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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-18-07 PTRC Minutes Approved CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS, AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2007; 6:30 P.M. ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Henry called the December 18, 2007 meeting of the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Committee Chair Bill Henry; Committee Members, Lanny Baumann, Steve Zilmer, Joani Werner, and Rich Straumann, Roger Williams. OTHERS PRESENT: David McClung, Council Liaison; Michelle Olson, Parks and Recreation Manager. MEMBERS NOT PRESENT : Committee Members Jim Crassweller and John Peck. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION: Committee Chair Henry motioned to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – November 20, 2007 Chair Henry had several suggested changes for the November 20, 2007 minutes. He suggested they be brought back for approval in January. 4. CITY COUNCIL UPDATE – David McClung Council Member McClung gave an update on the following:  The first meeting in December Council approved the 2008 budget.  The final levy for taxes for 2008 is a 4.6% increase from last year, so that actually comes out to a tax rate decrease payable to the City. One thing they have for the first time is a small contingency fund.  The developer for Arden Plaza had withdrawn their proposal before it was submitted to the Council. That night Council approved a moratorium for the B2 zone and have allocated money in the 2008 budget and are to bring in some planning assistance to assist in putting together a small area plan for County Road E (the B2 zone), from McDonald’s all the way down to Lexington. Discussion took place regarding the 5-6 trees on the Arden Plaza property that were cut down. Council Member McClung indicated they claimed the developer wanted to relandscape the property and are going to bring forth a proposal in 2008 which they will share with the City. He indicated the City will try to fast track the Tree Preservation Ordinance so there are no problems in the future.  In the meeting in December Council voted unanimously for Eureka Recycling for a 3-year recycling contract.  City Administrator Wolfe is moving to Colorado and Council has retained Harry Beal from PDI to go out and do recruitment for that position. There are two candidates for an interim City Administrator and depending on whom they select Council will appoint that person Interim Administrator as of January 2, 2008.  Council Member McClung indicated there were three meetings Council had that he wanted to bring to their attention. The Senate Bonding Committee came to City Hall regarding Hwy 10 and 96, there was a meeting regarding the old City Hall site and the future of that site, and also a meeting with the Glen Arden neighborhood regarding the pavement management plan which is scheduled for 2008. 2 PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING Page December 18, 2007 There was discussion regarding the bonding bill. Council Member McClung stated if the city is unable to get any federal money now until 2010 they might be out of cycle with the bonding bill this time and would then have to wait for the next which would be 2 years from now. He stated the request for the bonding bill is tied to Hwy 10 and 96 and also County Road H. He stated hopefully they could tap into some federal money that would allow the city to move forward. The city has authorized the developer to move forward with expending money to go into the beginning stages of planning for the H interchange. They are spending their own money with the understanding that that is potentially reimbursable down the road, if the City is able to find a way to reimburse it. He stated there are also Ramsey County turnback funds of roughly $7 million from when 96 was turned back to the county from the state. There was also discussion on the committee terms and maintaining the tradition of rotating Council members on the standing committees. Council Member McClung mentioned there are always openings on the Communications Committee, so if anyone wants to help with the Newsletter they could use the assistance. David Sand will be stepping down from the Planning Commission. There will now be an opening on the Planning Commission. Mr. Sand has indicated he may stay on as the alternate. 5. TRAILS, PARKS AND RECREATION UPDATE – Michelle Olson Ms. Olson gave an update on the following:  Ice skating rinks opened on December 17.  Because mobile-mini overbooked their rentals Ms. Olson had to find a substitute for the Valentine rink.  Hazelnut and Sheehy will be added to the Cummings Park tennis court bid process which will be going out in January. It is hoped the work will be done early spring.  