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2012-04-10 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesMH Parks and Recreation Commission 4-10-2012 Page - 1 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION MEETING April 10, 2012 The April meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. Chair Levine called to order the parks and recreation commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. The following commissioners were present: Chair Stephanie Levine, Commissioners Mary McGrory- Ussett, Ira Kipp, Mike Toth, David Miller and Pat Hinderscheid. Staff present: Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek and Recreation Programmer Teresa Gangelhoff. Approval of Minutes Commissioner McGrory-Ussett made a motion to approve the February minutes, Commissioner Hinderscheid seconded the motion. AYES 6: NAYS 0 Park Bench Donation Elizabeth Moran would like donate a bench to be placed in Ivy Falls Park, between the paved trail and the softball field. The proposed location has been reviewed by our public works crew, who approve of the location. The donation covers the cost for the bench, the city would then cover the cost of the concrete pad and installation of the park bench. Commissioner Miller made a motion to accept the donation of a park bench. Commissioner McGrory-Ussett seconded the motion AYES 6: NAYS 0 Rogers Lake Skate Park Mr. Sedlacek introduced the topic of the Skate Park – the commission had previously identified the park as a priority for repair and improvement, and set the April commission meeting as the date for an open house to get feedback on potential improvements. Commissioner Toth shared that he had visited the skate park on four or five different occasions, speaking with skaters and encouraging their feedback. The most common feedback was to repair cracks in the asphalt. In the feedback collected by Commissioner Toth and Mr. Sedlacek, it seems that the skate park has a fairly wide draw for ages; the park is centrally located in the twin cities and unique in the type of features it has. Skaters expressed an interest in street-skating features, but no clearly defined feedback has been received. MH Parks and Recreation Commission 4-10-2012 Page - 2 Mr. Sedlacek reported that a vendor has been authorized to complete asphalt repairs and will move ahead as soon as weather permits. Public works staff will move skate features as necessary to complete crack repair Grant Deroches with Flagship Recreation had attended the meeting to discuss the Rogers Lake Playground recall, but was prepared to speak on stand-alone skate features. Mr. Deroches reported that concrete skate parks are becoming very popular. It is important when considering stand along features to have the spacing between features designed correctly. Mr. Deroches provided a background on the development of skate parks. He reported that skating is a vibrant market, with the majority of parks going to more expensive concrete structures. Mr. Sedlacek reported that staff will move ahead with repairs to the existing park, and will wait for feedback from park users before making improvements. Bringing new features can happen at any time in the summer. Staff hopes to be able to bring the commission three comparable bids when features have been identified Rogers Lake Play Equipment Grant DesRoches represents Landscape Structures Inc (LSI). Mr. DesRoches explained that the most recent playground installed at Rogers Lake Park included a Slalom Glider slide. Since our playground was installed, the classification for this feature changed from a Banister Slide to a Standard Slide. This change made the Slalom Glider non-conforming with insurance standards. LSI issued a voluntary recall of the play feature. Mr. DesRoches provided detail on options for replacing the recalled feature. Most alternatives offered by LSI include a credit which could be spent on other features for this park, or others in Mendota Heights. Mr. DesRoches showed some options available for a $2,000 credit. The commission asked if the credit could be used towards skate park features. Mr. DesRoches expressed his opinion that the credit could be applied towards Mendakota Park. Recently, the commission had approved improvements to the tot-lot portion of the Mendakota Park Playground. At the time, a shade structure over the sand-table was excluded for budgetary purposes. Chair Levine asked about what other corrections might be needed at Mendakota Park. Mr. DesRoches informed the commission that there are several safety issues which ought to be addressed. The playground was installed in 1990; accessibility standards have been updated, resulting in several non-conforming features on the current play structure. The structure itself is sound, and could be retrofit with new paint and new features at considerably lower cost than replacement. Mr. DesRoches was asked to research the possibility of a retrofit and report back to the commission at the May 2012 meeting. Mr. DesRoches mentioned that his company is capable of conducting a complete safety survey of existing play structures. The commission expressed interest in discussion the survey at a later date. MH Parks and Recreation Commission 4-10-2012 Page - 3 Parks and Recreation Report Mr. Sedlacek presented the Recreation Programmer’s Report. Youth trips are planned on Thursdays this summer – there is limited availability for most trips. Simple Steps is a program put on by Dakota County Public Health to track your physical activity. Citizens are encouraged to sign up through the Dakota County website with friends and family as an incentive to stay active this summer. The annual safety camp will be held in the first week of August – if by chance our slots fill up, staff will work with our partner cities of West St Paul and South St Paul to try and get more kids into the program. Summer playground programs are very popular again this year – all morning sessions are full, check the city website for availability