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1997-10-14 Parks and Rec Comm MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES OCTOBER 14,1997 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Parks and Recreation Commission was held m Tuesday, October 14, 1997, 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: Libra, Spicer, Damberg, Linnell, and Kleinglass. Commissioner Norton arrived late. Commissioner Liberacki was excused from the meeting. Also present were City Planners Meg McMonigal and Marc Weigel, Recreation Programmer Bill Bird, and Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 12 PARK AND RECREATION MINUTES Commissioner Linnell moved to approve the August 12, 1997 Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes with corrections. Commissioner Libra seconded the motion. AYES: NAYS: INTRODUCTION OF BILL BIRD, NEW RECREATION PROGRAMMER Mr. Hollister announced that it was his pleasure to present to the Commission Mr. William Bird, the new Recreation Programmer for the City of Mendota Heights. Mr. Hollister said that Mr. Bird was selected though a highly competitive process from a large and well -qualified applicant pool. Mr. Hollister added that Mr. Bird began work for the City on August 25, 1997 and had to "hit the ground running" because of the imminent deadline for publication of the City newsletter containing announcements for fall and winter recreation programs. Mr. Hollister said that within two weeks Mr. Bird had the fall and winter programs ready for publication, and that since then Mr. Bird had become involved in all aspects of his duties appropriate to the season. Mr. Hollister said that Mr. Bird was a relative newcomer to Minnesota, having arrived from Illinois this year. Mr. Hollister continued that Mr. Bird had a Masters Degree in Recreation Administration from Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois. Mr. Hollister said that Mr. Bird had worked for the City of Lakeville during the summer of 1997 and was now working part time for the City of Mendota Heights and part time for the City of Apple Valley. Mr. Hollister also thanked Commissioner Kleinglass for his help in the Recreation Programmer selection process. Commissioner Kleinglass commented that he was very impressed with the overall qualifications of the finalists, but that Mr. Bird had stood out in the end due to his advanced degree and the relevance of his previous experience to the specific needs of Mendota Heights, Mr. Bird then gave a brief overview of the fall and winter recreation programs. Mr. Bird described the rink attendant recruitment process, skating lessons, and other programs. Mr. Bird also described the current stage of discussions with Mike Cashill of the Par 3 Golf Course about the possibility of cross-country ski trails at the golf course this winter. Chairman Spicer told Mr. Bird that the Parks and Recreation Commission had long felt that the City needed one full-time staff person in Recreation, and that the Parks Commission would express this view once again during Comprehensive Plan discussions. Chairman Spicer added that other cities the population of Mendota Heights had at least one full-time recreation position. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN INTERVIEW Mr. Hollister presented City Planners Meg McMonigal and Mark Weigel to the Parks and Recreation Commission, Planner McMonigal explained the Comprehensive Plan revision process and told the Commission that they would like their views on what their most important priorities were for the new Comprehensive Plan, Chairman Spicer said that the Park Commission's key issues for the Comprehensive Plan were the hiring of a full-time Parks and Recreation staff member, acquiring and maintaining passive open space, and the creation of new ballfields. Commissioner Libra added that he thought completion of the trail system in the City was another high priority for the Parks and Recreation Commission. Commissioner Libra added that linking to the new Big Rivers Trail and the future North Urban Regional Trail were important. Commissioner Damberg said that the City's current trail system consisted of bits and pieces scattered all over, and that they needed to be connected. Chairman Spicer said that immediately after the 1989 parks referendum there was a flurry of park acquisition and facilities development. Chairman Spicer continued that now the City seemed to be in a maintenance phase, although he still felt they needed more ballfields or lights at Mendakota Field. Chairman Spicer recommended that Mr. Hollister provide the City Planners with the Minutes from the January Workshop between the City Council and the Parks Commission. Planner Weigel asked whether the Parks Commission was more interested in active or passive park acquisition. 2 Commissioner Linnell said that he would take anything he could get if the price was right. Commissioner Libra suggested that the Planners look at the Park Inventory Analysis performed earlier to see what park land and ballfields were anticipated to be necessary to accommodate the expected additional 2000 residents. Commissioner Damberg said that the aging of the population would also have an impact on park needs. Commissioner Linnell said that the City should consider a Senior Center. Planner McMonigal recited the list of issues brought up relating to parks and recreation in her other interviews. Commissioner Damberg said that having a full time Recreation Programmer is the key to assuring that all of our current facilities get adequately used. Commissioner Damberg said that there is a park on West 7th Street that always gets used, and that Mendota Heights' parks seemed to be underused. Commissioner Libra said that more park acquisition should be placed in the five-year CIP, but that the Commission also needed to be realistic about maintenance costs, citing the native prairie wildflower restoration project at Ivy Falls Park as an example. Chairman Spicer said that unfortunately there was not much land left, and once it's gone it's gone. Planner Weigel asked what the Commissioners thought was important as residents of the City besides parks. Commissioner Damberg said that this summer's Tilsen street reconstruction project had some problems. Commissioner Damberg said that residents with concerns or complaints could have received faster response from City Hall. Commissioner Linnell said that there should be a either a pedestrian bridge or a tunnel across Highway 110 in the MnDOT ROW. Commissioner Linnell continued that currently there is no safe way for pedestrians or bicyclists to travel from the north side to the south side or vice versa. Chairman Spicer said that there is currently a tunnel under Dodd and Marie, and a tunnel along the Big Rivers Trail. Commissioner Damberg said that tunnels are a problem because vagrants loiter in them and build fires. Commissioner Damberg also said that there is a safety problem because of many people