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Parks Commission Minutes 08-15-2002 . . . Members Present: Members Absent: Staff: MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - PARKS COMMISSION Thursday, August 15,2002 - 4:30 p.m. "To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining city parks with a high standard of quality" Larry Nolan, Fran Fair, Nancy McCaffrey and Rick Traver. Earl Smith and Council Liaison, Roger Carlson. Parks Superintendent, Adam lIawkinson Deputy City Administrator, leffO'Neill 1. Call to Order. 2. 3. Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. and declared a quorum present. Approve Minutes of AUl!ust 1. 2002 regular Parks Commission meetinl!. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO APPROVE TilE MINUTES Of' TilE AUGUST 1, 2002 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING WITH A CORRECTION ON PAGE 5 TIIAT TilE $1,680 WAS TilE AMOUNT OF TilE CONSULTING FEE. FRAN FAIR SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Consideration of addine items to the agenda. None. 4. Citizens Requests. 5. None. Discussion of park dedication credit - Autumn Ridl!e. The Parks Commission at a previous meeting discussed the proposal for allowing a park dedication credit for the Autumn Ridge Addition. The matter was requested to be placed on the Parks Commission agenda for this meeting. Autumn Ridge is a private PUD with some play areas being provided. T'he Parks Commission was asked to give park dedication credit for the play area in the development. Shawn Weinand submitted a letter outlining his firm's feeling on the park dedication requirements imposed by the city. A court case had set 10% park dedication fee as a reasonable fee. The 100;;) of the land value is based on the value of the land at the time of platting. .leffO'Neill stated the City's rate of $835/per unit is the cost per person for providing park services. Steve Grittman, City Planner had provided .lefT O'Neill with some background on the court case. According to Steve Grittman in the court case, setting the land value was not the key item but rather . Parks Commission Minutes - 8/15/02 having the park dedication fee based on the cost to satisfy the demand. Jeff O'Neill suggested the Parks Commission might want to consider a study to determine what it takes to build a park system and that cost would be used to establish a value for the dedication fee. Shawn Weinand stated that he was merely pointing out how the 10% dedication fee originated. He realizes the City necds to look at the long term but he felt a study to determine if the present park dedication fee was reasonable was worth researching. Shawn Weinand noted that areas like Plymouth and Maple Grove have higher park dedication fees but their land values are higher. He added that his firm had put extra work into the land such creating breaks in the topography to make thc area more appealing. He felt the parks they would build in the development would be of some value. The issues relating to maintenance of the playground equipment could be regulated through the homeowners association. He added that the powcr lincs take up approximately 2 acres of the parcel. The estimated price for the units they arc building are about $140,000. The developers want to make sure they arc competitive in the market and would appreciate any consideration the Parks Commission would give their request. . Fran Fair pointed out that when the city installs playground equipment it has to meet certain design standards and be ADA acccssible but a private party is not bound to those same standards. Shawn Wcinand stated they are willing to put playground equipment in to ADA standards but they would not be using the same playground equipment vendor as the City does. Fran Fair felt that cost of building to city standards would bc higher which may otTset any credit given and that is something the developer needs to consider. She felt that there was an advantage to the developer of not having to comply with city design standards and the Parks Commission would not be put in a position of setting a precedent. Rick Traver asked about reducing the fees since it was a planned unit development. Jeff O'Neill stated you would not want to reducc the fees unless thcre was something given somewhere elsc and you would havc to document it thoroughly. Jeff O'Neill stated this could be worked out in the development and final stage PUD approval. Larry Nolan stated that thc maintenance of the playground equipment is considerable and questioned who would makc sure proper maintenance would be done. Shawn Weinand said that language could be added to the association agreement covering that. The Parks Commission discussed legal implications for the city and potential liability. Adam Hawkinson noted that Pioneer Park is only 2 blocks away so he didn't think a park within the development would have a lot of value to the overall park system. He asked whethcr the proposed park would be considercd a public park. Jeff O'Neill indicated it would not be a public park. JcffO'Neill felt that if the park within the development rcduccd the park development costs somewhere else then maybe credit could be given. The proposed development does have a higher unit density per acre so thc park resources are nceded. Adam I Iawkinson asked if a pathway has to be installed to take the children from this development to Pioneer Park. .left' O'Neill replied that the internal pathways are funded by the developer and the external pathways arc funded by the $220/per unit pathway fee. Rick Traver asked what internal trails arc required. Shawn Weinand stated they are putting in 8' paths in lieu of sidewalk. Rick Traver said they could consider giving credit for the cost difference between the 3' sidewalks and the 8' pathways. . 