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06/02/1988 - Advisory Parks & Recreation Commission MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE ADVISORY PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA JUNE-2, 1988 A regular meeting of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission was called to order at 7:45 P.M. on Thursday, June 2,1988 with the following Commission Members present: Dick Carroll, Michele Swanson, Wayne Sames, Sandy Masin, George Kubik, JoAnne Alt and Bob Porter. Staff present included Director of Parks and Recreation, Ken Vraa; Landscape Architect/Parks Planner, Steve Sullivan; Parks Superintendent, John VonDeLinde; Recreation Supervisor, Dorothy Peterson and Parks Secretary, Cherryl Mesko. Commission Member not present was David Hennes. AGENDA Director Vraa asked to have Berry Patch Park and Burr Oaks Park added to the agenda under Other Business. With this addition, JoAnne Alt moved to accept the agenda as amended, Sandy Masin seconded with all members voting in favor. MINUTES FROM MAY 5, 1988 MEETING Page 13, Paragraph 2, Sentence 3 was changed to reflect the last word in the sentence to be "old" rather than "only". With that change being noted, Dick Carroll moved to accept the minutes as amended, George Kubik seconded with all members voting in favor. CONSENT AGENDA The following consent agenda items were presented for approval. On a motion by JoAnne Alt, seconded by Bob Porter with all members voting in favor, the Commission approved recommendation to the City Council of the following items: 1. SAFARI ESTATES 4TH ADDITION - That this plat be subject to a cash parkland dedication. 2. SOLDERHOLM ADDITION - That this plat be subject to a cash parkland dedication and a five foot concrete sidewalk be placed along the north side of Diffley Road. 3. GALAXIE CLIFF PLAZA - That this plat be subject to a cash parkland dedication. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Meeting Page 2 KINGS WOOD 2ND ADDITION Parks Planner, Steve Sullivan presented the Commission with the background information relative to the Kings Wood 2nd Addition which is west of Pilot Knob Road, directly across from the existing municipal center. This development is proposing to take access from Pilot Knob Road at the existing Kingswood Road location, however another possible access would be to extend the cul-de-sac from Coronation Road to Pilot Knob Road. Pilot Knob is planned to be 5 lanes( 2 right, 2 left and 1 center turn lane). Engineering and Planning are currently reviewing the Coronation access to determine if this will be more appropriate. Director Vraa has approached Hastings and Chivetta regarding the. overall layout and after a very brief review the architects felt that the Kingswood Road access as it is being proposed would be adequate for the proposed community center. Because of the preliminary nature of the architect's review, they strongly encouraged the City of Eagan to allow adequate time to do a comprehensive access study for the community center because of the long term impact it will have. Member Masin indicated that she would like to see more background information before the Commission made a recommendation on the access location. Steve Sullivan noted that the Council will review the Kingswood 2nd Addition on June 21st and that Hastings and Chivetta would not have adequate time to do a study by that date nor does the Commission have an opportunity to review the results before making a recommendation. Chairman Carroll stated it was a serious responsibility to insure this is carefully planned and that the police department should be involved in the review. He stated that an early decision shouldn't be made until an adequate study could be made by Hastings and Chivetta. After further discussion, Dick Carroll moved to continue this issue until the July 8, 1988 Commission meeting because of the critical need for Staff and Commission to review the issues and allow sufficient time for the architects to make an adequate analysis of the access and it's impact on the proposed community center site. The motion further stated that the developer be responsible for a cash parkland dedication and that an 8 foot bituminous trail be placed adjacent to Pilot Knob Road. Sandy Masin seconded the motion and all Commission Members voted in favor. Member Kubik questioned if Staff could alert City Staff of the Commission's concerns and Director Vraa indicated he would advise the City Administrator of concerns and ask to be kept advised of future developments. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Meeting Page 3 PARK SERVICE DISTRICT 10E Parks Planner, Steve Sullivan reviewed the overall park district and the impact of the O'Neill property being rezoned from Commercial Planned Development to an amended commercial planned development and the Lexington Land Company's request for the rezoning from multiple family to planned development of 57 acres. Both proposals are located north of Yankee Doodle Road between I-35E and Lexington Avenue. The property from the two proposals encompasses the entire Park Service District 10E. Only 6 single family residential lots are located within this park service area thus the question is whether there is a need to provide a park to service this area within the City. _ Member Masin questioned how much land would be acquired if we were to require a parkland dedication to which Steve Sullivan responded 16-17 acres. Sandy Masin asked if this spot could be considered for an athletic field. Dick Carroll commented that this had been considered before, however they found that this was not an effective use of land because of the amount of grading that would need to be done to complete the work. Steve Sullivan also noted that very few athletic sites are developed that are under 20 acres. Member Kubik noted that since this site had been reviewed before for athletic fields and had been found to be inappropriate, perhaps a cash dedication would be appropriate for this parcel and questioned what that amount might be. Director Vraa responded by saying that the acreage was actually closer to 11- 12 acres and that the cash at buildout of this property would be approximately $350,000. Mr. Vraa noted that an option would be to re-draw the service area to include the service area to the south of 10E, which would be Park District 17. George Kubik indicated that this would fit in with the growth that is occurring in this southern park district area. After further discussion, George Kubik moved, Dick Carroll seconded with all members voting in favor to delete the existing Park District #10E and add it to the existing Park District #17. It was noted that the cash dedication would come before the Commission as the proposed areas that impact this new Park District were developed. -TRAVELING CONCESSIONS Recreation Supervisor, Dorothy Peterson brought the Commission up to date on the request from Mr..Sitko to operate a traveling concession stand in Eagan Parks. She noted that we had also received a request from Blue Bell to enter the .parks for the sale of their products from their trucks. Several options had been discussed at the last Commission meeting and Dorothy Peterson and John VonDeLinde were directed to draft a list of guidelines under which this concession could operate relative to licensing, insurance, limitations to consider within the parks, etc. Dorothy asked the Commission Members if there were specific questions regarding the guidelines that had been drawn up and asked for direction regarding these guidelines. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Page 4 Proof of liability insurance, naming the City as an additional insured in the amount of $600,000 is a requirement that is standard procedure. Also required would be the proof of State of Minnesota Health Department license submitted prior to approval of start of operation and a permit fee, per wagon unit, of $200.00. George Kubik noted that the $200 appeared to be a fair amount. - After much discussion, George Kubik moved to approve the tentative regulatory program for concessions within Eagan parks with emphasis on safety and professionalism with the following specific requirements/limitations in addition to the necessary insurance and license requirements: a. Vendor's vehicle and trailer for wagon units must comply with the single stall parking configuration in City parks. b. Vendor may set up no closer than 150 feet from playground equipment. c. Hours of operation permitted are: 6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. on week-days 3:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. on week-ends and holidays d. City parks excluded from approval are: Trapp Farm Park Goat Hill Park Northview Athletic Fields Thomas Lake Park Carnelian Park Vienna Woods Park Bridle Ridge Park Lakeside Park Cedar Pond Park on Wednesday evenings prior to 8:00 P.M. e. The term of approval to.operate in 1988 is from June 15-October 31 f. The vendor is required to provide a trash receptacle on the concession wagon. g. Prior to leaving a site, the vendor is to ensure that litter associated with his/her operation is picked up and removed from the park. - h. The vendor is to supply identifiable uniforms to his/her workers., i. An exit interview will be conducted at the end of the season in order that vendor and staff may review this experiment in terms of 'gross receipts, quantities of products sold, i.e:, the success of the venture. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Meeting Page 5 j. The City's authorization does not extend to school property. k. Failure to comply with limitations will terminate approval to operate. Michele Swanson seconded the motion with all members voting in favor. George Kubik further moved, Sandy Masin seconded with all members voting in favor to approve Mr. Sitko's request within the constraints just approved with the understanding that this is an experiment and will run for a period of one year. Mr. Kubik thanked Mr. Sitko for this novel idea and wished him good luck on behalf of the Commission. He also thanked Dorothy Peterson and John VonDeLinde for an excellent job in preparing the guidelines. BLACKHAWK PARK SOUTH ACCESS Director Ken Vraa asked that this item be deferred to the next Commission meeting. SMALL LAKES MANAGEMENT GRANT PROGRAM Parks Superintendent John VonDeLinde reviewed for the Commission the information relative to the DNR's new Metropolitan Small Lakes Management Grant Program for lakes between 10 and 100 acres. Since this encompasses many of Eagan's lakes John felt it was appropriate to apply for funds which would enhance fisheries management in some of our lakes. Sandy Masin asked if we would need to reapply each year to which Mr.VonDeLinde responded affirmatively. When the application is made we would need to be site specific, however, the DNR determines the priority in which they will be handled. George Kubik questioned how long the DNR would support the program whether it be removal of algae, installing docks, landings, etc. and Mr. VonDeLinde indicated it would be for the length of the grant program. Several lakes were suggested as priorities and after discussion, the Commission Listed the following lakes in their order of priority; Thomas Lake, Heine Pond, Blackhawk Lake. JoAnne Alt asked if we could apply for more than one grant and John VonDeLinde suggested that we apply for all three lakes. Sandy Masin moved, George Kubik seconded with all members voting in favor to have Staff proceed with applying for the grant(s) based on the priorities as the Commission stated. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of May 5, 1988 Meeting Page 6 PORTABLE STAGE Director Ken Vraa reviewed for the Commission updated information regarding the purchase of a portable stage. The cost estimates were included in a memorandum to the Commission Members. Chairman Carroll concurred that it would be a -good idea to be able to coordinate this effort with other communities if possible. Mr. Vraa stated that the 8 x 8 would be a good size for small stages and if the need arises for a larger stage it would be beneficial to borrow from neighboring communities and vice versa. George Kubik noted that when the City was looking for portable bleachers we were able to get a negotiate a good deal from a company that was depleting their inventory and asked if it was possible to do the same with this. Mr. Vraa indicated that this was a situation when that probably wouldn't happen. George Kubik moved, Sandy Masin seconded with all members voting in favor to have Staff continue to keep Commission advised to see if Eagan can share the costs of the portable stage with other communities and in turn share the use of the stage sections as is needed. Dick Carroll noted for the record that safety should be a critical point of consideration in investigating the purchase of a stage unit. TRAIL SURVEY Director Ken Vraa introduced Bonnie Blood, Recreation Intern, to the Commission indicating that she would be presenting a report on a trail survey that she had been working on as an intern with the Department. Bonnie prefaced her report by noting that the trail survey took 70 hours of time to complete and she was aided in some of her research by the park and recreation intern. She explained to the Commission that she was basing her report on a comparison done by an intern in 1981. She noted that there were many different trends and results from the original survey which took a period of one month to accomplish. One of the-statistics showed that in 1981 there were 72% bikers and 15% walkers using the existing trails compared to 49% bikers and 37% walkers currently. Some of the trail users were traveling from Burnsville, Lakeville and Rosemount to use Eagan's trails. 50% of the people polled use the:trails 3 times a week or more, 93% use them once a week or more and 7% were on the trail for the first time. - An interesting note is that 43% discovered the trails simply by walking in their neighborhoods and found them quite by accident. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Meeting Page 7 Both in 1981 and in 1988 the reports showed that residents would like more trails; more specifically in 1988 they want the existing trails to be linked so their trips are uninterrupted. Overall there were very few dislikes however, the most frequent request was to have the trails plowed in the winter so that walkers could continue to use them in all weather. Chairman Carroll commented on what interesting results the report revealed and thanked Bonnie for the thorough information she has provided. RAHN PARK PARKING LOT Parks Planner, Steve Sullivan reviewed the Cliff Lake Centre Development's agreement to provide a parking lot servicing Rahn Park within the abandoned portion of Rahn Road. The parking lot was to mitigate the safety concerns of Rahn Park users as influenced by the additional traffic on Rahn Road. The realignment of Rahn Road intersecting with Cliff Lake Drive provided a portion of unused roadbed which could be adapted for parking lot use. The graphic that was presented to the Commission outlined the layout of 40 parking spaces in the designated area for parking. One of the considerations would be to provide a drive aisle from the proposed parking area to the existing gravel lot, or chain off the parking area to the gravel lot only using on an overflow basis, i.e. 4th of July celebration. The third alternative would be to eliminate the gravel parking lot completely and extend the bituminous trail to the sidewalk adjacent to the improved parking area and place turf on the existing gravel area to expand the picnicking area. JoAnne Alt suggested deleting the gravel parking lot so that the hill area can be put into turf. Michele Swanson suggested looking at the option of adding more parking area, as many as the site will accommodate, to discourage parking on Rahn Road. Steve Sullivan indicated that the parking lot could be expanded somewhat but did not know exactly how many more spaces could fit. Michele Swanson moved, JoAnne Alt seconded, with all members voting in favor to extend the parking lot to the maximum it can hold, change the gravel lot to a green area and extend the trail to the new parking area. Steve Sullivan noted for the Commission that Bonestroo will be providing tree enhancements over the trenching area in Rahn Park as the Commission had requested. They will be planting approximately 150 trees in that-area. George Kubik stated this was a good first step and that he was pleased it was being done. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2, 1988 Meeting Page 8 THOMAS LAKE PARK Pre-construction meeting will be conducted for this park on Thursday, June 9th. The building is staked and work should be starting within the next three weeks. Wayne Sames asked if there would be a problem with access since Pilot Knob would be under construction along with that portion of Diffley that gains access to Thomas Lake Park. Steve Sullivan noted that they were aware of the situation and that arrangements had been made to make sure the park is accessible. OHMANN PARK/WINKLER JACKSON PARK/BRIDLE RIDGE PARK Steve Sullivan reported that the final graphics had been completed for the development of these parks and that the specifications would be completed shortly to allow for a bid opening of July 11, 1988. 1987 PARK PROJECT UPDATE Steve Sullivan reported that the final punch list is not quite complete as of this date but that a final walk-through of the building will take place next Friday. Dick Carroll asked if the sod had been repaired at Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Steve Sullivan noted that the area around the courts was completed and the area around the building will be completed shortly. EAGAN PARK REPRESENTATIVES Ken Vraa shared with the Commission the program of looking for neighborhood participation for the local parks. The program is set up and Mel Bailey, Parks Intern, is working on soliciting help from residents near various parks in the City. He has had some response but not all parks are represented to date. Dick Carroll suggested that we might consider offering them an invitation to the annual picnic sothat they would feel an integral part of the whole group effort. Mel Bailey has contacted the newspapers and placed an ad to solicit more participation. BERRY PATCH PARK The bituminous trail south of Outlot A that continues from Berry Ridge to Patrick Eagan Park has experienced some flooding and damage to the trail. Approximately 200 dead trees have been removed after the lift station pumped the water out of the area. Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes of June 2,1988 Meeting Page 9 Tom Colbert, Tom Hedges and Ken Vraa have attended a neighborhood meeting to hear the comments from the residents. Water quality appeared to be an issue and the residents want to look at the option of raising the water elevation and abandoning the trail. They have stated that their preference is to raise the water level versus having the trail since it does not get very much use. The Engineering Department is researching the possibility and feasibility of raising the water level of Mooney Lake. Ken Vraa suggested that a trail run through the area in front of the homes since the damaged trail is the link from Pilot Knob to Patrick Eagan parks and is important in the trail system. Staff will keep the Commission advised on the progress of this situation. With there being no further business to conduct, George Kubik moved, Michele Swanson seconded with all members voting in favor to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 P.M. DATE S ARY