Parks and Trails Commission

BAXTER PARKS AND TRAILS COMMISSION MINUTES Monday, January 22, 2024 at 4:00 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, Todd Calhoun, Josh Pennington, and Council Liaison Zach Tabatt MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: CD Director Josh Doty and Planner Matthew Gindele OTHERS: Jillian Reiner MINUTES 1. Approve Parks and Trails Commission Minutes from November 27, 2023 MOTION by Commissioner Pennington, seconded by Commissioner Calhoun to approve the Parks and Trails Minutes from the November 27, 2023. Motion carried unanimously. COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS Chair Barrick noted that there should be a mat placed in the warming house to assist with getting on the ice and avoiding the concrete. CD Director Doty stated he would pass the request on. OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS CD Director Doty stated the consultant Jillian Reiner from Widseth is the City’s consultant on these two agenda items. He briefed the Commission on both of these items, the path of notification, and setting a date for the Oscar Kristofferson Park (OK Park) open house. Ms. Jillian Reiner, Widseth consultant, approached the podium and handed out a 11 x 17 page list of potential suitable locations for the dog park to the Commission. 2. Dog Parks Study Ms. Reiner reviewed the matrix of standards that were used for guidance in identifying potential sites for a dog park. As listed in the packet, she reviewed the needs assessment based on the following metrics: property size, proximity to high density housing, environmental quality, cost, accessibility, screening from adjacent properties, 150-foot single-family residential setback, and soil. Ms. Reiner reviewed the number of dog licenses in the city and found it may not be accurate. She 1/22/2024 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 2 reviewed the map of high-density housing and noted that it was ranked higher as those people may not have a place to take their dog. She reviewed the environmental map, parks and trail map, a map of potential sites and where utilities are located. CD Director Doty added a porta potty would be a start and that water is going to be needed. Chair Barrick asked if the chosen site will go to Council for approval and then come back to this Commission for planning. CD Director Doty stated the site selection will be approved by Council with a recommendation from the Parks and Trails Commission at its February meeting. The consultants will assist with design and cost. The goal is to have the park open this year. Ms. Reiner reviewed the list of the top 8 parcels that were identified for the dog park starting with the 27-acre parcel on the south side of Clearwater Road between Grand Oaks Drive and Inglewood Drive. She stated that this was the highest ranked site for a dog park due to its size and potential for trails and the dogs could be taken off a leash. Ms. Reiner reviewed some of the specifics of the property. She stated that when they looked at and mapped all the dog licenses that were issued in the city in the past year, the large majority of them were in the vicinity around this parcel. Commissioner Pennington asked Ms. Reiner if she could walk the Commission through the low-cost portion and what criteria was used to establish that matrix. He asked which column was correct, the score column or the rank column seeing as how there were a few inconsistencies between them. She indicated the score column was correct. Referring to the Clearwater/Inglewood site, Commissioner Pennington noted that it is heavily wooded and asked if the cost included a lot of stump grinding. Ms. Reiner indicated that the costs would be refined after a site is selected since it would take too much time and money to put full detailed cost estimates together for each parcel. However, that site has trees all around the perimeter and would assist with screening and potentially a shorter fence (4’) because of the trees. The cost went down also because of the location to utilities, a drive access, a flat area for parking and there is a water stub conveniently located on the parcel. Commissioner Pennington asked if the dog park was going to be more like a field. CD Director Doty indicated that they haven’t gotten into the design yet. Ms. Reiner asked the Commission if they had an idea of what they want to see, is it an open field or more of a wooded park. She added the top three things people want at a dog park are water, shade and doggy baggies. Most people want woods/trees more than grass or sand that can get muddy. CD Director Doty added that staff had a meeting with the Parks department and the surfacing was discussed heavily as they are going to have to budget their time and how long they need to be there. They discussed the pros and cons of several different materials, rock, wood chips, sand was a top contender. CD Director Doty added that if a surface is not put down then you have to worry about de-surfacing taking place. Ms. Reiner added that she also looked into artificial turf and that was expensive. Chair Barrick noted that this site has low lying areas that are wet and asked how that works regarding potential environmental degradation due to foot traffic. CD Director Doty stated that he is very familiar with this site and on the south end there are a lot of wetlands in that area which could act as a natural barrier so that the whole site wouldn’t need to be fenced in. He also stated that the entire site likely wouldn’t be used for the dog park and that an area within the larger parcel could be selected for the dog park that would be sensitive to the wet areas. CD Director Doty explained the EDA north lot next to this parcel to the Commission. Ms. Reiner asked CD Director Doty if they should talk to the EDA, he indicated the Council is the EDA and they will have a say in the park. The conversation will take place at the February 6, 2024 Council meeting. Ms. Renier moved on to the second location which was the north water tower parcel in the NE corner of Inglewood Drive and Woida Road. They did omit the east end of the parcel away from the 1/22/2024 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 3 water tower and staging area. The site is 3.2 acres, it has screening around it and there is a house to the north more than 150 feet away so it should not be too much of an issue. The site does have some hydric soil on the site, utilities and low in cost being it is city owned. She noted that it was not close to higher density and only a trail on one side of the parcel. Chair Barrick asked if there was going to be a road built between Inglewood and Novotny. CD Director Doty stated that the long-term transportation plan does show a road from Inglewood to Novotny Rd., south of Woida and then north to Arrowwood Lodge. Chair Barrick stated that this would be a good location once the road was built. Ms. Renier asked CD Director Doty if this parcel had been covered completely before moving on to the next parcel. CD Director Doty stated that she had covered all the points with the Commission. The difference is you have a wooded lot verses an open lot, which would require some trees or shade options. Commissioner Pennington added that this would be a destination park versus the Clearwater location which he imagined would have most of its use by the local neighborhood being there are more trails around that option. Commissioner Pennington asked if accessibility (walking Vs driving) to the dog park was a top priority from the community. CD Director Doty stated that they have been leaning on the research from the consultant; however, over the years it has been more of the community just wants a dog park with no specifics about what exactly they want or where they want it. There haven’t been specific requests. Commissioner Calhoun asked if the two parcels are similar in costs. Ms. Renier stated they are similar in different ways of costs. Commissioner Pennington asked the Commission if they were interested in any of the other sites proposed or should the list be narrowed down to these two sites. Commissioner Holderness indicated she was OK with narrowing the list down to those two sites. There was brief discussion on the Whipple Beach parcel and a few concerns regarding the parking lot with the beach and the environmental concerns. There was also concern about the proximity to the camp and the camp’s plan for the future. The Commission decided to only go with the top two parcels. Chair Barrick stated she was more interested in the costs of building each area. Chair Barrick had stated at the being of the meeting that she would need to leave by 5:00pm, Commissioner Pennington stepped in as Acting Chair. 3. Oscar Kristofferson (OK) Park Study Ms. Reiner handed out the renderings of OK Park which was included in the packet and started by reviewing Concept A with the Commission. She noted that Concept A would be more expensive being there would require some property purchases and a major redesign of the parking lot. She reviewed the 175-stall parking lot that adding 50 more stalls. Commissioner Holderness asked about the relocation of the maintenance building. Ms. Reiner showed the proposed location of the maintenance building on the north end of the two residential parcels to the south of the park and noted it would be the same size. 1/22/2024 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 4 Commissioner Pennington asked about the parking, looks like that concept would add 80 new parking spaces, is that because during baseball games there is a need for additional parking. CD Director Doty stated they haven’t really gotten into the parking analysis, however there are times when the parking lot is full and people park on the grass. He didn’t have any numbers to share at this time. Ms. Reiner added that if the fourth ball field is built additional parking will be needed. CD Director Doty stated that adding the fourth ball field would make OK Park a full tournament field. Ms. Reiner reviewed Concept B with the Commission. CD Director Doty noted that the