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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPK PACKET 09122005CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PARKS COMMISSION AGENDA September 12, 2005 7:00 P.M. Conference Room I. CALL TO ORDER. II. ROLL CALL. III. APPROVAL OF JUNE 13, 2005 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. IV. UPDATE ON PROGRESS REGARDING EMERALD PARK PROJECT. V. OVERALL PARK SYSTEM DISCUSSION/COMMENTS. VI. REPORTS: A. Community services B. School Board C. Sports Boosters VII. OTHER BUSINESS. CITY OF ST. ANTHONY PARKS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 5 June 13, 2005 6 7:00 p.m. 7 Conference Room 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, 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; Sports Booster Representative Ted 21 Severson, and Close Landscape representatives Bob Close, and 22 Jean Garbarini. 23 24 III. APPROVAL MARCH 14, 2005 PARKS COMMISSION MINUTES. 26 Motion by Commissioner Young, second by Commissioner Hallada, to approve the March 14, 2005 27 Parks Commission meeting minutes. 28 29 Motion carried unanimously. 30 31 IV. CLOSE LANDSCAPE TO PRESENT FUTURE PARK IMPROVEMENTS REGARDING 32 EMERALD PARK. 33 34 Chair Koehntop stated that it was determined that the Parks Commission should look at Emerald Park in 35 terms of upgrading its usage and appearance. Three firms were interviewed for their qualifications, and 36 Close Landscape Architects was chosen. 37 38 Mr. Close gave a background on his company. He said he founded the company in 1977. The company 39 is located in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. There are eleven employees; seven of which are 40 licensed and three are in training. The company handles a variety of projects, from residential to urban 41 design and planning to park design. He said they have been working extensively with the Minneapolis 42 Park and Recreation Board since 1988. They were located in St. Paul until a few months ago, and have a 43 good relationship with the Parks Board of St. Paul. He said they handle a lot of neighborhood parks. 44 They also handle many neighborhood parks, including some for suburban communities. He said they 45 understand that there are multiple uses and have suggestions on how to handle that. He mentioned the " other parks they have worked on and displayed some pictures of them. In Wolf Park in St. Louis Park, there was a lot of storm water that needed to be managed, and they handled that. Another of the parks 48 they worked on was previously a landfill, so contamination was an issue to be dealt with. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes June 13, 2005 Page 2 2 Ms. Garbarini noted she worked on the WSBN, which won a landscape architecture award. Though it is 3 not a public facility, it was a difficult process to go through in terms of neighbors in the area. There 4 were a lot of native plants to work around, and it was an involved project. 5 6 Mr. Close added the notion of what everyone thought would be a storm water hole became a property 7 that actually raised values. 9 Ms. Garbarini displayed photos of Emerald Park. It is surrounded on three sides by homes. A lot of the 10 vegetation is valuable. The play equipment and water feature will be coming out. There are valuable 11 spaces existing that they would not want to remove such as the ball area and picnic area. She said they 12 understand some lighting may need to be added and they recognize it could be an issue with neighbors. 13 They will work with the neighbors on the parking spaces to determine whether they should stay or if it 14 should become green space. 15 16 Mr. Close indicated they are ready to enter discussions with the Board and the residents to move 17 forward. 18 19 Commissioner Ganley asked what kind of soils are at the park, and what unique challenges, if any, may 20 they present. Mr. Close answered the topography does nice things for containing the park. However, they are not familiar with the soils yet. The plants seem to be doing well. LL 23 Commissioner Ganley questioned whether they use a lot of plants in their work. Mr. Close said it 24 depends on what is existing in the park. There are ways to be careful about valuable trees. 25 26 Commissioner Ganley inquired whether the elevations could be an issue. Mr. Close responded if the 27 existing plants are healthy, they are a given, and they work with them. In places where the plants are not 28 healthy, it would make sense to reshape the soil and they would work with that. 29 30 Chair Koehntop asked if in Mr. Close's experience with land of this size, would it be better to clear it off 31 and start from scratch. He mentioned the building is one of the issues, and it could use some updating. 32 33 Public Works Director Hartman stated to replace that building would be relatively cheap. It is 34 something we could look at in the planning. 35 36 Mr. Close said the building does seem to divide the park. It should be determined how long the park 37 should be renovated for. It is good to think big, he said, and work within the realities of budget. At the 38 outset, they will encourage the Commission to think big and of the long-range potential to this facility. 39 40 Ms. Garbarini noted they usually create several concepts and designs for consideration. 41 Commissioner Ganley asked how they would involve the neighbors in a dialog. Ms. Garbarini answered many times they have open houses and invite the residents, and ask them what they would like to see. 44 Also, many times mailers would be sent to people in the area or they would advertise in the local paper. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes June 13, 2005 Page 3 1 Mr. Close added that they do rely on the City to help them communicate with the neighborhood. They 2 like to start the process by holding a hearing. People who have taken the time to talk to us about it have 3 the input. They would bring alternative ideas back to the people and allow them to react to them. 4 Oftentimes, people will take parts of different designs and the result is a hybrid design. 5 6 Public Works Director Hartman stated the same process of open houses that was used for Central Park 7 and the new Public Works Facility would be used for Emerald Park. When Central Park was being 8 developed, they were handing out flyers at Village Fest, and something similar would be done. He said 9 as far as the water feature, they are not opposed to having one, but would like to raise the bar of what is 10 there. He said if they were looking at a new water feature, they would look at something that would be 11 different from the pools. 