Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-04-02 P & R Minutes Approved Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 6:00 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Parks & Recreation Committee of the City of Centerville held the regularly scheduled Wednesday, April 2, 2008 meeting at City Hall, 1880 Main Street. Present: Chairperson Suzanne Seeley Vice-Chairperson Kevin Amundsen Committee Member Kevin Selander Committee Member Mark Haiden Committee Member Savannah Lee Absent: Committee Member Lori Harris Committee Member Patrick Branch Council: Council Liaison Tom Lee Staff: Staff Liaison Kim Stephan __________________________________________________________________________________ I. CALL TO ORDER 1. Roll Call Chairperson Seeley called the April 2, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. II. SET AGENDA Chairperson Seeley requested adding Mr. Bob Johnson, St. Paul Fire Soccer Club, to the agenda under appearances to discuss potential usage of green spaces in Centerville for soccer practice. Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, seconded by Committee Member Haiden to set the agenda as presented with the addition of Mr. Johnson. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. III. APPEARANCES Mr. Bob Johnson, St. Paul Fire Soccer Club Mr. Bob Johnson made an appearance to discuss a proposal for the St. Paul Fire Soccer Club to use open spaces at Acorn Creek Park and the City owned lot adjacent to the Trio Inn for soccer practice. The club has seven (7) girls’ teams ranging in age from 13-17. The Soccer Club would provide the following: 1 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 ? Goals and nets at each location. ? Appropriate insurance coverage removing any liability to the City. ? The soccer club would be responsible for the lining of fields, unless that is a service which could be purchased from the city? ? The soccer club would anchor the goals in accordance with recommendations put forth by the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association. The time frame being requested would run from approximately April I5 - June 30, 2008, Monday through Thursday from 5:00 p.m. until dusk. The nets would be left in place for anyone to use the rest of the time. As for Acorn Creek Park, there would be minimal infringement on the open space because the nets would be spaced 100 yards apart. Mr. Johnson also suggested the additional traffic representing kids and parents should benefit local businesses during this time frame. Vice Chairperson Amundsen stated the City lot on Centerville Road is not in any condition for sports activities and would actually be dangerous. Council Member Lee stated he would not support using the vacant City lot as it is not a designated park or green space, it's mostly dirt (mud) and most importantly, there isn't a fence to keep soccer balls from flying into the traffic on Centerville Road. Council Member Lee did suggest the large grassy field at Tracy McBride Memorial Park and felt the green space at Acorn Creek Park should also work. It was suggested Mr. Johnson contact Mr. Doug Porter, Centennial Soccer Club as they do not use the fields at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park 100% of the time they have them reserved and maybe St. Paul Fire Soccer Club could pick up some additional field time there. Mr. Johnson had looked at Tracie McBride Memorial Park and felt it was not a large enough area for the club’s needs. Chairperson Seeley also stated this park will be under construction this spring. Chairperson Seeley was concerned about parking at Acorn Creek to which Mr. Johnson replied on any given night there would only be 6 – 8 vehicles as many of the players car pool or are drop offs. Ms. Stephan had talked to Public Works regarding the possibility of lining the fields and was told this is not something they offer and do not have the equipment to do so. The type of goals and nets were discussed to which Mr. Johnson said they will be built to the specifications of the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association and staked to the ground with padlocks. They will be assembled and disassembled on site and built with wheels so they can be moved if necessary. The goals/nets can be donated to the City and stored by the City or the soccer club will remove them in the fall and store them. Motion was made by Chairperson Seeley, seconded by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen to recommend City Council accept Mr. Johnson’s proposal as submitted, excluding the use of the City lot on Centerville Road. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Mark Statz, City Engineer – Hidden Spring Park Mr. Statz, City Engineer was not in attendance at the Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting, but was at the All Committee/Commission/Council Meeting directly following the Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting. The following notes, taken by Chairperson Seeley, were suggestions made during the meeting held on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at Hidden Spring Park regarding plans to address the problems with the rain garden and shoreline erosion. Chairperson Seeley reviewed these with the committee members. 2 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 In Attendance: Chairperson Suzanne Seeley, Vice-Chairperson Kevin Amundsen, Parks & Recreation Committee Tom Lee, City Council Liaison Mark Statz, City Engineer - Bonestroo Paul Palzer, Public Works Director Greg Thompson, Anoka County Conservation Department Rain Garden ? Mr. Thompson suggested using an apparatus that measures soil compression to help determine if the soil layers beneath the rain garden are porous enough to permit appropriate drainage. He mentioned that even if the soil composition is good, heavy construction equipment can compress the compost/sand/soil mixture to the point where it won’t drain well. He has the equipment and is willing to come back after the ground has thawed to measure it for us. ? We also talked about testing the drainage by opening up the fire hydrant, measuring the water as it fills the rain garden, then timing the absorption rate. The Rice Creek Watershed District can supply us with the number of gallons that would be equal to a 2 inch rain and the amount of time it should take to drain. Shoreline Erosion The following were the suggestions made by Mr. Thompson: ? Install new, sixteen inch bio-logs adjacent to the shoreline. ? Use a double or triple layering of snow fencing to stop wave action. ? Re-establish plantings in the bio-logs and for three feet immediately behind the bio-logs (in the transition zone) to eighteen inches above the average water level. ? Use a mix of 75% lake sedges and 25% wild flowers. ? Prairie Cord Grass is highly recommended and would provide a better viewing of the lake. ? Rather than using rock on the north side of the shoreline where the steepest drop off is, place a “rock log” (which is river rock rolled in chain link fencing) and anchor bio-logs to it. Use a C- 125 erosion control blanket to cover (encase?) the 16” bio-logs and plant heavily with the previously mentioned plantings. Place branch bundles with dirt fill where erosion has taken place. ? Also, without the additional cost of purchasing rock, there should be no additional cost to the city to correct the shoreline. 3 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 ? Mr. Thompson will send diagrams and additional information via email to Mr. Statz, Vice- Chairperson Amundsen and Ms. Stephan, staff liaison. Mr. Statz will sketch out a plan and present it to the Parks & Recreation Committee at the April 2, 2008 meeting. The following memo was from Mr. Mark Statz regarding the same meeting: On March 26th, we held a very productive meeting with Mr. Greg Thompson, of the Association of Metropolitan Soil & Water Conservation Districts. Also in attendance were: Council Member Lee, Kevin Amundsen, Susanne Seeley and Paul Palzer. We met on site to discuss strategies for remedy of the shoreline stabilization and rain garden issues. Shoreline Work We considered Bonestroo’s proposal to install rip rap (rocks) along the shoreline along with live stakes (willows or dogwoods). Both Mr. Thompson and City officials were not in favor of this approach for a number of reasons. Mr. Thompson believes that the stabilization can be accomplished through other means with proper control of the wave action. Also presented by Mr. Thompson was a set of calculations showing that the wave action would be categorized as “Low” based on the distance across the lake and the lake’s average depth. After considerable discussion, the following were the shoreline action items decided upon: ? Mr. Thompson will provide revised drawings incorporating his ideas for the stabilization ? Bonestroo will develop a work plan to reconstruct the shoreline per these revised drawings. As long as there are no large-cost items above the original design (such as rip rap), no additional cost participation from the City will be necessary. ? Bonestroo will present this work plan to the Parks and Recreation Committee and City Council as soon as possible. ? Bonestroo will begin work as soon as the City has approved the work plan. ? City officials, assisted by Mr. Thompson should inspect Bonestroo’s work once complete. Rain Garden ? A brief discussion of the soil mix in the rain garden centered on the percentage of sand specified. Bonestroo’s job specs called out 60% sand, 20% compost and 20% topsoil. Mr. Thompson’s suggested mix showed 75% sand and 25% compost. Several other items were discussed including replacement plant selection, sub-grade compaction and drain tile. At the end of the discussion, the following action items were set: ? Mr. Thompson will test the compaction of the sub-grade material as soon as the ground thaws. If the compaction level is found to be too high, Bonestroo will direct the contractor to correct the situation since Bonestroo’s specifications called for loosening of the sub-grade material. 4 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 ? City staff will fill the rain garden with a measured amount of water and allow it to drain out. This drain-down will be timed to determine if the rain garden drainage is meeting expectations. If it is not, Bonestroo will facilitate soil amendments to increase the infiltration ability prior to replanting of the rain garden. Mr. Mark Statz was in attendance for the last 10 minutes of the meeting and gave the committee an update in that he had talked to Mr. Thompson who was working on the information recommended at the March 26, 2008 meeting at Hidden Springs and as soon as Bonestroo had that information they would begin work to stabilize the shoreline. Chairperson Seeley stated the committee wanted to be kept informed of the progress and notified as to when the work was to begin, as well as a timeframe as to what would be done when as some members would like to be present to view the work as it is being done. IV. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES March 5, 2008 Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes Chairperson Seeley requested changing the word ‘partied’ to ‘parties’ on page 5, paragraph 2, under Hidden Spring Park. Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, seconded by Committee Member Selander to approve the March 5, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes with the above correction. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS VI. UPDATES Hidden Spring Park This item was discussed under appearances. Tracie McBride Memorial Park Renovations There are no current updates from Mr. Palzer regarding the time frame of the work to be done or the colored cement. Mr. Palzer said he will be able to supply detailed information for the May meeting. Earth Day Cleanup April 19th Staff had to make a trip to Sam’s Club for supplies and at that time bags, gloves, water and cookies were purchased for Earth Day supplies for the committee and participating volunteers. Ms. Colleen Greensweig called City Hall to say members of the Centennial Little League would be cleaning up Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park on Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Regarding what to do with the garbage that will be picked up during the park cleanup Mr. Palzer said the volunteers can either leave the bags at the parks and Public Works can pick them up, or they can 5 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes April 2, 2008 drop them off at the new public works building. He would provide a gate opener to access the dumpster. Summer Programs Included in the packet was a flyer from the YMCA for the summer programs. Ms. Liz Guimont dropped off 1,500 copies to be included in the next utility bill and be distributed to local businesses. Ollie & Company, Skate Board Competition In discussing the Ollie & Company events, Council Member Lee reported he had talked to Mr. Keiselhorst regarding having Ollie & Company as a Fete des Lacs event and Mr. Keiselhorst agreed it would be great to have an event specifically focused on the teenagers, but the Centerville Lions probably cannot finance the event. The June event is connected to Fete des Lacs also in that the Battle of the Bands would be a pre-elimination for the Fete des Lacs Battle of the Bands. Council Member Lee is willing to use his PA equipment for the June event at no cost. Committee Member Lee has worked up a design for fliers/posters and Vice-Chairperson Amundsen has worked on a design for the T-shirts. The committee felt that this is an important event for the youth of the community and would like City Council to consider reallocating some of the funds that would have been spent on the parade to cover the expenses of both Ollie & Company events. Motion was made by Committee Member Selander, seconded by Committee Member Haiden, to recommend to City Council the funding of a June 2008 Ollie & Company/Battle of the Bands event and a Fete des Lacs Ollie & Company event by reallocating some of the Fete des Lacs Parade funds, not to exceed $2,000 total for both eventsAll in favor. Motion carried . unanimously. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, seconded by Committee Member Selander to adjourn the March 5, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting at 8:25 p.m. All in favor. Motion passed unanimously. Transcribed by Kim Stephan 6 of 6