April 18, 2006 CCP - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Steven Amasky stated he lives in Parkview Estates and is active in the Oakdale Athletic Association and that there is a dire need for baseball fields. He said most of the developments surrounding Parkview Estates go to #622 schools and are in OAA. There are no borders for OAA. He said T-ball kids can play on grass fields and hat the gravel infield in Stonegate was too small. He thought this was a fantastic opportunity for Lake Elmo and thought any concerns could be addressed, Council member DeLapp stated the City of Oakdale has chosen to have parks in Lake Elmo and not in Oakdale because they want to develop. Park dedication is required and Oakdale has chosen park land in Lake Elmo. Larry Moody, who lives adjacent to this parcel, understands there are needs for fields, but this is not the right site for playfields because this is a rolling hills parcel. He said the 26 acres may come free from 3M, but the earthmoving needed on the site will cost tremendously. He asked if Tablyn Park could be expanded. He said his own personal desire is not to have light pollution because then he cannot use his telescope at night. He said daily there are deer, a red fox family, and eagles and,liawks usQ.he trees to catch rodents and don't want to loose this. He believes 3 ofir ks this is 1 s ;than ideal developable land. n' Rolf Larson, parks commissioner, stated there would"be terracing issues, lighting can be designed and turned off early. This can be done true to the•city's ordinance to take advantage of this opportunity. He added tha,�rf Wi" parcel comes a community park, care must be taken to protect the stream and drove of oaks.along the south side of the ,. parcel. Pat O'Malley said the treeske"going t© 4ye to grow to shield the lights. He asked whc is gong to govern. He said he has.a daughter that played fast pitch and lights were not needed. He said the adult, 11 situation in Oakdale will be brought to Lake Elmo if we have lights. He added that it is"Oakdale's problem there are no parks ... they should have not built so mane 1 ouses. The City Administrator said tho, is no design feature to place lights in this field. He added we would always have equal say. Council member Smith said it does say a youth athletic complex in this draft agreement. Don Gustafson, who lives one block from Tablyn Park, said CSAH13 is like a race track with all the shopping malls. By adding ball fields, it's going to be a mess. He thought the City should talk about the creek with DNR. Joan Ziertman asked what type of park we are going to have and agreed that the City was putting the cart before the horse. She said the City should decide if we want a park there. She voiced her concern on the amount of money paid for a park for Oakdale residents and maybe we should think about where we would want parks for our residents. These items should be discussed before we enter into an agreement. LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP PEBRUARY 14, 2006