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2007-05-08 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesApproved CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION MEETING May 8, 2007 The May 2007 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 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 Richard Spicer, Commissioners Tom Kraus, Missie Hickey, Raymond Morris and Larry Craighead. Absent were commissioners Brian Hallman and Paul Portz. City Staff present were; Teresa Gangelhoff, Recreation Programmer, Guy Kullander, Operations and Projects Coordinator, Jake Sedlacek, Assistant to the City Administrator, and Nancy Bauer, Recording Secretary. MINUTES: Commissioner Craighead moved approval of the April minutes and seconded by Commissioner Morris. AYES: 5 NAYES 0 RECREATION REPORT Chair Spicer talked about some of the upcoming recreation programs. Safety camp is full with a waiting list. Two little tennis classes on Thursdays are full. The Park celebration is June 2, 2007, going back to its former format from noon to 3:00 P.M. at Mendakota Park with lots of free events planned for the day. There will be no street dance or fire works this year, but a band concert is planned for Friday night in Market Square Park located in the village at Mendota Heights, Town Square development. Chair Spicer named some of the youth trips planned this summer such as Valley Fair, Twins game, Spring Lake Park Amusement Center, Wild Mountain, Bunker Beach and Crystal Caves. The fishing derby is June 11, 2007 at Rogers Lake Park with 50 spots and remarked that all this information will be in the City newsletter delivered to all residents in the next two weeks. Ms. Gangelhoff responded this year the fishing derby was increased to 60 from 50 spots with a donation from Ira Kipp, but is full with a waiting list in case someone drops out. Chair Spicer continued new this year is Take a Kid Fishing Program. There are performances in the parks planned again this summer. Softball starts April 24. There will be a skateboard camp in August. The Minnesota Thunder will be coming to Kensington Park. Another new event is the Trucks and Travel event where children can climb aboard a fire engine, semi-truck, cement mixer and army deuce 1/2 along with entertainment and refreshments. Ms. Gangelhoff said that she is looking for volunteers from the community to help on June 2'1. Page - 1 Approved Commissioner Craighead asked how residents were notified of the park activities besides in the Heights Highlites. Ms. Gangelhoff responded flyers go out to the schools that are distributed to the kids. PAR 3 Mr. Sedlacek said the referendum was on April 24th and voters approved the purchase of the Par 3 golf course. It is still privately owned and operated, but City Council has approved the sale of bonds. The City is hoping for a closing on the property at the end of June. There a lot of questions to work out. The City is hoping to keep on the current staff that is working there. A task force is being set up that includes, Jake Sedlacek, Jerry Murphy, former general manager of Somerset Country Club, Paul Portz of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Dave Bergen the current Par 3 manager. If anybody has ideas about the golf course people can email them to City Hall or Mr. Sedlacek. The first task force meeting is this Friday. The policy issues will be brought to the Parks and Recreation Commission first and then recommendation will be brought to the City Council. Commissioner Craighead asked if any other Par 3 will be talked to besides Burnsville. Mr. Sedlacek replied they are hoping to get a business plan from New Hope. There are several successful municipal par 3 or executive courses, such as Inver Wood and Edina that we will contact. Again, if people have ideas contact City Hall. Commissioner Morris said it was good all the citizens came out and weighed in on the issue. There was a 42% turnout of voters. PARKS PROJECTS AND COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS Chair Spicer said the "You Are Here" signage is moving along. Mr. Kullander responded that a prototype may be ready for the June meeting. Chair Spicer said the civic center field improvements are done and Mr. Kullander has done a wonderful job of having the fences moved in and having the new backstops and batting cages installed. Commissioner Morris responded that the work was done fast. Mr. Kullander responded he was able to get the work done so quicicly because the weather cooperated and contractors were available. Chair Spicer asked about the bicentennial trees that were a concern. Mr. Kullander responded that the "golden triangle" trees were still there and healthy. Page - 2 Approved Chair Spicer reported that Valley Park play components and surfacing have been installed. Ivy Hill Park reconstruction was basically completed this week. Then he asked about the sign sample in the packet. Mr. Kullander responded that they are signs that are put in the parks that tell about age appropriateness of the play components and the name of the park. Commissioner Craighead asked where the signs were in the parks. Mr. Kullander responded they are placed right inside the border timbers by the play equipment. Chair Spicer said that the skate park has had some graffiti issues on the skate park