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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-10 MINUTESCity of Cottage Grove Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission March 10, 2003 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission was duly held at City Hall 7516 80 Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on the 10th day of March 2003. Chair Steve Morse called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Steve Morse, Tim Sirianni, Eddy Wuorenma, Al Dubois, AI Boche, Barry Hamilton, Amanda Totino MEMBERS ABSENT: Jon Mortrud OTHERS PRESENT: Associate Planner John Burbank Ice Arena/Recreation Manager Zachary Dockter Council Member Mark Grossklaus APPROVAL OF AGENDA Agenda approved as submitted. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes approved as mailed. OPEN FORUM None NEW BUSINESS A. Commission Rules John Burbank presented a copy of the Commission Rules. John explained that the rules must be reviewed by the Commission three times at which point the rules will then be adopted by the Commission. Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2003 B. Elections P: Burbank stated that the Commission is currently absent of one position (youth seat). Staff is also looking for elections by the Commission for Chair, Vice -Chair and Secretary at this meeting. Al Boche nominated Steve Morse for Chair. Nomination seconded by Tim Sirianni. Motion carried. Steve Morse nominated Al Boche for Vice - Chair. Seconded by Eddy Wuorenma. Motion carried. Steve Morse nominated Eddy Wuorenma as Secretary. Nomination seconded by Al Boche. Motion carried. C. 2003 Goals Burbank stated that the 2002 goals were generally long -term goals and many of those goals could be moved on to 2003. He suggested to avoid eliminating the 2002 goals, since those are still in process, and to move those goals into 2003. Commission agreed and the 2002 goals will continue in 2003. D. Minutes of the City /CGAA Summer Field Usaoe Dockter stated that the meeting called by the City to meet with CGAA regarding their field usage is was held for the third straight year. It is a good opportunity for the City and the Association to meet up and discuss any concerns prior to the start of the season. Dockter stated that the different associations on hand included: baseball, softball, football, traveling soccer and in -house soccer. There was a representative from each of those divisions. Alan Dubois asked to clarify the satellite fees and clean -outs for weekend tournaments. He noted that it appeared to be an issue for several of the divisions of the Association. Dockter explained that during larger tournaments satellites must be cleaned out more than once per weekend at which point the City incurs additional costs. It is the goal of the City to charge those costs back to the Association. Alan Dubois also questioned the comment made by Doreen Hayes about the location of the satellites. Dockter stated that there were some concerns with the Soccer Association last year because last year's satellite contractor backed out of the contract and took all its satellites away from the parks. So, we were without satellites for about one week. That should not be a problem this year because we have contracted with a different company. Eddy Wuorenma asked about the comment made by the Baseball Association to fence Woodridge baseball park and keep it a premier field. He asked whether the damages to the field were being caused by the Association itself or by day to day users. Dockter stated that it is a combination of both. The damage from the Association comes from batting practice and just improper grooming. The damage from day to day use comes from bikes and using the baseball field for things other than baseball. It is a combination of both those items causing damage to the turf at the Woodridge baseball field. Eddy stated that he would hate to see the City put up a fence and lock the field to prevent use by the citizens during the day. He preferred to see the park kept open for the entire City if possible. Dockter said an item like that will end up coming back to the Parks Commission for approval before a park facility such as that would be closed to public use. Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2003 3 Alan DuBois also questioned the football division's concerns of putting up benches by the Hamlet football field. The statements in the minutes said that they were looking for benches next to the field and Dockter suggested lightweight benches. In regards to theft, Alan questioned why lightweight benches would be beneficial for that field. Dockter responded that the Football Association has access to the building next to the football field. So, before and after a game they could move the benches and store them overnight in the building. Morse stated that this is the third year running of the meeting and it's great to see the communication between the City and the Association to iron out all those maintenance and scheduling issues before they become a problem during the season. He applauded both sides for the efforts. E. Geocachinn Burbank reviewed the activity of geocaching stating that it is a form of treasure hunting where participants hide and search for small caches of trinkets at points of natural interest utilizing the GPS. This is something that is going on all across the country and within our own municipal parks. Burbank stated the reason that this information is being presented to the Commission is that there are several known caches located in Cottage Grove parks. Based on that fact, staff believes the City may want to discuss the item and determine if an official policy should be prudent. For example, Ramsey County has a formal policy, Washington County is currently reviewing a policy and the State has recently outlawed any geocaching in state parks. One of the items that becomes a problem with geocaches is any burying of them can harm environmental natural areas. Leaving geocaches is a form of littering; they are leaving something in the park and not putting it in the trash. So, if we are going to allow it we want to make sure a person participating doesn't get charged with littering. If we're not going to allow it, we need to make sure word of that gets out. He wanted to bring it to the Commission for ideas on how to deal with this new game. Tim stated that he liked Ramsey County's policy, because it was short and to the point. Other Commission members felt that they would like to research the game more and continue to discuss it at future meetings. OLD BUSINESS A. Community Off Leash Don Park - Update Burbank stated that the sites are still being reviewed by staff and the Commission. So, he invites the Commission to continue looking at those sites. They are still waiting for the spring thaw to see if that will have an effect on where the water will be lying in those parks. Water levels could change ideas about where the park will be located. We obviously wouldn't want it at a park that will be flooded out in the spring. The dog park is still being reviewed and could potentially be sent