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2005-10-11 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 11, 2005 The October 2005 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, October 11, 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: Chair Richard Spicer and Commissioners Stan Linnell, Dave Libra, Missie Hickey, Raymond Morris, and Paul Portz. Commissioner Larry Craighead was 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. MINUTES Cornrnissioner Libra moved approval of the August 9, 2005 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes, Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: CHAIR SPICER'S REPORT ON COMMITTEE MEETING TO PLAN 2006 PARK CELEBRATION/SOTH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION Chair Spicer said that he and Councilmember Duggan co-chaired the Committee meeting at 6:00 this evening to talk about next year's SOth Anniversary Celebration. Chair Spicer said that discussions focused on items such as comemorative shirts, colors, stickers, and logos. Chair Spicer said that the Committee also discussed scheduling of the 5K walk/run, the car show and parade with guest dignitaries, and bingo at the senior center. Chair Spicer 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 recent recreation activities, including the Park Celebration, Youth Trips, and the Fishing Derby. Ms. Gangelhoff said that Town Square Television documented the Fishing Derby and that it can be seen on Channel 18. Ms. Gangelhoff suggested visiting townsquare.tv to check the viewing schedule. Chair Spicer said that he helped clean fish at both this year's fishing derby and last year's fishing derby, and that last year the fish were about 90% bullheads, but that this year the fish were about 90% sunfish and bass. Chair Spicer noted that Ms. Gangelhoff had arranged for activities this winter ranging from crochet classes to skating lessons, and complimented Ms. Gangelhoff on doing an excellent job as a part-time employee. INSTALLATION OF ANON -TRADITIONAL PARK BENCH Mr. Kullander explained that a resident had offered to pay for the installation of a granite park bench as part of the park bench donation program. Mr. Kullander said that he had referred this item to the Parks and Recreation Commission because granite is not a standard material for a City park bench. Mr. Kullander added that the resident has indicated that they are also willing to pay for the concrete padding under the bench. Commissioner Moms moved to recommend approval of the park bench donation subject to Staff review and approval for the design. Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND PARKS COMMISSION WORKSHOP — DECEMBER 6 Mr. Kullander told the Commission that a joint City Council/Parks Commission workshop has been scheduled from 6:00 pm to 7:20 pm on Tuesday, December 65 immediately before the regular Council meeting. Mr. Kullander also pointed out that the second Tuesday in November is a school board election night and that the Parks Commission could not convene that evening unless they waited until 8:00 pm. Mr. Kullander asked if the Parks Commission wished to cancel or reschedule their November meeting. Mr. Kullander also pointed out that the Parks Commission typically cancels their December meeting unless urgent business dictates otherwise. Chair Spicer suggested that the Parks Comrission reschedule their regular meeting in November from November 8 to November 9 at 6:30 pm, and cancel their December meeting entirely. Chair Spicer added that if an emergency meeting were required in December it could occur immediately after the Joint Workshop with the Council on December 6, 2005. The Commission agreed with Chair Spicer's suggestion. 2 PILOT KNOB SITE Mr. Kullander handed out the second draft of the Pilot Knob Restoration Plan, Mr. Kullander said that the Council would hold a public hearing on the possibility of acquiring the property on October 18, 2005 and that the public, including the Parks Commissioners, was encouraged to attend. Mr. Kullander said that if individual Parks Commissioners had any comments on this issue they should come to the public hearing, but they could also state them this evening for the minutes. Commissioner Linnell said that in general, he is supportive of the acquisition. Commissioner Linnell said that the Restoration Plan seems well though -out from an ecological point of view, but that the sketch for the public overlook is pretty rudimentary. Commissioner Linnell said that he was hoping for a larger overlook, such as the overlook at Frontenac State Park overlooking the river. Commissioner Linnell added that the trail to the overlook would have to be handicapped accessible. Chair Spicer said that the main question the Council faced right now was whether or not to acquire the land, and that he assumed that the Council would refer to the Parks Commission on issues such as trail design. Commissioner Libra said that he thought that the vegetation plan to restore native plants to the site was very good. Commissioner Libra agreed with Commission Linnell that the overlook could be larger. Commissioner Libra said that the primary emphasis of the Restoration Plan seems to be vegetation. Mr. Kullander encouraged the Commissioners to attend next Tuesday's public hearing. REQUETS FROM RESIDENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF TWO TRAIL SEGMENTS Mr. Kullander presented two requests from residents for construction of additional trail segments. Mr. Kullander said that one request was in the Laurel/Sylvandale/Sunset Lane area and the other was in Bunker Hills connecting Ridge Place to Valley Park Trail. Commissioner Moms said that the proposed connection to Sylvandale would be a nice link, but that the new trail through the Somerset Elementary School playground could provide the same linkage between the neighborhoods. Chair Spicer asked Mr. Kullander to determine who owns the property in the vicinity of the proposed Bunker Hills linkage along Dodd Road and report back at the next Parks Commission meeting. Commissioner Hickey asked how many requests Staff has received for each proposed trail segrnent. Mr. Kullander said that Staff has received two requests for each trail extension. Chair Spicer said that he likes the idea of both linkages because he likes to keep pedestrians away from traffic, but that trail segments very often encounter opposition from neighbors, particularly when a segment would run between two houses like the proposed connection to Sylvandale. [Chair Spicer then excused himself from the meeting and left at 7:07 pm, citing another engagement.] HALOWEEN BONFIRE Mr. Kullander announced that Lee's Education Center is sponsoring a hay ride during the Halloween Bonfire. UPDATES Staff provided the following updates: HURT 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 had met with Dakota County engineers on the subject, and that the City made a request to the County to help pay for moving the road away from two neighbors. Mr. Kullander said that the County did not grant the request, but that the County and the City are now inquiring with MnDOT to see if they would be willing to help with funding. OPUS/EcoLab Mr. Hollister said that the OPUS proposal for redevelopment of the Ecolab site has now received final approval by the Council. 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 credits to OPUS for in -kind parks contributions such as trails. Police Report Staff provided the Police Report for July 2005. Commissioner Linnell noted that the picnic shelter in Valley Park was painted with Graffiti again, and suggested that when the time comes to rebuild that picnic shelter, the L! Parks Commission may wish to consider a different location and design to make it less susceptible to vandalism. OTHER COMMENTS (None.) Commissioner Libra moved to adjourn. Commissioner Portz seconded the motion. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m.