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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 1, 1993 <J o 8 o o ~ CITY of ANDOVER 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N,W, . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (612) 755-5100 Park and Recreation Commission Meeting April 1, 1993 7:30 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Residents Forum 3. Approval of Minutes 4. Approve Soccer Schedule 5. Approve Softball/Baseball Schedule 6 . 7. Chairman's Report 8. Adjournment u o ~ J...j\IS!q3 ') '-- ~ CITY of ANDOVER PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION - APRIL 1, 1993 MINUTES The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Park and Recreation Commission was called to order by Acting Chairperson Darrell DeLarco on April 1, 1993,7:35 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Tom Anderson, Jeff Kieffer (arrived at 7:40 p.m.), Roger Paulson, David Woods Mike Auger, Jim Lindahl Assistant City Engineer, Todd Haas Public Works, Kevin Starr Others Commissioners absent: Also present: RESIDENT FORUM Ai Grabowski, Softball Director of the Andover Athletic Association, presented a check in the amount of $10,000 on behalf of the organization to Dave O'Toole of the Andover Recreational Development Association for the development of the Andover Field of Dreams. ~ Dave O'Toole updated the Commission on the status of the development. At this point it looks as though the Army Reserve will volunteer to do the grading and other items for two reasons. First, City of Andover will not sign a waiver of liability, which is one of requirements of the Army Reserve. Secondly, the Battalion Commander turned down the proposal because of the difficulty of scheduling troops throughout the summer. The Association has written Congressman Grams in an attempt to resolve that item, and they continuing to work with the Army Reserve on alternatives. park not the the has his to are (Chairperson Kieffer arrived at this time and chaired the remainder of the meeting; 7:40 p.m.) Mr. O'Toole stated they are continuing to look at alternatives both with the Army Reserve and to resolve the liability issue. One possibility would be to have the City hire someone to scrape the topsoil off before the Army Reserve comes out, assuming they will come out for only a few weekends. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the City for this project, with many volunteers and some materials already donated. He will keep the Commission informed. Chairperson Kieffer stated he will also talk with the City Administrator regarding the liability issue. ~J Marc McMullen, 17920 Tamarack - stated the residents are asking about the ability of putting in an asphalt basketball court and hoop in the Forest Meadows park. The Commissioners stated they can look at it for the 1994 budget. , \ \-.J o Andover Park and Recreation Commission Minutes - April 1, 1993 Page 2 '\ ) APPROVAL OF MINUTES March 18, 1993: Correct as written. MOTION by Anderson, Seconded by DeLarco, to approve the Minutes as written. Motion carried on a 5-Yes, 2-Absent (Auger, Lindahl) vote. APPROVE SOCCER SCHEDULE Marc McMullen, North Metro Soccer, and Dave LaFlamme, Andover Soccer - represented the soccer organizations. They have agreed that North Metro Soccer would use soccer Field No. 1 and Andover Soccer would use Field No. 2 at the City Hall site. North Metro would use Field No.3, which is an under 8 field. Andover Soccer does not have an under 8 team. Field No.4, the field in the front of the City Hall, is questionable as to whether it will be useable. Mr. McMullen stated he looked at the Northwoods field and felt that could work as an under 8 field. Mr. Starr felt the Northwoods field could be made useable, and he would move the goals to that field. '\ , ) Mr. McMullen explained the organizations have agreed that North Metro would use the field at Hawk Ridge for practice and Andover Soccer would use Hidden Creek, though there is some concern about the condition of the field. He has talked with Mr. Stone about what can be done to make the field at Hidden Creek useable and to eliminate the sand burrs. Mr. Starr stated the Park Department is looking at resurfacing and overseeding many fields this spring. The intent is to get it done early enough so the fields can be used this year. Mr. McMullen also noted the agreement is the Forest Meadows and Fox Meadows fields would be used by North Metro, and Oak Bluff would be used by both organizations. He didn't know if the Timber Trails field would be ready this year. Mr. Starr felt the Timber Trails field would be ready for use this spring; and after some discussion, it was agreed that that field would be used by the Andover Soccer organization instead of the Hidden Creek field if it will be ready and it is the correct size for the age of the teams. The Commission agreed to hold the item to the May 6 meeting to allow the two organizations to finalize their schedules. APPROVE SOFTBALL/BASEBALL SCHEDULE \ / Chuck Schmidt, Andover Baseball Association President - provided the background of the baseball and softball programs being split into two organizations. The Andover Athletic Association will retain the softball program, and the Andover Baseball Association was formed to run the baseball program. When that split came about in January, 1993, it was his understanding that the field distribution would remain the same for both programs. In the past, the baseball program used four of the fields at City Hall two evenings a week. According to the schedule \ " ) , \ V Andover Park and Recreation Commission Minutes - April 1, 1993 \ Page 3 / (Approve SOftball/Baseball Schedule, Continued) prepared by Staff, baseball would not use the City Hall fields at all. In talking with Al Grabowski of the AAA, he is not willing to give up any