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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-20-1975 Park Board Minutes 10-*N PARK BOARD October 1975 Minutes but no agenda or packet OCTOBER 20, 1975 'y . ()PI 111' The regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Park, Recreational and Environmental Commission was called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Chairman Clausen on October 20, 1975. Members present: Karth, Hanson and Resch. Members absent: LeTourneau and McGeary. Councilman McLean was also present. The minutes of the August 18, 1975 meeting were approved, as presented, on a motion from Mr. Karth that was seconded by Mr. Clausen and approved by those members present at that meeting voting in favor. The minutes of the regular September Meeting, held on September 15, 1975 were tabled until November's meeting because the Clerk had not mailed them out with the regular notices this month. The minutes of the Special meeting held on September 29, 1975 were approved after a change on Page 4, Paragraph 11 was made; Change Mr. Karth to read Mr. Resch. Motion for acceptance was made by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Ka rth. Mrs. Arlene Averback was in the audience to ask about the future of Lino Park. She lives nearby and is concerned that nothing will be done to improve that park. Mr. Karth said that because of the power line easement that NSP has, no- thing can be put under those power lines. He had been thinking of tennis courts, but upon checking found that this would not be allowed. Mr.-'Karth also explained that Lino Park has been a joint effort of the City and the Lino Lakes Lions Club. The Lions Club has met-their obligation for the present time and the City is now responsible for what is done there. ' The Lions Club has had the parking lot put in, backfields graded, bought the trees that were planted in front of the park. Mrs. Averback questioned the Park Commission on the trees. She said that she was upset that most of them have dies already. She said that she had watched them being planted and wondered why a professional was not hired to plant those trees? Mr. McLean said that among those doind the planting were some professional landscapers. Mrs. Averback asked if a pleasure skating rink could not be put in at Lino Park. She understood that there,-had been one at one times. Mr. McLean said that if they put the skating rink back in the outfield would be in worse shape than it was this year, that lot Us so low that drainage is poor in many spots. Mrs. Averback asked if it could not be put closer to Luther's property? Mr. McLean said that that was where it was originally and did not work out at all . Mrs. Averback also asked about getting the speed limit lowered on Lake Drive. She feels that the speed that is currently allowed is much too fast and wants to know the proceedure to get it lowered. OCTOBER 20, 1975 -2- Mr. McLean told Mrs. Averback that the City Council has repeatidly tried to get the speed limit lowered on Lake Drive and on Birch Street but without any success. They have written numerous letters to the County and the County sais it is a State responsibility and the State in turn says that the speed limits are proper for those streets in question. Mrs. Averback said she would try to get some of her neighbors to sign a petition and put some more pressure on the County and State Offices. Mr. McLean said the Council would appreciate all the help they can get on this matter. Returning to the discussion of the Park, Mrs. Averback asked if more climbing toys could not be put in that Park if nothing else could be done. She said that the condition of the swings was not too good and felt that most of the children using that park would like things to climb on and through rather than the swings and other things that are there that only go in a circle. The Park Commission felt that this would be possible and would look into the costs of this type of equipment. Mrs. Averback said that she felt the Parks, as usable now, were only for the organized programs and this was unfair to the people that are not interested in organized programs. Mr. Hanson agreed with her and said he felt more attention should be paid to others wishes also. He felt that the parks should be for all residents not merely those organized sports. Mr. Karth said that he felt the same way but unfortuantely it is the organized groups that speak the loudest and usually are the only ones that are heard from. The Park Commission hies to serve all the residents but unless we have some input from others we do not know what is wanted. Mr. McLean told Mrs. Averback about the coming Chain of Lakes Park that the County is planning for this area and that many of the activities that she would be interested in would be available when that Park System is completed. Mr. McLean said they are only in the planning stages but do plan on having cross-country skiing, swimming beaches, hiking treails, biking trails, limited snowmobiling and many more activities. He suggested that Mrs. Averback go over to Bunker Prarie and look at the facilities there and she would get an idea of what will be done here. The Park Commission thanked Mrs. Averback for her time and suggestions. The next item for discussion was a letter received today from the City of Centerville regarding the proposed Bike Trail . A portion of that trail will go through Centerville. The Centerville Council has no objections except for that portion that would OCTOBER 20, 1975 -3- be on Mill Road. They felt that because of the narrowness of this road it would create safety hazards for bikers and drivers. If the road were upgraded they would probably have no objections for its use as a part of the bike trail . They also questioned the use of LaMotte Drive and felt that it would require a turn around of some sort as it is a dead end street. Mr. McLean pointed out that the portion of LaMotte Drive is fin Lino Lakes and that there is park property at the end of that street that could be used by the City if the bike trail is established. Mr. McLean asked the Clerk to contact Mr. Lilly at the DNR and find out if and how to go about obtaining signs for the bike