residents was for the fourth field and ice skating. The residents also noted that items have been removed and not replaced, such as the basketball court, tennis court and hockey boards; they wish to have more recreational items in the park. He noted this is a concept to see what is realistic with funding. Ms. Reiner reviewed the parking lot and how it will flow with the pavilion, ball fields, two ice rinks and getting to the concession stand safely. She talked about the location of the two ice rinks and the warming house having a restroom added to the building. Commissioner Pennington liked the full basketball ball court and the dual use of the ice rinks. CD Director Doty added that if you invest in a dual use surface then there are different options with that investment. Commissioner Holderness asked if the only pickleball court would be at Loren Thompson Park; that was correct, there will only be four courts at LT Park. There was a review of the concession stand/bathroom building. The Commission discussed the bathroom location. Ms. Reiner noted that there is a third concept that was not shown at this time. CD Director Doty spoke of the open house for this park. The dates are important, wanting staff and the Commission to be able to attend and talk to the residents during the open house. CD Director Doty noted whatever the approved plan is, the improvements will not happen overnight but is a more long-range plan for when the funds are available. The Commission discussed which dates for the open house. CD Director Doty reviewed the options for advertising for the open house. He noted that staff would like to target the open house the last week in February (27 or 29) to make it to the March 18th Parks and Trail meeting with the recommendation to Council at their April 2, 2024 meeting. It was ultimately decided that the open house would take place February 29th (6-8pm) with a Parks meeting on March 18th (4pm) with a recommendation to Council April 2, 2024. Commissioner Pennington asked if staff was going to push the dog park also to the Council in April. CD Director Doty would prefer not to do that, as it would increase the consultant fees with another meeting. UPDATES Acting Chair Pennington would like an update on the pedestrian crossing over 371. He was told construction was going to take place this year. CD Director Doty indicated that is not the case, it is a huge undertaking and may take years to complete. City Administer Brad Chapulis had joined the 1/22/2024 Parks and Trails Commission Minutes Page 5 meeting and walked to the podium to further discuss the project. His indicated that MnDOT has allocated 58 million in road projects, one was an overpass based on a conceptual plan. There has been no environmental studies done, there is a lot leg work that still needs to be done in order to pull the trigger on a full design. MnDOT is assembling a team to review all of the RFP’s for consulting services such as environmental and design. That is to take place in 2024 and 2025, then 2026 and 2027 are looking at relocation of utilities with construction in 2028. CD Director Doty stated that staff will be involved with the process. City Administer Chapulis added they are meeting to manage local needs and what the legitimate detour is going to be. Acting Chair Pennington asked what role this Commission would play, if any, in the Land and Water Conservation Fund Proposal that Todd Holman presented at the last Council meeting. CD Director Doty stated the grant proposal is a grant opportunity to construct the Veteran’s State Trail and road access to Mississippi Overlook Park. The City Council is currently evaluating the opportunity to see how it balances with city resources and with long term maintenance of these improvements once they are built. He noted there will be more discussion at the Council level. He would have liked to have brought this to the Commission, however, due to the time constraints to get the grants submitted, staff directed Mr. Holman to present directly to the City Council. Acting Chair Pennington would like this Commission to stay in the loop on this topic. City Administer Chapulis added that what Mr. Holman presented to the council was a significant project. He added there were some concerns from the council, thus they will be talking about this topic during their February 6th Work Session. The Veteran’s trail was to be a regional maintained trail and there are questions that need to be answered regarding maintenance. CD Director Doty added that the Paul Bunyan Trail is a State Trail, however, the City maintains the trail segment in Baxter. There are numerous items that need to be considered, and the longevity of the pavement and repairs is one example. ADJOURN MOTION by Commissioner Calhoun, seconded by Commissioner Holderness to adjourn the meeting at 5:40 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Approved by: Submitted By: ___________________________ ______________________________ Mellissa Barrick/Acting Chair Pennington Shanna Newman Chair CD Administrative Assistant