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1993-11-09 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOT] PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 1993 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, November 9, 1993, in the City Hall Large Conference Room, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:35 o'clock P.M. The following members were present: Damberg, Katz, Kleinglass, Linnell, Norton, Libra and Spicer. Also present were Administrative Assistant Kevin Batchelder, Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander and Recreation Programmer Shelli Morgan. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Damberg moved to approve the October 12, 1993 Minutes. Commissioner Linnell seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 COMMISSION COMMENTS Commissioner Damberg inquired about an article in the South- West Review dated November 7, 1993 about the proposal to upgrade the Friendly Hills streets. Commissioner Damberg stated that the article stated "the reconstruction would be funded from park land assessments and assessments to single family lots and municipal state aid funds." Damberg inquired if money from the special park fund would be used to pay park land assessments for the Friendly Hills street project. Parks Project Manager Kullander responded that the City Council makes the decision on where the money comes from for assessments to park land in Mendota Heights. Kullander stated that other funding sources that exist are the MSA money and the City Infrastructure Fund money. Kullander stated the City was required to assess park land when it is in a project district. Commissioner Linnell inquired if there will be a trail included in the Friendly Hills street project along Decorah Avenue. Kullander stated that early plans had shown a trail in the public right-of-way along Decorah Avenue, however the residents of the neighborhood are not clamoring for a trail with this street project. Kullander stated the street project has not yet been approved by the City Council. Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 2 Administrative Assistant Batchelder stated this month the Parks and Recreation Commission would be reviewing Roger's Lake Park and Mendakota Park for infrastructure and replacement needs in the capital improvements planning process. Batchelder stated the request for additional irrigation extensions at Mendakota Park that the Commission had received in September from Parks Leadperson Terry Blum had been held over until this meeting and that this item should be considered as well. He stated that in addition to the capital improvements planning that the Commission was obligated to review parking and traffic, as requested by City Council. Commissioner Norton inquired if there was a history to the fact that the parking lot at Roger's Lake was not paved. Batchelder stated that in consideration of park improvements during the referendum planning Roger's Park was decided to be left in a rural, unpaved state. Parks Project Manager Kullander stated there are no active fields at the park and that it was felt that paving this particular parking lot was not necessary and the City could save money. Batchelder stated other parks had received paving for their parking lots mainly due to the fact that there was a dust problem near residential homes. The Commission considered the list of improvements and replacement items for Roger's Lake Park. Kullander stated that this park receives some level of vandalism from time -to - time, including the burning of two park benches this past summer. Kullander reviewed the list of possible future improvements to Roger's Lake Park including: 1. Removing the wooden bridge to the picnic shelter and replacing with bituminous walkway for American with Disability Act standards and because of maintenance concerns. 2. Install fire pits with the options being steel fire pits or stone and concrete enclosures. 3. Additional horseshoe pits. 4. Pave the access driveways and parking areas. 5. Clearing out the brush along the trails for better visibility. Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 3 6. Regulatory signage for park and trails. 7. Painting stripes on the hard court in 1995. 8. Port a Potty shelters. 9. ADA upgrades to play equipment. 10. Clearing the brush out along the beach and establishing turf to water. 11. Remove five old benches. 12. Reroofing the picnic shelter. 13. Resurfacing the tennis court. 14. Seal coating of the trails. Kullander explained that brushing out along the trail was a difficult project for the park crews because of the time and the equipment necessary to do this job. Kullander suggested it might be a possibility to contract a firm to clear the brush along the trails or that possibly this could be done as a community work service project. The Parks Commission discussed the possibility of getting a wood chipper to help ease the work of removing brush that has been cleared. Commissioner Damberg inquired if it would be worth the City buying a chipper. Batchelder stated that he felt there is a possibility the City could borrow a wood chipper from a neighboring community. Damberg inquired if there is a lot horseshoe play in Roger's Lake Park. Recreation Programmer Morgan responded that she has had a number of calls to rent horseshoes by people who are using Roger's Lake Park. Kullander stated the City has one nice horseshoe pit and that it is located in Roger's Lake Park. He stated that horseshoe pits can be added for cheaper costs than demonstrated on the list depending upon the level of quality the City wants. Kullander described the West St. Paul horseshoe complex. Kullander stated that when you have just one horseshoe pit it tends to be a token. He stated that if you put two or three horseshoe pits together they tend to get used more often. Kullander explained that the wooden bridge currently in Roger's Lake Park is rising and heaving with the frost every season and because it is not level with the trail it does not meet American with Disabilities Act standards. Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 4 The Commission discussed fire pits in Roger Lake Park and an upgrade to a stone and concrete enclosure around a large pit that could accommodate barbecues and small bonfires. Morgan stated that Roger's Lake Park is the City 's picnic park mainly because of the location of volleyball, tennis, hard court, picnic shelter, the lake view and the trail. She stated this picnic shelter is rented almost every weekend during the warm months of the year. The Commission discussed the driveway and the unpaved parking, Kullander stated that in the past the consensus was to keep the driveway unpaved and the parking lot in a rural and unimproved condition. Kullander described the ADA upgrades that would be necessary for trails and transfer points. Kullander stated that there is one new play structure in Roger's Lake Park and one play structure which was renovated at the time of the referendum. Kullander stated the tennis court in Roger's Lake Park has cracks that need to be sealed every year and if the City gets into another cycle of resurfacing tennis courts Roger's Lake Park should be first on the list. Commissioner Damberg inquired about improving the quality of the lake and having a beach at Roger's Lake Park. Kullander stated the lake is very shallow and susceptible to weeds and algae growth. Commissioner Norton stated that lake quality issue was an issue that the City's Parks and Recreation Commission should be more involved with. Commissioner Damberg stated that educational efforts could be done by the City to help improve the water quality in the lakes and pending areas within the City. The Commission inquired if City Engineer Klayton Eckles could address the topic of water quality, non - point source pollution and steps the City can take to help the water quality in the City at a future park meeting. Commissioner Linnell stated he would like to see the benches that are proposed to be removed be replaced and not just removed. Kullander stated the park crews would like to see the benches placed on concrete pads if they are not removed to facilitate the ease of mowing grass. The Commission discussed proposed future improvements, replacement and infrastructure for Mendakota Park. Kullander stated he has estimated that the lighting of the five sports fields at Mendakota Park will cost approximately $175,000. Kullander described the list of possible future improvements to Mendakota Park as: Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 5 Sports lighting for five play fields. 2. Expanded gation system. Maintenance building if lights are installed. Concrete bases for benches and trashers. 5. Resurface the basketball court with paint markings. Re -stripe the parking lot. Any additional landscaping° 8. Seal coat old trails. Adopt backstops (or netting) for baseball/hardball. 10. Convert the grass volleyball area to sand court with borders. Kullander stated the sport lighting estimate is based on Barton-Aschman's estimate at the time of the referendum and the design of Mendakota Park. Kullander stated that Barton- Aschman had estimated $150,000 to provide lights for the fields at Mendakota Park. Kullander stated that his estimate is on the high side but includes all poles and lights, lines and transformers, and restoration that would be needed to complete this project. Kullander stated it also includes the lighting of the youth soccer field. Kullander stated that installing lights at Mendakota Park would be cheaper than building new fields if the City reaches the point where demand is greater than field supply. Administrative Assistant Batchelder stated that at the time the referendum items were put together lighting had been considered for the softball complex. Batchelder stated a City Councilmember had wanted to include lights in the plans for Mendakota Park so that everyone would be aware that ballfield lights were a possibility. Commissioner Spicer stated the lights were always anticipated as a future use at this park. He stated that during the referendum there was never any opposition to the community park having lights for the ballfields. Commissioner Damberg disagreed by stating there was never any opposition. Spicer stated that at the time of the referendum it was anticipated that the softball field complex would have lights when it was built. Spicer stated no other fields in the City are lighted. Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 6 Commissioner Damberg stated that groups which desire to have lights placed at these fields could participate in fund raising efforts to provide for the cost. Damberg stated that field lights are essentially a service for which only a certain sector of the City receives benefits. Commissioner Kleinglass inquired if the lights are shut off at 10:00 P.M. and, if lights are provided, does this double the amount of playing time. Commissioner Spicer responded that lights would extend the season during the spring and fall so that evening play was not limited to a few months in the summer. Spicer stated that adult softball leagues currently end in the last week in July and that adding lights would not only double the playing time in the evening during the summer but would allow fall and spring leagues. Commissioner Kleinglass stated that spring and fall leagues would be for adults only and that children are in school at this time. Kleinglass stated that providing lights would lead to the commercialization of the programs with more adult programs being offered and provided. Commissioner Kleinglass stated if the City is going with more adult programs we should not be lighting fields unless these programs are paying for the lighting. Recreation Programmer Morgan stated that each adult softball league more than pays for itself and generates some revenue. Kullander explained that the maintenance building, proposed on the list for future improvements, would allow City crews to work at night and on the weekends with the Cushman and the equipment which is needed to grade and drag the fields, if lights warrant a higher level of park crew activity. Kullander stated that the basketball court is starting to wear and could use a resurfacing in the near future. Kullander described his proposals for allowing the fields to be adapted for baseball at Mendakota Park, based on our experience with foul balls last summer. He explained that one option is to add hoods onto the existing backstops. He stated that this has not proven to be very successful in the past. Kullander stated the existing backstops could be extended in height and then further extended by adding vertical netting. Kullander stated that maintenance is a headache with netting and that half the foul balls will probably still come over any extension of netting. Kullander stated that a curved backstop that is twenty-five feet deep and extending out over the home plates would collect all of the foul balls. Kullander stated the idea of providing netting strung from the backstop to the comfort station was an idea which staff had considered and Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 