Parks Commission Minutes 10-25-2007
Park Commission Minute,: 10/25/07
MINUTES
PARKS CO:MMISSION
Thunday,
October25,2007-4:30p.nL
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Members Present:
Gene Emanuel, Ben Hitter, Nancy McCaffrey, Larry Nolan, Rick Traver and
Council Liaison, Tom Perrault.
McmbersAbsent:
None
Others Present:
Tom Pawelk, Park Superintendent
1. Call to Order.
Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p,m. and declared a quorum
present.
2. Approve minutes of Seotember 27. 2007 ree:ular Parks Commillsion meetin~
RICK TRAVER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 27,2007
REGULAR PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. GENE EMANUEL SECONDED THE
MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
3. Consideration of ad dint! items to the al!enda.
Update on YMCA tours and pathway at Pioneer Park were added to the agenda for discussion.
4. Citizens comments and reaunts.
There was no one who spoke under citizens comments or requests.
9. Meetiue date for November.
Since the Park Superintendent had not yet arrived, the Parks Commission discussed changing
the meeting date for November. The regular meeting date falls on Thanksgiving. The Parks
Commission detennined to schedule the November meeting on November 29, 2007 and not
hold a meeting in December. Tfsomething did come up that required immediate action, a
special meeting could beheld.
5. Park Maintenance.
Tom Pawelk submitted a list of the work completed by the Parks Department staff. He
reported a vandalism incident at Pioneer Park. The interior of the bathroom was damaged and
Tom Pawelk estimated repair costs, including labor, to be about $600.
The developer has placed a cement pad on the outlot ofUmon Crossings. It had been proposed
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ParkCommissionMinut." 10/25107
at one time to have a rest area located there with a park bench and some plantings.
The play structurc at Hillcrest Park is completed and is getting a good deal of use.
Tom Pawelk reported on a YMCA tour earlier in the week with finance people from the state,
Senator Amy Koch and Representative Bruce Anderson. Additional tours are scheduled for
November 6th and November 13th.
The 4th Street Park parking lot has been milled and overlaid with the striping to be done soon.
The work on the viewing deck at Mississippi Park, although budgeted for this year, will not be
done until next year. Tom Pawelk indicated the Parks Department will be doing some restoration
work along the pathway at East Oak Drive. The area will be tilled, re-seeded and straw bales
placed.
6, Open Air Shelter for West Bridl!e Park:
Tom Paw elk reported that the City Council did not approve the open air shelter for West Bridge
Park and his Wlderstandingis that the money budgeted for the shelter will be used fo rthe
pathway improvements on Fallon Avenue.
7. Review of conceDtual drawiol!s for park at Sunset Ponds:
Tom Pawelk presented preliminary plans for the development of the Sunset Ponds Park. The
City had informed the developer that they would be drawing on his letter of credit to get thc work
completed which prompted the developer to work on fulfilling their obligation to get the park
area graded and seeded. The devcloperwill also be installing split rail fence markers for the
property comers. The development plans included a ballfield and soccer field. Tom Pawelk is
working with the youth baseball association to determine if an additional Little League field is
needed. A Little League field would measure 225 feet from home plat to the fence. There is
another 100 feet between the fence and the adjacent lots so it was felt aballfieldwoul d fit the
location. The ballfield would not be lighted but there is lighting on the parking lot. A play
structure, similar to that at Hillcrest Park, is proposed. Trees will be planted to delineate where
the park property line is and to discourage homeowners from encroaching into the park area. The
Parks Commission discussed the fields and the anticipated use. There was some concern that the
parking lot space would not be adequate if the fields were used forfonnalized soc ceribal1
practicc. To discourage this kind of use, the Parks Commission felt instead ofafe nee for the
field there should just be a backstop. Gene Emanuel noted that pickup games for neighborhood
kids is not very common and he felt that people using the field would likely not be from within
the development.
In further discussion of the play structure, Nancy McCaffrcy asked ifit was being designed for a
particular age group. Larry Nolan suggested that the structure not have a roof on it like the one at
Hillcrest as he noted kids climbing on the roof of the structure. Rick Traver suggested leaving
space for a basketball court even ifit isjust a half court. There will be a couple of options for the
play structure presented when the informational meeting ""ith the residents is held_ The Parks
Commission felt strongly that the park property boundaries need to be clearly defined. A
preliminary cost estimate for the play structure is thought to nm about $50,000. The
development plan also includes a pathway to handle foot traffic.
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Park Commission Minutes: 10/25/07
8. Review of draft Comprehensive Plan (Chapter 4 Parks)
In reviewing the draft document, the Parks Commission recommended the following changes:
I. The pictures used in the document be identified.
2. Montissippi Park be identified as a county park.
3. Revisions to the section dealing with the YMCA possible acquisition to note that is a
joint project wIth Wright County which mayor may not actually occur. It was also
pointed out that this would be a regional park. The definitions in the draft document do
not include anything for a regional park.
4. Thc list of features in the current city parks should be reviewed and updated to more
accurateiy rcflect what is located at each park.
Tn general discussion about the parks, Tom Pawelk noted because of the way the parks are
disbursed throughout the communityalot of time is spent in traveling to the par kstodo
maintenance. He added that with the possibility of the new Public Works facility being located
on the south side of the city it will add to the traveling time. The question was raised whether the
park system should shift their emphasis from neighborhood parks and focus more on community
and regional parks. The reasons for consideting a shift in focus include: I) Having fewer parks
would ease the maintenance load as far as travel time, etc. Hopefully having less parks to
maintain would translate into better maintenance and development of existing parks; 2) Thc
trend ofpcople to utilize parks that ofIer multiple features for all levels ofuser$ which is
somethingncighborhoodparksdon'tgenerally provide and 3) The reluctance to adequalely fund
for park development, maintenance and equipment. The Parks Commission in planning for park
development has tried to minimize the number of small parks by placing parks in areas
where developments adjoin. The Parks COlllIUission felt the Comprehensive Plan was a
guideline. \Vhile the reality of the situation may not be the same as the goals of the
Comprehensive Plan they felt the guidelines in the Comprehensive Plan should be adhered to.
Added Items:
Pathway at Fallon Avenue: The City Council at their last meeting approved a contract with Rum
River Construction for pathway construction and the contractor will be starting work
imm~diately_ The bids came in less than the engineer's estimate. Council liaison, Tom Perrault
felt that with the good bid prices the Council should have included the alternate as well which
was for a pathway conneding the west end of the Pioneer Park parking lot to the existing stubbed
path extending east from Farmstead Avenue but the Council only approved the pathway on
Fallon Avenue between Farmstead Avenue and School Boulevard.
10. Adiourn.
NA."JCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 6:00 P.M. RICK TRAVER SECONDED
THE MOTlON. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Recording Secretary
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