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2010-03-09 Parks and Rec Comm Minutesdppraved CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECRF,ATION MEETING March 9, 2010 The March 2010 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, March 9, 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: Michael Toth, Maureen Brackey, David Miller, and Steve Commers. Commissioner Kraus was excused. Staff present were: David McKnight City Administrator, Jake Sedlacek, Assistant to the City Administrator, Teresa Gangelhoff, Parks and Recreation Programmer, Guy Kullander, Parks Project Manager and Nancy Bauer, Recording Secretary. Agenda Chair Mon -is added an item to the agenda —Rules of Order. Annroval of Minutes Commissioner Brackey made a motion to approve the February 9, 2010, minutes with one correction. Commissioner Commers seconded the motion. AYESS NAYSO Onen Meeting Law and Data Practices Act Mc McKnight went over the open meeting laws and data practices act stating that the open meeting law and data practices apply to the Parks and Recreation Commission as appointed connnissioners. The purpose of the open meeting law is to prohibit actions being taken at secret meetings where the public is unable to become informed about decisions of the public body or to detect improper influences and to assure the public's right to be informed. The open meeting law applies to all meetings of the public body which is the City Council, and meetings of its committees and subcommittees which the Parks and Recreation Commission is. A meeting is not defined in state statutes but court decisions have defined meetings as a quorum of the public body where public business is discussed, received, and acted upon. One of the issues to be cautious about is serial meetings where public bodies orchestrate serial meetings of less than a quorum to avoid the open meeting law requirements or to fashion an agreement in advance, may be found to have violated the law depending on the circumstances. An example of this would be one commissioner emailing or calling Commissioner A, then calling Commissioner B and then doing to the same to Commissioner Page - 1 3/9/10 pproved C and Commissioner D to come up with a result on an issue before it is discussed at the public meeting. This is a gray area and should be avoided. Another question is social gatherings. Social or chance gatherings may occur with a quorum present, no violations of the open meeting law occurs if city business is not discussed. One of the issues to be warned about is the appearance of what it may look like to a resident or the public. The serial meeting law also applies to email Discussions can not be done by email by a majority of the Commissioners. That is also a gray area. There are penalties to the open meeting law. There is a $300 fine per violation to be paid by the person, not the City. If you have intentionally violated the law three or more separate and unrelated times you may be removed from office. This could cause bad public relations and increased scrutiny by the public. The data practices act regulates the collection, creation, storage, maintenance, dissemination and access to government data. The public policy is to provide the public with access to data that is the basis for, and the product of, governmental decisions. Government data is presumed to be accessible by the public for inspection and copying unless they fall within an exception to the data practices act created by state or federal law. While the work you perform on the city commission deals almost exclusively with public data it is important to remember that this would also apply to data such as emails you may send to each other, which is discoverable as a public document and comments you write on your packet is discoverable. The work you do is public and needs to take place in this room and documents you use and read are public documents. Commissioner Commers asked if a three ring binder could be made. Mr. McKnight said thatgood idea. Chair Morris said it would be a good resource for new commissioners to educate them. Parks and Recreation Report Chair Morris said there is one opening in the mens over 30 softball league. The ice rinks closed at 6:00 P.M. on Slmday, February 281h. Ms. Gangelhoff reported that she handed out the skating rink counts for the last three years. There are no counts for Ivy Hills Park The rinks were open for 70 days. The weather was cold and made for good ice. The numbers are consistent with the 2007-2008 season when the rinks were open for 78 days. Chair Morris said it was a good season and the rinks were only closed a couple of nights. The National Recreation and Parks Association Convention is coming to Minnesota. Simple Steps registrations start on April ls`. Page - 2 3/9/10 Approved If anyone is interested in 55+ programs they should look up information at www.comed.isdl97.org. Summer program registrations will begin online at 6:00 P.M. on March 22id and residents can sign up at City Hall at 8:00 A.M. on March 23`" The summer playhouse will be on Mondays in two of the parks again this summer. Safety camp is on August 10, 1 ] & 12. The fishing derby is on July 14`" We will have the same golf leagues, lessons and camps. Rogers Lake skateboard camp is August 2nd to August 6"'. The summer break youth trip is to Mattie's Lanes in South Saint Paul with a pizza lunch, swimming and a movie at South Saint Paul in Central Square. The s�unmer trips are a trip to Crystal Caves and Eau Galle ParldPicnic/Dam tour, Bunker Beach Wave Pool, Edina Water Park, Minnesota Twins game, Apple Valley Aquatic Center and Mendota Heights and West St. Paul Park and Rec Day at the West St. Paul Pool. Tennis wilt be starting, call City Hall for information. Summer Playgrounds is back with Summer Fun & Sun, Happy Trails and Tails, Sports, Games and More, Water Works, Nature Lovers/Fishing Week, and This and That. The parks celebration is Saturday, June 5"' with volunteer opportunities and anyone interested in volunteering should contact