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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPK PACKET 06122006PARKS COMMISSION MEETING City of St. Anthony Parks Commission Meeting June 12, 2006 7:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER. II. ROLL CALL. III. APPROVAL OF MARCH 13, 2006 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. IV. OVERALL PARK SYSTEM DISCUSSION/COMMENTS. V. REPORTS: A. Community services B. School Board C. Sports Boosters VI. OTHER BUSINESS. VII. ADJOURNMENT. 2006 PARK COMMISSIONMEETING SCHEDULE March 13, 2006 June 12, 2006 September 11, 2006 December 11, 2006 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 3 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 4 5 March 13, 2006 6 6:00 p.m. 7 Conference Room 8 9 10 I. CALL TO ORDER. 11 Chair Koehntop called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. 12 13 II. ROLL CALL. 14 Present: Chair Doug Koehntop, Vice Chair Erich Young, Commissioners 15 Colleen Hallada, Daniel Ganley, and Michael Sholl. 16 17 Absent: None. 18 19 Also Present: Public Works Director Jay Hartman; Representative from the 20 School Board Denise Dunn. 21 22 III. APPROVAL DECEMBER 12, 2005 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. 23 24 The Commission unanimously approved the December 12, 2005 Park Commission Minutes. i 26 Motion carried unanimously, 27 28 IV. PRESENTATION BY TROY URDAHL, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OF THE HIGH 29 SCHOOL, REGARDING FLY BALLS AT THE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL FIELDS 30 31 Chair Koehntop stated Mr. Troy Urdahl, Athletic Director of the High School, was in attendance 32 to give a presentation regarding fly balls at the baseball and softball fields. 33 34 Mr. Troy Urdahl noted as spring approaches the issue of fly balls at Central Park has come up 35 again. He indicated this was nothing new, but now they were trying to come up with a solution 36 to the problem. He noted Central Parks' fields were close enough that balls landed in adjoining 37 fields. He stated he wanted to make this area more safe for the spectators and players. He 38 indicated they could put up netting along each field. They could put a chain link "roof' above 39 each bleacher area. On three of the four fields, there were not roof structures, so he proposed a 40 dug out structure, which would provide shelters for the players from foul balls, as well as 41 inclement weather. On the varsity softball field, they would like to construct a dug out similar to 42 the varsity baseball field. He requested feedback from the Commissioners. 43 44 Chair Koehntop asked if some type of an arbor or trellis system be installed with some type of a 45 fence roof to create a green look. Mr. Urdahl noted netting was higher maintenance with limited 45 durability. He noted with a chain link system, seemed to be lower maintenance and probably _. / lower cost solution. He noted this would protect the people sitting in the bleachers, but not the 48 walking paths. He stated he did not have a solution to the walking paths issue. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 13, 2006 Page 2 2 Director of Public Works Hartman asked if they had any funding sources or cost estimates. Mr. 3 Urdahl noted cost estimates have been coming in for the dugouts and for each of those structures, 4 it would be approximately $5,000. In terms of funding, he hoped both softballs and fundraising 5 groups could contribute at some level. He indicated they had also recently submitted a grant to 6 the Minnesota Twins for a $5,000 matching grant, as well as anticipating the school giving a 7 donation. 9 Director of Public Works Hartman asked what their intended schedule was. Mr. Urdahl 10 responded it would depend on funding, but they anticipated it could be August. He noted the 11 purpose of him coming to the Commission tonight was to show the plans, address the problem, 12 and get some input from the Commission. 13 14 Chair Koehntop stated their next meeting was June 12 and asked if he would have further 15 information at that time. Mr. Urdahl stated if the Commission had no issues with the plans, then 16 he would work with Mr. Hartman on this project. 17 18 Commissioner Sholl noted there is a huge issue with foul balls and he liked the idea of dugouts. 19 20 V. PRESENTATION ON EMERALD PARK/JEAN M. GARBARINI, CLOSE LANDSCAPE 1 TO PRESENT. /2 23 Jean Garbarini, Close Landscape, stated she has been working on the plans for Emerald Park. 24 She presented the concept plan she designed for Emerald Park. She indicated the plan showed a 25 new facility/building as well as addressed all of the previous concerns. 26 27 Commissioner Ganley asked if there room for a football field in the park also. Ms. Garbarini 28 noted she would look at that as an option. 