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HomeMy WebLinkAboutParks Commission Minutes November 2019 MINUTES City of Lake Elmo Parks Commission November 18, 2019 Members Present: Commissioners- Mayek, Olinger, Schumacher and Weeks Absent: Ames, Nightingale, & Zeno Staff Present: City Planner- Prchal, Public Works Director- Powers The meeting was called to order by Weeks at 6:30 PM. Announcements No announcements Approval of Agenda Weeks moved to amend the agenda adding item 4.B- Public Comments. Amendment was accepted and the agenda was approved unanimously. Approval of Minutes a) October 21, 2019 No changes were made. Minutes were accepted as presented. Public Comments Susan Dunn, 11018 Upper 33rd Street North. Ms. Dunn stated that on November 5th, 2019 the City Council approved the proposed mountain bike trails in Sunfish Lake Park which was in violation of the 2030 comprehensive plan. She stated that she believes the vote was put on hold until November when the new 2040 comprehensive plan was in place to allow the bike trails to be put into the park. Ms. Dunn read some quotes from the Council meeting and told the commission they are the caretakers of the park and they should monitor in the future. First Lego League Students Students from Stillwater Middle School came to present on some ideas for the newly acquired 3M land on the west side of town by the public works building. They have some design ideas for a new park on that 180 acres that would be sustainable and ADA accessible. They had met with Director Powers a few weeks ago to discuss some ideas. They used Legos to design their park. Their design includes: Parking lot, shelter, play area, hockey rink/basketball court, splash pad, possible water slide/pool, baseball field and trails. They did research that found parks make the community happier, healthier, reduces crime, and helps increase land value. For sustainability they would use solar panels on the shelter roofs to power park lights, use recycled plastic, metal and wood for equipment. Their plan would have the park at 5-10 acres big and they provided some cost estimates. Estimated cost of the recycled play structure- $42,000; splash pad-$15- $35,000; water slide- $20-$70,000; seven solar panels- $2-3,000; rubber mulch- $6- 7,000; and the pool-$113,000. Schumacher asked the students what a splash pad is. The students described it to be like a pool, but the bottom is softer material, it is usually very shallow and has play structures like fountains. Weeks asked the students if they would use the splash pad if it was put in and they all said yes. Weeks told the students their presentation was really well done and that their numbers were very impressive. The students concluded by saying, these are just ideas, but they hope this park can happen in the future to make a more happy community. Inwood Park Development Prchal recapped what was discussed at the previous meeting where the commission wanted city staff to gather pricing options for the proposed amenities. In the CIP the Parks Commission set aside $150,000 to develop the park in Inwood. The park has 2 acres of usable space to develop. He brought up that the property to the south is going to have a 60 unit apartment building built. Prchal had two plans he presented as a result from suggestions at the last meeting. Plan 1: Pavilion, pickleball, benches, picnic tables and trash cans at an estimated cost of $122,000. Plan 2: 2 pickleball courts, benches, picnic tables, walking trail and trees at an estimated cost of $111,080. He suggested developing this park in phases to not go over budget. Prchal is recommending plan 2 because it has the walking trail connection and the trees will attempt to provide some shade from the sun. Mayek asked what the dimensions of a pickleball court are. Prchal said they are approximately 20X40. He also asked for clarification that it is 2 pickleball court being proposed and Prchal said yes that is the plan. Mayek was concerned that 2 courts is not enough and wanted to know if there would be room set aside to possibly add more courts in the future. Schumacher would like to see more than 4 benches that did not seem like enough if more pickleball courts were added. Olinger asked what the surface of the walking trail would be. Prchal said the surface would be asphalt. She also asked about the exercise equipment. Prchal said that was input from the community group that presented at the last meeting. Weeks asked what the total distance of the walking trail would be and Prchal stated roughly 365 feet. Olinger asked if signage would be added on the trails to let people know they are going from Inwood to Stonegate Park. Prchal said that was not in the plan, but it could be. Weeks was hoping it would be seen as one big park rather than 2 parks. Weeks raised several concerns about the apartment building that will be built across the street saying that could change the demographics of park users. Which could change the outlook of the amenities they put in. He said he is not sold on plan 2 and would like Prchal to do some more explaining, because