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06/18/1996 - Advisory Parks & Recreation Commission AGENDA ADVISORY PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA Monday, June IS, 1996 7:00 PM Eagan Municipal Center Community Room A. 6:00 Park Tour - Blackhawk Pavilion, Quarry Park, Pilot Knob Park B. 7:00 PM Regular Meeting C. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance D. Approval of Agenda 7:02 pm E. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of May 20, 1996 7:05 pm F. Visitors to be Heard 7:07 pm G. Department Happenings 7:08 pm H. Consent Agenda (1) Tennis Court Resurfacing/ Tennis Court Lighting 7:15 pm 1. Development Proposals J. Old Business 720 pm K. New Business 721 pm L. Parks Development Update 722 pm M. Water Resources Update 7:32 pm N. Other Business and Reports (1) Friends of the Farm Update 7:37 pm (2) Forestry Update 7:45 pm (3) Bond Referendum Update 8:00 pm 0. Round Table 8:10 pm P. Adjournment 8:15 pm The City of Eagan is committed to the policy that all persons have equal access to its programs, services, activities, facilities and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, marital status , sexual orientation, or status with regard to public assistance. Auxiliary aids for disabled persons wishing to participate are available upon request at least 96 hours in advance of the events. If a notice of less than 96 hours is received, the City will attempt to provide the aids. 1996 ADVISORY PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE NAME Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Doc Jan 20 18 15 20 17 15 19 16 21 18 16 20' csmm. Comm. Comm. Rm tie tin X X X 0 RANDALL AHERN X X X X TIM CALUSTER X X X X GUY KOHLNHOFER (Alternate) X X X X GEORGE KUBIK ' LEE MARKELL CHAIR x x x 0 X X X X DARYLE PETERSEN X X X X JOHN RUDOLPH SECRETARY ' DAVID SZOTT x x x 0 x x x x STEPHEN THOMPSON VICE CHAIR x x 0' 0' KEN TYLER x 0' X X MICHAEL VINCENT Recreation Sub-Committee Natural Resources Sub-Committee Land Acquisition Sub-Committee John Rudolph Daryle Petersen Lee MarkelI George Kubik Tim Callister Michael Vincent Randall Ahem Steve Thompson Ken Tyler David Szott' G Kohlnhofer UPCOMING MEETINGS: Holz Farm Task Force illl< " Lee Markell Guy Kohinhofer July..... Recreation Subcommittee Meeting and Natural Resources Subcommittee Meeting OPEN ISSUES 1. Tour of Community Centers In other cities 2. Commission Review Workshop - city of eagan MEMO TO: ADVISORY PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION FROM: KEN VRAA, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION DATE: JUNE 14, 1996 RE: JUNE 18 COMMISSION MEETING As you can see, we have a very light agenda for June! Commission Members will have an opportunity to meet Loudi Rivamonte, our new Youth Development Coordinator at 6:00 p.m. before she leaves for a meeting and we begin our tour. Please make a special attempt to meet and welcome Loudi. Following introductions, we will begin our tour to see the progress of the pavilion at Blackhawk Park followed by a visit to Quarry Park and Pilot Knob Park. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:00 with very few items of business for the Commission to review. It appears that there will not be any development issues coming up in July so the Commission may wish to have a discussion as to whether or not they need to meet in July. As usual, if you are unable to attend the meeting, please call the office at 681-4661. Respectfully submitted, Ken 'Vraa Director of Parks and Recreation KV:cm /1 City of Eagan Parks and Recreation Department Happenings May/June 1996 1. Loudi Rivamonte, Youth Development Coordinator, began the summer with a rousing special event day at Wescott Commons the afternoon of June 7. There appeared to be 70 or 80 children; it's hard to count when they are moving; taking part in games, face painting, parachute play and munching down hot dogs. Several teenage youth were volunteer helpers. 2. Youth Development has been approved for Community Development Block Grant Funding for the Junior Program once again. The Department will receive $10,000 covering the balance of 1996 and for continuation through 1997. Wescott and other areas of the city are to be serviced. HRA will conduct eligibility surveys prior to release of funding. 3. On June 7, staff from the DNR paid a site visit to the Anderson parcel concerning the Department's Natural and Scenic Grant application. The group was favorably impressed by the parcel. No further contact from the DNR is likely until late August or early September. 4. Staff training was held for summer seasonal playground staff on June 10 and 11. The training is hands on experience in activities, planning, policies and procedures. The goal is to enable the seasonal staff to concentrate on the children once they get to the park. 5. Staff continue to meet with HRA representatives concerning potential acquisition of the Wescott Service Center. The base will be extended to ensure continued recreational activity while all aspects pursuant to acquisition are studied. 6. The women's (new) and men's tennis leagues began play the week of June 3. The new women's league drew 24 participants. 22 men selected the activity. 7. Eagan's 9 co-rec tennis teams, playing with teams from Inver Grove Heights, begin play on June 12, nine teams is consistent with 1995 participation. 