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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPK PACKET 09112000CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PARKS COMMISSION AGENDA September 11, 2000 7:00 PM Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER. II. ROLL CALL. III. APPROVE AUGUST 14, 2000 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. IV. DISCUSS CENTRAL PARK REDEVELOPMENT ITEMS. Augie Wong from BRW, Inc. will be present. In addition, we will discuss our presentation to the School Board and City Council at their September 26, 2000 joint meeting. V. REPORTS. A. Community Services. B. School Board. C. Sports Boosters. VI. OTHER BUSINESS. VII. ADJOURNMENT. I CITY OF ST. ANTHONY s PARKS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 3 AUGUST 14, 2000 4 7:00 p.m. �N\11a111XII911D)9 6 Chair Jindra called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. =I CZ1] IR 1140_JA 8 Present: Chair Carol Jindra, Commissioners George Wagner, Julie Gebhardt, 9 Colleen Hallada, Daniel Ganley, Doug Koehntop, and Jan Jenson. 10 Absent: Representative from Sports Boosters George Zurbey. 11 Also Present: Public Works Director Jay Hartman, Representative from School Board 12 Denise Dunn, Representative from Community Services Diane Skrivseth; 13 City Council Liaison Brian Thuesen. 14 III. APPROVE JULY 10, 2000 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. 15 Motion by Wagner, second by Ganley, to approve the July 10, 2000 Parks Commission Meeting Minutes with the following changes: 17 - Add Doug Koehntop to the list of Commissioners Present; 18 Page 4, Line 2, delete "at another park" and add "in Central Park." 19 - Page 4, Line 7, add "and the Commission will search for ways to fit these items into the 20 plans." 21 Motion carried unanimously. 22 IV. DISCUSS CENTRAL PARK REDEVELOPMENT ITEMS. 23 Public Works Director Jay Hartman stated that Augie Wong would not be present at the meeting 24 as noted on the agenda to discuss Central Park. Mr. Hartman mentioned that Mr. Wong felt that 25 the plans were virtually complete and his presence at the meeting would not be necessary. 26 Jindra reviewed a handout provided by Mr. Hartman and noted several discrepancies compared 27 to a list previously handed out. Mr. Hartman noted that a revised list could be obtained. 28 In the absence of Mr. Wong, Jindra inquired if the Commissioners had any items or issues they 29 wished to be discussed regarding Central Park. Jindra noted that she had received some com- 30 ments from visitors to the Parks Commission booth at VillageFest. One of the comments she 31 heard was that people were disturbed by the fact that the shelter wasn't placed in the center of the 11 Park. 1 Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2000 Page 2 1 Ganley mentioned he heard suggestions from residents regarding using crushed rock versus a 2 limestone composite for the fields. 3 Jindra mentioned that representatives from the Hennepin County Regional Parks was located 4 near the Parks Commission's booth at the VillageFest celebration, and those representatives 5 mentioned that their community is moving away from multipurpose fields because soccer tends 6 to tear up the turf. However, Jindra mentioned that the City has obvious restrictions with 7 available land space, and multipurpose fields are the only available option for St. Anthony at this 8 point. 9 Ganley discussed comments made by a particular resident about moving fields, and this issue 10 was discussed after reviewing the current plans for the park. 11 Gebhardt relayed some concerns residents had with regard to re -doing the wading pool, and pos- 12 sibility moving that pool towards Water Tower Park. Additionally, she heard concerns about 13 vandalism of the shelter due to the isolation of the placement of the shelter. 14 Hartman noted that the redevelopment would assist in preventing certain vandalism due to the 15 lighting that would be utilized within the park. He noted that there would not appear to be other 16 options for placement of the wading pool. 17 Wagner mentioned a suggestion by a resident about placing distance markers along the trail. 18 Koehntop expressed his own opposition to placing any unnecessary items along the trail. 19 Ganley stated a resident was concerned about multipurpose trails, as it concerned bike riders, 20 walkers and rollerbladers using the same trail. 21 (Jenson left the meeting at 7:20 p.m. to attend another meeting). 22 Jindra stated that she had heard a parent's organization was going to put dugouts in the varsity 23 field and inquired if School Board Representative Denise Dunn knew anything about the issue. 24 Dunn stated that she had not heard anything to date; however, Jenson might have an idea. Jindra 25 said she would ask Jenson when he returned. 26 Jindra said that it has been suggested to the Council the idea of purchasing homes that eventually 27 would come up for sale around the park. It is the Commission's hope that some time this issue 28 could be discussed further with the Council as the opportunities arise. 