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Parks and Recreation - 03/01/2010 APPROVED MINUTES PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2010 7:00 P.M., CITY CENTER Council Chambers 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Geri Napuck, Chair; Jeffrey Gerst, Vice-Chair; Tom Bierman, Hutch Coburn, Lee Elliott- Stoering, Derek Gunderson and Joan Oko COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: No one STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Pranay Rao COMMISSION STAFF PRESENT: Jay Lotthammer, Parks and Recreation Director Stu Fox, Parks and Natural Resources Manager Laurie Obiazor, Recreation Services Manager Wendy Sevenich, Community Center Manager Bob Lanzi, Recreation Coordinator Scott Neal, City Manager RECORDING SECRETARY: Carol Pelzel I. ROLL CALL/INTRODUCTIONS The meeting was called to order by Chair Napuck at 7:00 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Bierman asked to add an item titled Recognition to the agenda. This item was added as Item D. under VIII. New Business. Motion: Elliott-S toering moved, seconded by Gerst, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion carried, 7-0. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES —February 1, 2010 Motion: Gerst moved, Coburn seconded, to approve the February 1, 2010 Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried, 6-0-1 with Gunderson abstaining because of absence from that meeting. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 2 IV. REPORT OF CITY COUNCIL ACTION Lotthammer reported there were four items considered by the City Council as follows: A. The City Council acknowledged Nicole Weedman, Recreation Coordinator, as recipient of the Dorothea Nelson Award. B. The Council recognized and accepted a $1,800 donation to the Art Center from the Lions Club. C. The Council did not officially adopt the Three-Rivers Hyland Bush Lake Anderson Lake Master Plan. A letter was to be mailed to Three-Rivers indicating the Council's appreciation for what Three-Rivers does for the community as well as their respect for the Master Planning process. D. The Council discussed the Riley property acquisition but took no formal action. Mayor Young wanted a letter sent to the Department of Interior questioning whether or not the City had to follow through on mitigating this property. He questioned if they had to mitigate the property or if the City could give it to the County. This item will be brought back to the City Council on March 9 to inform them where staff is in the process. In response to a question from Elliott-Stoering, Lotthammer explained the Council did review the history of the Riley property and several members of the Council commented this is the time to acquire the property. V. REPORT OF PLANNING COMMISSION Fox reported at the February 22 Planning Commission meeting the developer for Hennepin Village Site B (the site of the old golf course on Eden Prairie Road) presented a request for a land alteration permit for grading and tree clearing. This item was brought before the Planning Commission for a recommendation to the City Council. After much debate, the Planning Commission voted to not recommend approval to the City Council. The developer indicated he would be going to the City Council with this request at their March 23 meeting. Fox stated this is an approved plan but there is no Developer's Agreement and until the project is underway the City would not recognize any park dedication fees. VI. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION VII. OLD BUSINESS A. MAC LEASE UPDATE City Manager Scott Neal presented an update on the Flying Cloud land lease with MAC. The Management Audit from 2002 of the Final Agreement between MAC and the City included a number of provisions. He stated one of the important mutual concessions was land control issues. City staff has had extensive discussions and meetings with MAC staff to let them know how important this provision is and the PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 3 City relies not only on the current fields but also needs new fields. Neal reviewed the various items that have been holding up this process. The final issue that has driven the timeline back to a stalemate is MAC introducing into the discussions about a year ago their desire to develop part of the land the City wants for fields. MAC has stated their desire to try to create a reliever airport system that can support itself financially. In order to achieve that goal, they want to take advantage of every income producing effort when it can and this would include development of some of their parcels of land. This action conflicts with the Final Agreement between MAC and the City. The City is interested in a better deal providing them with more land and they are certainly not interested in reducing the size of the parcel without adding anything to it. City staff is waiting for a proposal from MAC. MAC has signed the lease for Cedar Hills Park and the FAA is reviewing that lease for land and it is proceeding positively. Bierman asked who MAC reports to and questioned if this is a breach of contract and how they justify that breach. Neal responded MAC is appointed by the Governor and has a professional staff. City staff has been dealing with that staff on a weekly basis. At this point, there is not a breach of contract. City staff is trying to be diplomatic and they believe they can get more done with MAC by interacting with them positively. Elliott-S toering asked if there is something this Commission can do to help this process move forward. Neal said they could act as a Commission or interact as individual citizens. Napuck suggested the Commission draft a letter to MAC regarding this issue and questioned the timing for such a letter. Neal responded at this time they don't have a defined timeline. Anything put together in a positive manner to encourage MAC to move forward within the next month or so would be helpful. Napuck asked to what extent does MAC have the ability or authority to negotiate a ten-year lease. Lotthammer responded the Agreement states a three-year lease with a one-year out clause. They have been on a year-to-year renewable lease. Bierman said residents may be upset if MAC does develop this property as a strip mall and they may even boycott the development and it may not yield the commercial dollars they think. Coburn asked if there is funding approved for the proposed field improvements. Neal answered funds were approved by the citizens through a referendum in 2005. Napuck asked if there is anything in the 2002 Agreement that exposes MAC to additional costs by delaying the lease of fields to Eden Prairie and delaying development of