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2010-04-13 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesApproved CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION MEETING April 13, 2010 The April 2010 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 P.M. The following Commissioners were present, Chair Ray Morris, Commissioners: Tom Kraus, Michael Toth, David Miller, and Steve Commers. Staff present was: Jake Sedlacek, Assistant to the City Administrator, Teresa Gangelhoff, Parks and Recreation Programmer, Guy Kullander, Parks Project Manager and Nancy Bauer, Recording Secretary. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Kraus made a motion to approve the minutes with a couple of corrections. Commissioner Toth seconded the motion. AYES 5 NAYS 0 Mendakota Parlr Equipment Mr. Sedlacek reported that RFP's were received for the Mendakota Park play equipment and three excellent proposals were received. They are from Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground, Flanagan Sales, Inc. and Flagship Recreation. Mr. Mike Dorsey of Flanagan Sales, Inc. described the equipment in his proposal. Commissioner Kraus asked about the cost breakdown of items eight and nine in the proposal. Could you explain the additional costs? Mr. Dorsey said the RFP asked for the cost of the poured in place surfacing and the cost of the wood mulch. The removal of the pea rock is $2,660 and the cost of the excavation and the use of new wood fiber is $9,251. Commissioner Kraus asked if that would reduce the cost of the proposal by $5,000. Mr. Dorsey said it would. Chair Morris asked about the lifetime of the resilient surfacing? Mr. Dorsey said the warranty was typically three years but could be extended to five years. Mr. Grant DesRoches of Flagship Recreation described the equipment in his proposal. Commissioner Toth asked about the wear and tear on the parts. Page - 1 4/13/10 Approved Mr. DesRoches replied there is not a lot that can wear on the equipment. The panels are easily replaced and everything is made of stainless steel. The little plug in the sand table may wear. Chair Morris asked Mr. Kullander about the history with Landscape Structures (now Flagship Recreation - the new authorized vendor for Landscape Structures products) and the need to replace parts. Mr. Kullander said components can break on the diggers. The budget for replacement parts the last 10 years has been $2,000 - $3,000. It has now up to $5,000. Parts have most often been replaced on swing seats or chairs. Chair Morris asked about the price difference between the resilient surfacing and concrete base price and would there be about an $8,000 savings. Mr. DesRoches replied it was an aggregate base before and they decided to go with concrete to make it more resilient. Chair Morris said if the Commission went with a wood fiber base it would save $8,000 Mr. DesRoches replied yes. Mr. John Elder of Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground described two proposals his company submitted. Chair Morris asked if the warranty for the shade shelter included wind damage. Mr. Elder responded it has a 10 year warranty up to 90 miles per hour and also covers against cracking, fading and mildew. Commissioner Toth asked if the shade shelter was fabric. Mr. Elder responded it was. Commissioner Commers asked about the tot rock. Mr. Elder said it is 3 feet tall from the center. Commissioner Kraus asked about the option for the engineered wood fiber as well without and the difference was a little less than $3,000. Is that true in both proposals? Mr. Elder said the difference is $3,000 in both proposals. Commissioner Kraus asked if both proposals were $50,000. Mr. Elder said they were both identical. Chair Morris thanked the vendors for corning in and the final decision would be made by the City Council. Commissioners Commers remarked they were all three excellent proposals and the company that has done the playground equipment in the past has had great success. Commissioner Toth said in the future the other equipment in Mendakota will need to be replaced. Page - 2 4/13/10 Approved Mr. Kullander responded that it would need to be replaced in the future. It was updated about three years ago by replacing minor parts and doing touch up painting. Commissioner Toth asked Mr. Kullander if he would prefer to stay with one contractor for all the equipment at Mendakota Park. Mr. Kullander said he would prefer Flagship because in his opinion it is better equipment and very durable. There is Minnesota/Wisconsin equipment at Hagstrom King Park. There is equipment from Flanagan with Game Time equipment at Marie Park. The warranty is longer with Flagship equipment. Commissioner Commers asked if Flagship could do the larger piece of equipment and have Little Tykes equipment in the smaller section. Mr. Kullander said the plastic shade shelter roof would clash with the cedar shakes on the nearby pavillion. Commissioner Kraus asked Commissioner Commers his rational behind that thought Commissioner Commers said it seems that the Little Tykes equipment for the sandbox area seems friendlier for the kids to play on. Commissioner Morris said there are a lot more plastic parts on the Little Tykes equipment and subject to UV damage. Or. Kullander said diggers are always in use. Commissioner Kraus said he would personally like to go with the poured surface because of the age group using the equipment. The Mendota Heights Mom's Club prefers that type of surface. Commissioners Commers said this park is our flagship park and it would be worth it to spend the extra money. Chair Morris said he would expect to get 20 years out of the equipment. Mr. Kullander responded that wood chips are inexpensive to begin with but need to be replaced every six or seven years. Chair Morris said a poured surface is cleaner and easier for maintenance workers. Commissioner Toth said he looked at the