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2005-08-09 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 9, 2005 The August 2005 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Commissioners Missie Hickey, Larry Craighead, Raymond Morris, and Paul Portz. Chair Richard Spicer and Commissioners Stan Linnell and Dave Libra were excused from the meeting. City Staff present were Operations and Projects Coordinator Guy Kullander, Recreation Programmer Teresa Gangelhoff, and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. Mr. Hollister took the minutes. Mr. Cliff Timm was in the audience. ELECTION OF ACTING CHAIR Commissioner Morris nominated Commissioner Portz to serve as Acting Chair for the meeting. Commissioner Hickey seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS; 0 MINUTES Commissioner Morris moved approval of the July 12, 2005 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 CHAIR SPICER'S REPORT ON COMMITTEE MEETING TO PLAN 2006 PARK CELEBRATION /50TH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION 1 Commissioner Craighead provided the update in Chair Spicer's absence. Commissioner Craighead said that the Committee met at 6:00 this evening to talk about next year's anniversary celebration. Commissioner Craighead said that one of the topics for discussion was possible activities for the Town Center area. Commissioner Craighead said that those activities have not been fully defined yet. Commissioner Craighead said that there will be a bicycle activity in the morning and fire trucks later on. Commissioner Craighead said that there were lots of activities planned including a 5K walk/run. Commissioner Portz asked about the parade. Commissioner Craighead said that the parade was not a topic for tonight's agenda but that there will be a parade and vintage cars. Commissioner Portz said that he was looking forward to the 50th Anniversary and that it will be good to get the community involved. Commissioner Morris reminded anyone watching on television that the 50th Anniversary Celebration will be on June 3, 2006. RECREATION PROGRAMMER'S REPORT Ms. Gangelhoff provided an overview of this summer's recreation activities. Ms. Gangelhoff summarized the Performances in the Park and Safety Camp in August. Ms. Gangelhoff said that at the Fishing Derby a total of 340 fish were caught, only five of which were bullheads. Ms. Gangelhoff said that the fishing derby will be featured on a half -hour show on Insight Seven a few weeks from now. Ms. Gangelhoff said that Mr. Cliff Timm, who helped at the Fishing Derby, is also on the show. Ms. Gangelhoff said that more information could be found at www.townsquaretv.com. Ms. Gangelhoff said that the show will be on Channel 14 at 3, 7, and 11 o'clock every day on "Insight 7 ". Commissioner Craighead said that he and Chair Spicer cleaned fish at the fishing derby and that they had a wonderful time. Commissioner Craighead asked Mr. Timm to come up to the podium to thank him for his help with the fishing derby. Mr. Timm said that it was a joy helping with the fishing derby, and that he especially enjoyed seeing all the kids. Commissioner Craighead thanked Mr. Timm for helping with the fishing derby. Mr. Timm said that in the future he wanted to create a gift trust of $500 every year for the fishing derby, which will last for a long time after he has passed away. Mr. Timm also commented on recent conversations he has had with DNR officials regarding the feeding of fish. Mr. Timm said that a DNR official had said that he should not feed the fish because it is considered "chumming ". Mr. Timm said that he wants to do fish feeding at Thompson's Park. Mr. Timm said that he paid the custodian at Thompson's Park 2 $20 /week to feed the fish. Mr. Timm said that he would like to do the same fish feeding in Mendota Heights. Mr. Timm also said that he was interested in making a park out of some property on Wagon Wheel Trail owned by Courtney Pince. Mr. Timm said that he has had conversations with Mr. Pince and his mother -in -law, who also owns nearby property, about this possibility last March. Mr. Timm said that he met with Rick Walsh of the DNR out at Rogers Lake last winter to punch holes every 20 feet south of the culvert. Mr. Timm said that the lake should be made deeper for the culvert. Mr. Timm said that he talked to Pat Lynch of the DNR and that the City's permit expires this November. Mr. Timm said that someone at the City should extend the permit. Mr. Timm said that he would like to combine Courtney Pince's land with Dick Paul's land to create a park. Mr. Timm said that he would also like to remove cattails. Mr. Tirrun said that Courtney Pince's mother in law owns two five -acre lots, and that she is not in very good health. Mr. Timm said that if this land were converted into a park, he would be willing to put up some of the money necessary, but perhaps not the entire cost. Mr. Timm said that he wanted to scoop out and make a channel to the high wires in North Rogers Lake. Mr. Timm said that Rogers Lake has so much potential for better fishing. Mr. Timm said that he wanted an aerator at North Rogers Lake (air diverter) and a different style of aerator at South Rogers Lake. Mr. Timm said that he is willing to donate money for both of these aerators. Mr. Timm said that a friend of his told him that the lake is "half fish and half water ". Mr. Timm said that the ice fishing is bad at Rogers Lake in the wintertime. Mr Timm said that the only lake that compares to Rogers Lake would be at Three Rivers Park east of Prior Lake. Commissioner Portz asked Mr. Timm to put his requests in writing and give them to Mr. Kullander. Mr. Kullander said that the request would ultimately have to go to the Mayor and City Council, because only they can make the decisions about acquiring park land. Commissioner Morris said that there are now some powered aerators available that do not require constant electrical connection. Mr. Timm asked the Cornrnission to please entertain the idea of taming the Pince property into a park someday if possible. Commissioner Morris said that the matter would have to go to the City Council. Mr. Timm said that the Parks Commission could make a recommendation. Commissioner Morris said that the Council will send the matter to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a recommendation, but that Mr Timm has to put his request in writing first. 