Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-17-09 PTRC Chair: John Peck 1245 W.Highway 96 Committee Members: EN HILLS Arden Hills, MN 55112 Lanny Baumann ---A Cindy Garretson 651.792.7800www.ci.arden-hills.mn.us Jody Hilgers Parks, Trails, and Larry Jones Don Messerly Recreation Committee Nancy O'Malley March 17, 2009 Harold Petersen Steve Scott 6:30 p.m.Rich Straumann Council Liaison: Fran Holmes City Vision A strong community that values our unique environment, our fiscal soundness, and our tradition as a desirable city_in which to live, work, and play. Agenda Regular Committee Meeting Convenes 6:30 PM Call to Order 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 2. MINUTES A. February 24, 2009 Regular Meeting 3. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Ice Rink Season Review B. Valentine Park Discussion—All members should bring their V. Park drainage reports C. Project Updates 1. CP Rail Bridge 2. Safe Routes to School D. Trail Signage E. Celebrating Arden Hills subcommittee discussion 4. REPORTS A. Report from the City Council B. Parks and Recreation/Public Works Update C. Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee Comments and Requests 5. NEXT MEETING A. April 21, 2009, 6:30 p.m. 6, ADJOURNMENT A quorum of the City Council may be present at this meeting. EN HiLLs DRAFT CITY OF ARDEN HILLS PARKS,TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 24, 2009 6:30 PM ARDEN BILLS CITY HALL 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chair Peck called the February 24, 2009, meeting of the Parks Trails and Recreation Committee to order at 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Committee Chair John Peck, Committee Members Lanny Baumann Cindy Garretson, Jody Hilgers, Larry Jones, Don Messerly, Nancy 0"Malle 7, Harold Peterson and Rich Straumann. OTHERS PRESENT: Council Liaison Fran Holmes, Park and Recreation Manager Michelle Olson, Civil Engineer Iris Giga, and Travis winter,Bolton & Menk. MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Committee Member Steve Scott. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Committee Chair Peck motioned to approve the agenda adding "Old Business' and "New Business" allowing the Committee to discuss a letter received by the N-lom nittee. Thcc r vtioln ca1,11-cd tIrMnii Ou'-Sly. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES—January 13, 2009 Mr. Messerly noted on Page 3 that Ms. Holmes should be changed to Councilmernber Holmes and that in paragraph 5 the park should be a passive park and not a p ark. passage Ms. Olson indicated that Ms. Giga's name would need correction as well.. Ms. Olson was asked to remove the word flower from the second to last paragraph on page four. Mr. Messerly stated that a comment was left out of the Valentine Park discussion stating that Valentine Park was at one time, part of Valentine Lake. MOTION*- Committee Member Messerly motioned to approve the minutes as amended seconded by Committee Member Jones. The motion carried unanimously. 4. CP RAIL/TRAIL]DISCUSSION Ms. Olson reviewed the Old Snelling/Old Highway 10 trail with plans provided b Bolton & p Y Menk. She indicated the group has discussed the trail location, the impacts of the trail based on location, including price estimates at our December meeting. Ms. Olson stated this information PARKS,TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, 2009 Page 2 of 8 was forwarded to Council where the report was accepted and made the official report for the corridor. Ms. Olson stated the Council further discussed how this item would proceed and approved engineering fees to cover the design of the bridge and working with CP Rail. She explained the Council would like additional PTRC input on the trail placement and design to allover the bridge to be completed yet this year. Chair Peck indicated that the goal of tonight's discussion would be to come to an agreement on the trail placement that would then be recommended to Council. He explained that the Council was looking for a recommendation for this item to move forward and be designed based on this recommendation. Civil Engineer Giga explained that Council has authorized Bolten & Menk to work on the final design of the bridge. She indicated the next step in this process would be to survey the area, which could be completed once the snow melts, along with passing along the plans to CP Rail for their review and comment. Ms. Hilgers