additional fields. Neal said he does not believe there is anything in the Agreement stating this. Bierman questioned if there are other pieces of land the City has for commercial development that could be used. He said an example of this would be the garden spots the City has. Neal said they did look at the garden area. MAC built a new VOR and PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 4 protection zone at a location which gets into the garden area and does not allow for development of that area. Napuck said she would like the Commission to draft a letter to MAC and Bierman said he agrees this Commission should prepare such a letter. Elliott-Stoering suggested they have the City Attorney review any letter the Commission prepares. Napuck asked for volunteers from the Commission to draft a letter to be reviewed by the Commission at their next meeting. Bierman said he would be willing to draft a letter after doing some research. Oko said she would be happy to help Bierman prepare a letter. Napuck said City staff could help in providing them with some of the factual information. She suggested they indicate in the letter the Commission's frustration in not getting the lease issue resolved and indicate the longer they wait in developing the fields the more costly it becomes. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. PARK SIGNAGE Lotthammer reported staff had the opportunity to review the various signs throughout the City's park system and found that a majority of the signs need to be replaced. Staff went to the various parks and took an inventory of the signs. It was decided they would get rid of the signs that no longer apply and to consolidate some of the other signs. They came up with some concepts to use language on the signs that is more welcoming and friendly. Lotthammer displayed drafts of the proposed signage stating they worked closely with the City's Communications Department to stay with the branding for the City. Staff proposes to move through the City's park system and to concentrate on the highest use areas. They anticipate one sign can replace three or four signs. Staff believes these new signs will dress up the park system. Fox pointed out the proposed signs are more informational signs and not regulatory signs. Oko asked if the regulatory sign would stay at the dog park. Lotthammer responded he was not sure at this time. They may decide to have this information on the City's website. Oko suggested they keep the regulatory sign up at the dog park. It is a lot easier to ask someone to look at the sign as opposed to telling them to go to a website. She said it is nice to have the regulations in the dog park clearly posted. Napuck said it is difficult to read some of the signs because of the colors. She felt it would be easier to read if a sign contains more than one sentence the sentences be bulleted. Rao said he agrees the sentences should be broken up with bullet points to make them more readable. Elliott-S toering asked if the directional signs in some of the higher traffic areas such as the conservation areas would remain. Fox said they would and they would be interactive indicating "you are here". PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 5 Oko asked if there has been a problem this year with snowmobilers using the trails. Fox said he had been in a helicopter last week doing a deer count and noticed some snowmobile trails. With the amount of snow they have had this year one person could make a lot of the trails. People are encouraged to call the Police when they see snowmobilers on City trails since snowmobiling is prohibited in the City. Historically, this has not been a problem. Oko recommended they keep the no snowmobiling signs up. Lotthammer explained there are no motorized vehicle signs located at the intersections of the trails. B. ICE RENTAL REVIEW Bob Lanzi, Recreation Coordinator, reviewed ice rink rentals for the three rinks located at the Community Center. He also reviewed the various City programs held at the ice rinks including ice skating lessons, skate rental, open skate, developmental ice, specialty programs and special events. Oko asked if the decline in revenue in some of the areas could be a result of the reduction in scholarship money in Eden Prairie. Sevenich said they have not seen this as the reason for reduced revenue. Lanzi pointed out they have seen more memberships in the past year and the developmental ice has contributed to users making choices. Oko questioned how staff markets the third rink when it is bare concrete. Lanzi said they have not marketed it. This rink is available in the summer months and without air condition it becomes very warm inside. City activities are held at this facility earlier in the day. Napuck suggested they look at using the facility for in-line skating. Lanzi explained usage would depend on the weather in the spring as to the amount of usage for certain activities. The hockey boards are still up so in-line skating is something they could do. Again, this facility would be available for the most part in the summer. C. VOLUNTEER UPDATE Obiazor presented an overview of the City's volunteer program explaining the City does not have a volunteer coordinator to rely on. The individual recreation coordinators manage their own volunteers. In 2010 staff looked at ways to improve recruiting, retaining, utilizing and recognizing volunteers. Obiazor said staff would bring an update to the Commission on these efforts at the end of the year. Obiazor reviewed the volunteer program explaining how they recruit volunteers and what opportunities are available. For 2009 they had 12,120 volunteer hours equaling a value of$245,300. D. RECOGNITION Bierman said he would like to recognize the Foxjets for their relief efforts involving the Haiti earthquake victims. They raised approximately $9,000 and shipped 41,000 PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 6 meals to Haiti. There were approximately 200 volunteers to package the meals and all of this was accomplished in three weeks. Bierman also recognized Community Center staff for working with the Fox Jets in making the Community Center available for the 200 people who volunteered to package the meals. Bierman said he appreciates the efforts of both the Fox Jets and the Community Center staff. IX. REPORTS OF STAFF A. COMMUNITY CENTER MANAGER FYI: An Afternoon with the Bunny B. RECREATION SERVICES MANAGER FYI: Spring/Summer Brochure FYI: Family Bingo Night C. PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGER 1. 