2 . . . Parks Commission Minutes - 8/15/02 Fran Fair stated that thc standards the City would impose could be more costly and even if the developer did put in their own playground cquipment there would still bc a demand on other park facilities. Adam Hawkinson pointed out that the park dedication fees go facilities such as hallfields and hockey rinks as well as play equipment. With the proposed dcvelopment containing 169 homes you could have approximately 170 children who would be using ballfields, socccr fields and ice rinks. Adam Hawkinson statcd that in pricing the playstructure for the Rolling Woods Park, the structure alone was $14,000 and that did not include installation cost, or fiber material. lIe felt in a private park the developer could build it for less. The Parks Commission felt the it would be more desirable to keep the park private. Parks Commission discussed a pathway credit instead of a park credit or possibly a credit for the work done on the terrain. Shawn Weinand noted that they were not required to do the work to change the terrain but chose to make that improvement. There is one storm water pond which according to Jeff O'Neill would be maintained by the City since it is a pati of a regional storm water holding pond. .Jeff O'Neill will look at the development plan and trail to see if there is a way for the City to pay for part of the trail or build part ofthc trail and report hack at the ncxt mccting. 6. Review of 2003 hudget. Adam Hawkinson indicated the only change to what was discusscd at the last meeting was that they are thinking about replacing the orange van. 7. Cost estimate for trail work - Paving of River Mill Trail. Jeff O'Neill reported on a meeting with MnDOl regarding the realignment of the 1-94 bridge and outlined 10 options to change the bridge area curve so that it is a safer curve. It was mentioned that there is steel fatiguc in thc hridge structure itself. One option Jeff O'Neill discussed was to leave thc arca as is but run the railroad tracks over the top of the traffic. In order to do this option MnDOT would havc to kccp thc freeway opcn and in order to do that thcy would have to build a by-pass. The by-pass most likely would be in the area whcre thc trail is located. If this happcns the trail could bc prescrved but it would be on the crest. .Jeff O'Neill didn't think it was worth investing a lot of matcrials on thc trail at this time. The MnDOT projcct is proposed for 2007. Somc discussion on thc proposal's impact on thc park and trails and it was thought that thc City would gct a delineation of the MnDOT projcct by February. Rick Traver mentioned that Earl Smith had notice that an arca by the trail was not draining. They discusscd putting up somc signs so that residcnts in the arca would know whcre thc trail would be going. Adam Hawkinson noted there were somc dead trees that nccd to be removed and once the trai I was cut in they could put conbit (concrctc/bituminous mixture) in. It was unlikely that anything would be happening as far as blacktopping this segment of trail. Jeff O'Neill left at this point. 8. Coneeot plan - Grovehmd Park. Adam Hawkinson did not have a dcvelopment plan prepared for this meeting. ,.., j . 9. 10. . . Parks Commission Minutes - 8/15/02 Park Maintenance Items: Adam Hawkinson submitted a list of the work completed. It was noted that the Parks staff had worked in Otter Creek Park and Adam Hawkinson indicated that they had put money in the 2003 CIP flW pavers for a path that leads off the trail to bench. Because it is a popular park should some consideration be given to install parking. The Parks Commission felt Otter Creek was suppose to he a park for walking and that was why parking wasn't included originally. Sports Associations - Discussion of policv for field use. The Parks commission discussed the information from the League of Minnesota Cities regarding sports associations. The Parks Commission felt this was something that should be studied further and directed that it he placed on the next agenda. The Parks Commission discussed participant fees and what maintenance is required flW the groups that use the facilities. Rogcr Pribyl from the baseball association said they pay someone to take care of the fields and it didn't make any difference to the association whether a contractor did the maintenance or the City did. Roger Pribyl said if you charge a fee people will expect something in return so the City needs to bc specific in what the fee will cover. It was felt the city should have an agrecment with each association that uses thc facilities. Rogcr Pribyl suggested ifthcy charge for usc of the fields they should consider basing it on a percentage formula of field usage. Larry Nolan felt the fee should be unitl)rm and the liability issues need to be addressed. Rogcr Pribyl thought if the city was doing the maintcnance on all the fields for all thc groups there would bc more uniformity in the maintenance. 