Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 11/02/2009 (5) APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Geri Napuck, Chair; Commissioners, Tom Bierman, Hutch Coburn, Derek Gunderson and Joan Oko COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeffrey Gerst, Vice-Chair, Lee Elliott-Stoering STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Spencer Lasley and Pranay Rao COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks and Recreation Director Laurie Obiazor, Recreation Services Manager Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager RECORDING SECRETARY: Carol Pelzel I. ROLL CALL/INTRODUCTIONS The meeting was called to order by Chair Napuck at 7:05 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Bierman moved, seconded by Coburn, to approve the agenda as published. The motion carried, 5-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —SEPTEMBER 14 , 2009 Motion: Coburn moved, Gunderson seconded, to approve the September 14, 2009 Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried, 5-0. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION—SEPTEMBER 15, OCTOBER 6 & 20, 2009 A. TWO DONATIONS TO ART CENTER - LOTTHAMMER The City Council acknowledged two Art Center donations from the Friends of the Eden Prairie Art Center. The first was for$8,200.56 to be used for supplies and equipment at the Eden Prairie Art Center. The second was in the amount of $30,020.21 for supplies, equipment and renovations at the Eden Prairie Art Center. Lotthammer reported this group continues to work on gaining more funds PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 2 for the Art Center. There have also been a couple grant submissions for this facility and they hope to hear about them in the near future. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox reviewed the following Planning Commission action: A. TWO DIFFERENT LOT VARIANCES REGARDING DECK SETBACK DISTANCE B. LOT VARIANCE REGARDING BUILDING SETBACK DISTANCE C. THREE-LOT SUBDIVISION RESULTING IN CASH PARK FEES The Planning Commission approved a three-lot subdivision resulting in cash park fees for those three lots. D. VARIANCE FOR DOCK LENGTH ON BRYANT LAKE The Planning Commission granted a variance for a dock length on Bryant Lake. The dock exceeded the length allowed by City Code, therefore, requiring a variance. E. WALMART STORE REGARDING PARKING UPGRADE Walmart will be upgrading their parking lot as well as their store. This will involve a major renovation to begin sometime after the first of the year. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION A. VETERANS MEMORIAL FLAG REQUEST Lotthammer reviewed with the Commission how the Veterans Memorial Committee was formed and what it has accomplished over the past couple of years. He said they are now requesting additional flags be added to the site. Lotthammer explained the City Code allows for three flags per property. The site currently has three flags on it; the United States flag, Minnesota flag and the POW flag. Because they are requesting something outside of City Code, a variance must be requested and since the Memorial is located on City land, the City must request the variance. A variance request is reviewed by the City's Planning Commission. Lotthammer further explained when they first talked about this concept; it came on the heels of the City trying to adhere to its own ordinance by setting examples. There have been events throughout the City where they see additional flags and the City may have had additional signs for its own events in the past. Over the last couple of years the City has been working hard to remain within the Code. Also, Lotthammer said there was a private business across the street from the Memorial who had more PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 3 flags than allowed by City Code. They were asked to remove those flags and to comply with the Code. The Memorial Committee is asking this Commission to recommend moving forward with their request and to authorize staff to apply for a variance for the additional flags. John Mallo, Chair of the Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial Committee, explained the Memorial was completed one year ago. They raised over$400,000 in cash and another$200,000 in kind to complete this Memorial. Mallo explained who this group is composed of and how it works. At last year's dedication they put six flags up behind the six pillars. There was one flag for each branch of service and the Committee voted to fly the six service flags on nine holidays. The Committee was told by City staff they could store those flags and flag poles in the building at the facility. However, when the time came to store them they were told they could not use the building. Mallo said it is difficult to bring the flags and flag poles to the facility on the holidays they fly the additional six flags. Mallo explained since Memorial Day they have raised enough money to install six 20-foot commercial grade flag poles. The poles will be the same as those currently at the site but a little shorter. The American flag is 30 feet in height while the Minnesota and the POW flags are at 25 feet. The proposed additional flags would be at 20 feet. Mallo said he had talked to the City's planner and he indicated the park is made up of nine different parcels and technically they could have 27 flags for the nine parcels. Mallo said they would like to fly all nine flags from May 1 to November 11. Napuck asked for a clarification on why they could not store the flags on site. Fox explained the building has wall-to-wall storage of