components. Mr. Kullander responded that Tim Meyers, a big promoter of the skate park, and a friend spray painted over the most offensive graffiti on the equipment. Commissioner Morris said the police check Rogers Lake Park by driving by quite frequently. Mr. Kullander responded that they do, and there aren't any police complaints about that park. But the components are far back from the road and the police would be unaware if someone was painting the components rather than skateboarding. Commissioner Hickey asked about the mural proposal for the skate park components. Mr. Kullander responded that he hasn't heard back from the person, but will let the Commission know when he hears something. Chair Spicer said a lot of work will be been done on the trails this year. Wachtler Trail, Ivy Hill Park, Valley View Heights Park and Huber Drive trails will all see repairs or reconstruction in 2007. Mr. Kullander responded that the Huber Drive trail will be done along with the street reconstruction this summer and funded with State Aid Funds. Chair Spicer asked when the Huber Drive trail will be worked on. Mr. Kullander said soon and it would be done in approximately six to eight weeks. VALLEY PARK TENNIS COURTS Mr. Kullander said that all city tennis courts were built in 1970 and 1972. The asphalt heaves and cracks and needs to be resurfaced on a regular basis. After a couple of years the heaves and cracks reappear. He has looked at prices to replace one of the courts. The fence has to be removed, the court torn up and the fence replaced. Valley Park was priced out last week and it would cost about $95,000 with asphalt and $125,000 to redo with concrete. Other cities are using different products to use on their tennis courts. One is "laying a carpet" on the course filled with compacted sand which gives you a hard surface. Another option is to fill it with fine sand and gravel then put a hard surface over it. The cracks are less likely to transfer through to the "carpet" on top. Page - 3 Approved Commissioner Morris asked how long the products have been around. Mr. Kullander responded about five to ten years. Commissioner Morris said there is no track record for these products. Mr. Kullander responded not for the northern climate. Every tennis court has different soil conditions. When our courts were put in they used the existing soils. Some of the sites weren't the most ideal and contain clay in the soil. Over the years the soil shifts. The way to get a good base is to "over excavate" by digging down one to two feet. If that is done, there still will be normal freeze/thaw creaks and heaving in the courts. Sportcourt type tiles came out in the 70s which are plastic tiles that have proven to be reliable. Some of the types are; Versacourt, Flexcourt, and Sportcourt. The sportcourt is a reliable tile, but can be slippery when there is dew in the morning. The sportcourt 2 has a tackier surface, but the ball is slower. The sportcourt 3 corrects the shortcomings of the other two tiles to make it a better surface. Chair Spicer asked if that was the reason for the three prices. Mr. Kullander responded that was correct. Eagan has used the flexcourt on one court and sportcourt products on four of their other courts. Mr. Kullander showed pictures of the courts in Eagan. One of the pictures showed the dirt and water that goes through the tiles. He also showed some examples of expansion by the tiles. ( 1 Commissioner Morris asked if he knew about vandalism problems with the tiles. Mr. Kullander responded that Eagan has had a problem with one on Highview Court. That is because there is only a 20' foot fence around the ends of the tennis court exposing the sides. All of our courts are fenced and the tiles would be brought up close to the fence. The tiles have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 plus years and are guaranteed. One of the considerations to consider when picking a tile is the points of contact. The sportcourt has the most points touching the ground with 28 points within a 3 square inch area. The other tiles only have 8 points. Mr. Kullander's recommendation is the sportcourt because of the extra support. Commissioner Craighead asked if the sportcourt had to be painted. Mr. Kullander responded that the sportcourt comes with the tiles colored for the stripe and doesn't need to be painted. Chair Spicer asked if our current courts were resurfaced every six years and at what cost. Mr. Kullander responded Valley Park is our worst court and it was resurfaced three years ago at $8,000. Routine maintenance of the courts consisting of crack filling and surface repair every year costs about $1,000 to $4,000 plus every three to five years the court must be resurfaced for a cost of $,8000 to $15,000. To install the tile it would be from $37,000 to $48,000 depending on the tiles selected. Commissioner Morris said it would be worth a try to use the tiles and asked if we would have to lock the courts in the winter. Page -4 Approved Mr. Kullander responded that the courts are locked in the winter to prevent people from exercising their pets in them during the winter months. Putting in one of these courts would be the equivalent of 12 or 15 years worth of routine maintenance. Commissioner Morris said that was pretty good and would be worth the cost of trying. Mr. Kullander