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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-1979 Park Board Minutes BUDGET PARK BOARD August, 1979 Minutes but no agenda or packet August 20, 1979 The special budgetary meeting of the Park Board was called to order at 7:10 p.m. , August 20, 1979 by Chairman Ina Liljedahl . Members present: Tom Shaughnessy, Peter Scherer, Ken Johnson and Council liaison Richard Zelinka. Arriving later were Larry Crouse and Charles Cheesebrough. Members absent: Gary Foster. Also present were Marilyn Anderson and Don Volk, arriving at 8:45 p.m. Don Volk had prepared a preliminary 1980 budget for the Park Board, and the 1978 and 1979 budgets were also available. . These were discussed, and each category on the budoet worksheet reviewed. Under capital outlay, Don Volk had estimated $40,000 from dedicated funds for the all- season building, figuring that the building would not be completed in 1980 and would go into the next year to finish the second story. This estimate did not take into consideration any grant money that might be received. The hockey rink at Sunrise Park was estimated at $6,000. Under salaries , PERA and social security, and health and welfare, Don Volk had figured for a full-time man and part-time help because of the park building and increased use. These figures were set by the Personnel Commis- sion and could not be varied much. Health and welfare was for hospitalization and disability and was only for full time people. Shop parts covered repair parts (clutches, brakes, sparkplugs, etc. ) for vehicles used exclusively for parks. Shop fuels covered all fuels to operate park equipment. Shop salaries covered the salary of the mechanic for repairing park vehicles. Mr. Shaughnessy noted that this amount had dropped quite a bit (1979 projected compared to 1978 actual ) , and Marilyn indi- cated it was due to a vehicle that had cost a lot in time and parts being sold. Telephone covered the expense of the phone in the warming house, and did not include a share of the office phone. Contracted services would cover the cost of hiring, for example, someone to repair the well or a contract to put in a ball field. That part of the planner's and engineer's fees spent on park business would come under this as well . Small tools and supplies would cover shovels, rakes, hoes, etc. , as well as those items used continuously. All repair tools would be listed under shop parts. Mr. Zelinka felt "lime" as used for marking ballfields should go under supplies , and if it was "lime rock" it should go under capital improvements , which would be things done to a building or property that is of lasting improvement. There was no separate category for maintenance. This would fall under a variety of other categories. Mr. Zelinka explained the procedure for projecting the "to date" expenditures out to the end of the year to see how they compared to the budget for the year. Marilyn noted that the total 1979 projected figure ($13,351) was about $3,000 less than the budget ($16,528) , and that the Park Board was doing quite well in this respect. At this point, the Park Board had dedicated funds of $56,880 and should receive within the next few weeks approximately $3,000 more, nutting it over $60,000. The Five-Year Plan was consulted for items scheduled to be done in 1980. These were: . . .Preliminary landscaping, $3,000, and planning fees , $1,000, for Country Lakes. Mr. Zelinka felt that the Chamber of Commerce or perhaps some other organization would be willing to contribute on this. He also felt the planning fee should be the priority item; it should be done first and be well spent. The preliminary landscaping would not be that much; it would include grading, ditching, cutting trails and beach cleanup, etc. It was felt the preliminary landscaping should go under capital outlay and the planning fee under contracted services. . . .The tot lot at City Hall Park and the tot lot updated at Sunrise Park, for a total of $1,200. It was felt this should go under capital outlay. ---Reversing the ballfields at City Hall Park, $500. The people from Metro Council had felt it wouldn't be a very good idea because the outfielders would be facing the sun. The original reason for changing them had been to have them in a more central location around the building. This item was dropped. Page 2 Park Board August 20, 1979 . . .Grading and seeding Lee Motte Park, $ This would be primarily for upgrading the park, and would go under capital outlay. Marilyn noted Shenandoah Park was being graded by Glenn Rehbein. It had not been dedicated yet, but would put the Park Board ahead of the 1980 plan. . . .Central and south parking lots at Sunrise, for a total of $2,000. . . . It was noted the $6,000 for the new hockey rink at Sunrise Park was