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, September 23, 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, September 23, 2014. 1. 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: 6 - Chair Bird, Markle, Pribbernow, Das, Leathers, and Varian Absent: 1 - Lester 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 PB 14-35 APPROVAL OF AUGUST 26, 2014 PARK BOARD MINUTES Commissioner Leathers noted on page 7 paragraph 2, the first two sentences should be striken. Commissioner Pribbernow noted on page 7 in the adjournment her last name was misspelled. Commissioner Leathers noted on page 2, last paragraph, first sentence should read . . . The City receives a lot of requests from . . . Discussed Aye: 6 - Chair Bird, Markle, Pribbernow, Das, Leathers, and Varian City of Blaine Page 1 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input Chair Bird opened the Open Forum at 7:03 p.m. Chair Bird closed Open Forum at 7:04 p.m. 5. New Business City of Blaine Page 2 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 5.-1 PB 14-30 RECOMMENDATION FOR ESTABLISHING 2015 PARK DEDICATION FEES FOR THE CITY OF BLAINE Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed revenue for the capital improvement plan that comes from park dedication fees required for all new residential, commercial and industrial development. Park dedication fees are adjusted annually by the percentage of increase in the fair market value of undeveloped land within the City with an annual increase not to exceed 10% The Park Board recommended a 10% residential. 7% commercial, and 7% industrial increase for 2014 park dedication fees. The current park dedication fee structure is as follows: · $3,094 per residential unit · $8,289 per acre of commercial development · $5,528 per acre of industrial development Program Supervisor Monahan provided a table showing how increases from 1% to 10% would affect the 2015 park dedication fee structure along with 2014 Comparative Park Dedication Fees (September 2014) for other cities for residential and commercial. Staff is recommending the Park Board consider another increase in park dedication fees for 2015 based on the following: · Blaine still ranks 10th out of 14 in residential fees for metro cities. Blaine is ranked in the middle of the cities for commercial fees. · The Planning Department estimates a continued increase in new housing permits and of greater importance new land development. Future parks, open space and trail development should keep pace with this growth through measured annual increases in park dedication fees. Commissioner Das asked to see the comparative park dedication fees to other cities. He feels there is room to increase the fees and suggested 2%. Public Services Manager Therres asked the Community Development Director for his suggestion and staff suggested 10% for Commercial and Industrial and 3% for residential. Commissioner Varian asked what the fair market value of undeveloped property in the City is and Mr. Therres stated he does not City of Blaine Page 3 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 have the exact number but values are up 16%. Commissioner Leathers stated growth is being seen in the vacant land values that justifies increases. He recommended increases be considered to 10% for residential and a 3% increase for commercial and industrial parcels. Commissioner Markle agreed the 10% increase for residential and he feels 3% is rather light but he would support it up to 7% increase. He suggested a 5% increase would be a compromise. Commissioner Pribbernow stated she agrees with 10% increase for residential and 3% for commercial/industrial. Chair Bird asked staff why their recommendation for commercial/industrial was lower. Mr. Therres stated Community Development felt that would be a fair increase in comparison to other Cities. Commissioner Varian asked if the goal is to be in the middle of the pack or at the top of the pack. Chair Bird stated the goal is to have sufficient funding and to encourage development in the City of Blaine. Commissioner Varian stated she would support 10% and 3% also. Commissioner Das asked if there is a factor to consider for properties located closer to main highways. Mr. Therres stated it does not appear to be a main factor. Commissioner Leathers asked if the comparative park dedication fees are spot data and Mr. Monahan stated they were. Other cities are most likely looking at raising their fees at the same time. He does not think 5-7% would be too much for Commercial/Industrial. Chair Bird stated the difference between 3 and 5% is approximately $170 per acre. This will come to the Council for approval and Council will make the ultimate decision and may adjust the percentage increases. Commissioner Leathers asked if Commercial and Industrial were substantial drivers of the CIP. Mr. Monahan stated some of the bigger Commercial developments such as WalMart does make an impact on the CIP. City of Blaine Page 4 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 Commissioner Das stated he would support 5% for the increase. Commissioner Varian stated she would support 5% for the increase. Commissioner Pribbernow agreed. Forwarded with Recommendation Aye: 6 - Chair Bird, Markle, Pribbernow, Das, Leathers, and Varian City of Blaine Page 5 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 5.