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2004-05-11 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MAY 11, 2004 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Pazks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 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: Chair Richard Spicer and Commissioners Larry Craighead, Paul Portz, Dave Libra, Missie Hickey, and Raymond Morris. Commissioner Stan Linnell was excused from the meeting. City Staff present were Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. Recreation Programmer Teresa Gangelhoff was excused from the meeting. Mr. Hollister took the minutes. RECREATION PROGRAMMER'S UPDATE Commissioner Hickey volunteered to donate worms and measure fish for the Fishing Derby. Chair Spicer invited Ms. Gangelhoff to call him for help with the Fishing Derby. LEXINGTON AVENUE BIKE TRAIL Mr. Kullander presented four options for completion of the bike trail. Chair Spicer asked Commissioner Craighead which of the four options he would prefer. Commissioner Craighead said that he was in favor of an off-street trail along Wagon Wheel Trail. Commissioner Craighead said that the Council was looking for ideas to improve safety along Wagon Wheel Trail and that a trail would improve safety. Chair Spicer asked. Commissioner Craighead if he would be willing to spend up to $1 Q000 from the Special Parks Fund for a widened asphalt shoulder to be used as a temporary trail. Commissioner Craighead said that he would prefer to see the money come from somewhere else. Mr. Kullander said that Lexington is a County Road and Wagon Wheel Trail is a State Aid Road. Mr. Kullander said that any trail improvements along Wagon Whee] Trail would need to fit the final design standards of MSA to receive state funding. Mr. Kullander said that this would include acquiring right-of-way from property owners. Mr. Kullander said that the Council has not set the time frame for when the entire roadway from Lexington to Dodd would be reconstructed. Chair Spicer said that it seemed that the Wagon Wheel Trail project would take a long time because of opposition within the neighborhood. Commissioner Craighead suggested that the trail along Wagon Wheel Trail be put in next year's Park Maintenance Budget, Mr. Kullander said that this would be a possibility. Responding to a question, Mr. Kullander said that Wagon Wheel Trail is not in an unsafe condition, and that the chance of another car going into the lake near the "S-curve" is very slim. Commissioner Craighead moved to recommend postponing the Wagon Wheel Trail section of the bike trail for one year, placing the Wagon Wheel Trail section of the bike trail in next year's budget, and instead installing the trail along Lexington Avenue this year. Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. Commissioner Libra recommended that Commissioner Craighead withdraw his motion and instead recommend that $10,000 be spent from the Special Parks Fund to install the widened shoulder/trail on Wagon Wheel Trail this year. Commissioner Morris agreed, saying that the trail is a safety issue and that it should make the connection from Lexington to Rogers Lake Park. Chair Spicer asked Mr. Kullander if the Wagon Wheel Trail portion of the trail could be completed this year if the Parks Commission recommends use of the Special Parks Fund for the trail this year. Mr. Kullander said that this was correct. Commissioner Craighead withdrew his previous motion and moved to recommend that $10,000 of the Special Parks Fund be used this year for the widened shoulder/trail along Wagon Wheel Trail. Commissioner Morris seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: Chair Spicer emphasized the safety significance of the Wagon Wheel Trail portion of the bike trail given the increased use of Rogers Lake Park. 2 MINUTES Commissioner Portz moved approval of the April 13, 2004 Workshop Minutes Commissioner Libra seconded the motion AYES: NAYS: Commissioner Morris moved approval of the April 13, 2004 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Commissioner Libra seconded the motion AYES: NAYS: PROPOSED WORK TASKS FROM JOINT WORKSHOP Chair Spicer called the Commission's attention to Mr. Kullander's memo dated May 5 2004. Chair Spicer said that he thought that the trail maintenance issue was particularly important. Mr. Kullander said that he did not attempt to rank the items in any particular order of importance, because he thought that they were all important. Chair Spicer suggested dividing the four topics into two groups. Chair Spicer suggested discussing the replacement of playground equipment and the trail maintenance plan in June, and discussing park planning efforts and invasive plant species in July. Commissioner Morris asked if such a schedule would provide enough time for the removal of invasive plant species this year before they go to seed. Mr. Kullander said that there is still some money allocated from last year for invasive plant species removal that could be used. Mr. Kullander said he would probably propose a ten-year plan for play equipment and a five-year plan for trails and invasive species. Or. Kullander said that Chair Spicer's timetable would be workable. Commissioner Libra asked about what the City's weed inspector currently does about invasive species. Or. Kullander said that the City's weed inspector is Code Enforcement Officer Dick Gill, Mr. Kullander said that when Mr. Gill receives a complaint, he first inspects the property to verify the complaint. If the complaint is valid, he then sends the property owner a letter, informing them of the applicable code violation and allows the property owner a reasonable amount of time to address the problem. Mr. Kullander said that Mr. Gill might not have time to address issues such as Buckthorn. Mr. Kullander said that regarding City property, the City has used a consultant, Prairie Restorations, to help maintain areas such as Ivy Pond and Rogers Lake Park beach areas. Commissioner Libra said that combating invasive species is a matter of education as well as enforcement. Mr. Kullander said that if the City wanted to require private property owners to remove Buckthorn or other such species from their property, the Council would have to pass an ordinance. Commissioner Morris suggested raising awareness of invasive species in the City's Heights Hilites newsletter. Commissioner Morris suggested that the Heights Hilites could feature an invasive species each publication. Commissioner Craighead recalled that Mr. Kullander had previously commented that the average life of a trail is 15-20 years. Commissioner Craighead asked what the standard thickness of bituminous was for trails. Mr. Kullander said that a typical trail features six inches of aggregate and one and a half inches of asphalt, as opposed to a street, which was typically eight inches of class five aggregate and three and a half inches of asphalt. Commissioner Craighead asked if the asphalt for the trails should be thicker for a greater lifespan. Mr. Kullander said that the City has considered other designs. Mr. Kullander also said that the current plan is to eventually place a one -and -a -half inch overlay on all trails, which will bring the total thickness to three inches. Commissioner Hickey asked about the possibility of publishing a questionnaire for residents on what they view as park needs. Mr. Kullander said that this was discussed at the workshop as a possibility for the fall. OTHER COMMENTS Commissioner Portz said that he had watched one of the other Parks Commissions on cable television and that they were involved in micro -managing their athletic association in terms of what types of balls were used, field care, concessions, etc. Commissioner Portz said that he did not want to get into that level of scrutiny. Commissioner Portz said that MHAA is a good organization and does a good job. Chair Spicer agreed that the Parks Commission does not want to get into the day-to-day operations of MHAA. Mr. Kullander said that the Parks Crew does an excellent job of field maintenance and very seldom receives negative comments. ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Libra and seconded by Portz. AY)JS: 6 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.