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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 08/04/1997 i 1 1997 AUGUST 4 MINUTES Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE 1 ( AGENDA PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 4, 1997 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown, Chair, Frantz Corneille, Claire Hilgeman Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig,John Wilson STUDENT MEMBERS: Jennifer Freemycr,Melody FIassc i COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and 1 Natural Resources. Laurie Hclling, Manager of Recreation Services 1. ROLL CALL j i ll. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 111. APPROVAL OF MINUTES-J 1LY 21, 1997 4 4 IV. PETITIONS.REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS y` A. Request for Support of Historic Murphy's landing Restoration t B. west of the EPBA to Waive Field Usauc Fees for EPBA Fall Bascbnll V. DEVEI.OPMENT PROPOSALS I( A. Southwest Crossing. 10400 Buil dine B. Prairie View Office Buil line C. Land Rover VI. OLD BUSINESS A. LRT Trail Corridor V11. NEW BUSINESJ A. Evaluation of Playground Proposals for Homeward Hills Park 13. Recommendation on Awarding Bid for Playground Structure•t Staring Lakc nark C. Recommendation on Consuhnnt and Process to Develop Management Plan for Prairie Bluff Conservation Area i VI11. ADJOURNMENT I 1 I APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,AUGUST 4,1997 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown, Chair; Frantz Corneille, Claire Hilgcman, Don Jacobson, Vicki Koenig,John Wilson i COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Claire Hilgcman COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources;Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; Elinda Bahley, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Jennifer Freemycr (absent), Melody Hasse 2 (absent) 'L. 1. ROLL CALL. Chair Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. I II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA i I Koenig included under Old Business,item B.Pulte Homes Project. MOTION: Koenig moved, seconded by Corneille, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES- IUL.Y 21,1997 Koenig noted on page four,first paragraph,the third sentence should read...concerned about the houses blocking their view of Baker Road and the wildlife in the area. MOTION: Jacobson moved,seconded by Corneille,to approve the minutes of the July 21, 1997 iiden Prairie Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission as amended. Motion curried 5-0. IV. PETITIONS RFOUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS i A. squeNt for Support or Historic Murphy's Landing Restoration I i i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 24, 1997 from Bob Lambert, Director of Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources. Shirley Olson, Director of Historical Murphy's Landing,explained her request for support from the City of Eden Prairie for restoration of Murphy's Landing. A proposal has been submitted for an ISTEA grant for restoration of Murphy's Landing and they are seeking a commitment of$5,000 a year for the next five years from the City of Eden Prairie as part of the matching grant. She explained why she got involved with this project and historical information surrounding Murphy's Landing including significant features to the site. She reviewed the restoration project which includes rebuilding of Murphy's Inn at its original site on the Minnesota River,and the construction of a new three-tier boat landing location near the Inn, both to serve the Murphy's tour boat and provide public boat access. Using a graphic,she reviewed the Minnesota Valley Trail system and pointed out the proposed trail which runs on the south side of the Minnesota River. The total cost of the project is$1,175,000 and commitments have already been made from Shakopee and the Minnesota River Watershed District. The plan is to restore the Inn the way it looked from the outside and on the upper level inside will be for some office spaces. They are hoping to create a center where small groups could j have a place to have meetings. I Brown asked if the trail is going to join the Chaska trail that now exists along the river. Olson said yes and noted the Minnesota Valley Trail is the largest and eventually you will be able to go all the way to Mankato and beyond. Jacobson inquired about a parking lot on the Eden Prairie side when people come to use the ferry, Lambert replied it's not really feasible for a landing on the Eden Prairie side until they have a trail to connect to. He explained the plan for the future trail and noted the trail is probably four or five years away from where it's feasible ? for the City to put it trail system to make the connection to that landing. The ferry is about six years away as far as feasibility. Brown asked if the City of Eden Prairie can legally spend money for another City's historical spot. Lambert replied the City could not legally spend their tax dollars