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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAug 28, 2013 min City of Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission August 28, 2013 Eileen Evans called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Eileen Evans; Tom Greenhalgh; Stan Hoium; Kevin McDonald; David Payne; Marsha Stroik Staff Present: Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Gary Peterson, Mayor; Keith Windschitl, Recreation Director; Deanna Saefke, Secretary APPROVAL CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Hoium, second by Greenhalgh, to approve the consent agenda including minutes from Motion Carried. June 26, 2013. Upon vote: All ayes. LETTERS AND REQUESTS A. Request for an open bar on Sunday, September 1, 2013 using for a church celebration of 300 people. Windschitl informed the Commission that there was a miscommunication between the renter and the Lions Club contact for bartending. The renter has now purchases beer with the understanding that the Lions Club would be providing bartenders to serve their alcohol. The renter is requesting to use trained bartenders to operate an open bar. Motion by Hoium, second by Greenhalgh to allow the open bar for September 1, 2013. Upon Motion Carried. vote: All ayes. OLD BUSINESS A. Tour of redeveloped parks B. Tour of City parks for future redevelopment Hansen and Windschitl conducted the tour of several city parks. Huset Park West. Hansen indicated bids were taken for the compliance repairs to the wading pools. The bids to repair one pool at a time were very high, around $75,000 per pool. The next step is to receive bids to repair two pools in the same year and see if the cost is lower. Hansen asked if there would be interest among the members to have one splash pad in the park system in lieu of wading pools. Stroik replied yes the St. Anthony splash pad is very nice, highly used and has the benefit of being accessible by all. She asked if the garage behind John P. Murzyn Hall could be tore down for the use of that space. Hansen and Windschitl replied that the garage is used for multiple storage needs in both departments. Stroik asked about using fencing instead of the building. Peterson indicated that is not the safest option and makes it hard to hide what is in the area. Peterson reminded the members that the Fights in Heights event will be held at Murzyn Hall on September 15 beginning at 5:00 p.m. McKenna Park. The members commented that the new playground looks good. Hansen displayed the McKenna Park master plan. The parking lot will be installed next year. The plan also shows two small fields with walking trails to the fields and playground. Greenhalgh asked Park & Recreation Commission August 28, 2013 Page 2 how often the hockey rink is used. Windschitl replied that a resident uses the rink every weekend for a group to play volleyball. The neighbors around McKenna Park like having the group use the park and have called to voice their approval and ask for the lights to be put on for them in the fall. He stated the two ball fields are well utilized by the recreation programs such as T-Ball, Squirts Baseball, Traveling Baseball, Girls Softball, and Youth Soccer. A Twins Grant was received for the fencing behind the home plate at both ball fields. Windschitl stated the park building has extensive use for two summer youth programs and is also occasionally rented for private functions. Sullivan Lake Park. Hansen reported staff has done a lot of work to clean out a view of the lake from the shelter. There are DNR restrictions on the amount of plant material that can be removed around the edge of the lake. Members commented it looks very nice. Hansen indicated the current trail is four and a half to five feet wide and splits into two paths for bikes and pedestrians but is not the proper width around the whole lake. In the next few month staff will pull out the rd split trail and install one ten foot wide trail in the area near 53 Avenue. Eventually the trail will be 10 feet wide around the entire lake with a few areas at nine feet wide due to conditions in certain areas. Hansen stated a ten foot wide trail is the standard for a combined use trail with pedestrians and bicycles. Hansen reported continued problems with the ballasts for the light poles within the park. The light bulbs are able to be replaced but the fixture is not. Due to the original installation of the light poles a lot of breaks occur with the aluminum. Hansen indicated no electrical work is done in-house. Residents of the Sullivan Shores townhomes continue to request removal of plant growth to view the lake from the townhomes. Hansen stated the removal of cattails is only allowed by the DNR if the plants are restricting water flow. Keyes Park. Hansen reported that Steve Oslund the coordinator for the national hockey day held here this past winter is interested in doing another hockey day in heights. Hansen reported the hockey rink surface needs improvement. During the previous hockey day the thickness was very uneven for the ice to form properly. Staff recommends removal of the pavement inside the rink to even out the surface to achieve better ice, and to repaint the boards. Community Garden Plots. Windschitl pointed out the community garden plots to the Commission. He indicated there are 48 plots, 10 feet by 15 feet, reserved at a fee of $26.78 for the season. Evans asked if the water is supplied by the City. Windschitl replied yes, the cost is covered in part by the reservation fee. Silver Lake Park. Hansen stated this is a small park and that the improvements over the last few years turned out really well. There are no future plans for changes at this park. The usage of this park has increased since the installation of the shelter. Hansen reported the public boat landing on Silver Lake is in the budget for 2014 for improvements. Payne asked if the building is open for use at the park. Hansen replied no. The building needs a lot of work especially with plumbing to be used by the public. The exterior of the building is in decent condition so it is currently used for storage of park department equipment. Ramsdell Park. Stroik indicated the outfield of the ball field is a disaster and had heard comments on the condition. Hansen replied the field is in poor condition right now, weeding was done in the field, the irrigation system is not correct so parts of the field are oversaturated and other areas are dry. Windschitl reported girls’ softball is played on this field during the spring and summer. A fall softball team will not play on this field due to the condition of the outfield. They are using Huset 3 for the fall league. Park & Recreation Commission August 28, 2013 Page 3 LaBelle Park. The Commission viewed the installation progress of the new playground. Hansen reported the location of the playground was moved from the master park plan in order to keep as many existing trees as possible and keep the playground further away from the LaBelle residences. Hansen indicated the estimated amount to remove the boardwalk is $135,000. He stated there are six inlets to LaBelle Pond and one outlet flow of water directly to Jackson Pond behind Rainbow Foods, which then eventually flows into the Mississippi River. Windschitl reported the police department ran a search for LaBelle Park calls with complaints or contacts related to the basketball court. The report indicated only two complaints were received in 2011dateing back to 2005. Based on that report the conditions do not warrant removal of the basketball hoops/posts. A memo regarding the findings and decision of the Commission was sent to resident David Hase in response to the prior request he made to take down the hoops or posts. A father and young daughter were riding bicycles through the park while the Commission was gathered and thanked the members for building the playground and improving the park. NEW BUSINESS Windschitl informed the Commission of a recent request for a Community Carnival Special Event. The event would be hosted by the Urban Youth and Children Education Center (UYCEC) in conjunction with East Africa Family and Youth Development (EAFYD) along with other sponsors. The request is to use Huset Park East and West, closing off Jefferson Street for the carnival similar to the Jamboree setup. The request is to hold the event on Monday, October 14 from 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. and Tuesday, October 15 from 1:00 p.m. – 12:00 midnight. The event would obtain all required permits. This carnival would be free and open to the public. Commission members commented that the park closes at 11:00 p.m., the neighbors need to be considered as they already take on any inconveniences during the Jamboree Carnival, the request is on two week night evenings, the cost of having police offers would be expensive as one officer’s rate is $99 per hour, the cost of electricity should be covered by the group, and a concern with allowing other carnivals that might take away from the Jamboree celebration. Hansen voiced a concern with the short time frame for this request. Motion by McDonald, second by Stroik, to decline the request to hold a carnival in Huset Park on October 14 & 15, 2013 mainly due to concerns for the neighbors of the park. Upon vote: All Motion Carried. ayes. REPORTS A. Recreation Director Windschitl indicated the Fights in Heights boxing event is all set to happen on Sunday, September 15. The Lions Club will run a cash bar, Tasty Pizza will bring in food, and the Firehouse Gym will be running the event. Windschitl met with the crew setting up the boxing ring to discuss the concerns with the wood floors. B. Public Works Director/City Engineer Hansen had no further reports. Park & Recreation Commission August 28, 2013 Page 4 C. Commission Members Stroik asked if the number of rentals were down for John P. Murzyn Hall. Windschitl replied no. Stroik indicated being approached by someone not seeing many events on the marquee in front of the building. Windschitl replied that there are times when renters do not give the name they would like on the marquee until the middle or end of the week and staff will then put it up on the Friday instead of Monday. Having names on the marquee are really meant to help guests know that they are in the correct location; it is not for means of advertising as it is not a main street. Evans adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m. ______________________________ Deanna Saefke, Recreation Clerk Typist II