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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-02-03 P & R Minutes Approved Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - 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, February 3, 2009 at City Hall, 1880 Main Street. Present: Chairperson Patrick Branch Committee Member Kevin Selander Committee Member Suzanne Seeley Committee Member Kevin Amundsen Committee Member Mark Haiden Committee Member Brian Peterson Absent: Vice Chairperson Jon Grahek Council: City Council Liaison Mayor Capra Staff: Staff Liaison Kim Stephan Finance Director Mike Jeziorski __________________________________________________________________________________________________ I. CALL TO ORDER Roll Call Chairperson Branch called the February 3, 2010 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. II. SET AGENDA Mayor Capra requested adding Public Works Preliminary Projects under Committee Business as #5. Committee Member Amundsen requested adding Hugo Movie Night under Committee Business #6. Chairperson Branch requested adding Mr. Mark Spitzmueller, Bald Eagle Water Ski Club, under Appearances. Motion was made by Committee Member Amundsen, seconded by Committee Member Seeley, to set the agenda with above additions. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. III. APPEARANCES Mr. Mark Spitzmueller, Bald Eagle Water Ski Club Mr. Mark Spitzmueller from the Bald Eagle Water Ski Club made an appearance to update the committee on recent club events. Mr. Spitzmueller had previously discussed the club’s desire to attract more members and become more visible within the community. Mr. Spitzmueller had a flier he would like to use perhaps for the next utility billing mailing or newsletter, on the City web site 1 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 and any other place the committee felt would help spread the word as to what the club was about. Mr. Spitzmueller will send this electronically to Ms. Stephan. Chairperson Branch stated he would like the Bald Eagle Water Ski Club to be adopted as one of the committee’s projects. Mr. Spitzmueller said the club was planning on getting together this weekend to look at the site (off the trailside park on Centerville Lake) and drill some holes in the ice to check the depth to see if it will work for their purpose. It is possible members of the club will come by the Skate Night to have a presence and talk to anyone who may be interested regarding the Bald Eagle Water Ski Club or the shows. For 2010 the club still has permission from Mr. Rich DeFoe to operate off of the Water Works site. Mayor Capra questioned what the club planned to do about parking if the trailside park site is used for the shows. Mr. Spitzmueller said they have been looking at different options and he has talked to Father Fitzgerald about the possibility of parking at St. Genevieve though he needs to go back and talk to the church council. As the corner develops into the trailside parks the church does not want people cutting through Goiffon Road and has asked for screening. The club has also considered approaching the school for parking. The shows are at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday through the summer months. Committee Member Seeley said it was her hope that with the new trail and parks families would walk and bike to the event. Mr. Spitzmueller suggested that one of the things that could be done yet this winter while the lake is frozen was to cut down the trees and brush that are hanging over the lake. He offered the Bald Eagle Water Ski Club’s help to cleanup and haul away the wood if need be as a great activity to get members involved. Ms. Stephan reported the City does have title to the property, the project is moving forward in 2010 and we have almost all of trail easements. Mayor Capra said this item could be discussed under #5 Committee Business - Public Works Preliminary Projects, as we would need to coordinate that with Public Works and possibly Mr. Mark Statz, City Engineer. Committee Member Amundsen asked about insurance and the potential liability of having volunteers do some of the work. Mr. Spitzmueller stated the club would supply the City with a Certificate of Liability Insurance. Ms. Stephan will pass this information on to Staff. Mr. Tom Lee, 2010 Fete des Lacs Parade and 8K Run Mr. Tom Lee was unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Mike Jeziorski, City of Centerville Finance Director (Financials) Mr. Mike Jeziorski, Finance Director made an appearance at the Committee’s request to answer questions that were asked at the last meeting regarding the committee’s budget. Chairperson Branch has been working with Mr. Jeziorski to formulate a spread sheet that best represents monies available to the committee, expenses and income in an easily understandable manner to the committee. One question was in 2009 the committee received a $1,500 donation from American Family Insurance as well as two $100 donations from American Family and Farmers Insurances. The $200 was specifically for the 8K Race, the $1,500 was as of yet not ear marked for a project. These were rolled over at the end of 2009 into the General Fund and were not included in the Parks & Recreation budget. Also the income generated from Registration Fees in 2009 for the 8K Run were rolled over into the General Fund. This was intended as start up funding for this year’s race and was not included in the Parks & Recreation budget. Mayor Capra requested Mr. Jeziorski 2 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 provide the City Council with a budget amendment on these two items. Moving forward there will be a separate line item for the 8K included in the budget and the committee will be involved in the budget process as it involves the Parks & Recreation budget. The overall budget for Parks & Recreation is $10,382.50, but discretionary funds are $2,500, of which most has already been spent with committing $1,500 to the YMCA Summer Program and $750 to the Skate Nights/Horse Drawn Hayride. Committee Member Seeley asked about the 2010 Trail & Park Project and funding for the matching portion of the $750,000 grant. Mayor Capra said bonding would be done for the matching portion with future downtown Park Dedication Fees used for payback. Committee Member Haiden questioned whether the committee will know what funds they have to work with when the 2010 Trail & Park Project starts if for instance one portion comes in under budget would those funds be able to be used elsewhere on the project? One example would be adding the pergola back into the Cornerstone Park if additional funding was available. The committee discussed the need to find other options for funding projects since Park Dedication Fees in all probability will not be available for the committee’s discretionary use. Mr. Jeziorski stated moving forward any donations that come into the City specifically for the Parks & Recreation Committee such as charitable gambling needs to earmarked for a deferred project if not spent in that year.The committee would like to use the $1,500 donation from American Family Insurance for the Music in the Parks Program in 2010. IV. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES January 6, 2010 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes Committee Member Seeley requested changing the following sentences under Appearances to reflect she was meeting with Mr. Neutkens, not Committee Member Amundsen.Mr. Neutkens arranged to meet with Committee Member Amundsen to have him sign off that work has been completed. Motion was made by Committee Member Haiden, seconded by Committee Member Seeley, to approve the January 6, 2010 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes with the above correction. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Code of Ethics Policy/ Disclosure Statements Information was provided to the committee for 2010. Discussion of History of Parks (Future Developments, Plans, Additions, Park Overview) This item was added to the agenda to help new members to the committee gain some insight and history on past projects. Since Committee Member Grahek was not in attendance, Chairperson Branch tabled this discussion until the next scheduled committee meeting. 3 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 Park Planning (Branch) Ms. Stephan supplied the committee with aerials of each park including a piece of property the City owns on Mill Road and along the east side of the pond abutting Royal Meadows Park. Also included in the packet were pages from the Comprehensive Plan corresponding to Parks & Trails. Chairperson Pat Branch would like a Committee Member responsible for each of the parks and a yearly update within the committee as to what is the purpose of each park. Each member would take responsibility of a park and the issues associated with it, what does the park need, so when we do have funds available we know right where they need to be applied and not depending on the memories of the members. Chairperson Branch asked the committee members to think about which park (s) they would like to be involved with. Committee Member Seeley said she would specifically like to look into what could be done with the Mill Road property. Mayor Capra discussed how that ties into the Capital Improvement Plan suggesting the committee inventory the parks and set goals for 1 to 5 years, perhaps looking out 5 to 15 years, for example what if St. Paul Water Utility wants to abandon the piece of property next to Hidden Spring Park would we want to acquire that piece? The plan can be continually adapted or amended. Mayor Capra stated the trail project for 2010 has been in the works since 1998. Committee Member Amundsen questioned maintenance on the City trails. It appears to be a problem now, how is the City going to be able to maintain new trails with short staff and budget cuts. This is an issue with the parks also with planting, weeding, watering and maintaining the flower beds and rain gardens. Committee Member Amundsen said we have all these great trails and parks, but no way to maintain them. Conditions of the fields at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park were used as an example. Mayor Capra suggested looking for grants, maybe the Twins have grants specifically for Little League use, the only way to find out was to do research and she would see if Mr. Mike Jeziorski, Finance Director has time to look into it. Chairperson Branch said the first line of the comprehensive plan makes reference to a 1998 plan which he received a copy of from Ms. Stephan. In reading the 1998 plan Chairperson Branch did not find a great deal of value for the committee in 2010. Committee Member Seeley asked whether the City had ever heard anything from Anoka Country regarding the safety issues with bikers and pedestrians crossing Main Street at Peltier Lake Drive and Lakeland Circle. The City Administrator had sent a letter to Mr. Doug Fischer, County Engineer requesting it be looked at. Ms. Stephan will check with Mr. Larson and report back to the committee. Public Works & Preliminary Projects Mayor Capra asked to have this on the agenda to discuss the importance of including Public Works in plans even at the preliminary stage as the Public Works Director or Staff may have input necessary to move forward on a project. The PRD (Project Requirement Document) form that was created for the committee by Committee Member Haiden is a valuable tool, but the committee has not really had an opportunity to use it. Mayor Capra used the example of the sand volley ball court when discussing projects with Mr. Palzer, Public Works Director and for instance there is potential for the committee to use gravel that Public Works already has. The placement of a volleyball court 4 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park is also questionable as to the room required. Committee Member Haiden will adapt the PDF form to use for preliminary projects. Mayor Capra felt the committee was perhaps missing a piece by not having early communication with Public Works. Hugo Movie Night Committee Member Amundsen requested adding a discussion of Hugo Movie Night as he had seen in the local paper Hugo’s Parks & Recreation had offered this community event at the grade school and had 250 people attend. The committee discussed doing something similar also as a community event or possibly as a fund raiser. The questions were is it possible to charge for it, would there be legal ramifications or movie rights associated with a fund raising event? More research would need to be done in this area. Mayor Capra stated the White Bear Lake Theater can be rented out for a reasonable rate before regular hours for a party. Consideration of Liebel Property on Main Street (Capra) Mayor Capra asked this be put on the agenda to determine if the committee had an interest in this property for a trail side park. Mayor Capra explained to the committee that there is an Indian Burial Mound on the adjacent property that is protected. There are few documented mounds in this area. In June of 2009 Anoka County was approached by the City to determine if there was an interest in joining together to try and secure a grant for perhaps an interpretive center, but the County was not interested. Mayor Capra reported Mr. Kurt Glaser, City Attorney was asked to research the potential of securing grants through Casinos to develop the Liebel piece of as a historical site. Mr. Glaser reported the general consensus was to not draw attention to the burial mounds for fear of vandalism. Committee Member Seeley said this piece is on a highly monitored section of road and very visible. It was suggested pro-bono services such as engineering could be searched out perhaps by going through one of the Casinos or Tribal Councils. The taxable market value in 2009 was $233,000. There is currently a building on the site which has been used for many years as auto body repair. The piece also has a sliver of property on Peltier Lake. If the committee was interested in pursuing this Mayor Capra will bring it to council to see if Staff could be directed to do some research. The committee is interested, but with budget constraints the difficulty would come in financing the project, even a matching grant would be difficult. The committee would like to ask Staff to do research on grants for this type of project VI. UPDATES 2010 ~ 8K Run Chairperson Branch updated the committee with sponsorship information; from last year the Blue Heron Grill will not sponsor again this year, Creative Kids will be a sponsor and a new sponsor was found with Right Foot Running. There will be more expenses this year since the run will not be in conjunction with the Centerville Lion’s events. Flea Market / Cleanup Days Neither Committee Member Seeley nor Mayor Capra have any updates at this time other than 5 of 6 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting Minutes 02-03-10 Committee Member Seeley will schedule a Master Gardener for the morning of the event, Saturday, May 8, 2010 with the location yet to be determined. Sand Volley Ball Court at Laurie LaMotte Memorial Park Committee Member Amundsen supplied the committee with a bid from Goetz Landscape of $9,476.25 for construction of a sand volleyball court. Materials were $5,365.25 and Labor & Equipment were $4,111.00. Committee Member Haiden will modify the PRD to include all the information gathered to date on this project and submit it to Public Works for review. 2010 Skate Nights The committee discussed the January Skate Night and Horse Drawn Hayride which was well attended with probably 200+ people. The hay ride was a big success and was always full. Almost all of the hot chocolate and popcorn was used and supplies will have to be replenished before the February 6, 2010 Skate Night. Ms. Stephan will get supplies before the scheduled night and arrange with Chairperson Branch to have them picked up. Committee Member Amundsen is unable to attend this one but will arrange to have the pallets picked up as well as the hay bales which are stored at Public Works. Ms. Stephan will make sure Public Works is aware of the date of the event, get the key for Committee Member Branch and make sure the water heater is turned on. Committee Members will be there by 5:30. VII. FINANCIALS This item was discussed under Appearances. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Committee Member Seeley, seconded by Committee Member Amundsen to adjourn the February 3, 2010 Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting at 8:40 p.m. All in favor. Motion passed unanimously. Transcribed by Kim Stephan 6 of 6