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11/16/1978 - Advisory Parks & Recreation CommissionSnowmobile Club. MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE ADVISORY PARK COMMITTEE EAGAN, MINNESOTA November 16, 1978 A regular meeting of the Eagan Advisory Park Committee was held on November 16, 1978 at the City Hall. Those present were Chairperson Lundsten, Thomas, Coates, Loken, and Martin. Also present were City staff members Dale Runkle, Zoning Administrator; and Barbara Schmidt, Park and Recreation Director. Absent were Committee Members Cooper and Brown. Committee Member Hagen appeared at the meeting at 8:30 p.m. William Weir and Don Jueneman, representing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, were present as were Maynard Ohm, President; Rick Jenderny, Vice President, Bob Gilligan, Trails Coordinator, and Larry Popp, member, all representing the Eagan Valley Rangers MINUTES. In a motion by Neil Coates, seconded by Jean Loken, the minutes of the September 14, 1978 Advisory Park Committee meeting were unanimously approved with a correction to show that Roger Martin was in fact present at the meeting. Approval of the minutes of the October 12, 1978 meeting were tabled due to the fact that some committee members had not received their copy of these minutes. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA. In a motion by Neil Coates, seconded by Thomas, all members voting in favor, it was RESOLVED that the November 16, 1978 agenda be approved as presented. SLIDE PRESENTATION FT. SNELLING NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION. Craig Cox, a resource management specialist from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, discussed the development plan for Ft. Snelling State Park. He 2 11 -16 -78 Park Committee stressed that the development plan is divided into two chief areas of concern. The first is management of the resources present within the facility and the second is management of the recreational opportunities within the park. Mr. Cox showed a slide presentation relative to the approximately 50 acres of perched bog which exist on the Dakota County side of Ft. Snelling State Park and which are being managed through controlled burning. These perched bogs contain a wide variety of unique plant and animal life. EXCLUSION OF HORSES AND SNOWMOBILES FROM FT. SNELLING STATE PARK. At this point in the meeting, Chairperson Lundsten varied the order of the agenda. William Weir, the regional park supervisor for the metropolitan area, and Don Jueneman, manager of Ft. Snelling State Park, discussed the current status of the development plan for Ft. Snelling State Park. Mr. Weir mentioned that there have been designated snowmobile and horse trails within the Dakota County section of Ft. Snelling State Park. He stated that they were put in in the past without direction and without an overall plan. He further stated that when public hearings were held on the overall development plan for Ft. Snelling State Park, it was recommended that no provision for horse or snowmobile trails would be made within the park itself. He mentioned that those activities were being provided by the Minnesota River Valley Trail. However, it was also noted that the development plan suggests that a final determination as to whether or not there should be horse or snowmobile trails in Ft. Snelling would be made when the Minnesota River Valley Trail plan is completed. At that time a decision to eliminate these activities from the park proper would be evaluated in terms of whether deficiencies in these activities will still exist in the metropolitan area after the completion of the Minnesota River Valley Trail. 3 11 -16 -78 Park Committee Regarding the action which was recently taken to ban horses and snowmobiles from Ft. Snelling State Park, Mr. Weir explained that a special non motorized trail program, implemented by Governo r Perpich, provided funding for immediate trail development within the park and as a result approximately 17 miles of cross country ski trails are currently being constructed. Construction of these trails in the Dakota County portion of the park is occuring in the area which was being used by horses and snowmobiles and therefore the decision was made to eliminate those activities from the park at this time because it was felt that they were not compatible with cross country skiing. The DNR represen- tatives mentioned that there is no parking for horse trailers in the summer or for snowmobile trailers in the winter, therefore, these facilities were not available for large numbers of users but rather were used only by the local people adjacent to the park. The problem of crossing Highway 13 was also discussed and a question was raised as to whether there was a liability problem due to the fact that there was no specific safe access points to the park for these local users. The Park Committee questioned the conflict between cross country skiers and horse back riders and asked what action they could take to request recon- sideration of the decision to ban horses from the park. Mr. Weir recommended writing to the Director of Parks and Recreation of the Department of Natural Resources regarding this matter. Members of the Eagan Valley Rangers Snowmobile Club present in the audience questioned the exclusion of snowmobiles from the park at this time since no other area was being provided for their use. Mr. Weir expressed a willingness to meet with the snowmobile club members and discuss this matter further. Plans were made for him to attend the December 6 snowmobile club meeting at the Lost Spur in Eagan. 