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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-08 Packet 04.A.City of Cottage Grove Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Meeting March 13t", 2023 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a Cottage Grove Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission Meeting was held on March 13, 2023. 1. CALL TO ORDER & READING OF MISSION Meeting called to order at 7:00pm at City Hall 11. Roll Call Members Present: Susannah Brown, Shane Waterman, David Olson, Adam Larson, Kelly Glasford, Samanthia Crabtree, Debra Gustafson, Breck Miller Members Absent: None Others Present: Zac Dockter Parks & Recreation Director, Tony Khambata Council Liaison, & Molly Pietruszewski Recreation Manager III. Approval of Agenda A Motion to approve agenda made by Commissioner Olson and seconded by Commissioner Larson. Agenda approved. IV. Approval of Minutes A Motion to approve minutes from February 13th 2023 made by Commissioner Crabtree and seconded by Commissioner Waterman. Minutes approved. V. Open Forum -None - None VI. Presentations- None VII. Action Items a. Officer Appointments i. Zac Dockter- The Commission has two positions that need to be filled: Chair & Vice Chair. Councilman Khambata has recommended reappointing Commissioner Brown as Chair. Looking to the Commission to appoint a Vice Chair. The current Vice Chair is Commissioner Crabtree. Commissioner Olson nominated reappointing Commissioner Crabtree. Commissioner Miller also nominated Commissioner Crabtree. Commissioner Crabtree accepted the nomination for Vice Chair. b. Bylaw Review i. Zac Dockter-Presented Bylaws for review to the Commission. Commissioner Olson supports Bylaws as they exist today. Chair Brown also supports the current Bylaws. Chair Brown would like to address future Commissioner Recruitment. Would we be able to have an electronic form to increase accessibility and where do we put these forms so they are better advertised? Zac will add item to the agenda for the next meeting. Commissioner Crabtree motioned to approve current Bylaws. Commissioner Olson seconded. Motion carried. c. Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Water Trail Plan i. Zac Dockter-Presented a summary of the plans & goals for this plan. Next meeting will be April 12th which Zac will attend. Any comments from the Commission, Zac will bring to the meeting. Chair Brown requested we get on the map and be recognized for some of our features such as Hazen P. Moore Park & Settlers Island. Commissioner Olson enjoyed reading the plan. He requested that the National Park Service understand that we may not be part of St. Paul, but we are still part of a working river. River signage, navigation, training, and safety should be considered. Chair Brown requested information to be brought back regarding a plan for the replacement of the Nice Ride Program. Commissioner Olson has a lot of optimism that this program will be replaced as it was incredibly successful. Chair Brown motion to approve with comments to be brought to the April 12th meeting. Commissioner Crabtree seconded. Motioned carried. d. Cottage Grove Trailway Corridor Habitat Restoration Grant i. Zac Dockter-It has been a couple of years since we have applied for a Legacy Grant though the DNR. The last time we did was for Kingston Park & Open Space Project. This would be a continuation of the effort in restoring the prairie belt that runs beneath the power line corridor that runs from the NW corner of the City to Ravine Regional Park. This grant would include Imperial Ave to the East & Hinton to the West. This would connect the Hidden Valley restoration to the West, and the Cottage Grove Trailway Corridor to the East. This is another opportunity to restore nearly 50acres of land. There is a 10% match, and the funds would be derived from the Public Landscapes Initiative Program. Looking for support from the Commission for the Grant application. Chair Brown wanted clarification for a few items. First what is the "in kind match" and what does the City supply for that. Zac stated that we have some project management support, otherwise the City will mow the site, deforestation, buckthorn removal etc. The second question was what impacts will we see on homeowners. Zac stated it can change their site line (for good or bad depending on point of view) & there are a lot of encroachments such as gardens, trailers, etc. that would need, to be addressed. Commissioner Larson lives along this area and asked if it would be fenced off during restoration. Zac stated no we do not do that for prairie restoration. Commissioner Waterman inquired if this would be done under a previously prepared Natural Resources Evaluation or if one is even necessary. Zac stated that we do have one available and will get that information to the Commission for review. Commissioner Miller wanted to know how long this project will take. Zac stated that it is approximately 3-5 years for a prairie to fully establish. However, the most invasive portion is the first 1-2 years. If we got the grant application this year we wouldn't start until winter of 2024 and most of site prep would be completed during 2024/2025, Commissioner Miller also asked if there is an incentive to get this completed as soon as possible. Zac stated that we have a tight timeline to complete this & the Grant only has a 3-year limitation. Commissioner Olson motion to support the Grant application. Commissioner Waterman seconded. Motion carried. VIII. Presentation Of Information a. Capital Improvements Planning/Budgeting i. Zac wanted to share updated information and clarification with the Commission regarding the