02/22/1995 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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r - Page 2 In the vacinity of Birchwood Acres,Pine Ridge,Park Grove,and Reshanau Estates,the only r^ existing parks are Shanendoah Park and Rice Lake Elementary;however,the school has priority over the use of its playground and playing fields. Marty said it is very apparent to the City that another park is needed. Due to this need,some of the Park Grove Park space has been given high enough priority to get the necessary funding for being tilled, flattened,graded,and seeded with low maintenance turf by the Fall of'94. Marty showed the City's potential plan for the Park Grove Park space,which totals 10 acres. Five acres are currently available,with 5 additional acres being designated park space as soon as the farmer is ready to sell the land to the City. The plan maps out where things could go such as a playground and picnic areas(which are on the currently available acreage),informal softball field, hockey/skating rink,20-car parking lot,connecting paths,and other structures. It also shows where low-lying areas are that wouldn't be developed,as well as treed areas and possible landscaping. Meeting attendees received copies of this plan,and Marty said we were welcome to come up with ideas for modification. We were able to draw in streets and cul de sacs that run along the park to get a better idea of its layout. Terry emphasized that residents that live along the park boundaries would be especially interested in the park plans since parts of it would basically be in their back yards. We also expressed concern that we avoid having the park used in such a way that traffic would be a problem for area residents. Marty assured us that the softball space does not lend itself to being used for Little League or other organized sports games because of its size. He said that is why the City's"plan labels it as an"informal"playing field,even though there are no limitations on developing it into a good quality softball.field with a backstop, a quality infield surface,etc. Also,the park space has limited space for a parking lot(20"cars or so);nevertheless,residents.stated that they still wanted some reassurance that the park would not be used in such a way that the parking lot would be overfilled and-that people would park their.cars in front of residents'houses and that traffic would be at an undesirable level in the neighborhood. On the topic of park funding,Marty said approx.24%of our property"tax money goes.to the City, but only a small percentage goes to park/trail maintenance and development(approx.$173,000 were dedicated to parks for 1994). That money is currently being used to maintain 8-10 existing parks,develop and pave an extensive path system,and to start development on 6 parks(including the grading,etc.,of Park Grove Park). Given that the city is currently financially unable to pay for all park development,such as playground equipment,he named the following as possibilities for our neighborhoods to obtain the necessary funding to start development of our park: 1. A Referendum(i.e.,residents vote on whether we want to have an additional tax that specifically is designated for park development,but it is unclear whether Park Grove Park would specifically benefit from such a referendum) 2. City Park Board(we could appeal to the board for money and/or other assistance in constructing the park(labor),but there are no guarantees;the board meets on the 1st Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall at 1189 Main St.). In any case,we would need to get the board's approval for any park development plans/action.. 3. Appeal to local businesses to make donations(the 49 Club was mentioned, which has new owners land seems as though it would be interested in establishing more visibility) 4. Friends of the Park foundation(seemingly the most promising,according to Marty;more information on this foundation is described next). Meets the 3rd Mon.of each month.