not in the 1980 plan, but it was felt that it would be better to go ahead and construct the new one this year and repair the old one for a couple of years . However, it would need to be constructed before freezing. The reason for the low figure ($6,000) was felt to be that- this was just for materials and not the labor; it was felt Don Volk should put a labor figure on this. A letter from the Hockey Association with the information requested had been received. Marilyn noted that when the Five-Year Plan was developed, the estimates had been some- what high; however it was felt they should be kept at that level . Mr. Zelinka suggested that the items that could be cut down be marked with an asterik, otherwise all figures might be cut. Marilyn brought up the park plan of each park that the Park Board had wanted, but it was felt this could be done themselves. Mr. Zelinka mentioned the possibility of getting U of M students from the landscaping-architecture department to help on the park planning. This had been done before and had been fairly inexpen- sive, running $200-300. Mr. Zelinka will talk to the project director this week, and ask them to get in touch with the office. They will be referred to Ina Liljedahl . Mr. Scherer mentioned the possibility of Anoka College, which had been trying to place students in the area last year. Pictures of the tot lot at Sunset Oaks were avail- able. Marilyn indicated that Roy Stanley had picked up the book or folder in order to see what the finished product should look like when they assembled it. Mr. Zelinka felt that arrangements for maintaining it needed to be made once it was dedicated to the City. Marilyn said that $500 for maintenance had been included under salaries. She will ask the Police Department to take some more pictures of the park. Mr. Scherer asked if the Council had taken any action on raising the valuation of land for dedication. He felt the figure of,#1 ,100, set in 1976, was too low, and that with the plats coming in in the next few months, it would make quite a difference in dedi- cated funds. Mr. Zelinka said this would be brought up and should catch up by 1980- 1981. Marilyn noted that the Council had been requesting park money for lot divisions as well . Mr. Zelinka said that when the overall plan was finished, Ordinance No. 56 would be reworked, and one of the amendments would be to make the changes so that the Council could change the valuation by resolution from time to time as necessary. Payment would be required when a building permit is taken out, or when the plat or meets and bounds are laid out, although the question of meets and bounds had not been resolved yet. Mr. Scherer asked what the alternatives were when park funds were used up; Mr. Zelinka indicated that a special levy could be raised, and mentioned that it probably should be done to keep a reserve. In reference to the all-season building, Mr. Scherer asked if no federal or state grants were received and a bond were issued, would this be pro-rated for each year, or be in a lump sum for one year; Mr. Zelinka replied that it would be an improvement fund such as for sewers over a period of years and would be on the tax rolls as some mils. He indicated that when the Park Board selects where they wanted a park to be, land held now could be traded for the selected site; one peice would be sold so that another could be bought. Mr. Scherer suggested taking dedicated land and holding it off the tax rolls for a year or two and then selling it at a profit in order to increase park funds. Ina Liljedahl raised the question of dedicated land that is swampy for example, in which case the Park 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. Page 4 Park Board August 20, 1979 The finalized form of the 1980 budget was as follows: Salaries 18000.00 (full-time man plus part-time help) PERA 1060 Social Security 800 Health and Welfare 500 Shop Parts 1300 Small Tools and Supplies 4100 includes: 1000 from Don Volk's preliminary budget 2100 fertilizer and week killer 1000 field marker and lime Shop Fuels 900 Shop Salaries. 1000 Telephone 175 Utilities 1200 Contracted Services 4500 includes: 1500 from Don Volk's preliminary budget 1000 Country Lakes planning 1000 Park Plan, Sunrise 1000 Satelites Miscellaneous -- Capital Outlay 48,200 includes: 40,000 Park Building, City Hall 500 Landscape and ballfield grader 3,000 Country Lakes 1,200 Tot lots, City Hall Park & Sunrise 1 ,500 Grade and seed Lee Motte 2,000 Two parking lots at Sunrise Total 81,735 Ina Liljedahl moved to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. Mr. Scherer seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion declared passed. The next meeting was set for September 6. The meeting on the 17th concerning LAWCON allocations will be discussed at that time. n