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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 9-NE PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2002 MAINTENANCE CENTER 6:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order . , Approval of Meeting Minutes a. April 8, 2002 Meeting Minutes b. May 13, 2002 Meeting Minutes Old Business a. Skate Park Update b. Summer Program Update c. MPRA Award of Excellence d. PAC Vacancies 4. New Business a. Introduction of Heather Carlson, Recreation Coordinator b. Parking Lot Lighting Project at Ponds Park c. New Playground Equipment Proposal d. Timber Crest Park e. Schedule Date for 2020 Vision and Strategic Plan Presentation 5. Future Meeting Date a. October 14, 2002 6. Adjournment 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (952) 447-4230 / Fax (952) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER CITY OF PRIOR LAKE PARKS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FOR APRIL 8, 2002 Chair Thea Fluhrer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., on Monday, April 8, 2002. Members present were Tom Schutz, Chad Storley, Lori Helgestad and Pat McFadden. Also in attendance were Parks Maintenance Supervisor Al Friedges, Recreation Supervisor Chris Esser, Recreation Intern Kent Kloster, Council Liaison Joe Zieska and Assistant City Manager Susan Walsh. March 11, 2002 Meeting Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting was reviewed. MOTION by Schutz to approve the March 11, 2002 Minutes. Second by Storley. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. Parking at Sand Point Beach: Schutz provided a memorandum to the members that outlined his proposal for collecting fees at Sand Point Beach in the spring and fall months. His proposal included the following: · Collect parking fees during the period of April 1 to October 31. · Daily parking fees for residents for vehicles without trailers be reduced from $4.00 a day to $2.00 a day. · Install a fee box for payments, and fees would be paid by an honor system. Payment would be deposited in an envelope and the driver would place the tab top showing proof of payment on the dashboard of the vehicle. · Vehicles without proof of payment would be issued a courtesy letter informing them of the violation. Discussion ensued on the cost involved in installing a lockbox, purchasing envelopes and staffing costs. Schutz proposed that the city recruit volunteers from the adjacent neighborhood for monitoring the cars for proof of payment and emptying the fee box. Recreation Supervisor Esser felt we should also consider extending the season beach attendants typically work since recruiting and scheduling volunteers could involve a great deal of time. There was a general consensus from the members on the following: 1. The parking fees for residential parking be reduced to $2 a day. 2. Collection of parking fees be expanded to included the months from April I to October 31. 3. An honor system with a fee box and envelopes should be implemented; and volunteers and or staff would monitor and collect fees. Staff were requested to research the following: (1) the cost of purchasing and installing a fee box, (2) cost for an envelope dispenser and envelopes, (3) evaluate cost and time for recruiting volunteers versus hiring staff. The members agreed this item should be addressed with the City Council at the Joint Meeting on May 13% Committee Member Schutz handed out to members his proposal for constructing a parking lot at the water tower on Crest Avenue. His proposal recommended that staff determine how many parking spaces could be created for vehicles with trailers and get an estimated cost for the 2004 CIP. Outfield Si¢lnage: Parks Maintenance Supervisor Al Friedges advised the committee that PLAY is interested in selling signs for temporary fencing as a fundraising project. The temporary fencing will be located at Lakefront Park and Ponds for youth baseball. A representative from PLAY had recently returned from Arizona where he visited ball fields that had temporary fencing with local advertisements on banners. Friedges stated the signs would be printed on banners that would be tied to each temporary fence section. Members agreed that since PLAY donates funds to pay for the fences, this would be a logical fundraising event. Friedges advised there would be written guidelines for advertisers and PLAY. Following further discussion members agreed that Friedges should work with PLAY on this project and that the signs be only be sold for Ponds Park. Skatepark Update: Discussion ensured on the purchase of Skatepark Equipment authorized by the City Council on April 1. The equipment will be purchased from Earl F. Andersen and will consist of Tier II and I. Recreation Supervisor Esser advised the opening date for the skatepark will be around the first or middle part of June and fees and hours of operation have not been determined at this point. Committee members discussed the agenda for the Informational Meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the committee meeting. Summer Proqram Update: Recreation Supervisor Esser gave an update on summer programs. Thomas Ryan Memorial Park Grand Opening: Assistant City Manager Walsh advised the grand opening will be sometime after July 1 when the park will be completely done. McFadden requested the grand opening be held on a Saturday so friends of Tom Ryan who live out of town can attend. Park Entrance Signs: Parks Maintenance Supervisor Friedges showed a picture of what the new signs will look like. Cost for signs ranges from $1300 to $1500 depending on the quantity purchased. Approval to purchase the signs will be considered by Council at the May 6 meeting. May 13 Tour of City Parks: Friedges gave a general outline of the parks and trails that will be stops on the tour with the City Council at the next meeting. By unanimous consent the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Susan Walsh Assistant City Manager (Note: Immediately following the Committee Meeting, an informational meeting for the new skatepark facility was held. Approximately 65 youth and parents attended.) PARKS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FOR MAY 13, 2002 Chair Thea Fluhrer called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13, 2002, at the Maintenance Facility. Chair Fluhrer thanked members of the City Council for attending the Joint Meeting of the Parks Advisory Committee and City Council. In attendance were the following: Parks Advisory Committee members Tom Schutz, Chad Storley, Lori Helgestad and Pat McFadden; Mayor Jack Haugen and Councilmembers Petersen, LeMair and Zieska; City staff members Frank Boyles, Al Friedges, Bud Osmundson, Kent Kloster, Chris Esser and Susan Walsh. Skatepark Facility: Parks Maintenance Supervisor Al Friedges gave an update on the construction of the skatepark. The