HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-08-12 Park Board Minutes 1
Minutes of the
Edina Park Board
August 12, 2008
Edina City Hall, Council Chambers
MEMBERS PRESENT: Joseph Hulbert, Rob Presthus, Randy Meyer, Howard Merriam, George
Klus, Dan Peterson, Jeff Sorem, Ray O’Connell, Todd Fronek
MEMBERS ABSENT: Mike Damman, Carolyn Nelson
STAFF PRESENT: John Keprios, Janet Canton, Ed MacHolda, John Valliere
I. APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 10, 2008 PARK BOARD MINUTES
George Klus MOVED TO APPROVE THE JUNE 10, 2008 PARK BOARD MINUTES.
Jeff Sorem SECONDED THE MOTION. MINUTES APPROVED.
II. NEW BUSINESS
A. Braemar Golf Course Special Needs Program - John Valliere, Manager of Braemar
Golf Course, introduced Paige Safranski and Susan Hagel from the Sister Kenny
Rehabilitation Institute. Mr. Valliere, Ms. Safranski and Ms. Hagel gave the Park
Board an overview of the golf program held at Braemar Golf Course for golfers with
disabilities.
Mr. Klus asked Mr. Valliere if the rounds are down much this summer to which he
replied yes, they are. Mr. Valliere explained that April and May were tough months
across the whole state. He noted that currently they are approximately 2,000 rounds
down on the regulation course and approximately 1,500 rounds down on the two
executive courses.
B. Public Hearing and Notification Policy – Mr. Keprios reminded the Park Board that
they had asked staff to develop and recommend a public hearing and notification
policy for their consideration. Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that a
questionnaire was sent to 600 professional Park and Recreation people throughout
Minnesota regarding public hearings and notification policies. He explained that from
the responses received they really could not identify any agency that has a formal
Public Hearing or notification policy when it comes to Park and Recreation matters.
Mr. Keprios pointed out that the protocol that is followed varies from one department
to the next.
Mr. Keprios indicated that it struck him that there are so many variables when it
comes to Park and Recreation type improvements, issues and developments that it
would be too difficult to foresee all of the things that could stand in the way. He
noted that it would be tough to come up with an all inclusive policy. Mr. Keprios
stated that the action he would ask for is to leave it to the discretion of the staff with
the caveat that staff will bring everything to the Park Board for their response to
decide on a case by case basis.
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Mr. Meyer asked if there are any written policies so that the public has access to
understand what processes are used to make decisions. Mr. Keprios replied there is no
written policy.
Mr. O’Connell stated that he likes staff’s recommendation. Mr. Sorem commented
that he also agrees with staff’s recommendation to not have a formal policy. Mr.
Peterson noted that the only thing he would suggest is to put up some posters at a
couple of spots along the park a week before the hearing so that everyone will see the
notice and remember.
Mr. Klus commented that he would agree with the recommendation and doesn’t feel
that there needs to be a formal policy in terms of public hearings.
Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the City Council has discussed this in the
past with regards to public hearings and the way they want to handle it for Park and
Recreation matters is on a case by case basis. He noted that the City Council will
ultimately decide on a case by case basis whether they will conduct a public hearing
on a Park Board issue regardless if the Park Board has already conducted one or not.
Mr. Merriam stated that it sounds like the work is already being done if the City
Council has already made that decision. He noted that he accepts staff’s
recommendation in terms of public hearings.
Mr. Meyer indicated that he thinks it’s important to distinguish between notification
and public hearings. He stated that he thinks it’s important we notify the public that it
may be nothing more than requesting a written feedback or telling them who they can
communicate with. He stated that they may not always be asking for a public hearing.
He commented that he thinks they need to know when it is appropriate just to let the
neighbors know when we are doing something. We need to know what is appropriate
for a particular situation and once we receive a lot of feedback we may decide it’s
time to hold a hearing. He added that it is not always clear on where the
differentiation is.
Mr. Presthus and Mr. Hulbert both liked the recommendation.
