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Parks Commission Agenda Packet 12-05-2013Park Commission Agenda: 12/05/2013 AGENDA PARKS COMMISSION MEETING December 5th, 2013 - 9:15 A.M. "To enhance communitypride through developing and maintaining city parks with a high standard of quality." 1. Call to Order. 2. Approve Minutes of October 17, 2013 Special Parks Commission Meeting. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. 4. Citizens requests and comments. • Thank you from Lions Brewfest Committee 5. Renewing 3 -year Parks Commission terms. • Jack Gregor • Tim Stalpes 6. Review recreational information from IMBA for the development of Monte Hill. 7. Discussion of disc golf course - an Eagle Scout project located at Bertram. 8. Friends of Bertram looking for core group members to plan events at BCOL. 9. City of Monticello sign renovation project update. 10. Discussion of Final 2014 Parks Budget and projects. 11. Next meeting scheduled January 23, 2014. 12. Adjourn 1 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 MINUTES SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY OCTOBER 17, 2013 - 10:30 A.M. "To enhance community pride through developing and maintaining City parks with a high standard of quality. " Members Present: Larry Nolan, Nancy McCaffrey, Tim Stalpes, Alan Heidemann, Jack Gregor, Brian Stumpf Members Absent: None Others Present: Tom Pawelk, Park Superintendent Angela Schumann, Community Development Director 1. Call to Order. Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. Approve Minutes of Julv 25, 2013 Parks Commission Meeting. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 25, 2013 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION SECONDED BY ALAN HEIDEMANN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. Pioneer Park Summary: Tom Pawelk said in 2007 the Parks Department was delivered a piece of playground equipment in error. The company later sent out the correct equipment and let the Parks Department keep the other equipment for the inconvenience. Tom said that "wrong" piece of equipment sat in the Park Shop for a while and now they have installed it in Pioneer Park. Tom shared photos of the equipment which is a tilted sky runner with a spinning top. Tom said they will complete the landscaping around the playground equipment next spring. Newspaper article — quoting "new" parks: Nancy McCaffrey shared a Star Tribune article talking about the new way to look at parks in Golden Valley and Coon Rapids. Greg Engel, former Monticello Park Superintendent, is quoted in the article which talks about the importance of parks to the city and the importance of interaction between parents and children. Years ago, parents just sent their kids off to the parks to play but in today's society, parents go to parks to play with and watch their kids. Page 1 of 6 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 Shooting range by Great River Trailhead: Nancy McCaffrey said that after attending the ribbon cutting ceremony this morning and hearing all the gun shots from the Monticello Rod & Gun Club that there should be signage for the people who use the trailhead telling patrons that there is a shooting range there. Tom Pawelk said that he agrees that it needs to be identified at the trailhead and he will talk to the Rod & Gun Club to bring it up at their meeting. Tom will suggest that the Rod & Gun club pay for the sign. 4. Citizen request and comments. Tom Pawelk said he received a note of thanks from the Baseball Association thanking Monticello Parks for the teamwork and efforts this season. Tom said he also received a thank you card from East Bridge Gardeners. Nancy McCaffrey shared comments from park patrons that she received on how nice Monticello is and how nice the gardens look in East Bridge Park. At the ribbon cutting this morning at the Great River Trailhead a cyclist said the new 7th Street extension has a nice bike trail on the new portion but on the old 7th Street portion there's nothing; requested a connection there. Jack Gregor said it was brought to his attention that it would be nice to have a bathroom or two along the bike trails (from a senior citizen cyclist). 5. Consideration of changing regular Parks Commission meeting times. Tom Pawelk indicated that Jack Gregor's employment hours conflict with the meeting times at 8 a.m. Jack indicated that his work schedule will allow him to make meetings as early as 9:15 a.m. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO CHANGE THE MEETING TIMES FOR REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETINGS TO 9:15 AM GOING FORWARD, REMAINING ON THE 4TH THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH. MOTION SECONDED BY TIM STALPES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. 6. Schedule ioint Planning and Parks Commission meeting to discuss Monte Club Hill. Tom Pawelk said that he met with Planning Commission and City Council in September for a tour of the Monte Club Hill site. The direction was to have Parks Commission and Planning Commission meet as a group and go over usage and possibly look at some type of development at the site. There will be a workshop on January 7th at 5 o'clock in the Mississippi Room at the MCC and Parks Commission should plan on attending. Page 2 of 6 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 7. Review recreational demographic information gathered for the development of Monte Hill. Tom Pawelk informed the commission that two main ideas came out of the tour at the Monte Club Hill site; disc golf and mountain bike challenge course. Tom stated that he researched a 30 mile radius for both recreational ideas. His research indicated a total of 23 courses from 9-12 holes and 11 courses with 18 holes. At the disc golf course at Par West Park there is no room to expand to an 18 -hole course. Originally a championship course was discussed for Monticello and that would require an 18 -hole course. Tom said he wants to be careful not to copycat other communities or courses and he would like Monticello to stand out. The mountain bike challenge course idea is based on the topography of the Monte Club Hill site. Tom said the direction is to keep the land at the hill as natural as possible and the mountain bike trails would be passive trails. Tom indicated that MORC is doing excellent work on the trails at the BCOL Regional Park and encouraged the Parks Commission to stop out there sometime to see the course. These types of trails are less intrusive than many other recreational activities. Tom said that he did some research and found that mountain biking is the highest growing