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12/18/1995 - Advisory Parks & Recreation Commission MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF ADVISORY PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA DECEMBER 18, 1995 A regular meeting of the Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission was called to order at 7:00 pm on December 18, 1995 with the following Commission Members present: Ken Tyler, Jonathan Widem, David Szott, Stephen Thompson, Sherie Wallace, John Rudolph, Lee Markell and Candy Lynch. Commission Member George Kubik was not present. Staff present included Ken Vraa, Director of Parks and Recreation; Dorothy Peterson, Superintendent of Recreation; Paul Olson, Parks Superintendent; C.J. Lilly, Landscape Architect/Parks Planner; Rich Brasch, Water Resources Coordinator; Gregg Hove, Forestry Supervisor; Jon Oyanagi, Recreation Supervisor and Cherryl Mesko, Secretary. v9sm David Szott moved, Michael Vincent seconded with all members voting in favor to accept the agenda as presented. John Rudolph moved, Michael Vincent seconded with all members voting in favor to accept the minutes of the regular meeting of November 20, 1995 as presented. There was no one who wished to address the Commission under this agenda item. Director Vraa highlighted several items including the new recreation registration system, the introduction of Visa/MasterCard for recreation programs, annual meeting with Eagan Hockey Association coaches concerning outdoor practice ice, winter recreation leaders are still being recruited for the twelve skating and tubing sites, the Holz Farm Task Force is continuing their information compilation to be placed into report form and registration is underway for adult winter sports. WANWANSWA Michael Vincent moved, Jonathan Widem seconded with all members voting in favor to make the following recommendations to the City Council relative to the following Consent Agenda items: 1. Fox Forest Addition. This subdivision shall be responsible for a cash parks dedication, cash trails dedication and a cash water quality dedication. There are no wetlands on site and the Tree Preservation Plan shall be accepted as presented. 2. Wescott Hills 5th Addition. This subdivision has previously met its pars dedication requirement however it shall be responsible for a cash trails dedication and cash water quality dedication. There are no wetlands on site and no significant trees on site. Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Minutes of December 18, 1995 Meeting Page 2 There were no development proposals for the Commission to review. ADULT SOFTBALL - OUTSIDE PLAYER FEE Director Vraa introduced this item stating that the Recreation Subcommittee had been directed by the Advisory Commission to review this issue and bring a recommendation back to the Commission for their action. Supervisor Oyanagi explained that the Recreation Subcommittee met on November 30 and identified four issues for discussion. Those issues included the potential increase in players and teams from outside Eagan, the public's perception that Eagan fields are used by outside teams, the balancing act of providing fields for youth and adult teams and the appropriateness of the fee charged. It was noted that 65 out of 213 teams had from 1-5 outside players. The total equates to 160 players out of 3,000, or approximately 5%, who are outside the eligibility guidelines. Of the teams participating in 1995, 13 were sponsored by Eagan businesses, 60 were sponsored by outside businesses and 40 were self-sponsored. Priority registration continues to be offered to returning teams, new teams and finally, outside teams, if space is available. Oyanagi continued that in comparing the allocation of fields for youth and adults, it should be noted that while the Lexington/Diffley fields will add 6 adult fields, 3 of the fields previously used at Rahn will be allocated to youth programs, resulting in a net gain of 3 fields for adult programs. The growth of adult softball has kept up with the population growth of Eagan as with the youth programs, however, the adult programs have changed their game formats to maximize use of fields. It was suggested that this may need to become a consideration of the youth programs. As a point of clarification, Oyanagi stated that the adult softball program fits 213 teams over 6 days a week on 11 fields while 201 youth baseball and softball teams use 44 neighborhood park and school fields for in-house play. Supervisor Oyanagi stated that in 1995 approximately $1,500 less was collected than in 1993 for outside player fees. If loss of revenue is a concern, it was noted that West Publishing will add 21 men's teams and 8 women's teams in 1996 which will offset loss from outside players fees. In conclusion, Oyanagi reviewed the subcommittee's recommendations for maximum number of outside players and the decrease in the outside player fee. After a brief discussion, John Rudolph moved, Michael Vincent seconded with all members voting in favor to make the following changes in the adult softball eligibility rules: 1. The number of outside players remain at a maximum of five. 2. The outside player fee to be lowered from $25.00 to $15.00 per player. 