Mr. Fronek stated that he agrees the policy looks great. He commented that he thinks
everyone is in agreement to keep the policy on a case by case basis. He indicated that
the main thing is to have communication either through notification or a public
hearing. Mr. Fronek suggested that they also have updates on the city website as far
as what is happening within the city.
C. MN-Dot Community Landscape Partnership Program – Mr. Hulbert gave a brief
overview of the MnDOT Community Landscape Partnership Program. He stated that
after having done this he would like to encourage other people to try to do it as well
because there are other intersections in MN-Dot parcels of land around the
community that could really be improved.
Mr. Merriam asked if this needs to be a citizen initiated project to which Mr. Hulbert
replied that is correct. He explained that there is a cooperative agreement going on
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between the City and MN-Dot. Mr. Merriam asked if the city crew’s help with this to
which Mr. Hulbert replied no, it is all volunteers who are responsible for the
maintenance.
D. Artificial Turf vs. Natural Turf – Mr. MacHolda informed the Park Board that it’s not
his intent to make a recommendation on artificial turf versus natural turf because they
both have their merits. Mr. MacHolda went through the pros and cons of both
artificial and natural turf.
Mr. Klus asked Mr. Meyer, Chairman of the Board of Education, to bring the Park
Board up-to-date as to what the discussions have been on artificial surfaces on school
property. Mr. Meyer replied he would like to make a couple of comments. He noted
that one of the things they learned in looking at artificial fields is that something needs
to be put around artificial turf. Secondly, as far as drainage issues they need to make
sure that water flows through these mats and into the soil, which has not been an issue
for them.
Mr. Meyer stated that in reality natural grass is a little less expensive, however, if you
factor into these numbers that you need twice the surface area you would probably
come out ahead with artificial turf. Mr. Meyer commented that one more thing to
consider is that because this is a newer product they still don’t know what the “real”
life of the turf is, is it 10, 15, etc. and at what point do you need to put in a new mat.
Mr. Meyer informed the Park Board that they are looking at all of the fields around
the high school and below the high school as potential places to put in artificial turf.
He stated that they are also looking at the football practice field, McCarthy field. Mr.
Meyer indicated that at this point they do not have funding. However, there has been
some discussion about other potential sources of dollars. Mr. Meyer commented there
are several options they would like to pursue if they could find the funding.
E. Off-Leash Dog Park Proposal – Creek Valley Park – Mr. Keprios explained to the
Park Board staff’s concept of using the hockey rink at Creek Valley Park during the
spring, summer and fall as an off-leash dog park for small dogs only. He noted that
he has received several requests to have a small dog park in Edina. Mr. Keprios
stated that in the 2006 Needs Assessment Survey the results showed that 5,480
households have a need for an off-leash dog park. Mr. Keprios pointed out that he
would like to change his recommendation: the weight should read 25 lbs. or less
instead of 20 lbs. He noted that after doing more research he found that most
communities throughout the country are right around 25 lbs. or less.
Mr. Keprios indicated that he thinks Creek Valley would be a good place to start an
off-leash dog park within the hockey rink. He added that this site was recommended
by a consultant that did the feasibility study some years ago that could be considered
as part of an off-leash dog area. Mr. Keprios suggested that if they find it successful
enough then maybe they could expand on it and also have a large dog area separate
from the hockey rink, that’s another alternative in the future. Mr. Keprios stated that
what he is proposing is to go ahead and conduct a hearing on the matter and have that
be held at a Park Board meeting to receive input from the community.
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Mr. Meyer asked what the requirement is to get an off-leash dog park approved. Mr.
Keprios replied that it would require City Council approval but that they would be
looking for Park Board’s recommendation.
Mr. Hulbert indicated that speaking from somebody who uses the hockey rink during
the summer months hosting youth soccer practices, those rinks do get used quite a bit
during the summer. He stated that he thinks there are going to be some families that
live in that area and don’t have dogs that are going to be a little disappointed that they
may lose that recreation area.
