City Council Minutes 05-23-2011 WorkshopMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING — MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, May 23, 2011— 5:30 p.m.
Park & Trail Plan Review Workshop (Joint Parks/PC /CC/MCC Advisory)
Council - Present:
Absent:
PC — Present:
Absent:
Parks — Present:
Absent:
MCC Advisory:
Absent:
1. Call to Order
Clint Herbst, Lloyd Hilgart, Tom Perrault, Glen Posusta, Brian Stumpf
None
Barry Voight, Charlotte Gabler, Brad Fyle, William Spartz, Rod Dragsten
None
Larry Nolan, Tim Stalpes, Nancy McCaffrey
Gene Emanuel
None
Ron Broekemeier, Sandra Theros, Jennifer Bethke, Darren Paumen
The workshop began at 5:30 pm with Angela Schumann and Steve Grittman from NAC
leading the presentation.
2. 2011 Park & Pathway Systems Plan Review
Angela Schumann introduced the objectives of the workshop and noted that she will be
videotaping the discussion at the request of Live Wright. The draft Park & Pathway
Systems Plan document presented for review is the result of the work and planning
completed over the last eight months.
Steve Grittman reviewed the highlights of the Park & Pathway Systems Plan. NAC
began developing the plan during the winter, identifying all of the parks and recreation
facilities within Monticello and surrounding area. They compared planning processes in
Monticello and different communities. They conducted an online survey for the
Monticello community to find out what residents like and don't like and where they
would like to see resources focused.
The results showed that pathways were the overwhelming favorite that came out of the
survey. There was also interest shown in development of the Bertram Chain of Lakes as
a large park with a variety of recreational options. There was also a heavy interest in
natural open spaces for walking and enjoying nature. Another key interest was in
development of water- related resources.
The new plan pulls together all of the parks, trails and sidewalks and identifies their role
in the overall pathway system. From this, NAC developed a master design for pathway
corridors throughout the City including the undeveloped areas. The implementation
section of the plan identifies the process for preserving the land for these future corridors.
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Steve Grittman pointed out that the Parks & Trail Plan includes preliminary
Implementation Options and lists 10 strategies, of which the Parks Commission would
probably be mainly responsible for coordination. The strategies address such things as
neighborhood parks needs, development of new parks, dedication fees, and incorporation
of park infrastructure in the Capital Improvement Plan.
Angela Schumann asked Steve Grittman to talk about park dedication fees and how the
current structure relates to the plan's development. Steve Grittman noted that certain
trails would be developed using park dedication fees but, in other cases, special
assessments might be used to fund trails.
Jeff O'Neill questioned whether it would be feasible for the City to work with the school
district to manage parks and trails that serve both entities. Steve Grittman commented
that NAC had talked to the school district and there is interest by the school in field
development. Steve Grittman feels that there is a value in the City continuing their efforts
in doing some joint planning with the school district. Steve Grittman suggested that they
could incorporate those ideas into the Plan document for future coordination. He
summarized a few comments from the school in consideration of sharing with the City
and noted that the school district would want first choice on the facilities that they
develop. Steve Grittman also noted that he had talked to some of the sports organizations
and their main concern is the lack of available play fields. It would be an advantage to
most of the groups if there was a higher concentration of fields in one place so they could
hold tournaments, which are a money generator.
Steve Grittman commented that he would expect that, as Bertram is developed and
activities are moved to that park, some of the smaller city parks would change in their
uses or go back to their original designated uses.
Steve Grittman explained how a park dedication fee can be funded and what it can be
used for. In a new development there are formulas that must be used to determine the
amount that can be collected for park dedication. The law limits the use of those fees for
land acquisition for parks and trails. The construction and maintenance of parks would
have to be paid through tax levies.
Tom Perrault commented that he has heard from various residents and they tend to like
their neighborhood parks. Angela Schumann noted that she had a call today from a
Carlisle Village resident that was wondering why they don't have a neighborhood park.
She said that a park was never planned into the Carlisle Village development. Glen
Posusta suggested that it might be better to keep the neighborhood parks fairly small and
focus planning Bertram as a large regional park. Steve Grittman noted that neighborhood
parks would normally be limited to an area of approximately one half mile radius. Steve
stated that the freeway is a barrier for parks planning as it is almost impossible for people
to cross the freeway to use a neighborhood park. Larry Nolan liked the idea of an
expandable park where subdivisions could share resources across boundaries. Steve
Grittman suggested that the Parks Commission could hold neighborhood meetings to talk
about the park(s) in their area and discuss the current and desired uses. Barry Voight
City Council Minutes — Special Parks & Trails Workshop — May 23, 2011 Page 2
asked about the role of the Parks Commission in developing new parks and wondered if it
was intended for the Parks Commission to be involved in amending ordinances related to
park development. Steve Grittman indicated that he hopes the Parks Commission would
get involved in the plan review process and the concept plan for any park that would be
part of a new development. The Planning Commission would most likely be responsible
for review of proposed ordinance amendments.
Angela Schumann asked Steve Grittman to address any major impacts that adoption of
the Parks & Trails would have on the Comprehensive Plan and to outline the next steps
that lead to incorporating the Parks & Trails Plan as part of the Comp Plan. Steve
Grittman commented that he was not aware of any major impacts on the Comprehensive
Plan created by changes in the Parks & Trails Plan. This plan is intended to build on
what already exists and enhancing the parks and trails based on feedback from citizens
and commissions. Going forward, the Planning Commission will hold a hearing on June
7th to make a recommendation on adoption of the Park & Trail Systems Plan. This would
go to Council following that, probably June 13 or 27th. Steve Grittman is meeting with
the Parks Commission at their meeting this week to take their input on the Plan. The
Planning Commission, Parks Commission and MCC Advisory Board will each be asked
to provide a formal recommendation to the City Council regarding the adoption of the
plan within the next three weeks.
Angela Schumann noted that the final Park & Pathway Systems Plan will be considered
by the City Council for incorporation as an Appendix to the Comprehensive Plan, similar
to the Transportation Plan. NAC will also provide recommended amendments to the
actual existing text of Chapter 5 of the Comprehensive Plan. Adoption of the Plan
document and the text amendments to the Comprehensive Plan require a super majority
vote of approval by the City Council.
Jeff O'Neill thanked Steve Grittman, Angela Schumann and Tom Pawelk for obtaining
the grant and working on the Plan. He is particularly impressed with how the Plan ties
together recreational amenities within the City and in the surrounding area. He feels this
is a good base for building a community in which people will choose to live.
The workshop ended at 6:43 pm.
Recorder: Catherine M. Shuman
Approved: June 13, 2011
Attest:
Cy / ,mimstrator
City Council Minutes — Special Parks & Trails Workshop - May 23, 2011 Page 3