Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-05-12 MINUTESCity of Cottage Grove Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Commission May 12, 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 — 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, on the 12th day of May 2003. Chair Steve Morse called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Steve Morse, Al Dubois, Eddy Wuorenma, Tim Siarianni, Jon Mortrud MEMBERS ABSENT: Al Boche, Barry Hamilton, Amanda Totino OTHERS PRESENT: Ice Arena/Recreation Manager Zac Dockter Associate Planner John Burbank Council Member Mark Grossklaus APPROVAL OF AGENDA Agenda approved as submitted. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes approved as mailed. OPEN FORUM None OLD BUSINESS A. YMCA/CG Pool Operation Agreement Update John Burbank submitted the contract for the YMCA/CG Pool Operation Agreement. The contract states that all operations will be manned by the YMCA for the 2003 pool season. This is in an effort to reduce the funds being subsidized towards the pool from the City of Cottage Grove's general operating budget. John also stated that this is a collaborative effort that is a very positive thing for both sides. Parks Commission Minutes 2 May 12, 2003 B. Maintenance Response Dockter reviewed his submitted memo stating that all maintenance for Summer 2003 currently will remain the same. However, staff will be looking for areas of improved efficiency and effectiveness in their maintenance practices. NEW BUSINESS A. 2003 Park Trust Fund Budget Items Burbank discussed the details of the plans for Park Trust expenditures in 2003. Staff is requesting concurrence from the Parks Commission and ultimately the City Council for the following expenditures: Water Tower Park for $70,000, Highland Hills Recreation Shelter for $50,000, entrance rock signs and landscaping for $30,000, dog park benching for $20,000, miscellaneous for $5,000, and trail expenditures for $102,000. Dubois asked if the Council had reviewed the dog park item yet. Burbank responded that it hasn't been sent to Council yet, but it will be shortly. Morse asked how playground equipment was wrapped up into the Park Trust Fund, such as for Ideal Park, which is an item that the Commission wants to make sure gets done. He noted that it has been in the Capital Improvements Plan, but not in the Park Trust Fund budgeted items. Burbank responded that it was in the CIP; however, with the current budget situation, it is not known yet if that money will be available since it is coming from the general fund. He stated that he wants to be sure that the Parks Commission is in favor of the projects being proposed to Council and hopes that these projects can be completed in 2003 so that money won't have to be carried to 2004. B. Park Dedication Fee Review Burbank submitted a survey of local communities as a comparison of park dedication fees for residential policies. The surveys included cities with populations from 10,000 to 20,000 and cities with populations of over 20,000. Burbank stated that our park dedication fees are well below the average for a city our size and staff recommends that the park dedication fees be increased by 100 percent, from $1,000 currently to $2,000 per single family unit. Mortrud asked if it would be easier to have the park dedication fee be a percentage of the home's real estate value, so the fee would not have to be changed every few years due to inflation. Burbank responded that a set price is fairly easy to work with and the city would not have to spend time determining the actual property value. A motion was made by Wuorenma to support the increase of park dedication fees and seconded by Mortrud. Motion carried. Steve Morse abstained from the vote. PARK MASTER PLANNING WORKSHOP Parks Commission Minutes 3 May 12, 2003 A. Outdoor Accessibility Analysis Reports —Continued Burbank once again reviewed the Outdoor Accessibility Report that was provided by the Wilderness Inquiry for the Commission to review in relation to possible future improvements. Burbank stated that these items probably will not be taken care of immediately, but will be taken into consideration as changes occur in the parks and as items need to be replaced. B. Addressing Natural Resources Burbank stated that as part of the Park Master planning process a lot of attention has been focused on the facilities in our parks. He explained that the duties of the Commission include planning review of all facets of the parks, recreation, and natural resource components of the community, which is why background material on natural resources was submitted for the Commission's review. The information was provided by the DNR as an aid to communities for their master planning. Dubois stated that there was some good material in this checklist to use as part of the master planning. COMMUNITY CENTER WORKSHOP None. REPORTS. A. Golf Division Burbank stated that revenues are still up from last year for golf and for food and beverage. B. Ice Arena Division No comments. C. Parks Division No comments. D. Recreation Programming Division No comments. E. Planning Commission No comments. Parks Commission Minutes May 12, 2003 F. Historic Preservation No comments. G. Council Agendas No comments. H. Monday News No comments. CGAA No comments. PARK PLANNING /MANAGEMENT EDUCATION MATERIALS 0 Burbank stated that this is a new item on the agenda where information relating to parks that has been found in newspapers, magazines, or on the internet can be offered to the Commission for review. COMMISSION COMMENTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS None STAFF COMMENTS A. Response to River Oaks E -mail Policy Burbank stated that in response to the question of the e-mail policy at River Oaks, they are on a different network than the rest of the City. He stated that he will talk with Bruce Anderson to discuss the problems with e-mail response time. Parks Commission Minutes May 12, 2003 B. Hamlet Pond Response 5 Burbank explained that the items in Hamlet Pond were buoys that act as skimmers to collect any debris and erosion of soils. It is a City project and those items will be removed in time. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn by Jon Mortrud. Seconded by Eddy Wuorenma. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m.