for it Shakopee project without a Joint Powers Agreement with Shakopee. The Joint Powers Agreement would have to show a direct bcncfrt to the residents of Eden Prairie rind then it would have to be a Joint Powers Agreement with the City of 2 � i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 Shakopee, Murphy's Landing,and the Watershed District. Lambert noted the Heritage Preservation Commission has already supported the concept. Koenig asked staff to address some of the issues regarding the property owners in the vicinity of Indian Road such as the problem with unauthorized hunting. Lambert explained the City of Eden Prairie has allowed the property owners to put up gates and it padlock. However, it remains a public road and removal of that gate can happen at any time. The City allowed this because of all the problems the Hunt Club had as a result of trespassers. A number of years ago a portion of the road fell in the river and there was no passable way to Shakopee so people were going down there on private property. To eliminate this problem and the hunting parties going there, the gate was put in. There are sonic issues they have to address with the property owners. One of the property owners has used this road as a way to take his farm equipment down to his field. 1 f(lie City decides to make that a trail,he's still going to have to use that to transport his farm equipment down. Wilson asked if people will be charged for the ferry. Olson replied they are hoping it would be free. What would have to happen is through this Joint Power's Agreement they have to work out some way to make that happen. The details of that a arc yet to be worked out. They are not interested in making money off of running the ferry. Koenig inquired if the funds will come from Cash Park Fees. Lambert said he didn't know but it's a possibility. That would be a City Council decision. MOTION: Wilson moved,seconded by Corneille,to support the concept of the project presented based on staffs recommendation. Motion carried 5-0. B. Request of the EPBA to Waive Field Usage Fees for EPBA Fail[Baseball Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 22, 1997 from Bob Lambert, Director of Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources;and a letter dated July 17, 1997 from Drew Bartley, President of the Eden Prairie Baseball Association(EPBA). Lambert explained staff was under the impression that the EPBA had been sponsoring the Fall baseball for the last two years. Staff found out it was an 3 t Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4, 1997 individual project and was not supported by the EPBA. This year the Board of Directors of the EPBA decided to support that and sponsor the project.They are urging the City to waive the fees for the maintenance because the City has already agreed to waive it for soccer this Fall. When staff talked about a second season fee and some of the other fees with the associations earlier this year,staff said they were not going to impose any new fees on the associations this year. Those fees would begin in 1998 and staff will be recommending those before the Fall,letting people know what the recommendation would be. To be consistent with the Soccer Association,staff recommended allowing the Fall league to occur but it will be on a minimal maintenance and not lining and dragging on a daily basis. They will line the fields as needed and keep them mowed and dragged so it's in a safe playing condition. Wilson asked if it's acceptable to the EPBA. Lambert said EPBA indicated it was. This is a low key recreational league where kids change positions from day to day and they didn't need the really high maintenance. They understand that next year there's a potential for a second season fee. Brown asked staff to present information on field usage fees from the different Cities as a comparison for Eden Prairie, MOTION: Frantz moved,seconded by Wilson,to waive the field usage fees for j Eden Prairie Baseball Association for Fall baseball based on the understanding that the City will provide minimum service to the Association. Motion carried 5-0. V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSA C A. Southwest Crossing 10400 Buildhs Staff referred the Commission to two memos dated July 29, 1997 and July 11, 1997. from Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources;and a Staff Report dated July 25, 1997, from Michael D. Franzen,City Planner. Ed Farr,architect,reviewed the development proposal including the landscaping and , site plan. He presented a three-D graphic illustrating the project and pointed out the way the project was nestled within the environment around the lakes and the significant trees and landscaping. They want to minimize the impact of tree loss and disturbance of vegetation. "There will be a reconfiguration on part of the existing bituminous trail that goes along the south part of Lake Smetana. Regardless of 4 5 t Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4, 1997 whether the trail gets reconfigured,they are