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1998-02-10 Parks and Rec Comm Agenda PacketCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA AGENDA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION February 10,1998 6:30 p.m. -Large Conference Room 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of the January 13, 1998 Minutes 4. Presentation of Draft Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Corridor Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan - Marc Wiegle, MFRA 5. Updates • Recreation Programmer's Update • Sibley Activity Center Proposal • Potential Cost of Sanding and Salting of Trails • Parks Report • Police Report (Available Tuesday) 7. Adjourn .Auxiliary aids for persons with disabilities aze available upon request at least 120 hours in advance. If a notice of less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will make every attempt to provide the aids. This may not, however, be possible on short notice. Please contact City Administration at 452-1850 with requests. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES JANUARY 13, 1998 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, January 13, 1998, in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Spicer, Kleinglass, Liberacki, Norton, Damberg, and Linnell. Commissioner Libra arrived late. Also present were Recreation Programmer Bill Bird, and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister, APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 9,1997 PARK AND RECREATION MINUTES Commissioner Linnell moved to approve the December 9, 1997 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes with no corrections. Commissioner Liberacki seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: REQUEST FOR SANDING AND SALTING OF TRAILS Mr. Hollister presented a memo from Public Works Director Jim Danielson explaining that the City had received a request to sand and salt trails. Mr. Hollister summarized Mr. Danielson's reasons for not sanding and salting the trails. Chairman Spicer said that the Commission agreed with Mr. Danielson, and directed Mr. Hollister to write a letter to the resident explaining the reasons for not sanding and salting the trails. Commissioner Damberg asked how much it would cost to plow the trails. Commissioner Damberg added that if the City did plow the trails, they should place highest priority on those trails with the highest amount of traffic. Mr. Hollister said that the City does currently plow trails that are major walking paths to local schools. Mr. Hollister said that he would get a cost estimate of materials and labor for plowing trails from Mr. Kullander. Commissioner Liberacki commented that the City seemed to have purchased a major new piece of road equipment recently, and that he had seen it on lYlendota Heights Road and near the water tower. Mr. Liberacki said that that new equipment had some sort of brush. Mr. Hollister said that he would ask what the equipment was. Commissioner Damberg commented that MnDOT appeared to be more sensitive to input from various constituencies in the design of the new 35E bridge than they had been with other projects in the past. [Commissioner Libra arrived at this point.] Commissioner Linnell said that it would be good to do a natural survey of Resurrection Cemetery, Commissioner Damberg said that people in the their own back yard may have a migratory corridor, and that the food source should be maintained. Commissioner Damberg said that it would be interesting to know how viable the natural habitats along the river are and what would be good steps to maintain them. Commissioner Linnell said that the Fish and Wildlife service and Hanna Dunnovitz also have grants for purchase of ecologically sensitive areas for open space. Commissioner Linnell added that the December 17, 1997 article of the Minneapolis Star -Tribune mentioned the Upper Bluff Area, and specifically that Richfield and Minneapolis were making a deal with Fort Snelling for access to the Fort's ballfields. Commissioner Linnell said that since Mendota Heights was also interested in ballfield space, the City should also talk to Fort Snelling. Commissioner Linnell said that they should also find uses for the old buildings at the Fort. SIBLEY ACTIVITY CENTER PROPOSAL DISCUSSION Mr. Hollister summarized the issue of the proposed Sibley Activity Center for the Commission and asked the Commission for their input. Commissioner Libra, active in the Sting soccer organization, said that his organization was never contacted about this proposal. Commissioner Libra said that the soccer parents were not the driving force behind this proposal, and that the proposal was probably driven by hockey parents. Commissioner Libra said that there was little demand for this facility among the soccer parents. Commissioner Libra said that at this point the soccer organization had no position on this proposal, but added that Dave Wright, the former West Saint Paul soccer leader, has been asked to join a Committee to discuss this proposal. Commissioner Libra said that Sting would be taking a formal stance on this proposal soon. Commissioner Libra said that the original version that the City has is too expensive, and remarked that the cost estimates depend on projected contributions from the City despite the fact that the City has never made any indication of its willingness to participate financially. Commissioner Libra said that much of the information provided to date is suspect. Commissioner Libra said that even though the author of the proposal claims that this would pay for itself, no one really knows. Commissioner Libra added that it could be a good facility, but that the cost figures were still too vague. Commissioner Libra said MR. KULLANDER'S SCHEDULE Mr. Hollister presented a list of Parks and Recreation projects for I "o drawn up by Mr. Kullander. Mr. Hollister said that Mr. Kullander was looking for direction on which items had the greatest priority. Chair Spicier said that each Commission should take the list home and examine it further. Commissioner Linnell said that Mr. Kullander currently had too much on his plate. Commissioner Linnell said that he felt that Hagstrom King tennis courts were not a high priority. Commissioner Linnell said that the City has enough tennis courts, and that participation in tennis is going down nationally anyway. Commissioner Liberacki asked about the status of improvements to Friendly Marsh Park. Mr. Hollister said that he would ask Mr. Kullander about Friendly Marsh Park. Chair Spicer said that each Commissioner should take Mr. Kullander's list home, think about it, and bring it back to the next meeting. Chair Spicer added that felt that all of the items on Mr. Kullander's list should be done this year. Commissioner Linnell said that his top priorities on Mr. Kullander's list would be the