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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/26/95 Agenda & Packet • MOUNDS VIEW PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA Thursday, October 26, 1995 6: 30 p.m. City Hall CALL TO ORDER vf. ROLL CALL V( APPROVAL OF MINUTES REVIEW THE PLAN FOR FUTURE PARK IMPROVEMENTS - WITH SAFETY AS A PRIORITY DISCUSS OPTIONS FOR WOODCREST PARK 17 UPDATE ON PARKS MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES / COMMUNITY BONFIRE PLANS FOR OCTOBER 31 • lityREVIEW TOPICS FROM LAST MONTH'S PACKET UPDATE ON THE GOLF COURSE 10. ADJOURNMENT 9 . ,2 ___7 • 111 MT OF • OUNi • Phone: (612) 784-3055 E`' Fax: (612) 784-3462 "Quite Simply the Best" October 11, 1995 Dear Parks and Recreation Commissioners: I am sending this packet a little early because I will be on vacation next week, October 16-20. The Parks and Recreation Commission is scheduled for Thursday, October 26 at 6 : 30 p.m. in Conference Room C. I want to remind you of the Budget Information meeting which will be held in the City Council Chambers Monday, October 23 at 7 : 00 p.m. One of the issues will be a tax increase for the Pedestrian Bridge. I encourage each of you to attend the meeting. The budget brochure is being mailed to all residences of Mounds View. I have included one in this packet of information. If you are unable to attend the meeting please call me at 784- 0618 . I hope that you all make every effort to attend because we skipped the September meeting due to lack of quorum. Sincerely, ,! Mary Sa rion, Director Parks, Recreation & Forestry 41/ Psvict trot 2401 Highway 10 • Mounds View, MN 55112-1499 Eaua/Opportunity Employer 411 MOUNDS VIEW PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Thursday, August 24 , 1995 6 : 30 p.m. City Hall CALL TO ORDER: Chair Burmeister called the meeting to order at 6 : 30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Commission members present included Chair Burmeister, Commissioners Dentz , Long, Silvis, Stevenson and Starr. Director Saarion was also present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Commissioner Silvis made a motion to approve the minutes of July 27 . Commissioner Dentz seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE: Commissioners discussed ways that they could advocate for the pedestrian bridge. Commissioner • Stevenson requested staff to get ahold of the resolution that the Planning Commission wrote regarding the use of TIF. Commissioner Starr requested staff to see if discussion regarding the pedestrian bridge could be advertised on the message sign when it is scheduled for council discussions. The Commission also requested Director Saarion to write a letter on their behalf regarding support of the pedestrian bridge to be mailed to those that are known supporters, to keep them informed about the issue. Commissioners requested that they have the opportunity to sign the letter before it is sent out. PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT & TREES AT SV: Director Saarion reported that the City Council approved both the replacement of infant swings in the parks as well as the entire plan of tree plantings at Silver View Park to be funded with contingency funds. Both projects will be completed this Fall . SUMMER PROGRAM REVIEW: Director Saarion informed the Commission that the • summer activity participation level had remained as high as ever. The options for summer playground program choices was well received. Festival and MVCT incomes from ads and • contributions were yet incomplete. The MVCT had fewer than anticipated house audiences which will reflect in the revenue. Athletic programs this year included facilitation of additional Fall baseball and fast pitch leagues. The swimming program went very well this year. The two swimming instructors were great and people really liked them. Lakeside Park swimming was good this year once the swimmers itch was dealt with - using double the dose and putting the crystals directly to the bottom of the lake. GROVELAND PARK ACQUISITION: The purchase agreement has been received by the City Attorney, has been reviewed by the City Administrator and has been forwarded to the Newton family' s attorney. We are just waiting for the signed copy. PARK PATROL: The park patrol continues to roam the City. Bill Bostrom has made a major effort to patrol the city and school parks and open spaces, and has been successful in informing people who are misusing City park facilities the rules and regulations. • Director Saarion shared report sheets with the Commission so that they could see what the Park Patrol has been doing this summer. PARK PROJECT REVIEW: Director Saarion informed the Commission that the youth ballfield next to City Hall will be reseeded. The drinking fountain at Oakwood has been installed. The slurry seal at Silver View Park has been scheduled for completion. COMMISSION SEAT: Chair Burmeister asked whether any applications have been received for a replacement Commissioner. Director Saarion. Saarion replied that several applications were sent out to those who had expressed interest, but none have been received to date. Commissioner Silvis asked for the renewal dates of Commissioners. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Long made a motion seconded by Commissioner Starr to adjourn the meeting. Motion was passed unanimously. • • FUTURE NEEDS FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS (using Park Dedication Funds) The Parks and Recreation Commission has indicated that their priority use of Parks Dedication Funds is for providing safe recreation facilities. Mounds View City Parks are generally fully developed. However, improvements continue to be necessary especially with the need to replace old equipment, the need to comply to ever-changing safety and accessibility standards, and constantly changing demographics requiring the need to alter and/or modify park recreation components to meet the recreational demand of the times. There are several park facility safety needs as discussed at a previous Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Those safety needs include: 1. There is a need for a 10 ' high fence along the 1st base, right field line at City Hall softball field. This is to protect spectators from wild throws to first base. In addition, the outfield fence needs to be replaced entirely with 10 ' fencing. The standards have increased in height since this fencing was installed. The caliber of player has increased making outfield play more aggressive and competitive. The lower fences pose a problem for outfields • who attempt to catch the ball that is going over the fence. The higher fencing also makes homeruns balls that much more difficult to achieve, providing more competitiveness with a higher outfield fence. The new youth softball/baseball field at City Hall Park will need side fencing along the 1st base and right field area to hinder the balls from going into the street. Ten foot height fencing is proposed for ultimate effectiveness & a backstop. 2 . Hillview Park youth ballfield also needs fencing along the two sides to hinder overthrown balls from going into the streets. Hillview Park ballfield is rather close to the streets and balls are frequently overthrown. Ten foot fencing from the backstop to the outfield post is proposed. 3 . Groveland Park youth softball/baseball needs fencing along the 1st base, right field area for the same purpose of hindering overthrown or missed balls from going into the street. A 10 ' high fence from the backstop to the outfield area will provide additional safety for youth participants and spectators. Similar fencing along the 3rd base, left field area would protect the players on the bench as well as spectators and would hinder the ball from going into the • neighboring property owners yard next to left field. 4 . Silver View Park softball fields 1 & 2 also require higher fencing to comply with updated standard fencing heights for • safety of players. This added height also provides for a more competitive playfield making homeruns more difficult to achieve. 5. Park and Playground signs encouraging safe and appropriate play to prevent injury would be beneficial especially at parks that have playgrounds including Lambert, Woodcrest, Hillview, Groveland, Greenfield, Oakwood and City Hall Parks. 6 . Playground Equipment lacement is needed at Random Park. Ygreplacement This park is largely programmed for preschool children since the preschool program, held Mondays through Thursdays is located at Random Park. There are exciting preschool age designed playground equipment on the market that would enhance the preschool program at Random Park. 7 . Groveland Park playground equipment is old and has been greatly used by previous youth of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there was a group of youth several years ago that played havoc on the play equipment, vandalizing the equipment with graffiti. While this equipment does not have the graffiti resistant makeup of todays equipment, the Groveland Park equipment continues to be covered with graffiti that does not come off. The equipment has had many makeshift replacement parts installed over the years. It is due for replacement. 8 . Other various park playground equipment will require replacement in time. The play equipment replacement program will guarantee necessary replacement as equipment becomes outdated and worn out. 9 . Picnic tables, benches, swing benches, grills and other equipment in the parks require replacement in time. Trash containers need to be replaced every five to seven years. Recyclable trash containers should be purchased and set in tandem with each regular container to encourage recycling. 10. While vandalism is difficult to predict, the cost of replacement or repair of vandalized park facilities continues to be a problem. Even using a crystal ball will not provide accurate predictions of replacement of equipment due to vandalism. Some years require no or little replacement of equipment while other years require large funding for replacement of vandalized park equipment. All these park improvement promote safety in the parks. For this reason, the Parks and Recreation Commission agrees that these projects have first priority in the continued improvements to parks using Park Dedication Funds. However, because parks continue to change, because unforeseen events are difficult to predict, there may be a need to alter these priorities when considering needs that become may become more immediate. • RECOMMENDATION FOR WOODCREST PARK COMMUNITY GARDENS! ! The grant application for development of Woodcrest Park was not awarded. The project proposed mostly storm water management issues including culverting the ditches, diverting storm water runoff to a ponding area which would be diverted to the nearby wetland area. It was hoped that this storm water work would provide a suitable area to establish a youth athletic field. Woodcrest is a very difficult property to develop into a viable neighborhood park because of its very high water table, unstable surface soils and storm water runoff issues. To develop the park into a viable neighborhood park such as Hillview or Lambert would require great