in afternoon sessions. Tennis programs have been modified slightly which has been well received. The Cliff Timm Memorial Fishing Derby will be Wednesday, June 27, 2012, and the Eagan Puppet Wagon will be returning to Market Square Park for a second year. Thompson Park Activity Center offers programs for seniors in the area, and have a variety of offerings. The Spring Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The clean-up will be at Mendakota Park from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Each year, Mendota Heights residents divert literally tons of materials from going into the landfill. Parks Celebration Planning Letters have gone out to businesses to solicit donations and volunteers. All contracted services for the event have been coordinated and approved by city council. This year will feature night- golf at the Mendota Heights Par 3, which is a unique experience. Friday will include live music at the village, and the night golf event at Mendota Heights Par 3. Saturday morning will be the Mendota Heights 5K walk/run to benefit Special Olympics at the Village at Mendota Heights. The parks celebration itself occurs at Mendakota Park from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. MHAA is hosting an invitational baseball tournament all weekend long. Commissioners are asked to volunteer at the parks celebration to help meet and greet families. Staff will find a way to help commissioners be more readily identified at the event. Par 3 Update The city council authorized the hiring of clubhouse staff on March 20, 2012. The clubhouse opened on March 24, 2012. This is only the second time that the Par 3 has opened in March. MH Parks and Recreation Commission 4-10-2012 Page - 4 New staff coming on board brings new energy and ideas, which should lead to more creative programming. Mr. Sedlacek reported that staffing calls for one clerk on hand at all times, with additional staff as needed. Mr. Sedlacek also reported on his meeting with maintenance staff to discuss the need to reduce maintenance costs from past years. The course is in the best condition in recent memory, and should require less time to maintain, whereas previous years involved more special projects. The turf on the course came through the winter very well, and the course is healthy for the spring. The start of the 2012 season has required more administrative time than had been anticipated, but the city council has placed a strong emphasis on overseeing the golf course. The result has been a closer understanding of clubhouse operations which will be helpful in finding new efficiencies. Mr. Sedlacek reviewed the March Revenue and Expenditure report. While these numbers are incomplete, the recreation program revenue is higher this year through the end of March than through the same period for 2011. The Mendota Heights Athletic Association is hosting a fundraising tournament on Saturday, May 4, 2012 – citizens are encouraged to sign up through the MHAA website. On June 9, 2012, there will be a free Swing Into Summer event at the Par Three for all ages. Free lessons, hot dogs and prizes will be featured. The city council did approve a $1 increase to golf course fees for the 2012 season. Mr. Sedlacek reported that customers he has worked with were accepting of the fee increase. Commissioner McGrory-Ussett asked staff to provide data compared month by month for recent years. Lexington Avenue Trail Connection Commissioner Kipp asked that staff provide an update on the gap in our trail system on Lexington Avenue from Tom Thumb Road to Wagon Wheel Trail. Mr. Sedlacek provided an update on 2012 work occurring on Lexington Avenue. Dakota County is resurfacing Lexington, which will not include any work outside of the current paved area. Commissioner Toth expressed concerns that the new pedestrian trail on Wagon Wheel Trail was not completed, and currently terminates just west of the overpass to Interstate 35E. Mr. Sedlacek reported that the missing trail segment on Wagon Wheel Trail was originally planned for the reconstruction of the right of way, but was removed due to public opposition by the residents on that section of Wagon Wheel Trail. The Lexington Avenue gap has been considered in the past, on the east side of the right of way. This orientation would require property acquisition, the adjacent land owners were not interested MH Parks and Recreation Commission 4-10-2012 Page - 5 in giving up land previously. The west side of the right of way is a viable option, but would require trail users to cross Lexington Avenue twice. After further discussion, the commission asked staff to Commissioner McGrory-Ussett made a motion to direct staff to request that Dakota County evaluate all alternatives to trail gaps on Lexington Avenue in the near future. Commissioner Kipp seconded the motion. AYES 6: NAYS 0 Commissioner Miller made a motion requesting that the city council consider completing the gap in the trail system between I35E and Lexington Avenue. Commissioner Toth seconded the motion. AYES 6: NAYS 0 Commission Comments Commissioner McGrory-Ussett encouraged all skate park users to provide input on what they would like to see at their park. The Par 3 is open for business, and the spring clean-up is Saturday April 28, 2012. Commissioner Toth asked if there has been any update on weed treatments for Rogers Lake. Mr. Sedlacek will ask Engineering Update. Chair Levine reminded residents to sign their kids up for the Safety Camp, and asked staff to add a review of play equipment to the parks and recreation work plan. Chair Levine also mentioned finding questionable filler used in the open area of the Valley Park Trail, and again requested that the trail be re-paved as soon as possible. Residents are encouraged to call with any concerns they have regarding the park system. Adjourn Chair Levine called for a vote to adjourn the meeting, AYES 6: NAYS 0 The meeting at 8:39 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by Jake Sedlacek