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2001-08-14 Parks and Rec Comm Minutes( CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2001 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, August 14, 2001, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting -was called to order at 630 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Acting Chair Stan Linnell, and Commissioners Larry Craighead, Paul Portz, and Raymond Morris. City Staff present were Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander, Recreation Programmer Mary Hapka and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. Also present were residents Kathy Elhers and John Simplot. Mr. Hollister took the minutes. MINUTES Commissioner Morris moved to approve the July 10, 2001 minutes with revisions. Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 REQUEST FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT MARIE AND VICTORIA HIGHLAND PARKS Ms. Kathy Elhers, 1751 Diane Road, introduced herself to the Commission. Ms. Elhers said that she is a nine-year resident of Mendota Heights and is representing the 34 families in her neighborhood. Ms. Elhers presented petitions signed by her neighbors asking for certain improvements to be made to Marie Park and Victoria Highlands Park: • Victoria Highlands Park: the replacement of a broken picnic table and the addition of a second table. 2. Victoria Highlands Park: the expansion of the existing playground to include additional play equipment. 3. Victoria Highlands Park: the construction of picnic shelters similar to those at Wentworth and Friendly Hills Parks. 4. Marie Park: asphalt paving to the ice rink. Mr. Kullander informed the Commission that Item #1 had already been reported to the Public Works Department and was being addressed. Mr. Kullander added that as for Item #2, the playground equipment in Victoria Highlands Park was in quite good condition compared to several other parks in Mendota Heights, and that the Commission had made the replacement of playground equipment in bad condition its first priority. Mr. Kullander said that the shelters mentioned in Item #3 were added to the other parks due to the high demand for park reservations, and that they cost about $20,000 each. Mr. Kullander said that paving Marie Park would cost about $40,000 and that the paved rink at Friendly Hills was no longer receiving much use. The Commission told Ms. Elhers that all of her requests were worthy, but that money would not likely be available for them for another two or three years because of other needs in the parks system. Ms. Elhers thanked the Commission for their time. REQUEST FOR TRAIL SIGNAGE Mr. John Simplot, 1040 Douglass Road, introduced himself to the Commission and said that he has lived in Mendota Heights for 35 years. Mr. Simplot said that he had been referred to them by the Council to discuss signage on the trails advising bicyclists to be considerate of pedestrians. Mr. Simplot said that he and many other senior citizens like to walk on the trails, and that the bicyclists and even the rollerbladers sometimes rush past them at very high speeds. Mr. Simplot said that he has two artificial hips and is hard of hearing, which means that it is difficult for him to know when a bicycle is approaching and even more difficult for him to jump out of the way if he needed to. Mr. Simplot said that he is concerned that there may be an accident some day on one of the trails involving him or someone else. Commissioner Morris said that he has worked for many years for the National Park Service and that he is very familiar with this problem. Commissioner Morris said that a few strategically placed signs might persuade a few people to modify their behavior, but that many people will ignore the signs. Commissioner Morris suggested that other avenues of education might be more effective, such as police visiting the local schools or even literature at the Mendota Bike Shop. Mr. Hollister said that he would be placing an article about this issue in the next Heights Hilites. The Commission asked Staff to return to the next meeting with some suggestions for sign locations and wording. Mr. Simplot thanked the Commission for their time. LILYDALE REQUEST FOR COOPERATION ON LEXINGTON AVENUE TRAIL Mr. Kullander told the Commission that Lilydale wished to add one small section of trail on the east side of Lexington Avenue between the Overlook Condominium driveway and Douglass Road. Mr. Kullander said that the Overlook Condominiums were within Lilydale and that Lilydale wished to provide the condominium residents better access to Mendota Heights' trail system. Mr. Kullander said that Lilydale needs the City of Mendota Heights' penaission to construct this portion of the trail, and that they would also like the City of Mendota Heights to contribute to the cost of the trail. The Commission felt that the City of Mendota Heights should grant Lilydale permission to construct that portion of the trail system consistent with Mendota Heights' own engineering and trail design standards, but that Lilydale should bear the full cost since the trail addition would only benefit Lilydale residents. Mr. Kullander said that he would convey the Commission's thoughts on this matter to the Council. CITY BUDGET FOR 2002 Mr. Kullander presented the Commission with a draft version of an updated Parks Five Year 2002-2005 Capital Improvement Plan reflecting the $23,000 increase in 2001 resulting from the addition of funding for the Valley Park bridge and upgrading the Mendota Elementary School play equipment. Mr. Kullander said that the draft 2002 updated plan included a $35,000 item to reconstruct the Ivy Park tennis courts that city staff, preparing the 2002 City Budget, had moved from Park Maintenance to the Special Park Fund. The Commission discussed the implications of these unanticipated expenditures so early in the Five Year Plan which when developed included less than 5% for unforeseen contingencies. The Commission agreed that they did not wish to displace the Parks Commission's first priority of the replacement of two wooden play structures in 2002 and two in 2003. Commissioner Craighead moved to recommend that the Council either postpone the reconstruction of Ivy Park tennis courts to 2003 or 2004 or budget for this project out of the General Fund so as not to displace the Parks Commission's first priority of replacement of wooden play structures. Commissioner Morris seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 2001-2005 PARKS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN Acting Chair Linnell asked Staff to bring this item back to the September meeting in order to provide Chair Spicer and the other Commissioners an opportunity to be present. Acting Chair Linnell also asked Staff to bring back the issue of raising the Park Dedication Fee to the September meeting. UPDATES Staff provided updates on the following items: • MAHA Interest in Park Improvements • July Recreation Report (Available Tuesday) • MAHA Presentation to Council on August 7, 2001 • Mendota Heights Road Trail Maintenance • Police Report ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Linnell and seconded by Portz. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.