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Parks Commission Agenda Packet 07-22-2004 . AGE DA PARKS CO MISSION July 22, 2004 - 4:30 p.m. West Prai ie Room "To enhance community pri . e through del.eloping IIml maintaining city parks with II high standard of quality'.' 1. Call to Order 2. Approve minutes of June 24, 2004 regul r Parks Commission meeting. 3. Consideration of adding items to the ag nda. 4. Citizens comments and requests. 5. Mississippi Drive Park (Swan) - Recom endation on parking 6. Cemetery - 1) Improvements 2) Land A 7. UP Development 8. Acquisition of land- Ballfield Complex . 9. 2005 Bndget Discussion 10. Park Maintenance 11. Updates, if any 12. Adjourn . . . . NOTES TO PARK C MMISSION AGENDA July 2, 2004 Mississippi Park - Susie Wojehouski will be present at the meeting. Because of the concerns of the adjacent property owner the Committee is recommending head in parking and somc additional signage instead of t e parking lot as originally proposed. 5. Cemetery - .John Simola requested this it m be added to the agenda. There are street improvements being considered for Rive Street and when those go in it may be an appropriate time to look at other improv ments as well. 6. In addition one of the concerns of the Ce. etery Committee was that the City do some long term planning which would include purei ase of land for future cemetery use. 7. UP Development - Hopefully Jeffwill be resent to address your questions on this proposed development. . Mi utes Monticello Parks Com ission - Regular Meeting Thursday, June 2 ,2004 - 4:30 P.M. Members Present: Larry Nolan, Riek Tr er, Ben Hitter, Fran Fair and Council Liaison Robbie Smith Members Absent: Nancy McCaffrey Others Present: Adam Hawkinson, Pa ks, John Simola Public Works Director, Steve Grittman, WSB Lynn Dahl & Bob Schmidt 1. Call to Order Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. A . rove minutes of the Ma 27 2004 re ular Parks Commission meetin Fran Fair motioned to approve th minutes orthe May 27,2004 Parks Commission meeting. Rick Trav r seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. . 3. Consideration of addin Proposed amendments to subdivi ion of the city ordinance regarding park dedication fees were added. Steve Grittman was available to a swer questions the Parks Commission had regarding the proposed amendme ts. Because the Parks Commission was not aware of Steve being available, th y were not as prepared for questions as they would like to have been. Ho ever a discussion did arise out of the amendment about how the fees w uld be determined. Steve stated that the City cannot have a "$" or percent ge based on property as the law requires that park dedication fees be based on potential use or density of buildings, the fees need to be "roughly proportio al with potential use". Steve Grittman recommended that we set a base Ii e park dedication fee at 10%, with it increasing based on the increase 0 building density. Fran Fair motioned to approve the amendments and pass on to the City Council. Rick Traver seconded. otion carried unanimously . J olm Simola was at the meeting to discuss the rules at the Monticello Cemetery regarding the burying of individuals that were cremated. John requested that we consider a rule enforcing the use of vaults. Currently a person can use any type of container to bury their cremated love one. Since . certain types of materials break down in the soil, if there ever comes a time when that person needs to be moved it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to do so. Mr. Simola said that he would return next month with prices. The major concern is that some people use this option as an alternative to an expensive burial. This would add to the cost and could cause a financial hardship for some. 4. Citizen comments and reQuests There were no citizens present, however Park Superintendent Adam Hawkinson reported that there had been two other comments on the Tobacco Policy in the parks. Both had a negative tone to them. Adam reported he would place them in the file with the others for future reference if necessary. Adam also reported that the Tobacco Free Youth Group gave the Parks Department a certificate in recognition for adopting the Tobacco Free Policy 5. Hunters Crossin2 - Wetlands contained within proposed park area. Bob Schmidt was at the meeting to discuss the 4800 sq ft area within the park in the Hunter Crossing development. It appears that 2000 sq ft of the area can be exempted automatically and that the balance has been requested for exemption. While it would be exempted horn a wetland so that it could be raised, it still would not qualify for the park dedication so a cash donation would need to be made to make up the difference. Currently the paperwork is being filed and it appears that this area should be exempted, however there is a string of political offices that must approve it first. The Parks Commission will be updated when this final approval is complete. . 