providing a 20 foot easement for the trail. They have worked very closely with Stu Fox on evaluation of specific trees out there and tree groups to maximize the impact of what they're saving,particularly, clusters or oaks. Fox reviewed the staff report and noted this is part of an existing PUD. According to the tree inventory,there are 233 significant trees on this site for a total of 4,173 caliper inches. The majority of trees out there are white and bur oak,and it also includes linden,black cherry and one lone birch tree on the site. According to the grading plan submitted,there will be 136 trees removed which comes out to a 75 percent tree loss. However, since this site does include the 12-acre preserve and { originally the tree loss was based on a different plan, there has been some 1 modification to the mitigation required. You end up giving some credit back and the overall tree loss is calculated against the total which makes the tree loss only 31.7 percent. ]'his is considerably less than most of the commercial/office loss seen on this type of area as a result of the preservation area. Tile tree replacement requirement is 840 caliper inches of tree planting required under the landscaping screening ordinance and 264 caliper inches of landscape 4 material. The replacement plan submitted is a 2:1 replacement. They are trying to use a wide variety of native materials to blend back the landscape they are taking out. In addition,because of the landscaping screening ordinance,they are required to put in some coniferous materials to provide year round screening. There are some spruce and other coniferous materials to screen the parking ramp as well as the parking lot. The NURP pond that's on the site was constructed a number of years ago and is sized accurately to handle the water from this particular project. However,there is going to be some modification on the one end due to the grading of the building itself. The existing trail that was constructed on this site was done prior to any plans for a building and happens to go through the area that's proposed to have a parking ramp + on it. Staff recommended that the trail be reconstructed to be eight feet wide. Since Vantage Corporation never provided the site with a trail casement,the trail casement should be provided once the reconstruction takes place. This will allow the public to utilize this trail and also allow the City to do any maintenance that is required to maintain the safety on that trail system. There has not been a firm commitment as to what the status is of the outlot. There has been some talk about dedication or giving it to the City. Staff would recommend 5 1 Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4, 1997 that a scenic conservation casement be placed over it thereby insuring that site would not be graded at some time in the future, The City can not require them to give that since there were some situations that transpired during the original PUD. This project was reviewed at the July 28, 1997 Planning Commission meeting and was approved on a unanimous vote of 7-0. Wilson asked what they could do with the outlot if they gifted it to the City. Lambert said they would treat it as a condition of the gift that there's a scenic casement on it. Jacobson asked if this was gilled to the City would it be in lieu of Cash Park Fees. Lambert explained a deal was cut with property owners on the original PUD more than 15 years ago. There is Cash Park Fees on the cast but not on the west. There will be cash park fees paid on this project. Staff and Commissioners stepped down to view the model and had a brief dd discussion. l_ MOTION: Koenig moved, seconded by Wilson, to approve the development at 10400 Viking Drive according to the staff report with the recommendation to place a conservation casement over Outlot A. Motion carried 5-0. B. Prairie View Office Buildine Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 24, 1997,from Stuart A.Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; and a staff report dated July 25, 1997, from Scott A.Kipp,Senior Planner. Ed l-arr,architect,reviewed the development proposal including the landscaping and site plan,and noted they consider this site to be a topographically challenging site. There arc conservation casements over the southerly 2/3 portion of the property. The developable area is a long narrow path along Equitable Drive where the two- story office building will be situated. They have recently delineated wetland adjacent to Purgatory Creek. Due to the delineation, they have relocated the proposed NURP pond out ofthe wetland. 