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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 06/15/1998 1� A 1998 June 15 , 1998 Minutes Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE ' ( I i AGENDA l PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,.IUNE 15,1998 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown, Chair: Frantz Corneille, Claire 1-lilgeman, Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig,Glenn Stolar,John Wilson STUDENT MEMBERS: Eliutbcth Cook,Stacy Eager COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks. Recreation and Natural Rasourc s;Spatrt A.Fox,Manager of Parks and Natural Resources: Lauric Hclling,Manager of Rcucation Services 1. ROLL CALL 11, APPROVAL.OF AGENDA c III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES-MAY 18,1998 IV. PETITIONS.REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. Request from Friendship Ventures to Amend Lease Agreement for Park Property - V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS i i A. Camp Edenwood V1. OLD BUSINESS A. N2W VI1, NEW R !SIN-SS A. Proposed 1999 Cash Park Fees B. Proposed Community Center Fee Increases for 1999 C. Petition for Creek Corridor Basic Water Manamnent Prgj V III. REPORTS OI'COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF B. Reports of Community Center Manager L Membership Survey, Vill. ADJOURNMENT l/ I 1 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,JUNE 15, 1998 7:00 P.M.CITY CENTER 8080 MITCHELL ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMISSION MEMBERS: Richard Brown,Chair,Frantz Corneille,Clairc Hilgcman,Don Jacobson,Vicki Koenig,Glenn Stolar,John Wilson STUDENT MEMBERS: Elizabeth Cook,Stacy Engcr COMMISSION STAFF: Robert A. Lambert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, Stuart A. Fox, Manager of Parks and Natural Resources, Laurie Helling, Manager of Recreation Services, Lyndell Frey, Community Center Manager, Julie Hoeft,Aquatic and Fitness Coordinator,Steve Picka,Intern, and Barbara Anderson,City Recorder 1. ROLL CALL Chair Brown called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Stacy Engcr and Elizabeth Cook were absent. �tl. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Staff noted the addition of an appointment to the Housing, Transportation, and Human Services Board should be added under Old Business. MOTION:Jacobson moved,seconded by Hilgcman,to approve the Agenda as amended. Motion carried 6-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES-MAY 18,1998 i Koenig noted one change on page 3 regarding her comments on the request to keep a water slalom course on Staring lake. MOTION: Koenig moved, seconded by Hilgcman, to approve the May 4, 1998 Minutes of the Parks, , Recreation and Natural Resources Commission as amended. Motion carried 5-0-2. Stolar and Wilson abstained. IV. PETITIONS,REOUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS A. Request from Friendship Ventures to Amend Lease Agreement for Park Property Lambert noted there were a number of changes proposed to the lease agreement and City Attorney Roger Pauly has reviewed this document and made recommendations for changes that should be made. lie reviewed the proposed changes and the staff recommendations for retention of the original language, extending the least for thirty years, restrictions on Friendship Ventures that they not r sublease the property, that an adjustment should be made where the depreciated value would be II PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL j RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 15, 1998 Page 2 deducted from an insurance claim in the event of damage or destruction to the property,and the staff recommendation that the trail should go through the property. Brown asked about Friendship Ventures participating in the cost of the water and sewer installation and Lambert responded that it would not have to be paid all at one time,but could be phased in over a period of years. Ed Stracke,Friendship Ventures,noted they disagreed with Staffs position regarding the language I issue, and they did find it offensive. They agree with the thirty year extension on the lease. Regarding the formula for depreciation they wanted to be sure that any insurance payments made on I buildings they construct after the lease is approved would be recouped in the event of destruction or loss of property, and in the event they might decide not to rebuild the money would return to Friendship Ventures and not go to the City. Stolar asked if this was the first instance where the City chose not to update the contract language and Lambert responded this was an issue where the City Attorney felt that consistency should be maintained with the originally worded document. Discussion ensued regarding the issue of the insurance premiums and the recompense that would come out of that if buildings were destroyed. Stracke stated they want to be sure that they don't pay insurance premiums on this and end up without recompense if buildings were lost or damaged. Brown stated if any improvements are made to the Senior Center building they become City property as soon as they arc made. He felt that this I was a similar case and should be treated in the same manner. I Koenig asked if staff wanted them to make preserving the buildings a condition of the lease and ! Lambert responded this was a separate issue but they could make a recommendation to the City Council if they felt that strongly about it. He would prefer to see it handled separately. Koenig asked about the trail and the issue of constructing a fence. Stracke stated they would take some steps to protect their clients in some manner but it was not something that could be