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2004-06-08 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NNE 85 2004 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held m Tuesday, June 8, 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: Commissioners Larry Craighead, Paul Portz, Missie Hickey, and Acting Chair Stan Linnell. Commissioner Dave Libra arrived late. Chair Richard Spicer and Commissioner Raymond Morris were excused from the meeting. City Staff present were Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander, Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister, and Recreation Programmer Teresa Gangelhoff. Mr. Hollister took the minutes. Commissioner Portz moved approval of the May 1 I , 2004 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes with revisions. Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 3 NAYS: 0 ABSTAIN: 1 (Line])) RECREATION PROGRAMMER'S UPDATE Ms. Gangelhoff provided an update of the Parks Celebration on June 5, 2004 and recreation activities planned for Summer. 2004. Ms. Gangelhoff estimated that the turnout for this year's Parks Celebration was greater than for last year, with approximately 1000 people attending last year and roughly 1200 people attending this year. Commissioner Ports said that he has a great time at the Parks Celebration, even though he now has a stiff back from bending over to retrieve golf balls for little kids for three hours. The Commission commended Ms. Gangelhoff on a successful Parks Celebration and summer recreation schedule. DISCUSSION WITH AMELIA OLSON OF MHAA Acting Chair Linnell commented that Ms. Olson did not appear to be present this evening and asked Staff to invite her for the July Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. TRAIL MAINTENANCE FUNDING REQUEST — 2005 BUDGET (Commissioner Libra arrived at this point.) Mr. Kullander summarized this item for the Commission. Mr. Kullander said that at the Joint Workshop with the City Council earlier this year, the Commission had discussed with the Council the need for increased maintenance of existing trails. Mr. Kullander said that he was therefore recommending that the Parks Commission request an increase in the trail maintenance budget for next year from $20,000 to $45,000, Acting Chair Linnell said that he would like to see $45,000 in the trail maintenance budget, but that he wasn't sure how the Council would respond to such a request. Commissioner Hickey asked Mr. Kullander if he anticipated the cost of trail maintenance decreasing in the future because of improved technology. Mr. Kullander said that he did not anticipate significant change in technology for trail maintenance. Acting Chair Linnell said that the DNR sometimes puts down 2.5 to 3 inches for a new trail. Commissioner Craighead said that he was driving in Oakdale over the weekend and that he saw a crew placing tar on a roadway to fill the cracks. Commissioner Craighead described the process that he witnessed. Mr. Kullander said that such a process only costs about $1500-$2000 per mile, but the disadvantage was that such "process would have to be repeated every year. Commissioner Libra asked if it would be possible to identify the one -mile segment in Mendota Heights that is in the greatest need of repair and spend $18,000 on this segment, using whatever is left over for the rest of the trail system. Mr. Kullander said that the $20,000 in this year's budget will be used for crack sealing, and repairs at three locations, and that the remainder will be used to overlay one of the older trail segments. Commissioner Craighead moved to recommend $45,000 for trail maintenance in the 2004 budget, and to recommend that Staff review the trail system and look at crack sealing where appropriate. 2 Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 Commissioner Craighead said that he would like to se the City's trail system not just maintained, but also expanded on a yearly basis. Commissioner Craighead said that he would like to see a trail connection from the new Town Center development to Marie Avenue along the east side of Dodd Road, Mr. Kullander said that the cost of new trail construction was about $90,000 per mile. DAKOTA COUNTY NORTH URBAN REGIONAL TRAIL Mr. Kullander informed the Commission that representatives from Dakota County would be at the June I, 2004 City Council meeting to discuss the next phase of the North Urban Regional Trail scheduled for construction in 2005. Mr. Kullander said that although the discussion next "Tuesday evening does not include the portion of the NURT trail through Valley Park, the Commission may wish to review its pervious recommendation that the Valley Park trail be fully upgraded to ten feet wide instead of eight feet wide and be connected to the Great Rivers Trail, Commissioner Craighead moved to recommend that the Valley Park hail be fully upgraded to ten feet wide instead of eight feet wide and connected to the Great Rivers Trail, Commissioner Hickey seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: CONCEPT PLAN FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT OF PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT Mr. Kullander said that any replacement of playground equipment would need to comply with current ADA requirements, which mandate that at least 50% of park infrastructure be accessible by persons with disabilities. Mr. Kullander said that he is recommending repainting and refurbishing the playground equipment in three parks in 2005 and another three in 2006 to be