field that is in playable condition is really t reserved for the athletic association's use. ' ,f f MOTION 2: Brown moved,seconded by Koenig,to deny the Eden Prairie Baseball Club's request and ask them to wait until the Eden Prairie Baseball Association and the Eden Prairie Softball Association come up with their total numbers to see if there is a field available. and if the fields arc available,there will be one usage available per week per team in the Eden Prairie Baseball Club. Motion failed 3-3 with the no votes by Bowman, Jacobson,and Wilson. I 5 d it Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6, 1997 MOTION 3: Wilson moved, seconded by Bowman, to accept staffs recommendation to give the Eden Prairie Baseball Club one summer season of one field use per week,and that they can not host a free tournament in Eden Prairie during that time. Motion carried 4-2 with the no votes by Brown and Koenig. i Brown requested that all the motions be forwarded to the City Council and include the specifics as stated. B. Commission Work Ph►n Update Lambert indicated the Parks Commission will be meeting with the City Council for their annual joint meeting to discuss the Work Plan. He reviewed the proposed Work Plan and the objectives included in the packet with the Commission to sec if they had any revisions to be made. i, It was noted one item not listed was the Dccr Reduction Program which this year is the third year of it. A three year program was approved to evaluate S+ it in three years which at the end of this winter will be the end of the three j years. He suggested a report be made that evaluates each area to determine a recommendation of either continuing the program or modifying the program. He did not recommend bringing that committee together again. t There is not enough information about that program to discuss at the joint meeting. I 1 Hilgeman was concerned that Top View Park was not listed and it should be. The residents brought forth a petition back in 1993 and it has not been answered yet. Lambert said they have a lot of petitions they have not been able to respond to. He noted the City said they would take the playground equipment from the Senior Center area and move it there, and then it was determined the equipment didn't rest safety standards. That was voted by the Parks 7� Commission and the City Council. q I lilgeman said it's a matter of principle and is something that's not going to �! cost much money,$10,000 at the most. She recommended Top View Park to be added to the list as M. J t 6 4 Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6, 1997 Brown asked if the More home is in the City'sjurisdiction or the Historical Society's. Lambert replied it's owned by the City and the Parks Department has been responsible for maintenance and repair. Wilson asked if there was a wish list if someone wanted to donate money. Hilgeman explained the City has a donation booklet that's been developed which is called,"The Gift Book",and lists projects from thousands of dollars to ten dollars. Hilgeman said she would like the Edenbrook Conservation Area to be included at the joint meeting so she can give a five minute comment because she was not present at the Parks Commission meeting when it was voted on. It's important for people to realize open space areas are for the whole community and not just the people that are living around the perimeter. Brown asked if there was a policy in place that deals with people that have Opposite views being handicapped because of the amount of people or insulting remarks, whereby if the Chair sees fit he can close the public ; hearing. Lambert replied no,but it's an issue that should be brought up at the joint meeting. MOTION: Bowman moved,seconded by Brown,to adopt the work plan as presented and revised with the addition of, M, Top View Park. Motion carried 6-0. t V11. NEW BUSINESS A. Pos.ibl�Codc Chnns9 to Floodnialn Section r Nnn QS U1kd ©uric tlUrre Buildlne Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated December 19. 1996, from Jean Johnson,Zoning Administrator. ' Jean Johnson,Zoning Administrator,explained the City has received some inquiries from landowners that want an agricultural building in the floodplain. After looking through the current Floodplain Code,there is no longer a review process which was in the original Code of 1976. After speaking with the City Attorney,there is not a belief on his part that this should go through the variance process,but instead go back and amend the Code. Staff has spoken with the Watershed District and the DNR and looked 7 i 1 ti k ryyl 7. tApproved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,,lanuary 6,1997 at some of their criteria because they do not prohibit those type of buildings, theyjust regulate it. They regulate elevations of the buildings,how far back it should be,and then review whether or not it has low flood potential or high j flood potential. These are the recommended items the City should put in their Code. Staff wants to be sure that in such a situation the landowners would not have any other adequate location on his property other than the floodplain. Johnson reviewed the current Code and the recommended changes with the Commission as stated in the memo on page two and three. She noted the items in italics are the proposed changes recommended to the Code. This is being brought to the Parks Commission because some construction permits do require their review along with the Planning Commission before the City Council takes action. Hilgcman asked if under, A. Structures, item 1, the revision means it's l assumed that till will have to occur on the floodplain in order for the ) structure to be built. Johnson replied no. It's in there so the City can review something without fill. I Bowman was concerned about permits including inspections of the buildings. 1 Johnson noted when they come in for a permit they have their design and the Watershed engineers look at it more from a hydrological point of view to determine that. ; Johnson showed on the map where there are existing buildings in the j floodplain and where some future ones may be. 1 Bowman asked why would they want a building in the floodplain. Johnson replied the instances they are looking at now,80 or 90 percent of their land is in the floodplain. Bowman expressed concern about liability if a building goes down and debris goes into the river. Johnson said the permit requires a Hold Harmless t Agreement so the City is not responsible for damages.This is something the l Watershed District has used for 20 or 30 years and are comfortable with. If there is immediate danger of material or debris,then the City or Watershed would respond immediately at the owner's expense. I i i 8 .