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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFeb 27, 2013 min City of Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission February 27, 2013 Eileen Evans called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Eileen Evans; Sean Clerkin; Tom Greenhalgh; Stan Hoium; David Payne; Marsha Stroik Staff Present: Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Keith Windschitl, Recreation Director; Deanna Saefke, Secretary OATH OF OFFICE Sean Clerkin, Jr. recited the oath of office for the Park and Recreation Commission Member. APPROVAL CONSENT AGENDA Evans asked what the bill was for the Safety First Playground in the amount of $5632.31. Hansen replied it is the surfacing for the McKenna Park playground. The woodchips need to be redressed because they become compacted over time. Windschitl reported a big problem with sand wasps at some of the parks last year. Stroik asked if the Parkview Villa sale had gone through. Hansen replied no it has not happened yet but is still in process and will more likely be completed in the fourth quarter of the year. Greenhalgh asked about the status of the Mady’s lot. Hansen replied the City has purchased the Mady’s lot. Motion by Stroik, second by Payne, to approve the consent agenda. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. LETTERS AND REQUESTS A. Request for a reduced fee for the Lee Carlson Center annual “Breakfast for Bridgeview” fundraiser on Tuesday, June 4, from 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Evans asked what the Lee Carlson Center is. Windschitl replied they are a health and wellness facility for mental health located in Fridley. They have done a fundraiser at Murzyn Hall the previous two years. Mayor Peterson has been involved in the Mayor’s roof fundraising event. Windschitl indicated this is a good organization. There is some staff time involved with setup and cleanup. He suggests charging for staff time needed outside of our regularly scheduled hours which may be needed on the night before for setup and some extra time early in the morning. Evans suggested $20 per hour for any additional hours. Windschitl indicated there are other groups and classes in the building on the night prior. Hoium asked what a normal charge would be for Tuesday morning. Windschitl replied they are a nonprofit organization. If it was a full charge with a four hour rental it would be just under $600. Motion by Hoium, second by Greenhalgh, to charge $20 per hour for time needed outside of Motion Carried. regular business hours or for any additional staff needed. Upon vote: All ayes. B. Request for the Minnesota West Coast Swing Dance Club to eliminate the requirement to have a security officer at the two annual dances in order to reduce costs. Hoium indicated working many of the bars during their events and it is a very mellow event with not a large number in attendance. Windschitl stated the group routinely rents Murzyn Hall on a Park & Recreation Commission February 27, 2013 Page 2 Friday night in May and December. Evans asked if they pay the regular rental rate. Windschitl replied they pay the 25% off rate. What the request is asking for is to waive the need for a security officer. Stroik asked how much that costs. Saefke replied $25 per hour plus tax. Stroik indicated that isn’t very much. Saefke replied it comes out to be about $130 per time. Motion by Greenhalgh, second by Payne, to waive the requirement for security guard based on Motion carried. the recommendation from Lions Club members. Upon vote: All ayes. C. Request to waive the rental fee of John P. Murzyn Hall for the Columbia Heights Community Heritage Tower Fish Fry Fundraiser on February 22, 2013. Windschitl indicated the proceeds of the event are going to a great cause for the Community Heritage Tower for the round a bout area. The event turned out really great with a good attendance and many volunteers. Hoium complimented the process of frying the fish outside. Hansen helped direct the kitchen process. Windschitl stated Liz Bray, Recreation Program Coordinator, did a lot of work to help Peterson promote the event and get the details during the event set up. Saefke indicated a $10,000 donation was received by resident Kenny Hentges. Motion by Payne, second by Hoium, to waive the rental fee of John P. Murzyn Hall for the Columbia Heights Community Heritage Tower Fish Fry Fundraiser on February 22, 2013. Upon Motion carried. vote: All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Wading Pools update Hansen gave a history of the wading pools to bring Clerkin up to date. He stated both the Park & Recreation Commission and the City Council authorized plan preparation on a certain basis to spread costs over a few years. The Minnesota Department of Health had agreed to phase in the updates on the pools but have not yet agreed on as long of a time as staff would have liked. The agreement is to update one pole each year over the next three to five years. Clerkin asked what the cost is for making the changes. Hansen replied the cost to making the ADA updates is about $48,000 to $55,000 per pool and the cost to abandon the pools and fill them in is about $8,000 to $12,000. Final plans are being prepared for a meeting with Anoka County on behalf of the MN Dept. of Health. Hansen indicated choosing one pool this year suggesting either McKenna or Huset but not the Ramsdell pool because of the continuing settlement problems at that park. McKenna Park is nearing completion of the construction for the playground equipment so that would be a good park to look at first. Payne asked if the other two pools would close for the season. Hansen replied no; after the sandblasting and