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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 01/07/2013 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,JANUARY 7, 2013 7:00 P.M.— CAMBRIA ROOM COMMUNITY CENTER 16700 Valley View Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Geri Napuck, Chair; Hutch Coburn, Vice Chair; Tom Bierman, Derek Gunderson, Matthew Kraft, Larry Link and Leonard Pesheck STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Roseann Awad, Vy Nguyen and Natalie Townsend COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks & Recreation Director Laurie Obiazor, Recreation Services Manager Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Beth Witt, Aquatics and Facilities Supervisor Doug Tucker, Senior Center Customer Service Assistant; Jim Schedin, Police; Carol Pelzel, Recording Secretary I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Napuck called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion: Kraft moved, seconded by Pesheck, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES —November 5, 2012 Motion: Link moved, seconded by Gunderson, to approve the November 5, 2012 PRNRC meeting minutes as published. The motion carried 6-0-1with Coburn abstaining because of absence from that meeting. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION A. COMMUNITY CENTER SCULPTURE Lotthammer reported the Community Center sculpture was reviewed by the City Council and the Council approved staff to move forward with this project. B. AQUATIC FEASIBILITY STUDY Lotthammer explained at the City Council's workshop staff presented an overview of the proposed Community Center improvements. The Council liked the idea and provided staff PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 2 with positive input. They asked staff to bring this item back to the Parks Commission for a formal motion or recommendation. This item will be discussed further later in the meeting. C. DONATION FROM STATE FARM Lotthammer reported on behalf of Gordon Williams, an active volunteer at the Senior Center, State Farm Insurance will be donating $500 to the City to match Williams' volunteer hours. D. DONATION OF FLYING RED HORSE SIGN Lotthammer explained the family who owns the Flying Red Horse sign will be making a presentation to the City Council to donate the sign to the City. Bierman asked if there has been anymore thought as to where this sign would be located. Lotthammer responded staff s first thought would be to store it at one end of the Riley Lake Barn. The sign needs some renovation. Once they move forward with the Round Lake ball field renovation another concept would be to place the sign between the two fields. E. TWINS COMMUNITY FUND GRANT AWARD Lotthammer reported the City submitted an application to the Hennepin Youth Sports Program to fund baseball and softball field improvements. Grant funds have been made available from the Twins Ballpark funding that is used to fund youth sports projects. The City is requesting $29,500 grant funds with the Baseball Association putting up $35,000 for player benches and other improvements. No City funds will be used for this project but funding will come from the Athletic Association and grant funds. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox reported at the November meeting the Planning Commission reviewed a housing project near Riley Lake Road. Park dedication fees will be generated from this project. The December Planning Commission meeting was cancelled due to a lack of action items. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. BEEKEEPING Jim Schedin of the Police Department explained how this proposed ordinance change came about. When Council member Case was campaigning during the election season a resident said he wanted to begin beekeeping but only areas zoned rural were allowed to do this. He asked Council member Case to look into changing the ordinance. Schedin further explained Eden Prairie is one of the few communities that do not have any rules for beekeeping. He looked at approximately 12 community ordinances from other cities and several ordinances nationwide. Schedin developed some recommendations as to whether or not the City should PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 3 keep the ordinance as is, expand the ordinance or eliminate it. Staffs recommendation is to keep the ordinance, but expand it allowing beekeeping in any district in the City with additional regulations, requirements and restrictions. Schedin said every City he contacted has not had any negative complaints about beekeeping. Pesheck asked if the intent of beekeeping is for commercial use or personal use. Schedin responded it could only be for personal use since home occupation is restricted by ordinance. Schedin suggested they stay away from neighborhood consent and from requiring a permit. Pesheck asked what the basic setback requirements are for beekeeping. Schedin answered the current ordinance does not address this. Most cities that do have an ordinance will have certain setbacks based on zoning. He suggested they require a 20 foot setback which should help to alleviate any problems with neighbors. Kraft said he spoke to a friend who is a beekeeper and his personal recommendation was to have a water source. He also took a class at the University of Minnesota about surviving the winter and keeping bees for the next season. Schedin explained beekeeping as a hobby takes a lot of patience and dedication and he feels to require the