29 Returning to the issue of the Central Park plan, Jindra mentioned that changes to the plan could 30 not be discussed in light of Mr. Wong's absence. Mr. Hartman mentioned that any of the sug- 31 gestions by the Commission heard at the meeting are fairly minor and would not create any large Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2000 Page 3 1 disturbances in the plan. Those issues could be easily approached at the September Parks Com - 2 mission meeting. 3 Ganley noted a suggestion by someone at the VillageFest that if an aggressive seeding program 4 is implemented by August of the redevelopment year, the park might be able to be ready for use 5 by the end of the next June or July. The possibilities and contraindications of this suggestion 6 were discussed. 7 Jindra asked City Council Liaison Brian Thuesen if there had been conversation between the s Council with regard to the redevelopment of Central Park. Jindra asked if the Council would 9 consider a referendum to raise the money, and Thuesen responded it was too early to tell the di - 10 rection the Council would take on the issue. 1 I Koehntop inquired of Thuesen if a levy increase would be considered. Thuesen noted that there 12 has been significant discussion regarding levy limits by the Council, and it would be difficult to B tell about the decision about which'the Council would arrive. 14 Dunn noted that there has been ongoing discussions between the Mayor, Superintendent of 5 Schools, and City Manager regarding funding and financing for Central Park. 16 Thuesen offered the Commission several options regarding funding that he could foresee happen - 17 ing: 18 --A general obligation bond; 19 --Taking from the general fund reserves. 20 --The City is still in hopes of a park grant; 21 --Explore the potential of borrowing from the water filtration fund; and 22 --Bring the issue to the voters. 23 Andra inquired if the Commission wanted to give a type of statement to the Council regarding 24 the plan, as a type of disclaimer. 25 Thuesen advised against this idea and noted that the Parks Commission was in charge of devel- 26 oping a plan for Central Park and the Council is in charge of accepting or not accepting the plan. 27 He noted that if there were disgruntled residents because of the plan, the Council would take the 28 consequences for approving the plan, and not the Commission. 29 Hartman reiterated that the Commission is simply in charge of making recommendations to the 30 Council, and the financing and details of that sort would be the Council's decision. 1 Ganley relayed a comment he had received from a resident that the school and Central Park reno- 32 vation should not be involved together in this project. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2000 Page 4 1 Jindra wanted to note for the record that the Commission would not be in favor of raising taxes. 2 Koehntop noted that the Commission's job is simply to recommend a inulti-use park to the Coun- 3 cil and the Council will take the financing and details of that project from there. 4 Hartman noted that City Manager Mike Mornson has applied for a $100,000 grant on behalf of 5 the City for Central Park and notices will be mailed on Tuesday, August 15. There is a joint 6 meeting with the school board on August 26th and Hartman would hope that all Commissioners 7 could attend the meeting. 8 V. SILVER POINT PARK. 9 Jindra inquired if the Commission should look at a temporary shelter at that park so there is some 10 type of shelter for the skating season. Hartman asked what the Commission would do for 11 lighting in that respect. Koehntop thought that a plan had been set up with some estimates and it 12 was determined that some of these issues had been discussed, but that nothing had been decided. 13 Jindra inquired if a wooden hockey arena would be possible for fall. Hartman said that would be 14 accomplished, and it was discussed having recreational skating at that location. A temporary 15 shelter was discussed, and Hartman mentioned the shelter would be a trailer. It was determined 16 that specific decisions had not been made at the prior meeting with regard to some of these is - 17 sues. 18 Jindra noted that at next Parks Commission meeting, the issue at hand will be Central Park, so 19 she requested that Hartman work on some of these issues for Silver Point Park and return to the 20 Commission. 21 Also, the grand opening for Silver Point Park would need to be discussed, especially complica- 22 tions from parking. Jindra noted the possibility of having shuttles run from the Community 23 Center for the opening. 24 Additionally, Jindra noted that a specific date for the grand opening would need to be chosen at a 25 later date. 26 Jindra distributed a copy of a letter dated July 20, 2000 from Hennepin Parks regarding the Park 27 District's interest in the Salvation Army property located in St. Anthony. Jindra noted that she 28 had asked Thuesen to review this issue. Thuesen noted that after review of the issue and some 29 discussions regarding the same, that personally he was in favor of this issue moving forward. 