of those fields. Mr. Schmidt requested an equitable distribution of the City Hall fields, that they use all the fields on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to dusk. Mr. Schmidt stated they need two fields with mounds. Also, they will have four teams that will be playing with Soderville, and as a part of the agreement, Andover is to provide two fields to share. He reiterated that the baseball program just wants the same fields they had last year. Al Grabowski. Andover Athletic Association explained they have experienced significant growth in their softball and T-ball programs. They would be using all four fields at City Hall every night, plus they will reduce the time of the games to have four teams per field on Tuesdays and Thursdays. With the lack of fields in the past, the older boys have been playing late night games in Coon Rapids; however, they are also having a problem with growth and lack of fields. He will know after April 20 whether there will be room for the five teams to play in Coon Rapids or whether field space will need to be found in Andover. Mr. Grabowski said he is really pressed for fields, having almost 900 youth on 64 teams. All T-ball is played at Crooked Lake School. '\ / There was a great deal of discussion between all present as to the age of the teams for each field requested, possible alterations to the timing of the games, and alternative schedules for use of the fields. The Commission suggested City Hall Fields 3 and 4 be used by the ABA on Mondays and Wednesdays and that the AAA would then use the Northwoods East and Pine Hills fields for softball. The mound would have to be scraped off the field at Pine Hills. At this point, some Commissioners were inclined to not provide more City Hall fields for baseball because of the greater number of participants in the softball program; however, Mr. Schmidt pointed out that two games of softball can be played on one field an evening, but only one baseball game can be played. He again argued the ABA only wants what they had available to them in the past and what they felt they were promised in January. Because of the apparent shortage of fields, the Commission suggested it may be necessary for the organizations to consider having games on Friday nights, Saturdays or Sunday evenings. It was also their feeling that, for safety reasons, the City Hall fields should be used by the older youth because that group utilizes more of the field and those fields are the better fields. The neighborhood park fields are adequate for the younger youth teams. '\ ) After further discussion, the Commission agreed to table the item with the changes made this evening. They hoped the two groups could work out a schedule both could agree too; however, the Commission will look at it again at the April 15 meeting and make the scheduling decision if necessary. The Commission asked each organization to present their proposals for the use of the fields and the ages of the teams to use each field. '~J \ \) Andover Park and Recreation Commission Minutes - April 1, 1993 '\ Page 4 / (Approve Softball/Baseball Schedule, Continued) MOTION by Woods, Seconded by Paulson, to table the item, and allow the ABA to use Fields 1-4 on Mondays and Wednesdays and the AAA to use Fields 1-4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays for practice until April 15; weekends will be open. Motion carried on a 5-Yes, 2-Absent (Auger, Lindahl) vote. The Commission addressed the following requests: Morrell's Trucking Women's Softball to use City Hall Field 1 from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. on April 4, April 10, April 18, and April 25 Andover Athletic Association Adult Fundraising Tournament, May 22 and 23, Fields 1-4 Andover Athletic Association 8th Annual Fun Tournament, July 28, 29, 30, 31, and August 1, Fields 1-4 Anoka Ramsey Andover Fastpitch Association Fundraiser Tournament, June 12 and 13, Fields 1-4 " ) MOTION by DeLarco, Seconded by Anderson, to approve the request of Morrell's Trucking as requested, the Andover Athletic Association Adult Fundraising Tournament, the Andover Athletic Association 8th Annual Fun Tournament as requested, and the Anoka Ramsey Andover Fastpitch Association Fundraiser Tournament as requested. Motion carried on a 5- Yes, 2-Absent (Auger, Lindahl) vote. The request of the Andover Athletic Association to use Fields 1-4 on Fridays during the month of April was not considered because of the agreement on the use of practice fields just agreed to by the two organizations. Commissioner DeLarco stated the 13-Year-Old Traveling Baseball group needs a place to practice, but he felt they can be scheduled whenever and wherever possible. Mr. Starr stated for the next meeting he will have a ranking of the conditions of the ball fields in the City's parks plus the information for upgrading the fields. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Starr stated the Adopt-A-Park signs will cost about $30 to $40 each to have done. They will be metal signs made at the county and will be attached to the name sign of the park. He will bring some design samples for the next meeting. , , J Mr. Starr also reported the Parks Department is recommending the Commission budget yearly for the upgrading of the ballfields, that is establish a program of upgrading and maintenance of all fields. j ; - Andover Park and Recreation Commission Minutes - April 1, 1993 Page 5 (Other Business, Continued) Mr. Starr also provide an update of the capital spending do date by the Parks Department. The Commission asked for an update on the dedication fund for the next meeting. MOTION by Woods, Seconded by Anderson, to adjourn. Motion carried on a 5-Yes, 2-Absent (Auger, Lindahl) vote. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, rJ\~. 2 ~~uL "- Marcella A. Peach Recording Secretary \ J \