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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-15 CITY OF LAKEVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 15, 1992 The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lulf at 7:00 PM. Present were Lovelace, Illa, Larson, Lulf, Raymond and Messinger. Committee member Grenz had a work conflict. Also present were Park Director Steve Michaud and Recording Secretary Judi Ryan. ITEM 3. The minutes of the December 18, 1991 Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting were discussed and approved as printed. ITEM 4. Citizen Comments. There were no citizens present to discuss items not on the agenda. ITEM 5. Staff reports. Staff briefly introduced Terry Hintz who is the winter intern with the Parks and Recreation Department. More information concerning this internship will be relayed later. Staff then turned the floor over to Terry Langinger, .board member of the Rosemount Area Athletic Association RAAA), who along with Tom Newman, President of RAAA and Doug Mulvil~ RAAA Baseball Commissioner, were present to discuss field usage by the RAAA in Lakeville. Terry Langinger explained to the committee that RAAA serves residents of ISD #196 which includes Rosemount, Apple Valley and Lakeville residents. The organization has a policy of no overlap of sport seasons, so that each child can participate m as many sports as they would like. The goal of the in-house leagues is to provide instruction and minimize the importance of winning, while the travelling leagues are more competitive. According to the statistics of the RAAA representatives, of 4 251 participants in their sports programs, 941 were Lakeville residents, or ~2 of the total. This compares with 15.7 % being Rosemount residents. 451 Lakeville residents are involved in the baseball and softball programs of RAAA. The representatives explained ,that RAAA is facing a shortage of fields for their programs, as is Lakeville. Residents of the Valley Park area have also requested to play their games closer to home. For the past several years RAAA has been given the Bunker Hill Park field for their use five to six days per week. The RAAA wanted to make the Parks and Recreation Department aware of the number of Lakeville residents in their programs and their need for fields. Right now they receive the largest majority of their fields from the City of Rosemount which provides approximately 15 total soccer, baseball and softball fields. They also receive fields from the school district and from the City of Apple Valley. Staff stated the City is aware of the responsibility to provide fields for these citizens. The LAA has also experienced a great shortage of fields and continues to grow at a great pace each year. The new high school will alleviate the burden somewhat, but not until 1993. The Lakeville Parks and Recreation Dept. schedules 34 fields, many of these being at elementary Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes January 15, 1992 Page -2- schools and at neighborhood parks. Aschool/park complex is also in the plannin process near the new Cherryview Elementary school, which will also help fill existin needs. The unfortunate thing, is that the field schedules for 19~ for the LAA and other grou s using Lakeville's fields are almost complete and there are no extra fields to be distributed to the RAAA. Right ,now the Parkview Elementary School fields are in an unusable condition .and badly need to be upgraded. Three to four fields could possibly be built .with the renovation of Parkview. A concept plan is being worked on for the Parkview School/Park athletic complex. It was also suggested that Dodd Trail Park be made available to the RAAA in the future. Staff told the RAAA representatives about a pproposed northeast sector park which is also aimed at filling future ballfield needs. It was noted that ISD #196 has plans to prioritize the fields they would like to upgrade. It was suggested. that some funds from the school district and CCity be pooled to assist in the upgrade of the Parkview facility. The RAAA representatives thanked the committee for their time and comments. Committee discussed the possibilities which exist for fields to relinquish to this group in the future when more fields are available at the new schools and park sites. Continuing under staff reports, several items were mentioned: The Wetterlund house will be burned as soon as the weather is conducive. The ice program is back on track. With the -30° temperatures, the equipment was not working up to its full capacity but as normal January temperatures are returning, the rinks will be flooded as much as possible to try to build the ice back up. The first .draft of the Park System Plan is nearing completion by Barton-Aschman and will be distributed as soon as possible for the Council/ Parks and Recreation Committee work session on January 25, 1992. Alan Brixius from NAC will be prepared to present the first draft of the Trail System Plan update at the February 5th Parks and Recreation Committee meeting. Larry Lulf talked to the committee about the January 14th presentation of the ice arena proposal. He commented that it was a very professional and informative presentation by the group. The proposal is for the City to be a lessee with the LCC being a sublessee from the City for the building which would be built right next to the new high school. The grou is taking advantage of the current low interest rates to purchase some ofpthe bonds which will be parked for two to three years until construction begins. Several donations have already been received for the $1.8 million project. The need and funding for a concrete floor will be discussed at the time this project becomes a reality and all funding has been raised. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes January 15, 1992 Page -3- Staff had spent some time oing over plans at .the Skyline Playground with Mary Liz Holberg and Jay ~lanchard. There is some concern about major community fund raisers taking place simultaneously for the playground and the ice arena. ITEM 7. Barry Warner will be at the City Council/Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee work session planned to take place on Saturday, January 25, 1992, beginning at 9:00 AM at City Hall. He and Steve Michaud will discuss the first draft of the Parks and Open Space System Plan and show further graphics which will not be included with the narrative packet the committee will be receiving shortly. Some discussions concerning a future bond referendum may also be included in the meeting, since high riority needs may, be identified after the Parks System Plan is complete. ~e 1992 Park Dedication Fund budget will also be discussed at the work session. There will be a revised budget included in the packets which will reflect the upgrade of the Parkview School/Park site plus other projects. ITEM 8. -Unfinished business. The neighborhood meeting concerning Cedar Highlands Park on January 13th went very well with good dialogue between the approximately 30 residents present and the representatives of the City and Vista Telephone. The citizens offered suggestions for the final concept plan and. were. pleased with the coopperative efforts by the City. The concept plan shows a looped trail, a smaIl building with screenings .and berms for aesthetics, a small pond, and picnic areas. Security lighting in ,the park was an issue with the residents and will be addressed and incorporated into the lan. Residents of the neighborhood will clean up hhe a~k under the Adopt-a ark program and. will continue to take care of t e pa Barry Warner will be writing a narrative concerning the meeting and the park plans, which will be on the next Planning Commission agenda for a recommendation to Council. Also under unfinished business Kevin Ilia asked about negotiations on the northeast sector park land. Tie Tutewohls apparently need more time as they are now talking to a realtor and an appraiser. They will offer a price to the City when these discussions are complete. Messinger questioned the minutes of the December 16, 1991 City Council meeting, page 8, item 13, concerning multipurpose trailway requirements. It seems the Planning Commission eliminated the requirement for completion as set forth by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and it was felt .that it was not appropriate for them to revoke this condition. Staff explained that it had been physically impossible for the pavers to complete the work which was contracted last fall due to the early snowfalls and the requirement needed to be lifted so that the plats could be finaled. Messinger also voiced her concerns about lowering the subdivision standards in environmentally sensitive areas and feels it is counterproductive to what the committee has been working towards. Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee minutes January 15, 1992 Page -4- ITEM 9. -New business. Nominations for Parks and Recreation Committee Chair, .Vice Chair and Secretary were held. Kevin Illa and Larry, Lulf were nominated for Chair; Pat Messinger and Jeff Larson were nominated for Vice Chair; and Ace Raymond was nominated for Secretary. After votes were tallied, the followin ppersons were elected to the offices in 1992: chairperson: Kevin Illa Vice Chair: Pat Messinger Secretary: Ace Raymond Congratulations were given to Larry Lulf , on a good year as chair and also for the work he has done with the snowmobile club. Staff reintroduced Terry Hintz, the Parks and Recreation Department winter intern and described some of the projects he is working on which include producing a booklet of all the park properties and emergency accesses to each site. The books will be laminated and kept in police and ambulance vehicles to be used in case of emergency: Terryy is also working on the computerized economic impact program, which can be used as a budgetary tool to show the financial impact of a special event on the community, supervising the warming houses and working on the 1991 annual report. Staff will be meeting with the Men's Softball Association concerning the Pan-O-Prod tournament. There is a possibility of using Farmington's fields on July 11th during the Special Olympics Tournament then moving to Aronson when the fields are free, at about 4:00 PM. That would enable them to keep their traditional tournament date and hopefully make their event a success. Staff reminded the committee about the February 15, 1992 MRPA Board and Commissions Section workshop to be held at the Crystal Community Center. Steve suggested a brochure be made a of the event which could be mailed to all board and commission members. ~he worksho will include speakers on several topics. Funding for lunch is being provided by Minnegasco. Staff also encouraged the committee to become involved in the legislative process by~ committing .time and effort in contacting their appropriate elected officials concerning parks and recreation issues. ITEM 10. -Announcements. City Council /Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee work session: Saturday, January 25, 1992, 9:00 AM, City Hall Next regularly scheduled meeting: Wednesday, February 5, 1992 ITEM 11. -Adjournment. Since there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, LZ~v~ J d Ryan, or i g Secretary ~,t Kevin Illa, Chair