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BCOL Advisory Council Minutes 03-07-2014MINUTES BERTRAM CHAIN OF LAKES REGIONAL PARK ADVISORY COUNCIL Friday, March 7, 2014 5:00 a.m. Bridge Room, Monticello Community Center Advisory Council Members Present: Martyn Dibben, Jim Hayes, Tom Jahnke, Jim Lindberg, Larry Nolan, Wes Olson, Pat Sawatzke, Sandra Theros, Lyle Trunnell. Pete Stupar Advisory Council Members Absent: Mark Daleiden, Clint Herbst, Glen Posusta Staff Present: Angela Schumann, Marc Mattice, Tom Pawelk, Kitty Baltos Others Present: Greg Kryzer, Assistant Wright County Attorney, Graham Sones 1. Call to Order Martyn Dibben called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. Consideration of approving minutes from February 7, 2014 meeting WES OLSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 7, 2014 REGULAR MEETING. MOTION SECONDED BY LARRY NOLAN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. 3. Consideration of adding to and approving the agenda Marc Mattice requested to move item #6 up the agenda for discussion before item #4 as the Assistant Wright County Attorney was present to review the updated park ordinance. JIM LINDBERG MOVED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA WITH THE ADJUSTED ITEM ORDER REVIEW AS REQUESTED. MOTION SECONDED BY SANDRA THEROS. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. 4. Frostbite Challenge (Continued Discussions from December 6, 2013) Wes Olson explained that the ice fishing contest is part of the annual Frostbite Challenge which is a large Chamber event with various activities scheduled for each day of the event. The final day and close of the event is the fishing tournament. Wes said that the Monticello Lions members are actively involved in the fishing tournament with nearly 100% participation volunteering at the event. Wes distributed photos of the tournament which show the layout of the parking area and aerial views of the actual tournament showing the footprint of the event. Wes said that the unique thing about the event is the kids fishing contest. Wes said that they hire a company called, Simply Outdoor Experiences. They are a non -profit organization designed to help people enjoy the great outdoors. Their Mission Statement is "Empowering kids and adults with the knowledge Bertram Regional Park Advisory Council: March 7, 2014 and resources to create positive outdoor experiences." These are expert fishermen onsite who provide the kids with their own fishing rod and teach them how to properly fish and be environmentally conscious. The kids' portion takes place in the morning and the main fishing contest starts at noon. Wes said that 50% of the families that participated in the kids contest this year walked over and participated in the main fishing contest, and that is very significant. This event is promoted as a family friendly event and is alcohol free. Wes described the specifications of the event as follows: • This is a 2 -day event. • Organization and set up for the contest is done the day before the event. • All required permits are pulled for the event and all State, County, Local and DNR rules are adhered to. • A parking lot area must be plowed to accommodate parking the day of the event. • The snow must be plowed on the lake to create a perimeter for the event and to allow for proper weight distribution effectively. • There is one designated entry /exit gate to access the lake for the event. • A professional company drills 1,200 holes on the ice. • Portable toilets are brought to the event and then are slid out onto the ice; toilets are removed and picked up the following day. • A truck is used to bring the winning fish house prize out onto the lake. • Two tents are set up, one for the official weigh -in station and first aid /warming tent, and a concession tent. • The event is limited to 1,000 tickets only. • There were a total of 640 people on the ice fishing at the 2014 tournament. • An ATV would be parked at the first aid /office tent in case of an emergency. • No snowmobiles, vehicles or ATV's allowed on the lake (other than the emergency ATV). • No participants are allowed to fish in portable shelters or fish houses. • No participants are allowed to drill their own holes. • Upon weigh -in, all fish must be alive and legal per MN fishing regulations. • There are holes drilled in the weigh -in tent to release the fish immediately after weigh -in. • On the event day, everything is taken down and cleared away the same day. • All prizes are donated and the money raised goes back to the Chamber. Wes said that the Frostbite Challenge Committee needs to know if they can host the event at Bertram as the planning will begin by June for the 2015 event. If the event is approved, they would like to look into the option of expanding the events at the park in conjunction with the Frostbite Challenge in the future to include snow showing, cross country skiing