City recently received a donation in the amount of $25,000 from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Since the Community requested that their donation go towards purchasing the new equipment, City funds will be used to construct a new site for a permanent facility. The park is located in the northwest corner of Lakefront Park adjacent to the upper parking lot. The dimensions of the facility are 70 feet by 100 feet. The cement will be poured the week of May 20% Staff has targeted the opening date for June 17th. The Council and Parks Advisory Committee Members next discussed the fee structure for the park. Recreation Supervisor Chris Esser reviewed fees charged by the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville and Hopkins and a private skatepark facility in Burnsville, called G-Shock. These cities and business were surveyed since their skateparks have Tier l and Tier II equipment. Esser proposed that the daily and seasonal passes for residents be structured below the market rate. Non-resident fees would be comparable to the other cities' fees. Following considerable discussion there was a general consensus from the group that the residential passes should be $3/daily and $30/seasonal, and nonresidential should be set at $6 for a daily and $90 for a seasonal pass. Staff was requested to research the fee structured further. Final fees will be approved by the City Council before the June 17t' opening. Esser reviewed proposed hours and rules and regulations. He proposed that the skatepark be open the same hours as the beaches--11 am to 7 pm. It was recommended that the park remain open until 8 pm to accommodate visitors who work during the day. Esser handed out rules and regulations that were similar to other cities' posted rules. It was agreed the rules should be stringent enough so behavior problems are addressed appropriately. Esser advised the policies and procedures for skatepark attendants to follow would be similar to the ones in place for the beaches. Park Entrance Signs: Parks Maintenance Supervisor Friedges handed out a list of 30 parks that will have new entrance signs installed over the next two years. The total cost for purchasing and installing the 30 signs is $69,690. The City Council authorized going forward with the purchase and installation of the 30 signs at their May 7 City Council meeting. Parking Fees at Sand Point Beach: Parks Advisory Committee Member Tom Schutz reviewed his recommendation for collecting parking fees from April to October advising the Parks Advisory Committee has been discussing this matter for the past few months. Schutz indicated that because of the cold and wet weather this spring, there was limited parking during April and May. He also indicated that after reviewing the memorandum from Recreation Supervisor Esser, he agreed that staff should monitor the parking during the regular season (summer months) to see if the numbers warranted changing the parking policy. Discussion followed on whether the parking fee for residents going to the beach should be lowered from $4 to $2, and the question was raised on how many residents versus nonresidents parked in the lot. Esser advised he did not have statistics on this information, but he would ask the building attendants to keep track. Schutz agreed to defer this matter until additional information was obtained. PAC Chair Thea Fluhrer voice her concerns regarding the overflow parking for vehicles with boat trailers in the upper parking lot at Lakefront Park. In September 2001 the City Council has passed a motion to direct staff to re-restripe the parking lot for vehicles with boat trailers. Councilmember Zieska advised he plans on making a recommendation to the City Council to reverse this action since the skatepark facility is now located adjacent to this parking lot. Tom Schutz requested that the City Council consider including funds in the 2004 CIP for a parking lot at the Crest Avenue water tower site. Schutz advised that this would eliminate boat trailer parking on the streets and would provide a revenue source for the maintenance of parking lots. Mayor Haugen suggested that the Lake Advisory Committee review this matter. The group agreed the water tower site should be included in the tour scheduled for July 29th. Park System Investments: City Manager Frank Boyles informed the committee members that staff will continue to look at property for future park development. This includes land for community parks and parcels adjacent to current neighborhood parks. Establishment of Subcommittee for Naming Parks, Facilities, Streets & Public Places: PAC Chair Fluhrer reviewed the two applications the city received for renaming of public places and asked for volunteers from the PAC to serve on the subcommittee. PAC Member Schutz questioned whether the recommendation of the committee would actually be used because in past years the policy was not followed as outlined. Zieska and Haugen agreed that the policy should be reviewed for changes before the committee reviews the pending applications. Amendments to Parks Advisory Committee Bylaws: Assistant City Manager Walsh reviewed the changes to the Bylaws that the Parks Advisory Committee approved earlier this year. Mayor Haugen requested that the PAC reconsider changing their annual report to the Council from semiannual to annual. Haugen indicated that it is important for the advisory bodies to keep the council informed and at a minimum advisory bodies should report to the Council twice a year. MOTION by Schutz to recommend that the City Council approve the revisions to the Parks Advisory Committee Bylaws as presented but to keep Article 2, Section B, Subsection 4 to Semiannual reporting to the City Council. Second by McFadden. Ayes: 5. Nays: 0. Motion carried. Tour of Parks, Trails, New Development and Lake - July 29th: Chair Fluhrer advised city staff is arranging for a tour that will include the Parks Advisory Committee, Lake Advisory Committee, Planning Commission and City Council for July 29th. The tour will include new parks, trails and development as well as a tour of Prior Lake aboard the Charles Prior. Other Business: Mayor Haugen asked if the city should reevaluate its field closing policy so coaches or teams are held accountable and penalized if they ignore the field closing signs. Staff advised of the current practice of informing coaches of closed fields by posting signs on the fields and using the field cancellation hotline number. There is no written policy on enforcement. Staff acknowledged it helps to know there is support from the Council and PAC for implementing a policy that addresses procedures and penalties for coaches and teams that continue to play on closed fields. MOTION by Storley to adjourn. Second Helgestad. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Susan Walsh, Assistant City Manager