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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 19, 2006 o o o PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING - JANUARY 19,2006 MINUTES The regular Bi-monthly Meeting of the Andover Park and Recreation Commission was called to order by Vice Chairman Lindahl on January 19, 2006, 7:02 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners Present: Jeremy Boyer, Dave B1ackstad, Vice Chairman Jim Lindahl, Wendy Albee, Jason Neumann and Ernest Bedor Commissioners Absent: Dan Maslowski Also Present: Parks Coordinator, Todd Haas OATH OF OFFICE New Commission members Jeremy Boyer and Jason Neumann were sworn in. Vice Chairman Jim Lindahl officiated, and welcomed them to the Commission. RESIDENTS FORUM There were no comments at this time. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Albee, seconded by Commissioner Bedor, to approve the December 15, 2005 Park Commission minutes as presented. Motion carried on a 4-ayes, O-nays, 2-present (Boyer and Neumann), I-absent (Maslowski) vote. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Commission approved the agenda. PARK DEDICATION IMPROVEMENT FUND 4TH QUARTERLY REPORT/FINANCE DEPARTMENT Commissioner Bedor stated the Community Center raised a question regarding the $96,000 of park dedication funds that has been set aside for the new community center. The Assistant Finance Director Lee Brezinka indicated that there was still a need for about $50,000 to $60,000 of the $96,000 to close out all accounts. Vice Chairman Lindahl inquired about the MDV resource. Parks Coordinator Haas responded it was for a grant. o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes-January 19,2006 Page 2 The Assistant Finance Director Lee Brezinka clarified that the grant was from the contractor's association. CONSIDER 2006 SOFTBALVBASEBALL TOURNAMENT APPLICATIONS Parks Coordinator Haas stated that each association planned a tournament on the weekend of May 19-20, 2006. He inquired if it had been resolved. John Keller of the Andover Baseball Association responded it had not been resolved. It was a key weekend for tournaments. Last year it held the tournament on Mother's Day. This year both the fishing opener and Mother's Day is on the same weekend. They had been asked to do the tournament as a state qualifier. He offered the possibility of alternating with the Andover Athletic Association each year. One of the main reasons tournaments are not held on the first weekend in May is that it is generally to cold to play. Commissioner Bedor inquired about how it was handled last year. Mr. Keller responded the tournament took place on Mother's Day weekend. Parks Coordinator Haas noted that softball association had their last year's tournament between the fishing opener and Mother's Day. o Commissioner Neumann asked if the tournament was a state qualifier last year. Mr. Keller answered it was not a state qualifier, but a national qualifier. Commissioner Bedor inquired if there was any communication with the softball association. Mr. Keller responded the president had not yet contacted the softball association. Commissioner Bedor questioned the amount of time available before a decision was necessary. Mr. Keller answered that they had teams interested, but not confirmed until the details are resolved. Vice Chairman Lindahl asked about the number of teams. Commissioner Bedor added if this was an in house tournament for the softball association. Parks Coordinator Haas stated the softball association tournament was in-house, but it was their first one on their schedule. Commissioner Bedor noted the softball association could have many games, because the organization had 1,000 players participating. o Vice Chairman Lindhaltl stated if the two associations could work the issue out themselves that would be good. If they could not resolve the issue, it would have to come back to the Commission. A coin flip could decide the issue. He recommended o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes - January 19, 2006 Page 3 they work it out among themselves. Mr. Keller responded that they would contact the softball association, and come to an agreement. He inquired if the Commission could vote bye-mail, if a quicker decision was necessary. Commissioner Blackstad recommended moving the in-house tournament, because it was not a state qualifier. Commissioner Bedor concurred, due to the planning required for a state qualifier. He inquired if there was a deadline for a decision. Mr. Keller stated the tournament had been on the website for three weeks. All the teams would be making decisions on their schedules, and the tournaments usually fill up quickly. Commissioner Albee inquired if the two associations communicated about their schedules. Commissioner Blackstad noted in 10-12 years they had never had a weekend that the two associations conflicted and has always been able to work it out. Vice Chairman Lindahl asked the Commission if a vote should take place, to settle the issue at this meeting. Commissioner Neumann agreed a decision should be made at this meeting, because a delay could be detrimental for the state qualifying tournament. o Commissioner Blackstad noted some teams book a tournament for the following year at the tournament. Commissioner