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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-22-14 PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2014 ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Co-Chair Van Valkenburg called the October 21, 2014, meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:31 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Co-Chair John Van Valkenburg and Committee Members Harold Petersen, Jennifer Stephens, Chuck Michaelson, Matt Trites, Nancy O’Malley, Phil Kramlinger, Steve Scott. OTHERS PRESENT: Staff Liaison Sara Grant, Council Liaison Dave McClung (arrived at 6:35 p.m.), and Tina Kulzer (Communications Committee). ABSENT: Committee Members Cindy Garretson, Don Messerly, and Rich Straumann. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Co-Chair Van Valkenburg motioned to approve the agenda seconded by Committee Member Petersen. The motion carried unanimously (8-0). 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – June 17, 2014 and September 16, 2014 MOTION: Committee Member Petersen motioned to approve the June 17, 2014 minutes as submitted seconded by Committee Member Michaelson. The motion carried unanimously (8-0). Committee Member O’Malley asked that the words but questioned the cost be eliminated at the end of the 3rd sentence in the last paragraph on page 1. Committee Member Petersen asked that the last sentence of paragraph 5 on page 4 be amended to read Staff will check to see what it would take to establish new grass. MOTION: Committee Member Scott motioned to approve the September 16, 2014 minutes as amended seconded by Committee Member O’Malley. The motion carried unanimously (8-0). 3. NEW BUSINESS A. Communications Committee – Tina Kulzer Tina Kulzer provided a brief background stating she joined the Communications Committee in April and had suggested doing a series of park articles for the newsletter. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 2 She commented that her first article was an overview of the parks, the second article was on Hazelnut Park, and now she is finishing up an article on Cummings Park. Ms. Kulzer indicated the purpose of her visit is to see what kind of information the PTRC members might have on the parks and to find out what they, as a committee, would like the articles to communicate to residents and if they have any ideas about certain projects coming up in terms of renovations. She indicated that she has been looking for some historical information on each park and is getting information from the residents of Arden Hills and other information from City records. Committee Member O’Malley suggested Mr. Kulzer ask the elderly residents for history on the parks as they might have more information. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg asked Ms. Kulzer to forward her contact information to Ms. Grant so she can then disperse to them. Ms. Kulzer commented that she would give Ms. Grant her contact information and send anything pertinent to her. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg asked Ms. Kulzer to let the PTRC know which park she is writing on, one or two months in advance, so they can get information to her. Council Liaison McClung questioned whether the committee had discussed establishing a liaison. Ms. Stephens indicated she would be willing to act as liaison and suggested Ms. Grant email the park evaluation summary to Ms. Kulzer as it lists the improvements that are scheduled for each park. Mr. McClung recommended that Ms. Kulzer not write about the parks by quadrant but rather on a pre-season basis to get people interested in the parks. He also stated that there are also non-park specific items that they would like to make residents aware of via the newsletter. Ms. Kulzer indicated any items would need to be reviewed by the Communications Committee before being included in the newsletter and any items could be sent to her and she could present them to the Communications Committee. B. Review of PTRC March 2014 Goals Co-Chair Kramlinger recapped that the PTRC did their goals last spring and that the attention was mainly focused on TCAAP. He suggested they revisit the goals to see if anyone has any sub items related to the goals that they are interested in including. He also recapped that the committee discussed the Park Tour Evaluation results at the last meeting and that there would be further discussion tonight. Mr. Kramlinger suggested the PTRC take the results from the Community Survey Analysis that was done in 2013. He stated from the comments in the survey his main interests are safety and access to trails and he would like to rekindle that goal. Council Liaison McClung suggested the committee take an in depth look at the results of the survey and draw out some conclusions and action items that they can bring to Council. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg suggested they have a subcommittee that does the in depth analysis and then come back to the committee for discussion. Committee Member O’Malley offered to do the analysis. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg asked Ms. O’Malley to send an email to the other members to see if anyone else was interested on being on the subcommittee. Co-Chair Kramlinger suggested that all members review the comments from the survey. Committee Member Stephens asked Ms. Grant to email her the Community Survey Analysis as the survey was taken before she joined the PTRC. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 3 Co-Chair Kramlinger pointed out that the committee has not done any work on the Trail Development Analysis. He stated that one resident commented there was no adequate way for her children to safely either walk or ride their bikes from their neighborhood to downtown Arden Hills and he felt that should be looked at. Mr. McClung reported that there will be a lot of trails potentially coming up in the next couple of years. He stated that there will be pedestrian facilities with the redevelopment of County Road E and the 51 bridge, there will be a trail or sidewalk from the Pine Tree Building up Pine Tree Drive to connect to the improvements on County Road E, and then over across the bridge down to Snelling by Bethel. Mr. McClung suggested the PTRC look at the priorities list and roll that, as well as connections for the TCAAP trail, into their 2015 work plan. Co- Chair Van Valkenburg commented that all members are invited to attend the subcommittee meetings and felt a subcommittee reports section should be added to future agendas. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg commented that the committee’s final priority is the TCAAP park development. He indicated that it was suggested that someone from the PTRC go to some of the TCAAP/JDA meetings. Council Liaison McClung stated that at this point the JDA meetings are not doing a lot as the JDA is waiting for the master plan to get done. He stated the master plan with maps showing land use and zoning regulations needs to get done by the end of the year, so that once clean-up is done, building can start. Mr. McClung indicated that developers will bring their plans to the JDA and City staff will review and make recommendations to the JDA. Council Liaison McClung also indicated the PTRC will be getting more involved after the first of the year in terms of what they want to see in TCAAP. C. Adopt a Garden Ms. Grant provided the members with information from other cities that have an Adopt a Garden Program. She suggested using Brooklyn Center’s program as a guide for the Arden Hills Adopt a Garden Program. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg recapped that the committee had been trying to find solutions on how to maintain the gardens and that Committee Member O’Malley brought up the idea of an Adopt a Garden. Committee Member O’Malley stated she feels the Adopt a Garden is a good idea and suggested placing a flyer in the utility bills to see if any residents are interested in volunteering. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg mentioned that for Floral Park they are now looking at some pollinator type gardens and have talked to a U of M student group called Buzz who do pollinator landscape designs. He stated Buzz does design consultation at a cost of $50 an hour and estimates it would take approximately two hours for the consultation. He stated if Buzz did the full design and also did the plantings it would take between 10-25 hours. He indicated that possibly Buzz could do the design consultation and from there they could figure out how to get the manpower or funding for flowers, etc. It was suggested the committee work with the Foundation and see if residents wanted to make a donation to the Foundation that would be dedicated for the gardens or get a community group to Adopt a Garden. The members liked the idea of placing a flyer in the utility bills and also felt it should be coordinated with an article in the newsletter. It was also suggested placing flyers at City Hall, hanging flyers at the local businesses, and passing them out at the schools. Committee Member Stephens indicated she would be happy to work on a Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 4 flyer. Ms. Stephens also suggested the back of the flyer state that the committee is looking for someone who knows about pollinating gardens and perennials. Committee Member O’Malley asked if they could at least get the design from the U of M. Council Liaison McClung indicated this would have to go to Council. Co-Chair Van Valkenburg suggested they first see if anyone wanted to donate to the Foundation for the pollinating garden and that they get the design this fall and then plant in the spring. Council Liaison McClung stated that there is local group of Master Gardners that they have worked with in the past and maybe the committee could get some assistance or ideas from them. Discussion ensued and the committee was in consensus on placing an article in the newsletter asking for donations, pollinating plants, or other options on donating. D. Pickle Ball Co-Chair Van Valkenburg indicated that there is interest in the community on having a pickle ball court and asked for the committee’s input about getting some dedicated pickle ball courts or having tennis courts configured so they are dual-purpose courts. He stated that other communities around Arden Hills have taken tennis courts and added the pickle ball outlines so that they are a dual-purpose court of tennis and pickle ball. Committee Member Michaelson reported that Shoreview has actually added specific pickle ball courts. Ms. Grant indicated that Arden Hills residents can play the Shoreview Community Center for $3. Council Liaison McClung suggested the committee do some research on what needs to be done to configure a tennis court for pickleball, what is done with the nets since the pickle ball nets are shorter, and the costs associated with that. He stated if they wanted to get specific pickle ball courts that would need to be put in the budget. Committee Member Michaelson indicated he would volunteer to be part of a subcommittee to do the research. Mr. McClung commented that if it’s not that expensive to modify a tennis court they pick a court and do a year trial to see if residents are interested. He stated that after they get the results back they can then bring to Council. E. Other New Business None 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Park Tour Evaluation Discussion Ms. Grant indicated she discussed the different improvements the committee thought needed to be done right away with Public Works Director Maurer and Public Works Superintendent Mooney. Ms. Grant commented that she did order eight metal basketball nets which are sturdier, at a cost of $54 a net, and that they have been placed at various parks. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 5 Staff Liaison Grant stated that she also had discussion with Public Works Director Maurer and Public Works Superintendent Mooney about a sign for Arden Manor and that they felt from a budgeting standpoint, and because very few residents other than Arden Manor residents use that park, a sign was not necessary. Council Liaison McClung indicated he felt they needed to have some way to designate it as an Arden Hills park so residents there feel like they are part of the community and that they know the park is not being maintained by the owners of the park, but by the City. Discussion ensued and the committee was in consensus on moving forward with some kind of signage, possibly one of the brown park signs. Ms. Grant indicated she did check with Public Works and they have not been keeping any record of when the backboards and hoops were replaced. She stated that she has asked them to start keeping a log of when hoops and backboards are replaced. Ms. Grant commented that Public Works Director Maurer indicated the PTRC could replace some of the backboards. Ms. Grant stated that she researched the cost of the basketball hoops and they are around $1,500 for the actual pole structure. Committee Member Michaelson indicated he felt the committee should get a plan in place if not all hoops are able to be replaced. Ms. Grant indicated that Public Works is continuing to seed and fertilize at Valentine Park, but that the grass will not be up to standard for a year or two. Staff Liaison Grant indicated she has asked Public Works to replace the wood chips at Crepeau since they have not been replaced for at least five years. Staff Liaison Grant mentioned that she talked to Public Works Director Maurer regarding the Floral Park gardens but has since decided to table that until they get further information on the pollinating gardens. Ms. Grant informed that Public Works Director Maurer stated he is okay with removal of the fence at Freeway Park but did comment that Councilmember Holmes is adamant on keeping the fence. He asked Ms. Grant to contact Ms. Holmes to find out exactly what her concerns are in having the fence removed and to express the committee’s interest in removing it in order to clean up the area. Council Liaison McClung stated they may need to put together a proposal and bring to Council and then have Council make a decision. Committee Member Trites indicated he feels the fencing is a barrier between recreation and the highway as there is a recreation area in one spot and highway traffic a couple feet away. He indicated he feels the traffic is very busy and the fence acts as a safety barrier. Committee Member Trites suggested they think of some other type of safety barrier that would not be such an eye sore. Council Liaison McClung suggested Ms. Grant first talk to Councilmember Holmes to find out exactly what her concerns are with the removal of the fence, and then they could discuss at the next meeting to see where the committee wants to go from there. Staff Liaison Grant informed that she talked to Public Works Superintendent Mooney about the overgrown brush at Perry Park and that Public Works will be taking care of that. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 6 Committee Member Trites mentioned that when leaving the compost site, there is a blind spot on the left side because of overgrown brush. He questioned whether this is a concern of the City or Ramsey County. Ms. Grant commented that she believes it is a concern of Ramsey County but that she will check to make sure and then let him know. Committee Member Trites asked Ms. Stephens what she was actually referring to regarding Karth Lake and the trail needing some work. Ms. Stephens commented that there are paths leading to Karth Lake from Cummings Park and that there is no landing down by the lake and because there is no real path it could potentially be dangerous. She suggested possibly doing some clearing of the foliage so that the lake can be seen. Mr. McClung commented that if too much of an improvement is made then ADA requirements will probably need to be looked at and it could potentially become a very expensive project. B. Arden Hills Fall Clean Up Day – Saturday, October 25th Ms. Grant reminded the committee that the Arden Hills Fall Clean-Up Day is this coming Saturday, October 25th, and asked that the committee members meet at City Hall at 9:00 a.m., if planning on attending. She informed that on Friday Public Works would start cutting down the foliage and that on Saturday they could work on loading the foliage into the trucks. Ms. Grant indicated she is going to also put the information on the Arden Hills Hillbillies site and the Arden Hills website. She stated she will also provide vests, gloves, donuts and water for everyone. C. Other Unfinished Business Committee Member Scott recapped that he had expressed interest in being the liaison between the Arden Hills Foundation and the PTRC and that he did get an invite from Kim Tamble informing him the Foundation was meeting on Wednesday night. He indicated he assumed the meeting was at Perkins as previously mentioned but no one from the Foundation was there. He stated he will contact them to see where they are currently meeting so he can attend the next meeting. 5. REPORTS A. City Council Report Council Liaison McClung reported that at the last meeting in September, Council approved a preliminary tax levy for 2015. He informed that the truth in taxation hearing is currently set for December 8 and invited the committee members to attend if they were interested in providing comments on the levy and budget for next year. Council Liaison McClung indicated that Council approved the installation of a Gateway sign at Cleveland and County Road D which they hope to have put in by the end of the year. He indicated because of some easement restrictions the sign will be lower than the other signs and because it will be internally lit it will be green with white cutouts. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes October 21, 2014 Page 7 Mr. McClung stated that for the County Road E improvements, Council set an easement hearing in November for the businesses along County Road E and that Council will most likely authorize going forward with the improvements. He just wanted to remind the committee members that County Road E would then be under construction and the bridge would be out. Committee Member Michaelson asked on the status of the curb cutting and repaving for Gramsie Road. Mr. McClung informed that the repaving and curb cutting is in next year’s PMP and that all the information would be presented in the neighborhood meeting this fall/early winter. Mr. McClung reported that improvements in 2015 would be to the intersection of F and Lexington, the bridge over County Road E and 51, 96 and 35W and County Road F into New Brighton. He indicated that improvements in 2016 would be to the E2 Bridge into New Brighton and County Road H. Council Liaison McClung stated that he could be contacted if any members had questions regarding TCAAP. B. Public Works/Parks & Recreation Report Staff Liaison Grant recapped that the Clean-Up Day is this coming Saturday morning and that she is holding the Halloween Boo Bash at City Hall that evening. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Committee Member O’Malley moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m., seconded by Committee Member Stephens. The motion carried unanimously (8-0). NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.