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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNRRCMinutes-20070313 City of Hastings Natural Resources and Recreation Commission Minutes March 13, 2007 – 6:00 pm 1) Roll Call at 6 pm: Commissioners Miller, Nelson, Popp, Rohloff, Schommer, Vaughan, and Vandehoef, Parks and Recreation Director Bernstein, Superintendent Smith 2) Approved December meeting minutes. Motion by Rohloff. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. 3) Setting Agenda: Commissioner Vaughan requested that two items be added under New Business. The first item was “Location of Meetings” and the second was “Elect Vice-Chair.” Director Bernstein requested that “Garage Sale at Roadside Park” be added under New Business as well. Approved March agenda. Motion by Rohloff. Seconded by Popp. Passed unanimously. 4) Departmental updates were passed out. The ice skating season ran for 6 weeks and the attendance numbers were very good. The Hastings Family Aquatic Center will have a lot of new improvements this year including additional deck space, the addition of sun shades, upgrades to the Point of Sale system, the addition of Stored Value Cards, and online registration. The Hastings Civic Arena is hoping to have the floor in the East Rink redone this summer. 5) Tobacco-Free Presentation: The Dakota County Health Department along with 10 students from Hastings High School made a presentation to the NRRC requesting that the City of Hastings adopt a Tobacco-Free Policy on all City Park Property. Many cities and park systems have already adopted this policy for a variety of reasons. These include: 1) children model adult behavior, 2) consistent policies send a consistent message, 3) cigarette litter is harmful, and 4) secondhand smoke is dangerous. Director Bernstein mentioned that enforcement of this policy is a concern, especially at Vet’s Park during the Adult Softball Leagues. Commissioner Schommer felt that adopting this policy would be a step in the right direction. He also brought out that HYAA already has a restriction on smoking for both coaches and parents. Commissioner Miller thought that this policy would be a good step towards a societal norm that smoking in public is not o.k. Commissioner Vandehoef felt that this would be a good message for the city to send. MOTION: Commissioner Miller motioned that the City of Hastings adopt the Tobacco-Free Parks Policy. Seconded by Commissioner Schommer. Passed unanimously. 6) Lake Isabel Update: Director Bernstein recapped the project for the NRRC. This project got started in 1982 and includes dredging the lake, the addition of a fishing pier and a boardwalk from the parking lot and improved parking. The estimated cost of the total project is $450,000. Since the parking lot is estimated to cost $160,000 - $200,000 on its own, it will be included as an alternate bid so that the city can choose not to proceed with that th portion of the project. Bids are currently being accepted by Barr Engineering and will close on March 28. The chosen bidder will be presented to the NRRC at the April meeting, with the Award of Contract going before th City Council on April 16. Director Bernstein added that according to Barr Engineering, the approximately 1- acre dredging of the lake should last between 10-20 years, even if there is flooding. Commissioner Vaughan requested that there be a TRAC bus tour of the Lake Isabel project for the May NRRC meeting. 7) Lions Park Shelter: Superintendent Smith gave the NRRC an update on the progress of the new Lions Park shelter. Staff is working with Richard Fischer Architects, the same architect that was used for the Wallin Park shelter. The plans are currently at the Parks & Recreation Department, and bidders have been calling already. Demolition of the old shelter has begun, with Parks staff doing the work. The target completion date of this project is the end of September, so that the winter ice skating season is not affected. The timeline for the bidding process is: 3/26 – Pre-Bid Meeting; 4/9 – Bid Opening; 4/11 – Chosen Bidder presented to NRRC; 4/16 – Award of Contract at City Council Meeting. Commissioner Vaughan asked about the possibility of the party wagon being delivered to parks for block parties. Superintendent Smith said that this is not done due to the issue of vandalism with the wagon being left in the park overnight. Commissioner Vaughan then asked if it would be possible to have the staff out at Vet’s Park pick up the party wagon at night and deliver it back to the Parks & Recreation Office. Superintendent Smith replied that only full-time staff is allowed to transport the party wagon, but that it may be possible if the applicant wants to pay the staff overtime costs involved. 8) Year End Report: Director Bernstein mentioned that this is the second year that we have done a Year End Report for the Parks & Recreation Department. Special thanks to all staff that contributed to this report. The report shows that 2006 was a busy year! Commissioner Vaughan suggested that this information be put into a PowerPoint presentation and shown on the Cable TV show, Parks Perspective. Staff will work on that suggestion. Commissioner Vandehoef questioned the $26/per player fee that the Adult Softball League had to pay for the Joint Powers agreement. He wondered what the justification was for this cost. Director Bernstein stated that this agreement has been in existence since 1973. Commissioner Vandehoef really feels that this policy should be revisited, since there currently doesn’t seem to be much of a joint effort on the leisure activities that the city is providing. This statement was echoed by the other commissioners. Commissioner Vaughan requested that a copy of the Joint Powers Agreement be provided for the June NRRC meeting. The commissioners will review and discuss it at that time, and then would like to hold a later meeting that includes representation from the school district. 9) Comp Plan Update: There will be an Open House at City Hall on March 22, 2007 so that the public can review and comment on the proposed Parks Comprehensive Plan. The Open House will be from 6:30-8:00 PM and will be held in the Community Room. So far, staff has met with many of the groups who currently use our park facilities and also a couple of the surrounding townships. This Open House will be advertised in the local paper and also on the local radio station. 