Loading...
2006-02-14 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FEBRUARY 145 2006 The February 2006 meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 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 Comrissioners Dave Libra, Tom Kraus, and Larry Craighead. Commissioners Raymond Morris, Paul Portz, and Missie Hickey 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. The following people were present in the audience: Peter Bauleke 5636 Interlachen Circle, Edina Zac Brown 7320 Moonlight Lane, Eden Prairie Colin Drake 837 Park Place Drive, Mendota Heights Jon Ingalls 1501 Dally Street, Burnsville Elizabeth Miller 850 Bald Lake Court, Eagan Michelle Joseph 1735 70th Street West, Inver Grove Heights Michael Coyne 916 Jefferson Lane, Eagan Gabriela Testa 2330 Lexington Avenue South, Mendota Heights Alix Testa 2330 Lexington Avenue South, Mendota Heights Brittany McFadden 2395 University Avenue West, #310, Saint Paul Jody Pire 7966 71 st Street Cottage Grove Jill Mullen 1110 St. Dennis Court, Saint Paul Jenny Mullen I I10 St. Dennis Court, Saint Paul May Montague 1524 Confield Avenue, Saint Paul Patrick Stieg 4079 West 131s' Street, Savage Rachel Joseph 1735 70th Street West, Inver Grove Heights Ed Joseph 1735 70th Street West, Inver Grove Heights Jill Joseph 1735 70`h Street West, Inver Grove Heights MINUTES Commissioner Libra moved approval of the January 10, 2006 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes. Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 WELCOME TO NEW COMMISSIONER TOM KRAUS Chair Spicer welcomed new Commissioner Tom Kraus to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Commissioner Kraus said that he looked forward to working with the Commission. CHAIR SPICER'S REPORT ON COMMITTEE MEETING TO PLAN 2006 PARK CELEBRATION/50TH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION Chair Spicer reminded everyone that observance of the City's 50`h Anniversary will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2006. Chair Spicer said that the festivities will include the Sibley Marching Band, dances with the Rockin' Hollywoods and Paul Heffron, the Teddy Bear Band, possibly fireworks, a laser show, a 50s car show, raffles, tennis tournaments, a 5k run, a golf tournament, and the AAU Baseball Tournament, Chair Spicer said that the final schedule of events should be determined in March. Chair Spicer added that Commissioners Libra and Craighead were also at the Committee meeting. Commissioner Craighead said that he thought that the event would be very successful. TOBACCO -FREE PARKS POLICY Michael Coyne, Chemical Health Coordinator for Saint Thomas Academy and Visitation School, introduced the topic of a Tobacco -Free Parks Policy, Mr. Coyne said that most of the presentation would be made by Saint Thomas and Visitation students. Peter Bauleke, Saint Thomas student and Co -Captain of CHOOSE, said that the mission of CHOOSE is to promote a "chemical -free lifestyle". Mr. Bauleke said that recently CHOOSE observed Chemical Health Week and that if one person was persuaded to abstain from tobacco, alcohol or drugs they would consider the event a success. Michelle Joseph, Visitation student and member of the CHOOSE executive board, made the request that the City of Mendota Heights implement atobacco-free policy for all parks and City facilities. Elizabeth Miller, Junior at Visitation and softball player said that she has a high intolerance for smoke. Ms. Miller said that she plays 15` base on the softball team and that if a parent is smoking near her it can cause her to miss a ball. Ms. Miller said that she sometimes has to take Advil or other medication to deal with the smoke. Chair Spicer asked if a tobacco -free policy is in place for Visitation and Saint Thomas. 2 Ms. Miller said that both Visitation and Saint Thomas have tobacco -free policies in place, but that many of their games are played at the City's facilities, particularly Mendakota Park, Zae Brown, Saint Thomas student, said that Saint Thomas and Visitation students are looked up to by younger siblings as role models and that they need to show younger kids how to live without tobacco. Gabriella Testa said that her family does not like to go to City parks and deal with cigarette butts and seeing adults smoke. Ms. Testa said that at a recent visit to Rogers Lake Park they found a grill unit full of cigarette butts and a dead rat amongst the cigarette butts. Ms. Testa showed bags of cigarette butts that were picked up at Rogers Lake Park by Saint Thomas and Visitation students and pictures of the clean-up activity. Zac Brown said that 73 cities in the state of Minnesota have adopted tobacco -free policies for their parks, most recently Hermantown and Wheaton. Colin Drake, sophomore at Saint Thomas said that CHOOSE had received letters of support from individuals and organizations such as MHAA, Dr. Gordon Drake, Dakota County Smoke -Free Communities Partnership, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Henry Sibley High School, Independent School District 197 Director of Chemical Health, Visitation Athletic Department, Dakota Partnership for Healthy Communities, Dr. McDonald (Dentist) of Mendota Heights, Dr. Olivary (Cardiologist) of Mendota Heights, and the Fourth District Minnesota Nurses Association. Jon Ingalls, senior at Saint Thomas showed the sign that the 73 cities in Minnesota are placing in their parks to discourage smoking. Mr. Ingalls said that if the City of Mendota Heights agrees to a tobacco -free policy in the parks, CHOOSE will provide the signs for free and erect them in the parks. Commissioner Craighead asked if the same sign being used state-wide. Mr. Ingalls said that it was. Ms. Joseph again asked that the Parks and Recreation Commission recommend that the Council adopt aTobacco-Free Policy. Mr. Coyne concluded the presentation and asked if the Commission had any questions. Commissioner Craighead said that he had recently heard a story on MPR about a city near Duluth that had adopted the tobacco -free policy. Mr. Brown said that that City was Hermantown. Commissioner Craighead said that he supports the policy. Commissioner Libra asked if the group was requesting that the City adopt a policy or an ordinance. Commissioner Libra noted that the City of Champlain adopted a policy as opposed to an ordinance. Brittany McFadden, Director of Tobacco -Free Youth Recreation, said that most cities have adopted policies and installed signs for enforcement. Ms. McFadden said that only about 6 or 7 cities have actually adopted an ordinance. Ms. McFadden said that no city involved in the program has had to dedicate extra police resources to enforce the policy. Commissioner Kraus asked if anyone was aware of any problems that cities have encountered with the policy or if any city had adopted the policy and then later decided to repeal the policy. Ms. Testa said that a lot of cities have seen a reduction in smoking at the parks as a result of the policy. Ms. McFadden said that the University of Minnesota has conducted research on the effect of the policy by phone survey and that most cities have noticed less litter and have not lost park visitors. Ms. McFadden said that cities have noticed that parents were playing with their children more instead of merely watching them while smoking. Ms. McFadden said that communities know that they won't catch all smokers. Chair Spicer said that it sounds like a great idea, but that a new policy like this can be compared to an onion, that the more you examine the policy the more complications you find. Chair Spicer said that there may be enforcement issues, and that the adult leagues may want to have a say in the policy. Chair Spicer said that he is comfortable recommending the policy to the City Council, but that the policy should be published before adoption so that other groups can comment. Commissioner Libra said that in the case of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Parks Board controls issues such as this, but in a community like Mendota Heights, the Parks and Recreation Commission is merely an advisory body. Commissioner Libra moved to recommend that the City Council adopt a tobacco -free policy for the City parks. Commissioner Libra further moved that the Council should allow for input from City staff and the community before adopting the policy. Commissioner Craighead seconded the motion. Commissioner Craighead said that City staff would need to be consulted on how many signs would be needed and where they should be placed. Mr. Kullander said that the parks crew would determine how many the City would need. Mr. Kullander said that the parks crew would prefer, when possible, to combine new signs on existing sign posts so they can maintain efficient mowing operations. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 Chair Spicer thanked the presenters and advised them to attend next week's Council meeting. [Ms. Gangelhoff and the audience left the meeting at this point.] ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE -CHAIR Chair Spicer suggested that since there were only four Commissioners present that evening and since he would not be at the March meeting, election of the Chair and Vice Chair should be postponed to the April meeting when he anticipated that most Commissioners should be present. Chair Spicer appointed Commissioner Libra to be Acting Chair for the March meeting. Commissioner Libra said that he accepted the appointment of Acting Chair for the March meeting, but that he was not interested in the positions of either Chair of Vice -Chair for 2006. UPDATES Staff provided updates on the following items: Pilot Knob Mr. Kullander said that the City's consultant will begin removal of woody plants on Pilot Knob in March and that residents can can City Hall if they wish to volunteer. Lemay Shores Mr. Hollister said that Hoffman Homes had recently discussed a Concept Plan for a new townhome development along Lemay Lake with the Planning Cormmission and the City Council. Mr. Hollister noted that the City is still under a subdivision moratorium that is scheduled to expire in November of 2006, but may end earlier by Council action. Mr. Hollister said that the Parks Commission will have an opportunity to review the formal application when it is submitted by Hoffman Homes. Mr. Kullander discussed possible trail connections with the Concept Plan. Mr. Kullander said that the developer would most likely offer their parks contribution prirnarily in the form of cash, but that there were opportunities for trail linkages between this property and the City -owned property to the south and/or the rest of the cemetery to provide a connection to Lexington Avenue. Mr. Kullander said that it is always preferable to create loops that people can walk. Mr. Kullander said that the City's regulations also govern the maximum lengths of cul-de-sacs, and that this is a potential concern with this development. Commissioner Craighead said that he recalled that Lite City was going to discuss fixture plans for the Cemetery with representatives of Catholic Cemeteries, Mr. Kullander said that Mr. Danielson was going to contact Resurrection Cemetery to do this, and that he would remind him of the trail issues. Mr. Craighead said that it would be good to have that discussion. Mr. Kullander said that another issue for discussion when Hoffman Homes submits their final application is the possibility of a dock or boat launch on Lemay Lake. Mr. Kullander said that for the Augusta Shores development docks were prohibited. Commissioner Libra moved to adjourn. Conunissioner Craighead seconded the motion. AYES: 4 1VAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.