Parks and Trails Commission

BAXTER PARKS AND TRAILS COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, February 27, 2023 at 6:00 PM “A Growing Community” Baxter City Hall, 13190 Memorywood Drive, Baxter, MN CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Baxter Parks and Trails Commission was called to order at 6:00 pm by Chair Barrack. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Melissa Barrick, Commissioners Mari Holderness, and Council Liaison Zack Tabbat MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioners Todd Calhoun and Josh Pennington STAFF PRESENT: CD Director Josh Doty, Planner Matthew Gindele, Public Works Director Trevor Walter, Parks & Trail Supervisor Alex Hondl OTHERS: Jamie Bieser and Alex Bitter-Widseth MINUTES 1. Approve the Parks & Trails Commission Meeting Minutes from October 24, 2022 MOTION by Commissioner Holderness, seconded by Council Liaison Tabbat to approve the Parks and Trails Minutes from the October 24, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS None OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS 2. Recommend approval of the WiDSETH Agreement for Professional Engineering Services for the 2023 Loren Thompson Park CAMP in the Not to Exceed Amount of $12,500.00. Chair Barrick asked for the staff report. CD Director Doty indicated that this is the same process that took place with OK Park last year. City staff requested WiDSETH submit an agreement to complete a Capital Asset Management Plan (CAMP) for Loren Thompson Park. The CAMP will include the following:  Maintenance and reconstruction recommendations  Unit costs and proposed maintenance budget  Comprehensive inventory of park amenities and equipment CAMP deliverables will include: 2/27/2023 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 2  Facility Datasheet & Amenities Map, Written Report, including a photographic inventory, describing the condition and various systems and identify deficiencies observed.  Cost estimates for the cost of corrections and recommended priorities.  Cost analysis of the overall park, estimating its “Current Installed Replacement Value”. Costs for park maintenance and reconstruction recommendations change from year to year making adjustments to anticipate costs necessary for future budgetary planning purposes. Unit costs for maintenance and reconstruction can be modified in the CAMP each year as needed which will assist future budgetary planning. Mr. Jamie Bieser, with Widseth approached and explained this is very similar to OK Park. This is done to give staff an idea of what needs to be replaced, repaired and an expiration date for items in the park. Chair Barrick asked if this money was coming out of the park dedicated fund and how much is in the fund currently. CD Director Doty stated that it is coming out of park dedication fund. Regarding the park dedication fund, there have been a number of sizable projects over the past couple of years that have contributed to the fund. CD Director Doty stated he believed it was over $500,000.00 but did not have an accurate number at that time. Chair Barrick asked what the engineering firm can bring to the table that a staff person cannot do. Mr. Bieser indicated they can bring one complete package that would include architects, civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers. Mr. Bieser explained the comprehensive document, if there were to be a staff turn-over, the next person could look at this document and understand what needs to be repaired or replaced. There is a map and a legend included showing inventory counts, cost estimates and valuation of items in the park. Chair Barrick asked if nothing is done in the park for five years, will the City have to pay Widseth to update the costs of the items on the list. Mr. Bieser indicated that there would be minimal update costs in the future. Chair Barrick asked CD Director Doty how new equipment would be incorporated into the CAMP. CD Director stated that the CAMP would be updated and with new items, the maintenance would be minor. CD Director Doty added that if staff were to complete the CAMP it would take a large amount of staff time that the City would still need to pay for and Widseth has a higher ability to complete the study more thoroughly with the various fields of expertise employed within the company. He added that staff is requesting to hire this study out to a consultant. Mr. Bieser stated that staff did get a good start on OK Park CAMP in 2022 to assist with the study and the partnership with city staff has worked well. Commissioner Holderness asked about the timeline for the LT Park study. Mr. Bieser stated that if approved it should take roughly 9 weeks. CD Director Doty indicated that the CAMP would come back through this Commission prior to going to Council for approval. It would most likely be presented at the May Parks Meeting. Staff recommends that the Parks and Trails Commission recommend approval of the WiDSETH Agreement for Professional Engineering Services for the 2023 Loren Thompson Park CAMP in the Not to Exceed Amount of $12,500.00. 2/27/2023 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 3 MOTION by Commissioner Holderness, second by Council Liaison Tabbat to approval the WiDSETH Agreement for Professional Engineering Services for the 2023 Loren Thompson Park CAMP in the Not to Exceed Amount of $12,500.00 the Mississippi River Overlook Masterplan as presented by staff. 