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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-11 PACKET 04.A.City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 10, 2012 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting was held on December 10, 2012. I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. 11. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mark Nelson, Bill Schumal, Doug Butler, Erich Nollan, Paul Poncin, Ron Kath, Members Absent: Cristina Marcino Others Present: Zac Dockter, Parks and Recreation Director Molly Pietruszewski, Recreation Coordinator Dave Thiede, Councilmember III. Approval of Agenda Approved as delivered IV. Approval of Minutes Approved November 12, 2012 Minutes V. Open Forum None VI. Presentations A. Bike Parks Chance Glasford presented the concept of a bike park to the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission. Chance explained a bike park is an area specifically designed for mountain and BMX bikes, constructed mostly of dirt. The features of a bike park would consist of obstacles such as rollers, berms, jumps, pump tracks and other features that allow riders to practice and improve their skills and recreate on their bikes in a well constructed, properly maintained and safe environment. Riders of all ages can participate at a bike park. Glasford presented examples of bike parks across the United States. Glasford stated he feels a bike park would be an asset to the community because it provides an activity niche for the local youth, promotes health and exercise, and would attract business to Cottage Grove. The closest bike park to Cottage Grove is the Lexington Bike Park in Eagan. Nelson asked what kind of base is used to construct the bike park. Glasford responded engineers use common earth which is found 2 to 3 feet below the earth's surface and is mostly a composed of a clay and sand base. Nelson asked if the bikes create any damage, would there be an erosion concern, and what upkeep should be expected at the sire. Glasford responded the community must be educated on when to use the park specifically staying off the park when it is raining. Glasford added erosion may be City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission 11 P a g e an issue until the park is established or the bike term would be "burned in" and there would be minimal upkeep after that. Nelson asked how Glasford would envision the design. Glasford responded he would recommend the park would be next to a bike path to attract the bike traffic to the park. Poncin asked how old the Bike Park in Eagan is and how many people use it each year. Glasford responded the park in Eagan is new. Eagan set aside some dirt from a construction project and allowed the bikers to hand shovel it to make a bike park. This was in response to the bikers being asked to not ride bikes on the skate ramps. The bikers created their bike park but it was not constructed properly. Glasford and some others approached the City of Eagan with the bike park concept and proposed they build the bike park correctly. The park is 90% complete and on weekends there are 10 to 25 people using it at any given time. The bike park is 100' wide and 220' long so 25 people are a lot of bikers. Kath asked what the average cost would be for this park. Glasford responded the cost is based on the size and features. A recommendation of a 200' by 200' or 500' by 500' Bike Park would be an estimated $30,000 to $60,000 to build. Schumal asked what liabilities the City or local businesses might incur from the Bike Park. Glasford stated he would recommend building the Bike Park at one of the four major parks in Cottage Grove. Each of these parks is a distance away from local businesses which would limit riding close to those locations. The risk to the rider would be no greater than a playground or a skate park. Dockter added City staff would discuss this with the insurance adjuster and City Attorney to make sure there would be no additional liabilities. Most of the parks have a recreational immunity and Dockter would follow up if the Skate Park would fall under this umbrella. Glasford added the Eagan Bike Park does fall under the normal insurance and no additional insurance was needed. Glasford presented a list of possible builders. Dockter asked Glasford to clarify the cost presented by Glasford stating his estimate included pricing for a contractor to design and build the bike park. Dockter asked what Eagan paid for the construction of their bike park. Glasford replied his previous number was an estimate and the Eagan Bike Park was completely funded by a grass roots project listing him and others as volunteers to work on the project. Glasford added he educated himself by doing research and visiting the Contractors websites. Then he constructed the Eagan Bike Park with volunteers under the supervision of the City of Eagan. Glasford referred the Commission to Alpine Bike Parks website explaining this contractor lists the project costs and details on the website. Dockter stated he was looking for a recommendation to move forward which would include allowing City Staff to work with Glasford and research potential locations, cost, volunteer, in -house labor costs, insurance, and professional design and installation. Glasford added he spoke to MN Off Road Cyclists and they are interested in working with Cottage Grove. Nelson stated the WAG Dog Park was designed and maintained by a volunteer group of people that use the facility. Nelson added he could see the same thing happening at a bike park. A recommendation was made to have staff research and gather more information for the Bike Park. VII. Action Items A. Park Commission Bylaws Dockter submitted the 2012 bylaws to the commission to review and asked for any recommendations the Commission may have. A motion was made to accept the Bylaws. Motion carried. Poncin added the bylaws can be amended throughout the year as needed. B. Park Legacy Giving Program Dockter presented two volunteer programs for the Commission to review. The first one was the Park and Recreation Program. Dockter recommended an update to the donation brochure and a change of name to The Park and recreation Legacy Giving Program City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission 2 1 P a g e attempting to generate new interest and participation. Nelson asked if someone donates to the program can they have a name plate added to the item. Dockter responded that has been the case in the past. Dockter added the brochure would be added to all the media links the City offers. The brochure could be mailed but it is not proposed to be at this time. Poncin added when the program began 10 years ago the fear of the Parks Commission at that time was they would receive to many requests and the parks would start to look like a memorial. Dockter added there is a donation policy that is still in effect. All donations would still have to be approved. Poncin asked if a donation could be used to replace an ash tree on the boulevard. Dockter answered it would be considered but a plaque would not be appropriate if it were going in someone's front yard. C. Volunteer Park Ranger Program Dockter presented the concept of a volunteer Park Rangers Program. Dockter stated this program has been successful in other cities and Dockter would like to adapt it to Cottage Grove. The program would use volunteers to add additional monitoring services, gather statistical data, document park usage and assist in long term park planning. Volunteers would be good will ambassadors for our City and receive training in CPR, AED, playground safety, natural resources and customer service. Once trained the volunteers would be responsible for trash removal, communications, safety checks, graffiti removal and surveys. Nelson asked if there will be a uniform requirement for this position. Dockter responded there would be an item that would make the park rangers recognizable like a shirt or hat. A question was asked if there are any local City's using the Park Ranger Program. Dockter responded he did not know of any locally. Dockter added there would be reporting procedures in place to monitor the volunteer time and all candidates would have background checks. Kath asked if the City has trouble finding volunteers for the program could we consider using interns to fill the volunteer positions. Kath asked if there would be a set schedule and who would coordinate that. Dockter responded they would have Parks and Recreation staff coordinate schedules but volunteers would be responsible for fulfilling their time. VIII. Presentation Of Information A. Inclusive Playground Concept Dockter update the Commission on the Inclusive Play System stating on December 19 the concept was presented to Council. Based on the Commission's recommendation to precede with the provided work plan staff will be seeking the recommendation of the City Council. The success of this project rests with the support of as many in the community as possible. Should Council agree with the Commission's recommendation staff will begin the search for potential task force members. There will be more information at the February Commission meeting. B. State of the Mississippi River Burbank shared a report entitled "State of the River Report" with the Commission. This report was composed by the Friends of the Mississippi River and the National Park Service. The report discusses the state of the river by focusing on the following characteristics: 1. River Flow 2. Swimming and recreation 3. Fish and Fishing 4. Ecological Health City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission 3 1 P a g e 5. Other Contaminants of Concern Cottage Grove has over 39 miles of River and Bluff. City staff have been working with Washington County to help gain access to these areas for our community. The Mississippi River is a National Park. If you would like a copy of the report it is at www.stateoftheriver.com . This report is thorough and aims to give the public an understanding of the quality of the Mississippi River. Burbank added the health of the Mississippi River is improving and as a community we can partner with these groups to educate the community on the effects of the river. C. Commissioner Term Status Dockter stated the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resource Commissioner terms expire biannually. The following are the commissioner and their term dates: February 28, 2013 — Hill, Poncin, Schumal February 28, 2014 — Nollan, Nelson, Marcino, Kath Dockter asked the commissioners whose term expires in February 2013 to notify staff if they will be renewing or resigning their terms. D. 2012 City Park Facts — Trust for Public Land Dockter provided a report from the Trust for Public Land entitled "2012 City Park Facts." This report analyzes park land inventories and expenditures for the 100 most populous cities in the country. This information can be used as a resource for understanding the Cottage Grove ranks in terms of prioritizing its parks and recreational services to the community. Dockter added staff has performed calculations where applicable to include Cottage Grove's data in the report. Dockter believes that although the level of parks and recreational services can vary dramatically from location to location, the fact remains that these services are deemed necessary in the eyes of the county. The United States leads the world in preserving valuable land and services to our citizens so that all have the ability to enjoy the natural works in their own communities. IX. Action Updates A. Gateway North Grant Dockter stated in September of 2012 staff applied for the MN Department of Natural resources Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program to restore prairie /oak savanna for 70 acres in the Gateway North Open Space and West Draw Park areas. The City was not awarded the monies for the project at this time. This project continues to be a high priority for the Parks and Recreation Department and staff would anticipate another application in the future. Phase one of the project began last fall with funding from the Friends of the Mississippi River. X. Park Planning Management Education Material A. Finding the Way to Play Dockter presented an article he found in a National magazine. XI. Commission Comments None City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission 4 1 P a g e XII. Council Comments Thiede stated at the November 21, 2012 Council Meeting the Council approved the River Oaks Management plan. XIII. Staff Comments Burbank added City staff has put a together a survey on the City website regarding allowing chickens and ducks on urban lots. Burbank encouraged the Commission to vote. XIV. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn and motion carried at 8:00pm City of Cottage Grove Parks and Recreation Commission 5 1 P a g e