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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 7, 1993 , -} , j , 'I 'J \ ,~-) /~~ o o CITY of ANDOVER 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. . ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 . (612) 755-5100 Park and Recreation Commission Meeting October 7, 1993 7:30 P.M. 1. Call to Order 2. Residents Forum 3. Approval of Minutes 4. Wittington Ridge Preliminary Plat Park Dedication 5. Hidden Creek North Park, Discussion 6. City Hall Park Complex Lighting, Continued 7 . 8. Chairman's Report 9. Adjournment Q (J o o o Q)'-'fYVl()~ ~ ~ v'r\OI~\\q3 ~ CITY of ANDOVER PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION - OCTOBER 7, 1993 MINUTES The Regular Bi-Monthly Meeting of the Andover Park and Recreation Commission was called to order by Acting Chairperson Tom Anderson on October 7, 1993, 7:35 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Commissioners present: Mike Auger, Jim Lindahl, Dave O'Toole, Roger Paulson Jeff Kieffer, Darrell DeLarco Park Department Supervisor, Kevin Starr Others Commissioners absent: Also present: RESIDENT FORUM Chuck Schmit, Andover Baseball - presented $3,000 to Meryl prochniak and Dutch Johnson, the Andover Recreation Development Association, to be used for the Field of Dreams. He also stated they are a young organization but hope to make additional contributions in the future. Merle Prochniak - asked to be added to the Agenda to discuss the status of the Field of Dreams project. The Commission agreed. Whe.r~ Tom~o~ey, officers from Tri-Citv Umpire Association - have officiated the games in Andover for several years. Everyone donated money from doing adult games, and he presented a check for the Field of Dreams for $575. Mr. Prochniak and Mr. Johnson accepted the donation with thanks. Commissioner O'Toole presented a check to Mr. Prochniak and Mr. Johnson from the Andover Athletic Association in the amount of $1,000 to be used for the Field of Dreams project. APPROVAL OF MINUTES September 9, 1993: Correct as written. MOTION by O'Toole, Seconded by Anderson, approve the Minutes as written. Motion carried on a 2-Yes (Anderson, O'Toole), 3-Present (Auger, Lindahl, Paulson), 2-Absent (Kieffer, DeLarco) vote. HIDDEN CREEK NORTH PARK, DISCUSSION Cheryl Porteson - presented a sketch of what the neighbors would like to see done with the park. It includes additional playground equipment, a hiking/biking trail around the park and additional security lights. Rather than a fence around the park, the residents would prefer to see trees planted on the berm along Bunker Lake Boulevard. She also asked what can be done about all the glass around the playground. Another thing they would like to see is a skating rink in the winter, maybe on the baseball field. \ 'J <J \ ) Andover Park and Recreational Commission Minutes - October 7, 1993 Page 2 (Hidden Creek North Park, Discussion, Continued) Mr. Starr stated he can have security lights installed for a cost of $280 each. He felt two would be needed, one by the parking lot and one by the playground; and they could be installed this year. The Commission also explained that once the 1994 budget is set, the neighbors will be told how much money will be allocated for playground equipment, and they can choose which equipment they would like to see installed there. Mr. Starr noted the existing paths to the park are blacktopped. He also felt it would not be costly to install a recreational skating rink, though he preferred it be located such that the sides would stay up all year round. He thought the area behind the playground would work, and the security light would be used for the rink as well. "' Ms. Porteson - asked about the cost of tennis courts. The Commission noted that is very expensive and that those at the City Hall site are not used that often. Discussion was then on the condition of the turf. Mr. Starr hoped that more seed will come up next year. The park was aerated two weeks ago and sprayed for dandelions. The budget for turf maintenance has been doubled for 1994, and they will be concentrating on this park and Hawk Ridge next year. He also stated they will use a sweeper to pick up all the glass. They have found the use of sand around the equipment is the best. Commissioner Paulson stated they are starting to use ground up tires as a base around playground equipment, which is supposed to be very good. . / One resident complained that the mowing doesn't always get done between the trees. Another complained the trash can gets dumped out once or twice a week. Mr. Starr stated if they get summer help next year, they can start mowing between the trees. The trash cans are usually emptied on Fridays. After further discussion, the