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Home My WebLink About01-27• CITY OF LAI~VILLE PARK BOND REFERENDUM TASK FORCE NIIN~JTES JANiJARY 27, 1994 Task Force Vice Chair Mary Liz Holberg called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and welcomed the 26 members who were present. Barry Warner of Barton-Aschman was introduced to the committee. Mr. Warner stated that he has been working with the Lakeville Parks and Recreation Department for about five years and has assisted in the desiggn of several parks. He also assisted with the update of the Parks and O~ppen S ace System Plan. A portion of this update was completed in the late 1980's and the remainder was completed in 1992. Task Force members have received a copy of this document. The plan needs to be revised frequently due to changing demographics and opulation. Some community characteristics discussed were: ~. Current land development is rapidly consuming Lakeville's land resources. 2. Lakeville has distinct physical and demographic characteristics. 3. Population pro ections anticipate continued rapid growth through 2010. 4. The MUSA ef~ects future park planning. 5. Lakeville's residents are predominantly in the children, adolescents or middle aged adults categories. As the population matures, needs and demands will change. 6. Community housing patterns and densities are mostly single family and it seems like ~ that trend will continue. 7. Young farrulies moving into Lakeville from other fully developed communities expect quality parks. When revisions to the Parks and Open Space System Plan were being made, staff and planners also took an in-depth look at the park system, including an individual park inventory. Several methods were used to achieve a balanced analysis. of needs and demands; the Minnesota DNR SCORP data; community, surveys; comparisons to national standards, norms and other communities; participation rate trends; neighborhood park service area analysis; and surveys of adult and outh athletic associations. This analysis projected increasing user .demands ~or parks and athletic facilities. Some of these increased demands can be met temporarily by changes in scheduling, etc., however youth leagues require various field sizes for leagues and it is very difficult to accommodate all leagues with the amount of correct sized fields. School district and City cooperation both in construction of new fields and scheduling is. very important. Lakeville has actively worked with ISD # 196 in the construction of the Parkview fields and ISD # 194 with several elementary school fields. Additional fields will be needed each year ,as the population grows at least through the year 2000 and beyond. Protections of ppopulation show that , by the year 2040, two to three times more park land will be needed than what is currently developed. It was pointed out .that there are no county or regional parks in Lakeville to help ease the burden for services placed on the Cittyy. Mr. Warner discussed the various classifications of parks and how they interlink to form a comprehensive park system. Park Bond Referendum Task Force Minutes • Janaury 27, 1994 Staff was asked to define a linear park. It was explained that it could be a trail or linear extension of land which has park like characteristics. A linear park may also serve other purposes= such as a drainage system. Task Force members asked about DNR specifications and guidelines when this type of pro erty is developed. Staff explained that all development. requires a permit andpthe City works very. closely with the DNR. Various Crty departments all work together when planning for trails. Staff would like to see additional efforts with Dakota County and Hennepin Parks towards developing linear pparks and trail connections to such places as tMurphy-Hanrehan Park, Lake Byllesby and neighboring communities. He commended county for the work they have done in providing trails along some of the major roadways which have recently been upgraded, such as County Road 46. Grant funding has also been made available to make the construction of these trails possible. Mary Liz introduced Steve Michaud, Parks and Recreation Director, who began by explaining the funding process for trails. Prior to the current ordinance, developers were required to construct five foot sidewalks on one side of all major collectors. Currently, eight foot trails are required on both sides. Developers are reqqu~ired to pay ,for 5/8 of the trail construction in addition to a $150.00 per dwelling unit trail dedication fee. Staff displayed a diagram of the Lakeville trail system, showing both constructed and planned trails. Every road and developpment is reviewed for potential trail needs. The Comprehensive Trail S stem Pran was written in conjunction with the 50-Year Transportation Plan, designating future trails in all areas of the City. Certain areas of the City such as the Orchard Lake area, have the greatest need for trails but also offer the greatest challenge. Another area where the City has interest is possible railroad abandonment. These are traditionally located on flat land and make wonderful trail corridors, often making it possible to hike or bike for miles. Clem Czerniak, Lakeville Baseball Commissioner was introduced. He described the Lakeville Baseball program and the philosophy of providing a positive learning experience for the children. In 1993 there were 1,163 participants from grades Kindergarten through six, for a total of 90 teams. This was an increase of 13 % over 1992. The LBA is very supportive of parks and recreation and the work which has been done in building fields, especially Quigley-Sime and the new elementary school fields. In 1994 the program will be expanded to include a 7th and 8th grade in-house program. Since this is a new program, it is not known what the interest level wilt be. Participation at other levels is projected by taking 50 % of the school population (assuming a 50/50 mix of boys and girls), then taking 60 % of that number. Long range team .projections can be made qqu~ite accurately, by looking at school enrollment pro ections. Last year the K-b leagues required 25 fields. It is estimated that ~is year 31 fields will be needed. The LBA • -2- Park Bond Referendum Task Force Minutes • January 27, 1994 does not wish to limit the number who can sign u ,, or have so many on each team that they don't all get a chance to play. his means that with increased school enrollment, each year increased field needs will be experienced. It is expected that three new fields or more will be needed each year for the next five .years . Staff discussed the system plan philosophy of not having league play take. place in neighborhood parks but rather in athletic complexes. Staff would like to have enough fields at major complexes to be able to remove organized games from the neighborhoods, as there is usually inadequate parking and, problems have been encountered with residents. Staff also discussed increasin maintenance needs as more and more facilities are added to the system. ~he ability to provide adequate maintenance to new facilities is also a concern. John Beckendorf and Kevin Miller from the Lakeville Basketball Association discussed the growing needs of their program. In 1990 there were 80 youth enrolled in the program. Each ear has seen huge increases, and this year the program has 399 participants. ere is intense usage of existing gym_ space and rt becomes more and more difficult to fit all of these teams into available gym time. Lakeville Basketball Association needs were as follows: 1) More gym time. This could be resolved by increasing the size of the teams (kids would not get as much playing time); extendingg the season (this would create conflicts with other sports such as basebaIl); build more schools • (this is being done, with three new gyms in each school); and build a recreation center. 2) Equipment storage facilities. The league needs a place to store over 200 basketballs in the off-season. 3) Adjustable baskets at the schools that do not have them. This includes JFK Elementary and Orchard Lake. Renovations are currently being done on these schools and contacts will be made with school representatives to see if this reqquest can be satisfied. 4) Portabre scoreboards. Some of the facilities have no scoreboard and presently LBA must bring their own to the facility. Additional scoreboards are needed. Task force members asked several questions regarding g m time and the various groups who need space. It was sug ested that other facilities might be utilized for some needs, i.e. church fellowship halls could be used for scouting group functions, thus freeing up gym space. Mary Liz Holberg thanked all the presenters for their efforts and information. The meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM. The next meeting of the Park Bond Referendum Task Force will be held on Thursday, February 10, 1994 at 7:00 PM in the north meeting room of City Hall. jr