costs. There is an alternative recreation use for Woodcrest. That use is as Community Gardens. The soils are perfect for gardening. We could provide compost to richen the nutrients. The site has a perfect water source with the fire hydrant nearby. The park has accessibility with two vehicle entrances. Woodcrest Park is located near apartment complexes and would provide an opportunity for tenants to garden flowers, vegetables or both. Perhaps Sunnyside School or Scout Troops would be interested in using the garden plots for projects. I believe that Community Gardens would be an excellent recreational use for Woodcrest Park. I would like to discuss this recommendation further with the Parks and Recreation Commission at the October meeting. • • GOLF COURSE UPDATE Golf Course operations are continuing. As predicted, activity reflects the weather. On warm sunny days activity at the golf course is steady while during cold, rainy days activity slackens. Because of less daylight, the course is opening later and closing earlier. Leagues have concluded, so activity is only daily fee golfers and practice range participants. Golf Course maintenance continues although mowing has slackened a bit. However, time is spent aerating tees, repairing spots, blowing leaves, and prepping the course for the winter. Bituminous Consulting will be into to repair the diesel oil damage on the parking lot and in addition will be installing a small ramp for equipment to access the practice range. The cart path will be extended from the Clubhouse to the Maintenance Building to alleviate an unsightly warn path caused by the power carts. Netting has been installed along Hole 72 . While it has decreased the number of balls damaging Lind Brothers Trucking, there continues to be occasional balls hit into their property. This 410 problem is being addressed with possible plans to move the tee boxes to the right, or bring all the tee boxes up near the red tee location, which tends to decrease the problem considerably. The con is that yardage is decreased making the hole a par 4 versus a par 5 . Hole #2 is the only par 5 on the course. Nothing has been decided yet, but options are being looked into. Trees have been transplanted along the netting. The boardwalk also has posed some problems this year. The bog has made the boardwalk sink in areas and the result is an unlevel boardwalk. Proposals are being requested from various engineer/design firms regarding options to solve this problem. The Bridges Golf Course continues to be popular and receives good reports from those that golf it. Staff attended League Banquets, requesting evaluations from participants. The evaluations were very favorable and participants were very interested in returning next year. The City initiated an innovative league registration procedure. Participants were required to pay up-front for a season of golf. They paid $72 . 00 for a 10 week league passcard. The benefit is that the City receives operating funds in the beginning of the season. It also assures payment, even if the golfer misses a time. It requires a commitment by the participant to pay for the • time that we are reserving for them. That is one problem with leagues. The time is reserved, but often times participants choose not to show, if the weather is a little cold, or cloudy, etc. This way, they can choose not to show, but the course isn 't • loosing with a booked tee time and no-show. It is a good thing for the course. And, I only heard two people out of the many league participants that did not like the idea. In addition, the league passcard offers more streamlined clubhouse operations, eliminating the need to come into the Clubhouse to pay. Since league times are solidly booked, Clubhouse staff knows that golfers between 3 : 00 - 6: 00 p.m. are league golfers. And, since all tee times are filled with 4- somes, there is no opportunity for other people to sneak onto the course without paying. In conclusion, the passcard eliminates the necessity for league participants to pay each week because they have pre-paid. • • • 410 MEMO TO: JEFF AND STEVE FROM: MARY SAARION DATE: OCTOBER 10, 1995 SUBJECT: FALL PARK WORK This is just a quick memo to confirm the projects that we have discussed for the parks, hopefully to be completed yet this Fall. 1. Top Priority - Install additional fencing at City Hall soccer field, to hinder soccer balls from going onto Hwy 10. Also, the fencing at Oakwood Park is falling down and looks bad. Regular metal posts can be used for this. The only time the breakaway posts are needed is when the fence becomes a game in-play boundary such as a softball field outfield fence. 2 . Remove the picnic table, grill and VB court at Hillview Park and level the area for winter ice skating rink flooding. 3 . Remove bushes around Groveland Park playground area. • 4 . Level the dirt pile at Woodcrest Park and spread it out. 5 . Have the wood removed from Silver View Park (Cty Rd H2) . 6. New Task - Please remove the old refrigerator from Lakeside Park beach house and dispose of it at the City Clean up Day - October 20 . This will have to be done early that week since you both are gone October 18 & 19 . 7 . Please take pictures of the new equipment purchased this year namely the new mowers and the new truck. This will go in our year end annual report. 8 . What do you think about taking the posts out of Random Park parking lot? They look junky there and serve no purpose now that we have the pavement. Any thoughts on this? What is the cone that is there for? Is it a water problem? 