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PRM 12/05/2016 CITY OF FRIDLEY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING – DECEMBER 5, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Heintz called the December 5, 2016 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Mike Heintz, Greg Ackerman, Michele Barrett, Shanna Larson, Dave Kondrick Others Present: Jack Kirk, Director of Parks and Recreation Robert Barnette, Fridley City Council- Councilmember-at-Large APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 7, 2016 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MINUTES MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to approve the minutes of the November 7, 2016 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 5, 2016 MOTION by Mr. Kondrick, seconded by Mr. Ackerman, to approve the agenda for the December 5, 2016 meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. 1. STAFF REPORT a. Program Update Mr. Kirk stated that the Program Update has been included in the meeting packet to provide commission members with information on some of the programs and events during the past month. Mr. Kirk stated that he wanted to call attention to the Veterans Day Celebration held on th November 11 at the Senior Center which had over 200 people in attendance. It was a very nice program and it is very meaningful to the seniors. Mr. Kirk further stated that the Springbrook Nature Center staff conducts periodic Saturday evening nature programs called Discovery Dinners. It includes a catered meal and a nature th oriented presentation. The November 12 Discovery Dinner featured Carrol Henderson as the guest speaker. Mr. Henderson is an author and champion of the Minnesota DNR Non- Game Wildlife program. There were 22 people that attended the program. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – December 5, 2016 Page2 b. Park Maintenance Report Mr. Kirk stated that a November Parks Maintenance Report from Operations Manager Jeff Jensen has been included in the meeting packet. Thanks to some very moderate late fall weather, the park workers were able to complete a pretty thorough fall cleanup in the parks. They have also been working on winterizing some of the seasonal facilities. They will begin ice rink preparation later this week as the colder temperatures move in. Mr. Kondrick stated that he has driven to many of our parks this fall and he believes they really look great. They are being maintained very well. Mr. Ackerman stated that the new play equipment that was recently installed at Commons Park looks great. It is a nice addition to the play options in our park. c. Springbrook Nature Center Report Mr. Kirk stated that the Springbrook Nature Center has been awarded a $25,000 grant to fund a sustainability exhibit for Springbrook and an educational partnership with the Alexandria School District. The Nature Center staff is currently working on this sustainability exhibit to include information to educate visitors on building energy use, geothermal energy, storm water management and other green building features. Mr. Kirk further stated that the staff will work with educators in the Alexandria School District on environmental education curriculum for in classroom work at their schools. It is also possible that this partnership will lead to school field trips for the students to Springbrook. Mr. Kirk stated that the City has also received a $10,000 grant from Twin Cities Gateway to promote the new facilities at the nature center. Staff is working on developing marketing materials that will be used to promote event rentals and school programs at Springbrook. Mr. Kirk stated that bids for the new amphitheater and Children’s nature based play area were opened and awarded in September. Site work on these two new features will begin in December, with the expected completion of the projects next May or June. 3. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Moore Lake Park Master Plan Mr. Kirk stated that Hoesington Koegler Group (HKGi) has completed the preferred plan for the Moore Lake Master Plan and he would like to review the plan with the Commission tonight. HKGi has been at the last two Parks and Recreation Commission meetings to discuss and review this project. They have analyzed the results of a community survey on the potential redesign of Moore Lake Park that had over 300 responses. They met with a representative of the Rice Creek Watershed District to discuss potential water improvement projects and met several times with City staff regarding the planning for this park. One of the meetings was with the Park Maintenance staff to gain input on park use and potential problem areas for maintenance. Mr. Kirk stated that it is not too late to change the final plan and it may undergo some changes in the future. Based on all the information and input, the plan being presented represents a direction for the future re-development of the park. We are not under a set timeline for implementing a plan and it could be done over a five to ten year plan, or even longer. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – December 5, 2016 Page3 Mr. Kondrick asked if the City owned any houses in the properties north of Moore Lake. Mr. Kirk stated that the City does not own any houses there, but we do own several properties north of the Moore Lake Park. There are also three privately owned properties with houses on them. Mr. Kirk stated that HKGi has shown the area north of the Moore Lake Park as a possible future development, should the City wish to proceed in that direction. It is shown as a park expansion and possible multi-housing area, but it could also be developed in other directions too. Mr. Heintz stated that he would like to see more discussion in the future on whether the City should look at expanding Moore Lake Park by purchasing additional property. Maybe the City should consider selling the currently owned properties and using proceeds to make improvements in the park. Ms. Larson stated that she believes the master plan presented by HKGi looks beautiful. All the features being proposed are very nice. Mr. Kirk stated that he would suggest reviewing the plan tonight by identifying what was kept in the new plan, what would be removed or taken out, what would be moved and what would be added to the park. Mr. Kirk reviewed these areas with the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Kirk stated that the picnic shelters are viewed as very important in the use of this park, so upgrading the shelters will be included in the plan. The plan identifies the possibility of adding one or two larger shelters at the park to accommodate some bigger groups. Mr. Kirk stated that keeping an open play area at the park was important to all who participated in the planning process. The plan calls for a flexible open field space centrally located in the new design. Mr. Kirk stated that there was a lot of discussion about the court areas, basketball and tennis, during the planning sessions. The plan has the tennis courts and basketball court being removed from Moore Lake. Mr. Ackerman stated that we have lots of tennis courts throughout the community, so he can understand them being