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PR 04/06/1982 - 31277r�'� CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING APRIL 6, 1982 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the April 6, 1982, Parks & Recreation Commission meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Jan Seeger, Mary Schreiner Members Absent: Dick Young, Dan Allen Others Present: Charles Boudreau, Parks & Recreation Director Jack Kirk, Recreation Supervisor Siah St. Clair, City Naturalist APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 2, 1982� PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MIIVUTES: MOTION BY MS. SEEGER� SECONDED BY MS. SCHREINER� TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY 2� 1982� PARKS � RECREATION COMDffSSION MINUTES. UPON A VOICE VOTE� ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMDilSLY. INTRODUCTION OF MARY SCHREINER, NEW COMMISSION MEMBER: Mr. Kondrick introduced Ms. Schreiner and welcomed her to the Commission. 1. DIRECTOR'S REPORT: Dr. Boudreau stated he has asked Jack Kirk to give a brief report on the summer program. He has also asked Siah St. Clair to come and talk about the preliminary master plan he has for the continued development of Spring- brook Nature Center. a. Summer Pro�ram Report - Jack Kirk Mr. Kirk stated the spring program brochure went out about two weeks ago, and they began registration last week. Most of those programs will begin the second week in April. The spring program is a short program of about six weeks. �-. Mr, Kirk stated the summer program brochure will be out about the first week of May. They will start registration on May 17. From all indications, they expect a larger turn-out for the surrr�nner programs this year, because of PARKS & RECREATIQN COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 2 the fact that a lot of schools are cutting back on sumner school programming. He has ta]ked to people at both District l4 and 16, and they seem to think a lot of students who were taking summer enrichment courses wi71 now be signing up for recreation programs. Mr. Kirk stated the Spring Lake Park School District 16 contacted the City of Fridley about three months ago as they were concerned that they may not have any summer school at all. Since that time, they have ]earned they will have summer school, but in the event there was no sur�ner school, they wanted to see if there were some ways they could work with Fridley in improving programming. Because of the fact that Fridley is involved with a section of Spring Lake Park School District, and the City of Spring Lake Park is involved with a section of Blaine, the three recreation departments got together and have set the groundwork for a tri- city fitness-type program that would be operated in the morning hours in the Spring Lake Park School District this year. Because Fridley is taking part, it will be open to any Fridley residents, but it is on a trial basis to see what kind of response they get from that area and from the City as a whole. It is a first to have three cities working together on programming. Mr. Kirk stated the playground program is pretty well put together. The locations will once again be disbursed throughout the City. It will be a seven-week program, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with Wednesday ^ as excursion day. The PIT� (Playground in the Streets) program involves a mobile recreation vehic7e with equipment that goes to areas in the City that do not have organized playgrounds. This program has met with mixed success in the past, so they are looking at this program. Mr. Kirk stated one of the areas that continues to be very popular is adult softball. They have 108 teams signed up for adult softball and there are 12 teams on a waiting list. He stated they will discuss this further under "new business" along with the proposed sumner activity fee schedu7e. Mr. Kirk stated he will bring the Commission up to date on the summer programming at the next meeting. Dr. Boudreau stated that in reviewing the applications for sumner part- time maintenance for the playgrounds and around the City, they have found they probably have more applications this year than ever before. They still stay with the criteria that all Fridley residents have first priority on all jobs. For the most part, the majority of those they have hired for the'summer are in the older age bracket (college-age) as opposed to previous years when they have been mostly high school age. He stated one other criteria they have continued with is that the returning employee who has done a satisfactory job in the past will also fit into the priority category. � PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 3 b. � c. d. � 1982 Shade Tree Program Dr. Boudreau stated he had included in the agenda packet a copy of a letter from the State of Minnesota Department of Agriculture which stated: "First, the recently enacted state budget reduction cancelled all funds for shade tree grants to communities for 1982. You will receive no financial assistance from the state for expenses you incur in operating a local shade tree program in 1982." Dr. Boudreau stated the City is not going to get reimbursed for their shade tree program, and there is no longer any state law that says the shade tree inspection program is mandatory. He stated he has informed City Council of this. He stated they have recommended to City Council, and City Council somewhat concurred with the recommendation, that for th� year 1982, the shade