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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-18 CITY OF LAKEVILLE • PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 18, 1992 The meetin was called to order at Parkview Elementary School Cafeteria at~:00 PM by Chairman Illa. Roll call was taken. Present were Lovelace, Larson, Ilia, Lulf, Grenz and Messinger.. Raymond arrived later. Also .present were Park director Steve Michaud and Recording Secretary Judi Ryan. ITEM 3. -Minutes, The minutes of the March 4, 1992 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting were approved. ITEM 4. -Citizen Comments. Robert Nicholson of the Environmental Affairs Committee was present to invite the Parks and Recreation Advisory~Committee members to share m Community Clean Up Day on Apri125th. He encouraged committee members and citizens present to become involved in helping the effort to clean up the community. He suggested volunteers, especially groups, call John Hennen at City Hall to reserve a certain time slot for working. ITEM 6. -Parkview Athletic Complex proposal. Park Director Steve Michaud invited area residents to participate .in the planning of the Parkview Athletic Complex and gave a brief historical overview of the area parks. The Park Department has worked closely with the Lakeville Athletic Association over the years but until recently had not been asked by the RAAA or VAA to provide additional playing fields. Bunker Hill field has been set aside for the RAAA the past several years. This year the RAAA came to the Park Department showing statistics of the number of participants in their youth programs and where those participants live. That report alerted the Park Dept. to the growing needs of the Valley Park area and the Parkview Park/School Athletic Complex idea began to develop. Several concepts were drawn to begin the design process. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee worked closely with the park director to make revisions and came up with a plan which would meet ballfield standards while maximizing the land use. City staff will be meeting with ISD #196 staff on March 19, 1992 to discuss the budget for ,the project, maintenance and other issues to be incorporated into a joint powers agreement. ISD #196 has recently been involved in .the upgrading of fields at other elementary schools and is considering making a $12,000 donation, which is equivalent to the amount the district would have spent to upgrade the Parkview School fields. Other funding sources are also being investigated. Staff explained the fields are being designed at. 270' , which is a maximum for youth softball. A high priority , is being ,placed on • orientating the fields so that the setting sun will not shine in the eyes of ballplayers and cause a safet hazard. More fields could be included by using a different confyguration but staff feels quality would be lost. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes • March 18, 1992 Page -2- Citizens asked about ,potential parking, problems in the area, possibly of cing inhe pn k and impact on the neighborhoods. Staff feel f control parkk g ca be maintained with signage and along with the act that much of the traffic to the park will likely be pedestrian, it should not create a major pproblem. One resident suggested speed bumps be put on 164th street. An RAAA director who was present brought up the point that two fields now exist at the site but less than half the parking lot is used. Several other issues were also addressed. No field lights are planned, although security lighting will be installed. Vandal-proof water fountains are also considered a necessity. The warming house will be moved and the rink. relocated. Staff would like to enlarge the pleasure skating area and will also look into the feasibility of a permanent restroom facility. One citizen also asked about putting electric receptacles on the backstops for .pitching machines. It was suggested that the neighborhood be ~ solicited to contribute funds for trees. One citizen also asked about added police patrol because of the number of people who would be at the site. Staff stated that this type of family oriented facility is unlikely to require additional security. • Staff told the residents that parking, will be monitored for potential roblems and a camppaign could possibly be initiated to have kids and ~amilies ride their blces or walk to the games. He mentioned that it is a favorable construction atmosphere right now which makes it a .good time to be working on this project. Messinger reported that there have been a lot of positive comments from area residents as well as the Parkview PTO concerning the ppr~oject and that people seem to be very excited about the prospect of Navin more playing fields available. Messinger, also stated she has talked with the Recreation Supervisor about starting a teen volleyball league at Valley Lake this summer and then moving it to Parkview when the construction is completed. An adult league is already planned for the Valley Lake court. 92.3 Motion was made by Messinger seconded by Grenz, that based on the comments made at the March 1 1992 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting, the committee recommends approval of the preferred plan .and authorizes staff to proceed with the development of .that plan. Motion passed. ITEM 5. -Staff Reports. . Staff is considering experimenting at the Ritter Farm Park duplex with the windows which were removed from the Senior Center. Some of the • windows are still in good shape and may be able to be reused. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes • March 18, 1992 Page -3- Bids are being taken far installation of new backstops and infields at several locations. Barton-Aschman Associates is working on the design of the park site at Cedar Highlands as well as the Parkview complex. Staff is working with the Hypoint Crossing developer on the land for the park site in that neighborhood. At their March 16, 1992 meeting, Council approved the lighting time chapgge at Aronson Park as a temporary solution to the field shortage problem. The park closing time will revert back to 10:00 PM on October 1, 1992. Lighting of fields #3 and #4 is proposed for the 1993 season. Staff met with a representative of TKDA at the Antlers Park lagoon this week. TKDA is working on final concept .ideas for the proJeet. The first season at the new winter access was discussed. .There have been a few complaints, mostly centered around people having to drive the extra distance to the access. ITEM 7. -Revenue and Sponsorship Policy. Committee and City staff will complete their revisions of the Revenue Policy document and committee will receive the. revised document. • ITEM 8. -Trail System Plan. The 50-Year Transportation Plan and :Trail Plan update will be the main focus of the April 28th Council work session. The Trail Plan update will be discussed at the next committee meeting. ITEM 9. -Capital Improvement Program. The Park Dept. CIP will be started soon and so committee members provided suggestions regarding future needs. This will also be discussed further at a future meeting. ITEM 10. -Unfinished Business. Committee member Larson asked for an update _ on the Park Ranger program. It has been put under the Jurisdiction of the police department; Sergeant Style is .working with the Park Director to become familiar with the program. At their March 16th meeting, Council also authorized submission of a grant application through the DNR and the Small Business Administra- tion for a tree planting program.. The grant would greatly enhance. the tree plantingg program ,in the parks. If received the grant award would be for $5,0t)t) with a Crty match of $6,250.00. Negotiations for the northeast sector park land were discussed. Messinger suggested a Joint venture for land purchase between the cities of Lakeville, Apple, Valley and Rosemount. It seems like a • mutually beneficial enterprise to share park land because of the large and growing populations, the school crossover, and the possibility of Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes March 18, 1992 Page -4- central athletic facility location and shared parking for the site. It was theorized that instead of the City of Lakeville purchasing 40 acres. alone, the surrounding communities could join in the venture and erhaps buy up to 100 or more acres, and along with expanding athletic facilities, nature and wetland areas could also be preserved. ITEM 11. -New Business. Committee member Lulf mentioned that Lakeville had received a ppositive report in the snowmobile trail survey which had been done by the DNR. Baseball and softball signups have been taken the last two weekends. There were only a handful of people who reacted negatively to the fund raiser associated with the baseball registration. A final. registration figure has not yet been received by the Park Dept. ITEM 12. -Announcements. The next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will be Wednesday, April 1, 1992. ITEM 13. -Adjourn. Since there was no fiirther business, the meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM. Respectfully submitted, . Judi yan, Records Secretary Kevin Ilia, Chair jr •