9 . Silver View Park - any more news from Bituminous regarding trail repair? Also, there are areas where the slurry seal left indentations, many of these areas are marked, but I see many more. Are these going to be redone? We still need to have the parking lot striped. • 10 . Install three point lines at Silver View basketball court. 11. Finish painting Hillview Park hockey boards. • 12 . Greenfield Park building garage door needs painting and shingle repair. 13 . Greenfield Park trash receptacle has no dome top. 14 . The warning tracks need care - grass and weeds are invading. Any work that can be done this fall to aid in next Spring' s benefit? • • • COMMUNITY BONFIRE FALL FESTIVAL COOPERATIVE PROGRAM WITH D.A.R.E. & PARKS AND RECREATION As a cooperative venture Officer Tom Baumgart and I have been planning a Community Bonfire Fall Festival as a family activity on Halloween night, October 31. The idea is to provide safety information as well as games and activities at City Hall, in the soccer field area. A big bonfire will be the main attraction. Children will receive flyers from school inviting them accompanied by their parents. Hot dogs, chips and pop will be available for sale at a low cost. The event will be approximately 2 hours perhaps 6: 30 - 8 : 30 p.m. D.A.R.E. will have its name on the sponsorship to attract attention to the program. If you have any ideas or suggestions please share them at the meeting. i The City of Mounds View Presents ge414:Aes TO RESIST DRUGS ANN AND VIOLENCE COMM oitif(re Tuesd .. , t ber 31 Bring the Big Bonfire Whole Family Hot 'Dogs, Chips Pop for supper! e t , 3. Face Painting • WHO: Youth and Parents WHEN: Tuesday, October 3 I TIME: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. (food served until 7:30 p.m.) WHERE: Mounds View City Hall Park (Edgewood Drive and Highway 10) D.A.R.E. to Come! Bring your Lawn Chairs 6. Blankets and Enjoy the Bonfire This is a cooperative venture of the North Suburban D.A.R.E. Officers Assoc., the Mounds View Police Dept.and Parks & Recreation Dept. • TREE DONATIONS FOR THE PARKS / GOLF COURSE City Councilmember Quick suggested that an article be placed in the City Newsletter requesting tree donations by either transplanting or money contributions. Several calls have been received from persons requesting to donate a tree from their yards, to be transplanted in the parks. Forester Wriskey is asked to check out all requests to determine whether or not transplanting is an option. There are circumstances when trees cannot be transplanted including size, location to difficult areas, utility locations and species of tree. Already several trees donated by the Quicks have been transplanted to the golf course. There are two other residents whose trees will be transplanted to park locations or the golf course. Stakes for trees to be located at Silver View Park have been placed. The contracted tree planters are expected any time. Perhaps the trees will be planted by the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting date. • • • WOODCREST PARK RINK - OPEN OR CLOSE It is staff' s recommendation that we do not open Woodcrest Park rink this winter, 1995-96. There was so little participation last year that it does not warrant the time and expense to establish, maintain and supervise a rink facility. Many times the rink was closed early due to lack of use. I believe that skaters are going to the Sunny Square Park rink located just south of Sunnyside School . While Woodcrest is the only location in Mounds View south of Highway 10 for a rink location, it has too poor soils to provide a good rink. The peat make heat boils that occur at random. The rink is never good and is in some instances dangerous because of its uneveness. In addition, Woodcrest Park building electrical furnace is old and is almost unrepairable - due to lack of parts. The building is not suitable for comfortable habitation in the winter time. I would like the Commission' s direction regarding whether or not to have a rink at Woodcrest Park this winter. • • FALL PARK PROJECTS Steve and Jeff and I discuss park projects regularly. On the attached sheet I have written down the projects that have been discussed. It is anticipated that all these items will be able to be completed before snowfall - assuming that snow doesn't arrive unexpectedly early. If you have any questions about this list, or have other suggestions please share them with me at the meeting. The Hillview Park changes will be held until we meet at our regular Commission meeting on September 28 , 1995 . • • • FALL PARK PROJECTS 1. Spruce up Hillview Park to make the view from across Long Lake Road more aesthetically pleasing. Some ideas include: a. Paint the hockey boards. b. Repair the fencing and boards. c. Take out the VB court, picnic table, and grill . Level the area and seed. Perhaps the pleasure skating rink can be increased to extend in these areas. d. Take out the bushes at the corners of the playground. These always come back and become much too big and scraggly. I would like them removed altogether - roots and all. e. Spray paint the equipment storage closet housing the pitching machine - color: black - to make it 's appearance more aesthetic. f. Check the landscaping around the building making any fix-ups. g. Maybe the building needs a coat of paint to make it uniform in color - after all the grafitti done to it this Spring & Summer. h. The area by the side hockey board entrance needs to be fixed up to make it less of an eyesore. . What could we do there to make it look better? 2 . Lambert Hockey rink boards also need to be painted. 3 . All the basketball nets need to be checked for replacement. Some of them are pretty ratty. 