Teresa at teresagn)mendota-heights.com. Commissioner Brackey asked how many applications were received for the playground leader. Mr. Sedlacek said he was not sure but there is a good field of candidates and thought there were 9-12 applicat ons. Commissioner Toth asked how many adults went on the water park trips. As. Gangethoff responded there is one chaperone for every seven kids at a water trip. If it is not a water trip it is one chaperone for every l0 kids. Rules of Order Chair Morris said the rules of order were discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Sedlacek said he handed out a new miles of order with changes from last month's meeting. Paragraph 2.2 was changed to four from three unexcused absences. Page - 3 3/9/10 Approved Chair Morris said it looks like all the issues are incorporated into the new rules of order. Commissioner Commers asked when the City Code would be looked at by the City Council. Mr. Sedlacek responded next Tuesday night. Chair Morris asked if the Commission would like to vote tonight or put it on next month's agenda. Commissioner Commers said he would like to hold it over to next month's meeting. Commissioner Toth said he would like to hold it over too as a Commissioner was absent. Chair Morris said the item would be held over wail next month's meeting. Parks and Parks Facilities Mr. Kullander said the parks and parks facilities report was put together for information only. It is a summary of all the parks, addresses, how to find a park and the amenities in each park. It has been updated from 2007. Chair Morris commented that it was a very comprehensive document and asked if it could be put on the website. Mr. Sedlacek said he believes it is on the website and City Council will consider giving staff approval to redo the City website at their next meeting. Commissioner Commers asked about the lacrosse or soccer fields if the goals were set out for three months. Mr. Kullander said the parks maintenance crew will set up the goals and stripe the fields. Chair Morris asked if battery powered motorized vehicles were allowed on Rogers Lake. Mr. Kullander responded that no motorized vehicles were allowed on the lake. Mendalcota Park RFP Process Or. Kullander responded that the RFP's for Mendalcota Park were not due until March 3Is` He has had contacts from three vendors regarding the project and believes all three will submit bids. Earl Anderson may come back with the weevos plan with modifications. The other two contacts were from Flannigan and Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground equipment. Commissioner Commers asked when the equipment would be installed. Or. Kullander responded he guesses not until the middle of September. Page- 4 3/9/10 Approved Parks and Trails Five Year Capital Improvement Plan Mr. Kullander said he redid the five year capital improvement plan taking out the funding source and adding the project status of the old projects. This plan was last adopted in 2007 by the Parks and Recreation Commission. This would be a good foundation to work from and a basis for new priorities to present to the City Council. Chair Morris said this item should be tabled for the next meeting. He also asked for the balance of the Special Parks Fund, Mr. Kullander said with the Mendota Ptaza contribution it would be around $300,000.00. Mr. Sedlacelc said the check should come in tomorrow and is $183,000.00. Mr. I{inlander said the current balance is about $120,000.00 to $13Q,000.00. Commissioner Commers said some residents said they are not necessarily for a shelter at Ivy Hills Park. Mr. Kullander said a smaller shelter for skating to sit down and put on skates with a handrail would be nice. Mr. Sedlacelc said staff is looking for the Commission's guidance on the size of a shelter and where it would come on a list of priorities. Do the Commissioners want to rank the projects? Commissioner Commers said he would like to see staff s rankings on the projects. Chair Morris asked if there was a buried power line at Ivy Hills Park by the skating rink. Mr. Kullander responded there is and it would be about $5,500 for a security light at the park. Commissioner Commers said a light would protect the parking lot in the summer. Mr. Kullander said the parking lot will be repaved this summer. Commissioner Toth asked about the weed situation at Rogers Lake and if it was a capital improvement project on a yearly basis. Mr. Kullander said Or. he believes the City Council did not include funding in the 2010 budget for treating weeds at Rogers Lake. The contractor did give a recommendation last year ou how to reconfigure the area to clean it. Sedlacelc said the City has heard from neighbors and the City Council will have discussions with the residents of Rogers Lake. Commissioner Miller asked if there have been any discussions about a dog park in Mendota Heights. Or. Kullander said the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission has discussed it. There is a large start up cost to malty a dog park and a lot of liability issues. Page - 5 3/9/10 Approved Parks and Trails Maintenance Issues Mr. Kullander said he put together a memo regarding the budget process for the parks maintenance budget. The Public Works Superintendent receives recommendations from Mr. Blum for budgeting maintenance items. Then the budget would go to the Public Works Director, then to the City Administrator and then to the City Council. The information has not gone to the Parks and Recreation Commission in the past but it should to get the Commission's support. The information could help plan the budget for two years of maintenance items for the parks. Commissioner Braclwy said it is helpful information. Mr. Kullander said he is not being replaced and his duties are being absorbed by other staff members. Chair Morris asked that during the budgeting process that Commission could be consulted for their input. Or. Sedlacek said this is going to be the standard process in the future to make the budgeting process more formal and to get it