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March 8, 1999 St. Anthony Village Parks Commission: The following are concerns that my family has regarding Silver Point Park. I understand that there is some uncertainty as to what responsibility the Parks Commission has and what responsibility the designing engineer has as far as what group makes what recommendations to the City Council. Please consider those for which you are qualified to answer. Thank you. Lighting within the park (in the basin), at the parking lot, and any peripheral lighting on ground that is level with the surrounding housing. How is this being planned so that the lights are not intrusive on the neighbors' properties? Will there be a light with a manual switch for when kids want to play in the evening? In the spring and especially in the fall older kids come to play football in the hockey rink (that's where the light was). They turn the lights on when they come and off when they leave. We enjoy seeing these older kids playing as we know they have so few choices for spontaneous recreation in the community. 2. Landscaping as it relates to noise and light barriers. When the park was leveled, it opened Highway 88 to the surrounding homes. The amount of car and truck lights that are now visible from the highway is considerable, as is the traffic noise. We are concerned that the landscaping be planned to lessen this disturbance from the traffic. Initially a sledding area was talked about for one of the slopes. If this is still an option, are the affected areas being landscaped accordingly? The hockey rink. Are the boards going to be removable to accommodate summer activities? Will it be necessary to encircle the rink above the wooden boards with fencing to act as a barrier to errant hockey pucks? 4. It is our opinion that the city's maintenance of the ice rinks improved every year. Over the years that we've lived on Silver Lake Road, we saw an increase in the number of children and young adults using the rinks. We'd like to be assured that the city crew feels that the plans for the hockey rink and the recreational rink are the most reasonable for accessibility with its water truck and snow removal equipment. 5. Accessibility issues. Is emergency vehicle access being considered; is it necessary to solicit the opinions of the police and fire departments? I know of one instance last year when the police drove vehicles to the shelter. Has NSP been consulted as to the feasibility of access to poles for maintenance? If NSP has not yet been consulted, will it be contacted? 6. Walking path. Assuming that this will be a soft -ground path instead of a concrete sidewalk, dog walkers should enjoy it. They are the only ones who, in the past, walked the perimeter of the park. With the concern of so little green land to absorb water, I do not recommend a paved path. I need only to point out the tarred walk down Silver Lake Road as an example. If there is no money or desire to maintain a well-designed sidewalk on the city's main road, I question the suggestion to install one in a park. However, if a paved walk is being planned, will it also be available to in-line skaters and runners? Are there cost concerns the city would have if it will require additional time from the maintenance crew to hand mow the areas affected by the paved walk? (Most of the mowing is done by a large, riding mower.) There are areas between the park's fence and the slope that measure 3 to 5 feet in width. This does not seem like a wide enough area in which to lay a path and still have green space on the sides of the path. There still