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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRC Minutes 10-2006 City of Hastings Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes October 10, 2006 – 6:00 pm 1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Brown, Christenson, Popp, Rohloff, Schommer, Vandehoef, and Vaughan, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein Absent: Superintendent Smith 2) Approved August meeting minutes. Motion by Rohloff. Seconded by Vaughan. Passed unanimously. 3) Bridget Sutter was in attendance as a representative for the Eagle Bluffs Homeowners Association. The association met and voted on requested improvements to Eagle Bluff Park. They are requesting a ½ court basketball court with no lights and shrubs lining the property lines of the park between the adjacent homes. They would also like the back of the park cleaned up a bit, but no additional shrubs are being requested for the back. Director Bernstein mentioned that a picnic table was already placed in the park this year, and that he has requested some money for the 2007 budget for park improvements. The council has not approved the 2007 budget yet, and we will not know the final version of the budget until after the Truth in Taxation meeting, which is normally held sometime in December. Ms. Sutter also mentioned that the City website had incorrect information posted regarding the NRRC meeting. 4) Caryl Holmes, a resident who lives at 1207 Park Lane, came to voice some concerns regarding Conzemius Park. Director Bernstein started out by mentioning that the park has a baseball field and open play space area, both of which are currently being used for organized activities, like baseball and soccer. The reason that the open space is being used for soccer is because about 6 soccer areas on the north side of Vet’s Park were lost. The Parks & Recreation Department decided to relocate two of those fields to Conzemius Park to help offset the deficiency. Ms. Holmes’ concern is that when she built her home, Mrs. Conzemius stated that the park was being designated as an open space for children to play – it wasn’t to be used for organized activities. Ms. Holmes was also concerned about the lack of parking and the narrowness of the streets. She feels it is a safety concern for the neighborhood. Featherstone Ponding Basin was brought up as an alternative site. Director Bernstein didn’t have soccer at Featherstone this year due to a proposed hospital construction project. Ms. Holmes asked why we can’t use school property for these activities. Director Bernstein informed her that the Parks & Recreation Department doesn’t have any scheduling control over school district facilities. Commissioner Christenson mentioned that this is not a problem exclusive to Conzemius – many of our local parks are experiencing similar issues. He also brought out that the whole city pays taxes to maintain the parks, including Conzemius, and there is a fine line to walk in regards to use. Director Bernstein agreed that many of our neighborhood parks are being used for activities that they were not initially intended for. Ms. Holmes also mentioned that she doesn’t mind the baseball field being used, but that she would really like to see the open area left alone so that children, church groups, etc. can use it. 5) Departmental Updates were passed out to the members of the NRRC. Director Bernstein mentioned that installation of the sun shade structure at the pool has begun. This will result in an addition of deck space to accommodate between 20-30 more chairs. 6) Lions Park Warming House: A bid was received for building a warming house adjacent to the Public Works lift station on the east side of the park. The bid came in at around $126,000 and includes Public Works assuming all the engineering fees on the combined structure. Commissioner Rohloff asked where the stand alone building would be placed and would it be more convenient for skaters? The stand alone building would be located on the west side of the rink, where the current building stands now. If a combined building was built on the east side, however, a general skating rink would be put in next to it. Director Bernstein also mentioned that the interior beams on the old building are still in fairly good condition, and he would like to use them for an open-air picnic shelter. Commissioner Vaughan asked if buildings like this shelter and the one at Wallin could ever be left open all the time for people to use the restroom, etc. Director Bernstein replied that vandalism is a major concern with that, but that one possibility might be to have seasonal staff similar to what we do with warming houses. The bathrooms would be available during heavy use times, and we could even check out recreational equipment for people to use in the park. Currently, if HYAA wants to have the bathroom available, they just need to check out a key from the Parks & Recreation Department. MOTION: Commissioner Vaughan motioned to recommend bidding out a stand alone building at Lions Park to City Council. Seconded by Rohloff. Passed unanimously. 