who are walking at night without proper markings. Commissioner Linnell pointed out that ISD 197 was going to have a referendum on a new soccer field and ice arena at Sibley. [Commissioner Norton arrived at this point.] Commissioner Lione ll said that vote on the new facility at Sibley would take place in January or February, and that he expected a good showing of supporters of School Board Member Tom Jackson's proposal. Commissioner Kleinglass said that on the positive side, Mendota Heights was a good city to live in, and had quite low taxes, especially in light of the high -quality services the City provided. Commissioner Kleinglass added that he could ride his bicycle from Mendota Heights to either downtown Saint Paul or downtown Minneapolis almost entirely on a dedicated bike trail. Commissioner Spicer agreed with Commissioner Kleinglass about Mendota Heights' quality of life. Commissioner Damberg said that the location was good, the people were great and people get along. Commissioner Kleinglass said that Mendota Heights was a nice small community, the police were helpful, the taxes were low and the schools were good, even though roughly 1/3 of Mendota Heights residents had their kids in private schools. Commissioner Damberg said that it would be nice if the conununity used Sibley High School more. Commission Damberg said that now that her kids were grown she had no more contact with the High School, and that it would be nice if the school interacted more with the community. Commissioner Linnell said that the school district was trying to improve in that regard. TRAIL EXTENSION REQUEST - ROGERS LAKE PARK Mr. Hollister presented a request from a resident for a trail at Rogers Lake Park. Commissioner Linnell said that we should fit it in when the City did another project. Commissioner Libra said to put the Rogers Lake trail in the CIP Chairman Spicer said that that was a good idea to fit it in the CIP and that the City should write the resident who requested the trail and tell them of the Parks Commission's view on the matter. 0 Trail Extension Request - Senior Housing Mr. Hollister presented a request from the residents of Parkview Plaza fora pedestrian trail that would facilitate their access to Mendota Plaza. Mr. Hollister presented a drawing by Engineering Staff showing the potential trail along street right-of-way. Commissioner Damberg said that pedestrian access to the Mall should be safe for seniors either walking or on wheelchairs. Commissioner Libra said that the City should have required sidewalks in the first place when they approved the HRA housing development. Commissioner Linnell said that the shortest distance to the front of the mall would be through Ed Paster's land and MnDOT right -of --way, and that this would be advantageous over Staff s proposal. Commissioner L,innell moved to recommend that Staff come back with a design plan for a temporary paved trail through MnDOT right-of-way and Paster's land along the former trail alignment, acknowledging that MnDOT could remove it at any time. Commissioner Linnell also moved that Staff approach the HRA and Paster for part of the financing. Commissioner Damberg seconded the motion. AYES: 6 NAYS: 0 DISCUSS RESCHEDULING NOVEMBER MEETING (VETERANS DAY) Mr. Hollister noted that the next regular meeting date for the Parks and Recreation Commission, November 11, was Veterans Day, Mr. Hollister explained that the Commission was not legally obligated to cancel the meeting, but asked if the Commission would prefer to move the meeting to another date in November. Chairman Spicer instructed Staff to cancel the November 11, 1997 meeting and not reschedule a meeting for November unless an urgentmatter arose. Chairman Spicer announced that the next regular Commission meeting would be December 9, 1997. UPDATES Mr. Hollister provided updates on the following items: South Kensington Park Pine Tree Replacement Mr. Hollister reported that some pine trees had been replaced by volunteer labor of the soccer parents at South Kensington Park, Slowinski Property Mr. Hollister reported that Mike Cashill of Par 3 Golf Course had bought the Slowinski property for his own residence and planned to move there. Par 3Gross-Country Ski Trails Mr. Bird summarized the current stage of discussion about the ski trails. Chairman Spicer commented that the Commission had envisioned a larger ski trail loop that would include Valley Park, and that Commissioner Norton had talked with the schools in the community about joint usage, cost sharing and maintenance. Resurrection Cemetery: Hoffman Homes Concept Plan Mr. Hollister said that Hoffman Homes had presented a Concept Plan to the City Council for a townhome development on the northern half of the isthmus between Lake Lemay and Lake Augusta. Mr. Hollister said that the City had recently been informed that the new air noise contours and development guidelines from the Metropolitan Council meant that the Met Council considered residential development to be "inconsistent" with the Metropolitan Council's Aviation Guide Plan. Mr. Hollister said that the Council had agreed to discuss this matter with the Metropolitan Council without guaranteeing approval of the development. Ivy Hill Townhouse Association Land Donation Offer Mr. Hollister said that the City had sent the deed to Lot F back to Mr. Ralph Oyen of the Ivy Hill Townhouse Association, due to new evidence that the land is jointly owned by three parties and that thus the Ivy Hill Townhouse Association did not have the right to unilaterally donate the land to the City of Mendota Heights. Mendota Heights Senior Club Mr. Bird reported that he had attended the first meeting of the new Mendota Heights Senior Club, which was initially organized by Barb Echle of ISD 197 Community Education. Mr. Bird said that roughly 80 seniors attended the initial meeting, a larger 0 turnout than expected. Mr. Bird said that over 70 of those seniors were Mendota Heights residents, with a few other people from St. Paul, Eagan, or West Saint Paul. Mr. Bird said that the Senior Club would meet again on Wednesday, October 22, in the community room of the new Parkview Plaza senior housing development. Mr. Bird said that the new Senior Club would be run by the participants, although Mr. Bird would occasionally provide logistical support. Parks Reports There were no comments on these items. Report on Soccer Field Conditions Mr. Hollister presented a report from Parks Supervisor Terry Blum that the Kensington soccer fields had received significant wear and that getting them ready next spring would take extra effort. Commissioner Kleinglass asked Staff to pass on his compliments to Mr. Blum and the Public Works Staff for the overall appearance of the parks and fields. ADJOURN TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING WORKSHOP Motion made to adjourn by Linnell and seconded by Damberg. AYES: 6 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Patrick C. Hollister 7