10) Rotary Donation: The Hastings Rotary Club has graciously donated $1,095 for the purchase of four new trailhead signs. These signs are placed at entry points to our trail system. MOTION: Commissioner Vandehoef motioned that the Hastings Rotary Club donation be accepted. Seconded by Commissioner Miller. Passed unanimously. 11) Mississippi River Dock: Director Bernstein stated that all necessary regulatory agencies have been met with and that there is a solid dock plan in place. The dock will be 150 feet long and will have space for 8-10 boats, depending on size. It will be a floating dock and Hub’s Marina has offered to store it over the winter. Commissioner Rohloff asked who will pay for damage to the dock if it gets hit. There will be protective pylons placed in front of the dock and both the City Engineering Department and the Corps of Engineers feel that these pylons will prevent any damage. Commissioner Popp asked if any fees will be charged for use of the dock. Director Bernstein replied that the dock is free to use, but there will be no overnight usage allowed. Maintenance will be done by the Parks Department and it will fall under our Capital Improvement Plan. The dock will be approximately 300 feet from the existing boat launch and will cost the city about $100,000. 12) Hastings to Red Wing Trail: Director Bernstein and Superintendent Smith attended a meeting that was coordinated by Rick Ahern on a trail proposed to run from Hastings to Red Wing. The trail would go along the abandoned rail bed. The meeting was well represented by all the parties along the trail route. This trail would be a connection to the Cannon Valley Trail. Commissioner Popp recommended that someone from the DNR be included in this process. Superintendent Smith emphasized the importance of having a good joint maintenance agreement between all the property owners along the proposed trail. 13) HFAC Sound System: A new sound system is being purchased for the Hastings Family Aquatic Center. The current system is very muffled and difficult to hear. The new system has very good sound quality and will have the ability to hook up an iPod or stereo to it. One hope is that it can be used for Teen Nights. 14) HFAC Check Policy: In 2006, the Aquatic Center received the most NSF checks ever. Now that the HFAC accepts credit cards, the Aquatic Center Manager has requested that the HFAC no longer accept personal checks effective June 15, 2007. Director Bernstein said that we are fortunate to recover 30% of the dollar amount that the NSF checks cover. Commissioner Vaughan suggested that we don’t accept checks at all this year, as we have ample time to educate the public through the newspaper and the website. Commissioner Schommer agreed, stating that these NSF checks would eventually be a contributing factor in rising costs at the HFAC. If customers need a cash machine, there are several gas stations and banks nearby where they could get cash. MOTION: Commissioner Rohloff motioned that the Hastings Family Aquatic Center no longer accept personal checks effective June 2, 2007. Seconded by Commissioner Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. 15) New Business - Location of Meetings: Commissioner Vaughan recommended that we move the NRRC meetings to City Hall so that there is more room for the public to attend. There is also ample parking at City Hall. He also mentioned that the website still has a November agenda for the NRRC meeting and that this website needs to be current. This is a main channel to get information to the public regarding the NRRC and to get the public involved. Commissioner Nelson also mentioned that the Star Gazette has a list of public meetings, and that the NRRC meetings are not listed. Commissioner Vandehoef felt that better marketing to the public would help in the NRRC’s efforts to be more proactive instead of reactive. MOTION: Commissioner Rohloff motioned to move the NRRC meetings to City Hall effective with the June meeting. Seconded by Vandehoef. Passed unanimously. - Garage Sale at Roadside Park: Director Bernstein passed out a letter from Jan’s School of Dance. The school is requesting the use of Roadside Park on Saturday, July 21, 2007 for a fundraiser garage sale. Director Bernstein asked if the NRRC felt this type of activity was appropriate to have in our parks. Commissioner Popp asked if there have been any precedents set regarding sales in the past. Superintendent Smith mentioned that the Hastings Garden Club holds a plant sale each year in one of our parks. Commissioner Schommer felt that a plant sale may not be the same thing as a garage sale; however, there is a craft sale at Pioneer Park during Rivertown Days already. Commissioner Nelson pointed out that parking at Roadside Park is already difficult, but especially during Rivertown Days. He also mentioned that he thought that since this event would take place during Rivertown Days, an application would have to be approved by the Rivertown Days Committee as well. Commissioner Miller felt that since Rivertown Days is a tourist event for the city, we shouldn’t take one of our largest parks out of commission. Commissioner Vaughan recommended the possibility of offering the school another city facility to use, perhaps the arena or a less busy park. Director Bernstein agreed to contact the dance school and explain that the NRRC has some reservations regarding Roadside Park due to the reasons given. He will then ask if they would be interested in any other city facilities. Commissioner Vaughan asked that this issue be tabled until Director Bernstein can find out more information. - Elect Vice-Chair: Commissioner Schommer agreed to serve as Vice-Chair for the NRRC. MOTION: Commissioner Rohloff motioned that Brian Schommer serve as the Vice-Chair for the Natural Resources and Recreation Commission. Seconded by Popp. Passed unanimously. 16) Old Business - No old business. th Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, 2007. Adjourned at 8:16 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Kristin Behrens