6. Lynn Dahl (Desieo for Print) - Parks Commission support for park map/brochure Lynn Dahl presented a copy of Discover Monticello - a magazine mailed to all Monticello addresses and is also distributed through the Monticello Chamber of Commerce. Lynn also presented copies of a detailed map of Monticello with park descriptions and locations. She requested we support. her efforts with $500 to supply the completed map and have it available for promotional events and new members of the community. The City would get 100 11" x 17" maps to start out with. If the City donates the money the flier could have all park information and no advertising. After some discussion and map updates, Larry Nolan informed Ms. Dahl we would look at putting it in our budget for 2005 when that time arrives. . 2 . . . 7. Park Maintenance Items Adam Hawkinson presented a list 0 items the Park department worked on over May 28th thm June 24th. 2004. He also stated that Park Staff will be busy with preparations for Riverfest over the next several weeks. Rick Traver asked about the building ofmulti-p rpose football and soccer fields on the Excel property and Adam mentione that he had just recently talked with their representative and as soon as the fa mer cuts his crop we can start working on the project. There was also some discussion on Bridge Park - East and the retaining wall and gardens. The pr jcct is moving along and compliments go out to the Park Staff for ajob well one. Adam also said asked for bids from irrigation installers for Bridge Park- West. Bids ranged from $7,300 to 15,000. There were two bids that came in around $7500 and he asked for refe ences on the two lowest bidders. 8. Larry Nolan discussed he has left a hone message for Jeff O'Neil. He would like to see a landscaped pathway in olved with this development instead of a plain strip of asphalt. After some d' scussion Larry stated he would speak with the chair of the Planning Commissi n to make sure all shops that submit landscape plans include landseapin that accents the pathway. The commission would also like to see proposal on the pathway from city statIo 9. Nathan's Court - Concept Plan The Park Commission discussed th Concept Plan for Nathan's Court, and felt that because of the size of the devel pment it was best to accept the park dedication in cash rather than prope ty. The nearby Hunter Crossing Park should help accommodate traffic fr m the new development. 10. Concept Plan - U.P. Development After some discussion the commission felt that with no staff available to explain the proposed parkland it wa' futile to continue the discussion. 'fhc commission did have comments based on what was perceived to be the parkland dedication. One was that t e park was not bordered on two sides by roads and the other is having a road divide the park. The Park Commission felt that a road splitting the park in t 0 was totally unacceptable. 11. Updates City Councilman, Rob Smith updat d the Park Commission on the city and township annexation issue, and that it had been resolved. 3 Park Tour - Thc Park Commission sct a datc for a park tour of Tuesday July 13th @ 3:00 p.m. . Requested update for next regular meeting on the Swan Park Parking issue. 12. Motion to adiourn Rick Traver made a motion to adjourn the mceting at 6:00 p.m. Seconded hy Ben Hitter. Motion approved unanimously. Acting & Recording Secretary Rick Traver . . 4 ~ ~ L h ~ ~ ~ a ~ ~ ~ ~ h:4 ~ ~ J 01 t ~s l!;l g! ~l ~ if ~! 1 : u ~~ : . rt ~ S J !! I h~ l! .~U i~ !J IH ~ Jl ;J i 1 ~; ~ I.t ~ ~ 8 !~i jL~~!: I ~ Ui~ ~Hr~a It j ~u~* I~"~! ~ 'll D~ iiC .....1..-! >.. ~!~h u!!u ~ 6 t .. J . ~l H 0", j! ~ II! i .. ~ :c " J j f 1 I Ii Ii ~i ~I if! il~ ~a I!! ~ ~i ih " !! ~ :i; ~~ o t II) l5 "", ~ t 'lj:g6 Vi '" g' .5 E E ~-ciJE w w c5fo 1:1 -g ._~~u 6 0 o L.. ~ tI c.....oc: E :5 Q) 0 .. 0 ~ ~ ~ IQ~-.; "0 V E~~"OOl c 0 "g:5.2 .3 c5 ~~~!l.~ ~ ~ L~UU"O W V,I ~ f.f! >-:il 5J !'S.,llE '5 ~ (-.Y~ ON z-t' ~-5b o-@ 1/)1"': ...t'-! ....~>,o ........1.0 c:;:0l - 5J..."" "", 0'" gCt)aCUl ..gOl-l:oiOJ .2 ~.... 4) >. n ~ n ~ ~ g ~s :r: t: ~ C o"C.3~+-, "5E :J~ rii 5.h~ij z~ z!'! ~ " a.., t: "".. 8-.. ~ ~ ~ Ii'~ a ~ W I- W '" ~ I I ..: If) -'-......... '~I, ~, ~ -"""""-......... If .