3 There is:m existing path that's not paved but will be upgraded to a full gravel path as part of the development on the cast side of the property. A trail will also be constructed up on Equitable Drive. They have worked with the adjacent land owners 6 I� Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4, 1997 and currently they arc developing that,as well,to coordinate the grading and the 20 foot trail casement which will mostly fall within this development. Fox reviewed the staff report noting it was written more than a week ago prior to the review at the Planning Commission and some changes were made. There are no trees as defined tinder City Code as significant. However,there is a portion of the site that did have some young trees growing on it and that was where the original NURP pond was proposed. That NURP pond has been changed as a result of two things; the wetland mitigation issue as well as the tree issue. The City has an existing stone sewer pipe that follows the westerly property line. The pond is being proposed to handle the parking lot drainage.The Engineering Staff is reviewing the plans to determine whether this pond can also treat some of the storm water currently i coming off of Equitable Drive and flowing over land to Purgatory Creek. This would enable all the water to have some pretreatment and allow sedimentation to go out in the pond. In terms of the landscaping on the site,the landscaping does meet City Code as far as landscaping screening. This project was moved 10 feet closer to Equitable Drive 'II to give them a setback variance of their driveway. This was done in a couple of i. other instances on similar projects around the outskirts of Equitable Drive because of the building on the project running right up against the existing scenic conservation casement. The variance is to try and give a little more space around that building. As far as selection,staff recommended more than just one coniferous tree cover,that there be additional coniferous material to be used. Equitable Drive is it very traveled road and there's salt used on that road. To minimize the winter travel hazards a mixture of coniferous material was recommended. Currently there is it five foot wide sidewalk along the southerly side of Equitable Drive. This is an important connection during construction since there are a number of businesses in that area and people walking in that area. Stuff recommended that sidewalk be kept open as much as possible. Restoration should be done as soon as possible. In terms of the easterly property line, there was a project that came in, Reality International,and it was at that time discovered that the trail was put in as part of the Edenvalc 9►h Addition. Fie explained the circumstances surrounding this and noted the recommendation is that trail be paved bituminous surface. Having a paved path will enable service vehicles to travel up and down the steep slopes with minimal surface disturbance to service the NURP pond. A paved trail will enable hikers and bicyclists to maintain control easier during wet conditions and a paved trail will be 7 3 Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 less likely to erode with the proposed grades. Currently there is a scenic and conservation casement over about 60 percent of this lot. As a result of some recent situations,staff recommended there be some signagc and some markings of that scenic and conservation casement line. This is for the future property management of people in terms of mowing the lawns and knowing where that scenic and conservation line is. 'this project was reviewed at the July 28, 1997 Planning Commission meeting and was approved on a unanimous vote of 7-0. s Koenig asked if there was any possibility of moving the building any further away from the conservation casement line because right now it's just 10 feet away. Farr explained staff recommended that they move the building already that 10 feet further on the north to encroach on the front yard setback to minimize any disturbances at all in the conservation easement. Koenig asked how many feet there arc between the 3 building and the realigned trail around the new proposed NURP pond. Farr replied a it's about 70 feet away from the building at its closest point. L. Brown was concerned about inspection of the runoff screening during construction. Fox stated the Engineering Department is responsible for that. Double wall erosion control in this area may be practical in terms of making sure things arc maintained in the state they arc. I lc would also recommend some signagc to inform people that I utilize this area that the trail is out of service.Farr explained how the erosion control would work and noted he would take a look into additional protection. Kocning concurred with Brown and commented the restrictions are usually good in terms of erosion but they don't seem to be adequately monitored. Corneille was concerned that the Planning Commission recommendation did not include paying appropriate Cash Park Fees. Fox explained this is in the Edcnvale PUD which is part of one of those areas that were exempted from Cash Park Fees about 30 years ago. i f Koenig commented she was not very comfortable with a building this close to the conservation casement. She realized that staff was recommending specific steps to protect the casement but the erosion in that area and the 10 feet really concerned her. MOTION: Wilson moved, seconded by Jacobson, to approve the staff 8 i � Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 recommendations for Prairieview Office Building as verbally amended by the City Forester. Motion carried 4-1-0 with the no vote by Corneille. Corneille said because of the lack of Cash Park Fees, the amount of variances granted,and the proximity of the building to the 10 foot conservation casement,he voted no and would not support it, i C. Land Rover Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 23, 1997,from Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources; and a staff report dated July 25. 