11. U pdates/Reoorts. A. Subcommittee meeting on fields - Rick Traver rcported they met and came up with a couple of itcms: 1) 4th Street option flW football field use is bcing put on hold; 2) City ballfields - Earl Smith talked to Xcel energy about getting additional property for fields which he thought might take a year or so. Adam llawkinson will draw a plan showing where the existing fields are and how maybe 2 or 3 more fields could be placed. If additional fields are added, there needs to be transportation around thc fields. Rick Traver stated in the short term the Parks Commission would have to give the softhall fields to the Monticello Youth Football program f<Jr use. It was hoped in the next 5-10 years 2-3 additional fields would be developed. 3) There is a field being farm cd right now adjacent to this site which was also considered. Earl Smith and Adam Hawkinson felt that since most of the development is to the south that is where some fields should he placed. Roger Pribyl felt the present fields were fine for baseball and the new complex should he used for softball. The Polecats said the baseball field should be added on to with an additional 1 0' on the left side and 20' on the right side. Property in the arca of Kjellberg mobile home park was looked at. Another site that was considered (thc Gold Nugget property) is currently a subject of litigation. Another suggestion was to look at land on thc side of the river. In looking at acreage flw a complex that would contain 4 softball 4 . . . Parks Commission Minutes - 8/15/02 fields, 2 youth football fields and 2 soccer fields it was thought about 30 acres ofland would be needed. Rick Traver noted that according to the ordinance, sign age on ball fields was allowed. B. Entrance signs - Nancy McCaffrey and Adam Hawkinson met regarding the initial design of the sign and some related problems such as rusting. 'rhey came up with an alternative and a sketch was submitted. The material looks like stone but is light weight and is pre-cast. The preliminary sketch was taken to a vendor who said it could be done. The estimated cost is $4,625 per sign with lighting and landseaping being extra. Nancy McCaffrey and Adam Hawkinson looked at the west entrance sign and it appears there would still be enough room at the loeation, however there would be more wires to work around. The Parks Commission discussed since the proposal for the sign is more costly how should it be approached as far as financing. Also they felt all 4 signs should be purchased at once which would provide some savings as far as shipping, etc. There was some discussion on whether to go with a 9' or 12' sign. Adam I lawkinson and Nancy McCaffrey will meet again on this. c. Pathway Alignment - Adam Hawkinson brought up that the project on Front Street had started and the contractor on very short notice wanted to know the alignment of the pathway. Adam Hawkinson directed that it be kept e10se to the curb line for right now. In the future, a spur could be run off from the trail towards the rivcr and then maybe it could be loopcd back. The trail will be asphalt and will start where the trail comes out of West Bridge Park. 12. Consideration of rental of Otter Creck Park. The Parks Commission was asked to consider whcther Otter Creek Park should be available tlW residents to rent. The Parks Commission felt because of the limited amenities in the park and the lack of parking, Otter Creek Park should not be rented. Othcr: Fran Fair asked about the pruning of the shrubs at East Bridge Park. In previous years the City allowed them to use some of the City"s power equipment to do the pruning. It was her understanding that would not be the case this year. Adam Ilawkinson suggested that if the group could be present and indicate what needed to be pruned he would have a staff pcrson there to operate the equipment on cCl1ain dates. Fran Fair stated their group would haul the trimmed material away. Fran Fair also asked about the steps at East Bridge Park. Adam Hawkinson stated that the present steps are in a very deteriorated condition. The city could go with new stcps, a combination of steps and pathway or eliminate the steps altogether. There is $20,000-$25,000 in next years budget for this item. 5 . . . Parks Commission Minutes - 8/15/02 Adam Hawkinson submitted a handout on the Adopt-A-Park and emphasized the importance of giving these volunteer groups recognition. There is money in the budget for this. 13. Adjourn: RICK TRAVER MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 6:45 P.M. NANCY MCCAFFREY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. \) ("-~L)..Y'y--.., ,,"---'::-\ ^-O ~ ::;,....,.,...-----c>. '~ _~.. Recording Secretary. -\ 6