beekeeper to take a class is not necessary. Kraft explained most of the beekeepers have cubes in their backyard and they are not labeled. He recommended they require some labeling on the cubes so neighboring kids stay away from the hives. Schedin said from his review of other community beekeeping ordinances, it would make sense to limit the number of hives, require beekeeping equipment be kept in good condition and have a minimum setback requirement. They may also want to consider requiring a water source. Lotthammer explained the reason for an ordinance is if there should be a problem with a beekeeper, they can legally require the beekeeper to follow the ordinance. Coburn questioned if it is necessary to have an ordinance. He suggested they create guidelines and then get that information out to people. Schedin said this information can be put on the City's website and he would work with the City's Communications Department to get that information out to the public. Coburn said if they create the information in a positive environment they might spark some interest in beekeeping. Link said he is pleased they are looking at this movement in the community where people want to develop some food resources. Gunderson asked if there is a required minimum lot size for beekeeping. Schedin said that needs to be determined and they may limit the number of hives by acreage or zoning. Kraft said with regard to apartment complexes which would be at the owner's discretion, can hives be put on rooftops and if so, would they still be under the setback requirement. Schedin responded there are specific ordinances that deal with rooftop hives and they still have to meet setback requirements. This is something they can also look at. Napuck said in the City's ordinance bees are considered farm animals. She asked if this proposal would set a precedent. Schedin said they are probably called farm animals because they produce a food product. Schedin said there are about a half-dozen places in the City Code that would have to be changed in relation to bees so they are not considered a farm animal and this is something they should consider changing. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 4 Link suggested they look further into beekeeping on rooftops and suggested they consider setback rules. He suggested if more than 1.5 stories the setback distance would be half of other locations. Schedin said they would look at other city ordinances to see what they require. The Commission agreed the City ordinance should be expanded to include all districts of the City, containing specific regulations, requirements and restrictions. Once this ordinance is drafted it will be reviewed by this Commission. B. AQUATIC DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURAL RECOMMENDATION SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS Lotthammer explained the City Council asked staff to bring this item back to the Commission for a formal recommendation as to whether or not this is the right direction to go. The City Council feels the plan fits in with everything else they are doing at the Community Center and they want to make sure they do it right and in a quality manner. One concern was whether or not the 250 bleacher capacity was enough. This is something staff will look at further. Lotthammer further explained Request for Proposals were sent out and two companies were selected for interviews. The interviewing committee is recommending they use HGA for the design and architectural phase of the project. Lotthammer said the committee felt their capabilities for this project are very good and their pricing was in the middle of the range of pricing. The cost of their contract is $600,000. Staff is recommending they pull out the cost of overseeing the project at this time. They would enter into a second contract for overseeing the project at a later date. Lotthammer indicated staff will be meeting with the Foxjets to discuss fund raising including naming rights,block sales, etc. This item will be brought back to the City Council on January 22 and at that time staff will present the Commission's recommendation and award of the design contract. Staff is recommending they take their time in moving forward with the design and fund raising efforts. They would like to wait for the next cycle of the Hennepin County Youth Sports grant process which should occur in September of next year. They anticipate going out for bids in January or February of 2014 and to break ground in the spring. This would give them time to establish funding for the project. Bierman asked if staff has any idea what the funding amounts would be from other organizations. Lotthammer explained the Hennepin County grant match is for$350,000. The Foxjets may raise between $500,000 and $800,000. Today's economic climate and the number of Foxjet participants will limit their fundraising capabilities. Bierman suggested United Health be contacted for possible funds. Lotthammer explained fundraising efforts would most likely be led by the Foxjets and staff will find out more about those efforts once they meet with them. Lotthammer said the City Council will probably want to know how successful they are with raising funds prior to going out for bids. Bierman suggested staff better designate Phase I and II of the project and indicate in 2014 they would be advertising for bids for Phase I which is between $9 and $10 million and in 2015 they would be advertising for Phase 11 in the range of$5 to $6 million. He suggested this be made clearer on their chart. Lotthammer said time will tell how this project will proceed and will be dependent on the construction climate and maybe if they wait another year they will get better pricing. Bierman asked if their game plan is to go with two phases. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 5 Lotthammer responded they have always planned to have a pool open throughout this process. One of the concepts would be to build a lap competitive pool first and once that is completed they would go to the next phase. Bierman asked if there would be a different contractor for each phase. Lotthammer said that is a possibility. They first need to bring on an architect. They will also need a full design of Phase II to determine how Phase I will impact Phase II if they decide to move forward with that phase. Bierman said he would like to make this decision once and not go back and revisit and get new approvals for the next phase. He would like to see funding lined up for both phases and not have to revisit it in two years. It seems easier to do everything up front for the entire project and puts stability in the project for bidders. Lotthammer explained staff did not include any information on the architectural firms that were not selected for this project. Staff s recommendation was based on the value and past experience. Lotthammer reviewed the process used in reviewing the proposals. M/Gunderson, S/Link, to recommend the City Council accepts the concept plan as illustrated within the Aquatics Feasibility Study and strongly recommends moving forward with the entire project and authorizes staff to proceed with HGA to carry out the design and architectural phase as outlined in the Request for Proposal. Link said it would be nice to be kept in the loop as they go into the different phases and he suggested they get recommendations for the project from other users of the facility. Lotthammer said as the concept plan is developed they will bring in other stakeholders to review the plan. Bierman said he would like the amount of the agreement included in the motion. Napuck said she understands where Bierman is coming from but she would like to leave the amount out of the motion because the City Council may decide to do something beyond the amount listed. Lotthammer explained the full amount of the proposal is $608,000. However, staff talked about asking HGA to only include the portion that leads up to the award of bids. Bierman said he feels they need to quantify their recommendation. Lotthammer said they do not have a specific amount for the agreement at this time. They anticipate the agreement to be 80 to 90 percent of the $608,000 because staff is recommending the initial contract not include construction administration. They would enter into a separate contract for that portion of the project. Gunderson said he believes the City Council should decide on the amount of the agreement. Both Gunderson and Link accepted an amendment to the motion as follows: recommend the City Council accepts the concept plan as illustrated within the Aquatics Feasibility Study and strongly recommends moving forward with the entire project and authorizes staff to proceed with HGA to carry out the design and architectural phase as outlined in HGA's proposal determined by staff as best value. Vote was called on the amended motion with all members voting aye. The motion carried 7-0. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 6 1. Farmer's Market Lotthammer reported the Mayor and Council member Butcher Wickstrom asked staff to look into the possibility of having a Farmer's Market in Eden Prairie. City staff members Beth Witt and Doug Tucker looked at what other municipalities are doing and will present to the Commission this evening the information they gathered. This information will also be presented at the City Council's workshop tomorrow night. Witt said they have previously discussed the importance of healthy food access,healthy eating and the importance of having fresh food. The City has done some great initiatives in the Park system and schools including the community garden plots, edible playground and healthy vending options. She reviewed with the Commission existing local markets including Bachman's, Marshalls, Severs and Picha Heritage Farm. Tucker talked about what a farmer's market is and the benefits it can bring to the City. He reviewed potential sites for a farmer's market including Staring Lake Park combined with the Summer Concert Series. They also considered Purgatory Creek Park which is a high traffic area and local businesses would benefit from the increased traffic. Kraft asked what the downside would be of having a farmer's market. Tucker said he has not heard of any downside of having a farmer's market in a city. Lotthammer said one of the challenges could be adequate parking. Pesheck said he has experienced a farmer's market that became more commercial and he suggested this is something they stay away from. They also had people from the outside bringing their vegetables. Witt said they would make it clear on the application the process as to how many vendors they would allow and that they are local vendors. All of this information would be outlined in the vendor packet to create a good balance. Lotthammer said if the City Council directs staff to move forward with a farmer's market, the policies and procedures would be brought back to this Commission for review. Bierman said his concern with the