and possibly a polar ice plunge, which could be a great Friends event to raise money and awareness of the park and its resources. Concerns and questions revolved around whether or not this type of event was appropriate for the mission of the Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park. Some members said that allowing motorized vehicles on the lake to set up and take down for the event was not in 2 Bertram Regional Park Advisory Council: March 7, 2014 keeping with the park rules posted and could possibly have a negative environmental impact on the lake and the park. Concerns about sending mixed messages to the public about motorized vehicles being allowed in the park. Wes encouraged the Advisory Council to look at the Frostbite Challenge website to learn more about the event and the event rules, at: www.frostbitechallenge.org; as well as to research the Simply Outdoor Experiences website at: www .simplyoutdoorexperiences.org. SANDRA THEROS MOVED TO RECOMMEND THE FROSTBITE CHALLENGE ICE FISHING CONTEST BE ALLOWED AT BERTRAM LAKE FOR THE 2015 EVENT. MOTION SECONDED BY PETE STUPAR. JIM LINDBERG MOVED TO AMEND THE MOTION TO INCLUDE THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ICE FISHING CONTEST PROVIDED THE FROSTBITE CHALLENGE COMMITTEE AGREE TO AND MEET THE CONDITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS SET FORTH BY THE PARK USE AND NATURAL RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEES. THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR THE EVENT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE MAY 2ND BCOL ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING. SANDRA THEROS AGREED TO AND SECONDED THE AMENDED MOTION. TOM JAHNKE REQUESTED A ROLL CALL VOTE. ROLL CALL VOTE AS FOLLOWS: SANDRA THEROS IN FAVOR PAT SAWATZKE IN FAVOR WES OLSON IN FAVOR PETE STUPAR IN FAVOR JIM LINDBERG IN FAVOR TOM JAHNKE OPPOSED JIM HAYES IN FAVOR LYLE TRUNNEL IN FAVOR LARRY NOLAN IN FAVOR MARTYN DIBBEN OPPOSED MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 8 -2. 5. Review and recommend adoption of Bylaws Marc Mattice reviewed the bylaw modifications that were made as noted at last month's meeting. SANDRA THEROS MOVED TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL AND ADOPTION OF BYLAWS FOR THE BCOL ADVISORY COUNCIL. MOTION SECONDED BY TOM JAHNKE. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. 3 Bertram Regional Park Advisory Council: March 7, 2014 6. Park Ordinance Review Marc Mattice worked with the Assistant County Attorney to modify the Wright County Park Ordinance to incorporate specific recommendations for the BCOL Regional Park. Mark introduced Greg Kryzer, Assistant County Attorney. Greg explained that the particular section in the ordinance referring to the Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park is Item #8. Greg noted that this ordinance applies to the lakes that are currently within the BCOL Regional Park and as the park is expanded, if new lakes are incorporated into the park, then the ordinance would apply to those lakes as well. If changes need to be made to the park in the future, those can be added to this particular section. Marc said that the Wright County Parks Commission will be reviewing this ordinance at their next meeting. The process for approval will include a 3 -week public notice and then scheduled for County Board approval following the public notice. Discussion on areas of the ordinance that may need clarification, such as the non- motorized rule while still allowing boats with motors on the lake. Further clarification needed on winter activities such as designated cross country skiing and snow shoe trails. Greg said that he can make further amendments to the ordinance based upon the discussions at this meeting and will bring back to the April meeting for approval. SANDRA THEROS MOVED TO TABLE THE PARK ORDINANCE REVIEW TO THE APRIL MEETING. MOTION SECONDED BY PETE STUPAR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. 7. Outdoor Recreation Grant Submission Angela Schumann stated that she has started working on the next grant submission for portions of the Athletic Complex. Angela distributed a map and reviewed the area of consideration. The 2014 applications are due March 31St. The City is proposing at this time to break the grant application into two separate applications. Angela explained that the Outdoor Rec Grant only has a total of $350,000 available grant funds and the max grant award allowed is $100,000. The City /County previously received $370,000 in grant funds for Phase V but now there is the cap of $100,000. Angela noted that the first application will be for the 10.62 acres remaining after the previous lot line adjustment. The grant has match funding of 50 %. Therefore, if we are awarded the full $100,000 grant award, that would leave a local match of $165,500 which would be split between the City /County. The state would be making