BCOL Advisory Council Minutes 11-04-2011MINUTES
BERTRAM CHAIN OF LAKES REGIONAL PARK ADVISORY COUNCIL
Friday, November 4th, 20118:00 a.m.
Bridge Room, Monticello Community Center
Advisory Council Members Present: Martyn Dibben, Jim Lindberg, Larry Hance, Pat
Sawatzke, Glen Posusta, Pete Stupar, Wes Olson
Advisory Council Members Absent: Rose Thelen, Clint Herbst, Sandra Theros,
Janice Bergstrom, Gene Emanuel, Lyle Trunnel
Staff Present: Angela Schumann, Marc Mattice, Kitty Baltos, Stacy Marquardt
Staff Absent: Jeff O'Neill, Tom Pawelk, Graham Sones
1) Call to order
Martyn Dibben called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
2) Approval of October 7, 2011 Meeting Minutes
JIM LINDBERG MOVED TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 7, 2011 MEETING MINUTES
AS AMENDED. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY WES OLSON. MOTION CARRIED
7 -0.
3) Consideration of adding to and approving agenda
a) Friends of Bertram Lake
b) Kicking Bear
4) Review Phase 3 Purchase
a) Shared Use Agreement
The Shared Use Agreement drafted would allow for water access to Bertram Lake on
Parcel 12 owned by the Y on Fridays at 4 p.m. through Sundays at sunset during the
summer. It would also allow the Y to use three City /County owned buildings located
on Parcel 7a for Y programming. The Y will be responsible for public water supply
sampling and testing and the cost of electricity. The Advisory Council agreed to strike
the word "irrevocable" from the item C.1 in the agreement as it relates to license to
use and operate the property and facilities.
b) MOU Addendum
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Addendum amends the original MOU
outlined in 2008. It specifies that the Y would be authorized to use the property for
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up to three summers and that it would be responsible for maintaining buildings in the
Park and managing water access on Bertram Lake. It also gives the City and County
the option to put surface zoning ordinances on the lake for non - motorized usage.
The Advisory Council agreed to amend the MOU language in several sections. The
Addendum incorrectly specifies that horses are located on Parcel 7 and that the beach
is part of Parcel 7a. Items 1 -4 were to be eliminated and instead read," ...facilities as
per the shared use agreement or at such time as the updated shared use agreement is
adopted." Also eliminated was the phrase "contemplating the approval to relocate."
Additionally, the phrase involving "incremental transactions" would be edited to read,
"Accordingly the allocated price for one of the future transactions will be reduced in
value by $13,131." The indemnification clause was revised and liability issues were
resolved.
c) Purchase Agreement
The Purchase Agreement drafted documents the parameters of the acquisition and
will be modified based on the appraisal. The legal status of the document will not be
affected by the YMCA changing its name to the Y. Title insurance for the property
has been obtained.
d) Time Line
A draft copy of the appraisal was due to be reviewed on November 4th. It will then be
submitted to grant agencies for amendment due to the increase in acreage involved.
The Shared Use Agreement, the MOU Addendum and the Purchase Agreement
documents are to be finalized and brought forward to the City Council and County
Commission for review by November 15th. The next steps involve finalization,
encumbrance of funds from the federal and state government, updating the abstracts
and determining a mid - December closing date.
e) Future Beach and Y camp agreement discussions
Pat Sawatzke asked that future communication with the Y go through the proper
formal channels so that all parties are involved in any negotiations.
The Y has not yet provided a proposal for establishing camp in the northern portion of
the park. The Y's attorney proposed a separate lease agreement to follow the purchase
of Parcels 1, 2 and 8 which would allow the Y to begin planning for operations in the
north end of the park and the City and County to obtain use of the full balance of the
park including the beach. This agreement would be contingent on obtaining grant
funding and approval by both the City Council and County Board.
The Advisory Council brainstormed numerous options for allowing beach access and
authorized the continued review and negotiations of a public access beach agreement.