he likes the idea of a pavilion. But plan 2 has the walking trail which he likes because it connects the two neighborhoods. He wants to make sure there are adequate benches and trash cans in each plan. Prchal said there is room for more trash cans regardless of which plan. Weeks asked if there is any structure than can be built that would be cheaper than a $40,000 pavilion. Prchal said there are ways to bring the cost down, making the size smaller or not adding a concrete base. Weeks would like to find a way to get the pavilion and the walking trail built. Mayek suggested the trail could be crushed limestone versus asphalt. Director Powers raised the concern about ADA compliance and said crushed limestone would not be the best idea. Olinger went back to Prchal’s suggestion of phases and asked if down the road the large field in Stonegate could be used to add more amenities. Prchal said that could be a possibility. Olinger said being able to add amenities to that field could address the needs if a younger population is using the park in the future. The commission discussed the placement of the trail and keeping it away from the road and busy traffic. Director Powers said the goal is to get the trail connected all the way up the parking lot in Stonegate to create better trail connectivity. Weeks asked with the new apartment coming in, is it the up to the Parks Commission to figure out how people will cross from the south side to the north side of 5th street or if the city has plans for that. Prchal believes there already is a pedestrian crosswalk, but if they wanted improvements done, he is not sure what the process would be. Director Powers does not believe sidewalk improvements would fall on the Parks Commission. Olinger wants to know if they can add a pavilion without a concrete pad into plan 2. Powers said the concrete needs to be there for ADA accessibility, he suggested putting off the pickleball courts for a year and approve the amenities the commission is concerned about right now. Weeks was thinking the other way around, pushing off the pavilion and adding the pickleball courts now. Weeks is leaning more toward plan 2. With the budget they cannot afford to add more pickleball courts. Olinger suggested reducing the length of the walking path for now and that would save money to add another pickleball court, but that would max out the budget. Prchal said the path is critical, that is why he was recommending doing this in 2 phases then they can request to add to the budget in the future to go with any reserves from the 1 st phase. Olinger motioned to approve Plan 2: 2 pickleball courts, benches, picnic tables, walking trail and trees. Mayek seconded the motion. Olinger amended the motion to have the connecting trail from Inwood to Stonegate to be unpaved at this time and to add a trash can in the park. The amendment to the motion to have the trail connecting Inwood and Stonegate be unpaved at this time and to add a trash can in the park passed unanimously. The commission motioned to approve the amended Plan 2: 2 pickleball courts, benches, picnic tables, unpaved walking trail, garbage can and trees. Motion passed unanimously. Parks Commission 2020 Work Plan Prchal presented to the commission the work plan for 2020. There was no discussion, this was just to get the commission thinking about things they would like to see happen in 2020 and it will be discussed at the December meeting. December 16, 2019 Meeting Agenda 1) 2020 Work Plan Communications Prchal stated that the Sunfish Lake Park mountain bike trails were approved by the City Council on November 5th. Weeks asked about the Savona Park names they picked last meeting. The commission had recommended Hammes, but it is not on the City Council Agenda as a recommended name. Prchal explained that on approved final plat for that developed it is called Hammes Estates, so staff felt it was not a good idea to name the park after the development. The only name being recommended to council is Mitigomin, Weeks asked if next time they should recommend three names in the event something like this happens again. Prchal said they could do that if they would like. Director Powers gave an update on Pebble Park. He said the lighting improvements were finished. Firefly Park sign is up. 45th Parallel marker is all done at Lion’s Park. Public Works created a new gate in the hockey boards for access to get into the rink. They fixed the gate at Sunfish Lake Park. Weeks said he was impressed with how Firefly looked and the sign is great. But he was disappointed by the lot size the developer gave to the park. He said the tennis and basketball courts in Pebble Park look rough and he was wondering if someone can pressure wash them in the spring and Director Powers said they could do that. Weeks asked about the soccer net that was in Easton Village and then wasn’t. Director Powers said that Tablyn Park has two and a new well is going into that park on those fields, so he would like to move one of those nets to Easton Village. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Alex Saxe, Deputy Clerk