Ms. Olson is starting to work on the Spring/Summer Program Guide  Effective January 1 Community Ed will be charging fees for all facility and field use. Ms. Olson indicated the City decided against charging fees when this was looked at two years ago. She indicated, however, that it is something she would like to bring forward for discussion. Ms. Olson stated she will bring this issue to a future work session and analyze the impact of charging back for the maintenance. Chair Henry would like a recommendation from Ms. Olson on what the City should be doing. He feels there should be a trade off. He would like Ms. Olson to come back with a funding proposal and would like her to include a fee schedule that compares with what other cities are doing. 6. PARK NAMING DISCUSSION – Michelle Olson Ms. Olson stated that since they are making Sheehy a park the committee needs to come up with a name for the park. She indicated in their packet she has included the naming guidelines that the group came up with. She indicated that the PTRC would need to discuss and recommend a name for the park to present to the Council. Chair Henry suggested that staff contact the neighborhood association seeking any input they may have regarding the name. Ms. Olson indicated she will send a letter to the association asking them for input on a name for the park. She also indicated the court will be resurfaced and at that time the low points will be fixed. Discussion ensued over the lights in the park. Ms. Olson indicated they would be taken out since they are not operable. She stated that there will be a sign once the park is named. 7. ELMER L. ANDERSEN TRAIL SIGNAGE DISCUSSION – Michelle Olson The Ramsey County Commissioners did approve a resolution officially naming the Elmer L. Andersen Memorial trail. Ms. Olson received an e-mail from Greg Mack stating they are interested in talking about where and what type of signs to put in. Ms. Olson feels it is important to be consistent on the design for this sign. 3 PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING Page December 18, 2007 Chair Henry indicated he thought the conclusion was that they were going to let the county take the lead on the sign and have some way of calling it the Elmer Andersen Memorial Trail – Arden Hills or Ramsey County. Ms. Olson indicated she would contact Greg Mack from the county to discuss. 8. ARDEN HILLS WALKABLE COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN – Michelle Olson Ms. Olson asked for suggestions on the Walkable Community Action Plan. Chair Henry had a couple corrections to the walking audit recommendations and Ms. Olson will make those changes. 9. WORK PLAN FOR 2008 – Michelle Olson Ms. Olson will be reviewing the updated listing of strategies that were discussed at the last meeting. She feels the committee needs to work a little bit more on making sure that the strategies and priorities are what they want and to make sure they are where they need to be. She felt there should be discussion about how to move forward with funding in 2008. Ms. Olson indicated they are doing a phone survey which has questions asking residents if they would be in favor of helping fund improvements. Chair Henry asked where they are at with the phone survey. Ms. Olson stated she believes they are near completion and ready to go but would check on this. Ms. Olson stated one thing that is in the CIP that the Council did approve going forward with is the CP rail study which would also include engineering. She mentioned this will not only study the underpass bridge, but also which side is best for the trail. This will be done in 2008. The trail study goes from 51 to 96. Chair Henry asked what role CP Rail plays in the study. Ms. Olson indicated CP Rail plays a similar role as they did with Tony Schmidt. CP Rail stated they did not think the bridge needs improvement but they are open to discussing working with the City on getting a trail on one side and they would then want to use their own contractor. They would like to see the City’s proposal and they would then show it to their engineer and would come up with a complete plan. Council Member McClung stated that he felt that if they start early, the engineering aspect can be handled and done so they can get to the utilization portion. He prefers they start this early. The earlier it gets done the more ammunition he has for this to possibly get completed. Chair Henry indicated Ramsey County worked with some graduate students to look at a canoe route on Rice Creek. He stated the study is done and he would like Michelle to get that and bring it to the next meeting in some form for discussion. He stated at some point they will need to talk about whether or not they should have a canoe landing where Rice Creek goes through TCAAP. 10. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, 2008. 11. ADJOURN MOTION: Committee Member Werner moved to adjourn and Committee Member Zilmer seconded. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. \\Metro-inet.us\ardenhills\Admin\Committees\Parks Trails and Recreation Committee\Minutes\2007\12-18-2007.doc