3. Oscar Kristofferson Park and Loren Thompson Park Ice Skating Chair Barrick asked for the staff report. CD Director Doty gave the history of the changes at OK Park. The changes to the hockey rink led to neighbors around the park attending a City Council meeting to state concern with the City’s recent park changes. The neighbors spoke in support of the hockey rink and stated concern with the boards coming down, the closed warming house, and the lack of lighting. The neighbors explained that skating is the only winter activity in the park and that there is strong interest in continuing skating as a use. The neighbors also added that the park had previously received other removals, including removal of basketball and tennis. After the neighbors attended a City Council meeting, staff held a neighborhood meeting. After the neighborhood meeting, the City Council provided approval to install a timer for lighting. With dark occurring early in the day, the neighbors had stated that the lighting is critical for use of the rink. While there is now communication occurring between the neighborhood and the City, there are large unanswered questions about the future of skating moving forward. Questions for Consideration: 1) Will skating remain at OK Park? a. If so, will the warming house re-open? b. Will the City re-invest in a new hockey rink? 2) Will skating move to a new location in or near OK Park to allow for future construction of the fourth ball field? 3) Will skating move to an expanded skating facility at Loren Thompson Park with two hockey rinks? 4) Will the fourth ball field be constructed at OK Park? Commissioner Holderness asked if there is an alternate location for a skating rink north of 210. CD Director Doty stated there hasn’t been a defined alternate location and asked Public Works Director Walter to discuss the history. Public Works Director Walter stated this topic of skating verses a fourth ball field has been discussed since 2006. He stated back then Parks and Recreation Commission looked at 13 locations and narrowed it down to 4-5 locations with cost estimates for each location. Two of those locations were within OK Park with the thought of purchasing more land. Staff spent two years trying to get a recommendation as to where the skating rink should be relocated and staff gave up after there was no recommendation in that time frame. Then the recession hit in 2009 and the effort was dropped. Public Works Director Walter recapped what the long range parks plan included originally and some of those items have been removed from the plan. The questions is does the plan need to be revised or do items need to be re-installed in the park. He indicated that the neighborhood felt the need to have these amenities. He noted that Dondelinger donated money for a warming house and skating rink at Forestview Middle School and questioned whether that was considered a relocation? There was discussion regarding the ball fields being adequate and the need for the hockey rink. The question is do you try to take care of the residents or the hockey programs or both. Chair Barrick stated she had lots of thoughts regarding this topic. Her opinion is the rinks are working well, even without the boards. The thought of moving everything over to LT Park is a little concerning 2/27/2023 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 4 being how busy that park is already and that there isn’t enough parking at LT Park. A lot of times on nice days the parking lot is already full. She suggested removing one of the ball fields and keep the rink there. Public Works Director Walter referenced the long range plan for OK Park, the amenities that were removed was because they were worn out. He suggested bringing the public back in for a re-visit of the long range plan to see what the residents want. He stated that things can be moved around in the parks system however the long range plan is the guide for staff. Chair Barrick questioned the fourth ball field, it has been discussed for over 20 years and nothing had been done to move forward with the field. CD Director Doty showed how the hockey rink (aerial photo) could be moved to the location of the ball field, noting there was still room for the tennis court if that took place. Chair Barrick stated that when Brainerd re-did their hockey rinks they made them usable all year long by bringing in portable basketball hoops and striped a portion for pickleball and a portion for basketball. Council Liaison Tabbat stated that if opening the meeting up to the public to change the plan is necessary, then the plan should be in place to use the space year around. He spoke of the analysis that was done for OK Park warming house/rink and Council was comfortable shutting down the warming house based on the cost per user. Having the public come in and say they want to pay for the rink would be important. CD Director Doty added that the comprehensive plan was done in 2015 and the parks portion would need to be amended. That formal amendment would also have to go through the Long Range Planning Commission and the Parks Commission. Public Works Director Walter spoke from the audience, was not able to hear his comment. Chair Barrick agreed there needs to be a public process and potentially bring in a consultant to give a different perspective. Commissioner Holderness stated that she thought the press box and concession stand were very much needed. CD Director Doty stated he is hearing there is a need for a public process in order to move forward. Chair Barrick thanked Parks Supervisor Hondl for the great job on the ice this season. 4. Parks and Trails CIP City staff is requesting that the Parks and Trails Commission discuss the attached Parks and Trails CIP memo. The city completes budget planning in the summer and the city would like the Commission to recommend the projects for 2023 and 2024. The city has identified a list of projects for 2023 and 2024 for the commission’s review. Additionally, the city has updated the parks and trails top projects lists, as numerous projects have been completed or will be completed in the future. Lastly the city has also identified other discussion topics and updates for the commission to help guide this discussion. The city requests a discussion regarding the attached memo so that recommendations can be made at the next Parks and Trails Commission meeting, which will lead into the city’s budget planning this summer for 2024 projects. Ultimately, after recommending projects for 2023 and 2024, the longer term goal for the Commission is to continue CIP efforts to eventually plan out five years in advance. The larger projects are planned in advance. The more staff and the commission can work on making the projects shovel ready through the development of plans and to work on funding sources, grants, etc., the better so that the projects can be delivered for the city. Staff also notes that a new emphasis this year is to bring in some of the Parks Maintenance objectives to the discussion and not just new parks or trails projects. 