Parks Commission Minutes 04-26-2007
Parks Commission Minutes: 4/26/07
MINUTES
PARKS COMMISSION
Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 4:30 p.m.
"To enhance community pride through developing maintaining
City parks with a standard of quality."
Members Present:
Ben Hitter, Nancy McCaffrey, Larry Nolan, Rick Traver and Council Liaison,
Tom Perrault.
Members Absent:
None
Others Present:
Seth Nelson, Parks Superintendent.
1. Call to Order.
Chair Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum present.
2. Approve minutes of March 22. 2007 re2ular meetin2.
NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 22,
2007 REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. BEN HITTER SECONDED THE
MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
3. Consideration of addin2 items to the a2enda.
The following items were added to the agenda: 1) River Mill Pathway
4. Citizens comments and requests.
None.
5. Park Maintenance.
Seth Nelson submitted a listing of work completed. Saturday, April 28th they will be planting
trees at Groveland Park. Park staff has been working with Tim Maki on the Par West Disc Golf
layout and they hope to have the installation completed in the next couple of weeks.
Information about the new disc golf setup will be in the summer newsletter and on the City's
website. Larry Nolan suggested distributing a flyer at Walk N Roll.
Bike racks for the parks have come in and will be installed soon. The Parks Commission
discussed where the downtown location the bike rack should be. Seth Nelson will look at land
owned by the HRA and determine if that site will work.
10. Discussion of wrou2ht iron cemetery fence donation prices and Quantity per person.
At this time Public Works Director, John Simola arrived and the Parks Commission moved this
item up on the agenda.
Parks Commission Minutes: 4/26/07
John Simola indicated that the fencing removed from the cemetery was over a 100 years old.
With the recent newspaper article on the fencing, it was felt there might be individuals
interested in purchasing a section of it. Staff wanted the Parks Commission input on what price
should be established and ifthere should be a limit on the amount an individual could purchase.
The Parks staff has restored the pieces that are needed to go along the east side and some
additional pieces for backup in case a section had to be replaced.
John Simola stated the City has been getting inquiries from individuals about getting a section
of this fencing. Money generated from the sale of the fencing would be used for plantings at
the cemetery. John Simola was thinking along the lines of$150 minimum for a section offence
with an individual being limited to two sections offencing. There is approximately 30 sections
of fencing and at $150/section would generate revenue of approximately $4,500 to be used
towards plantings at the cemetery. Larry Nolan suggested contacting an antique store see what
kind of value there is on the fencing.
John Simola thought they could place a limit (2 sections per person) for 30 days or whatever
time frame the Parks Commission felt appropriate. After that time there would be no restriction
limiting the amount of fencing that could be purchased. The fencing sections would be sold as
is. Ben Hitter suggested limiting it to two sections per person until July I, 2007. Parks
Commission felt starting at $150 was reasonable unless discussions with the antique dealers
would indicate that a different price would be more appropriate.
The Parks Department would like to see plantings put in at the cemetery this year. The
cemetery maintenance contractor would like to see something installed that would not have to
be weeded. Rick Traver thought that laying plastic down with wood chips or rubber mulch
would require minimum maintenance.
5. Park Maintenance - continued.
Seth Nelson indicated Parks Department staff worked on an Arbor Day presentation at the
school. Tree seedlings were furnished by Wright-Hennepin Electric and the DNR had prizes
that were distributed to the elementary students.
Seth Nelson stated this is a very busy time for them as they try to get everything ready for the
year. They have gotten the water and irrigation systems for the parks ready to go and they
had to prepare the ballfields for the first tournament which was held on the weekend of April
20th. He added that the conversion of the baseball field to softball is complete except that they
want to replace the dugouts.
