11-04-2019 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Draft October 7, 2019 Page 5 piece land, usually whatever was left over or unusable, but since those times the City has done a better job on obtaining better land or getting cash from the developer to put in the equipment or components of a park that can serve that community. He stated that because that is what it used to be (the small left over land from the developer) they have to make the best of what they have (these comments were made in response to a few residents inquiring why the park is so small and why it was built in such a bad area/bad land). DeGardner added to Huelman’s response to the residents by stating that if any resident knows of any land acquisition for a park they could let the City know, typically it is a difficult process for that. He stated he agreed this land (the land of Woods of Baldwin Lake Park) would not have been his first pick if he had been in that position when this development came to the City. Stated unfortunately this is what the City has to work with. With the Lyngblomsten development coming in, this is the closest neighborhood park to that development. If that development actually occurs there will be some significant Park Dedication dollars that the City is going to get, so the thought is if we are going to be getting the money, let’s make this Park more functional and user friendly. DeGardner then went onto address a few of the comments/concerns residents had while sharing their thoughts, concerns, and requests for the park. DeGardner shared that the existing park equipment was installed in 1994. It should have been replaced many years ago. Assuming that the Lyngblomsten development goes through and the Master Plan has been made he anticipates that the first thing to be replaced would be park playground equipment. DeGardner pointed out that this Preliminary Master Plan is to get resident feedback and have it act like a guide and that is the purpose of tonight’s meeting. He stated that they can’t accommodate or address everyone’s concerns but they can certainly take a look at the concerns and see what is reasonable. The goal is to get a guide as to what this park should be once the dollars start coming in rather than piece-mealing it together. He understands there has been some concerns about the maintenance and the pond and those type of things can certainly be looked at. When it comes to the pond, the pond is a storm water retention pond. The City has hundreds of ponds they must maintain and a lot of it is based on function, etc. The current condition and function of the pond does not even come close to justify spending the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that it would cost to do a complete dredge. However, the inlets and outlet areas when you have the over growth and the vegetation that is something we can put in our storm water and maintenance budget so that it can be dealt with sooner than later. He also stated that request to remove the dead trees and such is something that Public Works can look at however, some people would argue that the dead trees should stay there to help with the turtle habitat and so forth so there must be a balance. We will need to consult and work with our Environmental Department to make sure that what the City is doing is environmentally responsible and makes sense. A resident asked if there would be lights at the park. DeGardner stated that they do not typically light neiborhood parks. He said it is a huge cost and he heard someone mention before that they would like lights to detour evening teen’s behavior at the park, however