12 13 Vice Chair Young noted that as the park is currently constructed, there are definitely two uses. He 14 questioned whether that would change in future plans. Ms. Garbarini stated the vegetation is one side of 15 the park. She said they would consider what the major uses are. 16 17 Mr. Close pointed out that it is limited space, and because of the location of the building, he suggested 18 there is an opportunity for the building to come to one side or another. This would provide more of a 19 flow through the park. 20 Discussion took place of what the park was used for as far as sports. Sports Booster Representative LL Severson said there has been some parking on the street. Commissioner Sholl stated the parking lot gets 23 filled during the hockey season. 24 25 V. DISCUSSION OF PRESENTATION. 26 27 Chair Koehntop stated that he will present to the Council the following night the recommendation that 28 Close Architects be hired to renovate Emerald Park. 29 30 Vice Chair Young suggested to emphasize the amount of money the park brings in to help determine the 31 amount of renovation. 32 33 Chair Koehntop said he would propose that Close Architects submit as broad a plan as possible. 34 35 Commissioner Ganley questioned how this company was selected over the others. Chair Koehntop 36 explained there was a subcommittee that interviewed three firms. It was unanimous that Close 37 Architects would fit the needs of the park the best. They have the experience in the city with the 38 Holding Ponds and have a lot of experience in this area. It was a clear choice. 39 40 VI. REPORTS. 41 °9 A. Communitv Services. 44 None. Parks Commission Meeting Minutes June 13, 2005 Page 4 B. School Board. 4 School Board Representative Diane Dunn provided the Commission with the following update: 5 • 121 students graduated on June 3, 2005. 6 • Police revision work is ongoing. 7 • Waiting to hear from the legislature what kind of funding will be offered next year. They 8 are still in special session. 10 C. Sports Boosters. 11 12 Sports Booster Representative had no report. 13 14 Chair Koehntop stated he lives behind the practice football field, which is also used for soccer. He noted 15 when there is a heavy rain, it can get messy for the players. 16 17 Sports Booster Representative Severson replied that people do try to keep an eye on that. They are good 18 about communicating any issues. However, the field does have good drainage. 19 20 VII. OTHER BUSINESS. 22 Lisa McGinty stated she had a complaint regarding the Pavilion and Park Building. She rented it the 23 previous Friday (June 10, 2005) for a graduation open house. There was no electricity. There were no 24 plugged in phones and no contact telephone numbers. She contacted the Fire Department, and they 25 could not open the door to the circuit breakers. They did finally get power about 6:00 p.m., but the party 26 had started at 5:00 p.m. The food wasn't hot until 7:00 p.m., and the party ended at 8:00 p.m. She said 27 she is not impressed at all with the Park Building. 28 29 Commissioner Ganley said others have had comments about the Pavilion area. The drop off area is 30 difficult. The gate is closed so you have to take everything down the stairs. Bringing elderly people is 31 difficult, since it is inaccessible. He said he understands why the gate is in place, and why it has to be 32 locked, but it is a difficulty. He noted the power issue has happened before. Plugging in two crockpots 33 and a coffee pot should not trip the breakers. 34 35 Vice Chair Young Erich apologized on behalf of the Parks Commission. He acknowledged a number to 36 call for help should be posted. 37 38 Ms. McGinty said there seems to be lighting in the Pavilion area, and there were no switches in the 39 Pavilion area. It was difficult to clean up after the party because it was dark. Public Works Director 40 Hartman said he had it looked at earlier in the day. He noted it is on a timer. 41 i Commissioner Ganley commented it is an administration issue and a use issue. 3 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 LL 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Parks Commission Meeting Minutes June 13, 2005 Page 5 Vice Chair Young asked if she had much response from the City to her complaint. Ms. McGinty said she was told to come to this meeting to discuss the issue. Chair Koehntop said he appreciated her letting the Commission know about the situation. Commissioner Ganley suggested there may be room for changes down the road, or at least a dialogue can be created around the pavilion issue. Chair Koehntop questioned who has access to the key to open the gate. Public Works Director Hartman responded that it must be scheduled in advance through Public Works. He said the goal was to eliminate vehicles, since they have caused damage previously. Vice Chair Young commented that if the Pavilion is going to be rented, the customer must be serviced. Chair Koehntop commented it is serving its purpose. People like it and it is a neutral location. There are some glitches to work out. The power has to be reliable. He said he had two roasters and a coffee pot and he had no issues with the power going out. Public Works Director Hartman will have someone check the circuitry and see if there are too many wires on an outlet. Sports Boosters Representative Severson said he saw a car drive around the school parking lot and stop at the Pavilion. It was dusk, and their lights were on. He noted many people drive there, under the impression there is a through street, and there is not. He said he was concerned because there is no room to turn around. They had to back up to get out of the area. He suggested discussing this issue in the future. Chair Koehntop asked if School Board Representative Dunn had asked the School Board to install a partial gate. She said she will bring up the issue at a meeting. VIII. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Commissioner Ganley, second by Commissioner Sholl, to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Chris Moksnes TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Motion carried unanimously