insurmountable. They ° would work with staff to resolve this issue. Discussion ensued regarding the issue of the wording in the lease agreement and some way to resolve this. Stolar commented they could make a recommendation to the City Council that the language be changed because they would listen to both their recommendation and that of the City Attorney and make their own decision. MOTION:Stolar moved,seconded by Koenig,to recommend to the City Council that they approve Sections 1, 3, 13, and 20 as per the staff recommendation and they concur with the Friendship _=s Ventures request that the language be changed to less offensive language. Motion carried 7-0. V. DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS A. Camp Edenwood Fox reviewed the staff report for the expansion to Camp Edcnwood and noted that staff recommended approval of the project based on the 6/5/98 Planning Commission staff report and the supplemental staff report. Stracke reviewed the project and the revised plan which does not cross the railroad property line and thus requires waivers. They have reduced the size of the addition and will use existing space as much PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 15, 1998 Page 3 as possible. They were concerned about the amount of tree replacement materials the City was requiring. They are having a difficult time replacing all the trees and ask they be allowed to replace only those trees that would have been lost with the original plan. Fox stated this plan calls for replacement of 30 trees and the old plan called for replacement of 24 trees. Discussion ensued regarding the numbers of trees that would be lost and their locations. Fox reviewed the tree loss ordinance requirements and the basis for the original tree loss figures which were based on the larger building which was originally proposed. Since this has changed,the number of trees that will be lost and need to be replaced has been lowered to 45 caliper inches to mitigate the 86 caliper inches which will be lost. Fox reviewed the drainage plan and he noted that the City Engineer has recommended that a full size NURP pond not be constructed in this area,but rather they should utilize a shallow ponding area which presently exists on the site to slow the process of water runoff from the site. Brown inquired if Friendship Ventures was expecting significant growth in clientele and Stracke responded that the summer was their busiest time but there would be some growth occurring over time. They do not anticipate expanding their programs further. Brown asked why they were putting in such a large parking area and Lambert responded it was required by City Ordinance. Fox noted that the final tree loss mitigation figures will be calculated after the project has been approved by the City Council. Corneille commented he was not sure that the trees proposed as the replacement trees were the same quality as those that were being lost due to the construction. Strackc stated they will be replacing as many trees as they can without using up program space because they want the trees to be in the same areas as they are now as much as is possible. Discussion ensued regarding paving the parking lot and the Commission felt that it should not be paved. The numbers of parking spaces were also discussed and the way these figures are determined. If there will be other uses on the site,staff felt 41 spaces would be adequate to accommodate the parking need. MOTION:Wilson moved,seconded by Corneille,to recommend to the City Council approval of the request by Friendship Ventures for Camp Edenwood based on the Planning Commission staff report dated June 5, 1998 and the supplemental staff report dated June 10. 1998. Motion carried 7-0. VI. OL12 B 1SINM A. Appointment to the Housing Transportation and Human Services Board ' Koenig stated she has served on this Board for the past few years and felt it would take a new member some time to become familiar with the various agencies they dealt with. Brown suggested perhaps she would consider continuing to serve as the representative throughout the summer and they could revisit this item again in September to consider finding a replacement at that time. Koenig 4 agreed to continue to serve until the fall. 3 I PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 15, 1998 Page 4 VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Proposed 1999 ash Park -= Lambert reviewed the staff report and noted that the Finance Department has requested that the fee resolution issue be reviewed at the same time as the annual budget is reviewed to avoid shortfalls later on. Staff is recommending a 6%increase in both single family and commercial development cash park fees. Corneille asked if this was an issue of value given versus value received and Lambert responded that was exactly what it would come down to in court if the City were to be challenged. The cost is related to the value of the land that must be acquired to accommodate the services required by the development. Discussion ensued regarding endeavors to recover some of the costs and it was felt that it should be more than a 6% increase. Lambert noted that he was the least comfortable with the increase for commerciaVoffice/industrial, because while it has not been challenged,developers ask why they even have to pay park dedication fees. He explained they paid park dedication fees because they bring in people from the surrounding communities who are entitled to join our softball teams, and utilize our parks and resources and facilities. The fee for office/industrial uses has been proposed at$5.300 per acre. liilgeman left the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Discussion ensued regarding