Park Advisory Board

10801 Town Square Drive City of Blaine Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final Park Advisory Board Chair Jeffrey Bird, Rex Markle, Prad Das, Ron Leathers, Jeffrey Lester, Christine Pribbernow, Karen Varian Tuesday, May 27, 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, May 27, 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. Guest: None. Present: 7 - Chair Bird, Markle, Lester, Pribbernow, Das, Leathers, and Varian 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 MIN 14-20 APPROVAL OF APRIL 22, 2014 PARK BOARD MINUTES Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: April Minutes.doc Mr. Krieger noted on page four correction in second to last paragraph the word even should be “event” and in the last paragraph on page four, the date of the Twins clinic should be May 3 rather than April 26. Commissioner Leathers noted on page five, third paragraph the word “opening” should be added to the first sentence to read . . . the community gardens will be opening again. Approved as Amended City of Blaine Page 1 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 27, 2014 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input Chair Bird opened the Open Forum at 7:05 p.m. Chair Bird closed Open Forum at 7:06 p.m. 5. New Business 5.-1 PB 14-18 STAFF REPORT ON WINTER/SPRING PROGRAMS Sponsors: Monahan Program Supervisor Krieger presented a summary of the 2013-2014 Winter/Spring Recreation Programs. He provided a summary of the Quarterly Report. He reviewed the 11 community events and noted which parts were used for these events. There were over 2500 attendees to all the events. He reviewed the 49 youth programs with 452 participants. There were 58 adult programs offered with 467 participants. Adult Athletics included volleyball and basketball with 398 participants and adult softball with 88 teams. Senior programs included 3008 meals served, and birthday parties had 107 participants. The Senior Center served 9130 participants from January to April for meals and events. Program Supervisor Krieger reviewed facility use. He reviewed the skating rink use. The youth soccer tournament had 218 teams. Mr. Krieger noted more people are registering online for community programs and facility renters. The Community Gardens maintained 48 plots. Chair Bird asked if an event is planned at Lakeside. Mr. Krieger stated that may be Moms on the Run program. The group approached the City about providing facilities for their program and were told there would be a charge. Mr. Krieger believes they are just meeting there at the public park. Commissioner Markle asked about the skating rink capacity. Mr. Krieger stated some of the rinks without warming houses are not getting a lot of use. They had staff check for attendees. Happy Acres is by far the most used skating rink. Chair Bird thanked Mr. Krieger and staff for their hard work on these programs. Discussed City of Blaine Page 2 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 27, 2014 5.-2 PB 14-19 PARK UPDATES Sponsors: Monahan Park Supervisor Monahan presented an update Lakeside Commons Park. It is a joint project with Hans Hagen. The curb will go in June 11 and the asphalt will go down June 20. An agreement has been signed with Village Bank to use their parking lot for the 2-3 weeks until the parking lot is ready. The parking lot will provide 102 parking stalls. Chair Bird asked how long after asphalt is laid can it be used. Mr. Monahan stated he has not received that timeline yet. It is weather dependent. Chair Bird asked if Hans Hagen is contracted to stripe it as well or would another entity or City staff be doing that. Mr. Monahan stated they are doing the entire project. Commissioner Das asked if any landscaping would be done. Mr. Monahan stated they are planning to landscape it with trees, shrubs and making it look nice to match the park. He has not seen the detailed plan. Program Supervisor Krieger reviewed Aquatore Park and stated everything was passed by the Council. Staff is waiting for the permit from the Army Corp of Engineers. We are waiting for a start date from Forest Lake Contracting. The project is estimated to be done by fall of next year. Chair Bird asked if the lighting and backstop would all be completed by the fall and Mr. Krieger stated that is the plan. Program Supervisor Krieger reviewed Lexington Athletic Complex. There was a pre-construction meeting with Ebert Construction. He told Ebert Construction this is the largest park for the City and it is highly visible off Lexington Avenue. There will be some minor adjustments made for the grading. Some sheet grading would be done on some of the fields. June 16 is the planned starting date. There will be a construction manager to be on site. SRF consulting will be the construction manager. Chair Bird asked if there would be any groundbreaking ceremony. Mr. Krieger stated staff has not discussed that. He will speak with Bob about that. Commissioner Das asked if the project began in June what would be the estimated completion date. Mr. Krieger stated once the utilities City of Blaine Page 3 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 27, 2014 and grading can be done, they will seed the fields, then the pad will be laid so the building can be worked on in the winter. The parking lot would be the last phase. Chair Bird asked when all would be completed and Mr. Krieger stated the contract says November 27, 2015 for final completion. Realistically all fields would be open by spring 2016. Informational: no action required 5.-3 PB 14-20 WEST LAKE PARK FEATURE Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: West Lake Park.pdf Park Supervisor Monahan gave an overview of West Lake Park. He provided a narrative and presentation of the park including pictures. There is a shelter, half basketball court, playgrounds, trails, landscaping, and turf. Commissioner Das stated there are always a number of people at the park and some people come from other cities to use the park. Informational: no action required City of Blaine Page 4 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 27, 2014 5.-4 PB 14-21 OTHER Sponsors: Monahan Attachments: Lochness Dog Park.pdf Park Supervisor Monahan reviewed the Blaine Triathlon. There were 235 participants. The water temp was 51 degrees. The plan is to move the Triathlon to September for better weather beginning in 2015. Chair Bird stated the people he spoke with thought a September event would be better. He thanked all the volunteers and staff for their effort. Program Supervisor Krieger commended Mr. Monahan on his efforts in making this happen. Park Supervisor Monahan reviewed the concession trailer at Lakeside Commons Park beach. Chubby’s will be providing sandwiches, ice cream, pop, chips, and wraps daily from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Park Supervisor Monahan reviewed the possible area for the Lochness Dog Park Area. This area will be included in the June Park Tour. The Park Board will be asked for their thoughts on this at their June meeting. Chair Bird asked whether or not having a fenced area close to a water feature would be better for the training of dogs. Commissioner Pribbernow stated there would be dog “left-overs” in the area so that may not be a good idea. Commissioner Markel stated he believes the dog park is more for socialization with other dogs. Training is mostly done with individual dogs. Commissioner Varian asked how the size compares to other City’s dog parks. Mr. Monahan stated this would be larger than most as other cities use hockey rinks. He noted they will be looking at other areas for dog parks within the City. Commissioner Varian stated she is concerned with the closeness to the shelter. Commissioner Lester asked if this would resolve the issue raised by the residents. Mr. Monahan stated they still want the residents to use the trails and provide a fenced in area for the dog park. Commissioner Lester asked if the leash ordinance would be modified. Mr. Monahan stated there has been no discussion about modifying the leash ordinance. Commissioner Pribbernow stated Anoka County has a separate small dog area. Commissioner Markle asked if there is water available in that area. Mr. Monahan stated he did not believe so but there are hopes to bring in bathrooms and water supply. Park Supervisor Monahan reviewed the June Park Tour will be held June 24, 2014. The Park Board will meet at the Blaine Senior Center at 6:30 p.m. and the Senior Center bus will be used. Informational: no action required City of Blaine Page 5 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 27, 2014 9. Adjournment Adjourned City of Blaine Page 6