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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRCAgenda_04Jan12• City of Falcon Heights PARK COMMISSION AGENDA City Hall Conference Room Monday, January 12, 2004 7:00 PM Denise Deen_ Patrick Dolan_ James Evans_ Chuck Long_ Staff Bill Maertz • _ City Council Representative Laura Kuettel 1. Review of 2003 accomplishments 2. Director's Report a. Recreation Coordinator search b. Trolley Path c. Falcon Heights Elementary School: recreation agreement 3. Dead of Winter Event 4. Goal setting for 2004 • Minutes City of Falcon Heights, Park and Recreation Commission Meeting November 10, 2003, City Hall Conference room 7:00 p.m. Present: Donna Daykin, Denise Deen, Patrick Dolan, Jim Evans, Laura Kuettel, Chuck Long, Bill Maertz 1. Call to Order In Chairman Chuck Long's absence, Denise Deen, acting chair, called the meeting to order. 2. Approval of Agenda By unanimous consent, Commission members approved the agenda. 3. Approval of Minutes Daykin moved and Evans seconded the approval of the minutes of Sept. 8, 2003. (Chairman Chuck Long arrived at this point to chair the rest of the meeting) 4. Election of Recording Secretary At Council Liaison Kuettel's suggestion, the Commission decided to rotate the position of recording secretary among commission members. Daykin offered to be the recording secretary for the • November meeting. 5. Director's Report a. Curtiss Field -Commission members each received a copy of a project plan and a landscape plan for the Curtiss Field improvements. On the project plan, Director Maertz explained that the speckled areas represent areas of construction of new concrete. A ramp, rather than the stairs of an earlier plan, will lead from West Idaho to the park. The existing chain link fence will be replaced with a nicer black chain link fence. The total cost of the project is $340,000. The city is asking MNDOT to cover one-third of the cost, or approximately $118,000. The city will wait until January 2004 to begin the project, which will enable Curtiss Field to have an ice rink this winter. It is expected that with the improvements, the pond will be dry 90% of the time. Next, Maertz explained the landscape plan. To improve drainage, the bottom of the pond will have a marsh seed mix, the middle will have a wetter site seed mix, and the top will have a 50% marsh and a 50% wetter seed mix. Specific trees and flowers have not been determined for all of the park. Kuettel commented on the loss of newly planted trees in other parts of the city and would like to see that prevented with this project. Maertz replied that when the project goes out for bid, the city will ask for a two to three year guarantee on all plants and will supervise their installation. It is expected that bids for the project will be reasonable since the market is soft now. b. Trolley Path -the city has held three meetings with the University Grove neighbors of the trolley path to explain and discuss the proposed path. Out of the 18 homeowners adjacent to the path, 14 are in support of the proposed improvements, 2 are noncommittal, 1 is firmly against, and 1 has not responded. The DNR is a strong supporter of the project and Sue Weinberg, representing the • University of Minnesota, said the University now supports the project as well. Neighbors of the project prefer a six foot wide ag lime trail, similaz to the path at Community Park. Neighbors aze very supportive of the efforts to get rid of invasive species of vegetation such as buckthorn and box elder. Maertz reported that for $1,000 - $2,000, a landscape architect will put together the ideas for the project on three display boards to present to the University Grove Association. Deen suggested that the city hold one more trolley path meeting with the University Grove neighbors to solidify the plans, and then present the three boards to the executive committee of the Grove Association. Maertz feels that if Sue Weinberg and the executive committee agree on a plan, the project will move forwazd. c. Community Park Playground -Maertz and Commission Chair Long recently presented the Commission's plans for a new play structure at Community Pazk to the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club. It is believed that this new play structure will appeal to a wider age range than the existing structure. The Lions Club voted to donate $3,000 to the project but must take a second vote to confirm the expenditure. $15,000 was budgeted for the project, but the total cost will be $21,500. However, there is $6,000 left over from the University Grove playground; $3,500 of that can be spent for installation of a rubberized surface for the Community Park play structure. Long moved and Deen seconded a motion to approve spending the money for the new play structure at Community Park. Maertz recommended that the city purchase the structure this year and store it until it can be installed next spring to save money on projected price increases. The old structure will be removed this fall with in-house labor. d. Purchase of Community Park -Maertz explained that to begin the process of the city potentially purchasing Community Park from the University of Minnesota, an appraisal of the value of the park must be obtained. Maertz and Heather Worthington feel that purchase of the pazk is a fmancially sound investment for the city because it will improve the property values of the homes in the neighborhoods near the park. Everyone in Falcon Heights lives within two miles of the pazk so it is a very usable park for Falcon Heights residents. The city currently leases the pazk for $1 a year from the University, with the lease set to expire in 2008. However, the University is only required to give a one year notice of its intent to cancel the lease. The land has been a park for 48 years. 6. Other Business Deen brought up the issue of the expiration of several Commission member's terms. She suggested that terms be staggered so that we don't have a completely new Commission every three years. Kuettel pointed out that most commissioners are reappointed to a second year term. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. •