to Council once a park is picked. However, with the state aid cuts, Burbank stated it might not be possible. But, it is still something the Parks Commission Minutes 4 March 10, 2003 Commission would still like to send to Council to see if they're willing to contribute towards this park. PARK MASTER PLANNING WORKSHOP A. Ideal Park Burbank stated that Ideal Park is an eight acre neighborhood park located on Ideal Avenue. The reason this park was currently chosen for the Master Plan review, is because of the planned playground installation for 2003. Burbank reviewed the amenities currently existing at the park and stated that the plans were to install new playground equipment in 2003 and there has been much discussion in the neighborhood for new equipment. However, with the current status of the budget, nothing is guaranteed. Ideal Park is another one of the parks that needs discussion on its location to a community park (such as Granada Park last meeting); is it necessary to have new playground equipment at this park? Possibly another park nearby is sufficient for that neighborhood. If we do install new playground equipment where do we install it and what should be included? Also, possible ideas that should be noted are making necessary improvements to bring it into compliance with the current park facility standards. Possibly installing a picnic shelter, plant additional deciduous shade trees on the site, and improve the park signage. There is a storm water pond located behind the park which offers a potential scenic overlook, but would need some beautification. Also, review the managing of the woods and grounds of the park. Burbank said he is looking for some guidance from the Commission as to the master plans for this park. Morse stated that he is concerned that this playground equipment does get replaced this year. This park, along with Pinetree Pond Park, are two of the parks that citizens actually approached the Commission with stating that they wanted some action taken on these particular playground structures. Morse has feels that those items should be a top priority on the Commission's list in order to be sure that message is conveyed to the City Council. Tim Siarianni asked if there was some way to have volunteers help install the equipment to help save on the cost. He made note that some of the schools' playground equipment structures were being built by local volunteers and asked if that would be a possibility for the City. Dockter said he wasn't aware of any of those situations currently, but he will definitely review it and look at it as a possible way of saving some money in our playground equipment replacement program. The Commission generally agreed with the staff suggestions for the parks Master Plan, B. Facility Standards — Continued Burbank stated that as part of the improved planning for parks and open space facility installations, improvements and maintenance, staff has been working on an inventory list to act as a benchmark document for these actions. This inventory was identified as one of the Commission's short-term goals for 2002 and as of yet, it is still in progress and will be added to the 2003 goals. Parks Commission Minutes 5 March 10, 2003 COMMUNITY CENTER WORKSHOP A. Community Center Scoping - Continued Burbank continued to review some of the potential sites for the community center, dividing the search into five different areas A, B, C, D, E. Noting that each of those broader areas offer different amenities such as, flat lands for potential athletic fields, a centrality to the City as a whole, and other such amenities. B. Washington County Opinions about Teen Health Burbank stated that he reviewed an article from the Recreation Department explaining some of the things teens and adults were looking for from a community center. He mentioned that it was a good article and that the Commission should review it and keep some of those items in mind when thinking about a community center. TRAILWAY PLAN WORKSHOP A. DNR Grants Burbank stated that the DNR has several matching grant programs that are related to trail ways and on February 28` the City of Cottage Grove submitted four grant applications for two separate projects. The first two applications were for $10,000 each for the proposed River Access Park Trail Way located on Grey Cloud Island. The other two grants were in the amount of $27,412.50 for the East Draw Trail Way connection. Burbank stated that a couple grants were applied for last year of which we made it past the first cut, but not past the second cut. Therefore, we are reapplying this year. Morse asked to get some clarification on the grant process. Burbank stated that originally they go through all the grants and prioritize the list of applicants. At that point, our City's grant application made it past that cut, then they continued to prioritize the list from there and that's when the City of Cottage Grove grant got cut. The second process is a little more detailed as far as costs, and locations. The City hopes to get past that step this year. Burbank stated no action is required at this time and staff will keep the Commission updated on the status of the grants. B. 2003 Trail Way Installations Burbank stated that in addition to the trail way installations associated with the grants previously discussed, staff is also planning several additional trail way segment installations in 2003. Burbank mentioned that even though the Master Trail Way Plan has yet to be completed, there are several trail way segments that have been previously identified and discussed by the Commission for their completion. The funding for these trail ways will be identified from the current CIP. Based on previous project postponements and under current budget projects, the idea is to attempt to construct as many of the plans possible in Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2003 2003. However, the ultimate amount of construction will depend on the financial situation of the City, the weather and other project commitments. Some of the trail ways that have been identified for 2003 construction include: the Hidden Valley Trail Way link between the existing trail and Timber Ridge Trail Way at approximately 1200 lineal feet; Indian Boulevard Open Space Corridor between Hinton Avenue and Imperial Avenue at approximately 2400 lineal feet; Woodridge Pond Loop at approximately 2800 lineal feet; and Pine Tree Pond Loop at approximately 2200 lineal feet. Lastly, Burbank stated that prior to each construction the residents in the immediate proximity would be notified. REPORTS A. Golf Division No comments. B. Ice Arena Division No comments. C. Parks Division No comments. D. Recreation Programming Division No comments. E. Planning Commission No comments. F. Historic Preservation No comments. G. Council Agendas No comments. H. Monday News No comments. Parks Commission Minutes March 10, 2003 I. CGAA No comments. COMMISSION COMMENTS No comments. STAFF COMMENTS No comments. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Tim Sirianni. Seconded by Allan Dubois. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.