tree control inspector will do only two complete inspections in the City (as opposed to three), one at "7eaf-out" in the early spring and the second in the fall (7ate Aug./early Sept.). When the inspector sees a diseased tree, he will mark the tree and inform the homeowner of the diseased tree on the homeowner�s property. He will encourage the homeowner to have the tree removed at the homeowner's expense. He stated the homeowner used to have to pay 50� of the cost of that remova7. The City is hoping they will get this cooperation from the citizens. Trees that are r'ound to be diseased on public property will either be removed in-house with their own maintenance people, or they will go to a contractor to have the tree removed. � Dr. Boudreau stated most of the surrounding communities are doing about the same type of program of inspecting and encouraging the homeowners to remove diseased trees on their properties. Communi� Park Dr. Boudreau stated they are planning to get the contractor into the park as soon as possible this spring. They have fencing they want put up, and they have the irrigation contract which carried over from last year. He stated they hope to have the fields somewhat in playing condition by this fall. He stated they are about a year behind because of the weather last fall and the truckers' strike. Dr. Boudreau stated they have approached the County to purchase a windmill and a pump in order to keep the pond at a steady elevation and to irrigate the fields. Communications - Willis R. Unke Dr. Boudreau passed out two letters from Mr. Unke to the City Council dated Feb. 22 and March 13, 1982. He stated they were for the Commission's information only. PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 4 2. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: a. Report on HRA Communit� Center Project Mr. Kondrick stated that what is being planned for the Center City Redevelopment area is a 30,000 sq, ft. office building and a medical clinic adjacent to City Hall. He stated one of the things that happens as a result of that is the remova7 of Eisenhower Park, which has a commemorative monument which was installed by the VFW. Dr. Boudreau stated he is meeting with the VFW on Friday morning to discuss a new location for the monument. He stated he will be suggesting the south side of Moore Lake where the flagpole is located. Ms. Seeger expressed concern about the removal of the beautiful trees in Eisenhower Park. Dr. Boudreau stated that all the smaller trees will be removed and relocated. He stated if Ms. Seeger or any of the other Comnission members had any questions or concerns, they should contact Mr. Boardman, City Planner. 3. NEW BUSINESS: a. Proposed Summer Activity Fee Schedule Mr. Kirk stated they have two different types of softball leagues in the City of Fridley: (l) the state registered leagues--affiliated with the state-wide athletic program and the teams that win in Frid7ey in the play- offs have the o portunity to go on to regional, district, and state competition; (2� the fun leagues--those teams not interested in the high competition, just want to play in Fridley. Dr. Boudreau stated each team gives the City a$700 deposit to ensure they are an eligible team. That deposit is returned at the end of the year if the team has not broken any rules and has fulfilled their schedule. He stated most other communities do this same thing. Mr. Kirk stated the following is the proposed summer activity fee schedule: Softbal l State registered leagues $225/team $200 last yr.) Fun leagues 200/team $180 last yr.) Play�ground Pro�ram - 7-week program (119 activity hrs.) � $18/individual, $30 maximum/fami7y � ^ r-� n PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 5 Tin� Tots - 42 activity hrs. $11/individual, $20 maximum/family Da� Nature Camp Grades 1-2 Grades 3-4 Grades 5-6 Grades 7-8-9 $ 8.50/individual, 16.00/individual, 18.00/individual, 15.00/individual, T-Ball - 8 wk, program Ages 6-7-8 Youth Gymnastics $15/individual $]2/individual Jr. & Sr. High G,y�mnastics $22/individua] $15 maximum/family $30 maximum/family $30 maximum/family $25 maximum/family Dr. Boudreau stated they have some established criteria be which they set these fees: 1, number of hrs, of leadership and leader's salary 2, supplies and materials 3, add about 14� for administration fee 4. transportation 5, special awards, special literature or materia]s Dr. Boudreau stated, in this way, they have a pretty good idea of what the program is going to cost them, and then they try to offset part of that so the fees are very competitive and compatible to the other playground programs in the metro area. Dr. Boadreau stated that, with softball, they take the state registration fee, the cost of the umpires, the number of games, number of softballs that will be used, administration fee, trophies, in order to come up with the fees. He stated softball was the one activity that comes closest to being a self-sustaining activity. MOTION BY MS. SEEGER SECONDED BY MS. SCHREINER, TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL THB APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED 1982 SU1�iMER ACTIVITY FEE SCHEDULE A5 OUTLINED BY MR. KIRK. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 6 � b. Sunday Softball League Mr. Kirk stated, as he had told the Commission earlier, they still have twelve men's teams on a waiting list. He stated he has explained to them that there are no more fields available. Mr. Kirk stated Sunday night is the only night they have available when they are not utilizing the fields. He stated he told the twelve teams that they were exploring the possibility of a Sunday night league, and asked them if they would play if there was a Sunday night league. He stated that out of the twelve teams, eight said "yes". He stated he would guess they would probably have ten teams out of the twelve on a Sunday night ]eague. Mr. Kirk stated they are now bringing this to the Commission for approval, The Comnission is aware of the parking problems and,the conditions at Commons Park. This would be a one-year program at Cor�nons, although a Sunday night league may be something they will want to eontinue in the future, �� the demand is there. Dr. Boudreau stated the hours would not be late. They are talking about starting the games at 5-5:30 and ending at 8-8:30 p.m. They could even divide the teams between Commons and Locke Park, if the Commission desired � that. Mr. Kondrick stated he did not have a problem with a Sunday night league as long as the hours are early. MOTION BY MS. SCHREINER� SECONDED BY MS. SEEGER, TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL THE APPROVAL OF A SUNDAY NIGHT T�E'AGUE FROM 'S:00=8: 00 'P.M. 'WTTH A MAXIMUM OF 12'TEAMS: UPON A VOICE VOTE� ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNAN21►10USLY. c. Softball Tournament Re9 uests Dr. Boudreau stated they again have the request from the Fridley Tiger Hockey Booster Club for the use of Commons 2,3,4, and 5 for a tournament on June 18, 19, 20. Again, this is tying in with 49'er Days. Dr. Boudreau stated this year the Girls Softba]1 Division of the FYSA is requesting the use of Commons 2, 3, and 4 softball fields for an invitational softball tournament on July 9-11 with an alternative date of July 16-18 in case of rain-out. He stated this is a new request. Dr. Boudreau stated he would recommend the Commission approve both these requests. � ^ J � �` PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSIOM MEETING, APRIC 6, 1982 __ PAGE 7 1�lOTION BY MS. SEEGER� 5ECONDED BY MS. SCHREINER, TO APPROVE THE REQUE5T FROM THE FRIDLEY 2'IGER HOCKEY BOOSTER CLUB FOR A SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT ON JUNE 18-20 AND THE REQUEST FROM THE GIRLS' SOFTBALL DIVISION OF THE FYSA FOR A SOFTBALL TDURNAMENT ON JULY 9-11 (JULY 16-18 IF PREVIOUS DATES RAINED OUT). UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE� CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. d. Board & Commission Meeting Dr. Boudreau stated he had received a call from Dick Jorgenson, Executive Secretary of the Minnesota Recreational Park Association,informing him of a Board & Commission meeting on Sat., April 17, at Van Cleeve Park from 9:30 - 12:00 noon. This will be an educational-type session. He stated any Commission members interested in attending should contact him by Friday, April 9. e. Polic,y Recommendation Dr. Boudreau stated he has received a call from Mrs. Chris Lian from the Mrs. Jaycees. The Mrs. Jaycees want to hold an "outstanding young adult � award" ceremony to recognize the outstanding young adult in the community. They would like to utilize the Springbrook Nature Center facility. Dr. Boudreau stated the unwritten policy he and Mr. St. Clair have been following is that the Springbrook Nature Center facility was built as a nature interpretive center. They do appreciate the help they have received from everyone, but they do not want to open up the nature center facility as a public meeting place. Beside$ the drain on staff to open it up in the evening for meetings, they do not think the purpose of ineetings held in the interpretive center is in keeping with t�hy the facility was built. Dr. Boudreau stated they would like the Co�pnission's opinions and recommendations on how far they should go, if anywhere, with this type of thing. Does the Commission wish to open the center up to groups for meetings? If so, how does Staff accomplish it? What groups are eligible? What kind of guidelines should they deve7op? Mr. St. Clair stated the way they are handling it right now is if someone calls up and wants to have a meeting at the nature center as a part of the nature center's program, they have allowed that. But, these evening programs and meetings from a staff standpoint is almost "gratis", because it is not part of their regular working day. He stated they are having quite a number of groups calling and wanting to meet at the center. He stated they would also like to keep evenings open for specia7 programs. � � 0 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6, 1982 PAGE 8 Mr. Kondrick stated that in one way, he kind of liked the idea of having meetings at the nature center in the respect that it would give the nature center more exposure. However, he did not see how they had the money or the staff to handle that kind of thing now--possibly in the future. Ms. Seeger stated the nature center is now open on weekends and the staff are alternating weekends in service to the community. She stated she agreed with the discretion Mr. St. Clair has used in the past. The facility really ought to be used with the intention that it is a nature center and not just simply a building. There a�e other public buildings in the City that are avai�able for meetings and ceremonies. Dr. Boudreau stated his philosophy would still be that this is a nature center intended for nature interpretive-type of things, Once they open it up as just another meeting area in the City of Fridley, they would be defeating