Park Advisory Board

10801 Town Square Drive City of Blaine Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final Park Advisory Board Tuesday, May 26, 2015 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 26, 2015. 1. Chair Bird called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Staff Present: Nate Monahan, Recreation Manager Jerome Krieger, Recreation Manager Present: 7 - Chair Bird, Comissioner Lester, Comissioner Pribbernow, Comissioner Das, Comissioner Varian, Comissioner Markle, and Comissioner Walsdorf 3. Approval of Minutes 3.-1 MIN 15-17 APPROVAL OF APRIL 28, 2015 PARK BOARD MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Markle to approve the minutes of April 28, 2015 as presented. Motion seconded by Commissioner Das. Motion approved unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair Bird, Comissioner Lester, Comissioner Pribbernow, Comissioner Das, Comissioner Varian, Comissioner Markle, and Comissioner Walsdorf 4. Open Forum for Citizen Input Chair Bird opened the Open Forum at 7:05 p.m. No one appeared to address the Commission. Chair Bird closed Open Forum at 7:06 p.m. 5. New Business 5.-1 PB 15-22 RECOMMENDATION OF LOCHNESS PARK IMPROVEMENT DESIGN BY INFINITE CAMPUS Recreation Manager Monahan reviewed Infinite Campus will present the Lochness Park improvement design to the Park Board. He City of Blaine Page 1 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 26, 2015 provided the plans for the proposed park improvements including a letter from Founder and CEO Charlie Kratsch. In addition to the plan's Infinite Campus needs, a second fire access is needed off our park driveway and those plans were also provided for discussion. There will need to be some re-grading done at the fire access so we will have the option of relocating the park sign. Staff is recommending the park sign be moved up facing south on Lexington Avenue. If the sign is placed on Lexington Avenue, the County would need to grant approval. Mr. Monahan read the letter from Mr. Charlie Kratsch, Infinite Campus Founder and CEO stated as part of its corporate headquarters expansion project, Infinite Campus proposes a joint project with the City of Blaine to make several improvements to Lochness Park. In the past, Infinite Campus has worked with the Parks Department on other improvements such as adding a trail through its property connecting the park to 109th Avenue and the Pheasant Ridge retail complex and the sponsorship of a disc golf course in the park. Sharing a large boundary with the park gives Infinite Campus a unique perspective on how the park is used by the community and on what improvements could be made to enhance its value. The majority of park use currently consists of individuals and small groups walking around the lake with a large portion of the “regulars” being dog walkers. The disc golf course attracts younger visitors in the warmer months. Picnickers use the main shelter primarily during summer weekends. The most underutilized aspect of the park is the dock extending into Lochness Lake. While an occasional fisherperson, family with small children or student group may be seen on the dock, their use is limited for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, there is no roof sheltering visitors from the sun during the summer. Second, there is no seating. Lastly, space is limited. Infinite Campus proposes upgrading the dock area of Lochness Park by 1) replacing many of the invasive species trees native shade trees, 2) altering the walking path to make it more pedestrian and service vehicle friendly, 3) removing the existing smaller picnic shelter, and 4) improving the dock and adding a covered fishing pier with seating. These improvements should attract more park visitors and improve the quality of their experience by leveraging the unique lake setting Lochness has to offer. Mr. Monahan stated the improvements being planned are well done and very nice. He presented the Concept Plan. City of Blaine Page 2 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 26, 2015 Mr. Scott Wiestling, Architect, was the original architect for the project seven years ago. Mr. Charlie Kratsch was unable to attend the meeting this evening. Mr. Kratsch’s office overlooks the park. Chair Bird asked the distance from the multi-story building from the path. Mr. Scott Wiestling stated it is 5-8 feet from the path. The trees cover the setback. Chair Bird asked about the removal of the invasive plants and Mr. Monahan stated they would consult with Jim Hafner, Watershed Director, before any removal is done. Commissioner Varian asked about the removal of the picnic shelter. Mr. _______ stated there are currently two shelters and one of the shelters is not used very much. Commissioner Walsdorf asked if there would be a picnic shelter in the park and Mr. _______ stated there would be a picnic table in the new shelter on the dock. Commissioner Das thanked Scott for his presentation. He asked how many people work in the Infinite Campus building and Scott stated now there’s approximately 400 and there could be an additional 400 for a total of 800. The employees do use the park for walks during lunch. Commissioner Das asked if there would be any events outside and Scott stated the park would not accommodate 800 people. There will be an auditorium in the connector space where events would be held. Commissioner Das asked how deep the water was and Mr. Monahan stated he does not know how deep it is. Mr. Monahan stated any public park is covered by general liability insurance. Commissioner Das asked who would provide maintenance in the park in the future and Scott stated that is why a joint venture is being proposed. Maintenance would be looked at in the future. Mr. Monahan stated there would be a joint venture and future discussions would cover maintenance. Chair Bird asked how long the dock would be and Scott stated it would be the same length as the dock is currently. Commissioner Pribbernow asked what the timeline was. Scott stated the building project would begin this summer and he does not know when the park project would be done. Commissioner Varian asked if approval for the fire access road has already been approved by the Council and Mr. Monahan stated it has not gone before Council. City of Blaine Page 3 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 26, 2015 Chair Bird asked how many stories the building will be and Scott responded eight stories. Chair Bird stated he is comfortable with the plan. Motion by Commissioner Walsdorf to recommend approval to the City Council for the Lochness Park improvement design by Infinite Campus. Motion seconded by Commissioner Das. Motion approved unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair Bird, Comissioner Lester, Comissioner Pribbernow, Comissioner Das, Comissioner Varian, Comissioner Markle, and Comissioner Walsdorf 5.