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Parks Commission Agenda Packet 05-17-2001 . Members: AGENDA REGULAR MEETING - PARKS COMMISSION Thursday, May 17,2001 - 4:30 p.m. Monticello City Hall, Academy Room Larry Nolan, Earl Smith, Fran Fair, Rick Traver and Nancy McCaffrey Council Liaison: Roger Carlson Staff: 1. 2. '" -, . 4. . 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. . Gregg Engle and .TerrO'Neill Call to order. Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting on April 19, 2001. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. Citizens requests. Clearwater Trail Committee Chairman Presentation Summer Applications/Employment Otter Creek Park Update Pioneer Park Update River Mill Update West Bridge/East Bridge Parks Update Meadow Oaks/Parkside Parks Update 4th Street Playground Update Community Center Conceptual Plans Update Maintenance Updates Adjourn. . . . MINUTES JOINT MEETING - PARKS COMMISSION & MCC ADVISORY BOARD Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 4:30 p.m. Members Present: Parks Commission: Fran fair, Nancy McCaffrey, Larry Nolan, Earl Smith Rick Traver. MCC Advisory Board: Harvey Kendall, Wanda Kraemer, Idella Ziegler Roger Belsaas Council Liaison: Roger Carlson City Staff: Kitty Baltos, Kate Broman, Gregg Engle, Jeff 0' Neill 1. Call the meeting to order. The joint meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. 2. Review meetine purpose. The purposc of the joint meeting was to discuss possible development of a park on city owned land ahutting the Community Center site. 3. Site review - park location Prior to the Parks Commission and MCC Advisory Board reviewing the park location, .Tohn Simola, Public Works Director, presented information regarding drilling of four test wells on city owned property. This information will be covered in the regular minutes of the Park Commission. The joint boards then reviewed the proposed park site (Lot 5, Block 11, Original Plat). At the present time the site is fenced and contains a concrete structure. Park Superintendent Gregg Engle indicated a number of possibilities: 1. Utilizing the concrete structure hy placing a gazebo on it and doing landscaping around it. Another possibility would be to paint a mural on the concrete structure. 2. Removing the fencing except for the portion adjacent to the single family residence. Plantings would be done to screen the residence from the park site. . . . Parks/MCC Joint Mecting Minutes - 4/19/01 3. Place picnic tables and grills toward the 6th Street end of the park. 4. Reseed the area or do othcr turf restoration, add plantings where needed and possibly construct a stone pathway from the gazebo area to the picnic tables. 4. Reconvene West Prairie Conference Room Upon reconvening, the groups discussed the idcas presented. The consensus was that the park would be considered a passive park. There is limited space available so installation of playground equipment was not favored. The boards liked the idea of the gazebo and the plantings around the concrete structure. They felt the design of the gazebo should be rustic but yet complement the Community Center dcsign. Gregg Engle was directed to procccd with preliminary dcsign based on the directives of the two groups and whcn thosc are completed, the Parks Commission and MCC Advisory Board, at their rcgular mceting, will review thc plans. Gregg Englc indicated that a preliminary cstimate of the cost would be about $15,000. 5. Adjourn Thc joint meeting was adjourned. 2 . . . MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - PARKS COMMISSION Thursday, April 19, 2001 - 4:30 p.m. Members Present: Fran Fair, Nancy McCaiTrey, Larry Nolan, Earl Smith and Rick Traver and Council Liaison, Roger Carlson Members Absent: None Staff: Gregg Engle, Parks Superintendent. I. Call to Order After conclusion of the joint meeting with the Monticello Community Center Advisory Board, Chair Larry Nolan called the park board meeting to order and declared a quorum present. 2. Approval of the minutes of the reg;ular meetin2: on March 15.2001. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF crllE MARCH 15,2001 MEETING. NANCY MCCAFFREY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH FRAN FAIR ABSTAINING. 3. Consideration of addin1! items to the agenda. Rick Traver asked that an update regarding the Cemetery Committee be added to the agenda and Larry Nolan added an update on the ISTEA project to the agenda. 4. Citizens ReQuests. None 5. City Water Issue - John Simola. Public Works Director, John Simola, made a presentation on the city's water system at the joint meeting of the Parks Commission and the MCC Advisory Board. A summary of his presentation is included here. John Simola. stated that the city is looking to drill an additional well because the city's water system needs to be expanded to handle the city's growth. The well located in the industrial park contains arsenic in minute quantities. Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the soil and gets into the water aquifer. The water from the well in the industrial park is pumped into the reservoir where it is mixed with the water from other wells thus diluting the arsenic amounts. The allowable arsenic standard is 50 parts per billion. Recently there has been action on establishing a new arsenic standard but that has not been finalized. The City is . . . Park Commission Minutes - 4/19/01 proposing to drill a number of test wclls to find a suitable site. Thc proposed location for these test sites are: I. Freeway Fields - West side. The City may need to acquire some property near thc park to house the structures needed. Thc wcll must also have an interconnection point to a 12" line. 'This would allow the water to bypass the reservoir and be pumped directly into the watcr system. 2. 4th Strcet Park - This would be at the northeast corncr of the park by Ramsey and 4th Strccts or possibly wcst of the playground equipmcnt. The Park Commission noted that the play area was going to improved. Gregg Engle stated that the playground would be upgraded but not expanded so that shouldn't impact thc test well location. Locating a test well here would require connection back to thc line on 7th Strcet. Earl Smith asked about noise generated by the well. John Simola indicated that thc structure would be about the size of a small meeting room and would house the generator and the chcmicals nccdcd for operation. While the gencrator would produce noise, it would be minimal. 3. County Road area along 7th Street - Thc location would depend on wherc a futurc ramp may be situated. It could possibly placed on the area uscd f()r soccer fields. 4. South sidc of thc freeway in the township on Camcron Avenue - This would be oppositc thc NSP ballficlds on the Pauman propct1y. Thc City could extend thc 12" linc undcr the freeway. John Simola was requesting Park Commission approval of the construction. Earl Smith had some concerns about thc chcmicals used especially thc chlorine. John Simola indicated that thc 150 pound cylinders that werc uscd were safe and should not posc a hazard. Earl Smith asked about the nitrates in the water. He notcd that the nitrates are higher in potato ground. John Simola responded that the nitrates tendcd to stay in the upper aquifcrs. Larry Nolan asked about the wells at the NSP plant and John Simola indicated that hc would check into that. Rick "l'ravcr suggested checking those at thc golf course. The Park Commission asked about the Klein Farms area as a test site and John Simola stated that there was arsenic in that area. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO ALLOW THE DRILLING OF FOUR TEST WELLS WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE SITES MAY TURN INTO A PRODUCING WELL. FRAN FAIR SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSL Y. 6. Park Comprehensive Plan Uodate. Gregg Engle reported that he has been updating the Comprchensive Park Plan up through 2001 as projects and goals have bccn accomplished. He notcd that both the City of Elk Rivcr and the 2 . . . Park Commission Minutes - 4/19/0 I City of Becker are in the process of establishing park departments and have been in contact with him. 7. Field Usage Schedule. Gregg Engle met with Duane Gates and representatives from the baseball and softball associations on the field use. The number of teams have increased and the scheduling for the ballfield use is very tight. He noted that three tournaments had been scheduled for one weekend. 'fhis scheduling conflict required Gregg and City Administrator,Rick Wolfsteller to meet with the affected organizations to resolve the conflict. He noted the soccer teams are using the school fields so some Willie Mays teams will be using Hillcrest Park and the Pee Wee Reese teams will the using the 4th Street fields three nights a week. 8. Adopt-a-Park Update. One of the goals is to get people to work in the parks. This Saturday the Rotary will be working at the Otter Creek. The Rotary will re-sign their commitment to the Otter Creek park for another year. All the adopt-a-park forms will go to the Council. 9. Meadow Oaks Construction Update. The Parks Department has the ground leveled. However, the playground structure was delayed but it should be arriving shortly and the playground company will be installing the structure. 10. East Brid1!e Park irri1!ation and landscape update. Gregg Engle reported on the landscape work. The first planting tier is 22' and the second is 12'. Highway department regulations impacted the layout since it dictated what could be placed in the right-of-way. Nancy McCaffrey asked whether the bank along TH 25 would be mowed or would ground cover be planted. Gregg Engle indicated that it would be mowed. Fran Fair asked about the timing of the work. Gregg Engle indicated the road restrictions are still on so the contractor when he brings in the boulders will have to light load it so that it does not exceed 4500 lbs. Gregg Engle and Earl Smith met to discuss the area by the East Bridge bank. Earl Smith will be grubbing the sapling out of that area. On the irrigation system, Gregg reported that he has not had an opportunity to pick up the specifications. He will have those for the next meeting. Earl Smith requested that the temporary electric hookup be removed and that the polcs be relocated. The electric system will require some changes in the electrical layout. Gregg Engle indicated the hookup will be removed. 3 . . . Park Commission Minutes - 4/19/01 11. West Bridge Park Construction and Playground Uodate. Gregg Engle reported that he got a price for doing the wall between the two plantings. The price estimate was close to $2,000. Gregg Engle, Larry Nolan and Earl Smith checked out a number of playground structures in difTerent communities trying to get an idea of what they wanted for the West Bridge Park. They met with a representative of Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground who had designed a structure in the shape of a ferryboat. The structure has 17 different components and meets all ADA requirements. The estimated cost is $39,000 and the budgeted amount was $35/)00. Gregg Engle noted that because the design was unique, the company may end up putting it in their catalogue. If the Park Commission approves the design, Gregg Engle will spec it out so that other vendors can bid on it. He also indicated that if the Parks Commission wanted, a representative from the Minnesota/Wisconsin Playground finn could come out and do a presentation on the proposed structure. The Park Commission did not feel a presentation was necessary and directed Gregg Engle to take the necessary steps to get the structure ready f(x bidding. EARL SMITH MOVED TO PROCEED WITH THE PLA YGROUND STRUCTURE AS PER THE CONCEPT DRAWING OF THE SHIP. RICK TRA VER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Earl Smith felt that there should be some signs erected at West Bridge Park that would state "Welcome to Monticello" or "Thank you for visiting Monticello" Gregg Engle felt that as the improvements were being done in the park some ideas could be formulated as far as placement and type of sign. 12. Pioneer Park shelter update. Gregg Engle met with Mike Lundquist on the plans for the park shelter. The plans are not ready yet. Pioneer Day is set for May 2, at the park with the Lions to come in and do some clean up and maintenance work. 13. River Mill Park Uodate Gregg Engle reported that everything is in. The equipment has arrived and the Park Department will be installing it shortly. Harriet Lefebvre will be doing the plantings. 14. Clearwater to Monticello Trailway Plan Gregg Engle reported that Stearns County and Wright County are going for some grant money to work on trail system which could connect with the Monticello's trail system Gregg Engle will be attending a meeting at Clearwater on this and will update the Parks Commission. 4 . . . Park Commission Minutes - 4/19/0 I 15. Tree seminar/plantin2:1inspections update. Gregg Engle reported that both tree workshops were well attended and that he had received requests to conduct some type of workshop again in the fall. At this time of the 193 trees, 127 were sold. Everything is in place for the tree pickup on April 28th. The Parks Department has done an inspection of the boulevard plantings done in 1998 and only three trees were lost. Gregg Engle also reported that the Hood damage at Ellison Park was minimal. Once the waters recede the goose fence will be erected and they will try spraying again. 16. Walk & Roll Update - The Commission was updated on what is taking place. The Parks Commission will have the free throw contest and a prize drawing. 17. Rotary Dav at Otter Creek Gregg Engle reported that the clean up for Otter Creek is scheduled for April 21. 18. Park Maintenance Gregg Engle reported that ballfield maintenance has begun. Two seasonal employees will be starting April 30 and they are also getting a worker (Herb) from the Green Thumb program who will be working 3 days week through October. On April 25, the Parks Department will be working with Wright-Hennepin on delivering tree seedlings to the elementary schools. Cemetery committee update Rick Traver summarized some of the discussion from the Cemetery Committee meeting. He noted that the rules needed to be updated and enforced. The recent clean up of cemetery area created a great deal of controversy even though items removed were items that were not supposed to be there. The rules had not been updated since 1966 when the Masons still operated the cemetery. It was also explained that review of the cemetery policies and regulations will become a Parks Commission function once the Cemetery Committee completes its review of the rules and submits it to the Council ISTEA - Larry Nolan informed the Commission that he had talked to the City Engineer and the project is in the bidding stage. Additional signatures relative to the easements were required and that has been taken care of. Fran Fair moved to adjourn. Rick Traver seconded the motion. Motion carried 6.55 5