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1997-02-11 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY.MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES FEBRUARY 11, 1997 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held on Tuesday, February 11, 1997, in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM. The following Commissioners were present: Spicer, Libra, Kleinglass, Linnell, Damberg, Liberacki, and Norton. Also present were Recreation Programmer Chris Esser and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. MONTHLY MEETING WAIVER Mr. Hollister explained that at the Joint Workshop between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council on January 14, 1997, the Commission had asked if it would be permissible to waive an occasional meeting if there were not sufficient business before the Commission to justify convening. Mr. Hollister continued that the Council had said that this would be fine, and had suggested amending Ordinance 109, AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION to formalize that arrangement. Mr. Hollister then presented Stasis proposed Ordinance language change to the Commission, adding the sentence "The Commission may waive a meeting with prior consent of the City Council based upon a request from the Chairman and the City Staff." Commissioner Kleinglass moved to recommend that the City Council amend Ordinance 109 as proposed by Staff to allow the Parks and Recreation Commission to waive a meeting if they so desired. Commissioner Norton seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 APPROVAL OF JANUARY 14 PARK AND RECREATION MINUTES Commissioner Norton moved to approve the January 14, 1997 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes with no corrections. Commissioner Kleinglass seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 APPROVAL OF JANUARY 14 PARK AND RECREATION/COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES Commissioner Damberg moved to approve the January 14, 1997 Parks and Recreation Commission/City Council Joint Workshop Minutes with corrections. Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: ELECTION OF OFFICERS Mr. Hollister explained that every February the Commission must elect officers to serve for the year. Mr. Hollister continued that these officers are the Secretary, the Chair, and the Vice -Chair. Commissioner Damberg moved to re-elect Chairman Spicer as the Chair, Commissioner Norton as the Vice -Chair, and Patrick C. Hollister as the Secretary. Commissioner Meinglass seconded the motion. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 The Commission commended all three individuals on an excellent job. FULL-TIME RECREATION FACH.ITATOR Mr. Hollister explained that at the Joint Workshop between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council, various Councilmembers had set certain parameters upon a Full -Time Recreation Facilitator. Administrative Assistant Hollister asked for volunteers among the Commissioners to form a Full -Time Recreation Facilitator Job Description Drafting Subcommittee, and explained that the Subcommittee would probably only need to meet once for an hour. Commissioners Kleinglass and Norton volunteered for the Subcommittee. Commissioner Kleinglass suggested that the meeting take place at the Veteran's Hospital so that he could also show Staff the ballfield that could be available for City use. Chairman Spicer asked for a motion to direct this Subcommittee to recommend an amendment to the current job description to the City Council and present it to the Council without need to present it again to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Commissioner Damberg made this motion. Commissioner Linnell seconded the motion. 2 AYES: NAYS: (At this point Chairman Spicer left the meeting, and Commssioner Norton took over as Acting Chair.) Mr. Hollister explained that at the joint Workshop between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council on January 14, 1997, the Council had expressed concern about the original plan for North Kensington Park, and wished some changes to be made to make the park closer to a formal park. Commissioner Damberg said that the Parks and Recreation Commission has twice voted to recommend approval of the original "wild and scenic" plan for North Kensington Park, and that they disagreed with the changes to the plan proposed by Council at the Joint Workshop, Commissioner Linnell moved to recommend that the Council proceed with Mr. Kullander's plan, a scaled -back version of the original Joanie Gres concept, but introduce some more elements of water infiltration and replace some of the Silver Maples with alternative trees. Commissioner Libra offered a friendly amendment that Commissioner Linnell should sit down with Mr. Kullander to see what sort of modified plan could be implemented. Commissioner Linnell accepted Commissioner Libra's amendment, and wished to further amend his own motion by adding that the Council