07/27/1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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39 Mounds View residents frustrated by city's everchanging park plans By Paula Roesler A group of Mounds View residents are unhappy with plans to develop Silver View Park. About 30 people from neigh- borhoods bordering the park told the Parks and Recreation Commission Thursday that the $75,000 picnic shelter proposed by the Lions Club- would bring noise and vandalism to the park. The club's donation and city money for project utilities would be better spent to main- tain and add playground equipment to the city's other parks, they said. "They can't maintain what they have, but then they want to develop more," said Mike Delmore, 7413 Parkview Drive. Jerry Linke, a Lions Club representative, said the dona- tion is part of "Celebrate Minnesota," a program to de- velop parks. Money to main- tain parks should come from the city, he said. Not all residents opposed the shelter, but several said they were disturbed by what they see as haphazard park development in the city. "It seems to be this com- prehensive plan comes and goes at the whims of the plan- ners,'' said David Rademacher, 7421 Parkview Drive. Two ,years ago, the city decided to establish a stone - covered trail between Silver View Lake and residential lots, Rademacher said. Believing it would be an un- warranted invasion of their privacy, residents opposed it, but the city has continued planning for the path, he said. "It seems like when you come home, you never know what they're going to do next. We wonder who's running the show," Rademacher said. Rademacher said the city is allowing the club to dictate public policy by accepting the donation on the condition it is spent for the shelter. The 34 - by -80 foot concrete shelter, as proposed by the Lions, would include a kitchen, two restrooms, a fireplace and enclosed areas at each end. The city shouldn't feel it has to accept the money just be- cause it is offered, said Gary and Debbie Jones, 7405 Parkview Drive. "Any decisions about work the Lions will do for us has to be approved by our parks sys- tem and our city council," said Pamela Starr, parks and recreation commission mem- ber. "We don't want to refuse any money they're offering us to improve our park." "I don't think residents are opposed to the shelter," said Dave Lhotka, president of the Silver Lake Woods Homeown- ers' Association. "What we are opposed to is where it's going to be built. And we're opposed to the cost of the utilities to the city. It will cost $35,000 to get the sewers alone." "We've had our engineers look at it, and this is the cheapest way of going," said Wayne Burmeister, parks and recreation commission chairman. The original development plan for the park, drawn in 1981, didn't include a large picnic shelter, residents said. One resident had a copy of the plans, which showed playground equipment south of the parking lot — now the site of the proposed shelter. But Burmeister said the shelter has been under discus- sion for some time and shouldn't come as a surprise. "I think we went over this enough that it's time we take a stand," he said. "I'm hearing things that don't make sense." The board -agreed to recommend the city council approve, the shelter plans and pay for the hook-up of its utilities. Board members sug- gested residents meet with the Lions Club if they wanted to make suggestions about dona- tions for the proposed shelter or other projects. Frustrated residents said they would take their com- plaints to the city council.