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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-04-2002 Park Board MinutesPark Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 1 The November 4, 2002 City of Lino Lakes Park Board meeting was called to order at 6:30pm, by Chair Lindy. Roll call was taken, members present were Bill Kust erman, Pam Taschuk, Katie Boyle, Michael O’Connor, Pat Huelman and George Lindy. Members absent were Paul Montain. Also present was Rick DeGardner, Public Services Di rector. APPROVAL OF August 5, 2002 MINUTES: Pam Taschuk made a motion, seconded by Katie Boyle, to approve the August 5, 2002 minutes. The minutes were appro ved. SETTING THE AGENDA: The Agenda was passed as presented. OPEN MIKE: No one was present for open mike. DISCUSS EXISTING JOINT POWERS AGREEMENTS WITH CENTE NNIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT: Rick advised the City of Lino Lakes has a Joint Pow ers Agreement with the Centennial School District regarding the m aintenance of outdoor facilities and use of indoor facilities at Rice Lake Elementary School and the Centennial Middle School. Rice Lake Elementary Site Agreement This agreement was executed in 1991. The City of L ino Lakes agreed to maintain all outdoor athletic facilities and open areas directly adjacent to the athletic fields, including the purchasing of all supplies necessary such as ag-lim e, chalk, bases, etc. In return, the City of Lino Lakes will be given first preference by the School District for schedul ing recreation programs. Centennial Middle School Site Agreement This agreement was executed in 1997. In exchange f or maintaining all athletic facilities and open areas adjacent to the athletic facilities, including the purchase of all supplies, the School District shall make available to the City of Lino L akes the use of one gym space at least five nights per week star ting at 6 p.m. On September 10, 2002, the Centennial School Board adopted Policy 2060-Community Use of School Facilities. This new policy prohibits the use of any indoor gym/cafeteria space for adult use prior to 8 p.m. This new policy greatly diminished the quality of the City’s adult programs. Since the City recei ved only five days advance notice of this new policy it has led t o even more frustration and anger from the instructors and part icipants. This follows a culmination of several situations wi th the School Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 2 District on having our programs canceled with littl e or no notice. Rick referred to a letter that outlines several of the concerns on how the School District is fulfilling the site a greements. On September 23, 2002, the School District submitted a proposed site agreement that modifies the existing site agreement s and also addresses Blue Heron Elementary School. Since the proposed agreement does not address any of the concerns prev iously communicated to the School District, staff is recom mending that the City terminate the existing site agreements. I t is staff’s understanding that the School District is attemptin g to address the City’s concerns by modifying the proposed agree ments. He referred to a copy of a memo dated September 25, 20 02 to Ms. Linda Waite Smith, City Administrator regarding thi s issue. Rick stated he is expecting a revised joint power a greement soon and this issue will be on the Park Board agenda nex t month. This issue is also being discussed at the next Council w ork session. He noted he would keep the Park Board posted as thi s dilemma progresses. Pat asked if there has been any discussion about th e new policy of no use before 8:00 p.m. Rick advised the policy did pass and scheduled activities before that time have been res cheduled. The rescheduling of activities has interfered with the Centennial Basketball program. The situation has been very fr ustrating for City staff and participants in the program. It is not known how this issue will be resolved. The winter brochure i s at the printers right now and it was printed under the ass umption that the City can not use the facilities. Bill inquired about the implications of the field u se if the joint agreement is canceled. Rick stated the Schoo l District will have to decide whether to charge for the use o f the outdoor fields. The City has to determine at what point it is better for the City to pay a fee for the fields as opposed to maintaining the fields. Chair Lindy asked if the School District has mainte nance equipment. Rick stated he believes they would need a significant amount of money to get the necessary equipment. Bill inquired about the scheduling of activities. Rick stated the City currently maintains and schedules all of t he outdoor activities after regular school hours. Pam asked if the City would charge sport groups for the fields if the agreement was severed. Rick stated the City wo uld not charge for the fields located on school district property but it is Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 3 unclear if the School District would charge a fee f or the groups that use the fields. DETERMINE 2002 – 2003 SKATING RINK LOCATIONS AND WA RMING HOUSE HOURS: Rick advised staff is recommending the following wa rming house shelters and hours of operation: PARK LOCATION WEEKDAY HOURS WEEKEND HOURS Sunrise 6918 Sunrise Drive 4-9 p.m. Saturday 12-9 p.m. Sunday 12-6 p.m. Birch 6520 Pheasant Run S 4-9 p.m. Saturday 12-9 p .m. Sunday 12-6 p.m. Lino 7850 Lake Drive 4-8 p.m. Saturday 12-8 p.m. Sunday 12-6 p.m. Staff is also recommending the following ice rink l ocations that do not have shelters: *City Hall Park 1189 Main Street Marshan Park 7204 Lake Drive Sunset Oaks Park 7481 Leonard Avenue *City Hall Park will still have a hockey rink and g eneral skating area but will not have a supervised warming house d ue to budget cuts. City staff is working with the youth hockey associations to make arrangements to provide access to the warmi ng house during scheduled hockey practices. Rick noted he believes this whole issue needs to be addressed next year because the skating rinks are not being u sed that much. Chair Lindy stated the bad winters and the quality of ice have been huge factors in the low use. Rick stated there have been more and more requests from residents to maintain the trails in the winter. From a City staff perspective, it may be more beneficial to put the t ime and labor into other projects due to the low use. Pat asked if the City has a sense of whether the ic e use is walk in participation or drive in participation. If it appears more of the use is drive in, closing one of the rinks wo uld not have too much of an impact. Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 4 Rick reviewed the average attendance numbers for th e rinks last year. He stated the Park Board should review the r inks after this next season. Chair Lindy asked if the programmed activities are included in the attendance numbers. Rick advised the programme d activities are included in the attendance numbers. Bill asked if the City could find out what activiti es are scheduled for when and where within the City. Rick stated the scheduled activities are posted at each warming hou se. Bill stated that information should be sent out to residents because it would be helpful if people knew when the y can use the rinks. Pat suggested the scheduled activities also be post ed in the newspaper. Pam suggested it could also be put on the City’s we bsite. Katie asked if there is more rink maintenance if th e weather is good for rink use. Rick stated there is some corre lation between maintenance and good weather but the City does regu larly flood the rinks. Chair Lindy inquired about the warming house attend ants. Rick stated the City only pays attendants when the rinks are open so the City can’t guarantee a set number of hours per week. It is difficult to find people to work that type of sched ule. The City does have 7-8 people returning from last year. RECREATION DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Rick referred to the Program Highlights Flyer from October 2002. He noted the department had its first set of CLUB o utings for the school year last month. Thirty-seven children part icipated in the “Fall Harvest Fun” trip on October 17. Twenty-six children participated in the “Cheapskate and Movie” trip on October 18. This season the City saw an increase in participati on and teams across all divisions in Youth Football. The season concluded with a playoff and will have a championship game on November 7 (weather permitting). Fitness classes have been disrupted due to the new school district facility use policy. It is uncertain if t he City will continue to offer these classes. This year’s Family Turkey Shoot will be held on Sat urday, November 16, 2002, at Centennial Middle School. Th e Breakfast Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 5 with Santa event reached its capacity of 200 indivi duals on September 30 – the earliest its ever filled. Due t o this early fill date, the City added an additional 20 spots. As of September 29, 2002, only four of the newly added sp ots remained. Rick added the City is currently working on the win ter brochure and is due in homes the last week of November. Pam asked where the Breakfast with Santa event will be held. Rick advised the event will be held at St. Joseph’s Chur ch. PARKS DEPARTMENT UPDATE: Rick reviewed a memo from Mike Hoffman, Parks Super visor, which summarizes the maintenance highlights for October 2 002. Rick noted maintenance activities have included mowing o f all park areas, completed irrigation system blowouts, a chai n saw safety training, and the ordering of plant material for sp ring 2003. Rick noted a number of young trees have been vandal ized (snapped off) at several parks. Replacements have been orde red. Pat stated he frequently sees kids in parks swingin g golf clubs at the trees. PROJECT UPDATES: Clearwater Creek Park – Rick advised in order to create better soils and to establish healthy turf, approximately 1500 cubic yards of peat was delivered to the park area. The peat was spread throughout the park and chisel plowed. As s oon as the weather cooperates, a netavator will be used to til l the peat and mix a couple inches of subsurface clay with the imp orted peat. The park area will then be surveyed and final grade d. Depending upon the completion of the above work, the park are a will either be dormant seeded yet this fall or seeded next spri ng. The trails and basketball court will be paved next spri ng. The remaining landscaping was recently completed. The gazebo roof panels, beams and rails have been painted and installed. Electrical service will be run to the gazebo next s pring. Highland Meadows Park – Rick advised the development of Highland Meadows Park has seen tremendous progress the past few months. All onsite earthwork including stripping of the veg etative growth and grading work have been completed. One thousand cubic yards of topsoil was imported, spread, and graded through out the entire park area. All asphalt work including the installa tion of trails and a half court basketball court, as well as concr ete work including the play area curbing, picnic table pads, and park bench pads were also completed. Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 6 A limited amount of landscaping work may begin yet this fall. This may include seeding several of the naturalized areas around the perimeter of the park with various types of see d mixtures including mesic prairie, wet-mesic prairie, and sav anna. An extensive landscaping plan including trees and plan ting beds are also planned. An irrigation system will also be in stalled this fall. Playground equipment proposals will be on display a t City Hall 600 Town Center Parkway, in the library on the foll owing dates and times. Monday, December 9 12p.m. – 8p.m. Tuesday, December 10 8a.m. – 8p.m. Wednesday, December 11 8a.m. – 8p.m. Thursday, December 12 8a.m. – 8p.m. Area residents are encouraged to review the playgro und equipment proposals and provide input. The playground equipm ent will be installed Spring, 2003. Timberwolf Trail – Rick advised this trail segment located in the Pheasant Hills Development is nearing completion. Final grading and paving are scheduled to begin the week of Novem ber 4. This trail connection will provide a direct link to the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park Reserve Trail System. Birch Park Trail - Rick advised this project was temporarily delayed due to the Rice Creek Watershed Districts d esire to obtain additional information on potential wetland impacts. It was expected that the project could continue forwar d by the first week of November. The project includes the install ation of approximately 315 feet of timber boardwalk and a ti mber staircase, including planters and concrete pavers. This trail will provide a trail connection from the Trapper’s Crossing Development to Birch Park. Pam asked if Birch Park will have to wait until spr ing if the weather does not cooperate. Rick advised the work will continue at Birch Park until it is completed. The boardwalk can be installed during the winter. NEW BUSINESS: 2003 Goal Setting Meeting Scheduled for Monday, Jan uary 6, 2003 Rick proposed that the Goal Setting Meeting be held immediately following the January 6, 2003 Park Board meeting. He asked Park Board Members to put some thought into the proposed goals for the upcoming year. He indicated he will be sending upda ted information regarding the park Dedication Fund in m id December. Assuming the goals can be determined in January, it is expected Park Board Meeting – November 4, 2002 Minutes 7 that the Park Board will present the goals at the W ednesday, January 22, 2003 City Council Work Session. Chair Lindy asked for an estimate of undesignated d edicated funds. Rick advised there is more in that fund now than there has been since he has been with the City because of some large developments and an increase in the park dedication funds. The City is also getting reimbursed for Clearwater Cree k. He stated he believes there is close to $200,000 in the fund. Chair Lindy stated that in some cases the City took cash in lieu of land for the park dedication. He suggested that maybe some of those funds should be put to parks that serve those areas. Pat suggested the Park Board look at purchasing par k land somewhere that it is needed because of the addition al funds. Determine 2003 Park Board Meeting Dates –Rick reviewed the proposed 2003 Park Board meeting dates noting the S eptember meeting will be the annual park tour and bbq. SCHEDULE NEXT PARK BOARD MEETING: Rick advised the next Park Board meeting would be h eld on Monday, December 2, 2002, 6:30pm. ADJOURN: Pam Taschuk made a motion to adjourn, seconded by P at Huelman. The meeting was adjourned at 7:08pm. Respectfully Submitted, Kim Points Recording Secretary