10/04/2004 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lino Lakes Parks and Recreation Department 600 Town Center Parkway Lino Lakes, MN 55014 (651) 982 -2440 Fax (651) 982 -2439 www.ci.lino-lakes.mn.us (. September 29, 2004 TO: Park Board Members FROM: Rick DeGardner, Public Services Director SUBJECT: Rice Lake Estates Park Update On Wednesday, September 22, I was informed that City of Circle Pines staff removed the playground equipment at Rice Lake Estates Park. The following is a brief summary of the history of this situation: In 1998, the City of Lino Lakes leased a small area of land from the City of Circle Pines to provide some leisure amenities for residents in the Rice Lake Estates Development. The park area is located directly behind well house #2, 6697 Sandhill Drive. When the existing lease was discussed in 1998, the City of Circle Pines' future plans for the property at the intersection of Hodgson Road and Lake Drive was for future commercial and/or industrial development. In 1999, a trail connection from the park area to Baldwin Park (Circle Pines Park) as well playground equipment and a 1/2 court basketball court were installed. On June 29, 2004, I was informed by Circle Pines staff that they had recently platted this property consisting of 52 single - family homes. Unfortunately, the southern boundary of this residential subdivision bisects the existing location of the playground structure. Several options were discussed with Circle Pines staff agreeing to resolve this matter to our satisfaction. Last Wednesday, Mike Hoffman stopped at Rice Lake Estates Park and observed the playground structure being dismantled. Circle Pines staff was immediately contacted to express our disappointment on how this was handled. Consequently, the residents of Rice Lake Estates and city staff were caught off guard with the sudden removal of the playground equipment. It was my intent to notify the residents of the situation (including timeline of when equipment was scheduled for removal, how situation was going to be resolved, etc.) once an action plan from Circle Pines was developed. To date, we still have not received any communication/correspondence from Circle Pines pertaining to how this matter is going to be resolved. I have received several telephone calls from area residents wondering what happened to the playground equipment. Some residents have also contacted the Quad and Star Tribune. Perhaps a formal position statement from the Park Board may help expedite a workable solution to this situation. sw /parkbrd /meeting information / Rice Lake Estates Park Update