said that with the tiles there would be no need for routine yearly crack filling, etc. Commissioner Morris said with the closing of the Lilydale Tennis Club has put pressure on our tennis courts. The citizens shared their views on the tennis courts and want better courts. Mr. Kullander said he thought the Commission would favorably support the use of the tiles. The City Council budgeted $10,000 - $12,000 for maintenance of the Valley Park tennis courts this year. That price was based on prior experience. Two bids were received for resurfacing the courts and were over $15,000. His recommendation is to go to the City Council with a proposal to take half out of special park funds and the other half out of the parks maintenance funds already approved by City Council. Commissioner Morris said that would be a sound way to do it Mr. Kullander said the other four courts would be addressed in the new 5 year plan. Commissioner Craighead said he thinks the tiles are a very good idea but the drainage on the pathway on the west side of the courts needs to be fixed. Mr. Kullander said that would be fixed if the courts were ripped out. Right now we have 150' of length and the whole trail slopes the wrong way. A simple fix is not one of the options we have. We are going to raise or bend up the fence and add a larger gate for maintenance access. Commissioner Craighead says the water comes down the hill and comes across the little walkway and goes under the fence. It is a real problem that needs to be fixed. Mr. Kullander responded that the tiles allow water to go right through and under them. Commissioner Craighead asked if a trench could be installed on the hill to direct the water to the north. Mr. Kullander responded that an option was to put in a French drain and that would cost $8,000 to $10,000 and the funds aren't there right now. Commissioner Craighead said it needs to be thought through because eventually the trail will break up. Mr. Kullander said it was on the "to do" list in the future when the trail is widened. Commissioner Craighead asked if it could be put in the list to do next year because it does need some serious attention. Page - 5 Approved Mr. Kullander said it would put it on the list asked the Commission if they support the tiles and which one would they like to use. Mr. Kullander held up the tiles and quoted an estimate for each tile. Tile #1 would be about $37,000, tile #2 about $44,000 and tile #3 about $48,500. The Valley tennis courts is our wettest and shadiest court. Mr. Craighead asked if Eagan had any additional comments about the tiles. Mr. Kullander responded that Eagan really likes them and are very happy with them. Commissioner Morris asked which tiles Eagan uses. Mr. Kullander responded that they have one with the flexcourt and four with the sportcourt. Commissioner Morris said if it is a wet area we should select tile #2. Mr. Kullander responded that the Minneapolis Aquatennial uses that type of sportscourt for their tennis tournaments. Commissioner Morris made a motion to go with the sportcourt , tile #2, given the drainage situation and dampness, with the more aggressive surface and split the cost 50/50 between park maintenance funds and the special parks fund. Commissioner Craighead said he could support the motion, but would like the drainage problem on the trail fixed in the near future. Commissioner Kraus asked if any color could be picked. Mr. Kullander responded yes. Commissioner Craighead asked if the fences needed to be improved. Mr. Kullander responded the fence would be raised about 2" at the bottom. Commissioner Craighead asked if a tennis ball would go underneath the fence. Mr. Kullander said the rise would be about a little bit above the size of a tennis ball. Commissioner Craighead asked if Mr. Kullander had heard any negative comments on the tiles. Mr. Kullander said the only thing is they can be vandalized and heard of one private court destroyed by a bonfire. But a regular tennis court can be vandalized also. Commissioner Craighead asked if it would be done this summer. Mr. Kullander said yes. Installation time is about three to six days. Page - 6 Approved Commissioner Kraus seconded the motion made by Commissioner Morris. AYES 5 NAYES 0 Mr. Kullander asked the Commission which color they preferred. Commissioner Morris said that the color could be picked by staff. Commissioner Kraus said he preferred not a too flashy, bold color. Another color should be used for the out of bound lines. PROJECTS FOR THE NEW FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN The Commission has been working on a list of projects and trying to prioritize the projects. The list was prioritized using responses from the Commission and parks employees to create a project ranking of projects for a new Five Year Capital Improvement Plan. Any project with a seven or higher rating was put in the Five Year Capital Improvement Plan. Some projects that were rated as a six were also included in the plan because of various factors such as the tennis courts that should be addressed over the next five years. LeMay Lake trail came in as a six also and should be included in the plan. When the street project is put in this year the two neighborhoods should be connected with a trail. When doing the plan, they were listed by different categories such