Rogers Lake Park and the wood chips are showing their wear. Mr. Kullander said the wood chips were put down in 2005. Commissioner Toth asked the cost to replace the wood chips. Mr. Kullander said it would cost about $6,000 to replace wood chips. Commissioner Kraus said the compaction of the wood fibers makes the impact of the fall greater. With the poured surface you have a better safety surface. Page - 3 4/13/10 Approved Commissioner Miller asked if there were other things that differentiated the equipment. Mr. Kullander said Flagship equipment is better and seems sturdier. Commissioner Toth asked if the assumption would be to use the same company when the other equipment is replaced. Mr. Kullander said that would be a fair observation. Commissioner Kraus made a motion to accept the proposal from Flagship Recreation with a poured surface. Commissioner Toth seconded the motion. AYES 5 NAYS 0 Mr. Kullander stated that the City Council wanted a $50,000 play structure and he would like a $3,000 - $4,000 contingency for public works for any expenses public works incurr to restore the site. Commissioner Kraus restated the motion to accept the proposal from Flagship Recreation with a poured surface, and add a $3,000 contingency for public works and recommend that the funding be half from the Special Park Funds and half from the Cell Tower Funds, Commissioner Toth seconded the motion. AYES 5 NAYS 0 PARKS AND RECREATION REPORT Ms. Gangelhoff reported that the summer registration was a huge success with $22,000 in registrations. Summer programming includes Safety Camp, August 10, 11 and 12`h. Fishing derby is July 14`h and skateboard camp is August 2°d — 011. The Twins game sold out. Tennis is back and the summer playgrounds are almost full. Performances in the Park are set and will be on line tomorrow. The Parks Celebration is June 5`h We are still looking for volunteers. The softball slots are all filled. Commissioner Toth asked if the softball fields were being used to capacity. Ms. Gangelhoff said they are. Mr. Sedlacek said Ms. Gangelhoff does a lot of work filling field requests. The soccer fields are filled to capacity. Chair Morris thanked Ms. Gangelhoff for her herculean efforts and doing it part-time. Page - 4 4/I3/]0 Approved Commissioner Commers asked if Ivy Falls Park could be used for soccer. Mr. Kullander responded that it has been used by people in the past but they quit using it because of a drainage slope in the field. It is used for Lacrosse skills - not competition. Rules of Order Chair Morris reported that the rules of order had been tabled, would like to move this item along and approve them. Commissioner Miller asked about the organization and membership item 2.2.1 and why the tenure of the members is not there. Mr. Sedlacek said it is in City Code but could be added to the rules of order. Commissioner Miller asked about 3.2(a) — how this section worked. Mr. Sedlacek said it could be stated better to include items not on the agenda as part of the agenda adoption. Commissioner Miller said items not on the agenda could be added to the next month's agenda. Commissioner Commers said that item could be striked. Commissioner Kraus said that could be done. Chair Morris told Mr. Sedlacek to strike that item. Commissioner Miller asked if by-laws meant rules of order. Mr. Sedlacek said it should be rules of order. Commissioner Miller asked why the rules of order would be suspended for any reason. Chair Morris said we could do away with that item. Commissioner Kraus said it should stay. Might be used for voting such as voting by another method than voice. Mr. Sedlacek said City Code states that voting is done by voice. Chair Morris said the rules of order should be amended once a year and a month before the changes it should be announced. Commissioner Miller said it reads amended or suspended and suspended could be removed. Chair Morris said to do away with the word suspended. Commissioner Miller said we are amending the rules of order right now. Mr. Sedlacek read back the changes to the rules of order. Page - 5 4/13/10 Approved Chair Morris said to change the date under section 4.2. Commissioner Miller made a motion to approve the rules of order with changes as read by Mr. Sedlacek. Seconded by Commissioner Commers. AYES 5 NAYS 0 5 Year CIP Mr. Sedlacek handed out a spreadsheet listing improvement projects, the cost, status of the project and comments. The Commission needs to provide direction to staff so the projects could be ranked by priority. Budgeting time is coining up. This would give the City Council priorities for parks projects by the Parks Commission. Chair Morris said he likes the spreadsheet view. All 2011 projects are on hold by the City Council. Mr. Kullander what are your thoughts? Mr. Kullander said Mr. Sedlacek did a nice job summing it up. Keeping the list up for City Council for budgeting purposes is important. Important years are the first and second year. Commissioner Commers asked if Mendakota Park expand playground could be moved to number one. Mr. Kullander said that is already in the 2010 budget. 