1997, from Michael D.Franzen,City Planner. Wayne Pryzinski,Director of operations of Maplewood Imports,explained car sale growths have gotten to the point where they need more space and Land Rover has strongly encouraged them to build. They sell high line cars and believe they maintain a decorum and style that's not consistent with the average experience one might have at a car dealership. The concept of Land Rover is to develop a woodsy lodge feel to sell and service Land Rovers. i One of the problems with this site is on the back side of the site. There's roughly a 50 foot drop and creates some concern and challenges in placement of the building. They have complied with all the landscaping requirements but the original plan did a' not because of the height of the building. The plan was changed and they doubled all landscaping and caliper inch requirements. They missed one of the trees that staff believes will die in the future because the roots may be effected. They came up with 53.9 inches of replacement trees but it needs to change to 67.5 inches. They are in total compliance of staffs recommendations. Brown asked if they would be using exclusionary fencing to keep equipment off the roots of the trees to be saved. Pryzinski said they arc in compliance with that recommendation. They are very concerned about saving every tree they absolutely j can. ']'his adds to the total feel of the dealership they arc trying to create Fox reviewed the staff report. Ile noted there are 27 significant trees as defined under City ordinance and there arc an additional five elms which were not counted in the tree calculations. The proposal is to remove nine trees of the 27 for a total of 164 diameter inches being removed. Their original calculation was 146 diameter inches, One 19 inch tree is in jeopardy. Under City Code it tree is defined as being lost if it has 60 percent of the root system either graded,filled,or compacted over. 9 i t n I Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 The area directly north of this is a proposed test track which is a conceptual location and can actually be relocated. Based on the grading plan submitted,that's the reason for this tree being removed. The City Council has asked staff to calculate based on worst case scenarios. If they did indeed succeed in saving that tree,they would have to mitigate for it but also end up saving an additional 18 inch tree. The landscaping plan does have a wide variety of trees on it but it was written prior to the final submission that there were 28 inches of additional landscaping material, They have to go back and recalculate that but they do come up with a total of 169 inches of trees on the plan. Because of the limited planting space,there may have to be sonic change in terms of the required sizes. Currently,the site has a list of size requirements based on the size of the building as well as screening. If that can not be met, staff recommended using some smaller diameter trees in the restoration around the NURP pond. i The NURP pond being proposed is to handle storm water runoff from this site and to pretreat it, Currently,the only discharge is over land into the 494 right-of-way t and that's the place where the NURP pond for Extended Stay, immediately cast of this site,goes. a �. There is an existing eight foot bituminous trail on the south side of Valley View Road, one of the major interconnector trails. Staff recommended that trail be i maintained in a manner so pedestrian traffic using that could be handled during i construction. 1 The project was reviewed at the July 28, 1997 Planning Commission meeting and was approved unanimously on a 7-0 vote. Brown was concerned about the lighting conditions. Fox explained the lighting level is brighter than Eden Prairie Ford and not as bright as Suburban Chevrolet. The peak foot candle is 30 and the average foot candle is 13. Eden Prairie Ford is 20 peak foot candles and 5.6 average foot candles. Suburban Chevrolet is 40 peak foot i candles and IS average foot candles. Koenig asked if there is any additional information about putting two NURP ponds into one. Fox said no but it was looked into by the Engineering Staff. The developer to the cast of here has no incentive to combine his NURP pond with this one. It could require a lot of engineering,a lot of changes,and they arc not really required to do that. Therefore,staff recommended that file NURP pond be located as shown on the drawings. Pryzinski noted they even presented a financial incentive to them and they were not interested. eMOTION: Corneille moved,seconded by Wilson,to approve the Land Rover Auto Dealership project based on staff recommendations of.luly 23, 1997 as amended today by the City Forester's comments. Motion carried 5-0. 