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2001-06-12 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JUNE 12, 2001 The regular meeting, of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, June 12, 2001, in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Chair Richard Spicer and Commissioners Stan Linnell, Dave Libra, Larry Craighead, and Paul Portz. Commissioners Raymond Morris and Jar Liberacki were excused from the meeting. City Staff present were Recreation Programmer Mary Hapka, Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. Also present were resident Sten Gerfast of 1802 Valley Curve and Councilmember Jack Vitelli. Mr. Hollister took the minutes. STEN GERFAST'S COMMENTS . Mr. Sten Gerfast of 1802 Valley Curve asked Chair Spicer for permission to address the Parks and Recreation Commission before Consultant Carolyn Krall arrived. Chair Spicer granted Mr. Gerfast pessilission to address the Commission. Mr. Gerfast identified himself as the co-chair of Mendota Heights Neighbors. Mr. Gerfast presented the results of a survey taken of residents of Mendota Heights. Mr. Gerfast said that the majority of the residents surveyed felt that the proposed Town Center was too dense, and generated too much traffic. Mr. Gerfast added that he had read the Parks and Recreation Commission's nine suggestions for the Town Center project from their April 10, 2001 meeting and that the Parks Commission's thinking was very much in line with his own. Mr. Gerfast said that in particular he agreed with the concept of removing, the center retail building and replacing it with a park. Mr. Gerfast also said that the snow from the Town Center project could not be plowed and would actually have to be removed, and that this would have to be paid for by a special assessment. Mr. Gerfast also said that there was no provision for a playground for the children living in this development, no adequate green space, and no provision for ambulance access. Chair Spicer thanked Mr. Gerfast for his comments and suggested that other items on the agenda be addressed before Carolyn Krall arrived to discuss the Town Center project. UPDATES Staff provided updates on the following items: • May Recreation Report • Parks Project Manager's Updates • MNRRA Great Mississippi CD Release Perfoiniance Events • MNRRA Update 2001 • Police Report ADOPT -A-PARK-BENCH PROPOSAL Mr. Hollister presented a memo from City Administrator Cari Lindberg on the Adopt A Park Bench Program proposal. Mr. Hollister said that at the City Council meeting on June 5`11, Councilmember Schneeman said that a resident had suggested that park benches be placed every half -mile along the Lexington Avenue trail to help older residents enjoy the trail. Mr. Hollister said that Councilmember Schneeman had also suggested that the City could offer residents the opportunity to "adopt a park bench" by paying for the purchase and installation of the bench. Mr. Hollister continued that in appreciation for the donation, the City would place a plaque on each bench with the donor's name. Mr. Hollister said that Staff was seeking input from the Commission regarding the feasibility, cost, and desirability of this idea. Chair Spicer asked Mr. Kullander what his thoughts were on this idea. Mr. Kullander said that he supposed that a park bench and concrete pad could cost from $300 -$500, but he would have to investigate further. Mr. Kullander said that the benches could have implications for the Public Works crew in terms of lawn mowing and clean- up /repair from vandalism. Chair Spicer said that if this City were to encourage the donation of park benches for the City trails, it would be best to have one standard design for consistency. Chair Spicer asked Mr. Kullander to return to the July parks meeting with some bench designs, costs, and any other considerations for the Commission to review. CAROLYN KRALL: DISCUSSION OF AMENITIES FOR TOWN CENTER Town Center consultant Carolyn Krall summarized her previous discussion about Town Center with the Commission at the regular meeting on April 10. Ms. Krall said that she would address the Commission's nine recommendations for Toivn Center from that meeting in reverse order, since the issues involved in the recommendations toward the end of the list are simpler than those towards the beginning of the list: • All park signage. historical interpretive signage, etc. should be made of a material more durable than wood, such as stone. Ms. Krall said that the signage would be made of stone or some equally durable material. Ms. Krall said that she was currently planning for four "historical" markers and four "natural" markers_ but that this concept could change as the plans become more refined. • Keep the Gazebo shown in the plan with appropriate seating for concerts or other events. Ideally the gazebo should be moved from its current planned location near Highway 110 to the new center green area created by removing the center retail building. Ms. Krall said that the gazebo could either stay at its current location or be moved to a different location. ® All four corners of the Dodd Road/Highway 110 intersection should have appropriate "landing pads ", or pedestrian/bike waiting areas for people waiting for the light to change. Ms. Krall said that she had spoken with MnDOT on this issue and that MnDOT agrees with this idea. Ms. Krall said that MnDOT may even have funds available to help pay for this safety improvement. ® Grants should be sought from Federal. State. County, and/or Metropolitan sources to pay for amenities such as the tunnel and bridge recommended below. such as "T -21 " / "ISTEA" money. Ms. Krall said that she is pursuing all possible avenues for grants for all aspects of this project. Ms. Krall said that "T -21" grants are intended for connections between trails, and that the tunnel under Dodd Road would probably be a stronger candidate for a T -21 grant than the bridge over Highway 110, although she would pursue T -21 grants for both. • There should be a pedestrian bridge over Highway 110 linking the Town Center to Mendota Plaza. Ms. Krall said that this possibility was under study. 