8. The Eagan Senior's annual picnic will be held on June 12. It is anticipated that 40-50 seniors will come to Thomas Lake Park for this activity. 9. Staff is collaborating with Community Education 196 to provide programming for young retirees. Daytime, academic offerings are being looked at first. Concepts such as light reading /discussion, computers for age 55+ or perhaps a travel preparation class are being discussed. 10. The Yankee Doodle Arts and Crafts Festival is fast approaching (June 22 & 23). Recreation staff will run the children's hands on craft tent. Summer staff and volunteers will work the tent. 11. The Department's sand volleyball leagues begin the week of June 10. Leagues will again play on Monday and Friday evenings. A total of 18 teams are participating. 12. The Eagan High School tennis booster club has raised additional funds. Staff will likely soon order additional wind screens for the Birch Pod at the Northview Tennis Courts. 13. Now that school is out and the weather has become more summer-like, sales at the Northview Concession should accelerate. The concession will be hard pressed to match gross sales from the previous years as two fewer weekend adult league events will be held this year. 14. Paula Nowariak has been elected chairperson of the MRPA Programming Section. Her duties will begin in the fall and run through 1997. 15. )on Oyanagi is again the chair for the exhibit hall for the MRPA State Conference. The conference is in Duluth this coming November. 16. As of June 12, 1996, over 5,100 summer recreation registrations have been processed. 17. The water playground has attracted a significant number of children now that summer has arrived. Staff is still trying to become familiar with the impact of weather, temperatures and bathers on the water chemistry and pool's operation. 18. Department staff have spent in excess of 400 man hours assisting with cleanup following the May 19th storm. This has caused the delay of numerous maintenance projects and programs. 3 May/June Department Happenings Page 2 19. The majority of the park buildings and facilities damaged by the storm have been repaired by staff. It will be necessary to hire a contractor to repair/replace the damaged backstop on the Goat Hill major leagues field though it will be useable for the 1996 season. 20. Forestry staff has begun the installation of the large plant materials at the Municipal Center site. 21. Over 1,000 people are estimated to have attended the community services Open House held at the Ice Arena on May 30th. 22. The Twin Cities Tree Trust began work on a new observation deck at Blackhawk Park. A location was selected based upon input from the neighbors. 23. All mowing routes will be fully staffed as of June 10th. The growth of grass has been relentless. 24. Park staff has completed the spring application of fertilizer. Nearly 30 tons of a low phosphorous mix were used. 25. A Park and Forestry Research Assistant began work on June 10th. The primary goal will be the completion of a city-wide trail inventory and updating the park tree inventory. A GPS recorder will be used to allow for future entry into the City GIS. 26. Staff from the US Forest Service will be including several sites in Eagan in their tour of the Twin Cities on June 19th. Eagan was selected because of the innovative approach the City and several developers have taken to manage and preserve the Urban Forest. 27. Supervisor of Forestry Gregg has attended the National Arbor Day Conference in Nebraska on June 6-9th. 28. Late spring is typically notorious for vandalizing. This year has been no exception. Numerous tables have been damaged, buildings spray painted, portable toilets destroyed and play equipment burned. The Police Department has apprehended several of the perpetrators. 29. Park staff will be assisting with the installation of community play structures at Northview and Thomas Lake schools. 4 xEiM1, MEMO city of eagan TO: ADVISORY PARKS, RECREATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION ~:ROM: KEN VRAA, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION DATE: JUNE 13, 1996 RE: TENNIS COURTS • NORTHVIEW ATHLETIC FIELD ISSUE To approve lighting of three tennis courts at Northview Athletic. BACKGROUND • The tennis courts at Northview are programmed for resurfacing this year. The Land Acquisition and Development Subcommittee has reviewed several alternatives for the lighting of some of the tennis courts at Northview to coincide with the resurfacing work since lighting construction will result in tennis surface blemishes and need for repair. By doing the lighting with the scheduled resurfacing, surface damage can be repaired immediately. LIGHTING REVIEWED The subcommittee reviewed lighting one of the four court pods with exterior poles. The pole height was estimated at 55 feet and was considered to be unattractive. The light coverage was also uneven with a wide range in light level intensity. Lower light poles, or court side light poles, were also reviewed. This required more poles with some being interior to the four courts. Because of the offset design of the four court cluster, light poles became dangerously close to players' line of play. The subcommittee recommended adoption of the three court, court side lighting (see attached). The cost for materials for this project is approximately $10,000. FOR COMMISSION ACTION To recommend approval of the three court light plan to be constructed with the tennis court resurfacing. I;<No 912 0549 '96 12:42 ID : LSI SALES vl 513 984 1335 PACE 2 ..