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Home My WebLink About2012-10-22 PRC packet�' i l water ' H E R I R i H P L A C E O F M I N N E S 0 1 A CITY OF STILLWATER STILLWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION NOTICE OF MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012 AT 7:00 PM The City of Stillwater Parks and Recreation Commission will meet on Monday, October 22, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Stillwater City Hall, 216 North Fourth Street. AGENDA 1. Approval of the September 24, 2012 Minutes 2. Open Forum - The Open Forum is a portion of the meeting to address the Board on subjects which are not a part of the meeting agenda. The Board may take action or reply at the time of the statement or may give direction to staff regarding investigation of the concerns expressed. Out of respect for others in attendance, please limit your comments to 5 minutes or less. Action Items 3. Outdoor Winter Rinks Open House 4. Memorial Benches Informational Items Commission Items/Topics CITY OF STILLWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 Present: Chair Linda Amrein, Commissioners David Brandt, Scott Christensen, Rob McGarry, Sandy Snellman, Don Stiff, Solveg Peterson, and Councilmember Mike Polehna Absent: None Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Tim Moore Chair Amrein called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Approval of Minutes: Motion by Commissioner Snellman, seconded by Commissioner Brandt, to approve the August 27, 2012 minutes. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. ACTION ITEMS Municipal Swimming Pool Councilmember Polehna introduced Jim Maland who designs ice arenas, pools and rec centers across the country. Mr. Maland explained that the three types of water facilities are: traditional pools (rectangular bodies of water), family aquatic centers, and water parks (for-profit businesses). Traditional pools have a limited appeal and usually recoup less than 40% of their operating costs. Aquatic centers have activities for youth, adults and families, and can recover anywhere from 70% of their costs to making 20% profit. Mr. Maland stated that the components of an aquatic center are: shallow water with a zero edge 0-3 feet deep; medium depth 3-5 feet; deep water 5-12 feet; peripheral amenities such as “lazy rivers”; building features, and support elements. He presented photos showing various features of aquatic centers throughout the Midwest. Mr. Maland informed the Commission that the first step is to do a feasibility study, which evaluates a site, size, design and cost. He also recommended doing a community survey to help determine the scope and direction of the project. The next step would be to secure funding through fundraising and perhaps a referendum. After that comes design development, schematic design, development of construction plans, bidding and then construction. The feasibility study can take anywhere from two months to a year. Design takes five to eight months, bidding takes about one month, and construction usually begins early in the spring for opening the following year. He told the Commission to keep in mind that staff will need time to be trained to operate the facility. In terms of who is involved in the process, Mr. Maland said that usually a task force is involved in the first few steps which involve gathering input. Design and construction are more technical and therefore involve city staff. The task force determines community needs in response to the budget; staff looks at maintenance, control of operating costs, and development of an operating plan. He stated that a goal for the first steps is to determine if it’s realistic to recover capital and operating costs. Most communities don’t fully recover capital costs, but try to recover operating Park and Recreation Board Minutes September 24, 2012 Page 2 of 3 costs. Some communities subsidize operating costs to make it more affordable for the general public to use the facility. Mr. Maland presented a variety of scenarios of expense versus revenue for aquatic facilities; also a chart by the National Park and Recreation Association comparing population percentages and what capacity ( "bather load ") of pools would be supported. Bath house configuration would be determined by state code. Site acreage, amenities, topography, land configuration, green space requirements and parking all determine the size of the facility. There are many different themes to aquatic facilities. The most popular features are zero - depth, slides, drop slides, and a lazy river. Staffing an aquatic center is different than a rectangular pool. You need staff at the top and bottom of some of the elements, guards for lap pools, and staff for shallow water. He reviewed potential capital costs. Bather load, size of facility, amenities, and the quality of the facility all determine cost. He suggested aiming at 1,000 -1,100 bather load capacity for Stillwater. A ballpark cost estimate for such a facility would be $7 -12 million including design, construction, and amenities. He added that an outdoor facility makes more sense than an indoor facility for Minnesota, due to the cost of operating an indoor facility - there are air quality issues and other factors. He estimated that six to nine acres would be needed. Mr. Maland answered commissioners' questions about various facilities around the metro area. $7 -15 is the usual charge for users. Often a pass system is set up. He recommended doing a community survey to gauge support for the project. Mr. Moore pointed out that the city doesn't have a five to six acre parcel available for a facility at this time. Commissioner Amrein said perhaps the group pursing this can look outside city limits for a site. She feels a site should be determined before doing a community survey. Councilmember Polehna said the facility should be a revenue generator. It also may be difficult to find staff. Mr. Moore concurred that it is a struggle to find lifeguards, and added that staffing needs would depend on the hours of operation. Councilmember Polehna commented that neighboring communities will need to buy into the project in order to make it feasible. Commissioner Christensen mentioned several open parcels in the city, but they are all too small. Public Works Superintendent Moore expressed concern about operating costs in light of future city infrastructure needs. Commissioner Stiff said he feels the facility should break even. Mr. Moore suggested bringing a recommendation to the Council stating that after Mr. Maland presentation, seeing what size of property is needed and capital outlay to build it, the Commission doesn't feel it's worth pursuing at this point. Motion by McGarry, seconded by Amrein, to advise the Council that because a six to nine acre site and $7 -12 million capital outlay would be needed per the presentation by Jim Maland, the recommendation to the Council is not to pursue the project at this time. All in favor. Outdoor Winter Rinks Mr. Moore reviewed data on maintenance costs of the outdoor ice rinks. About 1,000 hours every winter is spent maintaining rinks, equating to about $45,000 in labor. Another $5 -6,000 for miscellaneous materials is spent, not including water. If the City paid for water, it would cost another $5- 6,000. In summary, the City spends about $55,000 a year on the rinks. The rinks being proposed for closing are the ones that appear to get the least amount of use. He has received preliminary approval from the school district to double the size of the rink at the old athletic field and is looking at bringing in a temporary shelter there. He feels that the City could have better ice if there were fewer rinks to maintain. Park and Recreation Board Minutes September 24, 2012 Page 3 of 3 Motion by Commissioner McGarry, seconded by Commissioner Snellman, to approve Public Works Superintendent Moore's schedule for the outdoor rinks and to schedule a neighborhood meeting on the issue to gather input. All in favor. Chairman Amrein asked, if individual residents wanted to, would they be allowed to maintain the rinks themselves? Commissioner McGarry responded that, due to liability, he would discourage it. Mr. Moore added that because the rinks are flooded from hydrants, a resident doing it themselves would be difficult. Fall Colors Fine Art & Jazz Festival There was discussion on when event applications are due and how to enforce deadlines. Motion by McGarry, seconded by Stiff to approve the festival permit. All in favor. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Mr. Moore stated he has not had a chance to work on the Pickle Ball request, but thinks next year it could be developed at Staples Field. COMMISSION ITEMSITOPICS Chair Amrein said the hip hop and graffiti art activity at Pioneer Park was very successful and interesting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. on a motion by Amrein, second by Stiff. Respectfully submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary (S THE BIRTHPLACE OF MIN NF S01A Memo To: Parks and Recreation Commission From: Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent �M Date: October 18, 2012 Re: Outdoor Winter Rinks At the August 17th, 2012 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting the Commission discussed the possibility of eliminating and expanding some neighborhood rinks. Review of maintenance costs, rink sizes, locations and service areas were discussed at the September 24 2012 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting (see attached memo). The Commission scheduled an open house to be held at the October Parks and Recreation meeting to receive input from the affected surrounding neighborhoods. This open house is to give the residents an opportunity to provide input to the Commission on the proposed eliminating and expansion of some neighborhood rinks. The format for the meeting will consist of a short presentation followed by a question and answer period. RECOMMENDATION After comments and questions from the public have been received, the Parks and Recreation Commission should discuss the proposed outdoor rink plan and make recommendation to staff for the upcoming 2012 -13 winter season. �l 1w THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA Memo To: Parks and Recreation Commission From: Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent Date: September 20, 2012 Re: Outdoor Winter Rinks BACKGROUND At the August 17th, 2012 Parks and Recreation Commission meeting the Commission discussed the possibility of eliminating and expanding some neighborhood rinks. The commission felt it needed more information concerning maintenance of the rinks. DISCUSSION Below is a table listing rink location and sizes. Rink Location Rink Size Proposed Change Brown's Creek Park 0 TBD Benson 100' x 80' Remove Downtown 90' x 80' Remain the same Legends 80'x 50' Remain the same Meadowlark 100'x 50' Remove Northland 190'x 75' Hockey 70' x 40' Pleasure Remain the same Oak Park School 90' x 40' Remove Old Athletic Field 75' x 70' Increase to 180' x 75' Staples 100' x 60' Remain the same Triangle 90' x 40' Remove Over the past four winters city staff has spent approximately 1,000 hours from December 15 to March 1 on flooding and maintaining rinks. This equates to roughly 30 days of rink maintenance out of a possible 50, leaving 20 days for other winter maintenance items such as snow removal. We have limited data on usage because most people use the rinks in the evenings and weekends when staff is not on duty to count. Although based on past observations of skate marks each morning usage is on decline for Benson, Oak Park School, Meadowlark and Triangle. RECOMMENDATION The Parks and Recreation Commission should further discuss expanding certain rinks to eliminate smaller neighborhood rinks and schedule a neighborhood information meeting to gain input from residents. �_IIIII�— �GGG-■ 1■ M r IN�� /111 �. ■N 1. � iG • a EEE■ — �i q 'IFV 7 ivL R• 1 GI fy %e1�� - e441•i.•'F: 11 uc �- w •,• 6� . 9 94. IR1! �.l6. �S m fg .� G ` V i _ .- � �161k 14_9. • I �� °�� ■.. ill /JF d� R ■ r r I y► � eJV.��w1��kIY 9��ld�+,l.. �I�•�,�IIGI�►.rr,�,�j� / — `' `�® �Ils �i '1.�' - _�ml i! !r = ��•� � Togo f �1 ®11�.- .E911i1. �l�tii 1 W ¢i A Ix.x��yy� � ii' +it • i Ya,y_�elsq!_ �, , �� • ••. ' � .. . III9il!9i.�llli s - �N $�$ =IYI- �- '-,I ►� y �� l ••• "• • - EE.- .•11168. �� ► �® 11 ,�� - I � �INI 1 €- = � =g6i14 ®!✓! IIC�'.IR I� : 1 � ■III IeE G =.. Ih �I 11.._ • • • � � �.:�::! � ■11111 xIl 11.1 .111 11 ■ II I 11111 1,� _ _ pll I 111 N.1111: �. s u _III". nnnel l E - l l 1 ,Tp�_= 1 III�� fi'1� .f ■ � � - ill - v - i• -� nx 111111 E �:E �■ �. � . a �. � W..N IIE�.III • i` EII J ju + I.. S � � 1 • ® �1 - III. � �i'f�,�� .0 .11■1 .II II IINI !Ii. � •'1 1 _ III N • ••• -• • - • .• • - -_ s 'E Old Athletic Field III EY 1 I■ IIIL111, EEEEI� - iI` f - j _ , =_ =_= __111111111 ■,t ■�� • �■ `` ' �.E�`�� G "� ►r` \_ \��EE► ' �I E =�EJ�� i L'! �`�� . I ` MIM ater a sm� k��- l THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA lTr.jiit�� To: Parks and Recreation Commission From: Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent Date: October 18, 2012 Re: Memorial Benches BACKGROUND Residents, visitors, families and friends can pay tribute to a person(s) or occasion by purchasing a memorial park bench through the Friends of Stillwater Parks. Memorial benches are installed in a public park or a selected city right of way. The approved location of a bench installation depends on proposed future development within a park, the location of underground utilities, and other site restrictions. Some parks are at capacity or under improvement and requests to install a bench in certain locations has been denied. Pioneer Park as well as Lowell Park are two parks that receive many requests each year. However to date, we have denied additional memorial benches be installed. DISCUSSION City staff worked with the Friends of Stillwater Parks to organize the existing memorial benches. As part of the process, an inventory of all our city benches was established. We first tracked which order belonged to which bench then determined its location and finally took a picture of each one in case something should happen to the bench. Attached is a summary of all the benches and their locations. The next step in the process is to determine where future benches can be placed. With improvements to Lowell Park in the next one to two years, future locations could be available. Attached is a map showing current bench and plaque locations. RECOMMENDATION The Parks and Recreation Commission should discuss the number of benches to be placed in the City and at what locations to help set guidelines for future bench placement. Stillwater Bench Inventory Location Memorial Benches Anez Ridge Park 1 Black iron Benson Park 1 Black iron Bergmann Park 4 JBIack iron Brown's Creek Nature Preserve Black iron Brown's Creek Park Chestnut/3rd St Stairs (bottom) 13 Creekside Park Croixwood Open Space 4 Downtown - Chestnut/Water St 1 Black iron Heritage Park 2 Kolliner Park in WI 3 Green coated Legends Gazebo Legends Park Lens Garden Greeley/Myrtle 1 Black iron Liberty Square Library Green plastic coated Lily Lake Park 1 Black iron Long Lake Nature Area 2 Long Lake Open Space 11 Black iron Lowell Park 7 5 -Black iron 1 -Alum 1 -Wood Main St Stairs (top) 1 Black iron McKusick Lake Trail 3 Black iron McKusick Park 2 Red painted metal Meadowlark Park Silver 8 Millbrook Open Space Millbrook Park 2 Nightingale Park 7 Brown plastic coated Northland Park Gray painted metal Pedestrian Plaza 6 Gray painted metal Pine St Vets /City Parking Lot 3 Black iron Pioneer Park 15 Black iron Post Office Park Prairie Park Public Works Park Ramsey -Grove Park Schulenberg Park Settlers Park Skateboard Park St Croix Valley Rec Center Staples Field Sunrise Park Teddy Bear Park Triangle Park 2 Black iron Washington Square Undecided - location TBD I 1 JBIack iron Other Benches 5 Brown coated 11 Plastic coated 6 Black iron 4 JBIack iron 1 Black iron 13 Wood slats 4 Black iron 2 3 Green coated 1 Green plastic coated 2 lGreen plastic coated 11 Black iron 3 Black iron 2 Red painted metal 2 Silver 8 4- Stone, 4 -wood slats 2 1 -Gray, 1 -Green 7 Brown plastic coated 6 Gray painted metal 6 Gray painted metal TOTAL 37 99 Lowell Park Improvements ring / Summer 2012 Irrigation System Relocate Power Poles Paint Gazebo Re -grade North End Lowell Park Install Curb on Mulberry Point Main Street Pedestrian Walkway & Plaza Fall 2012 / Spring 2013 7 Lowell Park Bathroom Renovations 8 Completion of Underground Storm Sewer (USACE) Spring / Summer 2013 9 Parking Lot Reconstruction Lots A,B,C,D,E 10 Trail Construction 11 Amphitheater Construction St. Croix River Crossing Project 2013 -2017 Trail Lift bridge Conversion to Pedestrian Bridge jl�. Amami