7 rejected due to the high level of maintenance and the fact that this netting would have to be attached to the comfort station. Kullander stated the comfort station was not designed to accommodate guy wires as an attachment, Commissioner Spicer stated that both the Cities of Eagan and Edina had provided this type of netting for their pinwheel field designs to keep foul balls from injuring spectators. Spicer stated he feels that this type of netting was not incredibly expensive and certainly provided a level of safety. Spicer stated it should be a priority for the City to provide this type of netting in order to accommodate youth baseball at Mendakota Park. Commissioner Norton inquired if baseball could be played on other fields. Commissioner Spicer stated that Mendakota Park was ideal for weekend tournaments, that it was the best facility in Mendota Heights and that the baseball parents desired to be able to use these facilities. Commissioner Linnell stated he feels that any irrigation extension at Mendakota Park should be kept to a minimum and that a little brown grass in the park is not the end of the world. NORTH RENSINGTON PARR Commissioner Spicer inquired how much money was left in the referendum. Batchelder stated he has not received a full accounting on the referendum funds but it is his understanding that there is less than $100,000 left in the referendum funds. Batchelder stated there are probably more earmarked items remaining than there was money left in the referendum fund. Commissioner Spicer inquired if the Parks Commission should continue talking about the design and construction of North Kensington Park if there is not enough referendum money to construct it. Kullander stated that priorities could be established for the remaining referendum funding and the remaining projects and there are other funds such as the special park fund that could be used to construct this project. Kullander stated this park could be constructed in phases over a number of years. Kullander stated the rest room and storage rooms provided by U.S. West in the fiber optics building were put in with the acknowledgment that there would be some future active use at this park. Kullander stated vandalism has occurred at this Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 8 building because the low level of usage in this area. Kullander stated the rest rooms have not been opened for public use yet. Commissioner Norton stated this area has received some incredibly dense development and that park facilities are necessary in this area. Kullander repeated that this park would be appropriate for a higher use because of the rest room facilities. Kullander stated there is no "draw" to the park right now, as there are no facilities for people to use. Commissioner Spicer inquired about tennis courts in southern Mendota Heights. He stated he can see this park having some type of picnic facilities, tennis court and a green area. Commissioner Linnell stated there are picnic shelters in South Kensington Park and it probably should not be duplicated in this location. Commissioner Linnell stated we should explore whether we can avoid new parking and utilize South Kensington's existing lot. Linnell inquired if there is a half court facility in this vicinity. Kullander stated there is a half basketball court at Friendly Hills Park and at Hagatrom-King Park. Commissioner Spicer stated that a tennis court is the only facility which is not in close proximity to the new construction in this area. Kullander stated that Hagstrom- King had an area graded for tennis, however, he felt that one or the other park should receive tennis but not both. Kullander stated that any horseshoe pits would be most appropriate near trees, in the shade, by a setting conducive to picnicking. Commissioner Libra stated that Hagstrom-King has more potential for picnic type activities due to its natural setting. Commissioner Spicer stated that there were not a lot of natural amenities in North Kensington, but that tennis, parking, horseshoes, plantings, berms, and the trail with the rest open grass area would seem appropriate. Libra stated that he felt the Homeowner's Associations in Kensington may desire open space for kite flying, tossing a ball or frisbee, type activities. The Parks and Recreation Commission directed staff to work on concept plans that would show tennis, parking, plantings, berms and trail with open space in North Kensington Park for the Commission to review and possibly present to the public in neighborhood meetings to solicit input. Parks and Recreation Commission November 9, 1993 Page 9 Batchelder stated that the City Council had approved both recommendations from last month's Park and Recreation Commission meeting - the Ivy Park warming house hours and the Parks Reservation Policy. Batchelder explained, in response to an inquiry, that the Marie Park boulevard had not been mowed earlier in the summer due to a tractor breakdown that will be fixed this winter. He stated that the City had contracted the work and that the boulevard had been maintained and mowed. Batchelder stated that the request to revise the bicycle/pedestrian trail in the Arndt Addition had been forwarded to the Planning Commission who would hear the request on November 23, 19930 Batchelder stated that staff had explored the option of converting the Ivy Park free skating to broomball but that the cost appeared high to place boards for this purpose. Batchelder stated that he had attended a seminar on Americans With Disabilities Act sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations and had submitted a question regarding the updating of all the city play equipment apparatus. MnDOER will be providing written answers to all the questions submitted. Batchelder stated it appeared that the City does not have to update every individual component of the play system, but that we have an obligation to review the whole system, evaluate options for upgrading it and provide a level of access to meet our obligations. A transition plan would be necessary for those play structures not immediately updated. Commissioner Libra stated that Ivy Park could use some more picnic tables and that he had received a request for this. Commissioner Libra inquired if the City could receive copies of other city's mission statements for parks and park systems as we begin exploring Park Vision/Philosophy on the target issue list. ADJOURN There being no further business, the Parks and Recreation Commission adjourned at 8:10 o'clock p.m. Respectfully submitted® -Kevin Batchelder Administrative Assistant