30 According to the letter, the Park District has contacted the Salvation Army seeking the opportu- 31 nity to further explore alternatives regarding the acquisition of the Salvation Army site. 32 Koehntop inquired if this issue could be discussed at the City Council meeting in September 33 2000, after the intensity of the Apache Plaza issue has declined. Thuesen noted that he would Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2000 Page 5 1 ask that the Council and the City Manager consider this issue to be an agenda item at a Council 2 meeting in September. 3 Jindra noted for the record that the Parks Commission is in full favor of the Salvation Army 4 property remaining a park -type property. 5 Jindra noted that the Hennepin Parks department has approached the Commission about 6 attending one of the Parks Commission's meetings. Jindra noted that the Hennepin Parks 7 department has been invited to the next Parks Commission meeting in September. 8 There was some discussion as to why the Parks Commission did not receive a copy of the letter 9 dated July 20 mentioned above, and Thuesen noted that as a Councilmember, he received a copy, 10 but he could not speak for the other Councilmembers. He noted that he was aware that the City 11 Manager was not provided with a copy of the letter either. 12 Jindra asked Thuesen to inform the Parks Commission if the Council determined at some point 13 to rezone the Salvation Army property to residential. Thuesen noted that he would stay tuned to 14 any impending developments and would inform the Commission. 15 Jindra asked if someone could respond to Hennepin Parks and let them know that the Parks 16 Commission is interested in working with them on this issue. Thuesen noted he would discuss 17 this issue with the City Manager. 18 VI. REPORTS 19 A. Community Services. 20 Community Services does not meet during the summer, although Diane Skrivseth noted that she 21 could see the Salvation Army issue being a topic of discussion when Community Services meet - 22 ings begin again. In response to a comment by Skrivseth regarding an interpretive center, Thue- 23 sen remarked that such an idea would be an excellent possibility and provide for outstanding op - 24 portunities. 25 Skrivseth wished to note that there is a joint program with the New Brighton Parks and Recrea- 26 tion and St. Anthony Community Services regarding the pool. A full time person has been hired 27 to handle both programs. 28 B. School Board 29 Denise Dunn reported that the School Board is looking forward to the joint meeting on the 26th. 30 Her opinion was such that the School Board would enjoy working with the Parks Commission 31 and Hennepin Parks regarding the Salvation Army property. .,2 C. Sports Boosters. 33 George Zurbey was not present. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes August 14, 2000 Page 6 1 Thuesen noted that it appeared the Parks Commission had a strong feeling about the Salvation 2 Army property. He inquired if the Commission would like to approach the Council at the next 3 meeting. Koehntop noted that timing is very important, and if the agenda for the next meeting is 4 full of emotionally sensitive and difficult issues, it might be a better idea to postpone discussions 5 with the Council until September. Thuesen agreed with Koehntop's concern, and Thuesen noted 6 that he would try to get this issue on the Council's agenda for the first part of September. Addi- 7 tionally, he would discuss this issue with the City Manager. s Jindra showed the Commission an article she had written and inquired of Jay Hartman if addi- 9 tional time could be obtained if such an article needs to be written again. 10 VH. OTHERBUSINESS. 11 Jindra noted that on a positive note, many of the people who attended VillageFest were excited 12 about the renovation of Central Park and other parks that the Commission has restored and de - 13 veloped. She urged all of the Commissioners to voice their opinions about their feelings with re - 14 gard to financing parks. 15 Thuesen noted that at some point in the future, Scott Tankenoff of Hillcrest Development, may 16 be willing to allow the City some temporary use of the New Market site for fields. Thuesen was 17 quick to note that nothing had been set in stone, and it was simply a possibility. 18 Hartman provided the schedule for the skateboard park to the Commission in light of the fact that 19 the Council approved the plans. By the end of August, the park is expected to be completed. 20 Discussion ensued about the possibility of having an additional phone available. Additionally, 21 Jindra noted that a sign should be placed at the park that the City recommends appropriate skate - 22 boarding pads and helmets. Discussion ensued about the asphalt being a green color, as well as 23 the chain link fence being green as opposed to the current plan of black. Hartman noted that 24 black is more durable than green for fencing. Jenson had made the decisions about the colors. 25 Koehntop would prefer that the options be green; however, it was discussed that the Commission 26 should stay with the black asphalt due to the durability issue. Hartman inquired for direction 27 from the Commission if other options were decided upon. 28 VIII. ADJOURNMENT. 29 Motion by Gebhardt, second by Ganley, to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. 30 31 Respectfully submitted, 32 Sue Selseth 33 Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.