4 . A request has been made for adding 3-point lines at Silver View Park basketball court. Could this be done in-house? 5 . Silver View Park playground needs weed removal . In addition, the bush areas need to be tended to - making it more aesthetic. 6. Weeds at Greenfield Park need to be taken care of. The same areas of low traffic patterns seem to be the problem areas. 7 . Repair to the BBQ at City Hall Park still needs repair. I think that it should just be done in-house - chipping out the old mortor and resetting some bricks - even if the bricks are different, just to get it up to snuff. Maybe we should remove it completely? Is it working? 8 . Random Park sign needs to have a darker color for the letters, it cannot been seen by passer-bys. • 9 . Playground inspections need to be done, repairs made and inventory of needs for next year listed. Paint jobs, grafitti removal , etc. should be done as needed. • RECOMMENDATION FOR ENLARGING THE PLEASURE RINK AT HILLVIEW PARK Hillview Park has the greatest numbers of skating participants of all the other rinks. The pleasure rink is quite small. To expand the rink we need to remove the VB court, picnic tables, grill and maple tree. The area would need to be leveled. A small berm would be made along the northern border of the park along the fence to prevent ice melt water to drain into the neighbor' s yard. This all could be done in-house this Fall without expending monies. The VB courts receive little if any use. Likewise the picnic tables and grill receive little use. They could be installed at Silver View instead where picnic table use is greatly used, and more tables and an extra grill would be an asset. The Maple tree could be transplanted elsewhere. The other benefit to this change would be the aesthetics of the park, looking from the homes across Long Lake Road would be improved. The VB court has weeds that grow because of lack of use. A green summer grassy area would be much more aesthetically pleasing that the weed infested VB court. Protective fencing would be necessary to guard the pleasure skaters from flying pucks when the kids use the side boards for cross-wise play. Changing rules of play, or installing fencing 411 would be necessary to ensure that pleasure skaters were safe from flying pucks. Please voice your thoughts regarding this option. • • UPDATE ON THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE Mary Malrick, who is a resident and proponent of the pedestrian bridge has been working as an advocate for the bridge. She has called me requesting information regarding funding options, safety issues regarding Highway 10, etc. I have forwarded her information as requested. I do not know whether or not the pedestrian bridge will be on the agenda for the October Work Session. I will advise Commissioners if it is as soon as I know. The budget information meeting scheduled for Monday, October 23 will be a time when public comment will be requested regarding the budget. This will be a crucial time for pedestrian bridge proponents to be present at the meeting to voice advocacy for funding the bridge. i "THIS IS IT" PARKS, RECREATION & FORESTRY WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25 - 29, 1995 PARKS: * This week the hockey boards at both Hillview and Lambert Parks have been painted with brown exterior and white interior colors. This new paint job has made the aesthetics of the hockey boards much better. RECREATION: * After-school programs began this week. * Sharie is working on the Budget Brochure and the City Newsletter. * Winter programs are in planning stages. * Mary attended a cooperative venture meeting at the Family III Center. We have been asked to provide transportation for families who are in the WIC program, which is a program which assists mothers and children - providing early child development information, nutritional information and food vouchers. Our part of the program is the transportation. We will be picking up people participating in the WIC program at 8 different locations in both Mounds View and New Brighton - transporting them to the Family Center, to New Market for grocery shopping and home again. Mary will be the driver, using the Lion' s City bus. This is a joint program with the churches, Eagle ' s Club, County Social Services and the New Brighton and Mounds View Parks and Recreation Departments. GOLF COURSE: * John and crew continue to mow and aerate greens. Other projects are completed as time allows. * We have requested ideas from various people with experience in boardwalks and bridges (ie. Spring Brook Nature Center) for improvements to the boardwalk that we can consider. Additional information regarding floats and pilings have been solicited. In addition, ideas regarding putting the boardwalk on the ground versus in the air are being studied. 401 Soil borings of the boggy area will undoubtedly be required when considering future improvements to the boardwalk. More information will be provided as it becomes available. • CABLE TV: * The Cable TV Committee will meet again Thursday, October 12 at 8 : 00 a.m. at City Hall . Until the time when Sue Henry begins (October 9) and the Cable TV meeting, things are pretty much "on hold" . * Jerry Skelly Jr and Dale Irving have been providing back-up Cable TV assistance during the interim times. We really appreciate them both. FORESTRY: * The trees at Silver View Park have been planted this week. * This week Rick and crew are working on a procedure which establishes a barrier for passing existing tree diseases, hopefully saving several other trees that are located in the yards of four neighboring homeowners.