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08/06/2001 - 00009302CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — AUGUST 6, 2001 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Kondrick called the August 6, 2001 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dave Kondrick, Marcy Sibell, Tim Solberg, Dick Young Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Recreation & Natural Resources Paul Lawrence, Superintendent of Public Works Robbie Hogetvedt, 6057 Central Avenue Rick Hogetvedt, 6057 Central Avenue APPROVAL OF JUNE 4, 2001 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the minutes of the June 4, 2001 meeting. Mr. Young asked about the Labor Day Softball Tournament and if it was still going to be held. Mr. Kirk stated that staff was moving ahead with plans for the tournament. Staff has been working with Como Pontliana of Spikers on the details. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR AUGUST 6, 2001 MOTION by Mr. Solberg, seconded by Ms. Sibell, to approve the agenda with the added item for the August 6, 2001 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the weather has been a factor with the programming this year, starting in June when it rained almost daily for the first three weeks of the month. Many activities were postponed and needed rescheduling because of the weather. The 49er Days activities were significantly affected by the rainy weather this year. In the past couple of weeks we have been dealing with the extremely hot weather. Activities have been adjusted to look out for the safety of the participants and the program leaders. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 6, 2001 Paqe 2 Mr. Kirk further stated that the Fridley Senior Program was notified that they had won a prize for unique programming ideas from the Senior Network, a national senior information service. The $100 grand prize award was for the very successful Senior Safety Camp held at the Fridley Community Center this past spring. Mr. Kirk also stated that the summer activities are going very well, with good participation in the Springbrook Day Nature camps and the summer ROCKS program. b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Lawrence stated that Mr. Lindquist has provided a written maintenance report that is included in the agenda packet. Some significant projects that have been worked on this summer include the removal and replacement of the courts at Logan park, replacing of the fencing at the Little League complex and the infield improvements at the Madsen park field. In addition, the park workers were extremely busy supporting the 49er Days activities and providing on-going support all summer for the recreation activities. Mr. Kirk stated that he wanted the Commission to know that he feels the park maintenance division has done a great job this summer. The support for the organized programs has been outstanding and the park system looks in great shape. c. Moore Lake Buffer Strip Project Mr. Kirk stated that the Moore Lake Buffer Strip project was still proceeding, although the schedule has been pushed back some. Mr. Thompson expects to begin planting for the project toward the end of August. d. Community Circle Conversations Mr. Kirk stated that he received a letter recently from the Southern Anoka County Community Consortium announcing a Community Circles program to begin in the fall. The Community Circle Conversations brings people together to discuss issues facing our area. Commission members may have an interest in participating in this project. e. Locke Park Dedication — Anoka County Mr. Kirk stated that Anoka County is planning a dedication of the new facilities at Locke Park for Thursday, August 23rd. The County has recently completed a new picnic shelter, restroom facility, playground equipment and trails in this park and want to celebrate with city officials, commission members, staff, and residents of the area. They are planning a picnic from 5:30pm to 7:30 pm. Mr. Kirk will pass along additional information to the Commission members when available. 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Showmobile Rental Application — Star City Days Mr. Kirk stated that the City has received an application for use of the Showmobile from Star City Days and the City of Inver Grove Heights. The requested date is Sunday, September gt" Staff would recommend approval of the request with all appropriate fees and charges applied. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 6, 2001 Paqe 3 MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Ms. Sibell to approve the Showmobile rental application by the City of Inver Grove Heights and Star City Days. Mr. Young stated that we should let the City of Inver Grove Heights know that the showmobile may not be available for rental next year, as we are likely reducing the maximum distance allowed for the rentals and this event would exceed that limit. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Moore Lake Park Concerns Mr. Kondrick stated that the Commission has some guests here this evening that are concerned with some recent negative activity at Moore Lake Park. Mr. Kondrick welcomed the visitors. Mr. Robbie Hogetvedt stated that he lives across the street from Moore Lake Park and is representing several neighbors who live in this area. They are very concerned about some of the problems at the park and the neighbors in the area just don't know what to do to improve the situation. The park users are getting out-of-hand with drinking alcohol, playing loud music, using offensive language, harassing other park users and littering the park. He thinks the City needs to start using parking permits once again as they did in the past. Mr. Robbie Hogetvedt further stated that non-residents are using this park more than ever and they are not paying anything to the City for this use. They are using a facility paid for by Fridley taxpayers and they don't have to contribute to the upkeep or maintenance of the park. The problems with the park users are getting worse and the police are never at the park or patrolling the area. Yesterday he saw a police car go through the parking lot once. He further stated that these park users need to demonstrate some respect for the park property and for the residents of the area. He is very concerned about the stabbing incident that occurred on the fourth of July and doesn't want to see more problems like that. Mr. Kondrick asked if the problems were concentrated in the park itself or did these park users go across the street and cause problems on the private property of the homeowners. Mr. Robbie Hogetvedt stated that the problems were in the park area. As a related concern, he feels there is a need for a traffic light or at least a stop sign at the corner of Gardena and Central Avenue. Traffic is very heavy in this area and when it is a busy day at the beach, the need for traffic control is even greater. Mr. Solberg asked if the problems at Moore Lake were happening all of the time or just on the weekends. Mr. Robbie Hogetvedt stated that this was primarily a weekend problem, when the picnic shelters are being heavily used. He further stated that he knows of many Fridley residents who will no longer let their children go to the beach because they are so concerned with these problems. Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 6, 2001 Paqe 4 Mr. Rick Hogetvedt stated that the last three times he went to the beach, he saw people drinking. He said they wouldn't listen to the lifeguards when told it was not allowed. Mr. Kondrick explained that the Parks and Recreation Commission is an advisory group and the concerns expressed this evening would be passed on to the Planning Commission, the City Council and appropriate City staff. He told the Hogetvedts that he appreciated their input and that the City needed interested citizens like them to let us know of concerns. The Commission wants people to have a good time in our parks, but also a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone. He asked staff to report back with additional information at the next Commission meeting. c. Creekridge Park Path Request Mr. Kirk stated that he had received a letter from Mr. Bob Burdick (1316 66t" Avenue NE) requesting a hard surface path through Creekridge Park, connecting with the access off of Mississippi Street. He wrote that the addition of the path would allow for walking in the park, access to the play area from Mississippi, and access to the park bench by someone in a wheelchair. He provided a sketch with a recommendation with where the path could go. He did not feel a path would interfere with the existing ballfield. Mr. Kirk stated that if a path were installed, it might make some sense to place it close to the picnic shelter and align it with the existing path that goes from Creek Park Lane to the play equipment. Mr. Young stated that the request should be looked at with the other accessibility needs in our park system and considered as a future project. MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to accept the correspondence from Mr. Burdick. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED d. Winter Athletic Fees Mr. Kirk stated that the staff has recommended the registration fees for the winter athletic league programs. The fees for the basketball leagues would increase by $30 per team due to additional costs for building supervision at the schools. There is no fee increase for the Co- Rec volleyball league, as all costs for this year will remain the same. The broomball and boot hockey fees would go up $20 per team due to a slight increase in officiating costs and cost of sanctioning these teams with the state association. Recommended fees are as follows: Men's D Basketball $395 Men's Fun Basketball $380 Co — Rec Volleyball $ 95 Co — Rec Broomball $200 Boot Hockey $220 Parks and Recreation Commission Meetinq — Auqust 6, 2001 Paqe 5 MOTION by Ms. Sibell, seconded by Mr. Young, to approve the staff recommended fees for the winter athletic leagues. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Young, seconded by Mr. Solberg, to adjourn the August 6, 2001 meeting at 8:30 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON KONDRICK DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE AUGUST 6, 2001 MEETING ADJOURNED.