Commission agreed the two security lights should be installed, one near the parking lot and one by the playground. The cost would be taken from Park Dedication. They also directed Mr. Starr to construct a recreational skating rink near the playground. Ms. Porte son asked if some benches could be put by the rink. Mr. Starr said yes. The Commission also agreed with the proposal of planting trees on the berm along Bunker Lake Boulevard rather than installing a fence. It must first be determined where the road easement is now and whether the county plans to purchase additional easement when the road is eventually widened. The Commission asked that "No Parking" signs be placed along Bunker Lake Boulevard. Mr. Starr stated Mr. Haas was going to check on the easement. He will ask Mr. Haas to do that. Mr. Starr stated he will also ask that "No Parking" signs be installed before the next summer sports season, and he agreed to obtain costs to lay bituminous \ over the existing path. J MOTION by Lindahl, Seconded by Paulson, that we pursue the two security lights for Hidden Creek park and development and preparation for one recreational skating rink for this winter, and look at the future plans as well. Motion carried on a 5-Yes, 2-Absent (Kieffer, DeLarco) vote. \ ',-) , ') '-/ Andover Park and Recreational Commission Minutes - October 7, 1993 / Page 3 CITY HALL PARK COMPLEX LIGHTING, CONTINUED \ Commissioner O'Toole noted that at the last meeting they learned it would cost around $23,000 to light two or three ball fields at the City Hall complex using the 55-foot poles that have been donated to the City. The Commission recognized the drawbacks of the shorter wooden poles and had asked the costs for lighting with metal poles. Rick Sandeen, Sandeen Electric - is just trying to get the fields lit in the best way and most economical way to make the dollars stretch, noting they are working without a set of specs to bid on. He talked with Anoka Electric, who has agreed to set the steel poles as long as the contractor is there, which will save a lot of money. He felt the steel poles would be the best way to proceed; but even for the wooden poles, money is needed for building the crossarms, setting them up and mounting the fixtures, plus the additional electric costs for running conduits up the poles. The wood poles wouldn't look as nice as the steel poles; plus there would be considerably more glare because they would not be tall enough. Maintenance should also be considered and overall would be more expensive for the wood poles. For steel poles, Anoka Electric has also agreed to set the transformers to accommodate the service. Using steel poles, he estimated the cost to light each field would be $22,043 plus a $3,300 charge per service. The steel poles add about $13,000 to the cost of each field, and he considered two poles per field. He was also concerned that winter is coming fast, and they would prefer to have at least the footing done before there is frost in the ground. Mr. Sandeen noted there would be a lot of volunteer labor for the installation, and he offered his advice to help in any way possible. / Craia Gallop, Musco Liahtina - provided a brief background of their experiences, having been involved in the installation and supervision of the installation of lights for over 300 fields. They are the major supplier of athletic lighting in Minnesota. He emphasized that whatever the City does, do the lighting correctly the first time to avoid big maintenance and replacement costs in the future. He presented several arguments of the advantage of using steel poles as opposed to the wooden poles -- the glare from a shorter pole, the tendency for wood poles to twist as they set and the expense of having to realign the lights, and that the steel pole lighting structure comes all factory wired and set up ready for mounting with an electrical remote at the 15-foot level on the pole for ease of maintenance. He also had a model of the light for the Commission to review. The 55-foot wooden poles the City has would be only 48 to 50 feet tall when mounted; and though it can be done, he stated there would be a lot more glare and not quite as good lighting as from the higher poles. He proposed six steel poles per field, 60 feet high. If the City would want to move the steel pole lighting system to another field in the future, it could be easily done by lifting them out of one base and putting them into another. / The Commission noted that the original intent was to provide a stop-gap measure of lighting for the next season until the Field of Dreams can be used. The lighted fields would be able to accommodate many more games than they are able to play now. They debated whether the money should be , ) '~_/ . , ~ } ,,/ Andover Park and Recreational Commission , Minutes - October 7, 1993 ) Page 4 (City Hall Park Complex Lighting, Continued) spent for the steel poles or whether to use the donated wooden poles, even though the lighting would not be as good, to save money. Mr. Gallop - stated his quote of $22,000 for two fields using the wooden poles includes the crossarms, but it does ~ include supervisory work with volunteers setting the poles. He then agreed to place the electrical remote at the IS-foot level for the wood poles at no charge. Commissioner O'Toole noted the Andover Athletic Association has put in a bid to host a tournament with the money to be put toward the Field of dreams. That requires one-third of the fields to be lit, but he didn't feel that could be done yet this fall. The Commission preferred not to make a decision on the lighting this evening even though it means the lighting would not get installed this fall and the offer from Anoka Electric may not be valid for next spring. The consensus was to go with the wood poles to light Fields 2 and 4; but they felt more consideration should be given to the overall financing, that is the balance of the Park Dedication funds, cash being collected and proposed to be received for park dedication, and projected expenses for Kelsey Park, the Field of Dreams, etc. The item was tabled to next spring. / FIELD OF DREAMS UPDATE Meryl Prochniak and Dutch Johnson, representing the Andover Recreation Development Association, updated the Commission on the progress they have made to date. The Association is in the midst of selling 1994 calendars as a fund raiser. They have over 100 volunteers on the list who are willing to help with the Field of Dreams, but the emphasis now is on fund raising because of the events this past summer when work could not begin on the complex. They have raised approximately $13,000 so far and have set a goal of raising $100,000 by next spring. Mr. Johnson reported the calendar sales would bring in $40,000 if all are sold. Mr. prochniak asked the Commission to consider budgeting money from Park Dedication to start the grading for the Field of Dreams next spring. The feeling of the Association is that if something is not started next spring, the interest that has been generated for the project will be lost. Also, if the grading is not done, they cannot utilize all of the talent that has been volunteered. Commissioner O'Toole stated he is starting to obtain an accurate cost figure for grading the site, though he guessed it would cost about $75,000. A thought has been to see if there is a way to work with the contractor who would put in the sewer line if that line needs to be expanded to service a new school to the north of City Hall. \ / The Commission stated that as they establish the 1994 budget, consideration will be given to the grading of the site for the complex, as the intent has been to use a good deal of the Park Dedication for the Field of Dreams. Commissioner Auger agreed to look at whether or not there would be grant money available. '<) Andover Park and Recreational Commission Minutes - October 7, 1993 Page 5 WITTINGTON RIDGE PRELIMINARY PLAT PARK DEDICATION MOTION by Lindahl, Seconded by O'Toole, for Wittington Ridge park dedication. Absent (Kieffer, DeLarco) vote. to accept cash in lieu of land Motion carried on a 5-Yes, 2- CHAIRMAN'S REPORT The Commission asked for a report for the next meeting indicating the status of the Park Dedication fund, income received this year and that which is still to be received and the amounts earmarked for specific items. Mr. Starr stated the residents at Creekview Crossing would like to see a small ice rink in that park. He stated it wouldn't take much to install a recreational skating rink in that park; though once the berm is up, it will stay up all the time. Those residents are also doing more fund raising for money to purchase additional park equipment. i Mr. Starr stated there will be about 10 to 12 ice rinks this winter, three of them with warming houses. He noted the lighting at the Crooked Lake School is not good and will need to be repaired. He hoped that could be done with the increased maintenance budget next year. At least four lights will need to be installed before the hockey season at the City Hall site and at Hawk Ridge. Anoka Electric will install them at $280 per pole. Chuck Schmit, Andover Baseball - complemented the Park Department crew for the excellent maintenance on the fields during their season-end tournament in spite of the weather. MOTION by Paulson, Seconded by O'Toole, to adjourn. a 5-Yes, 2-Absent (Kieffer, DeLarco) vote. Motion carried on The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. Respectfull~' ~peach EZL Recording Secretary