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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRCAgenda_91Feb11PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING 7:00 P.M. FEB. 11, 1991 AGENDA 1. Ice Rinks 2. Community Park Building Project 3. Recreation Program Fees and Charges 4. City Trail Plan 5. Idaho/Snelling Park Project • MINUTES AD HOC PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING JANUARY 3, 1991, 7 p.m. Members Present: Jeff Johnson, Steven Schugel, Linda McLoon, Carol Huso, Jyneen Thatcher, Lloyd Jacobson, Mike Farrell, Dave Wickhem, Carol Kriegler, Parks Director, Scott Midness, Representative from Barton/Aschman Members Absent: Deborah Weiland, Sam Jacobs, Council Liason 1. Presentation by Scott Midness, from Barton/Aschman Scott reviewed the original park plan for Idaho/Snelling park from the Park MasterPlan. He stated the need to develop the plan to meet the needs now. Carol K indicated that the grant application was based on the original plan and feels we can't deviate too far from the original. Some alterations are possible, including the site for the building and the hard court, the play area etc. The site is so small, that there is not tons of leeway for development. Scott also mentioned that the water flow around the possible building site needs to be clearly known, especially since it has been changed since the original plans were drawn up. The grant included 550,000 for a building to serve as a warming house. Scott also indicated that we may be hampered by what we can do in the holding pond area by DNR restrictions. • Carol K indicated she would look into this. The trees in the pond area provide a nice buffer from Snelling Avenue in the summer. Linda asked about the time line in the project and why it wouldn't be done until Fall, 1991. Scott said that it was based on when sodding could be done, which needs to be done in the Fall and can't be done in July or August, and the availability of materials in the spring. He indicated that often building materials are not available until May and that most construction cannot begin until May. Of course, the weather may permit an earlier start date. We wouldn't, however, want a partially done park without grass, etc. A great deal of discussion concerning the grass (or shall I say the lack of any grass) at the site ensued. The type of grass and the cost of continued maintenance of it need to be considered. Carol asked how much change in the schematic design was possible. Scott indicated that up to 3 different versions could easily be drawn up, based on input from the community meeting. Other changes from above include the need for an updated park survey, since the storm water drains were changed, the parking lot configuration (e.g. an island may not be feasible), etc. Scott indicated that 2 bids should be requested, one for the building and a second for the site. In this way, the site would be better prepared by • someone with more experience with park sites. Scott indicated that the contract had 20 hours of construction site supervision, which he felt was more than adequate. Mike and Dave indicated that water in the s rin could f p g o ten reach the east edge of the park, but never reached in the direction of the proposed park building/play area site. Carol also indicated that the money could not be used on the ball field, since it was not a regulation size, e.g. on a new backstop. We agreed it would be good to remove the broken stuff from the site, including the rusting, broken backstop that is presently there. Carol felt it was important to be clear that there would probably be no skating at the site the winter of '91-'92, to protect the new grass. It was unanimously agreed by the Park and Rec. Commission members that we should make a recommendation to the City Council to hire Barton/Aschman for its park planning services at the Idaho/Snelling park contingent on receipt of the grant. It was important to have this recommendation into the city council before the public meeting, which Scott would help run. The public meeting was set for Tuesday, January 22 at 6:30 pm at City Hall. Carol will send flyers to the homes near the park and will put flyers about the meeting in the warming house. Carol will try to put a notice in both the city newsletter and the Focus and Review. We discussed whether we need a proposal from the architect who did the community park. We agreed that the consistency and coordination between the park buildings would be an asset to the city's parks. We also already had a schematic design from the architect, for which we had already • paid. Carol indicated that the architect firm was interested in doing this building as well. Further discussion of the building was tabled. Carol K indicated that it was important not to incur costs associated with the project before we received grant notification. She indicated that she would call them to find out when we would be receiving official notification. We agreed that we should make the recommendation for the hiring of Barton/Aschman even if the final contract needed to be signed later. Carol K indicated that Jan W. could work out the details and protocol for the hiring of Barton/Aschman. As there was no further business, the meeting was concluded at 8:45 pm. Respectfully submitted, ~g ~_ Linda McLoon, Secretary • • MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING following the Public Meeting on the Idaho/Snelling Park JANUARY 22, 1991, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Jeff Johnson, Steven Schugel, Linda McLoon, Jyneen Thatcher, Lloyd Jacobson, Deborah Weiland, Mike Farrell, Dave Wickhem, Carol Kriegler, Parks Director, Sam Jacobs, Council Liason, Sue Hoyt, City Planner Members Absent: Carol Huso 1. Land Use Plan Sue Hoyt went over the Land Use Plan for the city of Falcon Heights. She particularly wanted us to examine the bike and pedestrian trails described in the Comprehensive Park Plan. She handed out a sheet that indicated where all the trails were and questioned the trails marked in yellow. She asked if we wanted to keep them in the plan, as they did not connect to anything. She also indicated that, should all things go as planned, both Cleveland Ave. and Larpenteur Ave. will have marked bike trails when they are redone in the next 1-2 years. Most of the park related plans in the city plan came directly from the Comprehensive Park Plan and • there were no corrections made. Carol K indicated that the Ramsey County Friends of the Parks are pursuing the use of the fairgrounds for recreational purposes when the fair is not there. Carol will keep us informed. 2. Community Park Building Update Carol informed us that the heating in the park building was imbalanced. They brought it to the attention of the contractor, since it meant there was a blockage somewhere with a bent or crushed heating duct. The next thing Carol knew was that they were jackhammering the floor up without having first received the authority. Since we use the building as a warming house now, Carol was concerned that they were going to make the building unusable. They assured her that the mess would be minimal, the hole small and that they would be very neat so we could continue using the building. Carol said that the hole is really huge and the building a dusty mess. Much of the duct work was crushed; probably someone drove a bulldozer over it. We all wanted to know where the architect was when this was going on. There are still a number of other problems, such as sodding and grading at the building. The ice rink is particularly bad, with quite a bad slope across it. There are still disturbed areas that didn't get seeded. The contractor wants his final payment and said he would put 52,300 in escrow • to insure that everything would be done. Carol had an independent contractor look at the grounds and they estimated the cost to be more like 510,000, particularly as the sod problems could get worse in the spring. The commission agreed that since the contractor was in default of the contract, we should be able to hold back the value of the work. Carol indicated that we still owed them 518,000. Sam thought the best approach was to not pay them anything until the work was totally finished. A consultation with the city attorney was definitely in order. 3. Non-resident Reimbursement Fees Linda indicated that it the city council decided, without consultation with the Parks Commission, to no longer give non-resident reimbursement tees back. She wondered why the commission hadn't been consulted before the council took this action. 4. As there was no further business, the meeting was concluded at 9:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Linda McLoon, Secretary • •