should allow the maximum amount to come out of the Special Parks Fund for North Kensington Park to be $35,000 and that North Kensington Park should be done by the end of the summer. AYES: NAYS: Commissioner Damberg said that prairie grass is nice once it is established, and that people should be patient. Commissioner Linnell said that if the City Council does not wish to follow the Parks and Recreation Commission's recommendation on North Kensington Park, a public meeting should be held in March of 1997 to solicit input from the neighbors. Commissioner Norton recommended that the City engage in an education campaign to teach residents to use less fertilizer and pesticides, and to raise their awareness about the natural filtering benefits of such wild areas. Commissioner Damberg said that the City should on back the Milkweed and the Monarch Butterflies. Commissioner Damberg added that she used to have Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies near her house, but that the City comes in every year and eliminates their habitat. Commissioner No, said that after the wild prairie grasses are established they will look nice and require less maintenance. Commissioner Norton added that residents need to be patient when such areas are being restored. Commissioner Linnell made a motion to recommend that the City hire an expert on prairie restoration to maintain Ivy Falls Park. Commissioner Norton offered a friendly amendment recommending that the expert's visit be used to educate our own Public Works staff on the maintenance of such areas in hopes that we would not need such outside expertise in the future to maintain North Kensington Park, Commissioner Linnell accepted Commissioner Norton's amendment. Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: BALLFIELD CAPACITY Mr. Hollister presented two new ballfield scenarios conceived by Staff, the Acacia TIF site and Friendly Marsh Park, and asked for the Commission's opinion. Commissioner Norton asked if the issue of use of the existing fields had been resolved. Mr. Esser said that yes, the field schedule had been determined for this year, and pointed to a chart on the wall showing the field schedule for the 1997 season. Mr. Esser added that the "shortage" of ballfields results not from the number of fields in the City but from the type of fields in the City. Mr. Esser continued that because of a large number of older boys in the area, MHAA had been creating many traveling teams which required larger fields with mounds. Mr. Esser said that the City was lacking in this type of field. Commissioner Kleinglass asked why the chart on the wall made no reference to any of the school district's fields. Jr. Esser explained that the school district's fields were being actively used by MHAA, but that they were not reserved through him. Commissioner Kleinglass noted that the City had signed an agreement with the school district for use of their fields, and therefore MHAA should have to reserve those fields through the City. Commissioner Libra suggested that Mr. Esser discuss this with Chairman Spicer, since he used to be the Baseball Commissioner for MHAA. Commissioner Libra added that the City of Mendota Heights should get first priority for use of those fields due to our agreement. Commissioners Norton and Kleinglass asked Staff to research the agreement with the school district and determine whether or not the existing ballfields are being fully utilized before returning to the Parks and Recreation Commission with scenarios for new ballfields. OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION Mr. Hollister presented the "short list" of highly desirable remaining open space parcels which was compiled at the Joint Workshop between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council on January 14, 1997: • Map #6 Acacia Area TIF Acquired Property • Map #9 Slowinski Property • Map #11 Foss Homestead by Wentworth Park • Map #16 Acacia property north of Acacia Boulevard • Map #18 Resurrection Cemetery "Break Off' Area • Map #19 Visitation Convent Property • Map #21 Tousignant Property off Mendota Heights Road Mr. Hollister then asked the Commission for their thoughts on these parcels. Commissioner Linnell said that the Parks and Recreation Commission was more interested in preserving parcels that were heavily wooded or otherwise had natural scenic beauty for "passive" park use (Foss, Slowinski) than parcels that were basically barren and flat for "active" park use (Tousignant). The other Commissioners concurred with this statement. Commissioner Linnell added that other factors to consider for securing more open space included Visibility, Proximity to Residential Areas, Adjacency to existing parks, cost, and the risk of future development. Commissioner Linnell said that the Superblock and Burrows farm should also be on the "short list". Commissioner Libra said that the Foss property (near Wentworth Park) would be the most useful, and would give people the most access. Commissioner