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Parks,Trails&Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes May 21,2013 <br /> Page 3 <br /> Olson indicated they will have removable boards at both ends of the rink, but the north <br /> end by the sign is where Public Works would do the flooding. Discussion ensued on <br /> whether or not to keep the fencing that is currently in place. Ms. Larson indicated if they <br /> did not have a dog park they would not need the parking lot this big. Ms. Olson <br /> disagreed because during the winter there are always issues with the parking lot and it is <br /> very busy. Committee Member Peck felt the committee should look at having the <br /> parking lot run north/south which would make the lot longer and it would be right next to <br /> the hockey rink. Ms. Olson indicated she would have the City engineer look at Mr. <br /> Peck's idea of making the parking lot longer and running north and south. Ms. Olson <br /> stated that if the committee wanted to go forward with the enhancements, it should be put <br /> into the CIP and then would need to go to Council for approval before it goes to <br /> construction. <br /> MOTION: Committee Member Peck motioned to place the enhancements in the CIP <br /> seconded by Committee Member Garretson. The motion carried <br /> unanimously (9-0). <br /> C. Off-Leash Dog Proposal <br /> Ms. Olson handed out a draft proposal that the subcommittee put together which she <br /> hopes can be brought to Council sometime in September. She stated the subcommittee <br /> feels parks containing hockey rinks should be looked at first and are looking at Freeway <br /> Park and Hazelnut Park. Other sites that have been discussed for future off-leash dog <br /> sites are Parkshore Drive and City Hall. Staff contacted the League of Minnesota Cities <br /> regarding liability and there does not seem to be liability issues. The subcommittee also <br /> discussed rules, what information should be posted on the signs and the season and hours <br /> of operation. She would like the committee to review and comment on the proposal and <br /> be prepared to discuss at a future meeting. Committee Member Peck indicated he called <br /> some of the surrounding cities in order to get input, mainly focusing on the hockey rink <br /> dog parks. Since the hockey rink off-leash dog parks are smaller, it is difficult to have a <br /> separate area for big dogs and small dogs. Another thing that was discussed was <br /> providing bags; however, cities found they were spending a lot of money providing the <br /> bags and the majority of the cities have gone away from them because if they run out of <br /> the bags, it causes issues. Ms. Olson pointed out the Shoreview model which has a bench <br /> in the hockey rink and a chain link fence to close it up. Shoreview also provides bags <br /> and has a disposal place that gets picked up a couple times a week. They have a sign <br /> with the rules and their season is from May to November. Ms. Olson indicated that <br /> Arden Hills' signs could say that dogs need to be vaccinated and licensed. Staff found <br /> that the cities were very positive about the off-leash dog parks that that they are heavily <br /> used. Also what they found is there is very little cost in maintaining the hockey rink <br /> parks. <br /> Committee Member Trites felt they should either keep the fence for liability/safety issues <br /> since it is a heavily used traffic spot or they should have double doors on the rink. Ms. <br /> Olson indicated she can bring this to the subcommittee but that other cities who tried the <br />