materials used in that park. There was also a concern the flags would become damaged and they try not to store private goods within City buildings. Mallo said he believes the issue was when they could not get a key to the building they decided not to store the flags in that building. Oko asked if the ropes on the flag poles would bang against the pole. Mallo responded all of the flag poles have interior ropes. Bierman questioned if they were representing the National Guard and if they shouldn't be asking for seven poles instead of six. Mallo responded the National Guard is an operating service under the Army and is not a service onto itself. Coburn questioned how the City has enforces this Code requirement regarding the number of flags on a property. Lotthammer explained over the past few years there has been a concerted effort to enforce this section of the Code. There is a person in the Police Department who works with Code enforcement and does what he can. They have also done some education as to what is allowed and explained it is done for aesthetics and safety. There has also been an internal effort by City staff to set an example. Coburn asked what avenue the business across the street from the Memorial would have to allow them to have the additional flags. Lotthammer responded they could also apply for a variance from the Code. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 4 Napuck said what the Committee has done is breathtaking. She said because this is the type of endeavor that seeks to honor those who have served our country she wants to be able to support the request but has concerns this will set a precedent. Commercial businesses are subject to the same ordinance and one was told they had to take down their flags. They have to be very careful about making a recommendation for a variance knowing what it may lead to in the future. Bierman said he is also concerned about setting a precedent but this request is for the greater good of the community and not for helping any individual or commercial establishment. He said he would also like to add into the background material for this item the fact that the Memorial Committee raised over$500,000 for this Memorial. Lotthammer pointed out$45,000 is still owed the City based on the expenses for building the Memorial. They hope to raise additional funds to fully reimburse the City. Mallo said there are other fund raising events going on. This will be the last purchase they make until they reimburse the City. Oko reminded the Commission they are not approving a variance but only recommending the City apply for a variance through the Planning Commission. Any commercial entity has the right to seek a variance through the Planning Commission. Lasley said he is also concerned about setting a precedent and he agrees with Bierman's recommendation to include the fund raising in the background material. Rao said they do have to be careful when they alleviate from the City Code but he believes allowing the six flags could be allowed. In response to a question from Napuck, Lotthammer explained there is the potential that other organizations could ask for variances such as the Baseball Association with scoreboard signage, etc. He further explained the City Code was not written with regard to parks. They could find themselves with other requests but it is difficult to anticipate what will happen in the future. This is not something they have had occur in the past. Lou Ellingson, member of the Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial Committee, explained when they designed the Memorial they had six spokes. The flags are identified with each spoke and are an integral part of the design. This Memorial is different than a private business putting up flags to generate traffic. MOTION: Bierman moved, seconded by Oko, in recognition of the community, not individual or commercial interests, to honor our veterans, to recommend that staff apply for a variance to Ordinance 17-2005, to add six additional poles and flags to the Veterans Memorial at Purgatory Creek Park. Napuck asked if the City would have any liability if a commercial business came forward stating they were required to remove their flags and expended additional money to remove them but yet the park across the street was allowed to add flags. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 5 Lotthammer explained any business has the opportunity to request a variance and he does not believe this action would have an impact on a business requesting a similar variance. Vote was called on the motion with all members present voting aye. The motion carried 5-0. VII. OLD BUSINESS A. MAC LEASE Lotthammer reported the City is continuing to try to meet with MAC to discuss a lease. He understands their appraisal process has been completed and they want to discuss the land configuration. It is anticipated City staff will meet with MAC in the very near future and Lotthammer hopes to have something to report in December. B. WAY FINDING UPDATE Lotthammer explained way finding is part of the Community Development Division's work plan and they have indicated with the lack of development their focus will be to look at how they get people better in and out of Eden Prairie. This is somewhat dependent on how quickly development picks up. C. HENNEPIN YOUTHS SPORTS GRANT UPDATE Lotthammer explained the Legislature called for$2 million for the next 20 years to go to youth sports and recreation. This funding is available to school districts, cities and nonprofit organizations within Hennepin County. Staff discussed this with the various athletic associations in the City and the Baseball and Softball Associations came forward and indicated they would like covered player benches at Miller Park and to replace scoreboards. These two Associations have pledged $50,000 and have asked for$100,000 through the Hennepin County Grant program. City staff assisted them with the application and it was delivered to the Amateur Sports Commission. A second application was submitted for the skate park at Round Lake and would include a 50 percent match with Hennepin County. Lotthammer said staff anticipates knowing where they are with these grants sometime in January. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. PASSPORT TO FUN Obiazor explained staff is recommending the Passport to Fun Fee Program be changed for 2010 to reduce the total fee assistance from $150 to $100 per participant; continue to allow Passport dollars to be used (qualify) for Community PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 6 Center daily use fees for the Fitness Center and group fitness classes; and, to add Community Center memberships and private lessons to the list of programs not eligible for Passport dollars (not qualified). She explained fewer funds per person will allow more people to receive the funds and there are more participants who don't use more than $100 in funds. The changes will also allow more people to use available funding rather than going over the budgeted amount. Obiazor reported the reason for changing membership use is because only a few people take advantage of the membership option and the management and administration of Passport dollars for membership is labor intensive and is not cost effective. The reason for changing private lessons is because group lessons provide a more cost- effective option and the enrollment process for private lessons is more time- consuming and labor intensive. Obiazor reviewed the Passport to Fun Fee Program with the Commission showing a three-year comparison, funding used, participants, dollars allocated, etc. Lotthammer explained budget direction received from the City Council is to keep the budget as it is. That is not happening in this case. Staff looked at what made sense to control this budget and to develop a method to do that and still be able to disburse the funds as fairly and equally as they can and feel the proposed changes will assist them in doing this. They are proposing a budget of$13,000 for this program for next year. Lotthammer further explained staff has not been told they cannot go over budget and they have never had to turn anyone away from this program. He is proposing they watch what happens with this program and they do have some policies in place to control the expenditures. Sevenich said they are educating some of the individuals using the Passport dollars and they are also working with the schools and other groups who may not have an understanding of what they can get with the Program. Sevenich said she believes there will be an increase in use of this Program next summer. Oko asked if they cap the Program per family. Obiazor said they do not and they serve both youth and adult. She further explained they are proposing an incremental change to the Program at this time and they can easily come back and change the Program to no more adults and cap the Program per family if necessary. Gunderson asked if it would be possible to apply for some of the Hennepin County grant money to use towards this program since some of the programs are athletic based. Lotthammer responded the grant material was very specific that the funds cannot be used for programs but for capital only. He said it is possible they could solicit donations for a scholarship program and they are also exploring the use of Community Development Block grants. Oko asked what the average expenditure is per family. Sevenich said she did not have this information but is something they can provide the Commission with. Obiazor said she did not believe it was significantly high. She explained before PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 7 they bring back any other changes they would review the data they have and provide the Commission with the breakdown of expenditures. Bierman questioned why they can't tell the participants they are out of money once they have reached their budgeted amount. In 2009 the budgeted amount was $7,000 and they are already at$11,185. Obiazor explained it is difficult to say there is no money available once the grant is issued. Lotthammer said the issue is over who used the grant money first. Sevenich explained over the years they have worked to inform the users if they don't intend to use the $150 they should not be allocated that amount so they can use the funding for someone else. Bierman said to him it appears to be an endless pit of money. He said they should have some safeguards to let the participants know this is not a program with endless funding. Also, nothing has been said about how big the budget is for this Program. Lotthammer said they may come back with further modifications to this Program after they see how it is being used. Bierman indicated he would have a difficult time voting on these changes. He does not know if going from$150 to $100 is the right number. He feels he does not have enough information about this Program to vote on a motion to change it. Oko asked how many families participate in the Program right now. Sevenich said there are 520 participants and with a family averaging four members they would have 130 families. Oko said it appears the Program provides the participants with a lot of options and she suggested