Neumann suggested the associations could rotate years. Commissioner Bedor inquired if it was a state qualifier on a regular basis. Mr. Keller responded that some tournaments were state qualifiers, and some were national. It was one of many. Commissioner Neumann inquired if it was not guaranteed for next year. Commissioner Blackstad noted that since the baseball's traveling program began, there had been some kind of qualifier. The chance was good for future tournaments that the trend would continue. Vice Chairman Lindahl asked the Commission if they believed baseball having a state- qualifying tournament was superseding the softball tournament, or if the issue should be resolved with a coin flip. Commissioner Bedor added the Andover Athletic Association should have been at the meeting. He recommended that a decision should be made tonight. o Motion by Commissioner Blackstad, seconded by Commissioner Bedor unless otherwise agreed upon after a meeting with the Andover Athletic Association, May 19-20, 2006 would go to the Andover Baseball Association. Motion carried 6-ayes, O-nays, I-absent (Maslowski) vote. o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes - January 19, 2006 Page 4 Vice Chairman Lindahl recommended that the third weekend of May next year would go to the Andover Athletic Association. Commissioner Blackstad indicated he concurred with Vice Chairman Lindahl that it would be fair to alternate between the parties. YMCA SKATE PARK PRESENTATION/ERIC LANG Parks Coordinator Haas introduced Eric Lang from the Southdale YMCA. o Mr. Lang stated he had worked as the Skate Park Coordinator for two years. He reviewed the development of the skate park. The communities of Edina., Richfield, and the Southdale YMCA wanted a skate park. Initially, it was proposed to be adjacent to a senior high-rise. There were residential concerns with privacy, noise, traffic, and the kinds of people who would patronize the establishment The potential site was moved to y ork Avenue by Southdale Mall. Landscape screening was created and no parking was allowed on Y ork Avenue. He explained there was a two tier rating system for skate parks. Tier 1 was 4-feet or less, and Tier 2 included 4-feet or greater and required supervision at all times. Their skate park was a Tier 2 and the supervision was provided by the YMCA staff. In a three year process from 2000-2003 the skate park was approved. An October 2003 opening was planned. The City of Edina created a lease agreement with the YMCA until 2018. The YMCA carried the insurance. All parties agreed on the design, planning, construction, and maintenance. The final construction total was $351,000. They also agreed to work together for future capital needs, and the YMCA would handle the operating budget. He could obtain copies of the documents for the Commission to view. The companies participating were Kraus-Anderson Company and Grindline of Seattle who had built 30 other skate parks. The actual construction took 16 weeks and the park was a total of 17,000 square feet. The sides went up to 12-feet, and each panel was one foot thick. Mr. Lang explained that initially the bikers and skateboarders were kept separate. Since skateboarding has become mainstream, the new cutting edge sport was to bike the skate parks. Now, the skateboarding and biking both use the park at the same time. There had only been one incident between the two this past year. A mission was created to consider the skate park as the more holistic youth work. As a result, each staff member could name about 80% of the participants. Travelers world-wide use the park, as well as older adults in the early morning. A helmet, elbow and knee pads are required. The season is from April to October with $5.00/day for members and residents, and $9.00/day for others. The busiest times are in August, but are somewhat weather dependent. Beginners and families are the target populations. Commissioner Bedor inquired about the gross revenues since they are interested in building one in the City of Andover. Mr. Lang responded they had not yet had a profitable year with 2005 ending $10,000 down. His reason for coming to the meeting was to more fully explain their experience. o o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes - January 19, 2006 Page 5 Vice Chairman Lindahl inquired about the details of the one incident, and the number of incidents overall. Mr. Lang explained an incident report is filed any time more than two bandages are required" an ice pack, or anything on the face. There were 20 incident reports for the entire year, with one ambulance call in 2005. Commissioner Bedor questioned if they were shielded from liability. Mr. Lang answered he was not sure, but recalled a comment from the insurance company that they should build more skate parks and fill in the pools. They require a two page waiver and a two page permission form for medical treatment for each participant each year. Commissioner Bedor inquired if they received contributions from the cities. Mr. Lang responded he was not aware of multiple cities joining with a YMCA. The YMCA has the entire responsibility for supervision. Commissioner Neumann commented that the skate park was a large Tier 2, would it be necessary to put one so large here. Mr. Lang answered the company