6 There should be a tunnel underneath Dodd Road linking the trails in Town Center to the Valley Park trail system. Ms. Krall said that this possibility was under study. ® The Town Center should provide good linkages to the City's bike and pedestrian trail system and good trail access within the development itself. Ms. Krall said that the Town Center would have both bike trail connections and extensive sidewalks. Ms. Krall added that although not a part of the Town Center project, it would be nice if ultimately a trail on the east side of Dodd Road could be extended north to Marie Avenue. • Remove roads from the project where they are not necessary to provide access to the buildings. (The Commission felt that several of the buildings do not need road access on all four sides as currently planned. Removing roads would provide more green space.) Ms. Krall said that most of the buildings would need road access on all four sides for fire protection. Ms. Krall said that the only possibly "redundant" roads she could find would be some roads in the West Neighborhood. Commissioner Craighead asked if semi trucks making deli- veries would interfere with the customer traffic at Town Center. Ms. Krall replied that most truck deliveries in retail developments such as this one would occur during the low traffic periods of 9am to 1lam and 2pm to 4pm. • Remove or relocate the center building labeled "retail and office" and replace it with a formal park area. (The Commission felt that the Town Center needed more green space and that the current "village green" and "town square" spaces were too small.) Ms. Krall said that the retail component of the Town Center needs an anchor merchant, such as a drug store, and that removing this building would be detrimental to the viability of the other retail establishments. Ms. Krall said that the Town Center Concept Plan had been amended to increase the width of the "Town Square" green area to 48 feet to accommodate the request for more green space. Ms. Krall said that she needed to proceed to the Council workshop on Town Center in the next room. Chair Spicer thanked Ms. Krall for her presentation. Ms. Krall thanked the Parks Commission for the opportunity to speak to them and their input on Town Center. Ms. Krall and Councilmember Vitelli then left for the Council workshop- in the next room. Commissioner Linnell moved to advise the Council that the Commission appreciated Ms. Krall's incorporation of eight of their nine ideas for the Town Center, but that the Parks Commission still felt that removing the center retail building and replacing it with a park was the best option to increase the amount of green space in the project. Commissioner Linnell added to his motion that as a substitute, the Planning Commission would support widening the "Town Square" green space still further from 48 feet to 65 feet and relocating the gazebo to the "Town Square" space. Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: 0 Commissioner Libra then moved to recommend that any unmet need for a community gathering space or other park facility after the Town Center project is developed be addressed in the planning for the development south of Hwy 110 east of Mendota Plaza. Commissioner Linnell seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: 0 RECONSTRUCTION OF IVY PARK TENNIS COURT IN 2002 Mr. Kullander reported that the Ivy Park Tennis Court was in bad need of repair, and would cost about $30,000 to fix. Mr. Kullander said that the budget process was beginning for 2002 and asked if the Parks Commission wanted to make a recommendation to the Council that they fund the repair out of the General Fund for 2002. The Commission felt that the sport of tennis was on the decline, that few people ever use the City's tennis courts, and that $30,000 may not be a justifiable expenditure to repair a facility that does not receive much use. The Commission asked Mr. Kullander to put a sign on the fence of the tennis courtasking anyone to call him if they want the tennis court fixed and report back to the Commission in sixty days on the results. PARK CRIME WATCH SIGN MOUNTING POLES Mr. Kullander asked if the Commission would be willing to expend $150 from the Special Parks Fund to pay for the poles to mount the police department's crime watch signs in the city parks. Commissioner Libra moved to make this expenditure of $150 from the Special Parks Fund for the sign poles. Commissioner Linnell seconded the motion. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 OTHER COMMENTS Commissioner Linnell asked for an update from Chair Spicer, Commissioner Craighead, and Commissioner Portz on the Hockey Arena Task Farce. Chair Spicer said that the Task Force was strongly in favor of the hockey arena. but that Saint Thomas Academy was only willing to contribute the land for the arena. and was not willing to share in the expense of operating the arena. Commissioner Craighead said that the Task Force had received very informative and sbbering testimony from the Eagan Athletic Director, who gave a realistic assessment of the costs involved in operating a hockey arena. Commissioner Craighead said that even under the best scenario it appears that the arena would operate at about a $50,000 annual loss, including debt service, which presumably would be subsidized by the City. Commissioner Craighead said that the Task Force would continue to meet every other Monday evening and provide a final report to the Council in July. Commissioner Linnell said that he was vacating his seat on the ISD 197 Community Education Advisory Council and that the Advisory Council was looking for another Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission to replace him. Commissioner Linnell asked for volunteers. There were no volunteers. Chair Spicer asked Mr. Hollister to place this item on the next Commission agenda in hopes that someone would be willing to serve by that time. Chair Spicer said that he was contacted by a MHAA board member who asked him if the softball field at Wentworth Park could be converted to a baseball field with a grass infield and a mound. Chair Spicer said that he told the MHAA board member that his request would probably be granted if MHAA paid for the conversion. Chair Spicer said that if the MHAA board member calls again about this issue he will ask him to appear at a Commission meeting to discuss it. ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Linnell and seconded by Libra. AYES: NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.