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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-03-16 CITY OF LAKEVILLE PARKS, RECREATION & NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 3, 2016 Chair Swan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Lake Marion Conference Room at City Hall. Members Present: Lori Bovitz, Judy Hayes (arrived at 6:09 p.m.), Scott Kelly, Howard Lovelace, Jeanne Peterson, Bob Swan Members Absent: Tom Goodwin Staff Present: Interim Parks & Recreation Director John Hennen, Environmental Resources Manager Mac Cafferty, Recording Secretary Tamara Wallace 2. Approval of January 6 minutes Minutes were approved as written. 3. Citizen comments There were no citizen comments. 4. Staff Report The bid opening for the King Park lighting project (fields 2, 3, 4, and the parking lot) was held on Monday, January 11 at 10:30 a.m. Six bids were obtained with the lowest bid coming in from Choice Electric located in Shakopee. As early as next week, poles and fixtures will be delivered, and installation will pro ceed during the winter months, taking approximately 3 weeks. Once the spring thaw happens, Choice Electric will come back to connect the electric, hopefully wrapping up the project in June. Staff continues to work with WSB on the Summerlyn Park project as well as the dog park at Ritter Farm Park. Bid opening for the Summerlyn Park project is scheduled for March. The Lake Marion Triathlon will be held at Antlers Park on Saturday, August 20 this year instead of on a Sunday. The event hosts are looking into possibly having a DJ/ music, food truck, and beer sales as well. The City Council gave their approval to move forward on the Veteran’s Memorial Path, a 700 foot long trail that will have plaques along it denoting all the wars . The project went out for bid, and Valley Paving came in with the lowest bid. The hope is to begin construction on the path in the spring to open by Memorial Day. The Twin Cities Powerboat Association has again approached the City to host their races on Lake Marion near the shoreline of Casperson Park on August 13th & 14th. They have proposed a race course, and on Thursday, February 4, staff will meet Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Committee Meeting Minutes, February 3, 2016 Page 2 with the organization to get a clear understanding of what they need, permitting requirements, staging, how the boat ramp will work, and spectator constraints. Last year the Lakeville Area Arts Center received $42,000 for a MN State Operational Grant. These dollars were used for marketing and contributed to a 424% increase in Facebook followers, a 23% increase in program registrations, a 24% increase in ticket sales, and the creation of other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn Profiles. Staff is currently working with the Lakeville Rotary on the pollinator garden at Valley Lake Park. The Rotary has pledged $8,000 towards the project, and staff is applying for a Stewardship Grant with the Vermillion River Watershed to get additional monies for the project. The estimated cost of the project is $14,000. The City is looking to install the pollinator garden in the spring/ summer to have it open by the fall months. A little over $92,000 has been raised in Land of Amazement donations, with a funding goal remaining of approximately $179,000. Committee members discussed other organizations and programs to reach out to for donations. 5. Rainbow Child Care Center Preliminary & Final Plat Staff reviewed the Rainbow Child Care Center Preliminary & Final Plat and discussed storm water infiltration, ponding, drainage, tree preservation, and traffic concern questions. Motion made by Jeanne Peterson, seconded by Lori Bovitz to recommend to City Council approval of the Rainbow Child Care Center Preliminary & Final Plat subject to the recommendations as presented by City staff . Ayes: unanimous 6. Final Review of “Overview of Parks System – 2015 Park Tours” document In July 2015, the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Committee (PRNRC) commenced an extensive review of the parks system whereby completing site visits of all the neighborhood parks discussing ideas, amenities, and needs for each individual park. The goal of the comprehensive review was to identify destination parks and amenities that would drive residents and visitors to them, and to establish guidelines for future park development and redevelopment. For the review of the PRNRC, staff compiled all the previous tour notes & outlines into one final document the committee could reference in the future and as something helpful for the incoming Parks & Recreation Director. Committee member Bob Swan shared an article about a community in Seattle working on the installation of a “food forest”, a form of community garden where volunteers do the planting and maintenance, and residents can eventually visit and pick items such as fruit and nuts as they want. From this concept, the committee decided to edit the list of amenities they would like to see placed in Lakeville’s park Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Committee Meeting Minutes, February 3, 2016 Page 3 system to include the wording “Community garden – ie. Vegetable, flower, and food forest.” Motion made by Judy Hayes, seconded by Howard Lovelace to recommend approval of the “Overview of Parks System – 2015 Park Tours” document which shall be used when completing the construction of new parks or the redevelopment of existing parks. 7. Other Business Committee members asked about the Parks & Recreation director interviews; Staff reported that initial interviews have been conducted, and no final decision has been made at this time. Committee member Bob Swan asked for an update on the installation of an off-road biking area in Lakeville; Staff reported they provided an estimated budget to one of the members of the group that was interested in the off road bike area to see if they could help financially or by volunteering with the construction of the course, as there are no dollars budgeted in 2016 for this project. Committee member Howard Lovelace asked for an update on the car that broke through the ice on Lake Marion; Staff confirmed the final date to retrieve the car was Friday, February 5. The resident has proposed a way to recover the car by accessing Casperson Park, the City Attorney drafted a letter with stipulations, and the City is currently waiting to hear back. 8. Announcements None 9. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Tamara Wallace, Recording Secretary