2/27/2023 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 5 CD Director Doty went through the projects listed in the staff report. Public Works Director Walter stated the 2023 items have been approved. The 2024 projects need to be decided on in the May Park Commission meeting in order to get those items in the 2024 budget which takes place in June of 2023. CD Director Doty moved onto the 2024 potential projects. One of the projects listed was the Camp Vanasek master plan. He indicated that the city recently purchased the property and there are many ideas for this land. Currently the YMCA has a lease, and the remaining area is forested. However, there has not been a master plan created for this new accrued land. He reviewed the remaining 2024 projects. CD Director Doty reviewed the 2021 top 12 park improvement priorities and the items that have been completed and those that are yet to be completed. He also reviewed the top five trail improvement priorities. He asked the Commission if there was anything they wanted added to the list for the next meeting. Chair Barrick stated that we should add the OK Park Master Plan to the 2024 projects in case we need to allocate funds for consulting services toward it. She stated that emphasis should be placed on planning for a dog park for as future project, maybe in 2026 or so, but planning for it needs to happen now so that when the funds become available we have a project to recommend. Public Works Director Walter spoke from the audience and was not able to be heard on the recording. The Commission agreed that a dog park was needed. Barrick also stated that the list seems to be a bit too focused on Whipple Beach improvements and that focus should be spread out between all parks. Staff recommends that the Commission discuss the attached Parks and Trails CIP memo and prepare for a formal recommendation regarding 2023 and 2024 projects at the next parks and trails Commission meeting. Commissioner Holderness asked about the wind erosion at Whipple Beach and asked how much money and staff time would that take. CD Director Doty stated there has never been a true design made for the wind erosion plan, however the patio that was put in has helped and staff does put silt fencing up when the beach is not in use. Public Works Director Walter spoke from the audience and was not able to be heard on the recording. Chair Barrick noted that residents like to be able to see their children from the playground and beach. She mentioned putting more picnic tables and trees on one end of the beach. Native vegetation is not a suitable solution for this area. Parks Supervisor Hondl noted that the parking lot expansion is something to consider, as it will bring in more people. Staff held a discussion about items that need to be replaced in the parks. Parks Supervisor Hondl noted that the water fountains need to be replaced and that can be roughly $5,000.00 or powder coating them could be roughly 1/5 of the cost. He noted that garbage cans, benches and picnic tables are easy to see when they are worn out, others are harder to determine. CD Director Doty commented that Parks Supervisor Hondl has some money in the budget for maintenance for some replacement items, such as tables and benches that would not come out of the park dedication fund. The Southdale scoreboard and press box is in need of a significant amount of repair. Due to City and ISD#181 developmental agreement, City Administration is currently asking Community Education if there is a need for scoreboard and press box at Southdale Park. Parks Supervisor Hondl noted the board is rotting and it doesn’t appear to be needed anymore. The press box is not ADA compliant and would need to be removed or updated. The Commission agreed that if it was not needed to take it down. 2/27/2023 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 6 CD Director Doty informed the Commission that City Administration met with BBBA and Community Ed on 2/2/2023 to hear the needs from BBBA. BBBA is looking for more access to fields for practice and games as well as a user agreement to use City equipment to dress ball fields. Community Ed will look at scheduling if there are fields not being used. BBBA is also looking to place a bigger shed at OK Park to store equipment in. The current shed is being used for equipment and concessions currently. Parks Supervisor Hondl noted that the location needs to be thought about, to make sure it has a concrete pad and is easy to mow around. CD Director Doty noted the budget was attached and went through 2027. UPDATES 5. Paul Bunyan Trail (Baxter Segment) Alternative Route CD Director Doty reviewed the aerial showing the location of land that the city has purchased on the east side of Hwy. 371 for the potential relocation of the Paul Bunyan Trail. He reviewed the history with the Commission and the future segment. CD Director Doty and Parks Supervisor Hondl walked the potential trail location, and the plan represented the suggested path to save some really nice big trees. Staff has the opportunity to start clearing for the trail, however, it will not be blacktopped any time soon, this would just be prep work for the future trail. The Commission had no concerns. ADJOURN MOTION by Commissioner Holderness, seconded by Council Liaison Tabbat to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Motion unanimously approved. Approved by: Submitted By: ___________________________ ______________________________ Mellissa Barrick Shanna Newman Chair CD Administrative Assistant