4 11 -16 -78 Park Committee Mr. Weir also apologized for the lack of communication between the Department of Natural Resources and adjacent communities, particularly the City of Eagan in regards both to preparation of the development plan for Ft. Snelling and the decision to change the activities allowed within the Eagan section of the park. Park Committee Members questioned what action could be taken regarding this lack of cooperation and Mr. Weir suggested writing a letter to Ray Alexander, the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, VD make him aware of these concerns. Park Director Schmidt was requested to write the two letters as mentioned. REQUEST FROM EAGAN VALLEY RANGERS FOR SNOWMOBILE USE IN THE HIGH LINE TRAIL AREA. Members of the Eagan Valley Rangers Snowmobile Club presented a request for snowmobiling on a portion of the High Line Trail from Rahn Road to a point at the approximate eastern edge of the Mallard Park development. The snowmobile club presented the Park Committee with a map of their proposed trails in Eagan. Members of the club are attempting to obtain formal permission from property owners and if they are successful, would be signing specific trail locations and would also police the use of these trails throughout the City. Park Director Schmidt reviewed the current status of the dedication of the High Line area in the vicinity of Eagan Hills West. Dedication of the trail area should occur by the end of this year. The next portion going east is owned by the First National Bank of St. Paul and it is possible that an easement could be obtained for use of this area. The Mallard Park portion of the High Line Trail has been dedicated to the City at this time. There is no firm estimate on when the City could obtain dedication of the Dunn and Curry portion of the trail in the vicinity of the new school, however, a temporary easement could probably be obtained in this area for trail use this winter. Chairperson Lundsten requested that City staff investigate the legal implications of trail uses throughout the City. Questions were raised regarding the responsibility of the City in terms of providing adequate trail corridors for a variety of users. City staff will investigate and report back to the committee at their next meeting. Members of the snowmobile club were asked to determine whether the area within the portion of the High Line Trail from Rahn Road to the eastern edge of Rahn Park is suitable at this time for safe operation of snowmobiles. Members of the Eagan Valley Rangers will field check the area and report back to the Park Committee. The City will provide them with maps and other information. REQUEST TO FLOOD THOMAS LAKE PARK. City Consulting Engineer Bob Rosene reviewed the background of the drainage problem regarding Carlson and Thomas Lake. He explained to the Park Committee that he had pursued a number of possible solutions which had proven unsuccessful including the installation of injection wells, and the creation of filtration ponds adjacent to Carlson Lake. Approximately 12 -15 million gallons of water needs to be disposed of before spring run -off. A previous proposal to flood Thomas Lake Park to the 908 contour had been reviewed with City staff and Park Committee members and it was found that a number of trees and a number of plant communities would have been severely damaged by this action. Bob presented to the committee an alternate proposal to flood Thomas Lake Park to the 904 elevation which would store 5 million gallons of water, would not require the formation of berms, and would not hurt the permanent trees. He requested information from the Park Committee as to the effect that this would have on the native prairie grass within the park. This flooding would be done during the winter in order to be ready for spring run off. Mike Thomas asked whether pumping the excess water into the sanitary 5 11 -16 -78 Park Committee 11 -16 -78 Park Committee sewer system might be a feasible alternative. Bob Rosene mentioned that this is contrary to the law and would be quite costly but that possibly the City could get permission to do this. Roger Martin questioned negotiating a rate with the Metropolitan Sewer Board and pumping the water slowly into the system so that there would be no adverse affect. It was noted that the Seneca plant has a capacity of 24 million gallons per day and is currently handling 10 million gallons per day. Bob Rosene agreed to investigate this possibility and report back to the Park Committee. Jean Loken stated that it appeared from her observation that if the park were flooded to the 904 elevation at least three species of plants would be heavily impacted, perhaps 90% lost, and that five or six more species would be partially impacted. Park Director Schmidt mentioned that she has contacted a number of experts in order to obtain a professional evaluation of the value of Thomas Lake Park as a native prairie area and that hopefully a preliminary evaluation could be done very quickly regard- ing this question. In a motion by Roger Martin, seconded by Jean Loken, the Park Committee recommended that Bob Rosene and Tom Hedges ask the City Council to delay action on this matter until the results of the evaluation and the costs of the pumping of the water into the sanitary sewer system could be evaluated. A special Park Committee meeting was set for November 30, 1978 in order to discuss this matter before the first council meeting in December. Bob Rosene explained that Carlson Lake was at elevation 835 prior to con- struction in the area. It rose 13 feet primarily because of construction. No on anticipated the need this soon for a lift station and the extremely wet year caught the City unprepared. 