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Parks Commission Agenda Packet 10-30-2008AGENDA PARKS COMMISSION October 30, 2008 - 4:30 p.m. `To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining city parks with a high standard of quality" (Note the date change) Call to Order. 2. Approve minutes of August 20, 2008 Parks Commission meeting. (There was not a quorum present for the September 24, 2008 meeting) 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. 4. Citizens comments and requests. Park Maintenance. 6. Updates, if any. 7. Adjourn. Park Commission Minutes: 8/20/08 MINUTES PARKS COMMISSION Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - 4:30 p.m. °°To enhance community pride through developing maintaining City parks with a standard of quality." Members Present: Gene Emanuel, Mark Larson, Nancy McCaffrey and Larry Nolan Members Absent: Rick Traver and Council Liaison Brian Stumpf Others Present: Tom Pawelk, Park Superintendent 1. Call to Order. Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. Approve minutes of July 23, 2008 regular Parks Commission meeting. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF JULY 23, 2008 REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. MARK CARSON SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. The following items were added to the agenda: 1) Concept plan from the Lions Club for the West Bridge Park flagpole and 2) Discussion on Front Street Park. 4. Citizens comments and requests. There was no one who spoke under citizens comments or requests. Tom Pawelk reported that the Parks Department had received a thank you note from Little Mountain Elementary. School for the assistance the Park Department provided in laying out ground games at the school. Nancy McCaffrey noted that one of the East Bridge Park gardeners expressed a concern that there is no park in the Timber Ridge development area. Nancy McCaffrey asked if there was any land in the area that would be suitable for paxk use. The closest park to the Timber Ridge development would be Par West. There is pathway access to Par West from Timber Ridge so pedestrians would not have to travel on County Road 75. Nancy McCaffrey will let them know about the Par West Park and encourage those residents to pass this information on to the homeowners association with the hope that the association will encourage the residents to utilize Par West. The Parks Commission discussed pedestrian safety issues in crossing County Road 75. Since this is a county road it would be up to the county to take steps to improve pedestrian safety on the road. Larry Nolan commented how well the play structure at Sunset Ponds turned out and that it appears to be used quite a bit. Park Commission Minutes: 8/20/08 5. Park Maintenance. Park Superintendent, Tom Pawelk submitted a list of the work completed by Park Department Staff. He indicated that they are losing their,summer/seasonal employees. Staff poured the concrete slab by the ballfields and later they will be moving the shed from the old bowling alley site onto the slab. They also finished the dugouts on Field #4. They have been catching up on maintenance of the equipment. Juveniles from Wright County who are required to do community work have been coming out a couple times a month to spread wood chips. The Park Department staff also completed various items that their department was required to do as part of the fiber optics project. He explained that they reduced the fertilizer applications from 4 to 3 this year which saved labor and fuel costs. 6. Sunset Pond Play Structure Installation. The installation of the playground structure took three days and is complete except for one piece of equipment that was back ordered. 7. Lions Concert Plan for West Bridge Park Flagrole: Tom Pawelk submitted a drawing that the Lions Club had prepared for 1'andscaping and other work for the flagpole in West Bridge Park. The immediate area around the flagpole will contain shrubs and decorative rock. There will be a six foot sidewalk around the plantings with park benches and a monument honoring those who have served. The flagpole will be lighted at Christmas time. The Parks Commission discussed what aesthetic impact the proposed project would have and noted that there is considerable activity at this park. West Bridge Park is a premier park and the Parks Commission felt this project would fit in well. The Parks Department will do the grading on the project and the Lions Club will do the cement work. Lions Club will also be responsible for maintenance of the plantings. GENE EMANUEL MOVED TO ACCEPT THE PROPOSED PLAN BY THE MONTICELLO LIONS CLUB FOR THE FLAGPOLE PROJECT AT WEST BRIDGE PARKAS SUBMITTED TO TOM PAWELK. NANCY MCCAFFREY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The work will start this fall and maybe completed in phases depending on the amount of funds the Lions can generate. 8. Front Street Park. Earlier a resident who lived in the townhome development across the street from the park had volunteered to maintain a garden at the park if one was initially laid out. Tom Pawelk suggested a kidney shaped stone park with perennials and other plantings. Tom Pawelk said staff could use boulders or keystone from the old bowling alley site but at this point the Parks Department work load has kept them from this project. Tom Pawelk has been in contact with the residents as far as keeping them informed of the plans for this area. 2 Park Commission Minutes: 8/20/08 Update on YMCA• Jeff O'Neill gave an update on the status of the YMCA land acquisition. The City and County are still working with the YMCA to purchase the property over 3-4 years. Approximately $8,000,000 in funds were proposed for the land in a bonding bill in the last legislative session but the bill did not pass. However, City and County officials were encouraged to pursue their request for funds from the state. It was suggested that acquiring the land over time might be be more acceptable to the state legislature. A task force consisting of Pat Sawatzke, Carla Heeter, Wayne Mayer and Clint Herbst are continuing to work on this. The LCCMR did grant $1,000,000 in funds for this project and it is proposed that the City and County each match this amount. The $3,000,000 in funds would then be used to purchase a portion of the YMCA property. The desire is to acquire the property that has environmental significance first. Jeff O'Neill noted that the City's primary need is land for the ballfields so the decision on what area to purchase first has not been resolved. Initially the County was going to bond for the land acquisition cost with the City to pay back its share to the County over a period of time. However with the proposal to match the LCCMR funds the City and County would need to come up with their matching funds right away. The City does not have those funds. The City will need to address the funding for the YMCA in the upcoming budget workshop. Tom Pawelk stated that he had put $300,000 in the 2009 budget for ballfield development. The Parks Commission discussed the recent tour of the YMCA property by representatives and staff from LCCMR and their response to the facility. The City and County in 2009 could go back to LCCMR for additional funding. 9. Adiourn. The Parks Commission viewed a presentation that will be given to the City Council on August 25, 2008 relating to Park Department projects completed this year. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 5:30 P.M. GENE EMANUEL SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Recording Secretary 3