2000-05-03 Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Park and Recreation Report from Wayne LeBlanc April 25, 2000 for the May 3 Meeting I'll be in Bozeman, Montana, attending my daughter's graduation and I'm sorry I can't make the Park and Rec meeting May 3. Here is a report and some recommendations for your consideration. Summary and Recommendations on Lighting the Eagle Pass Trail I called Lino Lakes and found they do not light any of their trails. I was referred to a person in Ramsey County who said they only light cross country ski trails in the winter because it is dark so early and people like to ski a particular trail. Ramsey County has found vandalism to be a particular problem and they had to redesign their lights to prevent people from throwing rocks and breaking the lights. The NSP representative strongly discouraged the use of bollard lights (post style) because they do not provide much light and they are especially prone to vandalism. The real problem is cost and maintenance. I think it will become dear why other communities have chosen not to light their trails. A nice looking Domus style light (see picture at right) costs roughly $3,850 per light for installation. The trail at Eagle Pass is t 1,042 feet with a 55 foot and 360 foot spur for a total of 1457 or about 1500 feet of trail. With a light every 150 feet or so, and with a light on each end, that's 11 lights and poles for a total of $42,350. This is not a project for a $5,000 budget. In addition, maintenance • IcA is $5.45 per 100 watts of power per month. The maintenance contract is normally for 25 years, they relamp every 4 years, replace knocked down poles within 24 hours, etc. For `` 11 High Pressure Sodium lights at 100 watts each, that's about $50 per month or $600 per year ($15,000 for the 25 year contract). A shoebox light is $2,600 per light and that would total $28,600 for plain looking lights. - - Y My recommendation is to abandon the idea of lights for the Eagle Pass trail. I suggest Park and Rec concentrate on getting lights and lighting for Lamotte Park and consider that the place for after dark activities. In the summer, daylight extends to 9:30PM and there is no need to light trails anyway. In the winter, I suspect the trails will not be used much and lights will not be needed. I do not anticipate the Eagle Pass trail would be a cross country ski trail. Other Considerations I have more information on other aspects of lighting, but the above discussion may be all that is needed for the moment. Anything we do with lighting should be designed by a lighting expert. The NSP representative is sending me more information and I can report on this at the next meeting. When we are done with the information, I suggest it be passed on to the city as it may be a help to determine downtown lighting. On April 12, I provided the City Council with the proposed trail map and explained that it was a proposal to work trail issues with surrounding communities. I received one phone message from the St Paul Water Utility that said there should be no problem, but they had certain requirements and he wanted to talk to me about that. I just got the call and have not gotten back to him yet. Perhaps a trail could use the St Paul Water easement. It just needs to be worked. (Not related to Park and Rec activities, I also suggested the city consider using Larry Wacker as a consultant for planning and I referred the Council to an article in the Hugonian by Dave Schumann. Dave makes many great points about planning and the City of Hugo seems to be using the Larry Wacker firm for consulting. Recall that Larry Wacker was the consultant at the EDC "City Theme Workshop' on March 21. I gave the Council the one page suggestion I had that lights point down to avoid light pollution.) Note that I had prepared a survey for people near the Eagle Pass trail, but due to the recommendation not to do lights there, a survey is pointless. If you see one in the handout packet, realize that [suggest it be discarded. Thanks!! Wayne LeBlanc