2012.10.10 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Executive Summary - Major Findings and Recommendations Two Areas- The White Bear School District has two distinct areas; the developed southern area and the rapidly developing northern area. These two areas require two coordinated approaches: • Meeting existing deficiencies to serve the existing population (primarily in the southern area). • Planning and building facilities to meet the growth needs of the northern area. Population growth will be a factor within the northern and western portions of the District. The population of the portions of Hugo, Lino Lakes and North Oaks located within the District are expected to nearly triple by the year 2010. Therefore, city and School District actions should be focused not only on meeting existing facility deficiencies, but also on meeting the needs of the expanding residential areas to the north and west. Major Needs - While many athletic facilities needs within the District area are adequate to meet existing and firture demand, the following additions and improvements are needed to correct existing and projected shortfalls: • Additional Gym Space is Needed The most serious shortfall is a lack of sufficient gym space for adulrand youth sports. A minimum of one indoor community recreation facility is needed with at least 2 full size gym courts. • Additional Dedicated Soccer Fields are Needed Youth soccer is the fastest growing participation sport in the country and in the study area. More dedicated soccer fields are needed to allow full participation, to minimize conflicts arising from shared use fields and to prevent over -use of existing fields. Emphasis should be placed on finding appropriate locations for dedicated soccer fields as well as improving the condition of existing fields through the addition of irrigation. If dedicating existing fields for soccer is not possible because it would cause a field shortage for another sport, new soccer fields should be constructed and remain dedicated to the sport of soccer. •. Additional Baseball Fields are Needed. The study area has a shortage of medium and large size baseball fields (60' and 75' baselines, 200'-250+' outfield dimensions). These fields would serve the needs of youth and young adult baseball players. At least five additional fields are needed for both size fields. An appropriate compromise might be to establish new baseball fields that have the ability to be reorganized to both the 60' and 75' baselines. ASSOCIATES