08-20-1979 Park Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 3 Park Board August 20, 1979 Board would be better off taking money. In the past, the Park Board has not chosen the pieces of land, although it had turned some down; However, Mr. Shaughnessy brought up one instance where a block of lots had been taken for a park. Mr. Crouse felt the Park Board should be more cautious about taking money in lieu of land in the future because the valuation was so much less than the land was worth. Mr. Zelinka thought there were no legal problems with Mr. Scherer's proposal , although it was not gener- ally done. Marilyn will check with .Mr. Locher on this. As far as selection of dedi- cated land, Mr. Zelinka felt the developer may want first right of refusal--if the lot is sold, the developer would get the first chance to give a high bid. This will be discussed further at the next meeting. Mr. Zelinka has asked Mr. Locher in refer- ence to the land valuation to get a resolution worded so that only the right numbers need to be put in. Mr. Scherer asked about the possiblities of the Park Board as a separate entity elected by the people, so that it could make its own decisions , finalized without the process of going through both the P & Z and Council . Mr. Zelinka said that special state legislation would be required to do that, but it could be done; and that the Council was the only body that could authorize funds under the present system, and also under the City Administrator system, although not under the City Manager system. He discussed the plans to hire a City Administrator, and the effect this would have on the Park Board in the future. The question of whether capital outlay should all come out of dedicated funds or whether the City could help out on that was raised. Mr. Zelinka indicated that it could come out of general funds or a levy for park purposes. There was no park levy now, but the last time there had been it was a half mil . A letter had been received from Metropolitan Parks and Open Spaces on the LAWCON grant in reference to a meeting to be held September 4. It was felt that it would increase the chances of getting the grant if it was attended. A team of Don Volk, Ina Liljedahl , Larry Crouse, Mr. Zelinka and perhaps Marilyn Anderson was suggested. Mr. Crouse suggested meeting over dinner beforehand to discuss the situation and to prepare the presentation. Applicants would be scheduled on the agenda on a first-come-first-serve basis , and on the 17th applicants would be reviewed and recommendations made to Metro Council . Mr. Crouse moved that the Park Board reserve a space at the meeting. Ina Liljedahl will call to do this. Mr. Scherer seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion declared passed. Don Volk, arriving at 8:45, reviewed the preliminary budget he had prepared. In refer- ence to the hockey rink, he had no prices back on this yet, and the $6,000 was an esti- mate only. He indicated the Park Board would get almost total cooperation from the Hockey Association on labor, with the exception of things like grading, so that the $6,000 represented the cost for materials only. He had looked into the lighting, and three more fixtures of a mercury vapor type would be adequate. It was felt that the hockey rink should be taken off the 1980 budget, and included in the 1979 budget. Don Volk felt an alternative to hiring a full-time man would be two permanent part- time people, although there were pros and cons for each. The hours put in by the present man averaged 22 hours per week year round, but this represented about three months of the year, March, April , and May, with virtually no hours, and 40-hour weeks during the summer. He indicated that the $500 under capital outlay for landscape and ballfield grader included a piece of machinery. Mr. Zelinka noted that 10 percent of dedicated funds are used for maintenance and operation, and that 90 percent had to be used for capital outlay; if more is needed for operating funds , a levy is raised.