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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-12-23-PTRC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023, 6:30 PM ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL CALL MEETING TO ORDER Committee Chair Marie Hinton called the December 12, 2023 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Marie Hinton, Committee Members Dan Dietz, Kerri Seemann, Maeve Edgar, Kate Olson, Kristine Poelzer, Nancy Jacobson and Tim Nelson OTHERS PRESENT: Council Liaison Emily Rousseau and Recreation Supervisor Matt Johnson ABSENT: Committee Members Lacy Loosbrock, Mark Kelliher, Emelia Rogers, Jill Anderson, and Abigail Weber 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made by Committee Member Dietz and seconded by Committee Member Olson to add Fire Pit Donation to New Business. Motion passed unanimously. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 14, 2023 PTRC Minutes Committee Member Dietz requested to add what the color of the ribbons on trees mean to Item 4C, page 5. Committee Member Seemann said on page 2 “Greater for Greening” should be “Great River Greening”. Committee Member Olson stated that under Item 4A, Olson and Anderson were interchanged. A motion was made by Committee Member Poelzer and seconded by Committee Member Olson to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously. 3. REPORTS A. Council Liaison Updates Council Liaison Rousseau apologized for how the matter with Committee Member Kelliher was brought to the Council. There is no code of conduct or procedures in place for addressing matters and the Council seems to be in consensus to develop a code of conduct. She would like to clarify acceptable behavior and procedures and have a Council Liaison work with a member of the Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 2 Personnel Committee to mediate issues or bring motions forward. Also, the information she received didn’t come in time for it to be added to the agenda, so she added it as a bench motion. She acknowledged Mr. Kelliher’s contributions to the PTRC and buckthorn removal. She stated Council approved the resignations of Chair Hinton and Committee Member Poelzer, which will be effective December 31. She thanked them and said she was sorry to lose them. Council Liaison Rousseau congratulated Committee Member Edgar for getting a perfect score on her ACT exam. Council Liaison Rousseau said the Council approved moving forward with an application for funding opportunities for Old Highway 10 improvements. Also, the Rotary Club is interested in meeting with PTRC members to talk about what they did in 2023 that may align with their activities and see if they can partner with the committee. March 5 and February 20 are proposed meeting dates. Council Liaison Rousseau read an email from Public Works Director Swearingen regarding trees: “They maintain trees in a few ways; trimming and pruning, chemical injections treatments to ash and oak every other year, ground treatment to small ash annually, removal of dead trees that are considered hazardous. Trees that are dead within heavily wooden areas are left alone as that is the natural state of woods, and wildlife use them as habitat. For the trees Public Works has marked, we plan to remove them over the winter months. Due the large volume of dead and hazardous trees around Arden Hills, the best way to manage the workload is to select two to three parks or trails areas each year and plan the removal. Some of the trees identified are rather large and beyond the capacity of how our Public Works is equipped and must be contracted out. Depending on the number of trees and location this can be costly so we like to plan at least a year in advance. Cummings and Floral were identified by the Public Works maintenance plan that was presented to the Council in 2023, we are currently in the process of putting together the 2024 Public Works maintenance plan to include several new areas for removal.” Council Liaison Rousseau asked if anyone would be interested in connecting with Ramsey County Active Living and if so they should let her know. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. PTRC Goal Discussion Chair Hinton said this was brought back in case people were at this meeting that weren’t at the last meeting, or if anyone wanted to make changes or additions to what they had previously discussed. B. Trail and Parks Projects Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson reviewed the memo from Assistant Public Works Director Miller. • The Hazelnut parking lot negotiations continue with Trinity Lutheran Church. • Highway 10 is paved on the Safe Routes to School, there were $450k in grants awarded for that project. • Floral and Arden Manor parks are continuing construction. The contractor is pushing to get the play structures installed before winter. Hardcourt striping and restoration of both Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 3 parks will be completed in the Spring. Arden Manor funding sources are grants combined with city funding. Floral is all city funding. • Lake Johanna Blvd conceptual trail study was completed by Ramsey County. They are shooting for a final design in 2028, dependent on funding awarded. Estimated construction cost is $9.5M. Council has adopted resolution 2023-023 which is the local match commitment for Lake Johanna Blvd Trail Project (estimated $2M). County is going for grants and bonding this year potentially up to $5.5M. Ramsey County presented in November about the project corridor with Council. • Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park are due to get redone next year. The 2024 CIP and budget will be discussed by Council over the next couple months and officially approved by the end of the year. The proposed Parks related items have been previously given to PTRC. Recreation Supervisor Johnson asked the committee members to go to Arden Oaks Park and Freeway Park and think about things that could be done to update them. If they have any ideas in the next couple of months staff would like their input. Discussion ensued regarding locations of the parks, current facilities and funding. Committee Member Olson asked what was happening at Lindey’s Park with the road construction. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said construction equipment should be removed in a timely fashion. The park would be essentially the same as it was before. Committee Member Olson said the park actually got a trail from the upper to lower areas. Committee Member Poelzer said the sign will need to be put back up. Committee Member Jacobson thought the sign was there but no plantings. Committee Member Dietz said a post on the sign off the trail by Floral Park is broken. Committee Member Poelzer noted that she had submitted a number of items relating to Sampson Park to the City via the online tracker. Committee Member Jacobson asked if the Council would like input from PTRC regarding Lindey’s Park. She felt it would be nice to get neighborhood feedback. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said they could add it to a future agenda. A motion was made by Committee Member Poelzer and seconded by Committee Member Dietz to recommend to the City Council that PTRC hold an open house for the community to talk with PTRC members about parks and trails. Discussion ensued regarding what an open house would look like; when, where, and what would be discussed. Chair Hinton called for a vote on the motion, the motion passed unanimously. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 4 C. Perry Park Roof Update Recreation Supervisor Johnson said there was a three-way tie on the vote for the roof color. An executive decision was made to temporarily pick Brown. He took a poll on the top three colors. Evergreen received four votes, Blue received three votes, and Brown received one vote. D. Chatham Restoration Committee Member Seemann stated the initial goat browsing in Chatham Trails had a noticeable impact on the young buckthorn in the sections of the park where the goats were used. She believed they can be successful in managing the buckthorn in that area if they continue the goat grazing, and also take an aggressive multi-prong approach that removes the mature trees and fights the seedlings. She noted that while wandering in the woods she discovered that the park is infested with purple loosestrife that needs to be managed. Committee Member Seemann stated the attachment was modified from what was presented at the last meeting; she included maps showing the areas that were grazed and areas that buckthorn was removed. She explained that she and the Chatham volunteers seeded some grasses, sedges and forbs in some of the areas that were cleared. Council Liaison Rousseau made a note to talk with Director Swearingen about what is planned for next spring. Committee Member Jacobson thought seeding in the fall/winter was a good plan. Committee Member Olson wondered if the goats were coming back. Committee Member Seemann was under the impression the goats were coming back in the spring. She said the current system of cutting brush along the trail and piling it for the Public Works crew to chip has been valuable but there are still challenges. It is difficult to move the cut brush to the sides of the trail when cutting deeper in the woods or when steep slopes or marshes get in the way, and it’s hard to haul more mature trees. Heavy physical labor is easier to do during the colder months. One solution is to have a winter work day where a team removes buckthorn and one person is designated to manage burning the brush. She felt that would be an effective way to remove the buckthorn and could be done safely from January to March while there is snow on the ground. She would be willing to take responsibility for getting a burn permit and managing the fires, or she recommended the City consider hiring a contractor to do the burning. Committee Member Seemann continued saying in addition to the seeding that was already done she saved some seeds to grow at home and the plants can be transplanted next year. Committee Member Edgar asked if Committee Member Seemann had experience or training in burning brush piles because if not it might be smart to hire a contractor for safety. Committee Member Seemann replied that she will be taking an eight-hour classroom portion of burn crew training with The Prairie Enthusiasts. The outdoor portion will happen in the spring. Committee Member Dietz said he was worried about the liability of a fire, but he agreed winter was the time to do it with snow on the ground. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 5 Committee Member Edgar wondered what would be done with the tall stumps. Committee Member Olson asked if they could have a winter work day without burning? Committee Member Seemann said something would have to be done to deal with the piles of buckthorn, it wouldn’t have to be the same day. Public Works wouldn’t get to the piles unless you have people hauling the brush long distances. A motion was made by Committee Member Poelzer and seconded by Committee Member Olson that Committee Member Seemann’s research be forwarded ot the City Council and ask for direction to proceed. Committee Member Dietz asked if they were going to cut down live trees and try to burn them? They would be green, not burn well and cause a lot of smoke. Committee Member Nelson felt they may have to wait six months to a year before they burn them. Chair Hinton called for a vote on the motion, the motion passed unanimously. E. Lindey’s Roundabout Committee Member Seemann said the information was basically the same as last month but she added graphics showing the roundabout as it now exists, and some information from MnDOT regarding landscaping that surrounds roundabouts. Committee Member Jacobson said the last page was from the road design manual from MnDOT. Even though it wasn’t a MnDOT project they do provide guidance. She explained the graphic, noting that height is unrestricted in the center of the island. Committee Member Olson commented that there are pumpkins on the top of the hill of the roundabout right now, and she saw three kids on their bikes on the center. She thought there should be something to deter bikers from going on the island. Council Liason Rousseau asked if the residents they spoke with had any preferences. Committee Member Jacobson said what was shown last month stemmed from what the neighbors wanted, what they were presenting tonight was a revision of that. She explained that boulders would need to be approved by Ramsey County. She recommended eliminating boulders and keeping it as simple as possible. Option 1 would leave it as is, and the County would take care of it. Option 2 would add serviceberry in the middle to add height, color and texture. Option 3 would add pops of color with flowers. Option 4 involved changing the tall grass to short grass. Each option except Option 1 would require volunteers to help maintain. Committee Member Edgar mentioned that at the last meeting it was discussed that the City didn’t want volunteers working in the middle, so she wondered if they would need to get approval. Committee Member Seemann said she spoke with the Public Works Director who said Public Works could provide volunteers with warning signs and would allow volunteers to work there. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 6 Committee Member Poelzer noted the City also provided safety vests to use. Chair Hinton stated that she didn’t like the boulder idea either, as kids love to climb on them. Committee Member Dietz asked what the grade was like there now. Committee Member Jacobson said it is about six feet tall, asymmetrical; higher on the east side and slopes down. Committee Member Poelzer noted that some of the plants on Option 1 would take over and not all of the plants listed would be visible. She wondered if serviceberry would have actual berries that might draw deer. She thought they wouldn’t want to plant anything that might draw deer. Committee Member Olson said serviceberry was mildly deer resistant according to a website she was looking at. Committee Member Poelzer brought attention to the fact that Committee Member Jacobson was retired from MnDOT and was their expert when it came to roads, roundabouts, or where trails intersect with roads. Committee Member Jacobson said Option 3 was the one she thought would add interest but still be manageable to maintain. Otherwise she would recommend Option 2 as it would be easy to maintain the grasses around the serviceberry. They could choose Option 2 and do Option 3 at a later time. Council Liaison Rousseau asked if they would like this to go to a Council work session for discussion. A motion was made by Committee Member Jacobson and seconded by Committee Member Edgar to forward the options to the City Council to be discussed at a future work session. Motion passed unanimously. 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Fire Pit Donation (Bench Handout) Recreation Supervisor Johnson explained that a resident would like to donate a large gas- powered fire pit to be located in an Arden Hills park or on City property. This is an unused fire pit 40 inches tall x 58 inches long x 28 inches deep. There would be no maintenance required. This would be a free pit for anyone to use they would just need to provide their own propane tank. Estimated value is between $300-$500. It has a stone look, and the propane tank is hidden underneath with a section of river rock in the middle where the fire comes out. If the committee votes to accept it, it would have to go through the Arden Hills Foundation. They would also need to think about where to put it. They would need a sign on it to say that people using it would have to supply their own propane tank and assume liability. Committee Member Olson asked if anyone knew of other cities that have something like this. Parks, Trails & Recreation Committee - December 12, 2023 Page 7 Recreation Supervisor Johnson said Champlin has some that start by pushing a button and are on a timer. There are cities that allow open flames with no guidance. Committee Member Dietz wondered if it would need a base of some kind. Recreation Supervisor Johnson thought they would probably want to permanently affixed. A motion was made by Committee Member Poelzer and seconded by Committee Member Dietz to recommend to the City Council to accept the donation and suggest locations. Committee Member Poelzer said if it needs to have a permanent base the City would have to pay for that or they could go through the Foundation. Recreation Supervisor Johnson said the Foundation is aware of it and willing to help with costs associated with it. Committee Member Nelson thought it would be a nice addition to one of the ice rinks. Recreation Supervisor Johnson suggested Perry Park near the pavilion. Chair Hinton called for a vote on the motion, the motion passed unanimously. B. New Chair Recommendation Council Liaison Rousseau clarified that they were recommending Jill Anderson as Chair and Kate Olson as Vice-Chair. 6. NEXT MEETING A. Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Discussion ensued regarding location of the meeting due to other meetings happening at the same time. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.