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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-14-23-PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Committee Chair Marie Hinton called the November 14, 2023 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Marie Hinton, Committee Members Abigail Weber, Dan Dietz, Kerri Seemann, Kristine Poelzer, Maeve Edgar, Emelia Rogers, Jill Anderson, Kate Olson, Nancy Jacobson, and Tim Nelson OTHERS PRESENT: Council Liaison Emily Rousseau and Recreation Supervisor Matt Johnson ABSENT: Committee Members Lacy Loosbrock and Mark Kelliher 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Committee Member Olson and seconded by Committee Member Poelzer to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 19, 2023 PTRC Minutes Committee Member Weber noted that her last name was spelled incorrectly. A motion was made by Committee Member Weber and seconded by Committee Member Olson to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3. REPORTS A. Council Liaison Updates Council Liaison Rousseau reported that she had brought a motion forward to the Council requesting removal of Committee Member Kelliher from the PTRC. She apologized for not addressing the issue sooner. The Council will have a closed meeting in December to discuss, and also work on putting a code of conduct together. Council Liaison Rousseau was pleased to see so many members of the PTRC at the Rice Creek Commons open house, along with members of the Economic Development Commission and Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - November 14, 2023 Page 2 Planning Commission. In general, they had some very positive feedback and some uncertainties around the changes. This is a 15-year project, housing and traffic won’t be at full capacity for a number of years. The City Council decided to send a proposal with 1,960 residential units to the Planning Commission for a public hearing on December 6th. Committee Members are welcome to attend and speak. She would like to set up a meeting with the County or consultants to discuss the Spine Road and transportation equity opportunities, she would like to see a dedicated bike lane and sidewalks. Council Liaison Rousseau stated there will be a Lake Johanna Boulevard meeting on November 20th at 6:00 pm if they are interested in hearing about the plan and funding. Council Liaison Rousseau said there was a discussion at the Council meeting about the Perry Park shelter roof color and she would like them to make a motion regarding the color. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. PTRC Goal Discussion Chair Hinton said she hoped everyone had come with at least one goal in mind. Committee Member Weber said she would like to see an increase in accessibility, especially a trail connecting Old Highway 10 to the high school. Committee Member Dietz would like more public input, and adding QR codes. Committee Member Seemann wanted to see work continuing on invasive species, Hazelnut restoration and working with Great River Greening. Committee Member Poelzer would like to see what has come to the City through the tracker that is related to PTRC, and what has been done with the items submitted. She would like to see more communication with residents including an open house put on by PTRC with information stations to tell residents what has been accomplished and what is on the docket for the next few years. Committee Member Edgar would like to increase communication regarding the work being done with native plants, so people know who is working in the park, why and what the goal is. She’d like to see books about the environment in the Little Libraries. Committee Member Rogers wanted to collaborate with Mounds View High School regarding a trail on Old Highway 10. She would like to see more updates on the City website. She would like to figure out how PTRC could be influential in the recreation planning of Rice Creek Commons. Committee Member Olson said her goal would to see one free community event such as picture night for soccer possibly with food trucks, that PTRC would put on. Committee Member Anderson would like to continue advocating for trails, updating trails and making Arden Hills more accessible. Also, to focus on more community involvement and tap into the resources for weeding and those types of things through the schools. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - November 14, 2023 Page 3 Committee Member Jacobson would like there to be a PTRC liaison to some of the projects that are going ahead. For example, the trail and roundabout – they need to be at the table and see the opportunities before they are done. Other examples would be Lake Johanna Boulevard trail, Trunk Highway 51 trail, Lindey’s Park and Rice Creek Commons. She also was interested in finding out who is maintaining the rain gardens in the City. Vegetation management could take place at Johanna Marsh. Council Liaison Rousseau agreed with Committee Member Jacobson’s idea about the trails and parks in Rice Creek Commons. Committee Member Nelson said when he looks at the trail map he sees a lot of dotted purple lines, he would like to help prioritize what trails come next, and find a more systematic way of doing that. Chair Hinton wondered if there might be an opportunity to adopt a rain garden. She would like to have a document to track their goals. She was wondering about having a vice-chair for the committee. B. Trail and Parks Projects Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson indicated that an update was added from the Public Works Director, he is working with a consultant to pursue grants and state bonding funds for the trail along Old Highway 10 from Lake Valentine Road to Highway 96. The feasibility study was completed for this project Fall of 2022. Estimated project cost was $3.1 million. Estimated construction would be in 2025/2026 dependent on funding awarded. The Open House took place on 10/5/23 and was well attended. Great feedback was received. The consultant will be at the November 27th Council Meeting to provide an update and receive direction of how to move forward with the project. C. Perry Park – Bathroom Locks Recreation Supervisor Johnson said there was interest in making the Perry Park pavilion bathrooms open to the public during park hours. The lock provider said it would be possible to add sensors but it would add thousands to the quote. Sensors may not be necessary as Arden Hills Parks and Recreation has a dedicated schedule for events, programs in progress at Perry Park. The quote may change slightly due to the time between when the quote was given and the current date. He noted the Public Works Department does not support the addition of automatic locks due to the added maintenance and service required. Discussion ensued regarding the additional maintenance needed, signage and possible times to have the bathrooms open. Chair Hinton clarified that a vote would include getting an updated quote and PTRC would need to do a work plan for the Council including more information on the impact to the Public Works Department. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - November 14, 2023 Page 4 Discussion continued regarding gathering more information from Public Works about how much work it would be for them and what they are willing to do for maintenance, how often the fields have scheduled games and pavilion rentals. A motion was made by Committee Member Nelson and seconded by Committee Member Rogers to recommend automatic locks at Perry Park to the City Council. Motion passed unanimously. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. “Triangle Park” Naming Council Liaison Rousseau said this was brought to Council but it was pulled. The question was did they really want to name the park Triangle Park or something else. Committee Member Weber liked the idea of asking Valentine Hills Elementary kids for a name. Committee Member Olson thought it made more sense to have the elderly people at Lake Johanna Shores name it. But she actually liked Triangle Park. Committee Member Edgar agreed as it would give those residents ownership of the park. Committee Member Poelzer explained that this was the only park in Arden Hills that has a chess board table and chairs. A motion was made by Committee Member Edgar and seconded by Committee Member Weber to recommend naming the park Checkerboard Park to the City Council. Motion passed unanimously. B. Membership Update Chair Hinton noted there would be at least one open position and she was wondering about adding a Vice-Chair, and if anyone would like to be Chair for next year. A motion was made by Committee Member Rogers and seconded by Committee Member Edgar to add a Vice-Chair position to the PTRC. Motion passed unanimously. Committee Member Weber expressed interest in being the Chair. Committee Member Olson was interested to learn more about Vice-Chair. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - November 14, 2023 Page 5 Chair Hinton explained the Chair duties included bringing things forward on the agenda and write memos, members would write their own memos for things they would like to bring to the committee. Items would be sent to staff. The Chair also runs the meeting. It was decided that a vote on naming a Chair and Vice Chair would be done at the December meeting. Chair Hinton thought it would be helpful if staff did a calendar reminder for the meetings along with the paper packet. Recreation Supervisor Johnson stated that due to holidays the December meeting could be moved to December 12, January would need to move to the 9th or 23rd. After discussion it was decided to hold meetings on December 12, January 23 and February 13. A motion was made by Committee Member Rogers and seconded by Committee Member Edgar to hold meetings on December 12, January 23 and February 13. Motion passed unanimously. C. Ash Trees Committee Member Seemann stated there are several sick ash trees in Hazelnut Park. The City should have the forester to identify and remove them. Committee Member Dietz said he noticed in Cummings and Floral Parks there are trees with white, green and light green ribbons. He asked if they could find out what the different colors mean. Committee Member Poelzer said there was also a dead tree in Sampson, by the parking lot. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said it was best to report these through the online tracker because it will go to all the appropriate people. Council Liaison Rousseau indicated that she would email the Public Works Director to see he knows when the trees in Hazelnut will be reviewed, as well as removal in Floral and Cummings. D. Lindey’s Roundabout Committee Member Seemann said she was working on finding more decorative planting ideas for the roundabout along with Committee Members Olson and Johnson. Committee Member Olson stated that she met with the residents that were taking the lead on the project, they wanted to see something more welcoming than grass. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - November 14, 2023 Page 6 Committee Member Nelson said his concern would be the visibility around the roundabout. Committee Member Seemann noted that right now it is planted with tall prairie grasses that can get five to six feet tall. Committee Member Jacobson asked if the residents were willing to maintain it? Committee Member Olson said they were willing to do whatever it takes to plant it and will figure out how to maintain it. She heard that was a safety issue, so they would need to figure that out. Committee Member Seemann noted that currently the County has contracted with someone to burn it once a year. Committee Member Jacobson thought the grasses were a step up from what the County could have done. She thought the ideas presented were good, and they could also include Lindey’s park with Option 2, 3 or 4. She thought the County would have to approve boulders. She recommended keeping it simple, and add some areas of pops of color and texture. E. Noxious Weeds Not discussed. F. Chatham Trails 2024 Land Management Plan Not discussed. G. Perry Park Roof Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson asked committee members to circle the color they would like the roof to be. 6. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, December 12, 2023 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.