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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-06-25 PRC MINCity of Stillwater Parks and Recreation Board June 25, 2007 Present: Linda Amrein, chair David Brandt, Rob McGarry and Sandy Snellman Staff present: Planner Mike Pogge Absent: Paul Donna, Adam Nyberg and Cathy Sewilo Ms. Amrein called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Approval of minutes: Ms. Amrein, seconded by Mr. Brandt, moved approval of the minutes of April 23, 2007, as corrected in the minutes of May 21, 2007. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Brandt, seconded by Ms. Amrein, moved approval of the minutes of May 21, 2007, as submitted. Motion passed unanimously. Action Items St. Croix Valley Recreation Center and Lily Lake Arena fees — Mr. Pogge said the proposed fees represent a $5 per hour increase for both prime and non -prime time rentals. Mr. Pogge noted the proposed rates are still competitive with other area facilities. Mr. McGarry moved to recommend that the City Council approve the proposed fee schedule as submitted. Ms Snellman seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Teddy Bear Park building rental policy change — Mr. Pogge stated the proposed change, which increases the reservation deadline to a minimum of 7 days in advance for weekday events (8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday) and 10 days in advance for weekend and evening events (after 3 p.m. Monday through Friday), is primarily due to staff scheduling issues. The proposed revision also changes the language in the policy related to cancellations and payment of reservation fees to be consistent with the reservation deadlines, Mr. Pogge noted. No change in the fee schedule is proposed at this time, he stated. There was a brief discussion about the use of the building. Mr. Pogge said the most common use has been for birthday parties, and he said the City would like to see more rentals. Mr. Amrein suggested placing signage in the windows of the building to let Park visitors know the building is available for rental, as well as placing a notice in the City newsletter. Mr. Brandt suggested that consideration be given to lowering the fees to encourage usage. Ms. Amrein moved to recommend approval of the proposed change in the reservation policy for the Teddy Bear Park building and the corresponding changes to the policy items No. 9 (reservation fees) and item 10 (cancellations), with the changes effective immediately. Mr. Brandt seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Special event permits - Star of the North Band and ArtReach Alliance — Mr. Pogge stated The Star of the North Band has requested the use of the Heritage Park band shell for a concert on July 18 and ArtReach Alliance has requested to hold a free community art fair in Pioneer Park on Aug. 19. Ms. Amrein asked if there is any signage to let Park & Recreation Board Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 2 of 4 people know that the parks have been reserved on the day of the event. Mr. Pogge said he thought there was such signage, but said he would check on that matter. Mr. Brandt, seconded by Ms. Snellman, moved to recommend approval of both special event requests. Motion passed unanimously. Washington County gift of docks — Mr. Pogge said the City has received an offer of some boat docks from Washington County. He said the dockage (about 135 feet) is in good shape and meets DNR specifications for use in all local water bodies. He said staff is recommending that about 30-35 feet of the dock be placed in McKusick Lake for use as a canoe and kayak launch, with the remainder of the dock placed in Sinnits Pond in the Jackson Wildlife Management Area for a fishing pier and canoe launch. Ms. Amrein asked about placing a portion of the docks in Long Lake. Mr. Pogge said the City currently does not own or have access to a desirable location to place the docks at Long Lake, and he noted there is a possibility of the City acquiring the Jackson WMA. Ms Snellman asked where the docks would be placed at McKusick and a possible issue with parking. It was noted there is a City -owned lot at the far eastern edge of the Lake. Mr. Brandt, seconded by Ms. Snellman, moved to accept the gift of the dockage from Washington County. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Brandt moved to direct staff to investigate the feasibility of placing a portion of the dock in McKusick Lake and Sinnits Pond and if found feasible to schedule neighborhood meetings to receive public input on the concept. Ms. Snellman seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Eagle Ridge Trail — Mr. Pogge stated the City Council has asked the Park Board to consider funding a portion of the Eagle Ridge Trail. He said plans definitely include an 8' bituminous trail from Myrtle to Green Twig, with a wood chip or bituminous trail segment going through School District property should the School District grant an easement to the City. However, he said plans for the segment from Green Twig to Neal Avenue have not been decided upon until a citizen advisory task force makes its recommendation. Mr. Pogge said it is likely the portion from Green Twig to Neal will be at least a 4' sidewalk. Cost for the trail between Myrtle and Green Twig is estimated at $42,650, with the cost between Green Twig and Neal estimated at $85,000. He stated there is $105,000 in funds available from Brown's Creek Nature Reserve project surplus money; there currently is no money in the trail fund. Mr. McGarry questioned the Park Board paying to construct a sidewalk, noting that could lead to requests from other citizens to help pay for their sidewalks. Mr. Brandt suggested that funding a sidewalk could be justified if it serves as a trail connector, but said there ought to be a policy that deals with the issue. Mr. Pogge stated there is a policy — trail funding is limited to 8' trails. Several members questioned whether it is even feasible to construct an 8' trail in the area between Green Twin and Neal Avenue given the size of the front yards. Ms. Snellman noted the trail between Myrtle and Green