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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-03 PTRC Minutes . ~ ~HILLS ARDEN HILLS FINAL MINUTES PARKS, TRAILS, AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2003, 7:00 P.M. ARDEN HILLS CITY HALL 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Straumann called the July 22, 2003 meeting of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to order at 7:10 p.m. Members Present: Chair Rich Straumann, Committee Members Bill Henry, Jim Crassweller, Don Messerly, Joanie Werner, and Steve Zilmer. Others Present: Tom Moore, Director Operations & Maintenance; Michelle Olson, - Parks and Recreation Supervisor; David Grant, Council Liaison; and Bonita Sullivan, Recording Secretary. Members Absent: Committee Member Roberta Thompson. Approval of Agenda: The Agenda was approved by consensus. 2. APPROVAL OF JUNE 24, 2003 MINUTES MOTION: Committee Member Henry motioned, seconded by Committee Member Thompson to approve the June 24, 2003 minutes amended as follows: . Noted several references through the minutes to "Commissioner" should be "Committee Member". . Noted several references to "Commission" should be "Committee". . Page 4, General Discussion, 4th paragraph, 5th line, states "digging out the dirt and having a hole in the column to provide safe passage..." should read "digging out dirt to provide safe passage.. .". ~ Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 2 July 22,2003 . . Page 4, General Discussion, last paragraph, should read as follows: "Committee Member Hendry asked if Arden Hills should undertake a project such as the Heritage Trail in Roseville. He stated he would like to see 20-30 areas within the City be highlighted to provide a sense of community". . Page 5, Adjournment, should read "Committee Member Thompson motioned, seconded by Committee Member Zilmer, to adjourn...". 3. HCM PARK SHEL TER DISCUSSION Matt Lysne, HCM Representative provided the Committee with an overview of the proposal: . Reviewed plans and location of the building. Noted that the proposal is for an L- shaped building adding that the design worked well for Tony Schmidt Park. He noted that the L-shape of the building would provide privacy for the picnic areas around the shelter in addition to providing a viewing area in the lower level. . Proposed moving the play area closer to the picnic shelter. . Confirmed that toilets and a kitchenette would be included in the plans. ~ . Would match the prairie style building located in Tony Schmidt Park. . Construction would begin in the spring with an expected completion by end ofthe summer season. Project would take approximately three to four months to complete. He explained that if they received the bid by the first or second week of February 2004 that it would put them in line for an early construction start. . Stated if approval process is completed by this fall that they would be able to utilize the winter months for development and refinement of the design. . Suggested reviewing each piece ofthe proj ect and separating the actual construction costs. Mr. Moore noted that the park has water and sanitary connection stating that from a mechanical point it would be very easy to connect. He reviewed the Lift Station 5 location noting that there is a need for trail hookups. He explained that as Staff builds the trail from the lower level, with steps to Perry Park, they would be able to connect the Chatham and Perry residents to the park. He stated that this connection would provide a safe access for the children. He stated that they would also have the opportunity to tie in trail connections with Tony Schmidt Park and other neighborhoods in addition to Perry Park. He stated that they want this project up next noting that Council is sold on this ~ project. He noted that this is the first major expenditure of park fund money and Council agrees that this is where the dollars should be spent. Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 3 July 22,2003 . Committee Member Henry asked if the construction would interrupt the softball games. Ms. Olson explained that it could cause some inconveniences adding that they would be able to work around it. Mr. Moore stated that Perry Park is now the main focus and asked Mr. Lysne to keep the Committee informed. He suggested meeting on a monthly basis. He asked Mr. Lysne to put together an outline of the items discussed with the expectation that they would revisit all of the assumptions at their next review of the project. 4. COUNCIL UPDATE City Council Liaison Grant stated provided the Committee with an update on the following Council items: . He provided an overview of all construction projects: >- County Road E2 and Cleveland, six-unit office mall is presently under construction. >- Cub store is progressing well. The owners came to Council and suggested removing gas station and replacing with a 36-foot retail noting that it would be a relatively low impact. Tenants have not been identified. - >- Ingerson neighborhood - The Fernwood channel is under construction and the utility work is in progress. >- Vacation of Ham line is underway. >- Seal coating on Pleasant Drive is basically completed. . Karth Lake - water level has risen dramatically noting that the residents have come to Council requesting that it be pumped down. He explained that Council would be reviewing this issue at the next City Council meeting. He reviewed the proposed process stating that it would be a floating pump that would be used when necessary. He explained that it would pump the water into Valentine. . City Administrator search continues. Presently considering candidates. . Reviewed the Bethel path noting that City Council has approved getting an easement with Bethel for a trail connection. He reviewed the location and process with the Committee. . Reviewed the work being done on Lift Station 2 and 5. He explained that Council would most likely authorize Station 3 stating that they plan to go with a modernized, submersible station. He explained that this would leave Arden Hills with four lift stations left in the old style. He stated that they plan to address operations and maintenance next year and that it is the Council's hope to approve . an updated alarm system for the remaining, older lift stations. Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 4 July 22, 2003 . . Reviewed the Highway 96 Project with the Committee. . He stated that they are moving forward with construction of the maintenance building and reviewed the progress with the Committee. Chair Straumann stated that it would be nice to have a trail along the west side of Old Snelling noting that a north/south trail is the Park Committee's long term goal. Council Liaison Grant stated that City Council is aware that the bridge near McDonalds on County Road E was designed to be used as a walking trail. He stated that the City Engineer would review the possibilities. Mr. Moore noted that Canadian Pacific presently does not have any plans to work with the City with respect to widening Old Highway 10. He reviewed the issues noting that he does not foresee any clearing of the brush or debris from underneath the bridge for an official trail. He stated that Canadian Pacific did not have an issue with unofficial use but that they would not give any rights for access or assist in any way to place a trail in that area. Committee Member Henry asked if anything was happening with the trail through Northwestern. Mr. Moore stated that nothing is happening right now noting that they would be meeting with Northwestern the first Wednesday in August to discuss the trail. ~ 5. PARKS AND RECREATION UPDATES Tom Moore - Park Update Mr. Moore provided the Committee with an update on the Park activities. He reviewed the following items: . Reviewed the Cummings Park Shelter Plans. Provided an overview of the timeline for construction and provided an update on the process. Stated that they are discussing the particulars for presentation to Council for approval with the hopes of beginning as early as this week. In conjunction with this project Guidant Drive North, off Lexington will now be officially closed. He stated that this would be a twelve week project adding that Guidant Drive North will be renamed Cummings Park Drive. He stated that the road would be widened and become a standard City street. He stated that it would also contain a trail component that would link to the Lexington Trail segment and come back down to Guidant Drive North, which would provide access to the park. . Have now completed a trail loop for the WyncrestlAmble section of the City. ' . Stated that as part of the proj ect the existing spruce trees would be removed and then replanted. He explained that they couldn't replant the existing spruce trees, . as they would not take. Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Meeting Miuutes 5 July 22, 2003 . . Also as part of this project, he provided an overview of tile site plan noting that an ADA ramp would be installed that would run from the existing warming house, alongside the tennis and basketball courts that would lead to the new warming house. He stated that the building would be ADA accessible and also hookup to the existing trail segment located in front of warming house. . He stated that the proj ect would take approximately three months to build, depending on weather. He explained the construction staging process to the south where ice rinks were located in the past noting that the area may be very chopped from the construction. He stated that because of these conditions they might not be able to create an ice rink for the winter. He stated that the City is giving the residents a three-month advance notice by issuing a letter to the Residents informing them of the construction and the impact it could have on the ice rink. He stated that the letter would also address the trail along Guidant Drive North. . He stated that Krause Anderson is working closely with Staff noting that the construction would not have an impact on the fall season soccer. He stated that Pee Wee soccer would be affected and moved to another park for the season. He explained that Cummings Park soccer is one of the City's largest revenue producers adding that the City does not want to disrupt this process if at all possible. . . Starting the Brush Back Project on all trails in two weeks. . He stated that they have two Boy Scout proj ects coming up, >- First project - Royal Hills Park retaining wall noting that they will complete the last half of the project up the hill by clearing the area of scrub brush then planting and placing wood chips. >- Second project - Bench project along the trails is set to begin. . Stated that they received compliments from Council Member Larson regarding the perennial gardens in addition to several that were also received from residents. . Suggested the Committee review the play structure at Royal Hills. . Reviewing possible installation of an ADA ramp in Royal Hills. Michelle Olson - Recreation Update Ms. Olson provided the Committee with an update on the Recreation activities. She reviewed the following items: . June 28th - Celebrating Arden Hills - Stated that it was a good day overall and . provided the Committee with overview of the days activities. She noted that Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 6 July 22, 2003 . fireworks had been cancelled due to weather stating that they have been rescheduled for August 5, National Night Out, 9:00 p.m. at Tony Schmidt Park. . Softball is winding down. Tuesday is the final night of the season. . Fall softball registration will begin soon. . BRS will begin ADA improvements at the end of the fall season. . Recreation Guide for the fall season will be available August 1,2003. Committee Member Messerly referenced the 50th Anniversary Celebration from last year noting that the celebration had a standing committee that met twice month for a year. He noted that Ms. Olson basically did all of the work on her own for this year's celebration and commended her for a great job well done. 7. OTHER ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION None. 8. NEXT MEETING AGENDA . Mr. Moore noted that normally the Park Committee does not meet in August and asked the Committee if they would like to schedule a meeting as an update on HCM progress or leave the month of August open. The Committee agreed that a meeting should be scheduled in August to receive an update on HCM progress. Mr. Moore noted the flooding issues with Valentine Park and asked the Committee to consider whether they should spend money on new play structure and warming house, keeping the ditch as is or should they fix the park first and then spend dollars on building and equipment. Committee Member Henry asked if Staff could compile a list of items that should be done at Perry Park and provide for Committee review. Mr. Moore stated that he would prepare the list and have it ready for the August meeting. . Arden Hills Parks, Trails and Recreation Corrunittee Meeting Minutes 7 July 22, 2003 . 9. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Committee Member Henry motioned, seconded by Committee Member Crassweller, to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Bonita Sullivan Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. . . --