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05/03/1979 - Advisory Parks & Recreation CommissionMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE EAGAN ADVISORY PARK COMMITTEE EAGAN, MINNESOTA MAY 3, 1979 A regular meeting of the Eagan Advisory Park Committee was held on May 3, 1979 at the City Hall. Those present were Chair- person Lundsten, Thomas, Martin, Loken, Thurston, Coates, Carroll, Radl, Gits and Lucke. Also present were City Planner Dale Runkle, Park Director Barb Schmidt and Director of Public Works Tom Colbert. MINUTES In a motion by Carroll, seconded Coates, all members voting in favor, the following correction was made to the minutes of the March 8, 1979 Park Committee meeting: On page 4, Brittany Manor, to the sentence ending Lot 12, add "and that the developer grant a 10 foot easement to the City between lots 66 and 67 and construct an 8 foot pathway within that easement, to City speci- fications, at the time of road construction In a motion by Lucke, seconded Thurston, the agenda was adopted with the following addition: Administrative Items, 6. Suggested Grant Projects. Dale Runkle explained the annual PUD review requirements and noted that there were no proposed changes regarding park dedica- tion in the current review process. He noted that the PUDs would be reviewed for the Advisory Planning Commission, City Council and Park Committee at a meeting at 7:00 p.m. on May 8, 1979 at City Hall. OVERVIEW ESTATES City Planner Dale Runkle explained the proposed Overview Development which is a replat of three existing five acre lots included in the Lexington South PUD. In a motion by Martin, seconded Coates, all members in favor, the Park Committee recommended that, if additional park dedication for Lexington South PUD has not been made by the time of final plat approval for Overview Estates, the park dedication be satisfied by a cash donation for each new lot to be placed in escrow until such park land dedication has been accomplished. The Committee considered the following factors in regard to this recommendation: 1. Development has occurred within the Lexington South PUD without the dedication of a corresponding percentage of the designated parkland. Park Committee Page Two May 3, 1979 2. A 16 -19 acre park is in the process of being dedicated to the City now that the future alignment of Lexington Avenue has been determined, but that dedication may or may not be finalized when the final plat for Overview Estates is considered for approval. 3. This procedure was established by the City Council when this subdivision was originally platted into three large lots. HIDDEN OAKS City Planner Runkle reviewed the plat for Hidden Oaks which is part of the Pilot Knob Heights Planned Unit Development. The park dedication requirement has been satisfied for this PUD by the dedication of land and the trail around portions of Fish Lake. No action was taken. ORR PROPERTY City Planner Runkle presented an informal review of an 80 acre development proposal on the Orr property, east of the present City civic center property. The Park Committee requested a neighborhood study of Section 22 including an evaluation of the active park areas and consideration of potential trail connections to the City property. ADDITIONAL PROPOSAL City Planner Runkle also reviewed a 110 acre development proposal in Section 13, a portion of which is currently zoned industrial. The Park Committee requested a neighborhood study to include an evaluation of the previously proposed park within the former Dreyfus development proposal, and a determination of walkway connections which were to be provided in the South Oaks Plat. A question was raised as to the status of the land proposed to be dedicated under the Drefus proposal which was never finalized. WESCOTT ROAD TRAIL Park Director Schmidt reviewed the recommendation of the Trail Subcommittee regarding an asphalt trail on the south side of Wescott Road as an alternative to a sidewalk. Public Works Director Colbert reported on the Council action at the May 2, 1979 meeting to continue action on this recommendation because of questions regarding the 10 foot rather than the 8 foot width, the selection of the south rather than the north side of Wescott Road for the trail and the request for bituminous surface rather than concrete. He noted that the Council was concerned about maintenance of bituminous pathways relative to this proposal and to the overall trail system. Park Committee Page Three May 3, 1979 In a motion by Neil Coates, seconded Radlf all members voting in favor, the Park Committee recommended that the City Council establish a policy that where sidewalks are required on two sides of the road by the subdivision ordinance, (on major collector, and minor and major arterials), that an asphalt bike trail replace the sidewalk on one side for the following reasons: 1. Other cities have found a need to eliminate bicycles from sidewalks as they become fully developed. 2. Asphalt bike trails are comparable in cost to concrete sidewalks and can be provided through the sidewalk ordinance as development occurs. 