HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 8, 2009
1
2
3
4
5
6 REGULAR ANDOVER OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
7 APRIL 8, 2009
8 MINUTES
9
10
11 The Regular Meeting of the Andover Open Space Advisory Commission was called to order by
12 Chairman Deric Deuschle, April 8,2009, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown
13 Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota.
14
15 Commissioners present: Gretchen Sabel, Jody Keppers (arrived at 7:05 p.m.), Jim Olson,
16 Winslow Holasek, and Bruce Perry
17 Commissioners absent: Kim Kovich
18 Also present: City Planner, Courtney Bednarz
19 Others
20
21
22 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
23
24 March 11, 2009
25
26 Commissioner Perry stated on page 2, line 24, the word ebtain should be changed to retain.
27
28 Motion by Olson, seconded by Sabel, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried on a
29 5-ayes, O-nays, O-present, 2-absent (Keppers, Kovich) vote.
30
31 GRANT UPDATE
32
33 Mr. Bednarz indicated the grants were submitted on time with the appraisal. The grants will be
34 reviewed over the next 3 months. The City anticipates a decision by the end of summer.
35
36 Commissioner Olson asked ifthis is money waiting to be appropriated or is it already appropriated
37 to be distributed this year. Mr. Bednarz stated the funds are there waiting to be disbursed.
38
39 Commissioner Perry asked if the appraisal went as expected. Mr. Bednarz stated the appraisal came
40 in higher than expected. Staff is going to meet with the Council at their workshop in April to see
41 what they want to do with the information.
42
43 Commissioner Olson asked ifthe appraisal is less than what the owner was offering. Mr. Bednarz
44 stated it was.
45
46 Commissioner Keppers arrived at 7:05 p.m.
47
48
Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting
Minutes - April 8, 2009
Page 2
1 REVIEW DRAFT NEWSLETTER ARTICLE
2
3 Chair Deuschle noted the article looked good to him and he recommended the draft article as
4 provided should be included in the next newsletter.
5
6 REVIEW RECYCLING/ARBOR DAY PLAN
7
8 Chair Deuschle reviewed with the Commission the items needed for Recycling/Arbor Day.
9
10 Commissioner Keppers stated he had some quizzes they could use such as "Name that open
11 space" with photos for people to look at and take a guess. He also made a summary of what the
12 Open Space Commission is about with some resources on the back.
13
14 Commissioner Keppers wondered approximately how many people will be going through the
15 event. Mr. Bednarz stated he was not sure because several hundred people will go through the
16 recycle area.
17
18 Chairman Deuschle stated staffing also needs to be decided for the event. The Commission
19 decided which time slots they wanted to take.
20
21 Chairman Deuschle thought they should have a drop box at the site for people to sign up for the
22 newsletter.
23
24 DISCUSS 2009 SITE SELECTION PROCESS
25
26 Mr. Bednarz reviewed the new sites for 2009 with the Commission, bold and italicized.
27
28 The Lawrence property (Section 11) is just adjacent to the Kuiken property to the north.
29
30 Mr. Brian Lawrence, owner of the property explained what the property looks like. He stated he
31 wanted to come before the Commission to see ifthere was interest in the property and what the
32 process IS.
33
34 Mr. Bednarz showed information indicating the entire property is in the floodplain with some
35 forest area within a wetland.
36
37 Mr. Lawrence asked if the Commission has a goal, acre wise, for what they are looking for in
38 total. Chair Deuschle stated it is more looking at the quality of the land rather than the quantity.
39
40 Mr. Lawrence wondered how the decision was made to offer purchase of the Ganter property.
41 Mr. Bednarz explained to Mr. Lawrence how the Commission goes through and decides what
42 properties to pursue.
43
44 Chair Deuschle asked what Mr. Lawrence's thoughts were on this. Mr. Lawrence stated if the
Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting
Minutes - April 8, 2009
Page 3
1 City is interested in pursuing something they would be interested but otherwise they will
2 continue to farm the land. Chair Deuschle stated they are continually looking towards grants to
3 get more money to purchase land otherwise they are looking at next spring to purchase the next
4 parcels.
5
6 Mr. Bednarz stated Woodland Creek Golf Course may be open as a driving range this year but
7 not as a golf course and the owner asked that this be reviewed again. The owner is interested in
8 selling the parcel. He asked if the property has any value to the Commission and ifthey wanted
9 to consider this property for open space. He stated the neighborhood is interested in the golf
10 course continuing as it is but does not seem like it is going to happen in the long run. It seems
11 more likely that something else is going to come out of it.
12
13 Commissioner Keppers did not think the golf course property was very remarkable nor had much
14 value to it.
15
16 Chair Deuschle thought they would be spending a lot of money on restoring the property to make
17 it viable for open space and he did not think it would be a good decision. He did not think the
18 Council would go along with them if they picked this parcel. He felt the City already deemed
19 this property open space and cannot be built on as is. He felt there were better parcels out there
20 that could be picked before this parcel.
21
22 Commissioner Keppers thought they should score this parcel to be fair.
23
24 Mr. Lawrence wondered if the golf course could be maintained as park land in the City,
25
26 Chair Deuschle thought this would not be wise to use their funds to get an owner out of a jam.
27 He thought it would cost a lot to restore the property but ifthere was a grant aimed toward
28 restoration, they may want to look at applying for it for this parcel.
29
30 Mr. Bednarz stated the next site is 17178 Argon Street NW. He stated the new lot is added to
31 two other adjacent properties to the south that have indicated interest in working with the City.
32 He noted this was brought forward by the neighborhood and the parcel is held in a trust.
33
34 Commissioner Perry thought that ifthere was some interest in this parcel they should look at it.
35
36 Chair Deuschle thought Mr. Bednarz should look to see if the parcel is in a trust if it is available
37 or if a family member wants to keep the parcel.
38
39 Mr. Bednarz stated that the parcel is vacant but the two properties to the south contain existing
40 homes.
41
42 Commissioner Holasek wondered if they could group all three parcels together for purchase.
43 Chair Deuschle thought it would be ideal if the homes were not there but they would only be
44 obtaining slivers along the river with the homes there. He thought they should keep it on the list
Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting
Minutes - April 8, 2009
Page 4
1 for future consideration.
2
3 Mr. Lawrence wondered if the Commission considered the property tax lost on this property if it
4 is placed into open space. The Commission indicated they did.
5
6 Commissioner Sabel wondered if the Russell piece was on the list. Mr. Bednarz stated it was not
7 but he would add it to the list.
8
9 Mr. Bednarz asked the Commission how they are going to get to a point in the next six months to
10 make a decision for purchasing property. Commissioner Keppers thought it should be sorted by
11 score ofthe property.
12
13 Commissioner Perry wondered if they wanted to keep on the list the people that are not
14 interested at this time. Commissioner Keppers thought they should be kept on the list at the
15 bottom for reference and in case interest crops up again.
16
17 Commissioner Olson thought there was a lot of property in the northern part of the City that was
18 not in the corridor that could be better than what they have listed. He did not think they would
19 get a grant for it but he thought they should send out a letter to property owners north of
20 Constance Boulevard. He asked Mr. Bednarz ifhe could find out and give them an idea of how
21 many parcel would be within the parameters to send letters to. Commissioner Sabel stated she
22 would like to look at quality rather than quantity.
23
24 Chair Deuschle would like to see at the next meeting a map of properties around twenty acres in
25 size outside of the corridor that looked promising. Mr. Bednarz did not think parcels outside of
26 the corridor will have many natural features but he would get a map organized for the next
27 meeting. Chair Deuschle stated he wanted to make sure they did not miss a good property.
28
29 METRO GREENWAYS GRANT CYCLE
30
31 Mr. Bednarz reviewed the grant with the Commission. He stated they would need to submit a
32 summary in May. He stated this is an opportunity for matching funding for the other property
33 they are interested in purchasing.
34
35 Chair Deuschle did not think it would hurt for them to apply for this grant. He thought they
36 should proceed with it.
37
38 OTHER BUSINESS
39
40 a. Draft Newsletter
41
42 Commissioner Sabel wondered if the Commission had any comments on the draft newsletter she
43 sent out to them.
44
Regular Open Space Advisory Commission Meeting
Minutes - April 8, 2009
Page 5
1 Commissioner Keppers thought on the website it would be easier for the entire newsletter to be
2 worded the same and laid out on screen to find.
3
4 b. City Website
5
6 Mr. Lawrence stated there is no Commission meeting notification listed on the City Calendar
7 or on the Open Space Advisory Commission webpage and thought it would be helpful for
8 people to know.
9
10 c. Next Meeting
11
12 May 13,2009.
13
14 Motion by Keppers, Seconded by Perry, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting
15 adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
16
17 Respectfully submitted,
18
19 Susan Osbeck, Recording Secretary