followed by replacement of the older emits at the rate of one or two per year. Mr. Kullander said that capital improvements would be paid for out of the Special Parks Fund. Mr. Kullander reminded the Commission that at the recent workshop with the Council they had discussed the fact that development was slowing down in Mendota Heights and that the Special Parks Fund would need an alternative source of income. Mr. Kullander said that the Special Parks Fund currently has a balance of about $340,000. Commissioner Craighead said that while he supported the replacement of playground equipment, the vendors' estimates of a seven to fifteen year lifespan for playground equipment seemed awfully short. Commissioner Craighead said that if these estimates were correct, the costs would add up very quickly. Mr. Kullander said that the life expectancy estimates were based on factors such as intensity of use, climate, and aesthetics. Commissioner Libra said that he remembers swings and monkey bars at Como Park that are probably 50 years old, although perhaps they would no longer meet current safety standards if they were installed today. Commissioner Craighead moved to request that the Council allocate $14,000/year for playground equipment maintenance. Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 The Commission then discussed what would be an appropriate amount to request for an annual increase in income into the Special Parks Fund from a new source in addition to the current fees generated by new developments. Commissioner Libra moved to request that the Council find an additional source of revenue for the Special Parks Fund in the amount of $70,000 per year, in order to provide the Special Parks Fund with sufficient money for Playground Equipment, Trail Expansion, Park Shelters, and other capital improvements in the coming years. Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 LEXINGTON AVENUE BIKE TRAIL UPDATE/STATUS Mr. Kullander provided an update on the status of the Lexington Avenue Bilce Trail. Mr. Kullander said that the Engineering Staff would be working on the trail once they are no longer occupied with preparing the plans for the Somerset street reconstruction. Commissioner Craighead asked if the Lexington Avenue Trail could still be built by this fall. Mr. Kullander responded that this depended on the Somerset street project, but that he thought the Lexington Avenue Trail could be done by this fall. EMERSON AVENUE ON -STREET TRAIL Mr. Kullander said that as part of the Somerset neighborhood street project the City planned to install an on -street trail along Emerson Avenue. Mr. Kullander said that no specific signage was planned for the trail. Mr. Kullander said that there is a similar arrangement along Decorah Avenue that has worked fine. Mr. Kullander said that Emerson would be striped with two twelve -foot lanes for traffic plus an eight -foot striped area on the north side and posted no parking along the south side. Commissioner Linnell said that he agreed with not placing any specific signage along the trail because the trail will only be on one side of the street, and bikers should rider with the traffic and walkers should walk against the traffic for safety reasons. Mr. Kullander told the Commission that he often receives inquiries from residents who think that motorized boats should be allowed on Rogers Lake. Mr. Kullander provided copies of the City's current ordinance to the Commission, and explained how the ordinance prohibits the use of motorized craft on any body of water in Mendota Heights. Acting Chair Linnell said that while he didn't think that allowing small trolling motors on Rogers Lake would do any harm, he did not anticipate that the Council would be interested in amending the ordinance. Commissioner Hickey said that she was concerned about the cumulative effect of all of the recent changes for residents in the vicinity of Rogers Lake Park, with the fishing improvements, traffic safety concerns, skateboard park, etc. Commissioner Hickey said that while each one of the changes may not be great in isolation, she felt that cumulatively they may be a bit much for the neighborhood to take and allowing motorized boats might be too much change for the neighborhood. Acting Chair Linnell said that it is up to the Council whether they wanted to change the ordinance or not, but that he was not going to push for a change. CIVIC CENTER BALLFIELD BASEBALL EQUIPMENT STORAGE BUILDING Mr. Kullander said that a baseball coach had sent him an e-mail requesting a storage shed at the Civic Center Ballfield. Mr. Kullander said that the Council has already authorized the purchase of a larger lock -box that has not been acted upon yet. Acting Chair Linnell suggested that Staff go ahead and install the larger lock box, but said that he did not think the City would be interested in a storage building at that site. VERBAL UPDATES Staff provided updates on the following items: • Police Report OTHER COMMENTS Commissioner Portz said that he hoped that Ms. Olson or someone else from MHAA would be available for the July Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Commissioner Portz added that he would be interested in seeing the Articles of Incorporation and the Organizational Chart for MHAA. Mr. Kullander said that MHAA had their own website and that he believed those items were available on their website. ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Libra and seconded by Portz.. AYES: NAYS: The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. 6