3. Such trails will tie in with the County trail to be constructed on Pilot Knob and Cliff Roads and provide safe trans- portation routes to schools, libraries, shopping centers, etc., for Eagan youth. 4. A city wide system will promote recreational and trans- portation biking. Further, that the 10' width be accepted as a standard width for bike trails due to the following considerations: 1. It is more cost effective than the 8 foot width as paving and compacting machines are set up for wider applications. 2. It provides adequate space for 2 way bike traffic and for maintenance vehicles. 3. It corresponds with existing bike trail standards, i.e., Met Council, Dakota County. It was noted that a 10 foot trail costs only 6% more than an 8 foot trail but provides 20o more surface. Chairperson Lundsten requested information from the City Engineer on maintenance costs of concrete versus asphalt over their total life span. It was noted that the recommended trail plan which is currently under study should be completed in the near future and will be presented to the Council as soon as it is finalized. TRAIL DEDICATION Park Director Schmidt reported on a recent study done by City staff on alternate methods of accepting trail dedication. Dakota County will now allow the designation of trailway on a plat which will be in effect similar to City street right -of -way. City staff Park Committee Page Four May 3, 1979 will require this method of dedication in all instances where fee title is not required as the appearance on the plat of the trailway will be of benefit to the coordination of future engineering for the development proposals, and will be a simple procedure requir- ing less time to accomplish for the develope.r:'. REPORT FROM COUNCIL MEETING Park Director Schmidt reported on recent actions of the City Council which included the appointment of Thomas Gits to the Park Committee, the approval by the City Council of the construction of two new courts at Rahn Park and the lighting of four courts, the awarding of the bids for Rahn Thomas Trail Phase I, the hiring of a seasonal tree inspector and the approval of a CETA proposal for two park maintenance helpers. It was noted that the bids for the Rahn Thomas Trail construction were very favorable and that the award was approximately $15,000 below the estimate. A discussion was held on alternate locations for use of these trail funds. Park Director Schmidt explained that in order for a project to be considered as an amendment to the existing state and federal grant award contracts, it must serve a definite recreational purpose rather than simply provide a connection to facilities within a park site. A number of proposed projects were considered and the matter was referred to the Trail Subcommittee for further study. TOURNAMENTS FIELD USE POLICY. Sharon Radl discussed a suggested draft of a field use policy which would establish fees for tournament use of the Northview Park ball diamonds. The policy establishes classes of users and establishes fees according to these classifications. After con- siderable discussion and in a motion by Coates, seconded Gits, all members voting in favor, the policy was recommended to the City Council for approval. TRAIL COMMITTEE MEETING The next meeting of the Trail Subcommittee was set for May 10, 1979 at 7:15 p.m. at the Eagan Park office. WILDERNESS RUN HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION MEETING Chairperson Lundsten and Park Director Schmidt attended a meeting of the Wilderness Run Homeowner's Association and discussed the overall City park system. Members of the association suggested improvements for Oak Chase Park. Further discussion will be held with the association relative to this matter. Park Committee Page Five May 3, 1979 MEETING WITH SOUTH OAKS RESIDENTS Park Member Thurston and Park Director Schmidt attended a meeting with South Oaks residents regarding play equipment for the South Oaks Park. A number of items were selected by the residents and have been ordered for installation by the Park Maintenance crew. In addition, a swing set climber unit was salvaged from a Howard Johnson motel in Edina and will be installed in South Oaks Park. Residents also requested a medium sized single soccer goal to be installed 60 feet north of Twiggy Street. This in- stallation will also be accomplished by the Park Maintenance crew as time allows. PROPOSED GRANT PROJECTS Discussion was held regarding the fiscal year 1980 Lawcon and State park grant program. Potential projects were discussed including additional acquisition for the community athletic park in Section 9, acquisition of land for additional athletic field needs, additional development for Northview Park, resubmission of previously prepared grants on lighting the Rahn ball diamonds,and a combined proposal to develop neighborhood parks, if such a proposal would qualify for funding, including a playground area at Oak Chase Park, tennis courts for Carnelian Park, additional development for Pilot Knob Park, and other improvements. In a motion by Dick Carroll, seconded by Roger Martin, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:30 p.m.