Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-08-06 P & R Minutes Approved Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes August 6, 2008 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, August 6, 2008 - 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Parks & Recreation Committee of the City of Centerville held the regularly scheduled Wednesday, August 6, 2008 meeting at City Hall, 1880 Main Street. Present: Chairperson Suzanne Seeley Vice-Chairperson Kevin Amundsen Committee Member Patrick Branch Committee Member Savannah Lee Committee Member Mark Haiden Committee Member Kevin Selander Committee Member Lori Harris Absent: None Council: Council Liaison Tom Lee Staff: Staff Liaison Kim Stephan _______________________________________________________________________________________ I. CALL TO ORDER 1. Roll Call Chairperson Seeley called the August 6, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. II. SET AGENDA Chairperson Seeley requested an appearance by Mr. Jeff McDowell, Bonestroo Landscape Architect, be added to discuss replacement plantings in the rain garden. Vice-Chairperson Amundsen requested adding a discussion of Centerville/Peltier Lake Issues under updates. Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, seconded by Committee Member Branch, to set the agenda as presented with the above additions. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. III. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES July 2, 2008 Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 1 of 5 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes August 6, 2008 Motion was made by Chairperson Seeley, seconded by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, to approve the July 2, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes as is. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. IV. APPEARANCES Mr. Jeff McDowell, Bonestroo Landscape Architect, Replacement Rain Garden Plantings Mr. Jeff McDowell of Bonestroo made an appearance to discuss the replacement of plantings in the rain garden at Hidden Spring Park. Approximately 2/3 of the plants which were planted in 2007 had died. Mr. McDowell reminded the committee once the plantings were in place the watering is the City’s responsibility. Chairperson Seeley questioned the warranty on this second set of plantings. Mr. McDowell replied the first set of plantings was completely covered for one year, but the second set of plantings are not covered by any warranty. The committee thought one of the reasons for not replacing the plants last fall or early this spring was to ensure the optimal conditions were being met for the best survival of the replacement plantings to take advantage of the best scenario for the continued warranty. Mr. McDowell said the contractors only warranty the first planting, but he would check to see if this could be altered for this instance since it was not the plants which were defective. The plants died because the outlet structure was not working correctly and the plants were flooded for an extended period of time. The outlet is now functioning correctly, the rain garden is stabilized and there should not be a problem with the plants having plenty of time to take root before winter. The committee reviewed with Mr. McDowell the selected plantings and he stated his overall concept design was based on the committee’s request for showy flowering blooms which would be used as a demonstration for the community as to what could be done with a rain garden. Most of the plantings selected are native. The committee was supplied with a handout with a description of each plant and the duration the plant can be under water before it has adverse affects. There is some difficulty involved in selecting plants which can be inundated with water but can also tolerate some drought. Mr. McDowell is comfortable with the hydrology and plants as he has presented to the committee. The plants that failed to thrive on the shoreline were small plugs in extreme conditions, this time one gallon potted plants are being planted. Motion was made by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen, seconded by Chairperson Seeley to recommend City Council proceed with the plantings for the rain garden as presented by Mr. Jeff McDowell, Bonestroo Landscape Architect, with clarification of the plant warranty to be supplied to Staff by the August 13, 2008 regularly schedule City Council meeting. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Additional Lighting Request at Tracie McBride Memorial Park This item was added to the agenda as there was a request from a resident for the committee to consider installing additional lightening. Committee Member Lee said that there is only one light and at night it is perhaps dangerous. Chairperson Seeley requested between now and the next committee meeting that each member go past the park and see what they think about additional lighting. Council Member Lee stated that parks are however designed to close at dusk and would additional lighting encourage more 2 of 5 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes August 6, 2008 activity after dark? The resident was not specific about where and what kind of light. Committee Member Selander suggested soliciting feedback from other residents in the area and to consider some residents may object to more lights. The committee discussed sending postcards to abutting property owners, but decided to wait until the committee members had an opportunity to view the park in the dark to take any further action. Committee Member Harris suggested perhaps the light that is currently . there just needs to be moved or adjustedIt was suggested the Police Department be asked their feelings on whether they thought additional lighting was necessary at this particular park. Ms. Stephan will forward this to the Police Department. Trail Priorities Vice-Chairperson Amundsen had talked to Mr. Mark Statz, City Engineer regarding trail options F and I which cross CSAH 14 with a proposed underpass. Mr. Statz said the underpass was part of the Safe Route to School Grant, which the City did not receive, and the underpass was not economically feasible without the grant. Vice-Chairperson Amundsen would like these options (F & I) removed from the plan as without an underpass or a light, this would be a dangerous trail crossing. Another suggestion was option F be moved west to the back side of the cemetery following creek. Mr. Larson had asked Ms. Stephan to inform the committee that the options which were noted as concrete on the Trail Priority List probably could not be included with the grant project as the grant was for trails not for sidewalks and concrete were sidewalks. The committee had some discussion as to the difference between sidewalks and trails; sidewalks were not as wide, were concrete and were for foot traffic, not wheeled traffic such as roller blades and bicycles. Sidewalks are typically maintained by the abutting property owners while trails were maintained by the City. Council Member Lee stated that many years ago City Council had determined policy would be any collector streets in new developments would have sidewalks. The committee discussed whether the options that were concrete on the Trail Priority List could be changed to bituminous, but as they reviewed each one there were specific reasons why they were concrete; such as connecting to an existing sidewalk or width constraints. Each committee member has walked or bicycled Mill Road and talked to people doing the same regarding the necessity for a trail on this road. Each member continues to feels strongly that a trail is necessary on Mill Road because it is a safety issue; the road is too narrow, has a large volume of traffic and it is currently difficult at times to even meet another car on the road if there are vehicles parked on the street. The committee felt the Mill Road Path Alternative with the Road Centered on R.O.W – 10’ Bituminous Path, as submitted by Mr. Mark Statz, was the least invasive alternative to the Mill Road property owners and would like to recommend City Council consider this option also. Vice- Chairperson Amundsen stated with this option there will be no need to remove any trees. Committee Member Haiden stated some of the residents he has heard from are still concerned they will be assessed for this trail. Committee Member Branch still has concerns over forcing a trail on residents who do not want it, but the overall opinion of the committee is there are approximately 17 homes affected on Mill Road and while the committee hears their concerns, it still feels this is the best option for the City as a whole. The question was raised are we doing these trail at this time just because we have the grant money? Council Member Lee stated that while if the money was not available this project would not be done at this time, but all the options on the Trail Priority List have been being discussed for over 10 years and are included in the Comprehensive Trail Plan for the City. 3 of 5 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes August 6, 2008 The Committee would like to pass on to City Council that they reviewed the Trail Priority List and the options seem logical and reasonable. While there are logistical specifics to each option, the committee felt the order of the priorities looks good. Drinking Fountain at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park A drinking fountain was discussed and proposed for Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park a year ago when the pavilions were installed, but nothing was done at that time. Water is available near the pavilion. The committee would like to request Mr. Palzer determine what needs to be done to get the drinking fountain installed and get a quote to the committee. Ms. Stephan will pass this information on to Mr. Palzer. VI. UPDATES Tracie McBride Memorial Park Renovations Committee Member Harris said in general the renovations of Tracie McBride Memorial Park look pretty good, but there are still issues she is not happy with such as; the painting of the existing equipment turned out poorly, it looks like it was not even done. There is a part of the hanging monkey bars which looks as if it was installed incorrectly or has come apart and metal is showing, there are divots in the trail and sod was planted over gravel and has died. The committee does not feel the work is up to the standards the committee and the City should require. Council Member Lee suggested the committee make a formal statement to City Council. The committee questioned whether the contractor has received the final payment and if not could this be held off until the problems are resolved? Chairperson Seeley said she would contact Mr. Palzer to make an appointment to do a walk through of the park. Chairperson Seeley made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Haiden to recommend to City Council that the City consider a policy of not making the final payment on a park project until a final walk through has been done with staff and a Parks & Recreation Committee Member. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. Hidden Spring Park Committee Member Haiden contacted Barrot Well Drilling who had a representative meet with Committee Member Haiden and Mr. Palzer at Hidden Spring Park to discuss the options of getting the artesian well to produce more water flow. The representative of Barrot Well Drilling said more than likely what was tapped into was not actually an artesian well and to sink a new well would be approximately $4,000 - $5,000. Mr. Palzer informed Committee Member Haiden that the City was working with St. Genevieve Church and the City Engineer to possibly implement an irrigation plan using runoff from the storm pond located on the church property and this could possibly be used in some fashion to increase water flow to the spring using natural gravitation pull. The committee did not think drilling a new well or having electricity used to run a fake spring were options they would be in favor of. Vice-Chairperson Amundsen still feels the artesian well is there and the problem is the wrong diameter pipes were used to access the spring. 4 of 5 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes August 6, 2008 Fete des Lacs 2009 Centerville Lake Walk/Run The committee discussed advertising for the race and the necessity to advertise well in advance and made the following motion: Motion was made by Committee Member Branch, seconded by Vice-Chairperson Amundsen to request City Council approve expending funds not to exceed $1,500 for advertising in running publications for the Festival of the Lakes 8K Run to be held during Fete des Lacs 2009. The funding is being requested at this time as running publications have an August deadline for the following year. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. Chairperson Seeley and Vice-Chairperson Amundsen asked Committee Member Branch for information regarding volunteering at other racing to get experience in how races are handled. Committee Member Branch will bring this information back to the committee at the next meeting. Hail Damage to Pavilions Chairperson Seeley had inquired about the storm damage to the park pavilions and asked whether this was being taken care of. Ms. Stephan informed the committee that the insurance claim is being handled by staff. Centerville Lake & Peltier Lake Issues Included in the packet was information regarding a meeting held in Lino Lakes about the increased problems with the waters of Centerville and Peltier Lakes. Vice-Chairperson Amundsen attended the meeting and updated the committee as to the information presented at the meeting. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Committee Member Branch, seconded by Committee Member Haiden, to adjourn the August 6, 2008 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting at 8:55 p.m. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. 5 of 5