~ht ttip~ }w 2r 30• S1' 23' wa' 4s~rr i G w ~.~a^: w E E _ wewwl~ R R • ~ Nw r w IEEE N {s's~ Tr t 111 ZZenn? i 95X'" 513 984 1335 05-09-98 12:47PM P002 #21 MEMO city of eagan TO: KEN VRAA, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION FROM: JON OYANAGI, RECREATION SUPERVISOR DATE: JUNE 14, 1996 RE: HOLZ FARM UPDATE The purpose of this memorandum is to update the Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission and City Council on progress at Holz Farm since the presentation by the Holz Farm Task Force of their "Report and Recommendations" last March. The Girl Scouts held a Bat Day April 27 and constructed 30 bat houses. A few were sold to participants and the proceeds donated to the Farm. Several houses have been installed on the Holz Farm House and others will be put up in parks throughout the city. The Task Force continues to meet monthly. They planned several clean-up dates in April and May to paint and clean for the Spring Open House May 19. The cold weather delayed much of the work but many volunteer hours and supplies were donated in order to: Paint the interior first floor walls. Remove the carpeting on the entire first floor. Strip glue from the large kitchen/dining floor. Begin furnishing the rooms. Prep and paint the south side main level exterior. Dakota Electric changed out the power line poles on the property due to the deteriorated condition of these original, 56 year-old poles. Hayes Electric added a covered outlet at the pole by the house in order to provide safe electrical power to the site without the greater expense of updating the entire house and site. Woodcrest Church was looking for work projects for their youth groups and were able to get a start clearing the field to the north of the house. Two groups worked 16 hours equaling about 320 hours total. The Spring Open House held May 19 saw hundreds of visitors even though it was the day following the wind storm. Attendance was estimated to be greater than the large turnout for the Fall, 1995 event. A steady flow of people saw farm animals, rode ponies (brought by Diamond T Ranch) toured the house, listened to an accordion player, heard reminiscing from Ann Holz Jacobson, ate refreshments, sat on old tractors, and won prizes donated by the Eagan Garden Club. Parking was handled by utilizing the driveway up to the buildings, the existing neighborhood park lot, and Manor Drive. The steady flow of people and predominantly neighborhood visitors kept the problem under control. If an event is held that attracts more people from around the community, parking and traffic will become a problem. 7 Holz Farm Update Page 2 Three large trees came down during the windstorm. They were located just north of the house. In addition, two trees and some branches were downed along the shoreline. There was not any damage to buildings. The Richard and Irene Holz property immediately to the north of Holz Farm is up for sale. They offered to sell their property to the city but this has not occurred yet. Richard and Irene hope to move out this summer. The Task Force has strongly recommended that the city pursue acquiring this parcel in order to: 1. Provide access off of Cliff Road and therefore avoid intrusion on a residential area with traffic and parking. 2. The access off of Cliff Road would also provide greater exposure and awareness to the public of the Farm. 3. The property could serve as a site for some parking, storage in the garage, meeting space for volunteers, public restrooms, and a sanitary water source. 4. Until such time that the house could be utilized as an entrance/visitors building, it could be rented. This would provide income and possible security coverage for the Farm. 5. The entrance road, parking, restrooms, gift shop and storage areas could be better placed in order to provide those sources without intruding on the farm site. Without the parcel, all of those activities would take up space on the existing site. The Friends of the Farm have incorporated with the State of Minnesota and have filed with the Internal Revenues Service. The initial by-laws of the non-profit corporation have been submitted. The tax identification number will come from the IRS enabling the Friends to include that on grant applications. That should arrive during the summer months. A membership interest brochure was developed for prospective supporters. Currently, a temporary board of directors is being formed to begin determining membership fees and benefits. Recruitment of members, installation of officers, opening a bank account, and fund-raising ideas are future tasks to be completed. A hog roast is planned for Sunday, July 7, and a fall festival is in the works. Both events would be planned to generate income. The hope is that by November there will be a substantial enough membership to elect official directors who will succeed the temporary board. 1997 will then become a key year for getting the Friends group off to a good start.