~'-......... '-......... . ',- '- <:> ~ ~ . . . MONTICELLO PA S DEPARTMENT Work list July 22nd, 2004 J De 24'\ 2004 thru July 22nd, 2004 . Continue to landscape E.B. and w rking on viewing paths and bench areas . Chipping orders . New dock in at Bridge Park West . Cooperative project between DNR and "City" sign installed at Ellison (Last years addition to the boat ra ps) . Riverside Cemetery -grave locate and headstone locates- to date over 70 man hours at the cemetery . Elm and oaks inspections continue - well over 100 infected and dead trees . Co. Rd. 18 pathway paved! ! ! . General park and building mainten nee -Compliment on how nice the Bridge Park West facilities are to r nt . Irrigation of West Bridge - July i stallation - now august . Equipment maintenance and repai . Core aerating of Freeway Ballfie1s . Gas hook up to stove soon at Pion er - Done . General ballfield work . Weed pulling in planters and plant replacement (trees and shrubs) . Painting and varnishing Country lub Park signs and Play set ordered . Excavating out soil for Meadow Oaks Pathway extension - adding soil to back yards where drainage pipe was installed . Riverfest . New 1 ton is here - finally - work rs are happy with the purchase . Started clearing Pioneer woods - ead trees first - have a sentenced to serve crew helping . Watering trees . Project with Eagle Scout set up fo Rip-Raping Ellison Park river edge . . Irrigation work, Bridge Park East, reeway Fields, and Xcel fields . Flail mowing . Fertilizing and herbicide applicati ns · Built informal pathway off Bridge Park West path to new dock and mulched the path · New park rules and regulations sig s ordered . Corner markers and posts ordered or parks . Upgrading existing landscapes in arks . Park Commission field trip . . . . . RIVERSIDE CEMETERY L NG TERM PLAN OUTLINE AS PRESENTED AND APPROVED BY TH RIVERSIDE CEMETERY COMMITTEE NOVEMB R 21, 200t The Lon Term Plan is itemized below in ord r of 1. Landscaping main entrance area and a, ng path towards flagpole The Committee would like to see the Cit work with a landscaper in developing a plan for this. The Committee was not aware of hat expertise the parks staff had in this area and doesn't know whether the Park Departm t could do the work or whether they would have to go to an outside source. The Park Dep ment has indicated that they did the plantings at Ellison Park and that firms such as Steve's Nursery and Cedar Street Garden Center would help in preparing layouts and planting lis s. 2. Sprucing up the entrance area includin better lighting for the area The Committee feels the brick columns b the entrance are deteriorating and agree that the lighting should be incorporated in the Ian scaping plan (item #1). 3. Entrance monument with Riverside Ce etery name on it The Committee wants recommends tha the monument has enough clearance for the contractor equipment to pass under. The fore, the monument would be incorporated with the archway at the entrance (item #7). 4. Paving and widening of road This may be an expensive item to budget but the Committee feels it is necessary. 5. New fencing The fencing would be across the front but it is also suggested that fencing be considered on the east side where the cemetery abuts p . vate residences. 6. Planting 3' shrub hedge in areas witho t fencing The Committee recommends some sectio s where the shrub hedge should be planted, along the east side and a section along the west ide. The shrubbery is being suggested as the cost of fencing can get rather expensive. How ver, it is felt that areas where the cemetery abuts private yards it should be fenced. The C mmittee feels the Public Works Department can determine the height and type of fencing t be used such as 4' chain link or 4'+ wrought iron fencing. The location of the shrub would be from the side entrance going to the east and it is suggested that an evergreen hedge be p anted. At the present time nothing is there. 7. Archway at the entrance The Committee feels Bailey Station on C unty Road 14 at Big Lake is very attractive and that something such as this would work ell. It was felt that this should be done as part of the entrance monument (item #3). C;\BETH\WORDPROC\RIVERSID~ong-lerm.cemetery-plan-2001.wpd : 12/07101 - PAGE 1 OF 3 - . 8. Water/irrigation improvements The Committee suggests the City incorpor: te additional irrigation as the cemetery expands to the west. 9. Clean up secondary growth area along t e river The Committee recommends cleaning up is area along the river bank to deter problems the City has had in the past with individuals par ing in the cemetery and climbing down the bank to go fishing, as well as the dumping of I aves, garbage, mattresses, etc. It was felt that clearing out the area would make anyactivi ies taking place there more visible to the public and law enforcement personnel. 10. Planting of some flowering trees This could be covered under the landscapi g plan (item #1). The Parks Department has recommended the dwarf variety flowering ees are not planted. 