Loading...
Parks Commission MInutes 03-27-2008Minutes: 3/27/08 MINUTES PARKS COMMISSION Thursday, March 27, 2008 - x:30 p.m. "To enhance commanity pride through developing maintaining City parks with a standard of quality:' Members Present: Gene Emanuel, Mark Larson, Nancy McCaffrey, Larry Nolan, Rick Traver and Council Liaison Brian Stumpf. Members Absent: None Others Present: Tom Pawelk, Fark Superintendent. 1. Call to Order. Chair Larry Nolan called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum present. 2. A rove minutes of March 6 2008 Parks Commission meetin . Larry Nolan submitted some information he had received from Kitty Baltos regarding the sale of banners for the ballfields. Torn Pawelk indicated that all funds generated frarn the sale of banners would go into the park fund. Nancy McCaffrey asked about the amount budgeted for the East Bridge Park plantings and what was used for the cost of the storage shed. Tom Pawelk indicated that there were funds budgeted this year and some of the funds designated last year for East Bridge Park had not been used. The Parks Commission complimented the park workers on the goad job they did with the storage building. Tom Fawelk said they would be putting a lock system on it and provide the gardeners with a couple of keys. Tom Pawelk added that Tom Link, the adjacent property owner was very cooperative on this project. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 6, 2008 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. GENE EMANUEL SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. Consideration of Addin Items to the A enda. Larry Nolan informed the Parks Commission that Walk N Roll will be held on Saturday June 14, 2008 from 9-12. Last year the Parks Commission had a table at the East Bridge Park parking lot which Larry Nolan felt was a goad location. Gene Emanuel and Nancy McCaffrey indicated that they should be available to help. Parks Commission will further discuss what kind of activity they will provide. 4. Citizens comments and re uests. Larry Nolan commended the park staff on the great job they did this winter in keeping the sidewalks and pathways cleared. Tom Fawelk informed the Parks Commission of the Council approval of new equipment to be used for sidewalk maintenance. Minutes: 3/27/0$ 5. Review and ublic in ut on develo intent of the Sunset Ponds Park. Two residents of the Sunset Fonds area were present at the meeting. Tom Pawelk reviewed the two proposals for play structures that the Parks Commission was considering. Tom Pawelk felt the proposal from Webber Recreation was the top choice and informed the Parks Commission that he had contacted a number of communities regarding the firm's reputation for doing supervised installs. The feedback from the various communities was positive. The proposed park will meet ADA requirements. Brian Stumpf asked about the other proposal and whether it contained as much equipment. Tom Pawelk indicated that it did nvt have equipment for the 2-5 year old range. The installation of the equipment will be done by the Scouts under the supervision of a representative from Webber Recreation. This would save $15,000 on the cost of the project. One resident asked about soccer or ballfields. Tam Fawelk indicated that there would be a field there but it is intended primarily for local use. The play area is located adjacent to the parking lot. Brian Stumpf asked about the $15,000 savings and was told that the savings brought the project cost within budget. Tom Pawelk said the Forks Department will be doing some tree planting in the area. Another resident asked if they would be installing benches. Tom Pawelk responded that would come eventually but picnic tables would be installed initially. Brian Stumpf asked about restraoms. Tom Pawelk said if there is a need for restroams on site, they would look at using a portable unit which he estimated would cost $50/month. It was questioned whether the City had to provide a unit that was ADA compliant. Tom Pawelk indicated while that it was ideal it was not required. Tom Pawelk added that the park will also have an underground irrigation system but it was not budgeted for this year. Brian Stumpf commended Tom Fawelk for all the work he had done on the development plans for the park. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ACCEPT THE FLAY EQUIPMENT PROPOSAL FOR SUNSET PONDS PARK AS PROPOSED. RICK TRAVER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Tom Pawelk stated this item will come before the Council at their April 14, 200$ meeting. If approved it is hoped to have installation completed in July. 6. Park Maintenance. Tom Pawelk submitted a list of work completed by parks staff. The storage shed for the East Bridge Fark gardeners is complete except for staining. Swan Park was busy this season with people coming to the site to view the swans. Tom Pawelk brought up an issue relating to the cemetery. Apparently the records indicating which lots are used are not accurate and they have had incidents where when preparing the lot for a burial they have come across a vault already there. It is hoped that this summer with the use of GIS and by physically measuring and probing the sites they will be able identify all the lots that contain a vault. They are also proposing to have a map at the cemetery showing the lots and identifying which lots have been sold. Tom Fawelk also reported that about 15 sections of the fence have been sold and some sections have been used along the east side of the cemetery. 2 Minutes: 3/27/08 Tom Pawelk stated he has received orders for 182 trees thus far and residents have until March 31, 2008 to place an order. The Pazks Commission discussed their annual tour of the parks and tentatively set June 10, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. as the date. It is proposed to view Sunset Ponds, Hillcrest, Groveland, Pioneer and Water Tower Park. Gene Emanuel asked if the Hockey Association had signed the agreement with the City. Tom Pawelk indicated they had not. Tom Pawelk stated that they aze coming up with a different format for their time cards that will let them breakout ballfield maintenance from park maintenance and that will allow for more accurate tracking of time spent on the fields. Tom Pawelk added that the baseball association did sign their agreement which was at the increased price of $1,750. There will be an 80 team softball tournament scheduled in August and the baseball association may have some three day tournaments. Youth football use of the fields worked out well. Larry Nolan stated he had talked to Marc Mattice from Wright County about the status of funding for the YMCA. The bonding bill for the YMCA is in the house version of the bill but not in the senate version so it is in the conference committee. Larry Nolan suggested that the Parks Commission contact members of the conference committee. Brian Stumpf added that the project did receive $1,000,000 in LCCR funds. There was some discussion on what would happen if the YMCA did not receive funding for the full $8,000,000. At that point the City and County would have to evaluate funding sources available to come up with the shortfall amount. Tom Pawelk reported that deadline for applications for summer help closed last Friday and they are in the process of reviewing the applications. 7. Ad'ourn. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 5:15 F.M. NANCY MCCAFFREY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ~~s Recording Secretary