removed. He was surprised at the recommendation to remove the basketball court. Mr. Kirk stated that relocating the court was discussed, but it was difficult to find another park amenity that would be a good fit to have the basketball court next to. The Moore Lake Park is geared more to social gatherings, picnics and water based activity. If the basketball court is removed, it may make sense to install a new full size full court one at Commons Park, which is more of an athletic/sports type of park. A good location at Commons would be near the youth football field, near the existing parking lot. Mr. Kirk stated the sand volleyball would be moved over to the beach area and the swimming beach area itself being reduced in size. Mr. Kirk stated that the re-design of the park and the adding of a water quality improvement project would reduce the size of the south parking lot somewhat. Enlarging the northern parking lot could help to make up for the lost parking capacity. Mr. Kirk stated that the key feature that could be added with this plan would be a children’s splash pad in proximity to the swimming beach. Also, new updated playground equipment is being suggested for the park. Adjacent to the splash pad and play equipment could be a Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – December 5, 2016 Page4 public plaza seating area with some shade structures. Located here, it would allow parents to watch their children when using these amenities at the park. Mr. Kirk stated that City staff and HKGi had a meeting with a representative of the Rice Creek Watershed District and discussed the possibility of a water quality improvement project at Moore Lake. It was suggested that an iron enhance sand filter would help to remove contaminants in the runoff water before the water entered Moore Lake. Watershed District staff would be interested in working with the City to apply for grant money to make a project like this happen. Mr. Ackerman stated that the plan looks really good, but we need to be realistic in our planning basing planned improvements on the Capital Improvement funding that might be expected over the next five or more years. Mr. Kirk stated the Moore Lake Park improvements certainly needs to work within the parks CIP funding and our overall park planning process. Some items are currently in the Parks 5 year CIP plan. Other items could possibly be done with in-house maintenance staff work. The water improvement project could be done in partnership with the Watershed District and potential grant money. Other features of the plan, such as the splash pad or picnic shelters, might be realized with community sponsorship. Mr. Ackerman stated that he would recommend that we discuss this plan and the impact on the Parks CIP sometime this winter. The improvements for Moore Lake could be worked into the CIP and evaluated with other projects in the City park system. Mr. Kirk stated that while many of the improvements may be able to be included in the next 5 year CIP plan, there could be some features of the plan that might have to wait beyond that time frame. Mr. Heintz stated that he would like the Commission members to consider prioritizing projects in this plan and he will look forward to discussion at upcoming meetings. Prioritizing will give us a better idea on where we want to start with the improvements. Mr. Ackerman stated that he would like to discuss this Moore Lake master plan in a budgeting discussion prior to addressing the entire park system CIP. Mr. Kondrick stated that while the estimated budget for all the improvements is significant, it seems reasonable when looking at an eight to ten year implementation. They also need to keep in mind that there may be more options than just the Parks CIP to get the project completed. Mr. Kirk stated that HKGi has indicated a possible phasing plan for implementing this project over a period of time. He would suggest the Commission members look at the suggested phasing and provide input as we have the future funding discussion. Mr. Ackerman stated that the beach house is a focal point of the park today and we may want to start the improvements around that feature of the park. He wasn’t sure how much updating of that facility would be needed. Mr. Kirk stated while some updating could go into the beach house, it has functioning restroom facilities and serves as a station for the beach supervisor. The plan calls for potentially enlarging and adding features to the building, however, he would see that as a lower priority for this project. Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – December 5, 2016 Page5 MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Ms. Larson, to support the preferred concept plan for the Moore Lake Park Master Plan as prepared by Hoesington Koegler Group, Inc with the notation that with the basketball court being removed, that it be relocated to Commons Park. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. b. Locke Park Soccer Fields Mr. Ackerman stated that he asked to make a few comments on this item, even though it was not on tonight’s agenda. He wanted to suggest that at a future meeting, the Commission discuss the impact of the new Civic Center project on the park and the soccer fields that are currently there. He has been approached by people who live in the neighborhood to the south of the project and some are concerned about what will happen to the soccer fields. Mr. Ackerman stated that he would like to have the Commission involved in discussion about where the soccer fields will be located. Mr. Barnette stated that he lives in the neighborhood and he has heard neighbors voice that they don’t want the City to get rid of the park. There are fields at Community Park that could accommodate soccer, as well as field space in other parks. He knows that with the new development taking place at Locke, there will not be the parking that is needed for soccer play. Mr. Kirk stated that staff has already been looking at soccer field locations and would like to have more discussion with the Commission at an upcoming meeting. We have looked at other City parks, as well as school district fields. Mr. Ackerman stated that would be helpful so that Commission members will be able to respond to questions. Mr. Kirk stated that the youth soccer association that uses the fields is called the Fridley- Heights Soccer Association. He has been told by the Association representatives that about 60% of the participants are from Fridley and about 40% from Columbia Heights. As future field use is considered for the youth association, it should be a joint effort from both the Cities of Fridley and Columbia Heights to provide fields for this group. Right now, the City of Fridley provides most of the fields for association play. The Commission agreed to have discussion on soccer fields at a future meeting. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Mr. Ackerman, seconded by Ms. Barrett, to adjourn the December 5, 2016 meeting at 8:10 p.m. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL MEMBERS VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON HEINTZ DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE DECEMBER 5, 2016 MEETING ADJOURNED.