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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks and Recreation - 06/03/2013 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY,JUNE 3, 2013 7:00 P.M.— COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY CENTER COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Hutch Coburn, Chair; Leonard Pescheck, Derek Gunderson, Debra McBride, Maria Helena Moreno, Michael Belean, Larry Link COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Geri Napuck, Matthew Kraft 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 Nicole Minton, Therapeutic Recreation Supervisor Amy Hulet, Recorder I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Coburn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Commission introduced themselves to the new recording secretary, Amy Hulet. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA An item was added under"New Business". Commission Member Gunderson would provide an update on the light rail project. Motion: Gunderson moved, seconded by Pescheck, to approve the agenda as amended. III. APPROVAL OF PRNR MINUTES —MAY 6, 2013 Motion: McBride moved, seconded by Moreno, to approve the May 6, 2013 meeting minutes as presented. IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION A. DESIGN AND ARCHITECT FOR AQUATIC PROJECT DESIGN Lotthammer. reported the design for the aquatics center had moved forward to the City Council for approval. The same firm(HGA) that executed the feasibility study had been hired for the aquatics design. Staff had recently met with the firm and had plans to meet next week in a workshop-type setting. In addition, staff had plans to meet with a variety of groups that will utilize the aquatic center. The goal would be to create a design based on overall use and to present a better estimation of cost. This item would come back to the Commission at the November meeting. At that meeting, the Commission would decide if they concur with PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 3,2013 Page 2 the initial design and recommend to move forward with the next phase. If the item would be approved, the project would go out to bid in January of 2014. B. TRAIL OVERLAY AND RECONSTRUCTION WORK Lotthammer reported a bid had been accepted for trail overlay and work would begin shortly. The project was located along Valley View Road. C. 4Tx OF JULY FIREWORKS CONTRACT Lotthammer noted with the approval by City Council to add $5,000 to the firework budget, they are looking forward to a bigger and better splash during the fireworks display. D. NORTHERN EDUCATE ACADEMY CONTRACT Lotthammer reported City Council had approved the contract with Northern Educate Academy and the students would begin their program in the fall. He noted the group had a walk-thru tour of the arena and there were about a dozen or so kids in the group. He felt this contract would be beneficial to the City because it was a good way to utilize unused ice time. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox reported the Planning Commission discussed a residential pool setback variance and the video board at the school field. He also noted a rather substantial housing development had been approved near Eden Prairie Road/Flying Cloud Drive and Beverly Drive. Pulte Homes will construct 103 homes in this development. Park Dedication fees would be collected when construction begins. Moreno inquired if construction would affect Eden Prairie Road and what would be the nearest parks for this area. Fox responded he did not feel traffic would be affected on Eden Prairie Road. Lotthammer responded the nearest park was Cedar Hills Park, on the corner by Grace Church. There are other park land areas nearby, such as James Brown and Richard T. Anderson. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION A. THERAPEUTIC RECREATION SERVICES Minton gave an update of Therapeutic Recreation Services for the City of Eden Prairie. She began working for Eden Prairie in 2000 on a part-time basis and moved to full-time a year later. During the late spring and early summer months, she is busy hiring and training over a 100 seasonal youth workers for the City. Minton stated Eden Prairie is one of very few cities that have incorporated Therapeutic Services within their park and recreation system and residents are fortunate to have these services available to them. She reported to the Commission how the services are determined and the types of services provided. Minton stated there were two types of services, Adaptive Recreation and Leisure Education. Adaptive Recreation programs were more social in nature, encompassed a variety of disabilities and required no prerequisites. These programs include Everyone Can Dance, Young Athletes, Club 204, Tech Camp and Music Therapy. Leisure Education differed in that participants were required to be high-functioning and independent in the community. Programs were usually held at the Community Center, Art Center, Outdoor Center and also PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 3,2013 Page 3 included several outings. Therapeutic Recreation Services also incorporate Inclusion Services, which promotes participation of those individuals with disabilities into park and recreation programs. Minton provided the Commission with participation numbers. The Commission discussed the dip in participation numbers during the economic downturn and how they could help to stabilize numbers in case of another dip in the economy. McBride stated she was familiar with the program since her son was a participant. She noted participants in this group were not a static population and numbers would fluctuate along with the number of participants. B. EVENT RECAPS 1. Arts in the Park 2. Splash Time at Schooner Days Minton continued her presentation with a recap of recent events. When Staff scheduled the Splash Time at Schooner for June lst during the middle of winter, they anticipated a warm sunny day. However, as our spring had been unpredictable, the day was not as warm as they had hoped for. Despite the weather,participants and Staff were still very excited for the event. A second splash time is scheduled for August, and they are hoping for better weather. Minton reported the kick-off for the 4th of July Celebration, would be held on July 3rd at Round Lake Park. The event"Rocking at Round" would feature music, comedy show, bingo and concessions. The celebration would continue the next day with music, a kiddie parade, inflatables, pickleball demonstrations, food and the grand finale, of a fireworks display. She noted it will be a fun event for all ages and they were excited to see the amplified fireworks. The Fall Harvest event will take place in late September and will partner with the Historical Society and local farmers. Fresh local produce, entertainment and music will be included in this event. Chair Coburn expressed appreciation to staff and noted it was an excellent presentation. Larry Link arrived at 7:32 p.m. and Chair Coburn introduced Link to Amy Hulet, the new recording secretary. VII. OLD BUSINESS VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. FEE RESOLUTION Lotthammer reported the department provides the Commission with the Park and Recreation fees on an annual basis for review and approval. The fees are brought to the City Council and are adopted with the upcoming year's budget in December. In 2012, Lotthammer reported the fees generated approximately $4.3 million in revenue to the annual operating budget. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 3,2013 Page 4 He shared the purposed changes to the 2014 fees/charges and noted there were no major increases. On average, the City increased fees three to five percent annually, in order to cover the costs associated with labor and heating cost changes. Membership to the Art Center was discontinued,however daily and quarterly rates remained. Fees remained consistent with those rates of surrounding communities. Moreno inquired about extending the rental time hours from 10 p.m. to midnight and marketing of kid parties. Lotthammer responded the numbers of parties had increased considerably after the renovations of the Community Center. In addition, there are several parties held at the Art Center, Outdoor Center and at the Community Center. Wendy Sevenich reported there were ordinances in the City that limited noise after 10 p.m., as well as limits to the operation hours of park buildings. Lotthammer confirmed the 10 p.m. closure for parks and park buildings. He noted many parks were nestled within neighborhoods and extending hours past 10 p.m. would not be an option. If residents would like to extend parties later than 10 p.m.,he recommended they move the celebration to a private setting. Pescheck inquired about the increase in current pool rate. He would like to see the rate remain lower than the surrounding communities. Sevenich reported the City's rate was still lower than most comparable communities and the increase was putting their rates closer to where they should be. Lotthammer asked the Commission for their recommendation in order to bring it to the City Council. McBride moved, Pescheck seconded, to recommend to the City Council approval of the 2014 Fee Resolution for the Parks and Recreation Department as presented. The motion carried 7- 0. B. BUDGET UPDATE Lotthammer updated the Commission on the 2014 Budget. He noted staff had worked on the budget and submitted their reports two weeks prior. The biggest expense affecting the budget was health care costs. Staff was looking into ways to help cover those costs. Presentations of the budget would occur at workshops. The City Council approves the budget in December of each year•, however Staff has been working on a two-year budget for 2014-2015. C. LIGHT RAIL UPDATE Gunderson updated the Commission on the light rail project and a future hub station in Eden Prairie. Three locations had been suggested for the station. The next meeting for Eden Prairie regarding this project would be in August. Gunderson reported there would be additional meetings for the overall light rail project. The most pressing issue was the relocation of the freight rail station in St. Louis Park. That meeting would be held at Benilde/St. Margaret's School on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. The Commission discussed the three proposed locations in Eden Prairie for the station. The locations included Technology Drive, Emerson/Bowling Alley and Singletree Lane. PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 3,2013 Page 5 Gunderson supported the location at Emerson/Bowling Alley. He noted there would be future discussion for these locations. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. Boundary Inspection Update Fox presented the Boundary Inspection Update. Approximately 20 years prior, the City began inspecting diseased trees on homeowner's properties. While performing the inspections, they found several encroachments onto City-owned park property. The encroachments included trampolines, fire pits, patios, landscaping, etc. The encroachment issue went to the City Council for discussion. The City Council discussed the possibility of leasing the land to the homeowner,however, staff urged the Council to be uniform and consistent with all the homeowners. The City began the boundary inspection process in 2005 by hiring seasonal staff to review properties with encroachments. In 2006, the City sent out 2,100 letters to homeowners with encroachments and began the "Good Neighbor" project. The homeowner would be required to correct the encroachment. Once staff reviewed a property and found the homeowner in compliance, they would be sent a "Good Neighbor" postcard. If after the inspection the homeowner had not removed the encroachment, a violation letter would be sent out to the residence. Once again, if the homeowner complied, a"Good Neighbor" postcard would be sent to them. If the violation remained and the issue was not resolved, the next step was to involve the Police Department and/or the City Attorney. Fox reported the City has 43 park areas with over 1,100 acres of park land. He stated the average rate of trespass had been 30 percent(which is approximately one of out every three houses located on or near park property). In 2012, the trespass rate was 21 percent for the land reviewed. The rate has varied, depending on the type of park land. Homeowners tend to migrate further with passive park land. Fox provided pictures to the Commission of the different examples of how homeowners had trespassed on park land. Moreno noted some of the examples looked professionally landscaped and inquired if landscaping companies were required to pull a permit for those projects. Fox responded some projects do not require permits if they fell under certain restrictions. However, the rule of thumb should be to contact the City if a homeowner had a question or concern before starting any projects. B. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER FYI: MN Festival of Jazz on the Prairie FYI: Staring Lake Concert Series FYI: Eden Prairie Players performance of"Carnival" FYI: Kidstock FYI: Senior Center Garden Party PARKS,RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MINUTES June 3,2013 Page 6 Obiazor provided the Commission with the "Sounds Around Town" brochure that was available to all residents and visitors. Included in the brochure is a calendar of events that lists the date, time and location of performances in the City. Obiazor discussed the Minnesota Festival of Jazz on the Prairie, Staring Lake Concert Series, Eden Prairie Players performance of"Carnival", Kidstock and the Senior Center Garden Party. The information for these events was also provided in the Eden Prairie newspaper, as well as on the City's website. C. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. 2013 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer stated they had discussed this item during the meeting. X. NEXT MEETING Next PRNR Meeting BUS TOUR—Monday, July 1, 2013 — 6:30 p.m., leave from the City Center. Lotthammer asked the Commission for any suggestions while on the bus tour. McBride suggested a stop at the Art Center and Fox suggested the Outdoor Center. Lotthammer reported the August meeting would include a presentation from the Heritage Preservation Society at the Senior Center. However, the meeting would begin at the overlook area near C.H. Robinson and then proceed to the Senior Center. XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Moreno moved, seconded by Pescheck, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.