Liberacki said that the City should engage in cost/benefit analysis, and should not pay too much for a wetland. Commissioner Libra said that the Resurrection Cemetery "break-offarea and Acacia had nice views, and that the City should plan for a 10% land dedication in both areas. Commissioner Libra said that in Knollwood Lane the City got an inadequate trail from 19 lots and that the City should insist on a better deal in the future. Commissioner Linnell said that the City should get land for overlooks at Resurrection and Acacia. Commissioner Norton asked Staffto put the Park Dedication policy on the next agenda. Commissioner Liberacki asked Staffto do an inventory of what neighboring cities ask for their Park Dedication. Commissioner Liberacki added that $750 was light compared to what other Cities were asking for and compared to the land values in Mendota Heights. Commissioner Liberacki continued that State Law does not give the choice to developers over whether to pay in cash or land but rather gives that choice to the City. Commissioner Liberacki asked when the Park Dedication was due. Mr. Hollister said that it was due at the time of subdivision. TRAIL SYSTEM Mr. Hollister presented the "short list" of new trail possibilities which at derived at the Joint Workshop between the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council on January 14, 1997: • Map #8 Valley Park/Par 3 Cross Country Ski Trail • Map 4t19 Ski Trails in Mendakota Golf Course • Map #22 Copperfield/Centex Area Trails (esp. Delaware) • Map #23 North Side of Mendota Heights Road from Dodd to Delaware Mr. Hollister then asked for the Commission's input. Commissioner Liberacki said that most of the trails on the "short list" derived from the workshop were "orphans" and that they were not tied to other construction projects. Commissioner Norton said that the issue of Cross -Country Ski Trails should be separated from the issue of other trails. Commissioner Damberg said that Cross -Country ski trails were more important that other trails. C� Mr. Esser said that he had discussed Ski Trails with Par 3 Golf Course and that Far.3 was interested in having cross-country skiing. Mr. Esser continued that the main issue was maintenance of the trails, and that Staff planned to meet with Par 3 again to discuss that issue. Commissioner Norton said that she wanted to attend that meeting. Commissioner Norton added that Staff should meet with whomever grooms Como and Lake Phalen because they do an excellent job. Commissioner Norton added that the Como trail is 7 kilometers long and is lighted at night. Commissioner Liberacki said that although trails are expensive, other things are too, and that the community had a lot of walkers from all age groups who would benefit from the trails. Commissioner Linnell said that he anticipated pressure from the residents for a trail on Mendota Heights Road due to the new Middle School. Commissioner Liberacki said that Staff should talk to the County about a trail on Delaware, because it is heavily used. Commissioner Libra said that across -country ski trail at Par 3 should loop in Valley Park and cut through the corner of Slowinski's property. Commissioner Norton asked Staff to revisit Mr. Kullander's trail plan in Valley Park. Commissioner Norton said that Staff should walk through the area and look at clearing and grooming. Commissioner Norton said that the Council had rejected this idea earlier, but now seems more receptive to it. Commissioner Norton said that Staff should start with Par 3 golf course, however. UPDATES Staff then provided updates on the following items: There were on comments on this item. POLICE REPORT Mr. Hollister wash to report that the Police Department had no incident in the City's parks to report for the month of January 1997. TREE PLANTING Commissioner Liberacki said that Ramsey County Parks had a program allowing citizens to plant a trees and dedicate them to their significant others for Valentines Day, and that the City should have a similar program for Arbor Day, Memorial Day, etc. fZ�T.`f.`II 1/1�7�:ii1/_ ►I� � �]�/� I�1 [�5►7 Mr. Hollister explained that Mr. John Doyle of 810 Ridge Place had talked with Staff that afternoon to discuss subdividing his back yard from his house. Mr. Hollister continued that Staff had informed Mr. Doyle that the City does not permit lots with no street access. Mr. Hollister said that Mr. Doyle then asked about the possibility of subdividing his back lot and offering it to the City for a tax deduction. Mr. Hollister concluded by saying that Staff agreed to present this idea before the Parks and Recreation Commission that evening. Commissioner Liberacki said that this was a good idea, and that it would be nice to acquire the back yard of Mr. Doyle's immediate neighbor to the east also. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Kleinglass and seconded by Ramberg. AYES: NAYS: The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM. Respec�lly Submitted, Patrick C. Hollister