the purpose for which a lot of peop7e put a lot of hours and hard work into building a nature interpretive center. He would hate to see that happen. The Corr�nission members were in agreement with this philosophy that the facility should not be made availab7e to non-nature oriented meetings or groups. For those situations that are questionable, they felt comfortab� with leaving it up to the Staff's discretion. Ms. Schreiner stated she could see the need for a good written policy on this. Dr. Boudreau stated now that the nature center is open and most of the things inside are done, they do need to come up with some policies for hours in the park (also exceptions to those hours), building use, program commitment, etc. Staff will be presenting these policies to the Corr�nnission piece by piece over the summer trying to put it all together. He stated he and Mr. St. Clair wou7d appreciate any input the Commission members might have. Chairperson Kondrick declared a ten-minute recess at 9:35 p.m. f. Development Plan - Sprin�brook Nature Center - Siah St. Clair Mr. St. Clair handed out copies of the "Springbrook Nature Center Preliminary Master Development Plan, April 1982". He reviewed the plan with the Corr�nnission members. Mr. St. Clair stated they will be putting together a priority list of things that are needed so they can plan a capital improvement program for the next five years. � ../ i� PARKS_& RE_C_REATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIL 6,�1982� PAGE 9 Mr. St. Clair stated the major thing they are looking at right now is the pond development at Springbrook. In looking at the animal and plant life and trying to maximize their diversity over the next 100 years, the one thing that is really lacking within the park is a permanent open body of water. He stated the ponding has changed drastically in the last four years. He stated the beavers are on their way out of the park. The longest boardwalk is practically over dry land now, the short board- walk is partially under water because the beavers raised their dam, and there are sections completely under water. Mr. St. Clair stated they �eed a permanent open body of water that will not fluctuate so they can develop a boardwalk and trail system that isn't going to need changing every 2-3 years. He stated they have been working on developing a plan for this for quite some time. He stated he has taken an aerial photo of the nature center that was taken in 1975 or ]976 when the beavers had their main dam. He took the area where the open water was, drew a line around it, and said that was the kind of area they wou7d like to have as a permanent open body of water. They then drew up a plan for an open body of water to be placed there. Mr. St. Clair stated that as part of this plan, the Engineering Dept. �,.� hired a company to do soil borings to determine how far down the peat goes. One of the concerns they have is to make sure they do not "pull the plug" and end up going down beyond the seal and draining a]1 the water out. One thing they discovered from the soil borings is that there is a clay material under the peat. Mr. St. Clair stated they are sti11 working on a plan that will work best for them. Another concern is that the impact is not going to be heavy on the other parts of the site. A main part of the interest is to leave the marsh areas as they are. Mr. St. Clair stated right now he is meeting with various people--a representative from the Minnesota Water Fowl Association; Dr. Breckrenridge; someone from the Department of Natural Resources; and someone from the Fish & Wildlife Service, to try to come up with what is best going to fit this site from an interpretive standpoint, as well as a wildlife standpoint. Mr. St. Clair stated this is the highest priority in the capita] improve- ment projects right now and is getting most of his attention in trying to plan for the future. Dr. Boudreau stated they would like the Comnission's initial reaction on what they are proposing as it will help guide the capital outlay budget. � _ PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING, APRIt 6, 1982 PAGE 70 �v The Cor�nission members agreed they did not want to encourage picnicing at the nature center--that there be just an area where school children and people visiting the center over a lunch period can eat their lunch. They would caution against any further expansion of the picnic area. Ms. Schreiner stated she could see the irmnediate need for signs, even if they are temporary signs, for "no pets" and "no picking and collecting". She fe7t these were two important areas that were being abused. Ms. Seeger stated that, regarding the pond development, the Springbrook Board discussed this in depth. It was the concensus of the Springbrook Board to go along with the area development, but made the statement they did not want it "too developed". She would go along with that recommendation and concern. Mr. St. Clair stated that right now, they are just l�ooking at the concept of doing pond development, because they are not at the point of having actual drawings of what they want done. Ms. Schreiner stated it seemed to her to be one of the top priorities for the nature center. The Commission members concurred with the concept of pond development at � the Springbrook Nature Center. ADJOURNMENT: Chairperson Kondrick declared the April 6, 1982, Parks & Recreation Corr�nission meeting adjourned at 11:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lynn' Saba Recording Secretary