sport in America right now. In researching a 30 -mile radius of other parks with this type of activity, Tom found only 5 other cities with trails and Monticello's trail at the BCOL Regional Park. Tom said he is planning to meet with MORC and do analysis of the topography at the site. Then they'll identify what we need to do up there and will work with MORC to develop a trail system. Tom said it is a good fit for what's going on in our community in promoting healthy outdoor activities, parks, as well as promoting the trail system and the trails at Bertram. Discussed geocaching activities in the parks; Tom explained that geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game in which the participants use a GPS or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers called "geocaches". Tom said he will do a search within the 30 mile radius and see what is out there for this type of activity. Tom said he has seen the "caches" in Montissippi, East Bridge, West Bridge, Ellison, Pioneer, and Groveland Parks. Parks Department employees have accidentally stumbled across the containers when out working and mowing in the parks. Tom said it was a boy scout that started the sport and it has really taken off. Tom said as far as disc golf or a mountain bike challenge course, it would have to be one or the other on the Monte Club Hill site. The site is not large enough to support both activities. Tom will provide more information and links to the MORC website for the Parks Commission to review prior to joint meeting in January with the Planning Commission. Page 3 of 6 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 8. Great River Trails ribbon cutting ceremonv scheduled for October 1, 2013. The Great River Trails Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held this morning 10 a.m. City Administrator Jeff O'Neill was the emcee of the event, and Parks Commission Chair Larry Nolan along with his grandchildren cut the ceremonial ribbon. The trailhead and trails are now officially open to the public. 9. Discussion of Rolling Woods Park service area, connection points and site amenities for future development. Tom Pawelk informed the Parks Commission that he received a request from residents in the Carlisle Village development to create a neighborhood park for them. Angela Schumann explained that the City is unable to designate land to create a park in a development that has already been planned and built, unless it was already included in the developer's agreement. Tom distributed the neighborhood parks inventory from Monticello's Park & Pathway Plan. Tom explained that the Rolling Woods Park located on Bakken Street at the intersection of Deer Street falls within a %2 mile radius of the southernmost portion of the Carlisle Village development and is well within the limits to serve that development's park needs. Discussion centered on how to improve the Rolling Woods Park so the residents of the Carlisle Village development will utilize its facilities. Tom said the park is nearing its 15 -year mark so improvements and upgrades to the park should be budgeted for in the near future. One of the main issues is the lack of a sidewalk and/or pathway connection. The existing sidewalk which runs along Bakken Street from Gatewater Drive in Carlisle Village stops short of the park at a wetland just before Troy Marquette Drive. Further issues hindering the residents of Carlisle Village from utilizing the park is the lack of newer play equipment and age-specific play areas. Angela said that she will see if she can pull the demographics from the census track. Further discussions on the Carlisle Village residents possibly starting a fund-raiser to aid the city in the upgrading the park to their standards. Angela talked about a platform known as Kickstarter.com where anyone can launch a project, set a funding goal and a deadline. If people like a project, they can pledge money to make it happen. The Parks Commission would like to have further research done on the specific needs and wants of the residents for the park and more detailed demographics of the residents in the area. The item will be brought back to the next meeting for further review and discussion. Page 4 of 6 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 11. Recommendation and motion to approve 2014 River Mill Plavaround concept drawing. Tom Pawelk shared quotes and options for the playground design at River Mill Park. Quotes and designs were received from two vendors; Miracle Recreation and Midwest Playscapes. Midewest's quote came in $20,000 higher than Miracle Recreation. Tom explained that Miracle is a member of a purchasing co-op so they agreed to pass on those discounts to the city. In reviewing the design options, the Parks Commission agreed that Option 2 from Miracle Recreation was the nicest design. Tom explained that this would be a supervised installation, where Miracle has a rep come out, lay out where the holes need to be drilled and the Parks Department personnel would actually put the structure together. This type of installation saves the city from paying the high cost of labor. Tom also stated that all equipment is ADA approved. TIM STALPES MOVED TO APPROVE OPTION 2 FOR THE RIVER MILL PARK PLAYGROUND DESGIN FROM MIRACLE RECREATION BASED UPON THE STATE CONTRACT PRICING, INCLUDING THE DISCOUNT, FOR A TOTAL OF $44,388.89 TO PURCHASE THE EQUIPMENT, INCLUDING SALES TAX. MOTION SECONDED BY NANCY MCCAFFREY. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. 12. Motion to approve updated directional signage for Riverside Cemeterv. Tom Pawelk indicated that the directional signage in Riverside Cemetery is old and falling apart, and he would like to get the signs replaced before winter. The signs will be designed by and purchased from Jeff Hoglund. Tom shared the sign designs. TIM STALPES MOVED TO APPROVE ALTERNATIVE 2 FOR SIGNAGE FOR RIVERSIDE CEMETERY WITH THE FINAL LAYOUT AND COLOR CHOICES TO BE APPROVED BY THE MONTICELLO PARK SUPERINTENDENT. MOTION SECONDED BY ALAN HEIDEMANN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. 13. Next meeting scheduled December 5, 2013. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 5th at 9:15 a.m. in the Public Works Conference Room. Page 5 of 6 SPECIAL PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES I Oct 17, 2013 14. Adiourn. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN THE PARKS COMMISSION MEETING AT 11:50 A.M. MOTION SECONDED BY TIM STALPES. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 6-0. RECORDED BY: (N�Pth &wn Administrative Assistant DATE APPROVED: ATTEST: Park Superintendent Page 6 of 6