done earlier. Commissioner Commers asked about the professional pond maintenance at Ivy Park. Mr. Kullander responded that Public Works put that in the budget to treat the weed growth in the pond at Ivy Park, Commissioner Commers asked about Pilot Knob restoration and if it was a continuing effort. Mr. Kullander responded it is. Chair Morris said it is a along term ecological project by the City. Chair Morris Chanked Mr. Kullander and added he was going to miss him. At least we have you for the next meeting. Mr. Kullander has been a treasure to the City of Mendota Heights. He has enjoyed working with him all these years. Par 3 Undate Mr. Sedlacek said he is hoping the golf course opens in about a month. The Greens Committee met last Thursday that consists of Commissioner Kraus, former Chair Portz, former Chair Spicer and citizen Annette Patient. The tee signs need to be replaced and quotes were received in 2008 for replacing the tee signs. The signs are the same size as the existing signs. The quote was just over $2,400. FastSigns quote was $3,555 and Signart was $3,338. I have verified the low quote and it is still good. I will also verify the other two quotes. Staff is recommending that we purchase the new tee signs from TriArt (Sign Contractors), at an amount not to exceed the amount of $2,450.00 Page - 6 3/9/10 Approved Commissioner Commers asked if the Greens Committee recommended that the signs be replaced by TriArt (Sign Contractors). Mr. Sedlacek said that they do recommend replacing the signs and use I r Art (Sign Contractors) to do the signs. Commissioner Commers made a motion to the City Council that they review the sign order form from Sign Contractors and look at going ahead with getting the signs ordered and having them installed at the Par 3 Golf Course, Chair Morris asked if the other bids should be verified. Mr. Sedlacek said he would verify the other bid prices. Commissioner Commers commented that the prices are $250.00 for each sign. Commissioner Brackey asked if the prices included installation. Mr. Sedlacek said it does not. Crews could install the signs and the posts are already in the ground. Commissioner Toth asked what types of posts they were and if there was any decay. Mr. Sedlacek said they are cedar posts and a couple do need replacing. Commissioner Miller seconded the motion. Connnissioner Toth said the Greens Committee has done their homework over the last two years and the Commission should go with their recommendation regarding the signs. Commissioner Commers said he made the motion the way he did because the Par 3 is doing well the City needs to reinvest in the golf course. Mr. Sedlacek said tee signs are a budgeted item for 2010. Chair Morris asked if Commissioner Commers recommended TriArt in his motion. Commissioner Commers said he did. Mr. Sedlacek said the memo says TriArt and the company changed their name to Sign ConU•actors. Commissioner Toth asked if the signs were a new design. Mr. Sedlacek said it is a new design with the art work from the original signs. Chair Morris asked for a vote. AYES 5 NAYSO Page - 7 3/9/10 Approved Mr. Sedlacek said the Par 3 Annual Report went to the City Council and there were some suggestions for the annual report. There was one typo - in 2008 the revenues were $186,532 and the expenses were $170,779 and it read $31,210 the number will be corrected to $15,753. The other change was adding goals that were more measureable. The suggested goals to add are — 1) 6% increase in total over revenue from the previous year 2) 5% increase in rounds played over the previous year and 3) administrative costs not to exceed 15% of total expenditures. The numbers are achievable. If the Commission is ok with the addition of the goals — staff would add these three new goals. Chair Morris asked if he needed the flavor of the Commission? Mr. Sedlacek said yes. Commissioner Miller asked if there is a projected bottom line for 2010? Mr. Sedlacek said there is but can't remember the figure. In 2009 the total revenue was $195,000 which exceeded the expectations for 2009 which was $183,000. Commissioner Miller asked how much it cost to play. Mr. Sedlacek said it is $10.00 on weekdays, $12.00 on weekends, and for seniors and juniors it is $9.00 on weekdays and $11.00 on weekends. We are the lowest cost golf course in the Twin Cities metro area. It is $5.00 for a second round, $2.00 for a pull cart and $10.00 for a power cart. Commissioner Miller said that is reasonable. Commissioner Commers asked Mr. Sedlacek if he was comfortable with the three goals. Mr. Sedlacek said he was. Chair Morris asked if anyone on the Commission was opposed to the goals? There were no comments. Chair Morris said consider it is the consensus that the Parks Commission that we agree on the three goals as defined by the Greens Committee. Mr. Sedlacelc said he anticipates that the course will be open in about a month and encouraged residents to call the golf course to see if it is open. Chair Morris asked if the annual report would be posted on the website? Mr. Sedlacek said it would be once approved by the City Council. Commissioner Toth asked how the roof on the clubhouse held up over the winter. Mr. Sedlacek said he looked at it last week and it is fine. It is tight and dry. Page- 8 3/9/t0 Approved Commission Comments Commissioner Toth said he talked to a resident from the Ivy Falls area and received good feedback on the hockey rink there. The Commission is looking for feedback for planning a rink next year. Commissioner Miller said it was nice to see the meeting move along properly. Commissioner Commers said there was a hockey party at Ivy Hills and it was a nice event for the neighborhood. Chair Morris reminded the Commissioners that there is homework to do -the Parks and Trails Five Year Capital Improvement Plan and the Rules of Order. Adjourn Commissioner }3rackey made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Toth seconded the motion. AYES 5 NAYS 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:58 P.M. Page - 9 3/9/10