3 CLIFF TIMM: GOOSE CONTROL Mr. Timm addressed the Parks Commission about the goose problem. Mr. Timm said that he has spoken to Bon McKinney at Mendakota Golf Course about the geese. Mr. Timm said that there is a gentleman named John Kellner who has a goose- chasing operation called "Honkers Away". Mr. Timm said that he spoke to Mr. Kellner about keeping geese out of Malthaller Park in West Saint Paul. Mr. Timm said that Mr. Kellner wanted $4000 per season for that service. Mr. Timm said that he thought that was expensive so he got a petition together to convince the West Saint Paul City Council to allow dogs to chase geese in West Saint Paul. Mr. Timm said that he is asking the West Saint Paul City Council if they will allow dogs to be taken off -leash for the purpose of chasing the geese. Mr. Timm said that the lady who lives across from the Lutheran School in West Saint Paul would like to let her dog chase the geese in this manner. Mr. Timm said that some hunters have electric collars around their dogs so they can control them with a mild shock. Commissioner Morris said that before the City would pursue chasing geese with dogs the City should research federal regulations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Commissioner Morris said that there may be regulations against the "harassment of wildlife ". Commission Morris said that he knows that Mr. Timm wants to do this for good reasons, but that he wouldn't want to see anyone breaking federal laws. Mr. Timm said that he talked to Mr. Bill Wilds at the US Fish and Wildlife Service and that he said it was okay to use dogs to chase the geese. Mr. Timm said that dogs are used to chase geese in Illinois. Mr. Timm said that he was also concerned about the Asian "bird flu" and that a vaccine may not be available. Mr. Timm said that there could be an epidemic comparable to that of 1918. Mr. Timm said that kids should not have to play in goose waste. Commissioner Morris thanked Mr. Timm for his support of Mendota Heights. parks. Commissioner Craighead pointed out the North Dakota has higher fishing limits than Minnesota. Commissioner Craighead said that North Dakota allows 35 fish in one day and 175 fish in possession, and that the Minnesota limit is 20 fish in one day. Mr. Kullander said that the Parks Commission could make a recommendation on any of the issues brought up by Mr. Timm. Commissioner Morris moved to recommend that the Chief of Police contact the State DNR and US Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl experts and ask about any restrictions on the use of herding dogs against geese. Commissioner Hickey seconded the motion. 4 Commissioner Portz said that he is familiar with golf courses and that the going rate for goose herding is about $4000. Commissioner Portz said that the method works well, does not hurt the geese, and makes them go somewhere else. Mr. Timm said that it is not necessary to kill the geese, only to scare them off. Commissioner Portz said that he has read about this subject in golf magazines. Commissioner Portz said that the dogs are used early in the year when the geese are setting up their nests, and are brought back on occasion afterwards. Commissioner Morris said that it would also be good for the Police Chief to discuss with the DNR and the Fish and Wildlife Service any protest actions that have occurred as a resulting of using dogs to scare away geese from animal rights groups such as PETA, ALF, or JTTF. Commissioner Morris suggested that the Police Chief ask if those groups have been active on this issue. Commissioner Hickey asked if there are any models for residents to herd the geese instead of paying professionals. Commissioner Portz said that it is really only effective if it is done by trained professionals. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 UPDATES Staff provided the following updates: NURT Trail Mr. Kullander said that the City Council had passed a Resolution supporting a study by Dakota County for the trail north of the frontage road. Mr. Kullander said that the approval was conditioned on mitigation for the residents. Mr. Kullander said that the grant funding was extended to provide enough time for the County engineers to design the project. Mr. Kullander said that City staff will meet with Dakota County engineers on the subject in two weeks. Mr. Portz said that he can see the points of view of the neighbors, Dakota County engineers, and MnDOT regarding the location of the trail. Mr. Kullander said that technically the alignment preferred by the City fit the requirements but that MnDOT felt uncomfortable because of safety concerns and the fact that the ditches take lots of storm drainage. Mr. Kullander said that according to the revised design the curb will be moved for the western -most two houses. 5 Mr. Kullander said that discussions are also taking place about whether the trail should go north or south of the pond at Town Center. Mr. Kullander said that the preferred alignment is north of the pond, but that the trail might go south of the pond for safety purpose and to eliminate the need for safety fencing. Commissioner Portz said that when the trail is done, it will be a well - reiceived addition to the community. Pilot Knob Area Mr. Hollister said that the Council held a workshop to hear a presentation from the Trust for Public Land regarding the Garron property. Mr. Hollister said that the Trust for Public Land indicated at the workshop that they were securing grants from various sources to help purchase the property, but that the City would need to make a financial contribution and become the owner of the property. Mr. Hollister said that the Council had decided to continue looking into the possibility of contributing financially towards the purchase of the Pilot Knob site. Commissioner Craighead said that the Pilot Knob site had a lot of cottonwoods and buckthorn. Mr. Kullander said that if the City acquires the site one of the requirements would be the implementation of a 10 -year restoration plan to restore the native vegetation on the site. Mr. Kullander said that the City would be responsible for the maintenance. OPUS /EcoLab Mr. Hollister said that the OPUS proposal for redevelopment of the Ecolab site received preliminary approval by the Council on June 29, 2005. Mr. Hollister said that the Commission could anticipate $297,000 (at 110 units x $2700) of income into the Special Parks Fund as a result of this project, minus any credits to OPUS for in -kind parks contributions such as trails. Police Report Staff provided the Police Report for July 2005. OTHER COMMENTS (None.) ADJOURN Commissioner Morris moved to adjourn. 6 Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. 7