repainting is complete they would open upon inspection approval. If the MN Dept. of Health does approve the next pool would be updated in 2014 and the next one in 2015. Evans suggested closing Ramsdell Park due to the continued problems over the years with the ground. Greenhalgh asked what the cost is for a water feature. Hansen replied they can run $250,000-$500,000; the estimate for a smaller size at Huset Park is about $300,000. Clerkin asked for a brief description of the ADA update option. Hansen responded with the two options for updates and what the items are that need to be changed at the wading pool. Stroik suggested leaving the Ramsdell Park wading pool to the last. Windschitl asked what the construction timeline would be. Hansen indicated the goal would be to complete construction updates and open the pool the first part of June. Park & Recreation Commission February 27, 2013 Page 3 Motion by Greenhalgh, second by Payne, to make the required ADA updates to the McKenna Park wading pool in 2013 and update the Huset Park wading pool as the next pool to be updated. Motion carried. Upon vote: All ayes. NEW BUSINESS A. Emerald Ash Borer Plan for City Parks Hansen reported this is a devastating issue on trees. The problem is spreading fast. Minnesota has the highest number of ash trees in any state in the U.S. The City is next to quarantined areas, which means you are not allowed to transport any ash trees in or out of the area. There are known sites in St. Anthony and Minneapolis with signs of emerald ash borer. Money has been budgeted for emerald ash borer treatment. The insecticide does need to be put in the tree once there are signs of the borer. Hansen indicated Staff would like to bring in an intern to get an inventory of the ash trees within the City. This process would include a geocode or GPS coordinate of each tree, the size of the tree, and give a subjective ranking of the tree on how healthy it looks and the look of the canopy. Evan asked if this includes trees within the parks or the whole City. Hansen replied this process will include strictly public trees within the parks and on public right of way. Payne asked how many ash trees are in the City. Hansen indicated the estimate is between 3,000 and 4,000 trees. He stated the purpose of the management plan is to be able to pick your best trees to execute the treatment process on in order to save the highest number of trees. Hansen described the three main treatment options; soil bath, injection, and a bark spray. These treatments would need to be done in early to mid-spring to be effective. Clerkin asked how the replacement of diseased trees would be handled so as not to replace with a large amount of the same kind of tree. Hansen replied it would be a diverse planting of trees. The proposal is a two year treatment based on recommendations and studies that have shown once the treatment begins it needs to continue to be treated with insecticides in order to save the tree. The average cost of treatment per tree is $150-$175 if the work is done by city staff, and $150 - $200 if performed by contracted services. REPORTS A. Recreation Director Windschitl reported the roof on John P. Murzyn Hall has been in good condition with no leaks. Windschitl updated on the National Hockey Day held at Keyes Park in January. Public Works did a great job getting the ice ready. It was a great event with lots of activities for those that were there. The group would like to hold this event again next year. Hansen indicated resident Steve Oslund did a lot of work to help with the condition of the ice as well. Payne stated the CH Athletic Boosters were happy to be a part of the event. Hansen indicated if the event is held at Keyes Park again next year the hockey rink grade will need to be leveled out as it is off by 15 inches on one side. The black top will need to be regraded this summer. Payne indicated the Athletic Boosters have agreed to be involved if it happens next year. Hoium asked if that rink is not typically flooded. Hansen replied yes it is but staff takes time to prepare the ice for recreational use. For this type of event the ice needs to be in better condition which means flooding the rink at the proper time; in the early morning hours. As budgets have been cut the ice rinks are flooded and maintained during the winter but not on over time. Windschitl reported receiving a donation from the CH Athletic Boosters in the amount of $2,800 which has been placed in the donations account. He stated the donations account is used for such items as youth sports uniforms and equipment. Park & Recreation Commission February 27, 2013 Page 4 B. Public Works Director/City Engineer Hansen reported being in the process of hiring for seasonal employees. They are not increasing the number of seasonal employees needed, and expect that about 70% of last year’s employees will return. Hansen indicated this year there will be burns scheduled at the ponds of Huset Park, Prestemon Park and the public safety building. This will be conducted in the spring after some initial growth. Burning kills the obnoxious seedlings in the shallow depths of the soil keeping the native plants and grasses in the deeper areas of the soil unharmed. C. Commission Members Greenhalgh reported the basketball tournaments at the Hylander Center have been going very well and he always received positive feedback on the facility. Stroik asked when the park clean up date would occur. Hansen encouraged the members to be involved with the Adopt a Park volunteer group. These groups were asked to hold a cleanup date at a minimum of two times per year. Evans adjourned the meeting at 6:15 p.m. ______________________________ Deanna Saefke, Recreation Clerk Typist II