29 30 Ms. Garbarini indicated they had looked at all of the resident's comments and put them into this 31 plan, but this was a starting point and it did not mean they needed to raise all of the money to do 32 everything. She indicated one thing that could be cut was the splash deck and the separate picnic 33 shelter. She noted the park had a history of having a water feature, but she knew they had a 34 significant water feature at Central Park and she was not sure if they wanted one at this park, 35 even though the residents were enthusiastic about one. 36 37 Commissioner Sholl asked what type of a surface would be from the warming house to the 38 hockey rink. Ms. Garbarini replied right now they were not showing anything and this would 39 have to be something to look at. 40 41 Chair Koehntop noted right now they needed to wait for the City Council to tell them how much 42 of a budget they had to work with. i 3 44 Mr. Doug _, 4009 Shamrock Drive, stated they thought the price was on the high side. He 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 13, 2006 Page 3 stated they wanted to keep the shelter, but hoped to drop the price down and somehow combine the picnic shelter and the other shelter. He stated they would like to see the shelter be kept open at all times in the summer for a storm shelter. He stated most people did not like the picnic shelter where it was located and they wanted it combined. They liked the idea of the hockey rink and asked if it could be lighted. He stated they would like to see the parking expanded further. He noted both McCalester and Emerald should have parking on one side only. He asked if the old warming house could be renovated. He stated another concern was the play equipment and they wanted play equipment for all kids and not just the younger children. He asked if they could use recycled rubber instead of sand around the play equipment. He stated they could cut down on some of the trees. He noted they have never had irrigation in the park before and asked if irrigation was necessary. He noted irrigation could be kept for and landscaping and not in the fields. He asked if they could get something to block the neighborhood from hockey pucks. He stated they would like to see a basketball court also. He asked if the trees could be limited to the southeast corner of the park. He indicated it would be nice to get the splash desk, but believed most of the neighbors would be willing to forego that to cut down on the price. Ms. Garbarini stated she believed it was the City's plan to go back and present this to the residents again for further comments. She noted the intention for this was just to set a budget and then have another meeting in the spring with the neighborhood. She indicated the only thing that might not happen was the recycled rubber in the play area, which was very expensive. V. OVERALL PARK SYSTEM DISCUSSION/COMMENTS. None. VII. REPORTS. A. Community Services. None. B. School Board. None. C. Sports Boosters. None. 39 VII. OTHER BUSINESS. 40 41 Chair Koehntop stated that the next Parks Commission meeting is scheduled for June 12, 2006 at °? 7:00 p.m. 1--J Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 13, 2006 Page 4 VIII. ADJOURNMENT. 3 Motion by Commissioner Hallada, second by Commissioner Sholl, to adjourn the meeting at 4 6:45 p.m. 5 6 Motion carried unanimously. 8 Respectfully submitted, 9 10 Kathy Altman 11 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Joint Meeting with Park Commission March 13, 2006 6:00 pm Dinner will be provided 6:00 pm Meeting called to order by Mayor Pro Tem Hal Gray Presentation and discussion of 2006 Goals by Mayor Pro Tem and Council Other Business Adjourn by 7 pm for regular Parks Commission Meeting CITY COUNCIL JOINT MEETING WITH PARKS COMMISSION City of St. Anthony Parks Commission Meeting March 13, 2006 6:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER. II. ROLL CALL. III. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 12, 2005 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. IV. PRESENTATION ON EMERALD PARK/JEAN M. GARBARINI, CLOSE LANDSCAPE TO PRESENT. V. OVERALL PARK SYSTEM DISCUSSION/COMMENTS. VI. REPORTS: A. Community services B. School Board C. Sports Boosters VII. OTHER BUSINESS. VIII. ADJOURNMENT. 2006 PARK COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE March 13, 2006 June 12, 2006 September 11, 2006 December 11, 2006 I CITY OF ST. ANTHONY 2 PARKS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Y 5 December 12, 2005 6 7:00 p.m. 7 Council Chambers 10 I. CALL TO ORDER. 11 Chair Koehntop called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance. 12 13 II. ROLL CALL. 14 Present: Chair Doug Koehntop, Vice Chair Erich Young, and 15 Commissioner Daniel Ganley. 16 17 Absent: Commissioners Colleen Hallada and Michael Sholl. 18 19 Also Present: Public Works Director Jay Hartman; Representative from Sports 20 Boosters Ted Severson and Close Landscape representative Jean 21 Garbarini. 22 23 III. APPROVAL JUNE 13, 2005 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. 24 Motion by Commissioner Ganley, second by Vice Chair Young to approve the June 13, 2005 Parks 26 Commission meeting minutes. 27 28 Motion carried unanimously. 29 30 IIIc. EAGLE SCOUT PROPOSAL 31 32 Eric Peterson, resident of St. Anthony and member of Life Scout Troop 153, stated he is on the path to 33 making the Eagle Scout ranking. He needs to do a service project to attain that ranking. He proposed to 34 set up several routes for runners and walkers on existing pathways in Central Park. He said he would set 35 up a one -mile route, a half -mile route and an alternative route. He would also like to set up a section for 36 sprinters with 40, 50 and 100 yard marks. He noted the runners used to use the football track. In re - 37 seeding for the football season, the track was closed. Runners are running on the streets. If his plan is 38 approved, the runners will know how much they are running and have the measurement markers. He 39 said the Boy Scouts could use it as well. He said hopefully, everyone will be able to enjoy this project. 40 41 Mr. Peterson displayed his plan. The starting point would be the pavilion. The half mile route would 42 circle around the main area of the park. The alternate mile route would go around the entire park. A 43 section would be marked off for sprinters. Maps for these routes would be placed at entrances to the 44 park. A runner could enter in at any major entrance, and run in a loop. This plan would be in motion in 45 early spring. He stated that paint would be used similar to that used on the roads. l._ He concluded that by completing this project, he will show leadership to the troops. He said it would 48 hopefully be complete by summer. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 14, 2005 Page 2 Chair Koehntop said he has been asked about the mileage in this park before. Commissioner Ganley said the park was intended originally to have these markings. It is a good project. Mr. Hartman agreed and said this is an excellent project that will be beneficial to all. Commissioner Ganley asked how he thought of it. 9 Mr. Peterson said his troop has had difficulty scheduling use of the track in the football field and needed 10 somewhere to run. Also, he said his parents are runners and they are interested in having this project 11 completed. 12 13 Commissioner Ganley said in the photograph Mr. Peterson displayed, there was a metal pole. He asked 14 if a wooden pole may be more conducive. 15 16 Mr. Hartman said an existing pole would be used. He said this could be researched further. 17 18 Vice Chair Young questioned how accurate the lengths are. Mr. Peterson said the lengths will be 19 measured out by his troops. He made a quick run with his pedometer and made sure there was extra 20 room. The exact distances will be marked off. 22 IV. PRESENTATION FROM CLOSE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE REGARDING 23 FEEDBACK FROM EMERALD PARK OPEN HOUSE ON SEPT. 28, 2005/DESIGN 24 PRESENTATIONS. 25 26 Chair Koehntop stated Jean Garbarini from Close Architects would give an update on the Emerald Park 27 project. He gave a summary of the background of the project. 28 29 Ms. Garbarini noted that comments were taken at a well -attended open house in September. Those 30 comments have been incorporated into several designs. She said she would present two options tonight. 31 She listed each of the comments individually. 32 33 Responding to a comment made that the parking lot is not needed, Mr. Severson asked if those making 34 that comment had elaborated at all. Ms. Garbarini said it was just their opinion, and likely thought the 35 street parking was sufficient. Mr. Severson questioned whether they live on the streets where parking is 36 allowed, and what their thinking may have been. 37 38 Mr. Garbarini said that the lighting and the condition of the play equipment were some of the big items. 39 She showed a plan of the existing park. She explained as they studied it, they found there was nothing 40 the people didn't like about the park that couldn't be modified. The park functions well as it is. The 41 area where the play structure is can accommodate a variety of new equipment. She said they did look at moving the more active recreation around, but it didn't make much sense to do that. The diagrams showed kept the function as it is. She emphasized that these are diagrams only and haven't been detailed 44 yet. A cost estimate will be prepared for the January Council meeting. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 14, 2005 Page 3 2 Ms. Garbarini explained the first option keeps the off-street parking. The playground is built closer to 3 the parking lot. An arbor structure next to the playground separates it from the water play. This will 4 also provide shade in the summer. It also will decrease sand in the water play areas. At the end of the 5 arbor is a shelter that could be reserved for larger picnics. The building off the sidewalk to the north is 6 kept away from the water play. Some of the existing vegetation will be saved. The playground will be 7 kept roughly the same size. 9 Vice Chair Young asked if the parking lot is moved down from the hockey rink. Ms. Garbarini 10 responded it is. It is moved slightly to accommodate the drainage. 11 12 Ms. Garbarini presented Option 2. She mentioned that there may be some opportunities to work with 13 some older photographs they may find. This concept becomes a little more formal. It provides off-street 14 parking with 9 parallel spaces off Macalester and 9 parallel spaces off Shamrock. However, it does not 15 give Macalester or Shamrock a front door. There is an arbor proposed that divides the area form north 16 and south. In this option, the hockey rink is oriented east and west. It may be nicer to have it closer to a 17 building. This option shows the ball field in the same spot as it is. The biggest difference is there is 18 more space on the south side and not allowing a front door into the park form the streets. 19 20 V. OVERALL PARK SYSTEM DISCUSSION/COMMENTS. 2z Vice Chair Young said the skating rink is a big park of the park and is not addressed in either of the 23 plans. On Option 2, the hockey rink blocks access to the rink. Option 1 could work better with access to 24 both. Ms. Garbarini acknowledged the dilemma and added that the melting issues with the east -west 25 orientation of the hockey rink could cause problems. 26 27 Mr. Hartman said the best orientation for the hockey rink is north/south. The runoff could be handled 28 with this orientation. 29 30 Chair Koehntop asked if the hockey rink could be north/south on Option 2. Ms. Garbarini said it could, 31 but the basketball space would have to be smaller. 32 33 Mr. Severson commented that if the parking is on both sides as on Option 2, people would have to be 34 going from one side to the other, and this could be more chaotic. If there are no parking spots on one 35 side, you would have to drive all the way around to the other side. 36 37 Chair Koehntop suggested presenting both options to the residents and letting them choose. 38 39 Mr. Hartman noted that if parking is primarily on Macalester or Shamrock, and entrance could be made. 40 41 Chair Koehntop asked if the current number of parking spots remain the same. Ms. Garbarini said it n-) does. 44 Vice Chair Young confirmed that both plans include building a new structure. Ms. Garbarini concurred. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 14, 2005 Page 4 Vice Chair Young asked what the added cost will be. Ms. Garbarini said there is no estimate for that at this point. She suggested the City talk with an architect about what renovations could be done to the existing building. If a plan does get approved, and there is funding, the City will need to get an architect on board for the buildings. 6 Mr. Hartman asked if a ball park price will be presented at the January 24, 2006 Council meeting. Ms. 7 Garbarini said she will. Mr. Hartman said once a plan is approved, an architect will have to be brought 8 on board. 9 10 Ms. Garbarini explained that they were told that a pool was not desired. She displayed several pictures 1 I of ideas for water play including walking through a tunnel, and sprinkling structures. She said they will 12 choose a few of them and plug them into the park as space accommodates. 13 14 Mr. Hartman asked if she had an example of the trellis idea. Ms. Garbarini said she did, and she could 15 hand out copies. This would be an open structure that vines could grow on. It would be treated wood. 16 17 Ms. Garbarini stated the idea of a picnic pavilion was brought up. 18 19 Vice Chair Young said the pavilion would probably make it more functional in the summer. He asked 20 whether places to sit would be added. Ms. Garbarini answered they were considering adding some benches. LL 23 Commissioner Ganley said the water tower park has been a success and it provides seating in the middle 24 of the park for parents. There is shade in the center. There are nice designs of structures. He asked if 25 Close Architects may take some of that design element and maintain some of the color continuity from 26 one park to the next. Mr. Garbarini said they would incorporate it if that was what was requested. 27 28 Commissioner Ganley said some residents have told him that there is a lot of use of the ball field in 29 Central Park. If some of the pressure could be taken off Central Park by adding a 60 yard football field 30 for smaller kids, along with something less than regulation for soccer, it would be helpful. He asked if 31 these ideas could be configured into the plans. 