Various groups have been working in the parks. The Girl Scouts are at Ellison, the Rotary
Club at Otter Creek and the gardening group at East Bridge Park. In addition there were
several groups who did clean up at the parks. Seth Nelson added that they are proposing to
plant trees at Par West Park as a buffer between the residents and the disc golf. Nancy
McCaffrey asked if the Adopt-A-Park form was something that needed to be completed each
year. Seth Nelson felt as long as the group was working at the park there was no need to fill
out a form each year. He indicated the Boy Scouts would like to take care of some plantings
at the 4th Street Park.
Parks Commission Minutes: 4/26/07
Some replacement boards for the Otter Creek Park Bridge were ordered and will be installed.
They are looking to replace about seven boards.
Larry Nolan asked about the basketball court at Groveland Park and Seth Nelson indicated
that once the glut of spring work is done that will be one of the next projects that will be
undertaken.
The Parks Commission discussed the Sunset Ponds Park. In the development agreement it
states that by August I, 2007 the developer is to have the park area covered with 4" of topsoil
and graded out. There is money in the 2007 budget for playground equipment for this park.
The City will be seeding the park area once it is graded and that is hoped to be done this fall.
6. Fillinl!: Park Commission Vacancy.
Although the City has advertised the vacancy on the City's website and in the papers, the City
has not received any applications to fill the vacancy created when Fran Fair left. Nancy
McCaffrey updated the Parks Commission on some of the individuals she had contacted. The
Parks Commission would like to see someone on the Parks Commission from the east side of
the City. Tom Perrault suggested a couple of individuals to contact. Larry Nolan felt filling
the vacancy should be a top priority for the Parks Commission.
7. Walk N Roll.
It was noted that the date for Walk N Roll was changed to June 16th. Larry Nolan, Ben Hitter
and Rick Traver would possibly be available to man a booth for Walk N Roll. LarryNolan
would like to see a flyer about the Par West disc golf distributed at Walk N Roll as well as
distributing the pathway map.
Larry Nolan asked about placing mile markers along the pathway. Seth Nelson will check into
it further. The markers could placed at \4 or Y, mile distances.
8. Schedule Parks Tour.
The parks tour would be done as a special meeting of the Parks Commission. The Parks
Commission will do the parks tour on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. The following
parks will be looked at: I) Sunset Ponds; 2) Playground equipment at Pioneer Park;
3) Groveland Park; 4) Hunters Crossing; 5) Riverside Cemetery and the sidewalk in the area;
6) Water Tower Park; 7) River Mill pathway - The portion just completed; 8) Xcel ballfields
and Freeway fields; 9) Hillcrest Park and 10) East Bridge Park.
9. Discussion of recolmition of Fran Fair for service to the City:
The Parks Commission discussed placing a plaque at the East Bridge Park plantings honoring
Fran Fair in recognition of her many years of services to the Parks Commission as well as to
the City. The dedication event would take place at Riverfest. The Parks Commission
discussed a possible site for the plaque and it was felt a site towards the entrance to East
Bridge Park would provide the most visibility. Seth Nelson will get cost information for the
plaque.
Parks Commission Minutes: 4/26/07
Added Items:
River Mill Pathway: Seth Nelson stated he had talked to a resident about the pathway and doing
something with the area immediately adjacent to the pathway. Seth Nelson submitted pictures
showing the area and he felt that planting the area with native grasses and wildflowers would be
appropriate and would not require high maintenance.
Welcome Sign: The welcome sign for the east side of town could not be placed in the location
originally proposed because that was in the county right-of-way and the city land in that area was not
adequate in size for the sign. An alternative site would be in the area of CR 39 and CR 75 by
Cruiser's. Seth Nelson will do some further checking ofthe site.
Union Crossings Outlot: When the Union Crossings development was approved, the developer was
to be responsible for placing some plantings and benches on an outlot ofthe plat which is adjacent to
the City's pathway. The Parks Commission questioned when this was going to be done.
11. Adiourn.
RICK TRAVER MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 5:35 P.M. NANCY MCCAFFREY SECONDED
THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Recording Secretary ::,