3. The policy would be monitored for the 1996 season and evaluated at the end of the year. Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Minutes of December 18, 1995 Meeting Page 3 WA a WN gas, WESCOTT SERVICE CENTER Superintendent Peterson introduced this item stating it was intended to inform the Commission about the status of the Wescott Service Center apartment. Peterson explained that Steven Scott Management, the property owners of the Wescott Commons apartment buildings, will no longer cover 50% of the rent for the apartment the City rents for youth development programs. Much concern has been raised over this issue since the budget for 1996 will cover the rent only until June 30, 1996. Grant applications are being written to cover the second half of 1996's rent, a penny drive will begin at Wescott Commons and WalMart may be a potential donor for a matching fund program. Member Szott asked how much money was needed to keep the apartment open. Superintendent Peterson responded the total needed is $4,350 for 6 month's rent. PARK NAMING Director Vraa explained that the park adjacent to Red Pine Elementary and the Lexington/Diffley athletic site have not been officially named as yet. It was suggested that the Commission consider maintaining the names that the parks are currently using, have an ad-hoc committee study historical or other aspects prior to formulating a recommendation or suggest other names for consideration. Member Vincent expressed his desire to accept the names as they currently exist. Member Thompson opined that more names would give the Commission options to consider. Member Wallace asked if the ad-hoc committee had met as yet. Director Vraa stated they had not. Member Vincent suggested soliciting input from the community. Member Thompson also suggested including Councilmember Wachter in the discussion. After a brief discussion, Markell moved, Thompson seconded with all members voting in favor to have the ad-hoc committee study historical or other aspects and make a recommendation for the naming of parks now identified as Lexington/Diffley and Red Pine. Landscape Architect/Parks Planner Lilly explained that staff has started an environmental analysis of Patrick Eagan Park. It is hoped that a preliminary analysis will be available for the Commission in January. SCHWANZ LAKE UPDATE Water Resources Coordinator*Brasch explained that the bids for the Schwanz Lake improvements have been received. The engineer's estimate for this project was $138,900 and the low bid came in at $104,000 and was awarded. Brasch explained that Schwanz Lake will be drawn down 1 for this project. Site restoration is expected to be completed by the end of May. The work will be done along the south and southeast side of the lake within the Highline Corridor. The trail will be closed where work will affect it. Letters have been sent to 75 property owners outlining the work that will be done. Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Minutes of December 18, 1995 Meeting Page 4 NATURAL RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATE Coordinator Brasch noted that work continues on the updating of the Water Management Plan. A Natural Resources Subcommittee meeting needs to be scheduled to continue the process. Member Widem also explained that the subcommittee is working on the Tree Preservation Guidelines. Supervisor Hove explained that a meeting was held on December 13 to review the conversion process to make changes for efficiency in implementation of the Guidelines. A cash mitigation option, similar to water quality, is being looked at as a possibility in addition to tree mitigation. RESCHEDULING JANUARY AND FEBRUARY MEETING DATES Director Vraa stated that since the January meeting falls on Martin Luther King Day and the February meeting falls on Presidents Day, the Commission will need to re-schedule those meetings. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that the January meeting would be held on Tuesday, January 16 in the Community Room and the February meeting on Tuesday, February 20 in the Community Room Member Markell asked if the wetland buffer issue could be reviewed at the next Natural Resources Sub-committee meeting. Director Vraa announced that Steve Taylor has been promoted to the Parks Maintenance Supervisor position and continues his excellent work ethic with the City. With no further business to conduct, Michael Vincent moved, Stephen Thompson seconded with all members voting in favor to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:57 pm. Sec Date