Mr. Meyer asked with the current dog park what level of activity is there during the
winter to which Mr. Keprios replied it goes down slightly but that he was actually
amazed how much it is used during the winter.
Mr. Merriam noted that he can see there is a need but he also thinks it’s a good
gesture by the city to try to address the need because he thinks there are some issues
that they will need to talk through.
Mr. Sorem stated that he definitely likes the location of Creek Valley. He stated that
he also likes the idea of doing this on a trial basis because it doesn’t seem like a very
costly thing to set up. He noted that this way they can see just what the demand is for
a small dog park. He commented that if it’s a success then they could put in
something more permanent and get away from the use of the hockey rink during the
summer.
Mr. Fronek stated that he thinks this is a great idea. He noted that one piece of
information that might be nice to have would be to figure out a cost for the Creek
Valley site, not a hard cost, but something to consider if they could build a small and
large dog park there so that perhaps they wouldn’t have to use the hockey rink. Mr.
Fronek indicated that he thinks it’s a great idea to have a public hearing.
George Klus MOVED THAT PARK BOARD CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING
TO HAVE AN OFF-LEASH SMALL DOG PARK AT CREEK VALLEY PARK.
Howard Merriam SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
III. UPDATES FROM STAFF
A. McGuire Park – Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the work at McGuire Park
has been completed. He noted that it’s the only playground in Edina that has
artificial turf as a safety surface. He added that it’s an outstanding design, wonderful
equipment and has been getting great reviews.
B. York Park – Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the playground equipment at
York Park is under construction and that Mr. MacHolda did a magnificent job in
working with the neighborhood on this project. He noted that they’ve decided they
want to experiment with a wood fiber safety surface. This should be completed
within the next couple of weeks.
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C. Courtney Maintenance Building - Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that this
project is just about done with the exception of a few minor punch list items to finish
off.
D. Pamela Park – Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the Pamela Park lighting
project has been awarded and construction will begin next week. He pointed out that
the neighbors within 1,000 feet of the park have been notified of the project.
E. Edinborough Park - Mr. Keprios informed the Park Board that the ventilation system
for the Edinborough pool has been awarded by the City Council and that construction
will begin later this fall/winter.
IV. PARK BOARD COMMENTS
A. Braemar Park – Mr. O’Connell informed the Park Board that he recently gave a tour
of Braemar Park to people from the Community Education Services Board. He noted
that the tour encompassed the whole park and not just the golf course. Mr. O’Connell
stated that it was such a huge success that the publicist for Community Education
wanted to know how they could promote this concept. Mr. O’Connell indicated that
it gave him a lot of ideas and concepts of how they could utilize this tour. He noted
that Mr. Hughes and Mr. Valliere both liked the idea of it. Mr. O’Connell pointed
out one thing they can do with this tour is in essence promote the parks and its natural
areas. He noted that Mr. Hughes has already said that he would like to see if they
could set this up with the various commissions and boards as far as the city is
concerned. Mr. O’Connell indicated that the idea would be to suddenly and
subliminally educate these people as to what our parks are by using Braemar Park as
an example because it would just lend itself to a nice tour.
B. Nan - Mr. Klus pointed out that there was a very nice article in the Star Tribune on
the Braemar Golf Course dog Nan.
C. Tim Zimmerman - Mr. Fronek pointed out that there was a nice article about Tim
Zimmerman in the Sun Current this past week and added that he does a wonderful job
with all of the flowers in the parks.
D. Student Member - Mr. Fronek stated that he would like to honor the Park Board’s
student member, Carolyn Nelson. Unfortunately, Ms. Nelson was unable to attend
her last meeting. He noted that starting next month Benjamin Fox Pobuda will be the
new student Park Board member.
E. Bicycle Task Force - Mr. Fronek informed the Park Board that Mr. Hulbert has been
gracious enough to volunteer to be the Park Board’s liaison to the Edina Bicycle Task
Force committee.
Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm