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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-21 CITY OF LAKEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY- COMMITTEE MEETING February 21, 1996 ITEM # 1 Call to order. The meeting was called to order in the Lakeville Council Chambers by Vice Chair Wanless-Sobel at 6:00 PM. ITEM #2 Roll call. Present were H. Lovelace, L. Lu1f, C. Wanless-Sobel, P. Messinger and A. Raymond. Larson and Illa were unable to attend. Also present were Park Director Steve Michaud and recording secretary Judi Ryan. ITEM #3 Approval of minutes of February 7, 1996 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting. The minutes of the February 7, 1996 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting were discussed. There were no additions or corrections and the minutes were approved as printed. ITEM #4. Citizen comments. There were no citizens present for items not on the agenda. ITEM #5. Public meeting concerning park and trail needs in the Orchard Lake area. Approximately 50 citizens. were in attendance to hear a presentation by the Parks and Recreation Director concerning this issue. Steve Michaud stated the purpose for inviting the residents of the Orchard Lake and Lake Villa neighborhoods was to receive input and suggestions for parks and trails in the area west of 35-W. An informational meeting was also held in January in conjunction with the Orchard Lake Elementary PTO at which time several citizens offered comments. A brief history of park acquisition in the area was given by staff. Three parks exist in the Orchard Lake area Orchard Lake Park, Orchard Lake Beach and Wayside Park. The need for a neighborhood park was identified in the 1992 Park System Plan update. Park and school facilities presently provide three playgrounds, two small ballfield, picnic facilities, a swimming beach, public boat launch and fishing. A small park with a nice playground exists in the Brackett's Crossing neighborhood. Currently the area is lacking a larger ballfield, soccer field, skating facilities and trails. • Staff explained various park classifications and stated that a neighborhood park would be desirable for the area. This type of a park generally consists of Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting February Zl, 1996 Page -2 eight to 12 acres of park land and includes such facilities as a ballfield, hockey and pleasure skating, playground, hard court surface area, a small soccer/football field and some open space. It has been difficult locating a flat piece of ground in the Orchard Lake area which would be conducive for a neighborhood park. Areas west of the freeway have rolling, hilly topography, extensive wetlands, and expansive mature wood-stands. Staff stated that due to decisions which have been made not to expand the mobile home community, the park land which was hoped to be acquired through park dedication is not available. The City, however, continues to focus on property in the area near the mobile home park. Staff showed residents possible roadway re-alignments of 172nd Street and Keokuk which may occur at the time the area is developed. Since there is no immediate development proposed it may not be prudent to continue to pursue park acquisition in that immediate area. Many residents in the Orchard Lake area have expressed a strong concern over the lack of trails connecting that area of the city to the existing trail system. Staff explained that several ideas have been discussed to make connections to the existing trail system, Klamath Trail in particular. Several residents are very concerned about providing safe passage for children going to Orchard Lake Elementary School plus the fact that many residents walk, jog and bike along the very narrow Klamath Trail. Ideas being considered include construction of an off-street eight-foot trail the entire length of Klamath Trail; making Klamath Trail aone-way road; and paving the shoulders on both sides of Klamath Trail. At present the City has an agreement with the developers of Rock Island Addition to .construct an off street eight-foot trail from County Road 5 to the access of the Rock Island development. Construction of the trail is planned for this summer. In order to truly evaluate the options available for pedestrian use along Klamath Trail it will be necessary to complete a feasibility study. Staff is in the process of preparing RFP's to initiate the study. Once the study is complete, findings will be analyzed and results of the report shared with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and residents. Wayside Park was recently enlarged as part of the at-grade railroad crossing improvement project. The possibility of a greenway corridor from Wayside Park to Orchard Lake Elementary was discussed. The possible abandonment of the existing railroad was discussed as well as potential uses. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting February 21, 1996 Page -3 One other possibility for land exists on property north of 185th Street, owned by Mid-America Festivals, Corp. This area may be more suitable for a neighborhood park. Staff will check with the owners as to the status of their property. Staff asked citizens present for comments concerning the use of bond referendum funding for development of trails in the area. Bill Newgren, 11975 168th Street W., stated that he supports the reallocation of funds which are budgeted for parks but had understood that trails along Klamath Trail were part of the bond referendum. Staff stated that some shoulder stabilization and shoulder paving was budgeted in the bond referendum, but not off-street trails. John Wilhelm, 17697 Lake Oak Circle, stated that Lake Villa is now in its eighth addition. Although he supports the staff proposal, he doesn't feel that Lake Villa residents will be served by trails in the Orchard Lake area. He feels it is important to build a park in Lake Villa as only a small park in the Brackett's neighborhood exists to serve their neighborhood. He stated that he • has surveyed some of the residents who expressed that they did not feel a lot of effort was being made to resolve the park shortage in that area. Bob Altovilla, 17 7 5 7 Keystone Ave., agrees with John Wilhelm's statement and asked who owns the property north of 185th Street and south of Lake Villa. Staff will be checking on ownership. Donna Sarazin, 11485 W. 172nd Street, stated that she would prefer to see a park closer to the Lake Villa and Brackett's neighborhood as there seems to be more children in those areas. There is no access for the residents in Lake Villa to the parks in Orchard Lake without driving all the way around on the freeway. Only a trail connects the two neighborhoods. Tom Simonson, 17751 Kettering Trail, supports the development of a park on the Mid-American Festivals property. He feels it would be better to put in a park with some lighted facilities prior to the development of the surrounding neighborhood so that people would know when they purchased their homes that there was an existing park facility. Bess Dobbs, 12000 W. 175th Street W., stated that the reasons for the shortage of trails in the area are the substandard roads and wetlands. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting February Zl, 1996 Page -4 • Mike Gillen, 16600 udicial Road asked about traffic atterns in the area. He J ~ p feels the heaviest traffic from 168th Street goes directly south onto Klamath Trail. Staff feels that with the new interchange on County Road 46, most people will turn left, or north, from the neighborhood. The Comprehensive Trail System Plan was also discussed. Lakeville is interested in the railroad property for future multipurpose trials if the railroad is ever abandoned. A resident living near 172nd Street expressed concern about future increased traffic at the intersection of 172nd Street and County Road 5 if and when Keokuk becomes a major collector. Marie Lucas 17598 Kettering Trail, stated that the Orchard Lake residents have the area at the school for a place to play and the children in the Lake Villa area play in the street. There were no other resident comments and staff thanked all citizens for their time and remarks. Staff stated that residents will be notified of future • meetings through the "Messages" page of the Life and Times newspaper. Following the presentation, committee members discussed the issues which were most pronounced at the meeting: safe access to Orchard Lake Elementary School .and the development of a park in the Lake Villa area. Committee member Messinger stated that efforts should continue to Locate property which would be available for park land in the area. It was also suggested that staff take a further Look at other property in the Lake Villa area. Staff stated that at the January 8th PTO meeting, residents were supportive of the concept of an off-street trail along Klamath Trail, especially for the purpose of getting children safely to school. Mary Liz Holberg also stated that Orchard Lake residents feel isolated and need trail access to other facilities in the system. Messinger sees a need to balance the issues of trails and parks and reiterated the importance in providing safe access to the school and main trail system and park acquisition. Staff also stated that the possibility of development and operation of a skating facility on the YMCA property has been explored without success. Staff had felt that this would be a possible solution to at least part of the facility shortage. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting February 21, 1996 Page -5 Mary Liz Holberg thinks the possibility of one-way traffic on Klamath Trail should be looked into further. This was expressed by at least two residents who were at the meeting. ITEM #6. Staff reports. 0 Skating rinks have closed for the season. Snow removal efforts along the Highway 50 trail have been accomplished. Park maintenance crews are also working on equipment and signage refurbishing for the system. 0 At their February 20, 1996 meeting City Council authorized. staff to submit a matching grant to the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) for the possible acquisition of the Christian property along Juno Trail in order to extend that trail further and preserve the last remaining portion of Lake Marion shoreline. 0 Staff is working with Barry Warner of SRF on the Phase Two bond referendum proposal. 0 The Spring Recreation Brochure is ready for distribution through ADS this weekend. 0 According to the LAA, spring sports sign-ups have shown a 10-15% increase from last year. Staff met recently with representatives from each sport to discuss field requirement for 1996. 0 Plans are being made to hold the Pan-O-Prog fireworks display at the high school. Staff and a committee are working on the logistics which include a simulcast to music on a local radio station, safety, parking, lighting and many other considerations. ITEM #7. Update on Park Bond Referendum acquisitions and Phase One projects. Closing on the King property acquisition for the purpose of development of a Youth Athletic Complex is scheduled to take place in March. Development of this property will be part of the Phase Two bond referendum projects. The goal is to have this complex playable for the 1.997 season, however the LBA will not be strictly counting on it. Lakeville Baseball Association seriously wants to contribute funds and volunteer workers to develop additional amenities to the site in addition to existing budgets. Specifically, they would like to see similar design features as were developed into .the Quigley-Sime complex. Items which they wish to assist with include one-time trenching Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Meeting February 21, 1996 Page -6 efforts to bury data and electric conduits, irrigation supply lines, dugouts and fencing. The preliminary request from the LBA is to construct the first four fields as larger 90-foot baseline fields. This would assist with accommodating the large bulge of middle-school age players now coming through the system. Staff will continue to work with the LBA to meet community-wide needs. Staff is requesting survey quotes for the South soccer complex and the Fredrickson property, which is the two-acre parcel on the northeast side of Highview Heights Park. Development of the soccer complex and Highview Heights Park will be part of the Phase Two projects. ITEM #8 Unfinished business. Messinger complimented the Park Department staff on cleaning of the trails in Valley Park this winter. ITEM #9 New business. There was no new business at this time. ITEM # 10. Announcements. The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee is scheduled for March 6, 1996 at 6:00 PM. ITEM # 11. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, ~'1 di h A. Ryan, Record g Secretary ATTEST: Colette Wanless-Sobel, Acting Chair jr