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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-24-23-PTRC MinutesCITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chair Marie Hinton called the January 24, 2023 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Marie Hinton, Committee Members Jill Anderson, Dan Dietz Kerri Seemann OTHERS PRESENT: Assistant Public Works Director Lucas Miller, Recreation Supervisor Matt Johnson, Council Liaison Emily Rousseau, and Residents Lacey Loosbrock and Kate Olson ABSENT: Committee Members Mark Kelliher, Tim Nelson, and Kristine Poelzer Council Liaison Rousseau and Recreation Supervisor Johnson introduced themselves. Recreation Supervisor Johnson gave an overview of the Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) program for seniors that he plans to implement at Arden Hills. Committee Members and Assistant Public Works Director Miller introduced themselves. 1.APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Committee Member Seeman and seconded by Committee Member Anderson to approve the agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 2.APPROVAL OF MINUTES A.November 15, 2022 PTRC Minutes A motion was made by Committee Member Anderson and seconded by Committee Member Dietz to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3.UNFINISHED BUSINESS A.Trail Projects Update Assistant Public Works Director Miller reported that Lexington Avenue will not be completed until early summer 2023 and that includes the sidewalk on the west side of Lexington Avenue. Safe Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes January 24, 2023 Page 2 Routes to School from Mounds View High School to E2 down Lake Valentine Road/Old Highway 10 is scheduled for construction this summer 2023. An open house took place this fall. There were $450k awarded in grants for the project. Assistant Public Works Director Miller noted that Staff is working with a consultant to pursue grants for the trail from Lake Valentine Road to Highway 96 along Old Highway 10. A feasibility study was completed for this project, the estimated project cost is $2.6 million. The Lake Johanna Blvd trail study was completed by Ramsey County and they are pursuing funding. There will hopefully be a final design in 2028. Assistant Public Works Director Miller stated that the Arden Manor Park and Floral Park open house is scheduled for February 8. Public surveys were presented to the City Council and updates should be completed this year. Arden Manor Park updates are being funded by a grant and Floral Park improvements will be City funded. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said annual trail maintenance is being scheduled for summer 2023 including crack seal and sealcoat along Round Lake Rd, Lexington north of 96, Cummings and Floral Parks. He mentioned the CIP for Parks is available online. The budget has been adjusted and will be available when it is approved Assistant Public Works Director Miller reviewed the Arden Manor Park and Floral Park survey results. Chair Hinton asked if Triangle Park had been approved to be listed as a real park. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said it had to go through the planning process but it was being worked on. B. Oath Renewals for 3 Year Terms Assistant Public Works Director Miller gave the Oath of Office to Committee Member Seeman. C. Parkshore Exercise Station Trail Loop Naming Discussion Council Liaison Rousseau explained that the City Council discussed the names provided by the PTRC. It was suggested a variation to the name Round Lake Fitness Park and Trail, with some Councilmembers preferring Parkshore Park and Trail due to potential confusion of the park not being accessible from Round Lake. It was suggested that PTRC review the names again. After discussion, South Shore Fitness Park and Trail, and Parkshore Fitness Park and Trail were suggested to bring back to the City Council. Chair Hinton said they had originally wanted to have a contest at the elementary school in order to have more community input and engagement. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes January 24, 2023 Page 3 Council Liaison Rousseau said they could bring the names back to the next work session and provide a photo of the equipment. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Introduction to New Council and Staff Liaisons This was done at the beginning of the meeting after the roll call. B. Meeting Schedule for February, March and July Chair Hinton said next month they would have the same issue with the City Council meeting on the PTRC’s normal Tuesday, and so wondered if it was OK with everyone to push the meeting to February 18. She won’t be able to attend the March meeting and asked if someone else could run the meeting. There was also a good chance that she will miss the July meeting. C. PTRC Goals for 2023 Chair Hinton stated she would like to have goals set by the spring. She asked the Council Liaison to let them know if there were things other than trails the Council would like to see them work on. Council Liaison Rousseau said trails were an interest for the slate of candidates she campaigned with. Chair Hinton said that Committee Member Kelliher would like to focus on buckthorn removal and start using Robert’s Rule of Order more than they have been. She felt the way they were handling meetings worked but she would be willing to change if others were interested in the meetings being more formal. Committee Member Anderson wondered what would be the purpose of being more formal. She felt it may make members feel more intimidated to speak. Committee Member Dietz said as long as they all behaved professionally they just needed to find means to move the meetings along. Chair Hinton asked if there was anything the committee wanted to work on in the areas of parks, park safety, trails or connection gaps, recreation and community partnerships. Ms. Loosbrock thought if someone was doing buckthorn removal it would be nice to have them announce it to the public beforehand to enlist more help instead of after it’s been done. Committee Member Dietz agreed with buckthorn and invasive species removal, community involvement like the naming of parks, and getting more input from people that use the parks. Committee Member Seemann would like to see habitat restoration, working with volunteer groups, stewardship programs with people helping to maintain the parks, community gardens that involve landscaping with edible plants. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes January 24, 2023 Page 4 Committee Member Anderson thought they could get more community involvement with buckthorn removal and rain garden maintenance. Ms. Olson would like to see a kick-off to the summer or fall Parks and Rec fun day with a food truck, specifically for soccer and baseball. She would also like to see tree sales or discounts to help replace the buckthorn that is removed. Chair Hinton suggested they continue with having the list of a point person for each park and add trails to the list. She would like residents to know what projects are coming up so they have a chance to comment ahead of time. She would like to be sure they are able to have projects for volunteers. Committee Member Anderson said historically they haven’t been particularly involved with recreation and she doesn’t have a clear understanding of how they can help. Assistant Public Works Director Miller said comments like suggesting to increase the number of free events are helpful. Chair Hinton said she volunteered at the Halloween event last year and she encouraged other committee members to be willing to help at those kinds of events. D. Discussion Following Meeting with Council on 12/19/22 Chair Hinton stated a few committee members went to the City Council work session in December. She asked for a status update. Assistant Public Works Director Miller responded that they will be assessing the Hazelnut Park sledding hill proposal this summer, PTRC name badges and vests shouldn’t be a problem – the committee should let staff know what they are looking for and they can take care of it or get Council approval. The Parkshore trail name was previously discussed at this meeting. The Triangle Park is going through Community Development/Planning. E. New PTRC Member Applications Update Chair Hinton said the two new committee applicants should be officially approved by the Council soon. F. Winter Volunteer Recruitment for Floral Park Chair Hinton noted that Committee Member Poelzer wouldn’t be doing recruitment at this time but would wait until February or March. Committee Member Dietz noted that during the winter volunteers would be needed on Saturdays. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes January 24, 2023 Page 5 G. PTRC Meeting Agenda Drafting Procedures Assistant Public Works Director Miller asked that if a member has an item they would like to have included on an agenda he would like them to complete a document template that he will send out. The Chair would be made aware of the item, along with the staff liaison. Chair Hinton said if there are too many things on the agenda and an item need more discussion than they have time for, it would have tabled until the next meeting in order to be finished by 8:00 pm. 5. REPORTS Assistant Public Works Director Miller noted there were four trees installed at the Perry Park dog park and 50+ trees along Highway 96. There is still some funding available for more trees. 6. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, February 28, 2023 The next PTRC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, 2023. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m.