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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 27, 2016 minutes Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Keyes Park April 27, 2016 David Payne called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. Roll Call Members present: Anne Carder, Sean Clerkin, Bruce Evans, Tom Greenhalgh, Kevin McDonald, David Payne, Marsha Stroik Staff present: Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Keith Windschitl, Recreation Director; Deanna Saefke, Commission Secretary Also present: Amanda Prosser, PLA, ASLA from ISG Consulting Firm, 13 citizens Approval Consent Agenda Motion by Stroik, second by Greenhalgh, to approve the consent agenda. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. Letters and Requests A. Letter of request for a full refund from a canceled rental of John P. Murzyn Hall on June 18, 2016. Windschitl indicated the down payment for a hall rental is $500. Typically 80% of that will be refunded if the date is re-rented. In this case the groom suffered a stroke, and staff feels a full refund can be given in light of the situation. The date has been re-rented. Motion by McDonald, second by Stroik, to approve the request for a full refund for the canceled wedding reception on June 18, 2016. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. Old Business A. Keyes Park Master Plan public meeting The public meeting will start at 6:00 p.m. B. Huset Park Splash Pad Grand Opening event A flyer was distributed with details for the Huset Park Splash Pad Grand Opening event. New Business A. 2016 Jamboree Fireworks Windschitl invited the members to view the proposal he was given by Pyrotechnic Display Inc. This is the same company that has been used for many years. This will be a $6000 fireworks show. After using this company for so many years no other companies have presented a bid. Payne indicated he has always been happy with the fireworks and feels Pyrotechnic Display Inc. does a great job. Motion by Stroik, second by Evans, to award the bid for the Jamboree fireworks on June 25, 2016 to Pyrotechnic Display Inc., with a backup date of June 26, 2016 if rain delayed. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. City of Columbia Heights April 27, 2016 Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Page 2 B. John P. Murzyn Hall rental fees for non-profit groups Windschitl asked the Commission to think about the conditions where non-profit groups ask to rent John P. Murzyn Hall. The number of requests has been increasing from groups asking for a reduced rental rate and the groups are not located within Columbia Heights. The Commission voted in the past that reduced rates are not given on a Saturday, especially during peak rental times. Windschitl indicated requests for reduced rates have been handled in a case by case manner and brought to the Commission for approval in the past. If the group met the requirements the non-profit or fee waived type of group rate of a $50 entry fee and $20 per hour of use within the facility was given. The reason behind that fee is to help compensate for the staff time, heating, and energy use. Windschitl would like the Commission to discuss this process and bring a decision back at a later meeting. The discussion should consider if this discounted rate should continue, specifically on a Friday or a Sunday rental. If the discounted rates are to continue, Windschitl indicated there should be some restrictions added to this policy. He indicated many community or civic groups utilize the building throughout the week for various activities. One example could be once a group rents the space at a discount on a Sunday and then wants to continually rent one Sunday every month that would affect the overall revenue. There could be a case by case situation where a decision is voted on by the Commission or some kind of exclusion could be listed as in how many times a group can rent in one year. Evans stated that some kind of limitations should be set. Windschitl stated the rate could be increased for a Friday or Sunday rental up to a $100 entry fee and $40 per hour of use. One more item to consider is if the organization needs to be a resident or business within Columbia Heights. Evans asked if that wasn’t a standard rule already. Windschitl replied no. Evans stated that should be a requirement. Windschitl indicated he would like to get a policy in place so that there are not as many questions. Carder asked how much it costs to run the hall for an hour. Windschitl replied that is a difficult number to produce. Most events use 4 hours and more. When an event is booked on a Sunday there is typically a rental on Saturday so there is a minimum of eight hours staff time used to clean from the event on Saturday, then reset the tables for any event on Sunday, staff the event Sunday, and then clean up after again. He believes that the building is designed for multiple uses and that the City Council is in support of that as well. Payne indicated the non-profit rental fees will be tabled until the next Commission meeting. Reports A.Recreation Director st Windschitl passed out the flyer for the June 1 Splash Pad Grand Opening/Community Picnic. This is collaboration with the police department. There will be free food from the CH Athletic Boosters, many different community groups will be represented with tables of activities and information, there will be a th Mariachi band, ice cream, another food truck, and the street will be closed off from 5 Street up to Murzyn Hall. th The second flyer is for a City fundraiser on May 20 at the police and fire building. This will raise funds to help send students out to Colorado with the city delegation for the All-American City Award. The third flyer is for a 50% fundraising event at Noodles & Company in Columbia Heights on Thursday, May 12. Anyone that makes a purchase and mentions the Columbia Heights fundraiser Noodles & Company will donate 50% of the proceeds to the All-American City Award delegation. B.Public Works Director/City Engineer Hansen reported last year the City sent a police contingent to Lomianki, Poland last year and they are reciprocating this year. Staff is trying to dress up Lomianki Park. This park has not seen a lot of capital improvement or use over the last 20 years. One item will be to remove some of the dilapidated facilities and conduct a turf restoration. Other items include redoing the park sign, taking out the unusable tennis City of Columbia Heights April 27, 2016 Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Page 3 court, and removing a much damaged trail on the far west side of the park. Payne asked about the ballfield. Hansen replied that is a very small field used for younger ages and they would leave that as is. Saefke indicated that the Beautification Committee will be planting flowers around the park sign and Buesgens has volunteered to plant that area. Motion by Greenhalgh, second by Evans, to instruct staff to remove the tennis court and portion of the damaged trail in Lomianki Park. Upon vote: All ayes. Motion Carried. Hansen reported two new public works employees that will begin working next week. He stated the posts are up for the shade structure, the benches, and tables are underneath those areas. With exception of the sails being installed closer to the grand opening up the splash pad is complete. Testing of the system will happen as the weather warms up. C.Commission Members Payne asked if LaBelle Park is complete. Hansen replied that the work through the contractor is complete. Staff will continue with decorative fencing in the overlook area, benches and tables will be installed when they arrive. Payne asked about the plantings in the overlook area. Hansen replied the native plantings were done last fall and will start showing up this spring. Clerkin asked if the bench was installed around the Huset West pond. Hansen replied that he was under the impression that both of them were in place. Clerkin will go over to the park and check. Old Business A. Keyes Park Master Plan public meeting 6:04 the public meeting began. Hansen recognized the Park and Recreation Commission Members who volunteer to serve on the city commission. They oversee what happens in the city parks; give recommendations to the City Council, and with some of the recreation programs. Hansen discussed the process the process of creating a park master plan. The first step is to receive staff input from the Recreation and Public Works departments on what would best be suited in the park for public use and programming, then prepare plans for review by the Park and Recreation Commission, and receive public review and input. After that a Master Plan is prepared. In 2007 staff began preparing master plans for several city parks beginning with Sullivan Lake Park, Silver Lake, Ramsdell, Huset, and LaBelle Park. Prior to 2007 the City had not done any real investments within the parks since the 1970’s. The process of the park improvements could take one year or several years. The total cost investment per park is between $400,000 to $500,000 dollars. A big part of making the best park improvements is based upon public input of those that live around and use the park. The City uses a professional park planning to assist in the process. Hansen introduced Amanda Prosser from ISG Consulting Firm who has worked with the City since 2007. He invited those in attendance to fill out the comment cards. There will also be a space on the city website for the public to make comments on Keyes Park. Prosser indicated an inventory of the existing conditions within the park was taken. The hillside was filled many years ago with various types of fill so the plans will avoid cutting into the ground as much as possible. The park building does not meet current accessibility codes, there are no walkways leading to the building, there are no windows in the building, and there could be other issues with the plumbing that is unknown. Two recommendations are to remove the building and install an open air shelter or to renovate the building and bring it up to current ADA codes. The hockey ring in is poor condition and has the least amount of use between the other parks during the winter. The parking lot is not conducive to park access. The playground needs total replacement. Hansen indicated the playground is old enough where there are no replacement parts available for this particular style of equipment. Prosser stated City of Columbia Heights April 27, 2016 Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Page 4 that park trails are in high demand in parks everywhere. This park does not have any walkways that connect the areas of the park. Both plans show use of the sledding hill. Restroom facilities are an item that is frequently asked for within a park. Prosser discussed the differences between the two concept plans. Concept 1 has two separate parking lots for a total of about 40 stalls. There are several pedestrian entrance points around the park on the walkways. This concept has a heavy focus on improvements to the ballfields. The largest field is about 300 feet. The backstop on the larger field in this position will need protect added during the winter for the people sledding. The building is removed and an open air picnic shelter shown. This concept has a large overlay area for soccer to be played and flexibility to be moved to different areas each season. A wooded buffer is show along the western edge of the park prior to the houses. A resident asked what kind of lighting would be in the park. Prosser replied security lighting for parking lots, the shelter, the sledding hill, but no additional trail lighting. Prosser spoke about concept 2. There is one consolidated parking lot with about 40 stalls. The wooded buffer area is still on the west side of the park between the neighborhood and the park. The walking path goes around the whole park with designated paths to the different amenities of the park. The sledding hill has no barriers until the backstops of the ball fields that are positioned to the west end of the park. The bigger ball field is at 260 feet. The soccer area has some flexibility within the space but shows two separate areas. This concept creates a central hub behind the two back stops for the amenities in one general area. The open air shelter is close to the playground and ballfields. There is also an open greenspace for future amenities such as a splash pad, an exercise course, a community building, or other ideas. Prosser presented various precedent imagery examples to show options for picnic shelters, playground equipment, or exercise stations just to get the public opinion on what style is most popular. One idea from a Commission Member was to reach out to all ages, and have fitness equipment for adults. There are not a lot of differences in some of the equipment that is used for youth versus what is at a park for an adult. Most often the equipment will be clustered in one area or spread throughout a walking trail system with small stations. Stroik asked about the size of the ball fields and wanted to make sure the sizes were compatible with the recreation sports programs. Windschitl replied the current fields are used for a variety of youth leagues and not for any adult leagues. Stroik asked if he would foresee a need for an additional adult league field. Windschitl replied that he does not see that as a trend. He does use Keyes Park for T-Ball, and Squirts coach pitch on the smaller field. The larger field is used for junior varsity girls’ softball, and 12U boy’s baseball. Hansen indicated that within the park system and being located within the watershed district we are required to provide storm water treatment. The concept plans show water treatment areas and the goal is not to have standing water for long period of time. A good example of a water infiltration basin is at Ramsdell Park. Resident questions followed the presentation. Will there be a rain garden? Will there still be a skating rink or a warming house? Prosser replied both concept plans have eliminated the skating rinks so there is no need for a warming house but plans show either a shelter or small park building. Hansen replied over the past 15 years the recreational skating use within the parks has decreased. There is still non- th programmed use of the hockey rinks at the other two parks. Is it possible to widen 46 Avenue at the top of the hill on the east side to allow for parking during the winter for sledding? Hansen replied that City of Columbia Heights April 27, 2016 Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Page 5 will be noted, but as previously stated the dirt within the slope of the hill was all brought in as fill and is probably contaminated in some way. Minneapolis owns the land on the opposite of the street from the park. Council Member Schmidt likes the intergenerational usage of the park and believes that the neighbors with kids should have the loudest voice on what items should be at the park. Windschitl indicated over the past few years the usage of park shelters has grown. He believes that there is a great value in having an indoor restroom in addition to a shelter that would be available for people renting the shelter. A few residents voiced concern with safety. They would like to see equipment for smaller children to th deter much older youth from the area. The area at McLeod and 45 Street has been a location for crime in the past. Hansen asked if the residents would like to see a trail connection at that area. A resident replied there are a lot of people walking on the street in that area. Payne asked if a street light is at that corner. A resident replied there are not a lot of houses in that area. Payne responded that even in his neighborhood with sidewalks many people still walk on the street. A resident would like to see a light at th 45 & McLeod. Parking is always a problem in that corner where cars park on the curve and eliminate th room on the road and block vision. A resident asked if there are records of safety issues along the 45 and McLeod area. Hansen replied he is not aware of any police reports for pedestrian incidents in that area. A resident asked if the intention is to draw more people to the park. Hansen replied that with the updates to the park there could be an increase in park usage, but with the walking connections from the updated parking lots that would help to relocate cars to the correct areas. Windschitl replied the larger ball field could have slightly increased use. Hansen stated by having a shelter there could be an increase in park usage but again would hope the parking lot would be used first. He asked if the neighbors would like to see an increased number of parking stalls. Residents replied yes. Carder replied there are th numerous cars especially during T-Ball games. Buesgens said yes, a walking trail connection to 44 Avenue would be good. People would feel safer walking on a sidewalk than the street. A resident asked what the timeline is for the park at this point. Hansen indicated the process for receiving public comments will remain open through May on the city website or calling the public works department directly. He encouraged those in attendance to add comments and spread the word to others in the neighborhood to comment as well. Once all of the comments are reviewed a final plan will be prepared. After the Park & Recreation Commission reviews the plan it will go to the City Council for approval. Any park improvements are not budgeted or funded by the City in 2016. Schmidt voiced an opinion to see a shelter that would include a mini kitchen such as the large shelter at Long Lake Park. Keyes Park might not be the best fit but would like to see something in the future at a park with any type of shelter that would include plugins, a sink, and small kitchen type room to serve food out of. A resident asked if the walking trails would be paved. Hansen replied yes they would be asphalt. Would the trails be maintained year round? Hansen replied that would depend on the usage within the park and would be determined at a later time. He stated some trails within other parks are maintained all year and other parks with less use are not. A resident likes the idea of an outdoor shelter but is weary of increased usage of the area near the cul de sac due to parking and having kids living at the houses along the street. Payne asked if ten to fifteen parking stalls could be added to concept 2 where the current parking lot is located. Hansen replied that the destination points have defined pathways for people to get to from where the parking lots are located. This feature is not currently at the park, which contributes to the parking issues. Resident question, will there be bike paths? Hansen replied yes. A resident liked the idea of more lighting within the park and the buffer area between the houses and the park. Another likes the idea of a walking trail around the park so that kids are not riding bikes through the grass, and could the walking trail fit bikes as well. Hansen replied a typical trail for pedestrian use is eight feet wide and to have a trail for dual use allowing bicycles is ten feet wide. A ten City of Columbia Heights April 27, 2016 Park & Recreation Commission Minutes of the Meeting Page 6 foot trail is more expensive and takes more resources to maintain. Buesgens indicated there are more bikers in the City than she has seen in the past. Resident commented to have one pathway that is wider to provide a crossover for bikes. A resident stated the streets around the perimeter are not a high traffic area and that by just having sidewalks doesn’t mean that people will use them. Another resident replied McLeod has a heavy flow of pass through traffic. Greenhalgh asked if the fencing of the ballfield that was installed in part with a Twins Grant will be kept or moved to a new field. Hansen replied yes if the fencing is in good condition. Greenhalgh indicated that he lives in the neighborhood and frequently walks around the park, he feels that a walking trail is a must have feature. A resident asked if a basketball hoop will be in the park. Hansen replied that is not intended to be there. Residents agreed. An opinion in the favor of having a stair path going up the hill. Please have more trees around a shelter and the playground area for shade. Hansen replied yes there will be a combination of trees and other plantings for buffering around the park and within the buffer area. Staff tends to plant around 100 trees throughout the parks in a year. Another commented to incorporate for shade in the playground area. Schmidt indicated an application could be made for a Blue Shield Blue Cross grant. One item that may help the approval of that type of grant is having small signs around the park with the distance traveled. A resident asked where the funding would come from for this project. Hansen replied that any new development within the City they pay funding designated for park dedication. The City also allocates money each year for park redevelopment. This is not typically enough funding to complete the park redevelopment in one year, rather it provides funding for planning a project and funding over a number of years. Hansen stated for those not at the meeting earlier a typical park redevelopment costs between $400,000 and $500,000 dollars. For examples Sullivan Lake Park was just over $500,000; Ramsdell Park was just under $500,000; and the Huset West splash pad was over $500,000. Prosser encouraged comments on whether or not to keep the current warming house, install a picnic shelter, the location of the playground, and the ballfield variations. Hansen encouraged additional neighborhood comments, and thanked everyone for attending the meeting. Payne adjourned the meeting at 7:02 p.m. _________________________________ Deanna Saefke, Recreation Clerk Typist II