up 38% if they funded with the full $100,000. The second application will be for 20 acres, a portion of Parcel 2. Parcel 2 is a total of 39.82 acres and the intent is to go after the remaining balance in the 2015 grant cycle. The total cost of acquisition for this portion of Parcel 2 is $500,000; so with the $100,000 cap; the potential match due from the City /County would be $200,000 /each. Angela said that she understands the County position may be different on the 20 acre portion due to the higher match amount that may be required. M Bertram Regional Park Advisory Council: March 7, 2014 SANDRA THEROS MOVED TO CONCUR WITH THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL TO AUTHORIZE SUBMITTING TWO GRANT APPLICATIONS THROUGH THE OUTDOOR REC GRANT FOR THE PARCELS AS INDICATED. MOTION SECONDED BY JIM LINDBERG. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. 8. Athletic Field Subcommittee Report Tom Pawelk said that Sandra Theros has expressed interest in filling the position on the Athletic Field Subcommittee due to the vacancy from Pete Stupar's resignation. PAT SAWATZKE MOVED TO RECOMMEND SANDRA THEROS FILL THE VACANCY ON THE ATHLETIC FIELD SUBCOMMITTEE LEFT BY PETE STUPAR'S RESIGNATION. MOTION SECONDED BY TOM JAHNKE. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. Tom said that the Athletic Field Subcommittee met on February 14th to review the plan to incorporate a portion of the City owned farmland to the north of the site. Graham Sones displayed a map of the new plan and Tom explained the changes that were incorporated to include two additional youth baseball fields and adjusting five of the soccer fields to the City owned property, encompassing approximately 30 acres of the City owned land. Tom explained that by utilizing the City owned land and adjusting the plan, the park will open up more passive areas which will aid in grant funding and lessen the pressure with lower match dollars due to the ability to utilize the Legacy Grant Funding for those areas. The new plan and design will be brought forth to the City Council for approval in April. If the plan is approved, Tom Pawelk with work with Kitty Baltos and the subcommittee to develop the master plan and phasing options. All BCOL Advisory Council members were in consensus of bringing the new plan to the City Council for approval. 9. Update MORC. Marc Mattice said that things are going well with MORC. They have applied for and received an $8,000 grant for trail development at the park from IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association). Marc will be working with MORC to determine where those trails will go. MORC may contract out some of the work to move the trail development along quicker this year. Marc said that the MOU with MORC will need to be approved by County and City. 10. Friends update. Jim Lindberg noted that the Winter Block Party at the MCC on February 22nd was well attended and the kids and families had a great time. He said they didn't have as many snow sculpture contest entries as they would have liked but it was well received. They will allow more time for sculptures next year. Jim said they had a Friends booth set up at the event and there were a lot of people that expressed interest in the park and there were 5 Bertram Regional Park Advisory Council: March 7, 2014 many positive comments. Angela Schumann said this was the first real partnership on a big event between the MCC and the Friends and it worked very well. There are some future events lined up where the Friends will work with the MCC this summer. Angela noted that there is a Special Friends Meeting scheduled for March 21St because they need to start planning for the cleanup day in the park in April. Angela said that they have more people interested in becoming core members of the Friends so they will be amending the bylaws to allow for more members. 11. Discussion of added items. Pete Stupar submitted a resignation letter to the BCOL Advisory Council. He said that he will be working with Monticello Township on finding a representative to replace him. Martyn Dibben thanked Pete for his time while he served on the Advisory Council. Marc Mattice noted that he has received a $1,000 donation for a memorial bench to be placed at the park. 12. Next meeting scheduled for Friday, April 4, 2014 The next regular Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park Advisory Council Meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 4, 2014, at 8 a.m. Due to all conference rooms being booked at the Monticello Community Center, the meeting location will be changed to the Monticello Public Works Department conference room. 13. Adiourn PETE STUPAR MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 10:20 A.M. MOTION SECONDED BY LARRY NOLAN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 10 -0. Recorder: 6�3Eth &ree ? Administrative Assistant Approval Date: Attest: April 4, 2014 no