11. Placement of benches along river and the athway This would be incorporated in the memoria fund plan. The Committee suggests offering maintenance free benches such as recycled lastic materials to be set on cement pads. 12. Replace existing shed The Committee recommends that when the shed is replaced that it should be moved to a more remote location towards the back ofth cemetery for aesthetic purposes. . 13. Suggestion to chain off the other entrances to the cemetery The Committee is not in complete agreement n this item. One member feels that for safety and security reasons, chaining off all other enance/exits other than the main entrance should be considered. The member feels that if you orce people to use the same entrance and it is well lighted, it is less likely that they will go into the cemetery for other purposes. Other members feel that chaining the entrance/ xits that are used would make it seem unwelcoming. It should be noted that at the resent time the main entrance does not stand out that much and it may not be obvious to pen Ie visiting the cemetery for the first time that this is the main entrance to use. Upon comple ion of the entrance area improvement, it will be more of focal point and this item can be I oked at again at that time. Other Considerations and Items for Future Conce n: 1. Acquisition of land for future cemetery devel pment The Committee feels this is something that ne ds to be accomplished within the next five years. The Committee suggests that it will be important for the Public Works Director to initiate setting aside funds each year in the bud et so that when a suitable site may become available, the funding will be established for thi purchase. It is preferred and recOmmended that the City acquire an open flat parcel of at Ie st 10 acres for a future cemetery. The City would then be able to landscape and plot the site, as well as incorporate a pathway or walkway throughout the cemetery. C:IBETHIWORDPROCIRIVERsIDuOng.term.cernelery'Plan'2001 ,wpd : 12107101 - PAGE 2 OF 3- . 2. . . Mark walkways The Committee feels that planting shrubs, tc. would help better define what is considered a pedestrian walkway and what is a drive ay in Riverside Cemetery. This could also be incorporated into the landscape plan (item #1). 3. Tree maintenance/care/trimming trees The Committee feels that the City should b trimming trees in the area especially on the west side where they are so thick. The Parks D artment should be in charge of determining if any trees need to be removed. 4. Level/compaction of graves/fill in sunke The Committee the City should make sur the excavating contractor is backfilling graves properly and it is important that the con ractor compact in layers as the grave is being backfilled. This should help with the curre t problem of sinking graves throughout Riverside Cemetery. The sunken graves need to e filled in because they cause problems when mowing. 5. Look at caretaker position for future sys em The cemetery may be something the Park Department may end up handling and possibly this may not continue to be a contract pos tion. The Committee feels there are many pros and cons of a contract caretaker versus a ity employee caretaker. One member feels that a contract caretaker position would not se to the seeding, watering and other maintenance on the grave sites. Other members feel t e contract position could cover that work but it would require monitoring by City staff to ee that it was enforced. One member noted that with City employees they would generall be off from Friday at 4:30 p.m. until Monday at 7:30 a.m. and this could create a pro lem. If the City considers taking over this responsibility, a rotating shift is suggeste for items that would come up on the weekend. 6. Find a program to ensure seasonal mai tenance plan The Committee would like to see snow r oval at the main entrance and exits be done in a timely manner and not just when there is a funeral as there are many individuals who visit the cemetery in the winter months to plac holiday wreaths, and ornaments, etc. 7. Plant grass and get it to grow The Committee feels that regardless ofw ose responsibility it is (the City or a Contractor) there has to be a greater emphasis on getti g the new grave areas seeded and maintained until the grass grows. It is felt that from this pint going forward the City should see to this, but it may not be feasible for the City to re-se d old graves as they are too numerous. The Parks Department has suggested that the use of fiber mat to hold the seed and moisture in might be utilized in getting the grass started. It hould be cautioned that there are some problems mowing around the fiber mat but once the grass is established the mat could then be removed. 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