10 I �l i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 V1. OLD BUSINESS A. LRT Trail Corridor Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 17, 1997,from Bob Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources. Lambert commented at the last meeting the Commission asked staff to contact Del Miller of Hennepin Parks and Larry O'Dell from the Hennepin Light Trail Transit Authority. He spoke to Ken Stevens from the LRT and Del Miller,and they would be willing to come to the City and Commission and talk about this. Fie questioned the Commission as to whether they really want to get into a full blown discussion about what they consider important or not important. If anyone is doing anything other than clippings or leaves, they will talk to them and go to court. They have a limited budget of$130,000 and half a dozen crew teams to take care of many miles of right-of-way. It's got to be a serious infraction before they get too excited and go out there. Brown commented he would call Ken Stevens himself to report someone who was cutting down some more trees. ' B. Pulte homes Project j Koenig was concerned that Pulte still has not restored the area down by Purgatory Creek and with all the rain, it's pretty much a muddy mess. The standing water is up to the little underpass for the kids. They put in the parking lot and got it sodded by the parking lot,yet that area within the shoreland impact zone still looks terrible. She asked that staff speak to them before it gets to be fall or winter and Pulte says it's too late in the season to (ix it. Lambert indicated he would talk to the Engineering Staff about this tomorrow. Kocning was also concerned that staff did not hear from the Staring Lake residents , about this when they were so concerned about the environmental impact this project would have on the lake. V11. NEW BUSINESS A. Evaluation of Playground Proposals for Homeward 11111s Park Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 28, 1997,from Bob Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources; and a letter dated July 22, 1997.from Bob Lambert, Director of Parks.Recreation and Natural Resources. s I Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 Lambert said these proposals are for the Homeward Hills Park playground equipment and the process would be similar to the one used for selecting the playground equipment for Riley Lake Park. He noted that sonic of these companies did not propose any change in the base material and a couple of them did. They can keep the same base material as long as they're providing playground equipment that meets the standard. Staff has never gone cut there and graded the sand but it's probably considered compacted course sand which means you can not have a platform higher than four feet. There are a number of companies that have proposed using the existing sand base material that have platforms higher than that. If they will provide base material to meet that standard, the Commission can accept it. It'they can not do it with that price,then the Commission will have to reject it. Dave Owen, representing Earl F. Anderson, reviewed his playground equipment proposal which included a Playbooster Structure for ages 5-12,and a Dino Climber forages 2-5. They arc also providing ADA accessibility surfaces. Brown was concerned about the swing scats getting too hot in the summer as told to him by parents at Miller Park. Owen said he could sec that with the black color. He has not heard any comments about that but would consider it. ! Bill Johnson,representing Flanagan Sales,Inc.,reviewed his playground equipment proposal which included a Kid Builder Playstructurc for 5-12 year olds and Kid Kube Playstructure for 2-5 year olds. Both playstructures are handicapped accessible. Wilson asked what the maximum height is for someone to be standing on the platform. Johnson replied 68 inches or almost six feet. Lambert noted part of the specification required meeting the safety guidelines and something that's 69 inches would require woodehips. Woodchips were not proposed and there is course sand out there which would give a four foot height maximum. Johnson said he did not allow for woodchips and put more money into the equipment than surfacing. If he added woodchips something would have to be taken off the equipment. Brenda Wenner,representing Miracle Recreation of Minnesota,Inc.,reviewed her playground equipment proposal which included a Kids'Choicc Playsystcm for 2-12 years olds,one overhead Byers,two diggers,and two spring riders. The proposal is ! to use the existing sand base material and she referred to another drawing and i commented they could make it more ADA accessible. They can bring in six to eight inches of selected wood on top