trails. Mr. Lilly had responded to the letters sent but sent information on how to obtain funding rather than signs. The next item for discussion was the Budget for 1976. In September--:a pre- liminary budget was prepared and tonight the Park Commission must do some trimming and finalizing of those figures for presentation to the Council . Mr. McLean explained how the Council was attempting to do the Budget for the City this year. They are using a percentage for each department and the Parks got 8% of the budget last year. Using a direct projection that would give the parks $26,859.00 for last year and this year would probably be about the same. Mr. McLean went through the other departments and showed the relationship of the entire City. Mr. Resch asked about the wells at Sunrise and Hall Parks, had the Council taken any action on that proposal . Mr. McLean said that they had approved the preparation of specs by the City Engineer and the ad for bids to be published with the bids to be opened at the November 10, 1975 Council Meeting. Mr. Hanson asked if two wells would be needed to flood only. Mr. McLean said that at Sunrise Park the one well would be used for flooding only and the other well would be kept in use to provide water for the warming house and at a future date possibly for the Billik Homes. At the Hall Park, the new well would be needed in addition to the one that serves the Hall . With the new well there is a possibility of putting in lines for sprinkling the park and flooding. OCTOBER 20, 1975 -4- Mr. McLean suggested that the Park Commission think about priorities for the coming year when setting their budget. The Commission agreed and took the following action on fixed item expenditures: Salaries $ 7,500.00 Utilities 1 ,400.00 Contracted Services 1 ,000.00 Supplies 600.00 General Maintenance 1 ,000.00 Total fixed items: $11 ,500.00 These items must be kept in the budget as they stand. The rest of the budget will be set according to priorities that the Park Commission must decide on tonight. Mr. Karth said that he felt one priority should be the continuation of the program to lime the baseball fields. He said that many residents have questioned him on this project and have expressed a desire to see this completed, as prom't.sed. Two fields were done at Sunrise Park and one at the Hall Park this year. There are 7 ball fields in the City to be limed and Mr. Karth suggested that this be Priority No. 1 for 1976. The question of providing separate items for the repairs of the rotary mower and the snow brush was questioned. Could this not be provided for in General Maintenance? The Park Commission agreed that these items were to be included in the figure for General Maintenance, thus eliminating $150.00 for the over-all budget for Parks. It was decided that the Power Rake would not be an absolute requirement for 1976 and was put as No. 7 on the priority list. Mr. Clausen said he felt that the safety fences should be considered a high priority for 1976. He doesn't feel that we can let this go for one more year, there istoo great a possibility of someone being injured. Safety fences was put as No. 4 on the priority list. Mr. Resch said he felt that the players benches could possibly be obtained from some other group, rather than the City bearing the expense of them. He felt that players benches should not be included on the priority list and the rest of the Commission agreed. Mr. Resch said that he will look into the possibility of obtaining these benches and report back to the Park Commission. The Warming House for the Hall Park was next for discussion. After some discussion it was decided that the warming house should be the No. 1 �.! priority for 1976. It was agreed that the amount budgeted would be $5,000.00 but there will be a carry over of $5,000.00 in the Park fund from 1975, for a total amount of $10,000.00 for the warming house. OCTOBER 20, 1975 -5- Mr. McLean reminded the Park Commission that even if the Council budgets at the levey limitations, that all the money from taxes is not necessari'ty received. There is always a certain percentage of tax money that is not collectible. He said that the Council will probably certify a certain amount to the County and have a second budget which will actually be the operating budget and will allow for taxes that won't be collected, in order to stay on safe grounds for 1976 and that this will help keep the books in better shape and allow the Council to know exactly where the City stands at all times. Mr. Resch asked about land acquisition for 1976. He did not see this item in the proposed Park Budget. Mr. McLean said that $1 ,000.00 is allowed for land acquisition but that it is a separate category. Mr. Resch asked about Federal Revenue Sharing Funds - how are these funds spent? Mr. McLean said that a certain portion is set aside, at Council discretion for each department. For 1976 approximately $7,500 has been set aside for use by the Park Department and this money must be used in the Park Department in some manner. (Upon checking the records I found that $5,766.00 has been assigned to Parks for 1976. ) The Final Proposed Budget for the Parks, as set by the Park Commission, for submission to the Council is as follows: ITEM AMOUNT ACCUMULATIVE AMOUNT SALARIES $ 7,500.00 $ UTILITIES 1 ,400.00 8,900.00 CONTRACTED SERVICE 1 ,000.00 9,900.00 GENERAL MAINTENANCE 1 ,000.00 10,900.00 SUPPLIES 600.00 11 ,500.00 WARMING HOUSE 6,200.00 17,700.00 LIME ROCK 800.00 18,500.00 HAND MOWER 225.00 18,725.00 SAFETY FENCES 1 ,000.00 19,725.00 HOCKEY RINK 3, 100.00 22,825.00 PARKING LOT 3,450.00 26,275.00 POWER RAKE 500.00 26,775.00 HOCKEY LIGHTS 4,000.00 $30,775.00 - TOTAL General Maintenance is to include repairs to the rotary mower and snow brush. The Warming House will be for the Hall Park and is to include the septic system and there will be a carry-over fund from 1975 of $5,000.00. The Lime Rock will be used on all seven baseball fields. The Hockey Rink, Parking Lot and Hockey Lights are all to be put in the Hall Park. This will be presented at the Budget Meeting on Thursday, October 23, 1975 for Council consideration. Mr. Karth moved to adjourn at 10:00 P.M. Motion seconded by Mr. Resch. AYE.