they cut back individual programs. Obiazor said a majority of the participants use half of the allocated funds and cutting this in half seemed too aggressive. The total amount for fee assisted programs for a city with a population of 62,000 is not a significant amount. Napuck asked if they limit the number of Passport participants in a particular program. Obiazor explained they do not limit the number of individual Passport participants. The program budgets are not affected by those participants. Funds are placed directly into the specific programs. Obiazor further explained staff does not feel it is appropriate to decide which programs a participant should or should not use. Napuck asked when staff would review this Program again and possibly make other changes. Obiazor said they review the Program monthly and quarterly. They would not come back with any recommended changes until after a full year unless they had significant information indicating a change should be made. MOTION: Motion was made by Napuck, seconded by Coburn, to recommend initially to implement proposed changes to the Passport to Fun Fee Assistance Program per staff recommendation as indicated below beginning January 1, 2010: • Reduce total fee assistance from $150 to $100 per participant($50 reduction); • Continue to allow Passport dollars to be used (qualify) for Community Center daily use fees for Fitness Center and group fitness classes; • Add Community Center memberships and private lessons to the list of programs not eligible for Passport dollars (not qualified). PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 8 Bierman said there is so much he doesn't know about this Program and he does not understand the benefit of the Program and the structure in place. He also does not know what next year's budget is for this Program. He said he would not be able to support this motion with the information he has. Gunderson said he could not support the motion because he does not agree Community Center membership does not qualify for the Program. The participants should be allowed to use the funds for the membership if that is what they decide to do. He does agree private lessons should not be included in the Program. Sevenich reported staff made a philosophical decision to not include membership in the Program. There is the question of availability and they have a month-to-month payment program and it is difficult to control individuals making payments. Vote was called on the motion with all members present voting aye except Bierman and Gunderson who voted nay. The motion carried 3-2. B. FACILITY USE POLICIES Lotthammer explained over the past several months, Parks and Recreation staff has met to review the current Guidelines for Community Use of Parks and Recreation Facilities. Staff determined there was a need to review the policies to insure all current policies were being consistently followed. Lotthammer said there are no major changes to the document other than the removal the Outdoor Facility from the list of rental facilities. Most of the changes are for clarification and an acknowledgement of the way they are doing business. With regard to#7, Damage Deposit, of the Policy on Page 6, Bierman asked why they used the word "may"be required. Obiazor explained not all uses require a deposit and is dependent on the type of use. Napuck questioned why the Outdoor Facility was removed from the list of rentals. Obiazor responded they want to keep the facility for nature based programs. MOTION: Motion was made by Oko, seconded by Gunderson, to recommend to the City Council the modifications and additions proposed by staff to the Guidelines for Community Use of Parks and Recreation Facilities document. The motion carried 5-0. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER 1. Spooky Saturday Recap PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 9 Sevenich thanked those who participated in building the Community Center. She explained the Saturday event showed how well this facility serves the community. There were 250 participants. FYI: Fall Frolic B. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER 1. Art Crawl Recap Obiazor displayed the brochure included in the newspaper advertising the Art Crawl. A $500 grant was received to help in developing this event. There were a total of 17 local artists who participated in the event with over 200 attendees at the Art Center and 100 at the art studios. Obiazor explained the Human Rights Commission has identified certain religious holidays to avoid any conflict with special City events or official meetings. Staff does have a listing of those holidays and will take them into consideration when they do their programming. 2. Three Easy Ways to Register Obiazor explained they are finalizing their winter program brochure and in the brochure it is explained participants can register through e-connect, on- line registration or in person. They are discontinuing phone-in registration. FYI: Winter 2010 Brochure—to be mailed November 16. C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. Flying Cloud Fields Expansion Update This item was discussed earlier this evening. FYI: Council—Award bid for Reconstruction of Prairie View Park Outdoor Hockey Rink. FYI: Council—Award bid for Eden Lake Park Drainage Improvements. D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2009 PRNR Work Plan X. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission is scheduled for Monday, December 7, 2009. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION November 2, 2009 Page 10 X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.