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1978-10-17 Parks and Rec Comm Minutest9endota Heights Park & Recreation Commission Minutes, October 1], 19, Present: Absent: Finn, Gustafson, ^lilliams Lundeen, !'Allis Kw Witt Murphy (at council meeting) 1. This was not an official meeting as eve did not have a quorum. 2. The September minutes were not avail-;ble. 3. Neal Macrorie was present to request that our maintenance men use the flail mower to clear the trail on the school district property near Friendly Hills Park. Commission members present felt this was a reasonable request and Pitt will discuss with Rudy Literski. 4. Howard Dahlgren, Planning Consultant, was present to continue with the discussion of parks and open space and the comprehensive plan. He reviewed the river corridor, the present land use and zoning and topography. He had contacted the Convent regarding their land Soutli of ndendota E{sights Rd. They have no plans for that land at the present time and do not care to coil.*ait themselves to any proposal. The junior high site is a possibility as the school is planning to sell some property to help finance the bus garage. we will have to pay the market price for the land. The land opposite the fire station on Dodd Road mii;ht be developed in the next year and the owners do not care to sell some for a park site. The land parallel to the par 3 golf course is also a possibility. The owner doesn't have plans to sell now. He is in- terested in life-long tenancy in his present home. The 'Aachtler property is another possibility but '?✓il !nchtler hasn't been contacted as yet. �. How;ard suggested we think a'oout the .feasibility of also acquiring the par 3 golf course - a move that has proved par.tic larly successful in Roseville. NJe should also consider trails we'd like to have. The November meeting should see a wrap-up of the parks and open space plans. 5. Conditions near Lhe Friendly Hills 'Dennis courts, the Lexington-Pvlarie pond and turf under ti,e playground equipment were briefly discussed. 6. The melting adjourned about 10 p.m. Minutes -Mendota Heights Park and Recreation Board -August 29,1978 Members present: Witt, Literski, Mills, Lundeen, Murphy, Williams Members absent: Finn & Gustafson 1. Chairman Witt called the meeting to order at 7:35p.m. The minutes were approved as mailed. 2. Mr. Bruce Lemke representing the Landscape Structures Corperation was present at the meeting. He discussed and answered questions the board members had regarding the playground equipment his company manufactures. After some discussion, the board decided to purchase equipment for two parks. 3. A motion was made, seconded, and passed that the board recommend purchase of the following playground units for the Valley Park and Marie Avenue playgrounds. Units for the Ivy Falls park were tabled for future discussion. Marie Avenue Park: 1- Landscape Structure unit #19A consisting of an 8' platform, slide, horizontal ladder, two swings, and tall and short chinning bars. Approximate installed cost is $4000 Valley Park: 1- Landscape Structure 8' platform with horizontal ladder, fireman pole, 2 swings, and 8' slide. Approximate installed cost is $4000 4. The above equipment takes about 4 weeks to manufacture in the company's Delano Minnesota factory. Installation is done by a local contracting firm referred by the manufacturer. Installation runs about 35% of the basic equipment cost. 5. Howard Dahlgren was present at the board meeting to discuss the Mendota Heights Comprehensive plan for Parks and Open Spaces. He indicated the overall plan should be updated every 5 years to remain current. He gave the board one copy of the complete new plan, and several summary copies. He discussed such topics as population anticipation, new and proposed roads and land use, prospective park lands, and the location of one large scale park consisting of 20-40 acres. This large park would be devo ted to baseball and softball fields among other recreation activities. His recommendation was, that although the community has sufficient park land at present for the current population, it will be insufficient for the future. He suggested that the Parks and Recreation Board take whatever action necessary to meet this future need. 6. As a result Dahlgren to of the above recommendation, the board requested Mr. contact owners. of land suitable to a 20+ acre park to determine land owned by any interest in the Visitation selling the land. Convent,proposed These school locations included property, that land on Dodd Road across from the fire station, and the land just Page 2 north of the par-3 golf course. Mr. Dahlgren will report back on his findings at a special August 19th board meeting. 7. After some discussion and minor changes, the August 1978 Park and Recreation Position Statment was accepted as presented. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned Michael C. Williams Acting Secretary MENDOTA HEIGHTS PARK & RECREATION POSITION STATEMENT - August, 1978 (Prepared by the budget committee of Finn, Williams and 'Vitt and approved with some modifications by the Park 6; Recreation Commission on August 29, 1978.) Long-range needs for klendota Heights include more parks and open space and an expanded recreation program and recreational facilities. The 1976 comprehensive plan for parks and open space addresses the acquisition and development of an adequate park program to serve the future needs of Idendota Heights. The Park & Recreation Commission will keep the Planning Commission and City Council informed as the long-range plans develop. The financing of long-range needs can be met through various methods: 1) the special park development fund, 2) a bond proposal, and 3) federal, state or county grants. The special park development fund has been and probably will continue to be used for the addition of permanent park improvements i.e., the bridge in Valley Park, playground equipment in the parks, etc. In any case, there is not now nor will there be enough monies for park land acquisition or trails. We do not have adequate information at this time to present a meaningful and accurate estimate for a bond proposal. The city planner probably could provide approximate figures for land acquisition. Some of the questions re- garding trails include the possibility that NinDOT will construct a bike trail on Dodd Rd., a primary route in the proposed Mendota Heights Tr.ils System, and that the county may construct trails on '`iachtler=:dentworth and Lexington Ave. The division of funding for these projects is not definite at this time, There is grant money available for bike trails and land acquisition, but we have no one responsible for obtaining grant money. Our city administrator has more than enough to do and the efforts of Dahlgren and Associates has been sporadic. The one successful grant application had to be returned due to lack of funding at the local level and engineering complications at the county level. There are immediate park and recreation needs which should be addressed now. Our primary requirement is for additional personnel in park maintenance and park administration. In recent years CETA help has been employed to help with park maintenance. ^this year, even though the usual complement of help was requested, there were no applicants and we had to make do with a single half-time person. The situation is intolerable as only basic maintenance was realized. (Our parks maintenance staff did the best they could but personnel shortages precluded any work beyond basic care.) There were many complaints about the poor ball and soccer field conditions, the weeds in the flowers and shrubs and the general unkempt appearance of the parks. Tree plantings were delayed or not done at all. The hockey rink at Pularie Park was not shifted as planned. Legitimate complaints by property owners adjacent to park property were not answered. The Public 7,1Iorks supervisor advised us that the addition of parks and open space will require additional staff to maintain it. Administratively, the parks are suffering too. The present park and recre- ation chairman spends many hours attending various meetings, writing letters and reports, visiting problem areas within the city, taking dozens of calls regarding the park and rec program, working with community organizations, the DNR, MnDOT, County, P;letro Council, School District 197 and other community park directors. She meets at least bi-weekly with the city administrator and is in continual contact with the parks' leadman. Ne have been advised by neighboring park directors that park business cannot be conducted effectively on a volunteer basis. We agree with that assessment and feel the addition of an administrative assistant is ess+ential. The assistant can develop expertise in obtaining grant monies for park or park - related projects. (The city of Eagan has received grants for park acquisition and expansion, ski trail. development, hiking -biking trails and tennis courts. Costs of the grants have been split anywhere from 50-50 to 90-10.) The assistant can act as liason between government agencies and community organizations as well as work with consultants on park and open space plans. Hopefully, this position might be filled initially under CLPA auspices. The direction of park and recreation has been shifting as more parks and programs are requested and less land and local monies are available. Mendota Heights has been working closely with School District 197 and private schools in the city to help meet the need. In addition, we cooperate with Mend -Eagan Athletic Association whose very existence and excellent programs have saved the city thousands of dollars annually. We will continue to cooperate with neigh- boring communities and community organizations providing compatible services and working together on a trails system, recreation program or any other venture which might call for joint cooperation. ESTIi1I1IED SALARIES OP ADDITIONAL Pi$SOddEL: Parks maintenance man g12,000 Administrative Assistant (hall -time CETA or $5500. The remainder of the proposed 19'�9 budget vain be similar to the 19%f3 figures, subject to a 6-7,�) increase reflecting the annual inflation rate. Deg+rey Selander, recreation director, has submitted to Orvil his lg']9 budget needs. The Park & Recreation Commission voted to raise his salary from $5000 to 111s5600.