Staff estimated that it would cost approximately $20,440 to open the beach on
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summer weekends. There was no formal action taken related to beach access at this
time.
There was some comment about the need to upgrade the chalet building to use for
events or as office space for the Friends of Bertram.
There was continued discussion about the definition of non - motorized boating on
Bertram Lake. A future lease agreement might provide an opportunity to experiment
with the definition of "non- motorized" lake usage prior to making a final designation.
WES OLSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE SHARED USE AGREEMENT, THE
MOU ADDENDUM WITH MODIFICATIONS, AND THE PHASE THREE
PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH APPRAISAL MODIFICATIONS. MOTION
WAS SECONDED BY PAT SAWATZKE. MOTION CARRIED 7 -0.
5) Establishment of an Executive Committee to report to City Council and County
Board relating to topics such as: expenses, operations, responsibilities, and
improvements
There was brief discussion of the need to formalize the process by which
recommendations of the Advisory Council are communicated to elected officials.
WES OLSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE COMPRISED OF THE MEMBERS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS TEAM:
ROSE THELEN, PAT SAWATZKE, GLEN POSUSTA, CLINT HERBST, AND
MARTYN DIBBEN TO REPORT ON BERTRAM ADVISORY COUNCIL
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL AND WRIGHT
COUNTY COMMISSION. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY JIM LINDBERG.
MOTION CARRIED 7 -0.
6) Marketing, promotions, programming and Park Use developments for 2012
Tom Pawelk will meet with Kitty Baltos to develop some parameters for marketing,
promotions, programming and Park Use developments for 2012 and report back to the
Advisory Council.
7) Grants and Funding Updates
Staff have applied for six Legacy grants. Grant applications have been submitted for
Parcels 12, 10, 7b, and 5. Parcel 12 is scheduled to be the next purchase. An application for
Parcels 1, 2, 8 and 9 may be submitted together for outdoor recreation grant funding. Staff
have applied for $6 million in bonding funds and recommend that the MN Parks &
Trails Council support $5 million for the outdoor recreation grant out of bonding
funds as well.
8) Report on Senate Committee Tour
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Representatives from the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee
toured Bertram Lake Park on October 20th. The Committee had toured four Greater MN
Park and Trail projects to learn about the projects Legacy Funds would support over the
next few years. Zero match legislation is proposed for Greater MN Parks & Trails projects
for 2015 in an attempt to level the playing field with Metro Park projects. The Senate
Capital Investment Committee may tour Bertram Park at end of November.
9) Advisory Board membership and makeup
There was some discussion about the composition and the formal authority of the
Advisory Council. There are to be two City Council representatives, two County
Commission representatives, two at -large positions from the City, two at -large
positions from the county, and representation from the City and County Parks
Commissions, the MCC Advisory Board, the school district, the township,
community groups, citizen at- large, local athletic organizations and the Y. Some
Council terms, including that of the Chair, will expire at the end of the year. There
was some concern about the need for consistent attendance. Larry Hance has
indicated an interest in continued participation. Staff will check in with Gene
Emanuel and Janice Bergstrom to determine their level of commitment. The Advisory
Council determined that there was no need to appoint alternates or increase number of
representatives.
10) Other /Additions
a) Friends of Bertram: The Friends of Bertram held a retreat on October 8th to
review accomplishments and plans for the future. Thirteen Friends of Bertram were in
attendance. Representatives from the Friends group from Lake Mariah State Park and
the Friends from the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge also attended to share how each
provides support for their organization. This enabled the Friends of Bertram to begin
to consider how to move from a role of advocacy to one of support as they outline a
long -term vision for the organization.
b) Kicking Bear: The Kicking Bear organization will use the Monticello
Sportsman's Club for its 2012 event and submit an updated proposal for the use of
Bertram Park as their campout event site for 2013.
11) Adjourn
WES OLSON MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 10:00 AM. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY
PETE STUPAR. MOTION CARRIED 7 -0.
Recorder:
Approved:
Attest:
El