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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-01-25 PRC MIN City of Stillwater Parks and Recreation Commission Jan. 25, 2010 Present: Linda Amrein, chair David Brandt, Scott Christensen, Rob McGarry, Solveg Peterson and Sandy Snellman Staff present: Asst. Public Works Superintendent Tim Moore Absent: Mike Polehna Ms. Amrein called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. th Approval of minutes: Ms. Amrein suggested a change to the 5 line on page 2, “There was discussion of the $500 event fee, with Mr. Moore and Mr. Polehna pointing out…” She suggested adding the dates for the Pond Hockey tournament and Ice Cream Social to the minutes. The Ice Cream Social was Jan. 23, with the Pond Hockey tournament on Feb. 13. Mr. Brandt moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Ms. Snellman seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Turf management plan – Mr. Moore reviewed a turf management plan with Commission members. He said the plan breaks down parks into two different types of turfs – athletic turf and landscape turf. The plan further distinguishes the two types of turfs into three different maintenance levels based on coverage of desirable grasses, bare spots, and the presence of an irrigation system. Based on those rankings, the decision can be made on which parks get the most attention. On the athletic side, he stated Lily Lake and the Public Works fields are both irrigated fields and are heavily used. On the landscape side, Washington Park, Lowell Park and Pioneer Park have the availability of irrigation and are heavily used. He said a little more effort would be expended on those parks to maintain those turfs. He said the plan outlines weekly tasks such as mowing, fertilizing, overseeding, etc. He said the City’s plan is based on a plan developed at the University of Wisconsin. He noted the plan even allows a certain park to be divided into maintenance levels. He stated the City of Woodbury is currently using the plan and is finding it is helping with scheduling and budget. He noted included with the plan distributed to members is a rating of the City’s parks, with the different steps planned to maintain the specific parks. He noted this is a first draft of the plan and invited Commissioner input. Mr. Moore said he thought having such a plan in place will free up staff to work on more park-related projects. He said the goal is to have all the parks at an A or B level of maintenance, with grass trail, outlets and other areas being a C level. On a question by Mr. Brandt, Mr. Moore said usage does play into the plan. Mr. Moore said he had met with a staff member from the University of Minnesota Extension Service who was extremely helpful and said he would continue to seek advice from that resource. On a question by Mr. McGarry, Mr. Moore said previously there was a mowing schedule but things were pretty much done as they had always been there – there were no plans and policies in place before. Mr. Moore said he is also working on a winter maintenance plan which he hopes to bring to the Commission in February, noting that parks personnel have other responsibilities, such as clearing the new parking ramp. Ms. Amrein asked about the usage of Anez Park; Mr. Moore responded that it is not a highly used park. Mr. Christensen said that is similar to many neighborhood parks. Mr. Moore welcomed Commission members’ comments, concerns and ideas regarding the plan. Mr. Moore said in addition to the turf management plan, staff is doing an audit of all playgrounds using national standards; he suggested the City is facing a large expense in the near future if it Park and Recreation Board Minutes January 25, 2010 Page 2 of 2 wants to replace all the existing equipment. He said a tree inventory of all parks has been completed, and he briefly explained how tree maintenance duties are being handled – some in- house and some by contract. Mr. Christensen asked about the open space area behind his house on Northland, whether that was included in the plan/inventory. Mr. Moore stated any area, such as this, which is heavily wooded and not accessible to the public has not been included. On a question by Mr. Christensen, Mr. Moore said there is quite a bit of such land in the City, a lot of which is not totally City-owned; he pointed to the ravines as an example, as well as other heavily wooded areas such as outlots and the eastern side of Long Lake where there is a lot of City property. Mr. Amrein moved to endorse the turf management plan as presented. Ms. Peterson seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. Family Relay marathon (May 1, 2010) – Mr. Moore stated this is the first year of the Family Relay, which will take place at the Brown’s Creek wildlife area, and a large number of participants is not anticipated. He stated a local police officer is involved with the event and will be assisting with traffic control and other crowd issues. Ms. Amrein asked whether participants would be charged and wondered whether the City ought to be charging a fee to recoup any City costs. Mr. Moore said he would like to bring up the issue of fees at a future meeting, pointing out there are City costs for almost every event in City parks. Mr. McGarry said he serves on the task force looking at the issue of special events and fees; he said he has encouraged the task force to leave parks out of the discussion as fees are in place. Mr. McGarry said the task force is looking at setting up some criteria and policies for special events such as the bike race and road races that utilize public facilities, such as streets; he spoke of the downtown beautification fee and fees for the City costs to be determined by City staff upon application. He said if the Commission wants to revisit the issue of fees for park use, it can do so on its own. Paws for the Park event (February 27, 2010) – Mr. Moore stated this is the first fundraiser for the group looking to establish a dog park. There was some discussion of a dog park potential site and whether the Commission should revisit the issue of a site before the group reaches its fund-raising goal. Mr. Moore pointed out that a dog park is not included in the City’s updated Comprehensive Plan, and the Council has already gone on record as not being in favor of such a facility. There was discussion of the issue of dogs on the cross country ski trails at Brown’s Creek. Tentative agenda for 2010 – Mr. Moore said the proposed agenda is not set in stone. Members said they thought it was good to have a plan to follow. Other items - Ms. Amrein asked if the City had obtained the Meisterling’s parcel that abuts Long Lake; Mr. Moore stated there was no land dedication involved, the City received fee is lieu of dedication. Ms. Amrein asked if anyone else would like to serve as chair for the coming year. It was consensus to have Ms. Amrein continue to serve as chair and Mr. McGarry as vice chair. There was a brief update on the outdoor ice area at the Rec Center, as well as other City rinks. Ms. Amrein noted the next meeting will be Feb. 22. The meeting was adjourned at 8 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary