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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-12-18 PRC minutesCITY OF STILLWATER PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING December 18, 2017 Present: Chairwoman Linda Amrein, Commissioners Scott Christensen, David Brandt, Bill McGlynn, Sam Nelson and Sandy Snellman Absent: Commissioner Rob McGarry and Council Representative Mike Polehna Staff present: Public Works Superintendent Tim Moore, City Planner Abbi Wittman, Public Works Director Shawn Sanders APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of October 23, 2017 meeting minutes Motion by Commissioner Snellman, seconded by Commissioner Christensen, to approve the October 23, 2017 meeting minutes. All in favor, 6-0. OPEN FORUM Ryan Chamberlain, 3344 Barons Way, and Matt Doman, 1017 Delano Way, brought up concerns about condition of the City -maintained ice rink at Legends Park. They would like permission for the neighbors to maintain the rink after the City does the initial flooding. Public Works Superintendent Moore said the City would love to have volunteer help. He is waiting to hear back from the Water Board about being able to use the hydrant. Chip Myers, 145 Liberty Parkway, stated he has a similar request. He asked that the City create a new rink in his neighborhood. He has endorsement from the president of the Homeowners' Association and feels it would be well used. He would be willing to hire a contractor to create the rink if that is the only and best option. Public Works Director Sanders expressed concern that if the grass or sod needs to be replaced, it would be an additional cost to the City. Mr. Moore provided a map of ice rinks and stated that the smaller rinks don't get a lot of use. If the City developed a couple of larger rinks they may get more use. He will discuss the issue further with the neighbors in both locations. ACTION ITEMS Lappi Park and Trail Dedication Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 18, 2017 City Planner Wittman explained that the Lappis purchased a 50 x 125 foot parcel from MnDOT which they combined with their own parcel for the purpose of creating an additional lot. The City Council approved the resubdivision and consolidation request. The Comprehensive Plan shows no planned parks or trails on or through the property. Therefore staff recommends a park and trail dedication fee in lieu of land, which would be $2,500 per new lot created. Larry Lappi offered to answer any questions. Motion by Commissioner Snellman, seconded by Commissioner Brandt, to accept a cash dedication of $2,500 for the park and trail obligations for the creation of the new lot at 900 Broadway Street North. All in favor, 6-0. Nottingham Village Park and Trail Dedication City Planner Wittman reviewed the request. Greg Johnson, Hearth Development, LLC, plans to develop 5.30 acres of property located at 12220 McKusick Road. Fifteen single family lots are planned. The site is located among large unsewered lots that were developed while the neighborhood was located in Stillwater Township. The neighborhood lies just east of Manning Avenue (County Road 15) between McKusick Road (County Road 64) and Brown's Creek. Staff recommends a $35,000 fee in lieu of park land or trail development, to be submitted to the City prior to release of the final plat for filing with the County. Commissioner Christensen expressed concern about how to get pedestrians safely across McKusick Road to Brown's Creek Park. Ms. Wittman responded that Brown's Creek Trail intersects the corner of Neal Avenue and McKusick Road, so that would likely be the designated crossing. Public Works Director Sanders added that McKusick Road and Manning Avenue are County roads. The County will likely not want a crosswalk at that location. State law says that every intersection is a crosswalk whether it's marked or unmarked. People view crosswalks as being safer - that is just a perception. The other challenge is that this location has a 50 mph speed limit which lessens the chance of getting a crosswalk. Motion by Commissioner McGlynn, seconded by Commissioner Snellman, to recommend that the City accept a $35,000 fee in lieu of park land or trail development for Nottingham Village, 12220 McKusick Road. All in favor, 6-0. West Ridoe Park and Trail Dedication City Planner Wittman explained the request. Kevin von Riedel, Westridge Development, LLC has submitted an application for preliminary plat approval of a 14 -lot single family development to be known as West Ridge, and a rezoning of the Page 2 of 6 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 18, 2017 4.97 acre property. The site is located at 12991 Boutwell Road. The Trail and Park Plan envisions three trails/sidewalks through the neighborhood: Maryknoll Drive, Northland Avenue, and Creekside Trail. Creekside Trail is no longer possible to construct, since Brown's Creek Watershed District will not allow a trail along Sinnit's Pond. Therefore, it would make sense to develop only one additional trail (or sidewalk) through the neighborhood. Staff finds that the proposed sidewalk is as consistent as possible with the Trail and Park Plan, given that the Brown's Creek Watershed District will not allow the development of a creekside trail. Since sidewalk construction is a requirement of the Subdivision Ordinance, credit would not be given toward the trail dedication fee. Therefore, a $500 trail fee should be required for each lot. The Parks and Trails Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan does not envision any public parks on or near the proposed subdivision. Therefore, the $2,000 park fee per lot would be appropriate in lieu of setting aside public park land. Staff recommends requiring $32,500 in park and trail dedication fees, to be due prior to release of the plat for filing with Washington County. Commissioner Christensen asked why the plan doesn't show a trail connecting Neal Avenue all the way to Northland. City Planner Wittman replied that planning and engineering staff have discussed that, but the City has not master -planned the whole neighborhood, so there are no guiding documents for such a trail. Motion by Commissioner Brandt, seconded by Commissioner Christensen, to recommend that the City accept a $32,500 fee in lieu of park land or trail development for West Ridge, 12991 Boutwell Road. All in favor, 6-0. Music in the Park Woody McBride, Genius of Fun Event Production, informed the Commission that the City Council supported his concept for Music on the River, but the contract has not yet been signed. The Main Street Stillwater Independent Business Alliance (IBA) sent a letter of protest to the City stating they don't want the concerts to happen at all, which started a shockwave of resistance. The main objections are: parking and not wanting any food, beverage or other vendors to compete with local merchants. Mr. McBride said he intended to have some tents there for sponsors and civic groups such as Girl Scouts, but he was not going to have any vendors to compete with the shops. He reached out to the IBA asking for a compromise. The IBA alluded to possibly reducing the number of events the first year. He asked the Commission's thoughts on using Pioneer Park to do a smaller number of events, or a combination of both venues. He hopes that retooling the concept and downsizing it might allow him to introduce the concerts for 2018 and grow the event through 2019 and 2020. Commissioner Brandt asked if Mr. McBride has considered shuttling. Mr. McBride replied that shuttling is a good idea, but when a series like this is in its infancy, it's Page 3 of 6 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 18, 2017 tough to promote and coordinate shuttling especially with a limited budget the first year. However he could consider it. Commissioner Christensen questioned whether parking in downtown is really in shortage. Mr. McBride stated that the Downtown Parking Commission denied his requested parking spots. He missed a big grant deadline because he doesn't yet have a contract with the City. Rolling the series out more modestly is the only realistic option at this point. He asked about the process to proceed with a smaller series. Chairwoman Amrein commented that if the series were cut down to 3-4 times, it might not be an issue for the homeowners near Pioneer Park. Commissioner Christensen pointed out there are a lot of wedding reservations for Pioneer Park. Motion by Commissioner Christensen, seconded by Commissioner Brandt, to adopt a resolution to continue the support of Music on the River. No vote was taken but there was consensus. Mr. McBride clarified that the Commission appears not to be interested in him using Pioneer Park but continues to support the concept of all 12 weeks or a reduced number. He said he will go back to the IBA and then report back to the Commission. 2040 Comprehensive Plan: Existing Goal and Objective Review City Planner Wittman stated that as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update, staff is requesting the Parks and Recreation Commission review the Goals, Objectives, Policies and Programs section for relevancy. The 2015 Master Trail Plan will be integrated into the 2040 Plan, therefore, the Commission does not need to review sections relating to the community pathway and trail system. Ms. Wittman led discussion of the overarching goals for the Parks and Trails chapter of the Plan, and invited Commissioners to provide her with any further thoughts. Downtown Bike Share Proposal City Planner Wittman stated that staff thought a representative of KoloniShare would be attending to make a presentation. Staff will contact the company to arrange for a representative to attend a future meeting. Commissioner Brandt pointed out that Hastings has a bike share program. He suggested staff check to see how their program is going. Page 4 of 6 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 18, 2017 INFORMATION ITEMS Park and Trail Dedication Public Works Superintendent Moore provided information on Park and Trail Dedication Funds and balances over the last ten years. City Planner Wittman added that her understanding is that the Park and Trail Dedication Funds may be used to purchase land or replace equipment but not for maintenance. However, staff will clarify with the City Attorney. Public Works Superintendent Moore stated that at one time the Commission had a list of about 50 improvement projects in priority order; he will bring it back to the Commission for review. Ms. Wittman added that between now and mid -2018 is the best time to review that list, with the Comprehensive Plan update going on. Commissioner Christensen asked about the role of the Comprehensive Plan in use of the Park and Trail Dedication Funds. For example, in 2012, he advocated for the City to purchase the Jackson Wildlife Management area, but supposedly there was not enough money in the Fund. He sees now that the City did have the money. He asked if the City could have bought the property if it was part of the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Wittman replied that the Comprehensive Plan is the guiding document for the City, against which land use decisions must be weighed. For instance, the Plan should define general areas where the Commission may be looking to purchase land, such as for trail connections. The Plan would not identify specific parcels, but property considered for purchase should be in the target area. When the County and the State do road improvements, they consult the City's Comprehensive Plan. If a sidewalk or trail is not in the Plan, they won't include it as part of their project. Commissioner Christensen cited another example, the senior living development on Brick Street. He suggested using Park and Trail Funds to build a bike trail along Brick Street, but a trail in that location wasn't in the Comprehensive Plan. He added that Councilmember Polehna did a fantastic job presenting the Commission's position to the City Council, which ended up with an easement along Brick in case a trail is planned in the future. But Commissioner Christensen had wanted the trail to be formalized in the development agreement. Ms. Wittman commented it's a lot harder to require a developer to construct an improvement when it's not in the Comprehensive Plan. Even though it makes the most sense to do it at the time of development, the City didn't have legal grounds to require a trail. Mr. Moore agreed to bring back more information on annual budgets and the previously developed list of improvement priorities for discussion at a future meeting. Page 5 of 6 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting December 18, 2017 COMMISSION ITEMSITOPICS Highway 95 Trail Commissioner Christensen asked about the status of the trail along Highway 95. Public Works Director Sanders replied bids will be opened next month and the Minnesota Department of Transportation should finish trail work by the end of August. The trail by the Freight House is expected to be done by the end of May. Rec Center Outdoor Rink Public Works Superintendent Moore informed the Commission that the Stillwater Area Hockey Association (SAHA) has had a contract with the City since 2010 to maintain the outdoor ice rink, but they have been having trouble getting volunteers. Commissioner McGlynn, who said he is very involved in SAHA, confirmed it has been very difficult to get more Mite parents to help flood the rink. He was asked to check with the City to see what could be done. The Mite coordinator suggested closing that rink if more help is not forthcoming. Mr. Moore suggested that later in the winter, the Commission should discuss whether the City wants to retain several smaller rinks or try to develop rinks large enough that they will get more use. He thinks that SAHA will be able to get enough volunteers together to finish this season at the Rec Center Outdoor Rink, but the Commission should address the issue going forward into the future. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Snellman, seconded by Chairwoman Amrein, to adjourn. All in favor, 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Kink Recording Secretary Page 6 of 6