Local Sales Tax Option. Commissioner Olson would like the Commission to understand this in depth, so that the Commission is able to communicate effectively with the residents in the community. Commissioner Crabtree asked if any projects have been carried over from 2022. Zac stated Glacial Valley Park is the only carry over project. Zac then gave an overview of how the budgeting & planning process works. Chair Brown appreciated the inclusion of this information to expand on what we could do with this funding. Commissioner Miller added concern regarding the $11 million expense for the Hamlet & Mississippi Dunes Projects. Zac explained that the Local Sales Option Tax, if approved, would fund both of those projects. Commissioner Olson wanted clarification that these won't actually be fully completed in 2025 but more of a 3-5 year project. Zac confirmed. Commissioner Crabtree inquired about the Council's timeline to send this to voters. Councilman Khambata stated that Council has already approved the Local Option Sale Tax and it is currently in the State Legislation level waiting for approval. If approved, it would be on the November 2024 ballot when there will be a greater voting turnout. Zac stated that the House and Senate will be hearing the 30 bills submitted by other local municipalities over the next few weeks. Councilman Khambata stated with the state's surplus they are optimistic it will be approved. However, if we do not receive it, we would be able to apply again in attempts to get it on the 2024 ballot. Councilman Khambata gave an overview of how the Local Option Sales Tax works. Commissioner Crabtree wanted to know what happens if we do not get approval for this, specifically what will happen to these two projects, & will they be completely tabled. Zac stated that we would chip away at these projects just like we have with Hamlet Park Project. Commissioner Olson wanted to confirm and express concern that the City is responsible for paying back the bonds once they are issued, & they are liabilities on our balance sheet. Councilman Khambata confirmed the process and the risks associated with it along of how we plan to propose & spend in phases. There was more discussion about the concern of the lack of sales tax and the liability that if it is underfunded the citizens of Cottage Grove would be responsible for the difference. IX. Action Updates a. Park Naming i. Zac- The Olson Memorial Trail was authorized at the previous 10 FIf council meeting. b. 2023 Park Project Review i. The map presented to the Commission shows the upcoming 2023 projects. Commissioner Miller inquired when Glacial Valley will be fully complete. Zac stated that through different phases it will be completely finished (minus turf growth) this year. Donation and Acknowledgements a. Zac will begin to start sharing this with the commission in their packets quarterly going forward. Staff Reports & Educational Materials a. Division Highlights between the Parks & Recreation Department b. Volunteer Banquet invitation for the Commission c. Education material from the Parks & Recreation Magazine. XII. Commission Comments a. Qommissioner Olson expressed gratitude to the staff for providing all the information during this meeting. Commissioner Olson is on the Washington County Parks Commission & wanted to discuss an upcoming agenda item in regards to The Land and Water Legacy Program. The City of Cottage Grove has applied for a $500,000 grant to help with land acquisition. The land that is not City Park land will have a County Conservation Easement on it. Commissioner Olson simplified stating that basically this means nothing can happen to that land. Pulte has pulled their current development plans on that land. Commissioner Olson asked if the Commission wanted him to bring any comments or questions to the County meeting. Chair Brown wanted to have him remind the Commission of the strong & consistent ask from the community for land that would be protected as natural spaces. This grant would help meet the request of many of our residents. Commissioner Crabtree asked Councilman Khambata why did Pulte pull their permit to build & what was their contingency. Councilman Khambata shared that when he spoke with the regional director/CEO of Pulte they discussed that they have their own inhouse underwriting process. However, they still have to present the economic viability of projects to the underwriting department. The rate hike that the majority of people didn't anticipate drastically reduced the demand. As for contingency, they have contingency to get out of a contract until the day they close. It is believed that they won't come back but given their size and the scope of the market, they were exercising their contingency as a fiscally responsible measure. Commissioner Crabtree expressed concern over who else could buy the land, such as Friends of the Mississippi or a different developer. The main concern being would we still get our park space. There was discussion regarding how this process would work in the future and that we would still obtain our 10% space of the parcel for City space. XIII. Council Comments a. Council Khambata reported that with development we have seen a slowdown, given the current economy. However, we have active projects in our Industrial Park and businesses are still choosing to come & build here. b. Commission Crabtree inquired about the re -naming of the North Rink. Zac stated that we are moving forward and meeting with a sign company. The North rink will be named North Point or North Point Development Rink. XIV. Adjournment- Motioned by Commissioner Crabtree. Seconded by Commissioner Larson. Meeting Adjourned at 8:01 PM