95% of the time if it is in the budget it will get approved by City Council for construction. Commissioner Kraus asked if the projects could be put in different order such as putting the trail items together. Mr. Kullander said years ago the MSA projects were not in the plan but have been included in the current five year plan. Commissioner Toth asked about Rogers Lake fishing along Wagon Wheel. Mr. Kullander said it has been discussed putting in improvements along Wagon Wheel Trail for people fishing such as limestone blocks for fishing, or putting in parking along the side of Wagon Wheel Trail. Commissioner Toth asked about a Mendakota Park storage building. Mr. Kullander responded the City Council does not want to add another building in the park. Mendota Heights Athletic Association supports a building there, but has no funds to build one, and public works would like a building there. Commissioner Morris said some of the low hanging fruit is the Ivy Hills Park skating light and enlarging the ice area. We could still do those items this year if we wanted to. We have interest and utilization of the temporary structure. A security light would not be a bad thing up there. Page - 6 4/13/10 Approved Mr. Sedlacek said this would be a good opportunity to get consensus and staff direction because those items are not in the plan. Commissioner Commers said the light is more important than making the rink the bigger. Mr. Kullander said he received bids for installation of a security light in 2009 and $5,500 was the low bid. Chair Morris said a lot of the items are not reasonable budget wise to get increased park usage. Ivy Hills Park got a lot of use. Commissioner Toth said it was discussed at the last meeting Ivy Hills Park skating rink was well accepted. To enhance the park in small steps would be an asset to the people who use it. Commissioner Kraus said expanding the rink right now is not a priority. Having a light makes sense. Chair Morris said to bump up the light in priority. Commissioner Kraus said a process is lacking in ranking the items. My top priorities are safety in the parks. Chair Morris asked Mr. Sedlacek to capture what has been discussed tonight. And asked Mr. Kullander and Mr. Sedlacek to rank the items keeping the budget in mind. Next month we can devote 20 minutes for a final discussion and finish it up. Mr. Sedlacek said there are two ways to proceed -staff could rank the projects or staff and the Commissioners could rank the projects. Commissioner Commers said he would like to see both sides. Commissioner Toth asked about a shelter at Hagstrom King Park. Mr. Kullander said the project was brought up by Paul Portz. There was no decision made. It would be nice to have if there was money. There have been no requests for it. One item not on the list is soccer and lacrosse fields. The only large enough park to add fields is Friendly Marsh Park. Commissioner Toth asked Mr. Sedlacek if he could send out the spreadsheet to Commissioners before the next meeting. Mr. Sedlacek said he would. Commissioner Kraus asked if it could be consolidated before the next meeting. Mr. Sedlacek said it would be. Chair Morris said to send it out with a deadline. Commissioner Commers asked if it could be sent out by email. Mr. Sedlacek said he would send it out by email, Commissioners Commers asked if it could be sent back by email. Page - 7 4/t3/t0 Approved Mr. Sedlacek said it could. Par 3 Update Mr. Sedlacek reported that the Par 3 in are usually loses money. $3,000 in revenues was taken in during March. April is off to a good start. The clubhouse opened up very nice. The turf is in good condition. Staff is returning from last year. Parks and Recreation Commission Openings Mr. Sedlacek reported there are two openings on the Commission when Commissioner Maureen Brackey recently resigned and because of the expired term of Chair Paul Portz, The City is requesting applicants to submit a letter of interest, resume and cover letter to City Hall by April 23, 2010, Mr. Kullander suggested using Commissioner Kraus' moms list for interested applicants. Commissioner Kraus said he would inform the moms club of the openings. August Meeting Date Conflict Mr. Sedlacek said the primary date for elections has been changed to August 10" which is a normal meeting night. The Commission should discuss moving the meeting to another date. Commissioner Kraus said he couldn't make the August meeting and suggested canceling the meeting in August instead of the July meeting which has been done in the past. Chair Morris said it worked for him. Commissioner Toth said it also worked for hiin. Commissioner Commers asked if City Council approval was needed to cancel the meeting. Mr. Sedlacek said yes. Commissioner Comments Commissioner Commers said it was a good meeting. Commissioner Miller said he would need to call Mr. Kullander and Mr. Sedlacek regarding the five year capital improvement plan. Mr. Kullander said he would send all his information regarding the five year capital improvement pIan to all Commissioners. Commissioner Toth said that 10 days ago there was a controlled burn at Pilot Knob. He has seen wild turkeys and deer up at the site. Mr. Kullander said the weed seeds accumulate in the soil and if disturbed the burn kills the weeds exhausting the seed bank. The native flowers will come back. A burn gets rid of the weeds faster and it is more economical. Page - 8 4/13/10 Approved Commissioner Kraus said a topic that needs to be discussed is funding for parks projects. The last of the contributions is from the Mendota Plaza redevelopment for $183,000. The issue needs to be addressed and put on a future agenda. Mr. ICullander suggested that the Commission consider requesting a joint workshop be set up with the City Council and the Parks Commission to discuss funding and other park issues. Commissioner Kraus said that is a good suggestion. Chair Morris asked that Mr. Sedlacek set up a workshop with the City Council. Chair Morris said on Saturday, May 15` is Spring Clean Up from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm at Mendakota Park. Commissioner Commers asked about the fee for the Spring Clean Up. Mr. Sedlacek said car tires, furniture and mattresses are $3.00 and the rest is volume based. Electronics are also being accepted and the fee is based on weight. Commissioner Toth asked if paints and thinners are being accepted. Mr. Sedlacek said household hazardous waste should be taken to the Eco Site in Eagan. American Bank is also doing a shred event on the same morning. Commissioner Miller made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Commers seconded the motion. AYES 5 NAYS 0 The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M. Page - 9 4/13/]0