� I Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6,1997 Wilson asked if there was a potential for pollution with excessive manure. Johnson stated that is a concern and they have talked to the applicants that any of the manure storage would have to be up above the floodplain. Staff is also concerned about types of fertilizer and they want put in the permit approval that nothing like that could be kept there. They would also like to limit any kind of potential pollutants. MOTION: Brown moved, seconded by Wilson, to accept staffs recommendation for Code change in the Floodplain Section for non-occupied agricultural buildings. Motion carried 6-0. B. RecommendiUl for Consultant to I valuate Swimminn Pool 1iVAC system and Disinfectant System Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated January 7, 1997, from Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities. Lambert explained they received four proposals that responded to the li Request for Proposal advertised in the local newspapers. The four that responded were all very credible firms and staff was comfortable turning I over the assignment to any one of them. Staff recommended the company x called,Water Technology,who have gone in partnership with this project with Ericksen Ellison and Associates,engineers from St.Paul. They happen !. to be the firm that by far has the most pool experience. They correct pool problems and design pools,and they were the least cost by far. It made the decision very easy and it was a unanimous one. The cost is$8,800 for the study and the fees for doing the plans and specifications is ranged between j 6-7.5 percent based on the size of the project. The smaller the project,the higher the percentage of the fee. ,file spelling of Mr.Neuman's name was corrected in the memo under staffs , recommendation. ' I r Brown was concerned there was nothing in the references indicating a pool I that was specifically used 50 or 60 percent of the time for race teams and the other percentage for the public. He asked if there was any information on how the ozone plan will handle a pool that has that extreme use. Lambert said it has nothing to do with the ozone on how it's used. The response from Water'I'cchnology is they are not convinced an ozone system is needed. The first thing they have to take care of is air, if there is enough fresh air and 9 i , i 3 i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6,1997 enough turnover of that air. They may have to go back to a gas chlorine system instead of liquid chlorine. There wasn't as severe a problem when they had the gas chlorine system and it might just take care of the problem. Hilgeman suggested trying that instead of doing the study. Lambert explained he doesn't want to spend$100,000 changing the 1-IVAC system and changing over the chlorine system without addressing the problem. He wants an expert to come in and address the problem and tell them what changes need to be made before any additional money is spent. Wilson was concerned about the future locker room expansion and the corrections that will be made now being tied in together. Lambert said that's the reason he included the Request for Proposal with the concept plan for expansion of the locker rooms. Koenig asked where the money is coming from for the study. Lambert said the School District can not pay for it unless they are in a Joint Powers Agreement with the City where it becomes part of their facility. Parks, recreation and natural resources staff recommended it come out of the ' - General Fund Reserve and the City Council will have to decide. MOTION: Brown moved,seconded by Wilson,to hire Water Technology Inc.and Erickson,Ellison and Associates at the cost of$8,800 to complete a study on how to solve the problem. Motion carried 6-0. C. Set Special Mectine with Athletic Association Representatives to Discuss Standards and Priorities for Use of City Ballnelds and Facilities Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated December 31, 1996, from Robert A.Lambert,Director of Parks,Recreation and Facilities;and a memo dated December 23, 1996, from Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, ' Recreation and Facilities; and a memo dated December 10, 1996, from Robert A.Lambcrt,Director of Parks,Recreation and Facilities. Lambert noted there will be a special meeting on Monday,January 13, 1997. The third Monday is a holiday. He suggested the whole Commission talk to the athletic association representatives instead of a couple of members because this is it significant issue for the City. The meeting will be in the Heritage Room at 7:00 p.m.and it will be set up as a discussion,but still be a Commission meeting. He will have a draft document and will be ( i 10 9 I I Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Monday,January 6,1997 suggesting priorities 1-12, describing what they are and discussing the standards. D. Review Special Meeting with City Council-January 7. 1997.6:00 p.m. 1 Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated December 31. 1996,from Robert A. Lambert,Director of Parks,Recreation and Facilities. Lambert noted the special meeting will take place Tuesday, January 7, 1997, from 6:00-7:15 p.m.because there is a regular City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. E. Candidate Niaht=Open House-Boards and Commissions. Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated December 23. 1996,from Jean L. Harris,Mayor City of Eden Prairie. I Lambert noted the Chair is encouraged and requested to attend and any other Commission members who would like to attend arc invited. The Open House is scheduled for Tuesday,January 14, 1997.from 5:30-8:00 p.m.in the Heritage Room at the City Center, Vill. REPORTS OF STAFF A. Report of Director of Parks Recreation and Facilities 1. Senior Issues Task Force Final Report Staff indicated this was an FYI item. :-T IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Brown moved,seconded by Wilson,to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. ( 11 I Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Agenda-January 6. 1997 E. Candidate Night-Open House-Boards and Cn�nmicci,..c VIII. REPORTS OF STAFF A. Report of Director of Parks Recreation and Facilities 1. Senior Issues Task Force Final R JL IX. ADJOURNMENT 7. 1