of the base and use the sand as a base,and it would also be used as drainage sand. To bring in the six to eight inches of selected wood, 12 I i i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 she would have to take the diggers out because the diggers would have no use in the selected wood. Brown asked if the swing scats gets hot because it's rubber. Wenner said it's a light bluish color so it does not get as hot. ` Lambert noted he had discussion with the representative from Minnesota Wisconsin Playground,Inc.,who was not present,regarding the sand surface. He obviously did not meet safety guidelines so there will be no presentation. j Johnnie Johnsen, representing St. Croix Recreation Company, Inc.,reviewed his Playground equipment proposal which included an accessible comprehensive playstructure by Big Toy Playstructurc.The proposal is to use 160 cubic yards of wood fiber to provide accessibility and to meet safety guidelines. a i Brown asked if there was a difference between wood fiber and woodchips. Johnsen said there is and wood fiber works very well. n ! Johnnie Johnsen, representing St. Croix Recreation Company, Inc.,reviewed his �L. playground equipment proposal which included a Burke series 2000 custom structure. The proposal included using 160 cubic yards of wood fiber to provide accessibility and to meet safety guidelines. A resident from Homeward Hills commented she liked the proposals that included two separate phrystructures for both age groups. When it's all one structure the little kids get pushed aside by the big kids. There are definitely two age groups that use the park. She liked Brenda Wenner's presentation because there seemed to be a lot of activity for the children. The Commission had a brief discussion about what they liked and didn't like about each playground proposal. Lambert noted Flanagan Sales and Minnesota Wisconsin (lid not meet specifications so they can not be included in the vote. The Commission added up their votes on the playground equipment. The result was Miracle Recreation of Minnesota first, next was St. Croix Recreation's Big Toy Playstructurc, Earl F. Anderson, and last was St. Croix Recreation's Burke Playstructurc MOTION: Wilson moved, seconded by Koenig, to recommend the Miracle Recreation Equipment Company playstructurc for the park at Homeward Hills contingent on their ability to supply the wood fiber base at the same cost. Motion carried 5-0. D. Recommendation on Awarding Did for Playground Structure at Staring Lake I 13 i , Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 1'ark Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 24, 1997,from Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources. Lambert indicated staff has recommended awarding the contract for play equipment for Staring Lake Park to St.Croix Recreation Company for$66,862 noting$50,000 came from the City Fund and $17,000 came from ADA Funds. Staff believed because this was redesigned as a handicapped accessible park with rubberized surfacing that additional funding would be paid for out of the ADA Funds. Fox reviewed the playstructurc and noted it's a Big Toy Structure,similar to the one Johnnie Johnson just proposed for Homeward Hills. This one was recommended because it's unique in it's presentation and it has a water theme. a MOTION: Wilson moved,seconded by Koenig,to accept staffs recommendation for the Staring Lake Park Playground Structure. Motion carried 5-0. F C. Recommendation on Consultant and Process to Develop Management Plan for f q Prairie Bluff Conservation Area ; r Staff referred the Commission to a memo dated July 28, 1997,from Bob Lambert, +j Director of Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources. ! Lambert explained one of the Commission goals this year is to establish or develop a management plan for diffcrcnt conservation areas which was originally going to be done by in-house staff. Staff has asked the Department of Natural Resources to send some management plans for the different conservation areas. It became apparent to staff there should be a naturalist consultant leading them through the process and develop the plan since this is the first one. He also recommended involving citizens in the process and advertising in the Eden Prairie News to find citizens who are interested. He suggested inviting adjacent property owners also to participate Jacobson suggested letting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts know about this because it could be an"Eagle"project. They have to communicate this to the troops in Eden Prairie. Koenig said she definitely wants to be involved in this. MOTION: Jacobson moved, seconded by Wilson, to recommend Peterson Environmental Group to do a management plan for the Prairie Bluff Conservation Area. Motion carried 5-0. 14 i Approved Minutes Parks,Recreation and Natural Resources Monday,August 4,1997 Vill. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Wilson moved,seconded by Jacobson,to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:53 p.m. i r I 15