6 7 11 -16 -78 Park Committee Neil Coates questioned how we could protect the City's current investment in Thomas Lake Park. Bob Rosene explained that flooding the park would be accomplished by opening up a ditch between Thomas Lake and the first pond in the park and allowing the water to flow by gravity into the park. The permanent solution to this problem of excess water is a storm water connection between Thomas Lake and Blackhawk Lake. Bob Rosene plans to submit a preliminary plat to the Council in December and hopefully there will be a public hearing in January with the actual connection constructed before next fall if ordered in by the City Council. He believes that Thomas Lake will rise from one to two feet as a result of spring run off. Myrel Lundsten recommended that the Park Director pursue the evaluation of the native prairie area as rapidly as possible and that Bob Rosene pursue the possibility of negotiating a reduced rate for disposal of the excess water through the sanitary sewer system. I -35E A -2 ALIGNMENT. Bob Rosene also reviewed the proposed alignment of Alternate 2 for I -35E and discussed its impact on the Eagan Trail system. He noted that the trail crossing beneath the bridge will be eliminated and that a possible alternative would be to request a box culvert beneath I -35E which will need to be approximately 300 feet in length. In a motion by Neil Coates, seconded by Mike Thomas, the Park Committee unanimously moved to ask the City Consulting Engineer to request that MnDOT provide for a trail crossing on the A -2 alignment of I -35E at Blackhawk Lake as a substitute for the crossing beneath the bridge which was part of the alternate A -1 plan. PARK CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT. Park Director Schmidt mentioned the following points in a report on the current park construction contracts. Northview has been dormant seeded, some water problems still remain. The asphalt path at Pilot Knob has been repaired and inspected, however, the drainage problem near the tennis courts has not yet been corrected. Final inspection on the total contract will be delayed until spring. 8 11 -16 -78 Park Committee Park Committee Members commented on the excellent work done by the Park Department crew on the Well Site hockey rink. Chairperson Lundsten questioned the Ches Mar Trails which were installed with asphalt surrounding a fire hydrant and an electric transformer pad. City Consulting Engineer Rosene explained that arrangements are being made to correct these errors. PILOT KNOB BIKEWAY REPORT. Park Director Schmidt reviewed the Pilot Knob bikeway which is now completed. She requested Park Committee members to observe and record usage on this trail. REPORT ON THOMAS LAKE PARK AS A POTENTIAL SITE FOR A FIRE STATION. Myrel Lundsten requested a status report from the City Administrator regarding the proposal to construct Fire Station #3. The City Administrator explained that the Fire Department would be going before the City Council at their November 21 meeting to present their justification and need to the City Council for Fire Station #3. If the Council endorses Fire Station #3, the City Administrator would suggest that perhaps three locations should be studied to determine where that station should be located. Mike Thomas asked whether the northern part of the Well site had been considered as a possible location. Chairperson Lundsten questioned the fact that the circles on the fire station planning map omit the Dakota County Park area and suggested that the Council should be made aware of this omission. She mentioned the number of facilities that could be constructed in the park including a nature center,maintenance shop and possible other facilities. City Administrator Hedges will see that the City Council is made aware of this omission. Zoning Administrator Dale Runkle reviewed the revised site plan for the new elementary school which is being built by Independent School District #196 adjacent to Thomas Lake Park. It was reported that City staff had met with school administrators and suggested that the proposed ball diamonds on the site be increased in size to allow for more use by the community. At this meeting 11 -16 -78 Park Committee the City Engineer also discussed he proposed storm sewer installation which would create more area on the school grounds which could be graded for use as athletic fields. As a result of his meeting, the site plan now shows one small ball diamond, one large bal diamond and a flat play area which could be used for soccer or other sports. Chairperson Lundsten requested that the City Administrator write a letter to express appreciation to the School District for their cooperation in working ith the City regarding this site plan. The committee reviewed the i in the Evergreen Park Thomas Lak Lake was purchased primarily for p were proposed to be a canoe landin A walking trail through the native the possibility now exists of inst on the school grounds. Due to the determined by the committee that p be the primary consideration by th necessary to hire a planner to dev SUNSET ADDITION. Dale Runkle a five acres development consistin Saddlehorn Addition. He noted tha or not this is a part of the Lexin the PUD exhibits. In a motion by Park Committee recommended that pa satisfied by cash per unit if it i the Lexington South PUD. lications of these athletic fields located area and discussed the fact that Thomas ssive use and that improvements to that area on the lakeshore, picnic areas and trails. prairie area has also been proposed and lling a hockey rink as a cooperative effort changes in development in this area, it was ssive use of Thomas Lake Park should still Park Committee and that it is probabaly not lop an overall plan at this time. presented a plat for Sunset Additions, of 12 lots in Section 29, west of the he has had difficulty determining whether ton South PUD due to a discrepency in ger Martin, seconded by Jean Loken, the k dedication for this development be determined that it is not included within 9 CAMPGROUND PROPOSAL. Dale R campground in Section 33 just nor would contain 219 units. Mike Th Dakota County Park Director regar give him advance notice of the pr suggesting that the campground be control over the development. He work out an agreement with the Co Park to the Minnesota Zoological The remainder of the items o was adjourned at 11:35. Dated: 10 Secretary 11 -16 -78 Park Committee nkle also reviewed the plans for a KOA h of Holland Jensen Park. The campground mas suggested that City staff contact the ing this proposal as soon as possible to posal. Dale Runkle stated that staff is platted as a PUD to give to the City greater mentioned that the developer plans to my for trail access through Holland Jensen arden. the agenda were delayed and the meeting