Grindline never repeats plans, all are original. He added that he believed it was important to add multiple use street elements to keep kids off the streets. o Commissioner Albee inquired about the capacity at the skate park. Mr. Lang responded typically 30, but for special use it could go up to 50 participants. It was reported to not be an issue because participants usually took turns. Commissioner Bedor asked if there were any projections of use. Mr. Lang answered that there were none; however it had exceeded any expectations. Commissioner Bedor inquired about the beginning of the popularity trend. Mr. Lang responded the first trend was from 1973-80, and then it went down. A second popularity began in 1989 and peaked at 2000. It has leveled off and become mainstream. Commissioner Bedor questioned how he came to speak at the meeting. Parks Coordinator Haas answered that there was interest from the Skateboarding Task Force. Mr. Lang added the YMCA would probably be interested in partnering with the City if it so desired" because the structure was already within the YMCA organization. Parks Coordinator Haas inquired about the distance from the YMCA to the skate Park. Mr. Lang responded the skate park was on the other side of the YMCA parking lot, and indeed shared the parking lot. o Commissioner Neumann questioned if there had been any project research on interest in a skate park. Mr. Lang answered that the potential was in the programming side, supervision and training developed beginners and new users. In addition, high maintenance parks would discontinue when maintenance costs exceeded income. The o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes - January 19, 2006 Page 6 YMCA maintains the parks. They only asked for the City to pay for the creation of the building. Staffing was actually the highest cost. Vice Chairman Lindahl thanked Mr. Lang for addressing the Commission. CONSIDER REQUEST FROM PROPERTY OWNER FOX MEADOWS PARK Parks Coordinator Haas requested the item be tabled to April 2006 meeting on a request from the property owners. Parks Coordinator Haas responded that the City had been working with the property owner since the establishment of the Frisbee golf course. The City had made adjustments where they could, and signage has been used to deter trespassers at the south end of the park. The sheriff s office had not received any phone calls from the property owners in regards to trespassers, inappropriate language or drinking of alcohol, which has been a concern of the property owners. o Commissioner Albee visited adjacent residents recently to inquire if the concern was widespread. No one else reported having problems. Vice Chair Lindaltl stated the same family requested fencing when the soccer fields were installed back a few years ago. He encouraged the Commission to read the letter to familiarize themselves with the issues. CONSIDER APPLICATION FOR SCHEDULED USE OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES/MEADOW CREEK CHURCH Commissioner Blackstad stated the item was voted bye-mail. Motion by Commissioner B1ackstad, seconded by Commissioner Bedor to approve the application for scheduled use of the Recreational Facilities for the hockey rink at Crooked Lake School for Broomball on Saturday January 21,2006. Motion carried on a 6-ayes, O-nays, I-absent (Maslowski) vote. ANOKA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT 4TH QUARTERLY REPORT Commissioner Blackstad noted that there were warning tickets given one day and citations on another. He requested consistency. Vice Chair Lindahl stated that there were still a few issues. They were trying to encourage locals to park in the north lot or on Prairie Road, but not on both sides of the street. o Parks Coordinator Haas noted the City was evaluating a possible expansion of the north parking lot. Vice Chairman Lindaltl mentioned that 20 more cars could fit where the old o Regular Andover Park and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes-January 19,2006 Page 7 playground equipment used to be located on the east side of the park near the Northern Natural Gas building. Parks Coordinator assured the Commission they would examine both possibilities. UPDATE OF PARK DEDICATION/SOPillES SOUTH The developer submitted a letter to the City questioning the formula for obtaining figures for the amount of money escrowed and land for park dedication. He indicated the ordinance stated "reasonable use," and expressed concern that the graded area needed to be more reasonable. The City Administrator and the City Attorney are in the process of reviewing the issue. REVIEW OUTSTANDING ITEMS Parks Coordinator Haas reviewed the outstanding items. Country Oaks West Park irrigation would be completed in the spring, and the developer has been reimbursed 90% for work already completed. There was another meeting scheduled for the Advertisement Sign Task Force in a couple of weeks. o CHAIR'S REPORT No comments from Vice Chairman Lindahl at this time. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Blackstad., seconded by Commissioner Albee, to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Motion carried on a 6-ayes, O-nays, I-absent (Maslowski) vote. Respectfully submitted., Brigette Blesi, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. o