2010 Trail Projects Fox reviewed the 2010 Trail Projects explaining the Parks Division undertakes a number of trail, sidewalk and parking lot projects during the year. They have approximately 30 projects that will be undertaken this summer. There are approximately $60,000 worth of projects to be completed and seven projects that will be done in-house. Projects to be completed in 2010 total $360,000 with in- house projects totaling $33,400. The total 2010 budget for these projects is $445,200. 2. Diseased Tree Proizram Update Fox said at the last Commission meeting they talked about the incident where a tree contractor was confronted by a resident with a weapon. It was asked if this was common. Fox explained the process for inspecting trees in the City as regulated by City ordinance. This program has worked well for over thirty years and the compliance with diseased tree notification has always been well above 99 percent. He explained in 2009 out of the 260 property owners that received notifications, only 12 properties were found to be in violation of the removal order. PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 7 3. Miller Park Barrier Free Playground Expansion Fox reported in evaluating needs for playground improvements in 2010, it was discovered that some play equipment at Miller Park is in very poor condition. Because of the equipment that was recently added at this park, the decision was made to spend the monies earmarked for general playground projects on upgrading Miller Park. As the plans for this upgrade become available they will be presented to the Commission for their review. Oko said she is not in favor of the proposed rotating full-net with a fall height of 10 feet and rotational spin. She believes this makes for a dangerous play structure. Oko said she would like to see something stationary or revolving with a much lower fall height. Fox responded any equipment put in would have to meet safety standards. Gerst asked if there are any surrounding communities that have play structures similar to the one they are discussing. Fox said he was not sure but this is certainly something they can look into. He said he assumes there would be some type of restriction to keep the users from free falling. Lotthammer indicated staff will look into this play structure a little further. The equipment being proposed is the latest and greatest and the way play structures are being constructed. However, staff will get additional information as well as look at other alternatives. D. PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR 1. Cummins-Grill Site Restoration Lotthammer presented a draft restoration plan for the Cummins Grill site. The Pioneer Trail road improvement project impacted land that is part of and adjacent to Staring Lake Park and the Cummins Grill House and historic property. Due to these impacts, mitigation for lost land and impacts to the properties was required. The impacts to the Cummins Grill House and historic property require that the Cultural Landscape Management Plan is followed. Lotthammer asked for the Commission's input along with review by the Heritage Preservation Commission, Eden Prairie Historical Society and other State and County Departments. Lotthammer further explained this plan uses plantings that are in place and they want the site to look more like a farm yard. The time line for this project includes receipt of comments from partner organizations in February and early March and implementation of the project to occur in an August/September timeframe. Oko asked if the City would be paying for this project. Lotthammer said the City will pay for a portion of it with another portion being paid from the impact of the road project. Bierman asked if they had considered planting oak trees. Fox said PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 8 they have and there will be oak trees on the site. Lotthammer said they plan to control cost by the size of the trees they plant. The Commission felt this was an attractive plan and would improve the site. 2. 2010 PRNR Work Plan Lotthammer briefly reviewed the PRNR Work Plan and asked Commission members to contact him with any items they would like to see added to the Plan. 3. Thank You to Outwiniz Commissioners Lotthammer expressed his appreciation to outgoing Commissioner Jeffrey Gerst for serving on the Commission. Gerst's term was up and he chose not to be reappointed. Lotthammer said they appreciated his approach to things and participation with the Commission. Napuck said it has been a pleasure to work with Gerst and he will be missed on the Commission. Bierman said in reviewing tonight's agenda he feels it is fun to live in Eden Prairie. This evening they reviewed a donation to the Art Center and the Riley Park property acquisition. They also heard a wonderful presentation on the ice rinks. A report was also presented on the volunteer work that has occurred in the City. Bierman said all of this is a great acknowledgement to the people of Eden Prairie. He indicated they are one of the few cities that can talk about a barrier free park. This Community has done some great things including the Veterans Memorial and the preservation of Cummins Grill. Bierman said they have talked about doing some visionary things and he challenges his colleagues to come up with visions and to make them happen to leave their legacy. Bierman also asked Commission members to provide him with what they would like to see included in the letter to MAC regarding the land lease. Coburn said he would like to see something about MAC continuing a positive effect on the community and to recognize all of the years they have worked with the City. Napuck said she does not believe the letter should be very detailed. It is a real balance between recognizing that MAC has done good things in the past and they do not want to alienate them but they do want to have this issue resolved now. Elliott-S toering said they need to highlight the amount of time that has been spent on this and the issues that have come up. The City has been waiting seven years for these fields and the Athletic Associations and kids in the community depend on these fields. Oko said in 2002 the City negotiated terms in good faith. The City has been counting on three soccer fields and two baseball fields and in addition have had financial impacts not accounted for in 2002. She said they may also want to indicate that any future financial gain by MAC will be far outweighed by PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION March 1, 2010 Page 9 negative community sentiment. Gerst suggested they ask MAC for a response by May 1. X. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission is scheduled for Monday, April 5, 2010. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Gerst moved, seconded by Bierman, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m.