Twig also serves as a trail connection to the McKusick Lake boardwalk. Mr. McGarry said the Park Board needs to be consistent and not use park money for sidewalks. Ms. Amrein, seconded by Ms. Snellman, moved that the Park Board fund the entire cost of the trail, bituminous and/or wood chip, from Myrtle Street to Green Twig Way, Motion passed unanimously. Lowell Park flagpole — Mr. Pogge briefly reviewed the offer from a local resident and stone mason, Paul Johnson, to repair/restore the flagpole in Lowell Park. He said Mr. Johnson proposes to donate all the work and is requesting only to be reimbursed for the Park & Recreation Board Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 3 of 4 cost of materials and lowering and resetting the flagpole. Mr. Pogge noted Mr. Johnson does work throughout the area. He also noted the work would not interfere with any future levee work, and there is money in the Lowell Park fund to pay for the project. Mr. Brandt, seconded by Mr. McGarry, move to accept Mr. Johnson's offer, with funding to come from the Lowell Park fund. Motion passed unanimously. 2008 bark maintenance budget — Mr. Pogge briefly reviewed the status of the 2007 maintenance budget and the proposed 2008 maintenance budget request of $75,000, which includes a new play structure for Triangle Park, fence for the ball field at Lily Lake and miscellaneous items. It was noted that plans to replace the play structure in Sunrise Park this year may have to be delayed until 2008 due to the cost of rewiring at Lily Lake. Ms. Amrein suggested that neighbors be notified before anything new is placed in Triangle Park. Mr. Pogge said that would be done, as is planned in conjunction with the RFP (request for proposals) process that will be utilized for the Sunrise Park project. Mr. McGarry, seconded by Mr. Brandt, moved to recommend that the Council approve the 2008 park maintenance budget of $75,000. Motion passed unanimously. Millbrook Park street tree planting plan — Mr. Pogge noted the Board previously approved the Millbrook park plan. Developers have now completed the street planting plan. He stated the plan will not impact the park development. Ms. Snellman moved to approve the tree planting plan as presented. Mr. Brandt noted it was nice to see the variety of species in the proposed plan. Mr. McGarry seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Exceed Hockey camp — Mr. Pogge explained that the City has received a request from Scott Meyer of Exceed Hockey Development to conduct a 10-week hockey camp at the Lily Lake ice arena. The request includes the use of the other park facilities at Lily Lake — tennis courts, basketball and baseball fields, beach — from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the camp. Mr. Pogge noted that Mr. Meyer has indicated he will be marketing the camp to Stillwater youth. The proposal would generate ice rental revenue of $54,000. However, Mr. Pogge noted that the other park facilities would be dedicated to camp use from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, and he asked whether the Board thought the proposal was worth pursuing. Mr. Pogge pointed out that on league nights, campers would have to be off the baseball fields by 1 p.m. for field preparation. He said a maintenance schedule still has to be worked out. It was noted that the park facilities are underutilized during the daytime hours, and there are other tennis courts available for league play. Ms. Snellman said she would like more information regarding numbers of participants, etc. Mr. McGarry suggested that a schedule be worked out and posted so the public is aware of times and facilities in use. Ms. Amrein stated the park needs to be open to the public at all times. Mr. McGarry said he thought the concept was a good one and thought the logistics could be worked out. It was the consensus of those in attendance to recommend that the Council pursue the concept further. St. Croix Valley Baseball Association funding — Mr. Pogge noted that the Park Board recently recommend that the Council approve $12,000 in funding for the Baseball Association. However, the Council approved $4,500 in funds, subject to the Board's approval of how the funding is spent. Included in the agenda packet was a proposal from the Association regarding expenditures totaling $3,696.50. It was noted that the funds Park & Recreation Board Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 4 of 4 likely will come out of the park dedication fund. Ms. Snellman, seconded by Mr. Brandt, moved approval of the proposed expenditures as presented. Motion passed unanimously. Informational items • Mr. Pogge stated the City had received a request from the owner of the Liberty House Cafe & Creamery to install a bike rack in Liberty Park. Cost is estimated at $1.500-$2,500. Several members commented they would support the request if the bike rack is for the park, not the business. Mr. Pogge suggested that the group visit Liberty Park during the park tour. • Ms. Amrein stated she had received a letter from the City Administrator advising that the City Council had recently adopted suggested time guidelines regarding comments made during public hearings and open forum and suggesting that the various Boards and Commissions adopt a similar policy. The policy requests that speakers during open forum limit their comments to 5 minutes and speakers during public hearings limit comments to 10 minutes; the guidelines do allow the chair to deviate from the guidelines at his/her discretion. It was noted that the Park Board doesn't host public hearings, so the guidelines would be those applicable to the open forum. Ms. Amrein moved to adopt the policy asking that comments be limited to 5 minutes during public testimony, while still allowing the Board to deviate from that time limit at its discretion. Mr. Brandt seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. • Ms. Amrein noted she would not be present at the July meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Following the regular meeting, members went on the Board's annual tour of selected parks. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary