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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20 • CITY OF LAKEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMIVIITTEE MINUTES APRIL 20, 1994 ITEM 1. -Call to order. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Ilia. ITEM 2. -Roll call. Present were H. Lovelace, C. Warless-Sobel L. Lulf, P. Messinger, K. Illa and A. Raymond. Committee member G. G~renz was absent. Also present were Park Director Steve Michaud and Recording Secretary Judi Ryan. ITEM 3. -Minutes of March 16, 1994. The minutes of the March 16 1994 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting were discussed. 'here 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. -Staff reports. * Staff reported the ground breaking had been held for the Lakeville Civic Arena and construction is underway. * Renee is pputting the finishing touches on the Summer Brochure which is schedulecTto be mailed to the public by May 2nd or 3rd. * Anew activity was held at the Senior Center last weekend. A youth groue from a local church put on a "Senior Prom" complete with decorations and corsages. About 90 senior members attended and thoroughly enjoyed the event. * The Senior Center pool room renovation project is nearly complete with some minor finishing touches remaining. * The STS crew will be working on the cleanup and seeding of the wooded area at Quigley-Sime Park. Rolling of sod on the ballfields also remains to be completed at this site. * Staff continues to work on numerous plats. Some park planning, is being done in conjunction with many of these new plats, including attempts to conserve several large tree stands. The Raven Lake plat has been resubmitted with several improvements to meet new development standards. Staff discussed the dedication of four to five acres of land around the lake to be used for passive recreation and wood chip trails. There are several conservation easements within the plat. * Jeff Larson sent staff an article which he had come across in the Minnesota Trail Riders magazine stating that mountain bike trails are • open at , Ritter Farm Park. Staff is unsure where this erroneous information came from, as mountain biking is prohibited at Ritter Farm • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes Apri120, 1994 Page -2- Park. The Minnesota Trail Riders magazine will print a retraction in their next issue and announce on their mountain bike hotline that trails are not open at Ritter Farm Park. * We are experiencin some difficulty getting the fields at the new Lake View Elementary ~chool playable for the girls softball teams. This may delay the start of their season. * The City has submitted a purchase agreement for 20 acres of property on the west side of Lake Marion. * A time line has been set by the City for completion of negotiations with the owner of the desired northeast sector park. property. If a reasonable purchase price cannot be achieved, the City may consider proceeding with condemnation. * John Hoger met with several members of the equestrian roup at Ritter Farm Park this past Saturday and walked the trails. Etiquette issues with the archery club were discussed as well as clean-up of droppings and the need for additional signage. The group is also requesting that some type of a hitching post be installed in the park. The equestrian group will set up a crew to work with the Park Supt. ITEM 6. - Task Force /City Council work session update. The City Council and the Park Bond Referendum Task Force met on March 31, 1994 where Task Force delegates made a formal presentation to City Council members. Questions and comments from City Council dealt with several issues including the Ritter Farm Park building, the referendum date, and other proposed projects. The presentation was ,very well done and there were several positive comments made by council members. A second work session was held April 18th following their regular council meeting. It is their recommendation to remove the proposed large building at Ritter Farm Park and replace it with one larger picnic shelter instead of the proposed two smaller shelters, as well as authorize Barton-Aschman to complete an update of the Ritter Farm Park master plan. It was also suggested that the building proposed for Valley Lake Park be moved to the Parkview athletic complex. This building is proposed to be similar to the one at Foxborough and it was felt that it would have more months of use per year at the Parkview location. It was felt that a Casperson-type building would be appropriate at the beachfront. It was further suggested that an additional 14 acres of land south of 160th Street and west of Valley Lake Park be purchased to expand the park, creating a natural buffer. Other items recommended at the work session included the increase of funds • for warming houses from $25,000 each to $35,000 each; the repair ~of the Bunker Hill tennis courts being removed from the bond referendum list and • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes Apri120, 1994 Page -3- completed as a park dedication fund expenditure • and the addition of funds to purchase the northeast sector park, as those funds which were set aside for that project are now pT~anned to be used for the purchase of 20 acres on the west side of Lake Marion. An additional $100=000 was put into the trail development and lighting category in anticipation of higher construction costs around the Orchard Lake area. A modified debt blending finance program is being recommended. It is anticipated that the Council will make a final recommendation at their May 2, 1994 meeting and authorize the Tanguage on the ballot as a single question. A bond referendum date of June 28, 1994 was recommended. ITEM 7. - 1993 Parks and Recreation Department Annual Report. The annual report had been received by the committee in March and they had reviewed the document. Staff stated that this year's report , is more succinct than previous years and hopefully easier to read. Some ideas for further improvements next year will be explored. ITEM 8. - Update on the establishment of a snowmobile task force. Larry Lulf stated that he had met with Steve Michaud and Bob. Erickson to discuss the establishment of a proposed snowmobile task force for the • purpose of reviewing snowmobile trails in Lakeville. Several ideas were presented including task force membership and timing. Larry reported that a preliminary recommendation would be forwarded to the City Council authorizing the advertisement for membership on the task force and this would hopefully be followed by a recommendation to establish the task force. Larry suggested that it was a goal to complete the review prior to the 1994-95 snowmobile season. ITEM 9. - Unfinished business. Larry Lulf asked what would be the maximum sized tree which could be moved by a tree spade. He has a tree in his yard which he would like to donate to a park if possible. Staff stated that the entire trail system has been swept ,but committee should notify the park maintenance dept. if they see any areas m need. ITEM 10. - New business. Committee member Ace Raymond informed committee members that Steve Michaud had received an award at the City Council meeting on April 18th for his work with the Eagle Scouts in Lakeville. Renee Brekken, John Hoger and Judi Ryan were also recognized for their contributions to last fall s Haunted Forest. It was further stated that Kevin Illa should be commended for the good J'ob he did as chair of the Park .Bond Referendum Task Force and keeping the group focused on their assignment. • ITEM 11. - Announcements. The next meetin of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will be held on May 4, 194, 7:00 PM, at the City Council Chambers. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes Apri120, 1994 Page -4- ITEM 12. -Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, n d yan, Recor mg cretary G~ evm a, air jr