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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-21-2024 PRF MinutesPARKS AND RECREATION AND FORESTRY COMMISSION 6:30 P.M. | NOVEMBER 21, 2024 | MOUNDS VIEW CITY HALL MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER at 6:32 PM ROLL CALL: Commissioners: Anderson, Arel, Lillemo, Lundberg, Palm, Mills, Wake Wiesner Staff: Peterson | Thomas | Szurek | Peterson *to be absent APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion to approve by Palm, 2nd by Lundberg. Motion Passed 5-0 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: September 26th, 2024: Motion to approve by Wake Wiesner 2nd by Arel. Motion Passed 5-0 SPECIAL BUSINESS City Arborist Kris Paulseth – 2024 Forestry Update: Marked 428 ash, 65 oak, 1 elm, 1 maple private and public trees for removal. Some residential trees still need to be removed. Looking to have a tree sale starting with 100 trees of 8-9 varieties for residents to replace with a max of 2 per household. (Lillemo present). Buckthorn removal. Goal to remove all buckthorn from maintained city property, and then move to unmaintained property. Cutting, treating, pulling. Spray resprouts until it is not an issue than replant the area with appropriate trees and grasses. Driving along all streets and having the Street Department cut any trees that have troublesome overhangs under 15 feet. Marking invasive trees to have removed at Silver View during the storm water restructuring, and marking trees to save at Ardan Park from the storm water restructuring project. Helping residents with tree and bush questions. Process for tree removal. In the fall, Kris drives all the roads looking for bad trees, and pulls over to measure and mark the tree on the property. Leaves a notice on the door, sends a letter with information to contact a contractor and schedule tree removal before March 1st. People can use their own contractor, or the City contractor. Stump removal is not included in the City estimate, but residents can pay the contractor separately to have the stump removed at the time of cutting. If a resident contracts with the City company, the City will bill for the cut, but the resident will pay the contractor directly. PUBLIC INPUT Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking, please give your full name and address. Please limit your comments to three minutes. No residents present. STAFF REPORTS Parks and Recreation - Andy: See attached report. Seeing a lot of uptick in events with lots of interest in the community! Community Bonfire at the MVCC was a success, so will do another in January at Lambert Park. Fall Festival had about 1400 people attend. Veterans Honor Day had about 100 people, Turkey Bingo had about 150 people. Cookies with Santa will be Dec. 7 from 10am-12 noon with free pictures for residents. Overall revenue up about $30K YTD from last year. Silver Ukes concert at Silver View Dec. 2nd. at 1:00. Public Works – Pete: See attached report. Mills present UNFINISHED BUSINESS Tim Woods – Community Garden: Most respondents are on the north side of MV Blvd, Primary kind of plant to grow is vegetables, but also pollinator plants, decorative flowers, native plants & flowers, and fruit. Pretty consistent response about having a Community Supported Ag (CSA) style, garden club, assigned plots with and without a fee. Interest in a plant & seed exchange, education database, greenhouse expansion, community outreach. Farmers’ Market, workshops/classes. Interest in garden tours and garden club meetings. Discussion: Raised garden beds, city provides water, the start-up and clean-up composting trucks. If it provides a CSA, it could possibly reduce a fee. Need a timeline for signing up. Commission seems to be in favor of moving forward, but there should be a fee to help offset the cost to the City. However, we should not charge a fee on land that is not city property. If a garden club is created, they would manage the garden as a group/CSA. Could we get a scout troop to help with building the raised garden beds? Need to know how many we might need to fit into the space in order to determine cost of construction with the goal of building in April on site. Motion by Lillemo to move forward with a partnership contract with the school district for the property and let Tim Woods move forward with bringing a MV Garden Club together so they can develop a plan to bring back to the Commission for final approval, and earmark up to $2500 from the Park Dedication Fund to help with setup and have the Parks Department move forward with getting the space ready as much as possible before winter. 2nd by Lundberg. Motion Passed 7-0. NEW BUSINESS Park Commission Meeting in December: Concern about not meeting in December because of appointing Commission members. The City will now take applications and an interview will happen with the candidates, the Mayor, City Administrator, City Council liaison, City Staff responsible to the Commission, and Chairperson of each commission, so it is out of the Commission’s hands for voting and recommending appointments. Motion by Arel to cancel the December meeting, 2nd by Mills. Motion Passed 6-0. Park System Master Plan: Fill out survey and submit to WSB. The meeting was helpful to see overlaps and gaps in our park system compared to residential areas. There was a nice plan to improve Woodcrest Park. We need to make good use of applying for grants for big projects so it is noticed by residents. If we do a little here and there it won’t be noticeable. If we do big things and showcase them through community events, the residents will see value in supporting funds for park improvements and securing grants in the future. ADA compliance needs to be addressed. We need to talk about safety, accessibility, and inclusivity. WSB will hopefully provide a proposal for how much they are willing to contract to continue to help in the future (eg: help with grant writing for the next X years, or # of projects within a timeline). COMMISSIONER REPORTS: Great that MVCC is trying to have one community event each month. SBM Fire: Santa coming through on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. Tribute Park Committee will be presenting the City Council on January 13th. REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS / OTHER BUSINESS Literacy trail January 2025 Park Promo January 2025 Next Regular Commission Meeting: January 23, 2025 ADJOURNMENT at 8:16 PM Motion to adjourn by Palm, 2nd by Lillemo.