as playgrounds, trails, ect. Trails, playgrounds, the skate park, and athletic fields are big priorities. The Highway 13 and Dodd Road trails have already been approved by the City Council and funded by state aid funds. The playgrounds that remain to be upgraded are Rogers Lake Park, Friendly Hills Park, and Victoria-Highlands Park because of the arsenic treated timbers and components installed in 1990. The skate park could be upgraded with three new components for younger kids. Chair Spicer said it is a $5,200 expenditure to upgrade the skate park and should be talked about now. Commissioner Craighead made a motion to put in smaller components for the younger kids in the Rogers Lake Skate Park for up to $5,500 to be installed this year. Commissioner Morris seconded the motion. Commissioner Morris commented that it was a great idea. Mr. Kullander said he would get a couple more prices to make sure the price he has is a good one. AYES 5 NAYES 0 Mr. Kullander continued that another higher priority should be enhancing the ball fields particularly Hagstrom King Park and Friendly Hills. Hagstrom King upgrades would be putting in an outfield fence and backstop which would enhance the park greatly. By putting in a fence at Friendly Hills would mess up the field for soccer and hockey use. The City has requests for a Page - 7 Approved football field. Lacrosse has been gaining popularity and there has been more demand for fields. Wet fields in early spring and use of cleats by lacrosse players can damage existing soccer fields. ) Construction of a large field suitable for lacrosse, football and soccer could be done at Friendly Hills Marsh which currently is undeveloped. A parking lot would need to be put in. ■ 1 Chair Spicer asked about Ivy Park. Mr. Kullander responded that there are houses that abut the park, with deep ditches, and mature trees. Costs would be high for storm sewer and fill dirt. Chair Craighead asked if lacrosse was played mostly by high school aged kids. Mr. Kullander responded no, he has seen 8-10 years old playing lacrosse — it has become very popular. Mr. Kullander continued saying that tennis courts have been talked about in regard to the five year plan. He has put together a draft Five Year Capital Improvement Plan for 2008-2012. Commissioner Morris said that Mr. Kullander has steered the Commission pretty good for 2007 with the three projects selected for completion yet this year. Mr. Kullander responded that the special park fund has taken a pretty good hit this year. Le May Lake trail should be done this year when streets and utilities are installed. Chair Spicer asked if the special park fund would get an influx of funds from the developer. Mr. Kullander responded that about $160,000 would be paid as they build the units. We can't think of just the special park funds to pay for some of the projects, the City Council needs to think of funding sources because there is a demand by residents and other safety issue considerations for construction of new facilities. Chair Spicer said that the projects planned for 2008 total $200,000. Mr. Kullander said Council will decide which projects should be dropped, if need be and levy the budget for some of the projects and decide if other funds should be used for parks such as the cell tower funds. Chair Spicer said we don't need to do anything tonight. 2007 projects have already been approved. Mr. Kullander said Council will begin the 2008 budget process in June or July and would like to see a plan of parks projects for next year. The five year plan is a working document. I put Mendakota Park in 2011 because the Commission may want to enhance it. 2011 is the 20th anniversary of the park and would showcase the park anew. Commissioner Craighead commented that next spring MHAA will be before the Commission asking for improvements of the fields and they are not on the list. Page - 8 Approved Mr. Kullander said that Hagstrom King Park is one of MHAA requests and on the list — it's second priority selection. Chair Spicer said they might want other improvements that we haven't though of. Mr. Kullander said that he added a shelter or sun shade at the Civic Center ball field that was also a MHAA request. Commissioner Kraus said it was a good plan and was pleased with it. Chair Spicer said it was a well thought out plan and Mr. Kullander did a good job. Mr. Kullander asked if the Commission wanted to further review the draft plan and it would be brought back next month for foimalized acceptance. Chair Spicer said he would like to wait for Commissioner Portz and Hallman to be present when the plan is formalized. Put it on the agenda for next month for approval. He continued that there were not trails on the plan. Mr. Kullander said that no other trails rated higher than a six but that $45,000 a year is budgeted for trail maintenance in the City Budget for 2007. Chair Spicer asked if that was enough money. Mr. Kullander responded it was adequate. We are up to 22 miles of trails in the city now. Chair Spicer said maybe it should be added to 2008 as a maintenance item, so Council knows its coming. Mr. Kullander responded he could do that. Chair Spicer made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Commissioner Hickey. AYES: 5 NAYES: 0 The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 P.M. Page - 9