Purgatory Creek location for a farmer's market is the cleaning up of the site. Bierman suggested staff find a park space where they can sweep and clean it and not in one of the most favorite parks. As they go forward, location will be critical. He suggested they look for areas that are not necessarily the crown jewels of the City and make sure they address the issue of garbage. Tucker said staff will talk with other communities to see how they deal with those issues. Lotthammer said in their conversations with other municipalities, garbage did not come up as an issue. Site selection is very important and the vendors will have to be on a hard surface and that will narrow their selection of where a farmer's market can be located. Gunderson asked what time of day they are the considering. Obiazor said the Staring Lake location would be tied in with the Concert Series which is held on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m. If it were located at Purgatory Creek the market would be held in the morning. He also asked if there would be anyway to test the vendors out to PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 7 determine which ones work the best. Lotthammer said they would start small and expand over time. Coburn suggested they provide the City Council with the pros and cons. Tucker said the presentation to the Council is more of an informative presentation. Kraft recommended they keep everything local including entertainment. Bierman asked if they have thought about what type of fees they would charge. Witt explained there would be a $230 to $250 per stand fee for the season. It would cover expenses for the market, staff and cleanup. Tucker indicated a farmer's market is not an income generator but provides a service to the City and the fee is to cover costs. Bierman said his concern is that other organizations will want to come in and use the parks. His concern is that the City will be renting the parks to outside organizations. Witt explained they would not be bringing in commercial businesses. Coburn also suggested they make it very clear in their presentation to the Council that this ties back to eating healthy. Kraft asked if there is insurance should someone get sick from the food being sold. Witt responded all of the food has to meet health guidelines; the vendors will have to follow the guidelines and all of the vendors will have to have their own liability insurance. FYI: Community Band Share the Warmth Concert FYI: City-School Facility Use Advisory Committee B. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. Rice Marsh Lake Trail Extension Fox reported staff is in the process of negotiating with HTPO a proposal to design site plans and specifications for the trail system at Rice Marsh Lake. The proposed trail would extend from the Riley Creek bridge crossing west, ending at the City border with Chanhassen. The City of Chanhassen is looking at doing their segment and once completed it would allow the residents of Chanhassen and Eden Prairie to do a three-mile loop around Rice Marsh Lake. The proposal for design services cost approximately $23,000 and the trail would cost under$100,000. Staff plans to take the professional services contract to the City Council for approval on January 22. C. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER 1. Community Center Update and Tour Sevenich presented an overview of Community Center activity for 2012. She reported visits to the Community Center totaled 700,000 with a large portion of those attendees there because of ice and aquatics. In 2010 there were 476,000 visits. In 2012 there were 2,500+members and they see a continuous increase of members using other areas of the facilities. She reviewed the breakdown of the various membership categories. They have also seen an increase in ice time hours rented because of late night rentals and weekend tournaments. In 2012 they had 5,000 hours of ice rental. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES January 7, 2013 Page 8 Sevenich reported the major portion of Community Center revenue is generated from ice rental. She reviewed expenses and sources indicating the facility user charges are $1.7 million. They are reaching prime-time capacity in many areas. They can grow with membership but certain areas are more challenging. Sevenich said their plan is to stay the course. Link said the Community Center looks like a phenomenal success story. The new wet locker rooms will put a lot less wear and tear on other parts of the facility. Bierman asked if there were security cameras in the Community Center parking lots. Sevenich said there are not but there are cameras angled at the entrance. Sevenich said she would be happy to provide any Commission members with a tour of the facility after the meeting if they so desired. FYI: Family Bingo D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2013 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer reported he will be adding several items to the work plan including the City survey. When they have the survey information specific to Parks and Recreation staff will make it available to the Commission. On February 5 a presentation will be made to the City Council reviewing what the Commission has done and what they are planning to do. X. NEXT MEETING Next PRNR meeting —Monday, February 4, 7 p.m., Council Chambers. XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Motion was made by Link, seconded by Coburn, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m.