7) Bituminous Rinks: Director Bernstein informed the NRRC that the bituminous surfaces at Lions Park and the Arena have a coating painted on to seal the surface and make the rinks better for in-line skating. However, the coating is causing difficulties with making ice. The City of Chanhassen had the same coating on some of their bituminous rinks and experienced similar difficulties. They tried to sandblast the coating off, but didn’t have good success, so they ended up removing the bituminous all together. Commissioner Vaughan was concerned with the earlier costliness of creating those bituminous rinks – would it be possible to grind the coating off like they do with the streets? It would be nice to save the bituminous if at all possible. Director Bernstein said he would look into that, but that the decision at this point was to remove the bituminous so as to be able to have good ice in the winter. 8) Lake Isabel Update: The engineering specs should be received soon. City Council recently approved dredging one acre of the lake and going ahead with the fishing pier, improved parking and improved access. On another note, Joan Warner from the East Hastings Improvement Association approached the department with a donation which they would like to use to reshingle the shelter at Lake Isabel. Waivers are being done for the volunteer labor. 9) NRRC Park Improvement Request Evaluation: Director Bernstein passed out a cover letter with an evaluation form to be used for requests for park improvements. The cover letter would be given to the requester, and it outlines the information that the requester would need to get and submit to the Parks & Recreation Department for their request to be considered. The evaluation form would then be used by the NRRC to prioritize the request. Commissioner Brown stated that he hoped elected officials would defer to this process when we have it finalized. Commissioner Vaughan expressed concern over the current park requests that are in motion. All of these requests should have to go through this process. Commissioner Vandehoef agreed that all requests should be put on hold until we get this process finalized. Commissioner Schommer asked why members of City Council weren’t in attendance at NRRC meetings. Commissioners Christenson and Vaughan cautioned that Council Members have a lot of demands on their time already and we need to be sensitive to this. Director Bernstein also meets with the Parks & Recreation Committee of Council 3-4 times a year to keep them apprised of the efforts the NRRC is making. Commissioner Popp suggested that if the council is in disagreement with a decision the NRRC makes, then maybe we could invite them to come to a meeting to discuss. Commissioner Christenson asked that we add a place for estimates and engineering costs to the evaluation form. Commissioner Schommer thought it may also be a good idea to ask requesters to make a short presentation to the NRRC when making their official request. The NRRC agreed that we cannot get this process in place soon enough! Director Bernstein will bring it before City Council for approval. 10) Park Comprehensive Plan: The Met Council requests a City Comprehensive Plan every 10 years from each city. The last park plan was done in 1999, and with all of the development in Hastings, we are in need of a new comprehensive park plan. Director Bernstein received 3 bids for our plan, and he recommends that we go with Brauer and Associates. He has worked with them before and they are top notch. All the bids came in at around $40,000. MOTION: Commissioner Rohloff motioned to recommend Brauer and Associates to the City Council for our comprehensive park plan. Seconded by Schommer. Passed unanimously. 11) New Business - Commissioner Christenson passed on the thanks of the Hastings Environmental Protectors to the Parks & Recreation Department for the boulevard trees. He also informed the NRRC that the crosswalks, both for bikes and pedestrians, are going in around the city. - Commissioner Rohloff asked whether or not the Kennedy ice rink would be used this year. Director Bernstein said that we are planning to use it this year, and that the issue will be brought forward at a future NRRC meeting. - Commissioner Christenson mentioned that there is a new development coming in at the end of Spiral Boulevard by the industrial park. He suggested that since the city owns about 80-100 acres of land out there, we use the park dedication money from the new development, request 10 acres or so from the city, and expand Veterans Athletic Complex. This would help to alleviate the burden our neighborhood parks are feeling due to a lack of fields for organized play. MOTION to Adjourn. th Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 14, 2006. Adjourned at 7:37 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Kristin Behrens