questioned if the bridge construction was the same expense whether the trail was on the east or west side of the corridor. Ms. Olson reviewed the expense information within the CP Rail report. The Committee reviewed the trail map and discussed the potential trail location in depth and detail. Mr. Baumann stated that he would be in favor of placing the trail on the east side of the corridor based on the fact there were fewer intersections for the pedestrians to cross. He added that the trail would be aesthetically more pleasing on the east side due to the fact pedestrians would be walking closer to the lake. Mr. Jones was in agreement stating the large number of driveways that would need to be crossed on the west side would be a hazard to both pedestrians and bikers. Chair Peck stated his preference thus far has been the west side. He explained the west side would provide access to more Arden Dills residents but that there were several steep driveways s that would need to be addressed to soften the grade. Chair Peck indicated a resident expressed concern to him that this underpass would bring more traffic into an already congested area and create a bigger problem. While he didn't entirely agree with this statement, safe passage under the bridge would benefit all users of the trail. Chair Peck explained that he walked the trail on the east side against traffic and stated the heavy level of traffic entering Bethel was a detriment. He indicated the west side would serve the residents more conveniently than if placed on the east. PARKS,TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, 2009 Page 3 of 8 Ms. O'Malley stated she felt the west side was safer for children coming out of the neighborhoods and would not have to cross the busy roadway to get to the trail. Mr. Jones questioned if there would be a barrier between pedestrians on the trail and traffic along Highway l 0. Mr. winter explained he has recommended some concrete barriers. Chair Peck stated the Committee does not want a crossing but does need to make a recommendation on where the underpass should be located for this trail. Mr. Messerly questioned if the trail would be lit and that if it was not, the pedestrian and bicycle p Y traffic would need to be very cautious while crossing driveways. Chair Peck agreed that site lines would need to be reviewed. Council Liaison Holmes stated an additional benefit to the west side would be connection to the trail created by Roseville along the south segment near Snelling Avenue. Discussion ensued regarding a trail crossing near the Bethel entrance aloe with the safety Y concerns for pedestrians and bicycle traffic. Ms. Olson indicated if the City were to recommend _ a crossing, this would have to be a safe crossing_ Mr. winter indicated the west side could require board walk construction near the lake which was a bit more expensive and was written into the estimate. He explained that along the east side, there were several steep driveways that would need grading work, which added to the expense of Lhe iiall. Chair Peck questioned how wide the trail would be under the bridge. He asked if the engineering g g work has been completed for the underpass and if CP Rail was approving the plans. Mr. winter explained the trail would be eight feet wide and that CP Rail was in favor of the underpass as long as the City does not impact the structural integrity of the bridge. Ms. Hilgers questioned if the west trail estimate of $238,000 included the boardwalk. Mr. Winter stated the boardwalk was required and that this number did include the boardwalk. Ms. Olson stated the City could possibly seek federal funding and grants to assist with the trail corridor expense. Ms. Hilgers stated she would like to see the trail stay on one side of the corridor and that she was not crazy about the idea of pedestrians crossing over this roadway, especially children_ Chair Peck agreed. Chair Peck questioned if the watershed district would need to be involved with this project. Mr. . p � Winter indicated he has already met with the watershed and that there were several requirements for linear trail projects with regard to storm water. r PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, 2009 Page 4 of 8 Councilmember McClung indicated this would be a difficult decision to pass along to Council. There were many factors to consider and that the benefits to the residents would have to be considered. The Committee discussed the traffic that would be along the trail, again addressing the safety of pedestrians with regard to the numerous intersections and driveways along the west side of the corridor. Ms. O'Malley stated she felt the heart of the activity and destinations were located on the west side of the corridor. Chair Peck indicated he was not aware of the added expense caused by the required boardwalk on the west side and stated he could be swayed to now pursue the east side. However, he was still leaning toward the west side. He indicated the cost would be a deciding factor to the Council. Council Liaison Holmes questioned if the boardwalk was needed to complete the west side underpass. Mr. winter stated this was not required for the underpass but would have to be completed with the rest of the trail. He explained that the trail corridors were fairly similar in price due to the fact the east side required a retaining wall. MOTION: Committee Member Hilgers motioned to place the trail underpass along the west side of the bridge. Committee Member Messerly seconded the motion. Further rurther DiscussiorE. Ms. Garretson stated she felt the only difference was the future expense of the boardwalk. Ms. Hilgers responded that the boardwalk costs would even out with the expense of the retaining wall on the east side, stating there was only a $70,000 difference between the two trail estimates. Chair Peck stated that once we have the underpass, foot traffic could be monitored and that could possibly help with the final decision on the entire corridor. The motion passed unanimously. 5. SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROTECT REVIEW—Deb Bloom Ms. Olson indicated the City has received'a federal grant for the Safe Routes to School project, which will require environmental documentation. Ms. Olson noted all wetlands had to be reviewed to see if there would be an impact, which was then brought to Rice Creek watershed. She explained that Deb Bloom, City of Roseville, would be reviewing this item with the Committee. 3 PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24.2009 Page S of S Ms. Bloom walked the Committee through the final project reviewing trail location width cost . g > implications. She stated two public meetings have been held to gain feedback from the residents. Ms. Bloom reviewed the wetland concerns that would need to be addressed with this trail section stating a bridge would not be feasible using the federal funds and that culvert would be more realistic. She indicated the original proposed expense for this route was $263 145.60 of which $175,000 was covered by the grant. The revised engineer estimate is $442 665.37. She thanked the Committee for their time and asked for comments or questions. Council Liaison questioned the size of the culvert. Ms. Bloom indicated the culvert would be four feet wide and 10 feet long providing safe crossing for the pedestrians. Ms. Olson indicated Ramsey County does need a crossing at the culvert within their master plan . _ g In order to get their path to Mounds View. Y were Chair Peck questioned what would happen to the grant funds if the City not to proceed with . this Safe Route to School. Ms. Bloom indicated the funds would go back to the government. Chair Peck asked if the grant could be reapplied for to get an increase in funding based on the estimate. Ms. Bloom stated the Safe Routes to School grant coaxed out at $175.7000. Chair Peck questioned where the additional funds ,would come from. Ms. Bloom stated she has been in discussions with Ms. Olson about this dilemma and that the storm water infrastructure fund could be used but that Ramsey County was also going to be contacted as an additional partner. Ms. Olson explained that this grant was applied for two years ago and that new issues Ila v'e de V ivpc�`�,t d' r3cng this tiin�. Chair Peck asked how the Committee should proceed. Ms. Olson indicated she would like the City to proceed with this project using the grant funds and that staff continue to seek an additional funding source. Ms. O'Malley questioned if there was a timeline in which the federal funds had to be used. Ms. Bloom indicated there was a timefrarne in which the funds had to be used. Chair Peck asked how many children would be usingthis trail. Ms. Olson stated the reality is no y one walks but that the people in this area are excited for the possibility to walk on a safe route. Chair Peck questioned if the trail had to be done in its entiretyto receive the ant funds. Ms. grant Bloom indicated it was her understanding was that the funds were awarded to the project as P shown or the grant would be lost. A member questioned if the additional expense of the trail could be assessed to the neighboring g g homeowners. Ms. Olson stated there was only three to four homeowners along this trail. She explained the grant would not allow for the north-south connection to be omitted. PARKS,TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, Zoos Page 6 of 8 Ms. Bloom indicated tonight staff was looking to see if the Committee was still in support of this project even if it was not fully funded by the grant. If so, staff would need to dig in and find additional funds to complete the project. Chair Peck stated anything that could be done to narrow the financial gap would greatly benefit the City. He indicated there was value in the project but at the same time, funding should not be taken away from other projects. Chair Peck suggested a cost analysis be completed on this project before being pursued further. Council Liaison Holmes stated she was in favor of the plan but that it was more for the neighborhood to walk than for the children. Ms. Bloom questioned if this trail was a valuable link to the Arden Hills trail system. The Committee was in agreement that this trail section was a key to the trail system along with providing an added safety benefit to the school and its students. Ms. Bloom stated the City did not have to spend the funds,just because the grant was approved. However, if the Committee was in favor of making a recommendation to proceed with the project, staff would continue to seek additional funding sources to bring forward to the City Council. Ms. O'Malley asked if this item were to be forwarded to Council in March if staff would have additional funding sources explored by that time. Ms. Bloom felt that staff would have a better idea if what sacrifices would have to be made to complete this project. MOTION: Committee Member Jones motioned that the PTRC was in support of the Safe Routes to School Project and advised staff to seek additional funding sources for the project as proposed and present this information to City Council in March. Committee Member Baumann seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 6. COMMUNITY CLEAN UP EVENT DISCUSSION Chair Peck suggested a community clean up event be held this spring in Tony Schmidt Park and possibly Perry Park. He stated this would give the Committee a spring outreach event with the central focus being on the park. Chair Peck indicated the County would be willing to provide plastic bags for the cleanup. He questioned if any members on the Committee would be interested and willing to assist in a spring cleanup project. Chair Peck stated a corporate sponsor could be contacted to provide food/drinks for the event for the volunteers. Council Liaison Holmes stated the Council could be asked for funding for this event on a low scale. Ms. Olson stated she did have a couple hundred dollars available within her budget as well to assist in the cleanup of these parks. PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, 2009 Page 7 of 8 It was noted that in the past Arden Hills held a spring cleanup for all parks, but that this had not been done in years. Ms. Olson indicated students within Arden Ida would like toparticipate in _ a project, and that the Boy Scouts could be contacted for this cleanu as we °i�'� p .� Chair Peck encouraged the Committee members to contact him or Ms. Olson if they were interested in participating in thi's event. The Committee agreed to seek additional support from the college students by submitting articles in the student newspapers. He suggested the event be held on April 18, 2009. 7. COUNCIL LIAISON UPDATE—Fran Holmes Council Liaison Holmes stated the Council had a meetingon January 13 2009 with a work th - y ' session meeting on the 17 She indicated the Council discussed the Shoreland Ordinance, the CP Rail Bridge and how future nuisance abatements would be handled through the City. 8. PARKS AND RECREATION UPDATE—Michelle Olson Ms. Olson reviewed the Valentine Park drainage report information and stated the Council has accepted this information. She indicated the Council would now like for this to come back for discussion at a future meeting, along with receiving additional comments from residents. Ms. Olson handed out a packet of information and asked the Committee members to review this information and be ready for discussion at the March meeting. Ms. Olson reported that the rinks would be staying open until Saturday, depending on the . p y� p g weather. She indicated the ice has been great this season with the weather cooperating. Ms. Olson noted she would be presenting the attendance numbers to the Committee in March. A member questioned why the ice smelled funny at times. Ms. Olson explained that the smell had to do with the vegetation below the ice. Ms. O'Malley suggested an article be written for the next newsletter explaining this information as well as presenting the attendance numbers at the skating rinks for the past winter. The Committee was in support of this suggestion. Chair Peck indicated that Ms. Olson was trying to recruit a corporate member to the Committee j 3 Marjorie Shaver at Anchor Bank. He encouraged the Committee members to be in contact with her to join the PTRC. 9. OLD BUSINESS There was nothing at this time. 10. NEW BUSINESS Chair Peck reviewed a letter from Mr. Charles Rachel. He indicated he read the letter several tunes stating there were a variety of issues that needed to be addressed. Chair Peck encouraged the g Committee to provide comments so that a response could be drafted by staff and sent to Mr. Kachel. PARKS,TRAILS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 24, 2009 Page 8 of 8 e 11. NEXT MEETING--Tuesday Marche 17, 2009 The next PTRC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2009. 12. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Committee Member Peterson motioned to adjourn and Committee Member O'Malley seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:39 p.m. i 2008/2009 ICE RINK USER TOTALS GENERAL HOCKEY BROOM- TOTALS PARK DATES Hours SKATERS SKATERS BALL LESSONS PER PARK Cummings 12/15-2/23 369 221 79 0 60 360 Freeway 12/15-2/23 383.00 269 1,014 415 0 1:698 Hazelnut 12/15-2/23 383 330 11054 106 0 11490 Perry 12/15-2/23 383 63 538 225 55 881 Valentine 12/15-2/23 369.00 277 63 01 0 340 Subtotal 1,887 11160 21748 f 746 115 4 769 General 1160 Hockey 2,748 Broomball 746 Lessons 115 TOTAL 41769 2006/2007 Total Days Open 2007/2008 Total Da Vs Open Cummings 30 Cummings 50 Freeway 37 Freeway 57 Hazelnut 37 Hazelnut 58 Perry 33 Perry 55 Valentine 37 Valentine 49 Number of Number of Users 21876 Users 41320 2008/2009 Total Days Open Cummings 55 Freeway 60 Hazelnut 60 Perry 60 Valentine 55 Number of users 41769 Rink To RINK COMPARISON 2008-2009 z Total Participants Average Use Average PARK Hours Open days Open per rink Per Hour Use Per Day Cummings 369 55 360 0.98 6.55 Freeway 383 60 4;ZM 4S61 Hazelnut 383 60 1,490 3.89 24.83 Perry 383 60 881 2.30 14.68 Valentine 369 55 340 0.92 6_18 Subtotal 1:887 4,796 1 .24 2006/2007 Total Days Open 2007/2008 Total Days Open Cummings 30 Cummings 50 Freeway 37 Freeway 57 Hazelnut 37 Hazelnut 58 Perry 33 Perry 55 t Valentine 37 Valentine 49 2008/2009 Total Days open Cummings 55 Freeway 60 Hazelnut 60 Perry 60 Valentine 55 Rink To RINK COMPARISON 2007-2008 Total Participants per Average Use Average Use PARK Tours Open Days Open rink Per Hour Per Day [Cummings 283 50 365 1.29 7.30 Freeway 334.50 57 11414 4.23 24.80 Hazelnut 333 58 11,398 4.20 24.10 Perry 299 55 884 2.96 16.07 Valentine 280.50 49 259 0.92 5.29 Subtotal 17530 269 41320 2.82 15.51 2005/2006 Tote Days Open 200612007 Total Da vs Open Cummings 32 Cummings 30 Freeway 30 Freeway 37 Hazelnut 30 Hazelnut 37 Perry 32 Perry 33 Valentine 29 Valentine 37 Number of Number of Users 27635 Users 21876 2007/2008 Total Days Open Cummings 50 Freeway 57 Hazelnut 58 Perry 55 Valentine 49 Dumber of Users 41320 a Year to Year Comparison - Users per day per rink Avg.Use per Avg.use per Days open in Days open in day in day in Rink Use+/- PARK 200812009 2007/2008 2008/2009 200712008 from 200712008 Cummings 55 50 6.55 7.30 0.75 Freeway 60 50 28.75 24.80 3.95 Hazelnut 60 58 24.83 24.10 0.73 Perry 60 55 14.68 16.07 1.39 Valentine 55 49 6.18 5.28 0.90 Average 58 52 16.20 15.51 0.69 2006/2007 Total Days Open 2007/2008 Total Days Open Cummings 30 Cummings 50 Freeway 37 Freeway 57 Hazelnut 37 Hazelnut 58 Perry 33 Perry 55 Valentine 37 Valentine 49 Dumber of Number of Users 2,876 users 41320 2008/2009 Total Days Open Cummings 55 Freeway 60 Hazelnut 60 Perry 60 Valentine 55 Dumber of Users 4,726