-2 PB 15-23 RECOMMENDATION FOR PORTABLE HOCKEY BOARDS AT LEXINGTON ATHLETIC COMPLEX FROM RINK SYSTEMS INC. Recreation Manager Krieger reviewed Staff sent out a request for quotes for portable hockey boards from four different companies. Two quotes were received back from two companies, Becker Arena Systems and Rink Systems Inc. The results of the quotes are as follows: Becker Arena Systems: $71,500 (no goals) Rink Systems: $56,750 Staff met with both companies to look at their products and is recommending the Rink Systems Inc. bid. The funds will come from the Parks CIP, which was recommended previously by the Park Board and approved by City Council. Staff visited the City of Plymouth where rinks were constructed by both companies to get a better visual of their work and compare. They toured Becker Arena Systems and met with Rink Systems. The supports for an outdoor rink are made of aluminum. The rink would be 185 x 80’. Rink systems will be on hand to help put the rink together the first time (32 hours). Commissioner Walsdorf asked if City Staff would be doing the construction every year. Mr. Krieger stated the entire rink would be manufactured, a set of NHL size goals, shipping, and then 32 hours would be given to help with set-up. Netting would be used instead of fencing. Commissioner Das asked if the warranty was different from the two companies and Mr. Krieger stated the warranty is exactly the same. There is a one-year warranty on parts. Chair Bird stated the project is to be completed by Oct 31st. Mr. Krieger stated it would be put up in mid-late November after football is finished. Commissioner Markle asked about storage. Mr. Krieger stated it will be stored inside and they would like to store it in the water tower City of Blaine Page 4 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 26, 2015 across the street. Commissioner Markle asked about marking of the rink. Mr. Krieger stated the public works staff will paint the rink. There are markings on the sidewalls. Commissioner Markle asked about keeping the water in while flooding and Mr. Krieger stated if there is no snow then dirt would need to be put around. Motion by Commissioner Das to recommend the City Council accept the bid from Rink Systems Inc. for portable hockey boards at Lexington Athletic complex at a cost not to exceed $56,750. Motion seconded by Commissioner Markle. Motion approved unanimously. Aye: 7 - Chair Bird, Comissioner Lester, Comissioner Pribbernow, Comissioner Das, Comissioner Varian, Comissioner Markle, and Comissioner Walsdorf 5.-3 PB 15-24 STAFF REPORT ON WINTER/SPRING RECREATION PROGRAMS Recreation Manager Monahan presented a summary of the 2014/2015 Winter Spring Recreation Programs in a PowerPoint presentation. There were 11 community events. World Fest had 2200 people attend. On the same day, the Minnesota Twins Youth Baseball Clinic was held with 175 kids. There were 50 youth programs with 601 participants. 41 Adult Programs offered with 407 participants. Adult Athletics - 398 participants. 3008 meals were served in the Senior programs. Community Outings had 135 participants. Seven parks were used for activities. Community Gardens had 53 plots. Commissioner Walsdorf stated he was a volunteer tax preparer at the Senior Center and enjoyed it greatly. Tax Wise is used for the software. Commissioner Das asked if fencing is done by the City and Mr. Monahan stated the individuals put up their own fencing. Commissioner Walsdorf asked how attendance is taken at the skating rink. Mr. Krieger stated staff counts how many are on skating rink and how many are on hockey rink. Mr. Monahan stated programs will possibly change locations. New programs may be added or modified. Evaluations are sent asking what residents want as far as programs. Informational: no action required 5.-4 PB 15-25 UPDATES Recreation Manager Monahan reviewed provided updates on the following: Park Narratives - Should they continue and recycle starting with Park #1 presentation. Commissioner Walsdorf stated he would like to see City of Blaine Page 5 Park Advisory Board Minutes - Final May 26, 2015 them continue but only if a significant change is made to a park. Chair Bird stated there is benefit especially to new residents. Staff could be recognized for accomplishments. Commissioner Markle stated he would be in favor of updates on parks. He suggested a walking tour to look at the connections between parks. The interaction with the NRCB is important. Beach Opens June 5 - September 7, 2015 The hours of the park is 5am - 10pm. Rentals are available from 11am - 5pm daily. Beach 10-8pm Splash pad 10-6pm. Blaine Festival June 26-28, 2015 - A listing of events was provided for Commission review. June 23 Park Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Blaine City Hall for Park Tour. The NRCB are interested in attending the tour. The Park Board was invited to tour the Blaine Wetland Sanctuary on July 21st. Meet at East Lake Park at 6:30 p.m. Informational: no action required Adjournment Commissioner Das motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Walsdorf seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously. Chair Bird adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Aye: 7 - Chair Bird, Comissioner Lester, Comissioner Pribbernow, Comissioner Das, Comissioner Varian, Comissioner Markle, and Comissioner Walsdorf City of Blaine Page 6