32 33 Ms. Garbarini said if specific dimensions were provided, they would work with it. 34 35 Mr. Severson said he had specific measurements. He also commented that when you put ice down for a 36 hockey field, football cannot be played on the weeds that grow underneath in the spring. Anywhere 37 there is skating, there is no grass in the summer time. 38 39 Commissioner Ganley suggested the architects try to design a soccer and football field, though if it 40 doesn't fit in they could abandon it. 41 Chair Koehntop said he prefers the north/south orientated hockey rink on Option 2. i 44 Mr. Severson noted there is an open space in the diagram for Option 2 and inquired what that space 2 Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 14, 2005 Page 5 could be used for. Chair Koehntop said he likes that it makes the use more flexible. Vice Chair Young commented that Option 2 has more structure. He said he is curious with how the trees will look. He said this option provides more options for use. 6 Commissioner Ganley said some of the trees can be removed on Option 2 and this would provide a little 7 more space to use. 8 9 Ms. Garbarini said there may be a way to provide more seating in the area in Option 2, possibly by 10 moving the basketball court. She asked if she should move ahead and develop Option 2 with sizing and 11 play equipment. 12 13 Vice Chair Young asked what kind of plantings they were looking at. Ms. Garbarini said they are 14 looking at some type of dense plantings that would not be in a straight row. 15 16 Vice Chair Young asked if angled parking could be used in Option 2. Ms. Garbarini explained that 50 17 feet is needed, so that cars are not backing out into a lane of traffic. Parallel parking keeps the cars 18 completely off the street and gives more land for the park. 19 20 Chair Koehntop suggested giving the residents the choice on the parking. LL Ms. Garbarini said the two options are basically the same cost. 23 24 Mr. Hartman summarized that Ms. Garbarini will have a revised, more detailed plan using Option 2 to 25 present to the Council on January 24. 26 27 VI. REPORTS. 28 29 A. Communitv Services. 30 31 None. 32 33 B. School Board. 34 35 None. 36 37 C. Sports Boosters. 38 39 Mr. Severson reported the Soccer Commission said they would be interested in having soccer fields 40 available to play on in this new park. He pointed out there is no place for kids to play soccer. He said he 41 has had casual conversations with Mr. Hartman about using the hockey rinks for smaller kids' soccer. He said Ms. Garbarini suggested using artificial turf, and had also mentioned the rubberized turf could be used under the hockey rink. Possibly a quick -growing grass seed could be put down after the winter 44 season, as another option. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes March 14, 2005 Page 6 2 Chair Koehntop asked if irrigation is a feasible option and what would be needed to irrigate. The park 3 could have more use if it could recover from seasonal sports quickly. 4 5 Mr. Hartman said based on this design it would be easy to irrigate. He will research this consideration. 6 7 Mr. Severson asked if there are any plumbing issues with the new water park. Mr. Hartman said it 8 would be the same cost as it was for Central Park. He noted the lighting fixtures will be replaced and 9 upgraded. 10 11 VII. OTHER BUSINESS. 12 13 Chair Koehntop noted the Council retreat is scheduled for January 12, 2006, and he is available to 14 attend. He said he will not be available for the Council meeting on January 24. 15 16 Vice Chair Young said he could attend that meeting on the 24`h of January. 17 18 Chair Koehntop asked if there is anything the Commissioners would like brought up when the 19 discussion on the redevelopment of the park is raised at the retreat. Nothing was mentioned. 20 Vice Chair Young reported the stairs leading down to the pavilion are very nice. LL 23 Commissioner Ganley said he has a list of items. He said we should make contact with the Garden Club 24 and encourage more participation in the Garden Club. He suggested having discussions with people 25 from the Hennepin Parks District. It may be beneficial to discuss how to integrate their trail system with 26 the redevelopment and lighting of Silver Lake Road. He also asked if a liaison from the Council could 27 give the Parks Commission an update on the redevelopment of Silver Lake Road. 28 29 Mr. Hartman announced that the hockey and recreating skating rinks opened that day at all three parks. 30 He noted that there is staff at the warming house during open hours. He said the hours of operation are 31 noted on the City web site. 32 33 VIII. ADJOURNMENT. 34 35 Motion by Commissioner Ganley, second by Vice Chair Young, to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. 36 37 Motion carried unanimously. 38 39 Respectfully submitted, 40 41 Chris Moksnes Al TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc