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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 17, 1989MAY, t989 Ace Hardware Sunburst/Lee Chemicals Shaw Lumber Tessman Seed & Chemical Ace Hardware Independent Black Dirt Co. Independent Black Dirt Co. Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Ace Hardware W.W. Grainger Radio Shack Williams Steel & Hardware Diamond Vogel Paints Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Viking Industrial Center Ace Hardware Vulcan Signs Ace Hardware Miracle Recreation Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Davies Water Equipment Neat S1 ate Co. Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Ace Hardware M & R Signs Quality Industries, Inc. Kokesh Athletics American Linen Supply Co. American Linen Supply Co. Scherer Brothers Lumber American Linen American Linen Flanagan Sales, Inc. Zep Manufacturing Radio Shack Mn. Elevator, Inc. Ace Hardware Ryco Supply Ace Hardware Sunburst, Lee Chemicals Coca-Cola Bottling Ryco Supply Co. Ace Hardware Midwest Coca=C°la Bottling Coke Midwest Bottling 31 .14 102.50 990.00 ,038.3O 4.39 433.2O 387.00 3.60 22.47 46.99 60.09 6.08 9.60 ,139.58 3.1o 2.29 24.62 38.79 2.94 1 ,152.06 5.49 1 ,831 · 5O 45.52 17.97 8O.OO 648.00 4.1o 9.31 2.00 129.10 732.00 175.80 12.85 ll .53 2.79 79.32 34.50 3,010.00 159.90 9.97 62.95 14.00 181.34 15.94 43.85 1 3o. oo 30.00 24.38 42.00 85.00 CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PARK BOARD SPECIAL MEETING CLOSING OF SILVER ,LAKE BEACH MAY 17, 1989 Members present: Also present: Bill Hollom, John Murzyn, Rita Petkoff, Jim Fow!er A1 Kennedy and Veronica Schiagel, Fred Salsbury Director Public Works/City Engineer John Tiggas, Leonard O!son, Lynn Miku!a, Lisa La!iberte Terry Noonan Bill Hollom ca!!edthe Public Hearing meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Ho!!om introduced the Park Board members to the audience. Hollom stated ~hat the purpose of the meeting was to consider whether or not the City should continue to operate a City Beach at Silver Lake. Fred Sa!sbury The question of whether we should close the beach ca~e from Staff %~£~t with costs escalating and attendance declining at the beach overt_he last ten years. The question is whether there is enough interest and do we want to continue to spend more dollars with fewer peop!e each year. ?here are some capital improvements (overhead was displayed with facts and figures) that need to be made very shortly with the dec!/m, ing use of the beach. The maintenance cost of ~he beach along %~ith the cost of recreation (lifeguard) is $21,127.30. That is an average cos~ of ~.96 for every tLme an individual steps on t he beach. The Capital Inprov~menss are parking lot $50,000, Buildings & shelters $25,000 and grou_nds (playground) $6,000. Maintenance has also deciinedat t/.%ebeachbecause of fewer employees and fewer dollars to be spent. He describedwhat maintenance was involved and what the capital dollars involved. He briefly discussed water quality and indicated a LLmno!ogist would present more desails. He briefly mentioned attends=hoe and indicated the Recreation Department would present more details. John Tiggas Lisa La!iberte, head lifeguard, impression is that attendance is declinLng. The base population that uses t2~e beach is families and elementary age children. High School amd above do not go the beach. .About 3,500 were at the beach in 1988. The guards do take attendance twice a day - once at i p.m. and agaL~ at 7 p.m. 'About half of the people swim and the rest sunbathe. People are somewhat distraught at the geese. The first few weeks of the last few seasons the guards would have to clean the dead fish off the beach before ope2~ing the beach. ?ne other comments people make was about the discoloration of the water. Most people would not swim but some choose to swim stating that they could wash it off. ?~is problem was worse two years ago. A great place to sun was comT~nts received. As we went through the attendsnce figures the highest attendance figures were Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The lowest days were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. However, overall the attendance has declined. Page Two Lisa La!iberte A lot to due with the decline in attendance is that it is not a real popular place for the high school kids to go. But the families and younger kids do use the beach - it is a nice place to swim. You don't have the rowdy kids or drinking. It is a safe place for families and kids to play. Terry Noonan Ramsey County has a lake management program and we have been involved with the home owners association for about three years conducting water quality studies on the lake. The City of Saint Anthony and Columbia Heights are also involved in this program along with Ramsey County. John Tiggas comments about the water quality follow along with the data we have obtained from the tests. We observed higher contents of phosphates an important nutrient for growth in the lake. It was about 20% less in !988. The whole goal of our prcgram is to develop a management plan for this lake and other lakes in Ramsey County. We need the cooperation of Rice Creek Watershed to implement plans that hopefully will better the quality of the lake. Our goal is for long term improvement to identify the important sources of pollution to the lake and try and deal with them -little pieces at a time and work up. The problems to Silver Lake are related to the w~tershed-no real surprise. Highly developed to the south-particularly Apache Plaza which drains about 75 acres of asphalt or pavement into the lake. Our estimates are that about 20% of phosphates come from that area. The lake is a very unique lake - chemistry that no other lake in Ramsey County has. It is a very va!ueable resource so were looking at a long term program along with Saint Anthony, New Brighton, Home Owners Association and the City of Columbia Heights. Captain Leonard O!son The data we have from 1988 is 8 calls to the beach (does not include routine patrol) - 6 were in summer months. Four were for v~nda!ism, 3 for trespassing and 1 for theft report. Officers do patrol the area. The Police Department does not brim~g to this meeting any recommendation to close the beach or keep the beach open. Salsbury presentation about 17 minutes; Tiggas and Laiiberte about 6 minutes; Noonan about 12 minutes and O!son about 3 minutes. Bill Ho!!om Hoitom acknowledged the following letters from the Salvation Army Camp, Renee LaBeau, Shiloh Bethany Presbyterian Church, Ken & Irene Parsons, Ellen Zimmerman and Dr Gary Good. Butt Buchen - 4607 Ivanhoe Place Page Three A new resident of Columbia Heights near the beach. Felt this beach would be a good place to grow up. Had to have several picnics at Moore Lake last year because the park is not open until 12 noon. Very disappointed at the service of this park. Parking lot is locked which ruins the attendance. Feels that if the beach has to be locked to put a chain link fence from Salvation Army Camp over to the private property. Talked to Police Officers who told him the only problems they have are parking problems. Need to get the parking lot fixed and open. Limnologist did not indicate any problems and the Police Department was not unhappy with having the park open - the only problem was with expense. The City Council is now considersing an equivalent amount of money to fix the fountain down on Central Ave. that people can drive past at 40 miles an hour. I don't know why you can't spend the same amount of money to improve a unique facility of this conrmznity. M~ Drusch - 4205 Stinson Blvd. I have been to the beach many times during last' few years and have noticed a decline in maintenance. There is dead fish on the beach, pampers, geese droppings on the beach - I think that we have resolved. If the beach were kept clean it would increase in the number of families that use the beach. If problem with cost possibly the kids could clean the beach for $5.00 an hour. The months of the year the beach is open - it isn't open as many hours as you say - but it should be opened in May not in August when the bugs are there. My husband suggested that if attendance is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday to close two days a week. Sa!sbury indicated that the cost of cleaning up the lake is tremendous - he didn't know if we could afford it - and I wonder if we don't need to clean the lake as much as we need to stop further pollution. Rice Creek Watershed is willing to work with us and we have a great lake we just need to stop having it. deteriorate. He also indicated we use a lot of seasonal personnel at $5.00 per hour. Cerry Herringer - 1731 Innsbruck Parkway Ail aware of the boat landing on the south end of the lake - I wonder if there isn't as much activity at the boat iandi.ng as there is on the beach. I ~think what we are doing if we close the beach were going to concentrate those mixed uses down at the boat landing - the kids will swim there, jet skis are there - boats are there - were going to load a gun with these mixed uses on such a narrow piece of beach. Water quality should be noticeable better with the new storm sewer. Salsbury indicated that the new pond was only for a minute piece of the drainage area on 41st Avenue. Virgil Young - 4400 Stinson Blvd. Attendance is half swimmers and half sunbathers. Many people who walk through the area. Should include that in attendance. Doesn't seem that the cost of the maintenance or recreation is such a high amount. Could have given us cost of other parks as comparison. Observe the lake and noticed a lot of people - attendance is down - when the weather is hot the attendance at all the lakes is down. Mr. Noonan - How does Silver Lake compare to other lakes? What is the cause of poor Water quality? I understand it is from fertilizer. Terry Noonan Page Four Yes, part of the problem. Fertilizer contains nutrients and one of the main ingredients is phosphrates. One thing home owners can do is have their soil tested, very rare for soil to test deficient in phosphrates in Ramsey County. Leave a buffer strip along the beach where we don't apply fertilizer at all. The lake is quite unique - water is mid range probably a little towards the poorer quality side. The reasons - a lot of upland areas near the lake, not windy on the lake, and highly urbanized watershed receiving drainage from sidewalks and streets. The lake is quite deep - in one area over 40 feet deep. It is a very productive lake and worth trying to preserve. Jan Po!!ey - 4109 Cleveland I grew up on a lake - resident for 20 Years. We take lakes for granted - big deal. Relatives from Iowa - they asked if we could swim in a lake - they have nothing but chlorine pools - this really startled us. Then when the thought came about that we might lose the beach we thought we should come down to preserve such a nice feature to have. My concern is if you close the beach - what would become of the beach? Sodded over or developed - If you decide not to have lifeguards - I guess that is the ~hance you take. Would there be a chance of community activities it seems that everything is at Huset Park. Would that increase attendance -and more widely used - make the money more worth the expenditure. John Tiggas Not sure what kind of specific activity. That is certainly a thought. Were using Mathaire Park this year and Huset Park for the other four concerts. Fred Salsbury Have to be quite careful what kinds of activities because the parking facilities are not. there. Ok for neighborhood functions but not for city wide functions. Oartis Ha!verson - 4232 Stinson Blvd. If you close the beach sell it to houses - they will do something to the hill - They will ruin the hill for sliding. If beach is closed they will swim at the boat landing - there is glass and kids will get hurt. I'm a person who uses the beach a!ot. Joe Burgoyne -4290 Stinson Blvd. We have lived on the lake for 15 years. A lot of people will swim on our property if the beach is closed. We have a chance of them getting hurt and then we would be sued. Ken Parsons - 4249 Stinson Blvd. How are you going to close down a beach on a lake. If you have a public park on a lake how do you close a beach. Your going to have drownings. Create a public nuisance if you have a park on a lake without a life guard. We live on the lake right next to the park and I'm surprised the police department do not have more reports on activities there because there is hardly a night that their isn't screaming and loud talking from the beach area until 3 a.m. I would like to have the Police oom%~t on it. Page Five Captain ©!son This is calls to thebeachandin fairness to the Officers the business they generate on their own is not included in this report. is not a fair report. So ia Ken Parsons I am happy they put an ordinance thruto limit the hours on t he beach although it is helpful - ! just wonder what kind of control we can put on a area that is open to the public that we call a park and not a beach. Fred Saisbury We have several other parks that are on lakes. Sullivan Park, LaBel!e Park -there are several on other water areas. Just because you have a park.~ on a lake doesn't meant hat swimming takes place. No question that if it is closed as a beachwe should try and discourage swimming. However, we can control hours of usage in any park. Gal! Fillmore - 4914 Washington It seems that betweenthe publicity~on the hearing andthe actual occurance the focus oft_his whole hearing has changed substantial!y. I understood it was the development question that the land would be so!dand now it is just the beach closing. I am hearing the Police say there is no probiem andthe lifeguard is in favor of keeping the beach open. I am wondering what the problem is. I have question for Terry Noonan - You didn't say anything about swimming? Terry Noonan Reaily the best test for swimming is ch!oroformtest and that is not something that we do. We do that for Ramsey County beaches but wehave not done that for Silver Lake Beach. We do water testing. Gai! Fillmore Is there going to be a hearing later on for development and the sa~e of the property. Bill Hol!om Anytb/ng other than the closing ofthebeachrequires another hearing and that is not what were here for tonight. Fred Salsbury There hasn't been any offers. The question came up -is there going to be enough activity to keep the beach - it was discussed at the City Council -but it is a possibility that the property could be sold. If they are going to close any park it does require hearings and discussions. Gai! FilLmore If the property isn't sold where would the money for the swimming poot come from? Page Six Fred Sa!sbury For five years now we have talked about a swimming pool. It was put in the Capital Improvement program five years ago. The High School pool is not available for the general public to utilize other than very limited hours, it has gone thru the Capital Improvement program since 1986 and the City Council has to deal with it - whether the dollars for design stay in the budget or do not stay in the budget. The construction dollars are in the CIP for 1991. The City Council has declining dollars available, and are stretched to include all work and desires requested. It is a tough and unenviable position. However, they will be weighing the swimming pool in their budget deliberations. Bob Hinrich - 1325 37th Ave. I have been swimming at Silver Lake for 55 years. I have started as early as May 15 and would swim as !ate as October iSth. All that time I have been able to park in the parking lot 3 times. That parking lot is never open. Seventy-five tax payers here that would like to keep the beach open. Bob Trudeau - 49 1/2 Ave. You have showed us the cost of the repair of the building and the playground equipment but have not shown us the cost of the beach. What does the beach cost us? Fred Saisbury The cost of maintaining the park would be $3,500 per year. We wouldn't maintain the building or concession stand or beach area as a beach. No lifeguard stations. The only thing we need, if the beach is closed, is the bathrooms. We wouldn't need such a large parking lot. The beach cost is the $21,000 i mentioned earlier. Gall Hinrich- 1325 37th Ave. The purpose of the meeting is to cdnsider whether or not the City should operate a city beach at Silver Lake. I don' t know how you can separate a City beach and a park. That beach is very unique. It is one package in my mind. If you close the beach than you might as well close the park - it wouldn't even be a very good park. Mel Dustrude - 4723 Heights Drive I have heard about the declining attendance and the costs involved. But I would like to ask how much as been spent for promotion? John Tiggas We do advertise in the Brochure and~he City Newsletter. every homeowner in the Heights. It goes to Carl Johnson - 1725 41st Ave. One question to John Tiggas -What has the attendance declined from five years ago to now? Fred Salsbury - What percent of your budget is used for Siiver LakeBeachmaintenance. Page Seven Fred Salsbury Up to about 1983 we kept some counts - The count than was 8,000. What has happened since then m~ybe John can answer. John Tiggas The Count has been steadly declining. The guards write an ex~a!uation at the end of each swimming season and each year the count has been declining. Fred Salsbury I don't have the figure available. will get back to you on that. Operating budget of the park - I Ellen Zimmerman - 1916 - 40thAve. I am talking on a broader range. Very passionate about lakes. A useable lake in Columbia Heights. I can't believe we are going to let it slip away where does it end. We have to keep it. Gary Good - Family Doctor in Columbia Heights - resident of Silver Lake The property is extremely va!uab!e. Last lot that was sold -sold for about $80,000. People go up north and buy lake shore. They want some place where they can look out and see the ducks, geese and wood ducks - people having fun on water skis. Ail that is part of what people do when they swim and sun on the beach. It wou!dbe nice if there were enough picnic tables for our people. No place where there is more than 3 tables grouped together. I would wonder how many swimming classes are taught at the lake? How many kids are being bused to the lake? I visited Moore Lake and Lake Johanna - none of the swimmingbeaches have any locks. Parking lot is open night and d~y. I'm not.sure why ours has to be locked. It wouidbe nice to cross country ski on the lake in the winter. Can't get there unless by canoe or on foot the way it is. I assist by putting copper sulfate in the lake each year. This controls the algae it is a temporary solution but seems quite effective. The water looks awfully clear. I was in swimming three days ago and I thinkthe swimming season has started already. The storm sewers are an advantage and disadvantage. They do keep the water up - they put in some pollutants and wash out some pollutants. Barbara Carroll - 1400 46th Ave. We have lived in the Heights for many years and h ave been swimming at thebeach for many years. If you close t_hebeachthe kids will swim at the boat dock we don't want any drownings. Has no developer expressed an interest in the property down there? Bill Hoi!om Not that I am aware of. am aware of. ~ No developer has expressed an interest that I Page Eight Barbara Carroll Columbia Heights is a small community and word gets around fast. There is a developer that has expressed interest. I think we feel that the wool has been pulled over our eyes. Fred Salsbury There have been some calls from developers. The answer we give them is that if it is going to be sold off there will have to be hearings on the sale of park property and things that have to be reviewed by both the City Council and the Park Board. I had calls five years ago about selling other parks. A lot of developers out there are looking for land but the whole timing is that there is a whole new process that has to be gone through if we sell park property. Doug Jones - Resident of St Anthony and tax payer of Columbia Heights Resident of Silver Lake and very active on the studies that Terry has done. We feel real close on making a major impact on the water quality of Silver Lake. State Legislative 112 statue allows for the Rice Creek Watershed District or any Watershed District in the state to levy up to 1/3 mill for water quality improvements and that money is levied over the entire Rice Creek Watershed District which runs thru 3 counties. There are pctentia! funds outside of Columbia Heights and St Anthony. In related matter Sa!sbury in a report to the City Council last February stated that "I would suggest that the City Council consider the possibility of budgeting for a plan for the City of Columbia Heights to clean up LaBel!e Pond" and also referred to Hart Lake. The financial obligation lies solely with the City since we are the unit of government that argued strongest for the contributor financial responsibility rather than a adva!uem responsibility. The point is that if you amortize the parking lot over i0 years maybe $26,000 - put some canoes some padd!eboats down there we can have a real asset to our community. We have to work together to improve the water quality at Silver Lake. Paul Aldrich - 4524 Stinson Blvd. We feel like the beach is in our front yard. I come to the mike not on basis of pages of homework nor on the basis of 30+ years of residence. I would like to think I might be representative of young couples or families that are moving into Columbia Heights. My wife and I bought our home two years ago. We use the beach many many tLmes. Have 9 1/2 month old son and look forward to going to the beach. Bruce Nawrocki - 1255 Polk Place Cleaning up the lake is going to be incurred whether or not the beach stays open or not. I think the cost of the parking lot of $50,000 is ludicrous. You go to alot of beaches that don't even have a parking lot. Insulting the inte!ligance of people to suggest that the issue is limited to whether or not there should be a beach. A lot of discussion to closing the beach, selling off the property and using the money to build a free standing pool. It is common knowledge and reported in the papers. I feel very strongly about keeping the property. The land needs to be kept in the park system regardless what you do to the beach. We have too few parks as it is. Page Nine Dave Kelso - 41st and Arthur I support keeping the beach. There has been a lot of discussion that if you close the beach you would se!! t_he property. One final comment I first heard the plans of selling the beach from cable. Fred Sa!sbury I'm going to comment again. If the beach is closed and at that point there doesn't seem to be much interest in the park, which requires the hearings mentioned earlier, that is where a discussion of what would you do with the land should occur. Answer from audience I agree with Fred - and What we are hearing tonight is that the Police Dept. doesn't perceive it as a problem t_he Lifeguard says it is used. You indicate the numbers have be~q down - from what were not sure. The people here say we want to continue the beach. Shiloh Bethany PresbYuerian Church - Rev. Stephen McDougali It is a Silver Lake Beach Psrk property. I'm presenting a Petition with over 150 signatures. Astounding to us that the Park Board would consider shutting domm a park. Charge given to the Park Board is to maintain a high level of quality park in the city area. We hope you do not allow it to happen that it is either the pool or t_he beach. The park and beach can not be separated. The reason for the iow attendance is "birth rate". Older folks moving out and younger folks coming in. The count cn the beach will grow as more younger folks are moving in. Fred Saiabury No one has said either or. Initially there was no connection. It was a separate facility. The beac~h and pool were not connected. In add4tion it is the charge of the Park Board to consider all aspects of park operation, including whether a park facility remains or goes. Lisa Liberatie - 1906 42nd Ave. ! wasn't allowed to give m~- personal opinion :before now ! am allowed to. If you close the beach it would be very hazardous. Kids would swim anyway - If you close the beach you should close the park also because there would be some serious accidents. Irene Parsons - 4249 StLnson Blvd. Every since the beach has be=--n established we have been next door neighbors. Everyone is talking about the day time hours but nobody is talking about nigh5 tLme use of the beach. ~A!most every summer night we can't sleep because of the noise. The first ten years I called t_he Police every night but I finally gave up. They chased the kids into the bushes. Never could tell if they came or not. I hope when your planning your budget that you will plan on having a full time patrolman bet~~-=en 10 ~m. until 6 a.m. Page Ten Doug Jones I agree with Irene. We have been disturbed also at night. I had a conversation with Mr. Bocwin'ski last spring and he told me at that time that the City of Columbia Heights was considering closing the beach and opening a pool because of the water quality. Mark B!inkman - 4430 Stinson Blvd. I live on the road that has direct access to the parking lot. It is a concern of ours that who ever sets the park hours. Why it isn't open longer? On Saturday and Sundays we have cars up to the top of the hill on warm days because they can' t get in. The hours should be looked at. Fred Salsbury The hours can be looked at. The hours were set as a tool for the Police to clean up the problems at night. The problem of unlocking the park is a problem I have to deal with. Mark BILnkman Attend_snce when down when the swimming raft was taken out. Fred Sa!sbury The reason the raft ~as taken out was because of the depth of the water. You have to have a certain depth of water when you have a diving raft. The beach area is not deep enough for a diving raft. Irene Parsons That helped with the noise when the raft was taken out. Mark B!inkman The two new storm sewers will that help the quality of the lake? Fred Sa!sbury The main concern is trying to improve what goes into the lake. The two installations were to improve the water that goes into the lake. The s~orm sewer tb~t was put in at the boat landing only effects recent improvements on 4!st Ave. The one coming down on Stinson Blvd. deals onlY with the water on the street where you live and on up to 45th. Takes care of some of the problems. The problem we have is the south east corner portion of Columbia Heights and Apache Plaza and piece of Minneapolis, Saint Anthony! and New Brighton all now go directly into the lake. The concern is in order to treat it we are talking about a considerable amount of money. Were talking about large detention ponds to clean it up, for the Columbia Heights portion, perhaps as large or larger than Prestemon Park. Mark B!inkman I would like to ask Rit& what the City Council opinion of all this is? Rita Petkoff Page Eleven Have been a!ot of rumors - Fred said it best that it was Staff, s recommendation to close the beach. Once somebody hears the beach is closing - the City Council has had developers interested in this property. No one on the City Council has made up their mind on whether to close the beach. John Eide - 641 - 41st Ave If you close the beach. The teenagers won't be able to go to the beach to suntan. If you close the beach we won't have any place to go during the summer months. Mattie Dugstro - 4723 Heights Drive Resident of Columbia Heights for 3 years and used t he beach. Valuable piece of land - naturally you would sell to the developer. You should take into consideration all the favorable comments including thehiring of an officer. Gary Good If you want to get rid of the noise - Light the property Bill Ho!lom I would like to ask the Captain, down there from night to morni~g. Captain O!son .~ The beach is a priority during the summer for thepo!ice. police officer is about $iS.00/hour. what is the cost of providing patrol A full time Fred Salsbury The percent ofthe park budget is about 6%. Bill Hol!om How many weeks is the beach open? John Tiggas Were open 9 weeks - we open June 9and close August 13. time. Varies at Rita Petkoff Why do we not open until June 9th? John Tiggas Variety of reasons - Our basic problem is lifeguards they are in college. Fred Salsbury We have wading pools - we open those to concide with the schools. Apparently the padlock at the parking lot on thebeach is not off and we will have to look at that. Page Twelve Question from audience How effective do you think a light wou!dbe? Captain Otson If it is bright enough it wouidbe a deterant. Question from audience Would a pool serve as many peop!e in Columbia Heights at a cost equivalent to the beach? Fred Salsbury A poo! is a big initial cost and a big maintenance cost. The question is would it draw more people. The question wou!dhave to be weighed before you consider it. A decision would also have to be considered how much interest is there and tonight it seems like there is an interest in it. Question from audience Could you give us a hint what the Salvation Army has to say in their letter? Bill Ho!lom I don't know. I haven't read them. can read them after the meeting. They are public record and you Russ Paulson - 3984 Reservoir Blvd. I am on the City Council - I want to reaffirm what Rita said there have been no decisions made withthe City Council - the purpose of this Public Hearing is to consider whether or not the beach shou!dbe closed and hear your views. From audience A lot oft he noise is from the Salvation ArmyCamp and I'm not complaining about it. Roger Tibbas - 1440 Lincoln Terrace I have a question - Is it $2!,000 to maintain the bead. How many tsxingunits is there in the city? About 5,000. So if you break it down the cost is quite cheap. Such a valuable asset I think everyone is willing to pay for it. Gerry Dresch- 1006 43rd Ave. I am one of those newer families who has moved into the community. very mu~h anticipate using the beach and v~nt to use it. We Bill Hollom Thank a!l of you for attending andthe Park Board witt take this under consideration and in a very short period of time we will give our recommendation to the City Council.