picnic shelters, the senior housing trail, and then anything else. In regards to the HRA senior housing facility's access to Mendota Plaza, Chair Spicer said that the City should just plow the "natural trail" near Mendota Plaza for the seniors. Commissioner Linnell asked what our priorities were this year, whether they were open space, the proposed Sibley Activity Center, recreation programs, or natural areas within the City. Commissioner Linnell suggested that Mr. Hollister should create a schedule for the year detailing the various projects to be discussed and completed. Chair Spicer said that the Parks and Recreation Commission was in an advisory position with no formal authority. Chair Spicer said that this was evident in discussions about a full-time recreation programmer. Chair Spicer said that it was nice being on the Commission during the referendum period, but that now the Parks Commission was floundering. Steve Kleinglass said that he would like to hear Mr. Bird's view on what the City's priorities should be in the area of Parks and Recreation. Commissioner Damberg agreed. Commissioner Linnell said that the City should provide activities from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for youth. said that a program could be done with Saint Paul Energy Consortium and Landscape Alternatives to make residents aware of these issues. Commissioner Norton said that these organizations could give presentations on Native Plantings and educate the public. Commissioner Damberg said that residents should know Lite value of native plantings in their own yards. Commissioner Norton said that the City should take the lead and install native prairies on select parcels of City owned property. Mr. Hollister said that the program could be combined with the Garden Club. Commissioner Norton recommended the Lilydale Garden Club. C117.17•b1YA[.9 Recreation Programmer's Update Mr. Bird updated the Parks Commission on his activities, including hiring rink attendants, assisting the Mendota Heights Senior Club, youth day trips with West Saint Paul, adult open volleyball at Mendota Elementary School, ice skating lessons, softball registrations, and joint programming with Community Education, Parks Report There were no comments on this item. Police Report There were no comments on this item. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Libra wished to congratulate the Sibley girls' and boys' soccer teams. Commissioner Libra said that the girls' team was the State Champion this year, and that the boys' team also did quite well. ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Kleinglass and seconded by Libra. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Patrick C. Hollister 7 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS MEMO February 6, 1998 TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Patrick C. Hollister, Administrative Assistant SUBJECT: Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) Corridor Plan Presentation of Draft by McCombs Frank Roos Associates Discussion Please see the attached draft of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) Corridor Plan prepared by McCombs Frank Roos Associates. MFRA has been contracted by the City to help revise our Comprehensive Plan, in accordance with Metropolitan Council requirements. A revision of our Comprehensive Plan is due to the Metropolitan Council by December 31, 1998. This MNRRA Corridor Plan will be one component of the revised Comprehensive Plan, Mr. Marc Wiegle of MFRA will be at the Parks and Recreation Meeting on February 10, 1998 to present this Draft MNRRA Corridor Plan, take suggestions, and answer questions. Mr. Wiegle will also discuss the timetable for the rest of the year regarding revision of the Comprehensive Plan and opportunities for input from the Parks and Recreation Commission, Mr. Wiegle request that the Commissioners review at least the Parks and Trails and Natural Resources sections of this document in advance of the February 1Q 1998 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Action Required After Mr. Wiegle gives his presentation, discuss the Draft MNRRA Corridor Plan, the Comprehensive Plan revision process, and opportunities for input from the Parks and Recreation Commission, particularly in regards to Parks and Recreation issues. CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS MEMO February 6, 1998 TO: Parks and Recreation Commission FROM: Guy Kullander, Parks Project Manager SUBJECT: Information Requested by Commission on January 13, 1998 Estimated cost to plow/maintain all City Trails I discussed this question with Terry Blum and Jim Danielson. Currently the Parks Crew plow approximately 19 plus miles of trails leaving narrow or obstructed trails unplowed. These unplowed trails represent between 5% and 10% of the total trails that are the City's responsibility. To completely plow and maintain all of the trails would require the addition of several pieces of equipment to the existing Public Works fleet such as; a dump truck to haul snow, front end loader to pick up snow piles, and a specially equipped pick up truck or trailer for sanding/salting narrow trails where necessary. Currently the trails are cleared using two 3/4 ton pick up trucks with 7-'/z' plow blade. A seven foot wide snowthrower is attached to the Toro Groundmaster to be used on the trails when the snow fall is greater than 4" or when it is wet snow. To remove the average 24" snowfall takes from 5 to 8 hours and if it requires the use of the snowthrower this increases to as much as 12 hours. To remove the snow from the narrow or obstructed trail segments would require trucking the snow to a disposal site and use of labor intensive equipment to remove "hard to get at" snow. This could add one to three worker days to the snow clearing operations. This would be a low priority operation and scheduled after the clearing of parking lots, ice rinks, and main trail segments. 2. The new piece of equipment Mr. Liberacki saw was really an existing lawn mower that has been equipped with a brush for use on the ice rinks for clearing snow. 3. The question of trail construction on Victoria cannot be answered in any definite way. Victoria is a county road that will someday be turned back to the City. At that time the City could decide to use Minnesota State Aid Roadway Funds to upgrade the road by widening, installing storm sewer and curb, and adding the missing trial segment. Realistically this could happen in the next five to ten years. Parks Report for January 1998 l . Open Rinks and Maintain Ice Throughout Month 2. Replace Lights Where Needed At Hockey Rinks and General Rinks 3. Plow Snow -Clean Rinks, Pedwa T s Parking Lots and Cul-de-Sacs, Flood Rinks 4. General Maintenance: Check Parks, Warming House for Trash 5. Equipment Maintenance -Repair Snow Blower for Minor Breakdown