Park Advisory Board

10801 Town Square Drive City of Blaine Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final Park Advisory Board Tuesday, January 28, 2014 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. Call To Order The Blaine Park Advisory Board met in the Council Chambers of City Hall on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. Chair Bird called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Staff Present: Nate Monahan, Program Supervisor; Jerome Krieger, Program Supervisor; Bob Therres, Public Services Manager. Guest: None. Present: 7 - Markle, Chair Bird, Das, Leathers, Langenfeld, Lester, and Pribbernow 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 MIN 14-08 APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 26, 2013 PARK BOARD MINUTES Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: November Minutes.doc Program Supervisor Krieger requested the following corrections: Page 2, last paragraph change “McKane” to “McCain.” Motion by Commissioner Markle to approve the minutes of November 26, 2013 as amended. Motion seconded by Commissioner Lester. Motion approved unanimously. Aye: 7 - Markle, Chair Bird, Das, Leathers, Langenfeld, Lester, and Pribbernow 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input None 5. New Business City of Blaine Page 1 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 5.-1 PB 14-01 Recommendation of Lakeside Commons Permanent Parking Lot Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: Lakeside Commons Park Site Plan 1-21-09.pdf OverflowLot Use.xlsx Hans Hagen Site Plan.pdf Beach Sizes-Parking-Fees-Amenities I-5.xls Program Supervisor Monahan stated Lakeside Commons Park had been operating the last four summers with an overflow temporary unpaved parking lot. However, a more permanent solution to the parking issue was needed. He indicated the original plan was the commercial property next to the park, which was going to share their parking lot with Lakeside Commons Park. He stated the land may now be rezoned residential and the over 300 parking stalls that were to go into the commercial property might not be happening. He noted the City now had ownership of 1.5-acre property next to the beach and staff was recommending a permanent parking lot be constructed. The overflow parking lot they had been using for the last 4 years and roughly 115 parking stalls, and this permanent parking lot would have 125 stalls. He stated having the parking lot was critical to the function and enhancement of Lakeside Commons Park now and in the future and staff believed this was the final piece to finish this park the way it was supposed to be designed. He indicated the parking lot would help with the following issues encountered the last four summers, complaints of having little kids and senior citizens walking a long way to get to the beach, having park users park in an unmarked grassy area, having residents show up at the park, and not having a place to park. He noted they also required all businesses to have paved lots, so staff felt it was time to follow the City’s own ordinance. He stated the construction of Lakeside Commons parking lot had been in the Capital Improvement Plan for parks the last four years. He noted the estimated cost of the project would be $210,000. He indicated half of the days the beach was open for the past three years, the overflow parking was used. He presented a comparison with other metro beaches and how many parking stalls they had as well as their beach size and size of the park. He noted the City was definitely low on the parking stalls compared to all of the other beaches. He presented the proposed residential concept plan. City of Blaine Page 2 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 Commissioner Markle asked if the $210,000 budget for this was what was in the Capital Improvement Fund. Program Supervisor Monahan responded it was in the CIP and it was $200,000. He indicated the engineer’s estimated this at $210,000, but it had not gone to bid so it might be a little bit more or less. Commissioner Markle asked what was the barrier or differentiation between the residential areas and the parkland. Program Supervisor Monahan responded there would be a 10-foot berm all of the way around as well as trees and shrubs on top of the berm. He stated anyone purchasing a home in that area would need to sign off on a document noting that this was an active area in the summer. Commissioner Markle asked between house 16-17 was that an access way out into the beach or into the walking paths. Public Services Manager Therres responded that was a drainage easement. He noted there would be not trail or access from the development to the beach and heavy landscaping would be done to discourage it. Commissioner Markle asked if there would be an access off Lakes Parkway to the east. Public Services Manager Therres responded the only access would be the driveway and sidewalk. Chair Bird asked if they were looking to keep the same theme with the water reclamation design (i.e. pavers). He asked if the additional parking lots would have the same theme. Program Supervisor Monahan responded no. He indicated they were trying to keep the costs as low as possible. Chair Bird asked what the schedule was and would it be done before the beach opened. Program Supervisor Monahan responded the plan was that they would move into a development agreement and the parking lot would be constructed at the same time as the residential area. He indicated they hoped to have it open by the time the beach opened up on June 6. He stated if need be, he would approach Village Bank for additional parking until the new parking lot was completed. Commissioner Leathers stated they have needed to do this for a while and he was glad they were doing it now. Commissioner Leathers asked how often the 115 spaces were full on the lot. Program Supervisor Monahan responded they were completely full. Commissioner Leathers noted on the 115 spaces, they did not use the City of Blaine Page 3 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 appropriate spacing as there were no markings, so maybe 75 cars would park where there was space for 115 cars. Program Supervisor Monahan responded that was correct. He indicated it depended on which vehicles showed up first and started the lines. He stated it was never the same each day. Commissioner Leathers asked if 125 spots would solve the majority of the need for the entire season. Program Supervisor Monahan responded it would. Commissioner Leathers asked if they added these spots would that eliminate the need for the parking permit system. Program Supervisor Monahan responded that system would stay in place. He noted the City of Blaine residents were not charged for it, but non-residents were charged to help maintain the park. Commissioner Leathers stated he was disappointed the retail development did not work out, but he liked what they had. He indicated everything looked good to him. Motion by Commissioner Lester to recommend the proposed parking lot at Lakeside Commons Park at a cost of $210,000. Motion seconded by Commissioner Leathers. Motion approved unanimously. 5.-2 PB 14-02 Follow up to Amend Dog Ordinance 14-141 All dogs will be kept under restraint by their owners at all times. Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: Ordinances.pdf Program Supervisor Monahan stated the Park Board asked staff to review with the League of MN Cities and other Parks and Recreation Departments in the Metro on their dog ordinances, and if they had specific hours designed for off leash in the parks. He stated staff did not find any other city that had designated hours for off leash time in the parks. The League of MN Cities also was not aware of any cities or counties having specific time for off leash in the parks. He noted the response staff received from most cities was they either had a Dog Park that had fenced in areas for dogs to be off leash or they used designated hockey rinks at specific parks and used them as an off leash area. He indicated this spring staff would be exploring options at Lochness City of Blaine Page 4 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 Park to construct a fenced in area for a dog park. He noted this project could take place between 2015 - 2018 with funds used from interest in the Capital Improvement Fund that had been approved by City Council. Chair Bird stated this was a City ordinance and not a Park ordinance. He stated part of him was uncomfortable with the Park Board recommending a City ordinance be changed. However, at the same time the City Police Department had brought it to the Park Board that there was an issue that needed to be addressed. He stated he was torn about this because he saw both sides of the argument. He stated after thinking about it, he would say that it was difficult for him to support changing a City ordinance saying all residents had to have their dog on a leash if they did not have a dog park in the City. He stated they might need to start really addressing this problem. He noted it might be time to make this a serious commitment. He believed they should provide an off leash area of substantial size where people could run their dogs before they force people to put their dogs on a leash. He stated he was not a dog owner and he looked forward to the other members speaking to this, but he would have difficulty supporting a change to the City ordinance when there was not an alternative in place. Commissioner Markle stated he agreed they were stretching this if they were recommending an ordinance for the entire City. He noted he had been a dog owner in the past and his particular dog he would not have let it off its leash as he did not have enough control over it to meet the standards of the current ordinance. He stated the past discussions and the violations that have been noted by the Police show that there were a small number of infractions that happened throughout the year. To him, he believed they had enough “meat” on this ordinance to deal with any issues that have presented themselves in the past. He indicated the Police have stepped up their enforcement more and they have heard from some of the dog owners that were using the parks were not in favor of the increased enforcement. He did not see a lot of value in the proposed ordinance. He did not see a lot that would change that would make it that much better. He believed some of the issues they have with dogs could happen either on or off leash. He believed this was a matter of control on the dog owner’s part. He believed most dog owners were aware of their capabilities of their control of their dog. He stated he was not in support of the proposed ordinance and he was uncomfortable recommending a Citywide ordinance be changed. Commissioner Langenfeld stated he was dog owner. He believed this was a solution in search of a problem and he agreed there were City of Blaine Page 5 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 instances where dogs were an annoyance, but he did not see any injuries that have occurred. He stated he did not support this. He stated he lived near Happy Acres where they did try the dog park in the hockey rink and those that could control their dog used the open space, and those that could not had a leash on their dog. He stated he would not support this. Commissioner Lester stated he was also a dog owner and he agreed that if there was not an option such as an off leash park, it would be difficult to support this proposed ordinance. He asked with the current ordinance if invisible fencing would pass the ordinance. He believed the ordinance might need to be updated. Chair Bird responded he believed if there was a wireless restraint system, the dog would be restricted on the property. Commissioner Lester stated he questioned the wording “secured tether”. Chair Bird responded it was a wireless tether. Chair Bird stated it appeared the Board was not in support of moving this forward, but if the Police Department came back to them with additional issues or concerns, the Board would be open to it. He asked if anyone was interested in making a motion. No one made a motion. Chair Bird tabled the dog ordinance and requested the staff to update the Board once they had looked at the possibility of a dog park at Lochness Park. Tabled 5.-3 PB 14-03 PARK UPDATES Sponsors: Monahan Program Supervisor Krieger updated the Board on Lexington Complex. He noted they had met with the contractor. He stated they were 95 percent ready to go out for bid on the project. He stated the plans and spec book was delivered to the City and the various City departments were reviewing the book. He stated next week the various departments would go through all of the changes. He hoped it would go out for bid in the next few weeks. Chair Bird asked if the bid was one entity to do the entire project, or would it be bid by pieces. Program Supervisor Krieger responded there would be a couple of items that would not be bid on such as park lighting, electrical, and playground equipment, but the rest of it would go out for bid. City of Blaine Page 6 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final January 28, 2014 Program Supervisor Krieger stated on Aquatore they were having a meeting to go over everything next week to get it ready to go out for bid. He stated the Coon Creek Watershed had told staff that this also had to go to the Corp of Engineers, and it might take 120 days for the Corps approval. He noted they would go out for bid, but they might not be able to start until late summer so it would be 2015 before they would be able to have the fields ready. Discussed 5.-4 PB 14-04 North Oaks West Park Feature Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: North Oaks West Park.pdf Program Supervisor Monahan presented the North Oaks West Park features. Discussed OTHER BUSINESS Program Supervisor Monahan stated Council had directed staff to try and cover more of their costs. In doing so, staff had added non-resident fees to all of their programs. He noted a ten percent non-resident fee was now in effect. He stated they had also switched from an hourly rate to half/full day rates for the park shelters, which would also bring in additional revenue. He stated non-profits would now also be charged for the shelters. Chair Bird stated they had an hourly rate at Lakeside, which was probably one of the busier rentals. He asked if they anticipate a decrease in the amount of rentals based on the new policy. Program Supervisor Monahan responded they did not anticipate any change in filling the shelters at any of the parks, with the exception of Town Square Park, which was always low. Program Supervisor Krieger noted this would eliminate a lot of issues with conflicts with overlapping rentals also. 9. Adjournment Commissioner Das motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Markle second the motion. Motion approved unanimously. Chair Bird adjourned the meeting at 7:21 p.m. City of Blaine Page 7