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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-06-01 P & R Minutes Approved Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Parks & Recreation Committee of the City of Centerville held the regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at Centerville City Hall, 1880 Main Street. Present: Chairperson Patrick Branch Vice-Chairperson Jon Grahek Committee Member Suzanne Seeley Committee Member Mark Haiden Committee Member Kevin Amundsen Committee Member Brian Peterson Absent: Committee Member Kevin Selander Council: Council Liaison Steven King Staff: Staff Liaison Kim Stephan Also present were Mary Capra, Philip Capra, Carla Faust and Rob Faust. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. CALL TO ORDER Roll Call Chairperson Branch called the June 1, 2011 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. II. SET AGENDA Committee Member Seeley requested an update on Hidden Spring Park be added as Update #7 . Motion was made by Committee Member Seeley, seconded by Committee Member Grahek, to set the June 1, 2011 Parks & Recreation Committee Agenda with the above addition. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. III. APPEARANCES Mr. Philip Capra, Eagle Scout Tree Diversification Project Mr. Capra showed a short DVD of the tree planting project. There were approximately 50 volunteers present to help, in spite of the rainy conditions. The volunteers were from the Boy Scout Troop, the Honor Society and the community. Rum River Tree Farm, where the trees were purchased, donated an additional 22 bags of mulch, larger Linden trees than were purchased, as well as the time of two staff members to help with the planting. Mr. Capra was very happy with the outcome and thanked the Parks & Recreation Committee Members for their support of his project, as well as their knowledge and guidance. 1 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 The project now goes to the Many Waters District Board for acceptance. Mr. Capra also stated he needs an inspection from a DNR Forrester and the paper work needs to be filed with Finance Director, Mike Jeziorski for his project to be completed. Mr. Rob Faust, Eagle Scout Flag Pole Project The committee had requested Mr. Faust look into LED lighting for the flagpole. He checked pricing with Viking Electric and determined LED lighting would be 3-4 times more expensive than halogen lights and this option is not financially feasible for his Eagle Scout Project. Mr. Palzer, Public Works Director informed Mr. Faust there will be no electrical power to the flagpole during the time frame Mr. Faust is hoping to complete this project so Mr. Faust offered the committee the options; bring the need for electric to City Council to determine if power can be supplied sooner, give the lights to Public Works to be installed at a later time or go without lights. The committee assumed when the project is finished by September 2, 2011 there will be electrical power to the park, but Ms. Stephan will verify that item with Mr. Palzer. The possibility of not raising the flag until there is electricity available was suggested. There is no longer a requirement for flags to be lit at night, but it is still expected by many residents. The committee discussed the option of installing the light on the pole. Mr. Faust stated he had researched that and because the pole is so big at 6” diameter, there is not an attachment to fit this pole. The largest available is 4”. Mr. Faust said his target date for completion of this project is sometime this summer; he needed to contact the Project Manager for the Trail Project to determine the timing of concrete in Cornerstone Park hoping to be able to use the left over concrete to fill the flag pole footing. Mr. Faust supplied the committee with some suggested verbiage for the Veteran’s Memorial plaque; Freedom is Not Free, For All Who Have Served, Lest We Forget, and America, America, We Gave You Our Best. The committee favored ‘For all who have served. America, America we gave you our best.’ A decision was not made at this time however; members will come back with ideas or suggestions at the next committee meeting. Suggestions were discussed as to the type of plaque; a small bronze plaque in the ground at the base of the flag, a raised and tilted plaque located in the landscaping or placement of a granite rock with the plaque attached. It needs to be vandal resistant. The plaque would most likely be 8 ½” x 11”. Mr. Faust was reminded an Electrical Permit would be required if there is electrical work involved. The committee would like to see specs on any lights prior to them being ordered. IV. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES May 4, 2011 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Grahek, seconded by Committee Member Petersonto approve the May 4, 2011 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes as is. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Free Comfort Yoga as Part of Fete des Lacs A local business owner Thia Casanova, Image Attitudes, contacted Ms. Stephan regarding the possibility of offering a FREE Yoga session in Hidden Spring Park during Fete des Lacs. She does this regularly 2 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 throughout communities to bring the idea of Yoga to residents. Ms. Casanova’s proposed flier was supplied to the committee. The Parks & Recreation Committee was in favor of the idea, but questioned liability insurance. Ms. Stephan stated most Yoga instructors/studios have participants sign a waiver prior to classes. The committee requested Ms. Stephan ask Ms. Casanova about her policy and also forward the question to City Administrator Larson. Motion was made by Chairperson Branch, seconded by Vice-Chairperson Grahek to recommend City Council approve the proposal as presented by Ms. Casanova for a free Yoga session at Hidden Spring Park as part of the Fete des Lacs celebration pending answers to liability issues.All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. Consideration of Reserving/Renting of Parks Staff presented the idea of the committee considering a user fee/rental/reservation fee for the local parks. Recently City Hall received a request to reserve Hidden Spring Park for a wedding. Staff explained it was on a first come, first serve basis and they would have to arrive early to reserve it themselves if they so desired. Research was done by Staff as to what surrounding city’s usage policies were. Hugo reserves pavilions for $5 and does not allow alcohol in the parks. Lino Lakes charges non-residents $25; they do not allow alcohol in the parks and have a 30 person minimum. Staff suggested that a minimal fee for use of Centerville Parks would offset the additional electricity, clean up, maintenance of the park and rubbish collection. Chairperson Branch suggested a variation of the Special Use Permit could be used. Committee Member Amundsen stated Washington County Parks has a really nice reservation policy and he would find out more information about it and bring it back to the next committee meeting. Committee Member Seeley stated that Anoka County Parks has different fees dependent on the number of people and whether it is a weekday or weekend. Some ideas discussed:  Should residents be charged a fee, only non-residents or a different fee for each?  Should there be an extra charge for clean up if the park is not left as it was found?  Should there be a damage deposit instead of a fee?  Even if there is not a fee charged, there should be a name associated with the usage in the event there is a problem. A fee would not necessarily have to be charged to give permission to use and reserve an area. Chairperson Branch suggested the committee think the various options through and table this item until the next scheduled meeting. The committee would like to come up with a policy to recommend to City Council. Use of City Email Addresses by Committee Members Ms. Stephan added this as an agenda item to determine if Committee Members are using their City email accounts or would prefer to go back to using their personal emails for correspondence as sending 3 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 correspondence to both City and personal email addresses seldom get responses from either. Most committee members found the City email cumbersome to use and were not checking it very often. There is a way to have the City email forwarded to the personal email, but not all members have been able to make this work. Committee Member Amundsen would prefer to continue using the City email, but some members would prefer going back to their personal email regardless of whether there could be potential litigation someday requiring their personal email to be looked at. Committee Member Peterson felt his personal email address was just more convenient for him. At this time Ms. Stephan will forward emails to both the City and personal email addresses of committee members. VI. UPDATES Bald Eagle Water Ski Shows City Administrator Larson has been working with Mr. Bill Tschida, St. Paul Water Utility and Mr. Mark Spitzmueller, Bald Eagle Water Ski Club, on what type of liability/insurance agreement will be needed. Committee members discussed the number of people, children and bikes they have seen on the Bald Eagle Water Ski Club’s dock. It was stated by Ms. Tina Lobin at an earlier meeting that the dock was collapsible onto itself to help prevent unauthorized people from using it. Because it is public park property residents would assume the dock is open for their usage unless posted otherwise. Ms. Stephan will contact Ms. Lobin about posting the dock as private property. Music in the Park Ms. Stephan will contact Mr. Tom Lee and ask him if he has had an opportunity to order the additional equipments or schedule a time with his band for the committee to practice using the PA system. Signage for Trails (Seeley) Committee Member Seeley provided the committee with pictures of the new trail signage recently installed by Anoka County Parks. The committee was surprised by the detail on the signs and how many signs were placed in areas the committee thought the City would need to be responsible for. Chairperson Branch noted there is advertisement for Blue Cross Blue Shield who must have been a sponsor of the signage. Committee Member Amundsen was concerned with making the signs more vandal resistant; Anoka County’s signs just have sheet metal screws which are easily extracted. The committee now needs to go around the trail system and see what other signage the committee feels would be necessary. Chairperson Branch will contact Anoka County for more information on their signs such as cost, manufacturer and whether Blue Cross contributed to the cost. Council Member King questioned whether collaboration with Lino Lakes and/or Hugo would be possible, for instance ordering signs together for a reduced bulk price. The committee needs to think about how much of Centerville or our parks/trails should be on the signs. Committee Member Seeley felt there was too much detail on the County signs; the City signs do not need that much detail. Also noted were all of the logos on the County signs actually covered up the information. 4 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 Concession Stand at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park The City received donations in the amount of $1,475 from the Centerville Lions and two individuals who wish to remain anonymous, to support the concession stand. Included in the packet was a revenue/expense statement from the Finance Director, Mike Jeziorski, for the concession stand operation (without accruals). Mr. Jeziorski updated the committee via email: To date we have purchased the Nemco hot dog steamer and miscellaneous initial outlay supplies with the donation, but are not going to purchase any more equipment at this time. City Administrator Larson said he would suggest that we continue as we have been through the season. We can then assess what is needed for next year. At that point the Lion's trailer may or may not be in the mix. One suggestion the committee had for the concession stand is to have a sign placed perhaps near the warming house, on the trail or even on the end of the concession trailer facing the parking lot that says the concession trailer is open and the hours. Committee Member Amundsen suggested the committee think about a safety issue with foul balls landing where spectators are seated. In a recent visit to the park he witnessed this occurrence multiple times in a short time frame. At one time Mr. DeFoe offered the committee the fence that is on the Waterworks property, but the committee really saw no need for it at the time. Committee Member Amundsen will stop by and look at what type of back stop is available with that fencing. Vice-Chairperson Grahek will draft a thank you letter to the Centerville Lions and the anonymous donors for the generous contribution to the concession stand project. Council Member King asked if the committee had given any more thought to or research on the possibility of having a trailer or some type of receptacle available to recycle cans as a fund raiser. While the committee has discussed it, nothing has been done at this time. Festival of the Lakes 8K Run Chairperson Branch was able to have the fliers for Music in the Park and the 8K Run included in the Friday Flash distributed to elementary students for no charge to the Parks & Recreation Committee. Chairperson Branch also reported major problems with the registration company’s web site for the run, they switched sites and somehow lost everything, the Fete des Lacs 8K was not even listed. Everything is fixed now, but they are uncertain as to whether registrations were lost. The committee needs a massive effort to get the word out. Chairperson Branch will email all those who have participated in the past and send a note to Deb Barnes, Citizen, as he has not seen an article he wrote for the paper published as of yet. Chairperson Branch has also been working with the Centerville Lions and Jeff Paar, Parade Committee, regarding an ad that is being developed which will run 3 times in the Citizen with the cost split in thirds, between the Lions, the parade and the 8K. Committee Member Seeley will post the information at the Anoka County Parks. Trail Project Time Line & Construction Meeting Minutes This was presented to the committee as information only. There were no questions; Chairperson Branch stated everything looks to be on schedule. 5 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 06-01-11 Hidden Spring Park Committee Member Seeley, Committee Member Haiden, Terry Johnson and Leah Haiden had volunteered to help brush the lake shore at Hidden Spring Park. Committee Member Seeley thanked those who helped and asked for an update on the weeding at the park. Ms. Stephan said she had not had a chance to get back to the lake shore, but all the monument signs in the 6 parks have been planted and Public Works seasonal help have been watering. The lake shore still needs work and the suggestion was made to weed, particularly looking for thistle and dandelions, whenever members have time available. Chairperson Branch said he thought the park looked great except for the weeds in the Class 5 trail. Ms. Stephan will bring that to Public Work’s attention VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Committee Member Peterson, seconded by Committee Member Amundsen, to adjourn the June 1, 2011 Parks & Recreation Committee meeting at 8:25 p.m. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. Transcribed by Kim Stephan 6 of 6