these impacts for developers and whether there is a slowdown for development in Eden Prairie. It was felt that people should be paying their fair share. The idea of raising fees incrementally every-other year was discussed,and Lambert explained that it was best to raise it a little annually and avoid a large increase after not having had one for a while. Koenig noted last year they recommended a higher increase and the City Council approved it and she thought they should do it again this year. MOTION:Wilson moved,seconded by Stolar,to amend the staff recommendation and recommend $5,500 per acre for Commercial/Officc/Industrial land and$1,850 per unit for residential property which is a 10%increase. Motion carried 6-0. B. Proposed Community Center Fee Increases for 1999 � Frey reviewed the proposed fee increases for the Community Center pool. They are recommending an increase of 4%. Brown asked why the City should pay to subsidize the Foxjcts when 35%of the kids come from outside of Eden I'miric. He noted the City was paying$6,600 per year for those out of town kids and because the Foxjcts have them on their team,they should be the ones paying for it. He noted that the figure skating club pay their increases every year and the Foxjets get by without paying their share of the costs. Jacobson commented he felt that a 50-50 split in the costs was not equitable and recommended it be r made 40-60 with the City paying 40%and the Foxjcts paying 60%. Frey noted they did a survey of fees charged for pool usage in the surrounding communities and Eden Prairie swimming pool rental ; has the highest fees charged now. Jacobson asked how much the City was subsidizing the ice ''.7�{ � 11 PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 15, 1998 r. Page 5 1 programs and Frey estimated approximately 20%. Lambert stated they should be comparing Eden Prairie swimming pool rental fees to those of surrounding communities,not sport against sport. The rates of pools are lower because of the school pools in the area and Schools would rather rent them out for lower rates than have them sit empty and earn nothing. Discussion ensued and the general consensus was that the Eden Prairie kids should not be penalized because they happen to be on the swim team. Corneille felt that they need to keep the fees in line with what other communities charge and the issue of how to pay for pool improvements is between the Commission and the City Council. This is an issue which also needs to be resolved,but the two issues should not be mixed. Discussion ensued regarding the costs of the Oak Point pool and why the City was involved with that pool. Lambert reviewed the history of how this evolved. The costs have been worked out and the City ends up paying 60%of the costs to maximize the facility use.The City has an agreement with the School District whereby this arrangement can be terminated with a one-year notification by either party. Discussion ensued regarding how much it costs to operate the Oak Point pool versus the benefits. It was felt that this issue should be decided on costs and not on the team issues. MOTION: Corneille moved, seconded by Stolar, to accept the staff recommendations for fee increases as presented in the memo dated June 10, 1998. Motion failed 3-3. Commissioners Corneille,Wilson and Stolar voted"aye",Commissioners Jacobson,Brown,and Koenig voted"no". Jacobson stated entities should help subsidize facilities that are improved for their specific use. Stolar stated he,too, wanted a higher increase but nothing different was proposed. Lambert reminded Commissioners the City subsidizes all forms of recreation—soccer,football,baseball,tennis,boccie ball,bicycling,ctc.to different levels. I C. Petition for Creek Corridor Basic Water Mannuement Project I Lambert reviewed the staff report and the history of the project and how it has evolved. He asked the Watershed District if they were willing to do the study and evaluate these conservation areas and set up the policies for their management. There may be projects that will come out of this and then the City will have to decide whether to proceed with these projects. Staff recommended contracting with the Watershed District to provide management plans for the conservation areas listed in the staff report. This would exclude the Richard T. Anderson Conservation Area, which falls within the Lower Minnesota Watershed District. , MOTION: Stolar moved, seconded by Wilson, to recommend to the City Council that the City contract with the Watershed District to provide management plans for the conservation areas listed in the Staff Report dated June 4, 1998. Motion carried 6-0. Vlll. RE'POR'I'S OF COMMISSIONERS AND STAFF / A. Reports of Community Center aUU1A r ; t, 1. Membership Survey PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 15, 1998 Page 6 Frey explained that this project was done by two interns who had served with the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Department. He introduced Steve Picka, who was completing his internship this week. Picka gave a presentation of the survey of the Community Center members and the survey of non-members. The Commission noted it was an excellent presentation and thanked him for his efforts. Stolar left the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Frey noted they intend to acquire a phone registration system for activities which will greatly reduce the demands on the Community Center staff. Corneille suggested the possibility of utilizing web site registration at some time in the near future. IX, ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Corneille moved, seconded by Koenig to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. r i