-2 PB 14-31 RECOMMENDATION OF LOCHNESS DOG PARK Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed the amenity costs for Lochness Dog Park, which include fencing, concrete for bullpen, mailbox/metal container, lights, water fountain, shelter heaters, and shelter improvement. In-house items for the dog park will be picnic tables and trees at no cost to the project. The costs have been inflated slightly since the project would be done in 2016. Concrete 400 sf $2,800.00 Mailbox/Metal Container $400.00 Picnic Tables in-house 0 Trees in-house 0 Lights $5,000.00 Water Fountain $2,600.00 Heaters $1,200.00 5 Foot Fencing - 900 Feet $20,000.00 Running Power to Shelter $25,000.00 Water to Shelter half mile away $125,000.00 Other Shelter Improvements - Paint $250.00 Agility Obstacles - May be a space issue 0 (Eagle Scout Project) Total $182,250.00 Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed the CIF Budget contains $125,000 for the Lochness Dog Park Amenity Costs. Budget overrun would be $57,250.00. Chair Bird stated from a cost standpoint it would be nice to have water but that would be the entire budget. He suggested maybe another location. Commissioner Varian stated walkers and other users of the Park would use the water. Commissioner Das asked if there was any water in the park and Mr. Monahan stated there is no water in the park currently and the closest watermain is ½ mile away. Water cannot be obtained from infinite campus. Commissioner Markle asked if staff looked at anything from a temporary standpoint by bringing in a tank that would be filled once a week. Mr. Monahan stated staff did not look at this option. They did not see anything like that in any of the other dog parks. Ramsey City of Blaine Page 6 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 County was the only dog park that had a drinking fountain. Commissioner Markle believes this is an outrageous cost to bring water into the dog park and puts that out of range as to what could be considered. He agrees we should keep looking for other location solutions. Commissioner Das asked if water is required for the dog park and Mr. Monahan stated only the Ramsey County Dog Park had water available. He suggested the water be removed from the plan. Commissioner Varian asked if all other area possibilities have been exhausted. Program Supervisor Monahan stated staff has not looked at all other possible areas. They do not want it close to residential areas. Perhaps Pioneer Park would be an option. Mr. Monahan will research other options and bring back to the Board. Chair Bird stated it would be affordable less the water. The consensus of the Board was to look at other locations and bring this back to the October meeting for discussion. Commissioner Leathers asked how much smaller this dog park would be compared to others visited. Mr. Monahan stated it is about half the size of the smallest he saw. Commissioner Leathers suggested a larger area that is remote that dog owners can get to easily without disrupting a neighborhood be researched. Program Supervisor Monahan stated he heard from other cities that sufficient parking is needed for a dog park. Discussed City of Blaine Page 7 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 5.-3 PB 14-32 Staff Report On THE 2014 Summer Recreation ProgramS Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed a power point summary of the 2014 Summer Recreation Programs. He reviewed the program staff, events offered, Family Fun Night (2000 people attended), Blaine Kids Triathlon (90 kids participated), Safety Camp (151 kids attended), Blaine Triathlon (will be moved to September 2015), Blaine Festival, Youth Programs (75 programs 3,082 participants), Playnet Program (486 participants), Summer Fun Program (84 children attended), Adult Programs (33 programs 407 participants), Adult Athletics, Senior Programs, Senior Center Events & Programs, Community Gardens (48 13 x 20 foot plots). Construction was done at the Lexington Athletic Complex, Aurelia Park, Little Bit Park Playground, Lakeside Common Parking Lot, Territorial Tennis Courts, BBC Field #1, and Legacy Creek Park. Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed the Lakeside Common Park numbers. He reviewed the facility use at 24 parks, 6 city buildings, 3 schools, 3 fire stations and 6 private facilities. Chair Bird acknowledged staff for their hard work and wonderful job they did on the summer programs. Commissioner Pribbernow asked how the new scheduling for the park shelters. Mr. Monahan stated the revenue increased by approximately $3,000 when doing the half day and full day rentals. Discussed 5.-4 PB 14-33 SOUTH LAKE PARK FEATURE Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed a narrative and pictures for South Lake Park. This is the 56th Park presented to the Park Board. In May of 2003, Emmerich Development Corporation brought a proposal for 5 parks in the Lakes Development. One of those parks was South Lake Park, which was a .9 acre mini park, which had amenities that include: playground, shelter, benches, trails, landscaping, open play area and irrigation. The cost of the park came in at $55,150. The development of the park was started in 2005 and in 2008, the City officially accepted the park. He showed pictures of South Lake Park. Discussed City of Blaine Page 8 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final September 23, 2014 5.-5 PB 14-34 OTHER Program Supervisor Krieger provided updates on: Lexington Athletic Complex - In the last month, the complex has grown tremendously. They started blacktopping parking lots as of yesterday. The dugout framework is installed. The soccer/multipurpose fields have been seeded and grass is beginning to grow. The baseball fields have been seeded. The ag line and mounds are done. Asphalt pathways are being constructed. The light bases will be put in shortly. The shelter will go up within the next week. All common areas will be seeded yet this year. The project is moving full steam ahead. Chair Bird asked if the foundation for the building has been done and Mr. Krieger stated the foundation for the building should be done next week. Aquatore Park Field #1 - The results came back from the monthly testing checking on the site and the site is still settling. Still on a month to month basis. With the season coming to an end, construction may be pushed out to next spring. Program Supervisor Monahan reviewed: WorldFest Recap - There were approximately 1000 people in attendance with 10 restaurants serving food. There were 8 performing groups. He showed a power point slideshow of pictures taken for World Fest. Attendance was slightly down from the last few years. Chair Bird thanked staff and all the volunteers for their help with the event. Discussed 6. Adjournment Adjourned City of Blaine Page 9