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Parks Commission Minutes 07-23-2008Pazks Commission Minutes: July 23, 2008 MINUTES PARKS COMMISSION Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 4:30 p.m. ~To enhance community 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, 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 June 19, 2008 Parks Commission meeting. RICK TRAVER MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 19, 2008 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING. GENE EMANUEL SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH NANCY MCCAFFREY ABSTAINING. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. Discussion of splash pads was added to the agenda. 4. Citizen comments and requests. Tom Pawelk reported that he had received a couple of thank you notes expressing appreciation for the work done by the Parks Department in maintaining the parks and for their efforts in preparing for Riverfest. The Parks Commission also complimented the Parks Department staff on how well the parks looked for Riverfest. Nancy McCaffrey commented on the community band performance in the area of Otter Creek Park. It was felt there should be more performances in the parks during the summer months. 5. Park Maintenance. Tom Pawelk submitted a list of work completed by the department. The basketball court is up at the Groveland Park and turf maintenance of the parks has been completed. Parks Department staff refurbished the restroom at Ellison Park. Next week the staff will be working on the installation of the playground equipment at Sunset Ponds. Tom Pawelk noted that the Parks Department spent considerable time on preparing for Riverfest and this year they are tracking the number of hours spent on Riverfest preparation and cleanup. There is a large softball tournament scheduled for the first weekend in August. Since it is such a large field of teams the play will be split between Big Lake and Monticello. Tom Pawelk also reported that there has been quite a bit of vandalism in the parks recently. Parks Commission Minutes: July 23, 2008 6. Sunset Ponds Installation of Play structure. Tom Pawelk explained that the installation of the play structure at Sunset Ponds will require eight staff and should take about four days. The work load for staff has been cleared so that the department can commit to this project. Since the project is being done during the week the Scouts are not able to help with the installation of the equipment. However the Scouts are doing some other work in the park systems in lieu of the play equipment installation. 7. Shelter for Groveland Park. Tom Pawelk submitted a drawing of the proposed shelter for Groveland Park which will be constructed in-house by staff at an estimated cost for materials of $6,000. The shelter is 20' x 30' and will be located between the play structure and the basketball court. Construction on this project will begin as soon as the playground equipment at Sunset Ponds has been installed. The Parks Commission discussed briefly the use and development of the Groveland Park. Tom Pawelk reported that some additional tree planting for screening purposes was done at Kjellberg's. 8. Par-West Disc Golf Complaints. Tom Pawelk reported that he had received a number of complaints from residents about people throwing discs in the residents' yards and climbing over fences and shrubs to retrieve them. Most of the complaints were from the area left of the parking lot in the area of the townhomes. Rick Traver asked about doing some plantings to screen the yards. Tom Pawelk replied that there is a hedge but it is relatively low. He added that there is signage posted stating that there is "No Trespassing." The Parks Commission discussed the option of relocating that particular hole or shortening it up or possibly even eliminating that hole. Since it seems to be the same group of individuals that are creating the problem, Tom Pawelk had asked that residents call him directly and he would try to get out there so he could talk to the individuals causing the problem. If that does not take care of the problem other measures would have to be considered. Any suggestions for resolving the problem should be forwarded to Tom Pawelk. 9. Updates. if any. Nancy McCaffrey indicated that she would not be able to make the Parks Commission meetings in September or October. She stated she was not available at all in September but could make an October meeting if it was held later. The Parks Commission determined to change the meeting date for October to October 30tH Splash Pads: Larry Nolan reported on the splash pads located at Lake George in St. Cloud. It is a concrete slab with a fountain or fountains where the kids can run through the water. Since there is no significant depth to the water safety issues are less of a concern. Nancy McCaffrey noted there is one located in Canal Park in Duluth and she explained how that one was set up. She felt if the City pursued this it should be located at one of the City's signature parks. The consensus of the Parks Commission was that Pioneer Park would be a suitable site since there was sufficient space, good shading and was located in close proximity to neighborhoods with children. Parks Department staff will look into this 2 Parks Commission Minutes: July 23, 2008 further and it was suggested that Tom Pawelk contact the Parks Superintendent in St. Cloud to get more background information on the splash pads and their experience with them. Tom Pawelk distributed a brochure on a constitutional amendment that will be on the November 4, 2008 ballot. The amendment relates to funding for activities such as protecting water sources, restoring wetlands, forests and other natural habitat and supporting parks, trail and cultural heritage. Tom Pawelk updated the Parks Commission on the YMCA property. He indicated that he and Marc Mattice, Wright County Park Superintendent were at the capital and at that time the Metro Crreenway authorized $250,000 towards acquisition of the YMCA property. On July 24, 2008 representatives from LCCMR and the Department of Natural Resources will be doing a tour of the YMCA property. Welcome to Monticello Sign: Nancy McCaffrey asked about the sign and Tom Pawelk reported that he is working with Ryan Companies. Progress has been slowed since one of the individuals involved was gone for two weeks. Tom Pawelk was confident that they could reach an agreement on the placement of the signs and the Parks Department would try to get the sign installed this year yet if possible. Tom Pawelk also reported that they are waiting to get information from the insurance company on the hail damage to city facilities. 10. Adiourn. NANCY MCCAFFREY MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 5 P.M. RICK TRAVER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ~-~~~ S ~, Recording Secretary 3