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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRCAgenda_92May11 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May il, 1992 7:00 p.m. FALCON HEIGHTS COMMUNITY PARR AGENDA A. CALL TO ORDER: B. ROLL CALL: Huso Jacobson McLoon Nicholson Schugel Thatcher Wickhem Weisberg Kriegler Gehrz C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MINUTES OF APRIL 13 AND APRIL 21 D. REPORTS, .REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: D-1. Park Hours D-2. Falcon Heights School/Recreation Facility Task Force . Update ADJOURNMENT MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING April 13, 1992, 7 p.m. y ~ ~:'.. ..:.J ~~ ~, ~: r ~- ._ Members Present: Carol Weisberg, Carol Huso, Morris Nicholson, Lloyd Jacobson, Linda McLoon, Steve Schugel, Dave Wickhem, Carol Kriegler, Parks Director, Sue Gehrz, Council Liaison Members Absent: Jyneen Thatcher 1. Corrections to the Minutes of March 9, 1992 The second item 3 should be item 4. In item 4 it should read "60% of the children living in Falcon Heights attend Brimhall Elementary School". Item 6: It should read "if and when a bid for seal coating is sent out, it would include the Community Park parking lot". 2. Update on the parking lot. There will probably be no seal coating of streets this year in Falcon Heights. With the Cleveland Avenue construction project and the heavy machinery that will probably use the to t, it is probably just as well. 3. Bathroom Facilities at the Community Park Carol K reported that last year the satellite was in the park from mid-to-late May to mid- to-late August, which was a bit earlier than usual. We discussed dates that the satellite should be in the park. The consensus was May 1 -Sept. 30. Discussion concerning why the bathrooms cannot be left unlocked followed. When the building was rented last weekend, the bathrooms were found messed up, with golf balls in the urinals and toilet paper all over. It most likely was not the renters' but rather "the public" using the facility when the doors were unlocked. It is current policy that whenever a park and rec activity is going on in the park, the coaches open up the bathrooms. As general use of the building increases, this will also increase the openness of the bathrooms. Ideas for increasing times for bathroom openness: having the building staffed by volunteers (maybe they could run a concession, selling pop and hot dogs), or using a rotating list of nearby neighbors who open the bathrooms and stay in the park for several hours. 4. Play Equipment at the Community Park The RFPs are due Tuesday, April 21 (see packet for what was sent out). We will try and document why a particular vendor was selected. We will go over the bids at 6:30 pm at Curtiss Field on Tuesday, April 21 to select a vendor or to select two vendors to interview, if necessary. The bids will be available from 6:15 on. 5. Falcon Heights School Task Force The group will meet this Wednesday. There will also be representatives from the District Center there. 6. Scholarship Program Policy Setting A gift was given to the city for scholarships to enable children from families with limited income to participate in park and rec programs. The availability of scholarships was indicated in the Summer Program Bulletin. Carol K said that the city has received 2 phone calls and 1 completed application form. Carol K indicated that all program fees went up S2, and that there 's now a S2 nonresident fee. Carol K went over her research on the policy of other cities concerning scholarships. Issues include, who is eligible, should need be demonstrated, how can the program be sustained from year to year, and should the number of scholarships be limited per child? Roseville has scholarships for just its residents, they don't require proof of need, the money comes from the general operating budget and they give full scholarships, up to S 100/year/child. Shoreview is still developing a policy. Mounds View's program is for residents only, they have to demonstrate need, is supported by the local Lion's club, the participant is asked to pay what they can afford, and is limited to 1 scholarship/child/season. Little Canada's program is open to anyone, no proof of need is required, the Recreation Associations pay (for each sport or program), and the individual is asked to pay what they can afford. Arden Hills' program is for residents only, no proof of need is required, the money comes from the operating budget and pays 50% of the fee only, with no other limits. After some discussion the following was agreed upon. We won't specify residency (wait and see if the system is abused), especially if civic groups help foot the bill and Lauderdale children have no city program and use ours a lot. No proof of need will be required, we will attempt to get the funds from civic groups. It was also suggested that the solicitation be put in the city newsletter and a line requesting donations for scholarships be included on the form that participants use to sign up for the programs. The items pertaining to financial need should be removed from the application form. No limit on requests was set. We will review these guidelines after the summer season. 7. Cleveland Avenue Construction The project is now set to begin after Labor Day, so the street will be open for the state fair time. The current plans show enlargement of the pond in the NW corner and the addition of a pond in the SW corner. Carol K and the city engineer will work to keeping this pond natural looking in shape and the paths around it also natural looking. The path is outside the "100 year storm line" for that corner of the park. It will have a gradual slope to it. The path for the trail replacement within the construction limits runs east and west of the new pond site. Approximately 1 /3 of the trail will be replaced due to construction damage. The path will be 4- 5feet wide and meet ADA requirements for handicapped accessibility, with proper sloping and ditches along side the trail. Carol K got information from Prairie Restoration Inc. This will be part of the construction project package, and includes the whole west side of the park and the whole south side. Carol K will determine how much of this area is within construction limits. sue Hoyt is trying to get the county to include the rest of the prairie restoration of the park in the construction project, since it represents just a small part of the total cost of the project (which is over one million dollars). Carol K thought that the trees along the west side could be transplanted. This plantings would probably wait until spring. Carol K will meet with representatives of the DNR and the county this week. She hopes Jyneen will be able to look over the plans. She will also compare the plans from the county with the proposal from Prairie Restoration Inc. 8. Curtiss Field Update Dave indicated that the park and new play equipment is getting heavy use and that everyone loves it. He indicated that there is a dog problem down there. Carol K said she is working on signage to include "No dogs, no alcohol and the park hours". New signage for the Community Park will also be prepared. Dave indicated that there was some exposed copper gas line, which should be enclosed. Carol K said she would look into it. It was suggested that NSP be contacted, since it is a hazard. Also Dave said children are climbing over the fence near the play equipment and getting into the holding pond area. This will be looked into at a later date. 5. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm Resp~ectnfully submitted, '.inda McLoon, Secretary MINUTES April 21, 1992, 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Cara( Weisberg, Carol Huso, Morris Nicholson, Linda McLoon, pave Wickham, Carol Kriegler, Park and Rec. Director Members Absent; Lloyd .lacobson, Steve $chugel 1. Review Plans for the Community Park Play Equipment Carol K had received 4 proposals for the Community Park Flay Equipment. They w8re from Big Toy (BTU, Iron Mountain Forge (IMF), Landscape Structures (LS) and Miracle (M}. After we all had perused them, we set up a table to numerically rate the play equipment. The categories were; handicapped accessibility, materials, warranty, maintenance, number of play elements, aesthetics, servicability, appropriate play activities for the ages indicated, whether the vendor put in the play structure or whether the vendor subcontracted with a second firm and uniformity between other play structures in I"alcon Heights. Categories were graded by group consensus, from 1 to 10, with 10 being best. IMF M BT LS materials steel steel woad, steel aluminum 5 5 ~ 7 10 warranty i yr 1 yr ~ yr 5 yr handicapped 3 1 0 ~ 10 accessibility # play elements 13 13 16 (including 14 existing slide) vendor/subcon subcon subcon subcon vendor 1 1 1 2 uniformity 1 9 1 2 aesthetics 7 2 ~ $ Totals AD HOC PARKS AND RECREATION CC)MMlSSION MEETING 31 24 23 51 The commission had several questions. Carol K said she would contract the vendors about them. First, on the question of serviceability, if something breaks ar needs replacing, who will actually fix it, the vendor or the city? Also, is the resilient surfacing on the Landscape Structure plan part of the bid? Carol K thought it was, but wilt check on it. The only truly handicapped accessible playground structure was the one from Landscape Structures. We were upset that Big Toy chose to ignore this issue, stating that this was not manditory by law yet. We would prefer a vendor thinking toward the future, rather than the past. Carol K indicated that the next step is to list our specific requirements and put the structure out on bid. Carol W indicated that for the Brimhaii playground, we used a list of specific questions for each vendor to better compare them on issues of warranty, maintenance etc. Linda said she would fax these questions to Carol K tomorrow. The clear favorite of the commission, based on the various criteria above is Landscape Structures, with Iron Mountain i"orge second. 5. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, ~r Linda McLoon, Secretary Meeting Date: 5/11/92 Agenda Item: D-1 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ITEM DESCRIPTION: Park Hours SUBMITTED BY: Carol Kriegler, Park & Rec Director REVIEWED BY: N/A EXPLANATION/SUMMARY: The impending installation of park rules signage and recent incidents of vandalism in the parks would seem to warrant a review of park hours. Currently, park hours are 6:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. Two windows recently broken at Curtiss Field seemed most likely to have occurred after 10 P.M. Conversation with some neighboring residents of Curtiss Field has indicated that no constructive activity takes place in the park after dark. Earlier closing hours at the neighborhood parks (Curtiss Field & University Grove) could likely reduce vandalism and be more conducive to the many homes that are in close proximity to the park. ACTION REQUESTED: Set earlier closing hours for the two neighborhood parks. ' STREETS, PARKS, PUBLIC SAFETY & Z1~RDVEMEI~IPS 3-3.12/3-4.01 Subdivision 2. ~~ose. This section i.s made for the purpose of authorizing County officers to collect remaining balances of assessments for improvements in order to afford property owners and other members of the public the convenience of making such payment in the same place and in the mariner that they pay general taxes and installments of assessments. PART 4. PUBLIC PARRS AAID FACILITIES 3-4.01 Reg), ations Subdivision 1. ~~ose. It is the purpose of this section to protect and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the City by regulating the use of and management of public parks and facilities within the City. This section is in addition to all other sections, statutes and regulations that might be applicable to the City. Subdivision 2. furs and Access. a. The parks shall be open to the public between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. No person shall remain, stop, use or be present within the confines of any park between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. except for the active tennis courts. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the council or clerk in the case of emergency or when special use permits have been authorized and issued. b. Permits shall be required for the exclusive use of all or portions of specific areas, buildings, and other facilities and for conducting events of a cultural, educational, political, religious or recreational nature; and for specific exemption from any provi- sion of this section. Any person, group or association of persons required to obtain a permit shall file an application for such permit with the clerk. c. The grantee of a permit shall be bound by this section and department regulations in force as though the same were inserted in said permit. d. The grantee of a permit shall be liable for any loss, damage, or; injury sustained by the parks or by any person whatever, by reason of the negligence of the person or persons to whom such permits are issued. 13 Meeting Date: 5/11/92 -- Agenda Item: D-2 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ITEM DESCRIPTION: Falcon Heights School/Recreation Facility Task Force -- Update SUBMITTED BY: Carol Kriegler, Park & Rec Director REVIEWED BY: N/A EXPLANATION/SUNIIKARY: The first meeting of the group was held on Wednesday, April 15. Carol Kriegler will update the commission on the discussion that took place and the future plans for this group.